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S'Nami Boh

This is the hymn that is sung in Byzantine Churches for the Christmas Eve Liturgy.  Though the tenor of this video doesn't do Fr. Joseph's deep, resonating bass justice, it is a beautiful hymn, which brings Christmas home to my heart just hearing it.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!!

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For Unto Us a Child is Born!

My sweet husband and I spent a lovely evening together attending the Handel and Haydn Society's annual performance of Handel's Messiah.  It was beautiful.

Every year, Taylor's family attends a Seattle performance of Messiah in Benaroya Hall and we have been lucky enough to have an organization like the Handel and Haydn society to facilitate our continuing the tradition.  Before I met T's family I'd only ever head parts of the performance in movies or on the radio occasionally.

It's an amazing piece of music.  I confess that I don't like everything about it--the florid arias throughout can sometimes seem a bit much to my taste... but there are certain parts, phrases of a few notes or whole pieces that thrill me every time.  The soprano this year was one of the best we've heard, and the clear, smooth note of her voice rang out high and bright like crystal "Come unto Him all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest."

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House Full

When Daddy was a younger man, he tells us, he always wanted to live in a house full of beautiful women.  Wouldn't y'know it? He forgot to specify: "whom I'm not related to."  :)  Instead of a houseful of wife-like women, he got a houseful of daughters.  "Even the tortoise turned out to be a girl!" he'd say.  Now, most of his grandchildren are grand-daughters :) Ah well.

Viv and I flew out to CA last weekend because, you see, Summer was visiting from CO  and we thought it'd be fun to have all the sisters together again.  It was :)

The weekend before we flew out was Daddy's birthday.  My sister Bethany, who teaches at our old high school, thought it'd be a good idea to take Daddy out to an encore performance of a Johnny Cash play the school was putting on.  It was awesome!

We went to sushi for dinner and Daddy even tried a piece of raw fish! He didn't particularly like it, but that was fine--it left more for me.  We sipped tea and talked--about theology of the body, music and lyrics, dividing things up, visiting at Christmas--and laughed. It was also nice to sit down to eat dinner that 1) we didn't have to make and 2) we didn't have to clean up.  It was a great meal.  I think sushi should become a tradition in the family now.. one of those things that's developed without Momma around to orchestrate large meals.  It's easy to order, pick up, serve, fill us up, and clean up after.  Addenda to the meal are easy too (rice and miso soup), and (my favorite reason) I'm mostly not allergic to anything in sushi. Hooray! How 'bout it, Family--New Tradition? :D

After dinner we headed over to the high school and sat through a wonderful performance of Ring of Fire, a musical about Johnny Cash.  It was, of course, a high school musical production, but it was wonderfully done--and the troupe is going to Scotland to perform it in a competition!  Well done, alma mater :)

After the concert, Daddy treated us all to ice cream.  We went to Baskin Robins and each got a scoop, which we ate outside--the weather was so nice [really, there's nothing like summer nights in the desert].  I got daiquiri ice, a favorite of mine from childhood.  I love real ice cream, but on a hot summer day (and "hot summer day" where I'm from translates to 120+ degrees with no humidity and glaring sunshine), the cream is just too much. Daiquiri ice was the most refreshing thing out there :) and it hit the spot.

I love my family.  We're all a little nutty, but that keeps things interesting! It was good to see my sisters again and hang out with Daddy a bit.  We really missed you Ray (et al.)!  Hopefully we can all meet up for Christmas--it's been too long since we've all been together (grandkids and spouses included)!

Here's hopin' :)

Holly Jolly!

After work yesterday, I practically danced out of the office.  Taylor was taking me to a Holly Cole concert (as you may remember me mentioning) and I was way excited.  Of course, we were also going to hang out at a cafe, get mochas (mmm), and have a nice dinner at home together, so there were all sorts of reasons for dancing when I left work.

I knitted and T studied at KooKoo cafe for a few hours, sipping deliciously rich mochas.  It was fun to watch people come and go in the cafe, too. There was a group of college-age girls, getting together for some coffee before finals descended upon them.  There was a father and his cutesy toddling toddler daughter (who followed him everywhere--to the back of the cafe for a high chair, back to the front to sit down, back to the back for a book and a toy, back to the front when his coffee was ready. Ah, to be young again, right?  After a very (very) long week (longer because last week was so short), it was nice to simply sit and be with each other while the world passed by.

When it was time to go, we walked home and I made a pretty-darn-tasty tuna steak (with cous cous and grape tomatoes), which we ate at our cute little "breakfast table" (which is a butcher block kitchen cart with stools pulled up to it).

The concert was at Sculler's Jazz Club, so we got to get dressed up.  I love dressing up with my Sweet P'Taylor.  I know I get to "dress up" for work every day, but that's a wholly different thing.  First of all, dressing up to go out is lots more fun than dressing up to work.  Also, if I'm dressing up with Taylor, it means we get to go somewhere together, which makes everything better.

