Cool Flashes:)

I'm in my fifties. I'm supposed to be in the midst - or done with - menopause. That means for many hot flashes. Nope. Not me. I'm FREEZING! I was never the person who brought a sweater in to put on the back of my chair at work. I had all this, ahem, extra padding that kept me warm winter, summer, spring and fall. I used to wonder why old ladies wore shawls. Now I know why! At least I know why this old lady does! Perhaps it's Global Warming and hot summers that don't prepare one for the winter. I don't know. The day started out in the 50s and was supposed to rise up the the 60s (Fahrenheit) this afternoon, and when I got home, John had the air conditioner on! Did I tell you I love my Aestlight Shawl? These things we knit really do get put to good use:). And it is nice now and then to have made something for myself, so I'm enjoying it.
Well again, dear .5 readers, it has been a while, so allow me to bring you up to date since my last real update, which was almost two weeks ago, since which time, there have been big doings at Chez FSK:)
Besides the usual rounds of court hearings and visits, there were preparations for the orchestra concert on November 8th, and choir and bell choir rehearsals for that day and for Christmas. To make everything more interesting, there was a memorial service for a departed member of our congregation right in the middle of the time the orchestra was slotted to rehearse! This necessitated a "road crew" to set up for the orchestra around the altar the minute the service was over.
As soon as that was done, yours truly hightailed it home to get dressed for that afternoon for the wedding of one of our EfM leaders and his fiancee' - both of whom we all know from church. At that wedding of course were the musical stylings of one Nancy S, our wonderful organist choirmaster. To her playing and beautiful voice were added the voices of Donna H and Sally L. I got to sit up in the choirloft with them, as John was unable to attend the wedding and so that I could sit at the reception with Nancy and Rennie and make my leave rather early for reasons soon to be revealed. It was wonderful to see Tom and Sally so happy. I could not have wished a more beautiful autumn day for their wedding and a more lovely evening for their reception at the old Waverly Mansion. The music was terrific! Two friends from church/choir were in the company of new beaus (one was a long-time divorcee', the other a widow of a few years - it was wonderful to see them both smiling and having fun!)
I left early to be able to get a good start on the next day - two services for the bell choir, set up for the orchestra (yes, again!), set up for the ticket sales and raffles and then home to dress for the concert!
And what a concert it was - an ambitious combination of Ernst Bloch's Piano Concerto, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, featuring four different violin soloists, and a Mendelssohn Symphony. As a result, the concert was longer than usual, but outstanding. It is hard to believe, even as I sit and type this, that such a wonderful professional endeavor is actually happening in our midst. We had pretty close to a packed house - about 250 tickets sold. Hopefully we will be able to sustain ourselves. I was thinking about how music and the arts manage to allow us to raise our heads above the turmoil of life and to seek higher emotional, spiritual and intellectual ground. How much more so is this true with the economic difficulties and political contentions of this time?
Last week was fairly busy - I think I was in court every day but one. You might think that this is no big deal, but time in court means that much less time to prep cases and visit clients. So... Saturday was a day for visits. I was able to see four clients and a grandson (:)), so I can't complain.
Sunday, I did the old "Catholic Shuffle" at the late service, running out the door instead of into the Communion line, missing the last hymn, to run to the grocery store, and home, then on the road to Washington, D.C. to see our son, Danny, in the Keegan Theatre's Production of Of Mice and Men - the same company that toured Ireland. John and I were both fighting back tears as we watched it. Danny's portrayal of Lennie was awesome. I was so proud of his hard work and great acting. Although the Washington Post review was very complimentary of Dan and not so much with the rest of the cast (very awkward for him to say the least), I don't think it did the rest of the cast justice - they were all amazing - especially the fellow who played George, Lennie's caregiver/friend - Mark A. Rhea. Lennie had to have been a challenging role for anybody. Danny revealed that he took a lot of inspiration from his observations of his niece, one of our grandangels, and some of her behaviors. It's funny how a play from 1937 can impact an audience today. The human experiences in this play are timeless.
After the play, we had drinks with Danny and got him back to his place where he and Casie were hosting a party for the cast members of her play -Tony Kushner's Angels in America (another play I really want to see - I have the DVD of the HBO production and have watched it a number of times). After dropping Danny off, we drove on home and had dinner with S, J, and K and D with baby John.
Which brings me to today and home where here I sit on a break from my work routine. Soon I will get back to work - an interview with a client who may have to take the stand tomorrow and then home again.
In the meantime, before I leave, dear 1.5 readers, here is a composite of part 1 of 5 of the sweater for Nancy. It's the back of the Portland sweater from A Fine Fleece. It's a blast to knit - you're never bored, but it's easy enough to be enjoyable. I added one little twist to the pattern: the insertion of a "St. John's Cross" (or the Nordic symbol for happiness) between the shoulders, thinking that a reminder of St. John's would be a nice touch (rather than a pain in the neck, yuck yuck yuck...).
Well, that's all the fun and frolic I have for now. Until next time, God be with you 'til we meet again!
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