week 598 ~ transient insubstantial
transient insubstantial
where did my former life go
the day I’ll leave for Brazil
transient insubstantial
lost in the haze not yet ill
locked down will I ever know
transient insubstantial
where did my former life go
April 1, 2020
After a sabbatical of 3 months, I think I am back! Not intending this to be an April Fool. For the past 5 months I’ve been writing a book, that took up nearly every hour of my working days. A 288-page mandolin book that required every bit of my brain power to keep it organized and, more importantly, all the computer time my fading right eye could handle to do the research, transcribe the music, write the essays. I finally submitted the manuscript yesterday. Big hooray! Now, since we are all in pandemic lockdown, with a calendar of rehearsals, concerts, parties, dinners-out canceled, another project is in order. And so I return to my blog, to document life in the time of coronavirus. Looking for some way to continue Celebrating a Year, one that looks decidedly bleak at the moment. Will I succeed? Stay tuned…
December 30, 2019
A photo from yesterday evening, looking from the grounds of the beautiful mansion where we have just performed, down toward the ocean. Today is dreary, with a cold wintery mix of precipitation. A perfect day to stay indoors, eschew responsibilities, and catch up on my blog. Heading toward the new year, the next decade.
December 29, 2019
Today I play music with two good friends at a beautifully decorated mansion in a nearby town. I have performed here every holiday season for decades, but was afraid I would miss this year when members of my octet had conflicts as we tried to arrive at a workable date. But a change to this trio and an after-Christmas date allowed a second chance. We play music mostly written by W, the viola da gambist, with C on recorder and me on my trusty mandolin. Friends and family add joy to the audience and we end with a familiar song, singing together as we play. “Should auld acquaintance be forgot…” Our trio, revived after a few years during which our friendship never faltered, makes beautiful music as “we take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”
December 28, 2019
A close-up of the musicians in the wonderful whole-earth creche, before it folds its tent and is packed away until next year.
December 27, 2019
A surprising contrast of bright plastic and dull nature, seen on yesterday’s walk.
December 26, 2019
A walk in the surprisingly balmy air, dodging puddles on the rain-soaked ground. It’s good to get out, to stretch our legs, to take a deep breath and shake off today’s post-Christmas blues.
