Christmas and More
First of all, Merry Christmas to those celebrating it. Happy fifth night of Chaunakah for those celebrating it. And much love also to those for whom December 25 is just another day like any other. For me it is a day to contemplate a birth and a rebirth, and to share my love for all of you.
I haven't been updating much lately. Mostly it's because when I'm online I want to be writing for Fallen Leaves or chatting to friends, or reading stuff, or playing with this diabolical contraption toy that messypeaches gave me the link to. It's seriously time eating. Also I was immensely pleased with myself when I figured out how to make a throwing arm. It's seriously addictive and great fun, as well as somewhat infuriating. Mechanical engineering for the win!
Sunday I sang Testify to Love at church, and got a lot of response from the congregation. In fact Rev. Terri even called me that afternoon to tell me how much she'd enjoyed it. I was really touched. I was surprised by the number of people in the congregation were mouthing the words in the choruses. I'd never heard this song before, but it seems a lot of people knew it and were really moved by it. I'd been worried about my voice, too, cause I felt hoarse and had to reach for the B, which really is not that high a note. But afterward several people came up and told me how much they love my voice. I know you're probably not supposed to get a performance high from singing fr church, but I did.
Speaking of which, Christmas Eve I sang at my church's service at 7:00 in the evening, and then I went with our soprano Harriet, who also sings in the Methodist church's choir, and sang with them for their midnight service. Wow. They have an amazing music director, do serious music-we did, among other things, two movements from Saint-Seans' Christmas Oratorio and a couple of other classical pieces. Plus of course many carols. With pipe organ. It was so awesome to sing in a large choir again. The music director said I had a beautiful voice and he'd welcome me back any time, and hopes I would consider joining their choir. And in case you were wondering, other than the carols, I didn't know any of the music and after a brief rehearsal with the choir, I was sight-reading. I guess my sight-reading skills aren't as crappy as I thought they were.
Yesterday (Christmas Eve) I got my crowns on my upper molars and bicuspids. That means all the teeth on top are now crowns. Sadly my gums have become infected where they did the work to prepare my teeth for the crowns, which explains why they've been so very painful. Fortunately now that I have the crowns, plus some antibiotics, this should clear up. It's also looking a bit like I might need a second attempt at the root canal on my upper right bicuspid, as it is still quite painful to hot, cold and percussion. I'l have to go to a specialist if it comes to that. Hopefully they can do it before permanently cementing the crown in place. I'm not planning to do any more of the dental project until after the New Year at this point. Decided a week off was a decent Christmas present.
I'm getting new glasses. Finally went to see the eye doctor after a four year absence. My prescription has changed - more astigmatic and somewhat less near-sighted. My new frames are... Well I decided to go for exciting. I'm gonna get new lenses for my old frames, so I'll have a somewhat conservative pair to go with my new wild ones. To see the, go to the ProDesigns Denmark website, and look up design 9903. Pick the rightmost color choice. You should see frames with silver fronts, red posts, and purple temples. I'm also getting new prescription sunglasses with a bit of a wrap-around effect. I can't find a picture of them, so you'll have to wait til I can take a photo with them on my face. They're very Matrix.
Other than going to church, I've spent Christmas with friends, talking, singing and eating. Christmas Eve I was at Anet and Robert and Ellie's house, along with masao888 and Rachel, and Katie and Eric. Same group of people I went to see Nutcracker with on Sunday night, and a fantastic, wonderful group of friends. We had roast duck and mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts and other good things. The brussels sprouts were made good by the addition of bacon. And today I came home from church, opened presents, called a few friends and my family in Nashville and had wonderful long talks, and then went to Evan and Javier's for a fabulous Christmas dinner of roast pork, roast turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and awesome pie! Lemon meringue and mincemeat. The mincemeat was amazing. I'm a convert.
Tomorrow I'm driving up to Healdsburg to spend a couple days with my dad and stepmom. I'll be back home on the 28th. Then I leave again on New Year's day to drive to Southern California to see messypeaches, darksideofstorm, and jbmcdragon Life is good. I am so richly blessed with friends. I love you all.
