I've just been very remiss. And very busy!
I've been recruited to join another board, that of the Newberry Consort, a local group that specializes in what is now called "historically informed performance".
Volunteering at the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust (they've just changed their name from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust) continues, as I give tours at both Chicago's Robie House and Oak Park's Unity Temple, as well as help with training new volunteers. I am finding that one of the things I really enjoy doing is giving tours to school children. They are lots of fun! And I was given a very nice compliment, by being asked to act as a house captain for Robie House during next year's very special
Wright Plus event. The people I work with are quite lovely. Yesterday, it was so cold that no one bought tickets for one of the tours I was scheduled to give. I had to stick around because there were people for the next tour, so the house manager said, "Why don't you take advantage of the living room?" So I fixed a cup of tea, took my book, and sat there reading and watching the sunlight play with the art glass windows.
Our branch library, the oldest in the city, was once again part of Open House Chicago, and I organized the volunteers for that.
The last few weeks have, as always this time of year, been full of parties. Between my professional organizations, various non-profits I contribute to/volunteer with, not to mention purely social times with friends, I've been eating and drinking to my heart's content, if not my cholesterol's.
I am hoping to have two new additions to my household after the new year. Meet Teague (on the right) and his brother, Thai. They are a Siamese-tabby mix, and oh! so adorable.
One of the reasons I'm not taking them in until next year (other than the fact that I don't want to bother them with company until they've settled in) is that I am leaving town on Monday and won't be back until Dec. 24th. Didn't seem fair to bring them home and then desert them! I am going to Cuba for a week! The trip is with the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and we'll be in Havana for a week, meeting artists, musicians, and dancers, and, not incidentally, enjoying warm weather.