And Holly--you do not disappoint.  From the first time I heard Holly Cole in college, I've loved her voice. It's so rich and she has the ability to make "old" songs (good songs are never really old) fresh and new.

She told some fun stories, too.  Her brother studied at Berkley college of music--right in downtown Boston--and she hitchhiked from Canada one year to visit him... so she said Boston was very special to her. I loved that, too.

Here are a few videos that, I think, represent well her style and vocal ability. It floors me :) I love her!

Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday
(she performed this one at our concert--very well done)

Cry If You Want To

(she also sang this one for us--"for all modern lovers out there tonight")

And here are some more recent performances.  She didn't perform either of these for us, but here you can see how her style has changed, just a tiny bit.  T said it's the mark of a good artist if her style matures as she does.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Santa Baby

Happy Holly Days

I've been a big fan of Holly Cole's music for a while.  I love her sultry voice and the fascinating rhythm in the arrangements of her songs.  She's able to take "old" music and make it fresh and exciting, while still keeping it familiar enough to not be weird.

Then I found her Christmas album, and I was completely hooked.  (I wish she'd make another one!) It's my favorite album to listen to during the holidays. It's bouncy, fun, playful, but still pensive and reverent and serious enough to be an all-around great CD.

However, since we can't will Holly to make another Christmas album, T is taking me to her Christmas concert here in Boston :)  I'm super-excited. Giddy almost!

So next Friday, December 4, I'll be on cloud nine, listening to some deliciously smooth jazz in the Christmas spirit at Sculler's Jazz Club.

I wonder if they'll let us dance at all? Hmm.. :)

Trippin' the Light Fantastic!

On Thursday last week, Taylor took me to a trance concert :) to see Tiesto.  To clarify, this concert was not a rave!  But it was lots of fun! And the thing about trance is that it's pretty happy music.  It's hard to be in a morose mood when you're trippin' on trance!

Now, many of you know I didn't really like trance before (I would tolerate it--it's great "getting housework done" music (especially for Taylor. If you let him put trance on, he can do anything (probably even fly))).  But having seen Tiesto live gave me a real feel for the music (ha, literally--the bass was pretty intense), I have to admit that I kinda like it...  on Friday (although my ears were still ringing), I set up a Tiesto station on Pandora and listened to trance all morning.  I got a lot done, actually, and felt very energetic the whole morning (yeah.. that's quite unusual for a Friday morning at work!).

I still can't listen to it as much or for as long as my Love :) but... it's growing on me.  Here is one example of Tiesto's sound (at about 2:09 is where the bass hits).

And as for pictures.. well, it's difficult to get pictures when there are so many things to focus on.  Enjoy the few we did get :)

Tiesto

My Heaven

This Is Heaven To Me
[click title to listen on YouTube]

(as sung by Madeleine Peyroux)

When I hear them say
There's better living
Let them go their way
To that new living.
I won't ever stray
'Cause this is heaven to me.

Long as freedom grows
I want to seek it.
If it's yes or no
It's me who'll speak it,
'Cause the lord, He knows
That this is heaven to me.

If you've got your hands
And got your feet
To sing your song
All through the street
You raise your head
When night is done
Shout your thanks up to the sun.

So when I hear them say
There's better living
Let them go their way
To that new living.
I won't ever stray
'Cause this is heaven to me...

'Cause this is heaven to me.

I Do Believe In Love :)

I first heard this song on Pandora (one of the greatest sites ever--you should sign up if you spend a lot of time on the computer and are not too easily distracted by music). And I really like it, so I thought I'd share:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9boGisqTJY

Here are the lyrics (but you should really listen to the song, too (don't bother watching the "video," it's just pictures). I think the melody is what makes it so catchy for me):

"I Do Believe In Love" They say we never landed on the moon There's no wind there, they assume I guess conspiracies are nothing new, But I'm sure I've been there with you. And I don't believe that in space The only life is here on earth How could we be the only race That loves and hates 'til death from birth? But I do believe in love, Though I should never rely on love Nothing else excites me, But loving you. Is it true a politician's heart Can rust away and fall apart? I guess it must be hard, It must be hard, To know what's good and to know what's easy You might think it's strange, For all my wild ideas, But I do not believe that change, Can ever happen without tears. But I do believe in love, Though I should never rely on love Nothing else excites me, But loving you

The World Is Passing Away

(or, Car Batteries, Orfeo, and Hot Chocolate)

Today, T and I went to St. Columbkille's again :) After a nice breakfast we drove to Mass (we drove this time because we were going to pick up our share of meat from a co-op).  Mass, as usual, was lovely and it seemed to me that the theme for today was that of the Second reading: the world in its present form is passing away.  We heard the reading of Jonah and his unlikely success in preaching repentance to Nineveh.  We heard how the lives of the fishermen from Galilee were changed forever by Jesus' call.  "Teach me your ways, O Lord" said the Psalmist, for He guides the humble to justice. 

