St. Nicolas

So my performance went pretty well. I have another this Sunday. The upcoming one is in a smallish church. It should be nice and cozy. The last one was in a large concert hall. Seated 700, though only 150 or so attended. Still, there is one section in the cantata where I sing unaccompanied for about 2 minutes. That was a new experience for me. Just me standing in front of a choir and string ensemble filling a room with my voice. Luckily it is one of my favorite parts and not too hard to sing. St. Nicolas was quite a saint if the stories are to be believed. Santa Claus doesn't do him justice.

Back to the old blog.

I will try to post here more often for those of you who read this blog. I have been busy in China adopting my daughter. We are back home now and happy to be adjusting to EST. I have a performance coming up this weekend of Britten's cantata St. Nicolas. This is not an easy piece and I was afraid I was coming down with a cold. Happily, my health seems to have returned. I can thank my wife for letting me get some sleep while baby was up all night. I'm, also, preparing a Bach cantata for an upcoming church service. it is nice to go to a church that recognises the worship factor in Bach's music. It's not just art. So I am happy to have a lot of singing to do. But it is hard to find the focus needed with the new baby. Luckily, she loves my singing. i can put her in her high chair and she just listens to me sing scales. Sometimes she sings along.

Still in China

And thus not blogging here much.

Chinese blog

I am having a little trouble blogging on this site from China. The website comes up in Chinese. Go figure. I can type in English thanks to the Victory hotel but all the command buttons are in Chinese. I suppose I should have paid more attention to where they were located. China is treating us well. Although our restaurant choice last night has left us both very hungry for breakfast.

Former posts

I am not sure why the posts below are not playing. I was hoping to use them while I am in China. Oh well, I guess I will just have to consult my dictionary.

Baby Talk

	菜鸟79 Baby Talk #2
	Visit ChinesePod.com

comfort

	菜鸟71 Adoption – Comforting Words
	Visit ChinesePod.com

Praise

	菜鸟85 Baby Talk #3-Praise
	Visit ChinesePod.com

introducing

	初级67 Introducing One’s Children
	Visit ChinesePod.com

Adoption

	中级62 Adoption
	Visit ChinesePod.com

Simple song

	菜鸟115 Baby Talk - Friends Song
	Visit ChinesePod.com

Please don't smoke.

	菜鸟153 Can I smoke here?
	Visit ChinesePod.com

New house

Well, our renovation is about to start and we have to move out of our present house for a short period. Starla does not want any distractions while we are nesting and bonding with Calliope. Thus we have rented a house nearby. It is only a few minutes away. Built in the 20s but up to date kitchen and clean throughout. We will be moving in over the next several days.

stones in the ground

I put in a new security system for my yard on Marlborough. I don't so much mind that people park there when they visit the lake as I'm tired of them messing up the grass. I'll let you know if anyone parks there now.

Hard day's night for Ruby

After all day playing at Sparky's Ruby is worn out.

soup pot

I finally decided on a soup pot. For those of you who know, this was a big decision. I will, perhaps, have to live with this one for the rest of my cooking life. Yes, that is an acorn on the lid. It evokes the fall (the season and not the Garden of Eden escapade). You are, also, seeing the inaugural vegetable soup.

New addition to the family

Starla and I finally broke down and bought a new TV. It is 40", LCD and Flat panel. We are enjoying it greatly. We are in negotiations on paying for Hi-Def.

Sleepy dog.

Ruby had great fun at playcare today. She was beat when she got home though. I'm not sure why she dragged Tugsy into bed with her.

Presto. New bathroom.

Here it is. Multi-colored slate. Green walls. Toto toilet. Copper vessel sink and faucet. Antiqued vanity. Those tiles are still pretty pink, though. Thanks for the help Mom.

Church flowers

This morning Starla and I had the pleasure of providing the flowers for Sunday worship. We provided them in honor of Calliope.

Bathroom floor #2

This one might be original, too. Except for the fish I imagine. Soon it will be slate. It's getting a new toilet like upstairs. The sink will be a copper vessel. The faucet is copper, as well. Starla and I must pick a paint color and a vanity to mount the sink on.

Happy Family

Thanks mom. What a pretty little set of sock monkeys. I think Calliope will love them.

general of the opera

I played a crazy general in the ALO production of Merry Widow. It was fun. I didn't do much singing, though. Mostly dialogue.

Mom's blog

News from the Bell is up and running. Check out the link to the right. Look for lots of animal pictures in the future.

MIA

Well, I've been missing in action. Asheville Lyric Opera's production of Merry Widow has been in rehearsal all last week gearing up for 3 performances this weekend. Beaver Lake has iced over a couple of times. Not enough to skate on, though. It looks beautiful especially when the snow falls on it. The last two weeks have found me feeling very blessed to live next to a lake. Our views are so pretty and we are still so close to town. It is kind of like living in Central Park. Except you have fewer mounted police officers. And the parking rules are easier to understand. Coming soon.....another bathroom gets demolished and redone. Look for the pictures.

A little girl's bed.

Here is the finalised nursery. The crib turns into a twin bed when the time comes. Please notice all the UGLY dolls in the storage unit. Could you sleep with all those eyes on you? I hope she can. (Hint - Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Ruby's new bed.

Starla found this for $10. We got three for Ruby's various sleeping locations. Sometimes she even uses them for sleeping.

At last another place for Starla to lounge.

In case you thought we were running short of surfaces for Starla to be recumbent. Here is a picture to allay your fears. Our new sofa came yesterday. Now, of course, we need all new pillows.

Bathroom done.

The sink and toilet are in. Everything is pretty much done. I have one small leak to address but that should be doable. Plumbing is my least favorite thing to do. Scratch that. Paying for some one else to do my plumbing is my least favorite thing.

My fingernail.

Happily, I did not hit my fingernail with a hammer. Rather the thing I hit with a hammer hit my fingernail. I think that is slightly less embarrassing. So, I've had a pool of blood under my nail for the past month or so. Recently, it has grown out enough to start flaking away. The top nail flakes away leaving the dried up blood and new nail underneath it. Pretty gross.

Puzzle time.

January has been puzzle month for me for the past two years. I received a puzzle for Christmas each year. Last year was Klimt's "The Kiss". It was pretty hard. But this year was Van Gogh's "Starry NIght". It wouldn't have been any harder than Klimt except it was a photomosaic puzzle. That made it quiet challenging. I quite enjoyed it. Keep the puzzles coming.

Slate floor

As promised, a slate floor. It is still a bit dusty from the grout. I will clean it and seal it this evening and then it will be ready for a sink and a toilet. (By the way, try homeclick.com if you are looking for bathroom fixtures. We saved $100 on a Toto toilet.) I did not put in the heated floor. Maybe next time.

Upstairs bathroom.

Here is the floor underneath the vinyl that was up there. Neat, huh? I wonder if it was original. I am putting in black slate. I think I have decided against the heated floor. I just don't want to do the extra work. I've got too many other litttle chores to complete. Besides, Starla is planning on redoing the bathroom in a few years anyway.

Sick Puppy

Ruby came home a bit sick from doggie daycare yesterday. To illustrate the point she spit up in our bed this morning. She slept all night in her bed at the side of our bed. At 7:40 she decided she wanted to jump up and be closer to us. Then she promptly got sick right next to me. It's funny how you can ignore an alarm clock but a dog barfing right next to you really makes you get out of bed fast.