So much love for all of my friends, near and far. I hope your days are as full of joy as mine.
I haven't been updating much lately. Mostly it's because when I'm online I want to be writing for Fallen Leaves or chatting to friends, or reading stuff, or playing with this diabolical contraption toy that messypeaches gave me the link to. It's seriously time eating. Also I was immensely pleased with myself when I figured out how to make a throwing arm. It's seriously addictive and great fun, as well as somewhat infuriating. Mechanical engineering for the win!
Sunday I sang Testify to Love at church, and got a lot of response from the congregation. In fact Rev. Terri even called me that afternoon to tell me how much she'd enjoyed it. I was really touched. I was surprised by the number of people in the congregation were mouthing the words in the choruses. I'd never heard this song before, but it seems a lot of people knew it and were really moved by it. I'd been worried about my voice, too, cause I felt hoarse and had to reach for the B, which really is not that high a note. But afterward several people came up and told me how much they love my voice. I know you're probably not supposed to get a performance high from singing fr church, but I did.
Speaking of which, Christmas Eve I sang at my church's service at 7:00 in the evening, and then I went with our soprano Harriet, who also sings in the Methodist church's choir, and sang with them for their midnight service. Wow. They have an amazing music director, do serious music-we did, among other things, two movements from Saint-Seans' Christmas Oratorio and a couple of other classical pieces. Plus of course many carols. With pipe organ. It was so awesome to sing in a large choir again. The music director said I had a beautiful voice and he'd welcome me back any time, and hopes I would consider joining their choir. And in case you were wondering, other than the carols, I didn't know any of the music and after a brief rehearsal with the choir, I was sight-reading. I guess my sight-reading skills aren't as crappy as I thought they were.
Yesterday (Christmas Eve) I got my crowns on my upper molars and bicuspids. That means all the teeth on top are now crowns. Sadly my gums have become infected where they did the work to prepare my teeth for the crowns, which explains why they've been so very painful. Fortunately now that I have the crowns, plus some antibiotics, this should clear up. It's also looking a bit like I might need a second attempt at the root canal on my upper right bicuspid, as it is still quite painful to hot, cold and percussion. I'l have to go to a specialist if it comes to that. Hopefully they can do it before permanently cementing the crown in place. I'm not planning to do any more of the dental project until after the New Year at this point. Decided a week off was a decent Christmas present.
I'm getting new glasses. Finally went to see the eye doctor after a four year absence. My prescription has changed - more astigmatic and somewhat less near-sighted. My new frames are... Well I decided to go for exciting. I'm gonna get new lenses for my old frames, so I'll have a somewhat conservative pair to go with my new wild ones. To see the, go to the ProDesigns Denmark website, and look up design 9903. Pick the rightmost color choice. You should see frames with silver fronts, red posts, and purple temples. I'm also getting new prescription sunglasses with a bit of a wrap-around effect. I can't find a picture of them, so you'll have to wait til I can take a photo with them on my face. They're very Matrix.
Other than going to church, I've spent Christmas with friends, talking, singing and eating. Christmas Eve I was at Anet and Robert and Ellie's house, along with masao888 and Rachel, and Katie and Eric. Same group of people I went to see Nutcracker with on Sunday night, and a fantastic, wonderful group of friends. We had roast duck and mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts and other good things. The brussels sprouts were made good by the addition of bacon. And today I came home from church, opened presents, called a few friends and my family in Nashville and had wonderful long talks, and then went to Evan and Javier's for a fabulous Christmas dinner of roast pork, roast turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and awesome pie! Lemon meringue and mincemeat. The mincemeat was amazing. I'm a convert.
Tomorrow I'm driving up to Healdsburg to spend a couple days with my dad and stepmom. I'll be back home on the 28th. Then I leave again on New Year's day to drive to Southern California to see messypeaches, darksideofstorm, and jbmcdragon Life is good. I am so richly blessed with friends. I love you all.
So much love for all of my friends, near and far. I hope your days are as full of joy as mine.