Holiday Miscellany

Another busy week: getting final piano lessons scheduled (last ones next week!); rehearsals for the SBO Bach concert; buying, making, wrapping and shipping Christmas presents (thanks, Oak Tree UPS Store); and hosting our annual Christmas party. (We don’t host annually, thank god, but this year we four Rognebrothers wanted to host in our new home. We cooked a goose! And Brussels sprouts and parsnips and carrots and stuffing and… yummm…) I’ve started a half-dozen blog entries this week, but nothing stuck. So here’s a bit of miscellany to wrap up the week.
Above you see how industrious we all strove to be in the three hour break between Messiah concerts last weekend! I would not have been able to make my fabulous ice cream pint cozy had it not been for Melissa’s guidance! I was hoping to get two made in time for the gift exchange at our party, but one will have to do for now. (I couldn’t remember how to get started on the second one, and Melissa wasn’t around to help!) Check it out – no more chilly fingers!

I also want to comment on the hair in the above picture. That is NOT all Melissa’s hair! She found a clip with attached curls that perfectly match her hair color, so with very little effort on her part, she has instant Diva Hair! I’ve got to get one. Although, my hair suddenly decided last week that it was going to cooperate with my desires to put it up in a “simple” French twist. I couldn’t believe it! I tempted fate and tried to do it again for last night’s concert, and it wasn’t a fluke. (It looks a little off-center in the picture, but I swear, it was perfect.) Something crazy is going on these days if my pre-concert fight with my hair is a thing of the past…
Let’s see, what else… The SBO concert has been really wonderful work. I’m always my most nervous before the first rehearsal with a new group, and this was no exception. Do I really know my music? Will I fall apart once I have strings under me and not a piano? Have I counted all these interludes correctly? Etc. But everything went fine, as it usually does, and I’ve had a lot of fun. The other soloists are all great, and I look forward hopefully to working with them again in the future. But, the highlight of last night’s concert seemed to be my gown! I got so many compliments on it, and at the reception afterwards, someone told me that every group they passed at intermission was talking about how beautiful it was! I consider it to be my first “diva gown,” complete with big puffy skirt; I absolutely love it. It has a great story, too, so once I get a good picture, I’ll tell all the details.

For now, here’s a picture of our house in all it’s holiday splendor! Hope you have a great week, finding time to enjoy the Season amidst all the chaos.