Teenagers again!

Tonight was an evening of flashback!  Last weekend Jon spent hours (really days) recording the accompaniment to "Bye Bye Birdie" for his old high school - their accompanist had bailed on them in the final two weeks and they didn't have the money to hire a new one, so this was the next best thing.  Anyhow, we were curious to see how it turned out, so tonight we attended what was their second performance - they did a great job and the music sounded just right.  It was nice to reconnect with some of the people we had worked with last summer on "Into the Woods," and of course to see Jon's high school drama teacher again.  But the flashback did not end there.  We were starving after the show, so we decided to grab a bite on the way home and ended up at Baker's Square (another version of Big Boy) - a moment that was reminiscent of the high school drama club after parties for both of us.  The only difference?  No goofy drama kids and no shakes.  But the following conversation may or may not have ocurred at the time:

Cortney:  "I'm starting to worry a little.  I mean, we got him in there but now he has to come out somehow."

Jon:  "It's like building a ship in a bottle." 

Music on a Sunday

At least once a Christmas season it so happens that we "lose" an entire day to musical wonder, and this year that day was today.  We started the morning with the Bach Magnificat in church, which we sang at both full morning services.  Then, after a quick lunch it was off to the Faber Piano Institute for the holiday piano recital performed, in part, by Jon's piano students.  It was a first for Jon, and for each of his students, and it went over perfectly.  After the recital, and a quick nap at home, came the end-of-semester concert for the RC Singers, the university choir group that our friend, Kristin, conducts.  Jon is, technically, the piano accompanist for the group, but he also filled in a couple of other parts, including tamborine on one song and tenor on a couple of others.  One thing we can say for sure, Raspberry will not suffer for lack of music in life!

Countertenors are real

We are being social in the cold snowy nights. We began Saturday evening with a wonderful holiday dinner with Jon's business group in a reserved room at a nice country club. We shared cocktails and conversation and a really nice meal. Long before the dinner was planned, however, we had tickets to the annual UMS performance of Handel's Messiah at Hill Auditorium so we had to leave the dinner party early to race over to Hill. We made it just as the orchestra was tuning up. We met up with the Lilly Resident Ministers from church, with whom we had bought group tickets (they're a really fun group of seminary grads our age). The performance was beautiful, as expected, but the real standout was the moment that the countertenor stood up and sang. Not only was he the most animated and excited performer, but he had a falsetto as rich as any female opera star. After the show, we all went out for coffee and took bets over whether the countertenor's speaking voice was as high as his singing one. Then we bid each other goodnight until we would meet again at church a mere seven hours later.

Birthday Week

The birthday celebrations continued this week on Sunday with a delicious dinner at Cortney's parents' house with Patty and Curtis. Dad H provided the smoked ribs and Mom H provided the chocolate/whipped cream cake roll. Jon thanked them for the special menu and for the gifts: a one-of-a-kind safari-themed shower curtain and—at last—a replacement for the garage door opener we lost  awhile back. On Monday, just the two of us marked the occasion yet again with a dinner out at Red Lobster, where the waiter revealed the secret of their cheesy biscuits: just Bisquik, cheddar, and Italian herbs.

On Thursday, we got tickets to see soprano Renee Fleming at Hill Auditorium, which we preceded with dinner at Cottage Inn. Fleming was performing the title role in a concert presentation of Richard Strauss' Daphne. We were especially interested in this performance because we were in the middle of reading her autobiography. Indeed, we were very glad to hear the beauty and finesse of her voice.

Didgeridooin'

Jon has been practicing the didgeridoo and working toward circular breathing. Perhaps squeezing the cheeks with a free hand would help? Not so much. But it was worth a try. As always, Cookie was completely unphased by the vibrations, while Ollie freaked out without constant reassurance that something terrible was not coming his way. We're still not sure if Diamond could hear it at all, as she seemed quite happy to sleep through it.

 Michigan football countdown: 4 days to go!