But after Mass our car wouldn't start! Maybe it was just too cold for our poor little Toyota--a "real feel" of 5 degrees? So T ended up running to the meat pick-up place  (which, incidentally, was out of meat! They'll deliver it later this week, but it's still kinda lame...) while I waited for AAA. The tow-man was able to jump-start the engine, and I drove home, hurried down to the C-line and met T at the symphony so we could attend Haydn's Orfeo.  Maybe the world of our car is passing away, too? That would be fine with T, though--I don't think he wants a car much anymore :) 

Once warmly inside Symphony Hall, we sat down to enjoy the (comparatively) short opera, which was very good.  The soprano was very good and it was a nice relaxing performance.  It made me want to read more ancient mythology--I loved it when I was a kid and majored in Classics in undergrad. Fun guys, those ancients! 

And even here, there was the "passing away" of the world. Poor Orpheus--he lost the love of his life twice and then he was poisoned by the Bacchantes, who were then torn to bits by the furies. I'd say that's a passing away, right? Spouses do pass away. As Christians we believe [hope] we will see them again, but it can seem like the whole world has left with her. 

Since it was so cold afterwards, we decided to stop by Trident cafe and have a cup of hot chocolate before getting on the T. I got white hot chocolate and T got a Chocolatino--like a mocha but with chocolate milk and drip coffee instead of milk, chocolate syrup, and espresso. We sat and chatted for a bit, enjoyed the ambiance of the cafe and watched the people going by. 

And I realized that the world "in its present form" is always passing away in one way or another.  But for us, for now, we don't know what will be passing away and what will stay. We've only heard back from half of the law schools T applied to, so we really have no idea where we'll be in the fall. But that's all ok, isn't it? "I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction."  And the Lord will take care of us, even if the world should pass away :) 

Liturgy, Anointing, Symphony, Steak, and Chocolate

Can a Sunday get any better than that?!

I didn't think so :)

We went to Liturgy this morning at the Melkite Cathedral. It's quite a beautiful drive, especially this time of year. And hey--on the way, we saw a turkey! He was just peckin' away in the grass, cool as can be. I mean, I guess turkeys are native to this area (pilgrims, Annie, duh!) but it was just so funny to see...

This Sunday the Liturgy was mostly in English (for big occasions--like the visit of the Patriarch and anniversary of the Church--they have a bi-lingual liturgy in English and Arabic), so it was very easy to follow along in the book and I enjoyed being able to sing so much! Fr. DePaulo anointed us afterwards. Byzantine anointings are very thorough (do they do this in the Roman anointing, too?) because the priest anoints the forehead, eyes (eyelids, actually), nose, mouth, ears, throat, and hands. All the essentials, right? :) We could smell the fragrant blessed oil all day--a reminder of the blessing we received... As he invoked Christ, the Theotokos, and all the saints for our blessing, he moved his hand from our heads (for Christ), to our ear (for the Theotokos), and then to our shoulder (for all the saints in heaven). It was quite beautiful.

We made lunch at home and spent some time "puttering" (a very technical term, including, but not limited to, completing miscellaneous tasks in no particular order) around the house. Around 2 we headed downtown to the beautiful Boston Symphony Hall to hear the Handel and Haydn Society's performance of Motzart's first symphony (yes, composed when he was 8!) and Piano Concerto # 23, and Beethoven's Overture to Creatures of Prometheus and his 8th Symphony. Maybe it was the time of day, maybe it was the program, maybe it was the size of the orchestra, but I enjoyed this symphony performance much more than other recent ones. We're looking forward to more such enjoyment in the near future :) 

The Handel and Haydn Society is a neat group--it's relatively small compared to modern orchestras or choral groups, but their aim in staying small is to imitate the size of the performing group at the time Handel and Haydn were composing. I really enjoy the smaller size. I feel like I can hear the instruments better, how they go together, what they're doing at different parts. Also, one thing that struck me particularly during this concert is the movement in music at a live concert. There's so much more to the sensory experience of music than just listening to the piece! I could see the ebb and flow of the themes and the orchestra parts and it was so interesting to see how each musician manifested the music in their bodies--in each respective section (violins, winds, brass, etc.), the hands were doing the same thing, the bows were moving in unison, but the heads, arms, and bodies were all moving in a different way. Seeing the music that way was beautiful.

Here are a few pictures of the hall:

Boston Symphony Hall, built in 1900--the first hall constructed in accordance with scientifically derived acoustic principles :)

Original chairs (which have probably been re-covered but are way-comfy)

Beethoven

Apparently the original idea was to have tribute-emblem-thingys, like this one to Beethoven, all around the frame of the stage. However, after adding Beethoven's name, no one could agree on what other musicians were great enough... So it's just Beethoven. The great.

