BUSY Summer Days!

Happy Independence Day! Go and see Ratatouille, the new Pixar film. It is simply a delight!

Welcome to our new cousin AMW, born on June 7 to proud parents G & A. She's BEAUTIFUL! So happy for all of you!!!

To start this long-overdue post, I just had to put up a picture of one of the major life developments that has been keeping me away from the computer...our GARDEN! Husband and I have been enjoying spending many an evening outside watching the sunset as we dig, hoe, plant, water, and WEED! And now we have tomatoes (three kinds), green peppers, zucchini, basil, dill, mint, and cilantro to show for our efforts. They're yummy! I wish I could share them with all of you online! You'll just have to come visit us if you want some. We'll have more veggies coming soon...acorn squash, green beens, carrots, cucumbers, corn...yay! It's so fun to make dinner with stuff that you GREW! And we have flowers, too, in hopes of attracting lots of bees to help us with the polinating, and maybe some hummingbirds, too. Our sunflowers are now up to Husband's shoulder...he's 6'3''. :-)

Wow, another two months have rushed by since I last checked in here at Brandy Hall. May-mid June was the "wrapping stuff up" time...the final two Amasong concerts of the year, (the women's chorus that I sing with), my last concert as the manager of the youth orchestra that I've worked with this past year, and my last Sunday with my church choir until September. It's nice to have a little time off from the constant parade of rehearsals and concerts, much as I love all of it. I definitely appreciate some time to slow down a bit and recharge the creative batteries.

Memorial Day weekend found Husband and me in CA for his family reunion and then a brief visit with my dad and stepmom. We had cool, perfect northern CA weather, lots of time to sleep in and eat a lot, and lovely visits with everyone there. It was a really needed get-away, and amazingly refreshing for how short a trip it was. And we brought home a BEAUTIFUL guitar that Dad and Stepmom gave us. They were planning to sell it, and we were the lucky beneficiaries of speaking up at the right time. Husband and I have been having a ball (especially Husband, who's sounding pretty good these days) starting to learn some guitar basics. It's reallly fun! If I can get to the point where I can play some favorite songs and sing along as I play, I'll be thrilled! We have some great books to get us started thanks to our lovely friend AS at Beethoven & Company, the excellent music store where I used to work: www.beethovenandcompany.com.

One week after Memorial Day, my mom and dad came to visit us here. It was so nice to have them, especially since Mom's had a tough spring due to some leg pain. We showed them around our home and garden, and our favorite spots in town, including an incredibly crucial stop at my favorite coffee shop. We ate some yummy meals. Mom and I went on a shoppng spree, and Mom was exceedingly generous. And we enjoyed a day at Robert Allerton Park, the former estate of Mr. Allerton which the U of IL now owns, and which is open to wandering and enjoying the acres of gardens, sculptures, and woodlands. It was so good to see my folks...only wish they could have stayed longer.

Two weeks after Memorial Day, I was soloing at my 10-year college reunion at C.O.W. (Husband could not get away that weekend). I was initially somewhat apprehensive about going...what will it be like to see folks you haven't seen in so long? Will all those weird end-of-college "get me outta here"/"I never want to leave!" feelings resurface? Will it still be hard to talk with so-and-so or whoever? Anyway, I had a blast! Great to see old friends and really connect with them again, interesting to hear what folks are up to now, wonderful to see everyone looking so WELL and enjoying their lives! And the weather was PERFECT...the College looked beautiful, and the sun was so lovely that I forgot to get out of it! ;-) Ouch! The drive was beautiful, too...so many miles of rolling, green country, soft and pink-purple in the late-afternoon sun, an endless stream of cruisin' CDs, and hours to catch up with myself, God, and the universe. It was good!

This past week was the week of visitors who, like Haldir (Hi LOTR fans!), were MOST WELCOME. We spent a delightful Sunday in the Chicago area with RR last weekend, which was a rare treat since she lives far, far away in the fair kingdom of the U.K. We sat and talked for hours, one of the great pleasures of being with old and true friends, and it made our hearts happy to see her looking so beautiful. The only unfortunate thing was that her husband could not join her on this trip; we look forward to catching up with him next time. The next evening, my brother passed through our neck of the woods on his way west to volunteer for the Barack Obama campaign. We gave him the complete tour of our little double-town and the U of IL campus, had lots of time to talk and catch up, and just generally enjoyed having him under our roof. We sent him off optimistic that he'll do good work for Obama and the world...that's just the kind of guy he is.

So our last couple of months have been full of some of the dearest rhythms of my life: saying hello and goodbye to family and friends near and far, performing and resting so that I may perform again, and guiding little green shoots through the soil and up into mature, fruiting plants. A time of rest, renewal, many meetings, many partings, and new life. Welcome, summer.