After the concert we came home and made my Momma's recipe of Flank Steak Florentine--a thin-cut steak wrapped around cooked spinach and cream cheese (and I add some onions and herbs). SO GOOD! We also had asparagus and got to use one of our nifty new silverware pieces. Would you have guessed that's what it was for? :) Points for you if you did. And for dessert, this is what I call a "fun size" chocolate bar :) (that's a dinner knife in the picture, to give you some perspective). MMMM Chocolate!

I Almost Forgot!

Last night T and I went to a performance of The Rite of Spring in downtown Boston at the Hatch Shell. Outdoor concerts are lots of fun--T and I went to some in Spokane and Sandpoint, ID. It's always so nice to take a blanket and sit in the cool of the evening with good food, good friends, and a nice bottle of wine (in cleverly-disguised plastic cups!). I made a cake, which we brought to the yummy picnic of pasta, grapes, cheese, salami, and crackers (thanks, Tina!). After the concert we went up to the roof of Tina's house and chatted for a bit. Here are a few pictures I took last evening. Fun times!

Concert at the Shell

Oh, and did you know that basil flowers?

Piano and the Joy of Music

I've always sort of played the piano. I am by no means a phenomenal pianist, but I love to play. Whenever I was stressed or worried, or even elated and bubbling-over with joy, I could sit down at the piano and let the emotion seep out into the notes. I suppose that sounds a little cliché, but it's just the way it worked for me. And I'm glad of it. When T and I were in CA last month, I got to play the piano I grew up with. I don't know much about pianos, but our piano isn't a Steinway or a Yamaha.. I think it's Kawai (it was purchased in Japan by my mother's family when they were stationed there), but it was a wonderful piano through the years. Ahh, I can't explain what a great feeling it was to sit down and play the old, familiar, memorized songs and hit every key correctly, if only because the muscle memory is still there. I was able to play almost perfectly songs that I struggle with on other pianos. It's amazing how precise muscle memory is, and how much a slight difference in key size matters. One of the best things about playing the piano in CA was that all my nieces and nephews were there, too--I had a non-critical audience! I could only remember a small handful of memorized songs, but I played those with gusto and the little kiddies loved to dance to them! They would ask for certain styles of songs, "Aunt Annie, play a ballet song" (Music Box Dancer). "Aunt Annie, play a FAST song!" (The Spinning song). "Aunt Annie, play a night-time song" (Little Boy Blue). Their favorite, by far, was the Spinning Song. Giulia, my oldest sister's oldest kid, liked it so much that she kept asking to hear it after T and I left: "Mommy, can you play the Spinning Song, please?" "Mommy doesn't know the Spinning Song, darlin'." So I sent Summer a copy of the sheet music the other day :) Hopefully Giulia doesn't put too much pressure on her to learn it superfast. But other than the songs I had memorized, I got to refresh my memory on other songs I'd learned throughout the years and use the original sheet music. One of my favorite songs, Gounod's Ave Maria set to Bach's First Prelude, I learned from my mom's mom's sheet music from the 40s. In fact, my grandmother's name is still written on the front. She was a great singer--could have been a famous radio star if she hadn't married my grandfather :) (And we still have some recordings of hers--it's amazing how much my mom and my sisters sound like her (in different ways and different ranges) when they sing!) I also played around with some Christmas songs I learned long, long ago... It was a great way to spend the afternoons (that is, the afternoons when little children weren't napping at Grandmama's house) in the summertime desert heat. The other great part about playing with little kids around is the way they are fascinated by it! The older kids wanted to show me what they could do (T's siblings do this too), "Look what I've learned, Aunt Annie!" and the younger kids wanted to play with me. But they tell me that they can't sit on my lap--they're not really playing the piano unless they sit on the bench right next to me :) I would thump out a simple base beat and let them just plink away on the high-note keys. One of these days I'd like to record some of those "jam sessions" because they're quite adorable. I think the next thing I need to work on for family piano time is learning songs they kids can sing to. T's family is great about this (they nearly have a string quartet in the family, though). Every Christmas, all the family members in town get together for a night of carols! There's a piano player (usually Mum, but Grandma Peterson plays the 12 Days of Christmas because all her children like to go superfast by the end of the song just to make it difficult for her--but she's never phased), a harpist, three violinists (at least), a cellist (sort of, T), and LOTS of voices (with pretty good harmonies, too)! I've even started practicing more here in Boston, on the pianos in the music department at school. When I get off work early, I head on over and work my way through a song book I got in grade school. Maybe I'll have a greater variety of dancing songs for the kiddies next time we visit CA or WA :)