Hello Everyone,
I'm very sorry that it has been so long since I posted. Of course, there was a lot going on leading up to the holidays. Where to start?
We were certainly in the holiday spirit in the house. My roommates and I took full advantage of the local holiday craft fairs and were even inspired to make a few of our own crafts. Our living room had a carpet of fabric and paper clippings for the three weeks leading up to Christmas.
One weekend, Rebecca and Kelly and I went to see a community production of the Nutcracker. One of Rebecca's co-workers was playing Herr Drosselmeyer. When I was growing up in Maryland, my mom, sister and I went to see the Nutcracker every year in Ellicott City so I got to recall some fond memories as well as make new ones.
We also celebrated our first house birthday- Rebecca's. We began the evening by going to a wonderful vegetarian/vegan restaurant and then went to, what we were told, was an 80's dance party. It was really a bar that had a dance floor and played 80's music. We might have been the only one's dancing... whatever, we had fun.
Sarah's House was a very busy place at holiday time. On Saturday Dec. 11 we had an open house that gave donors the opportunity to bring by christmas gifts for the guests and learn more about Sarah's House. We served food, gave tours and Santa even came!
The next Saturday was Shop Day. This is the day that we set up all of the donated gifts by category and guests walk around with their caseworker to pick out gifts for their children. Meanwhile, the kids go to daycare and pick out gifts for their parents. It is a very special day for everyone. Aaron came to volunteer which was really great because he got to see where I work and meet my supervisor.
From Sarah's House, Aaron and I (with my bags already packed) headed off to VA. That night, we went into DC to see his teacher play in the Navy Band Christmas Concert, which was wonderful. It was a beautifully programed evening that touched on all aspects of the holiday season- most especially the need for peace in our world. They ended the night with a woman singing "My Grown Up Christmas List" and finishing with everyone joining in on "Let There be Peace on Earth".
To continue with our weekend of concerts, Aaron then took me to see the Vienna Boys Choir at George Mason as part of my Christmas gift! Also, wonderful. We had front row seats! The boys were adorable and wonderfully talented. From there, we hopped in the car again and drove seven hours through the night to arrive at his Grandparent's house near Boston at 3:00am. We slept for five hours, visited for a bit and then drove the rest of the way to my house where Aaron dropped me off and then returned to Maine to be with his family.
I got to have a whole two weeks of vacation. (Thank you Joyce) I spent lots of time with my parents and saw all my best friends my friends from UNH. My dad and I sang at Christmas Eve Mass, then on Christmas day, we all opened presents in the morning and the Morneau family joined us for dinner while Cara and Chris spent time with Chris' family. For New Years, Aaron and I hosted a party at my house with some of our UNH friends. That Sunday, Aaron and I picked up Faith in Boston and drove the seven and a half hours back down to Baltimore. It was a wonderful relaxing break filled with family and friends and I came back feeling refreshed and energized.
I am now officially a member of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. (They are like the Tanglewood chorus of Boston.) After talking to the director at a chance meeting in the fall, I auditioned on Monday night and was accepted. Right now, we are preparing to be the chorus for a professional production of The Magic Flute that is coming to Baltimore in February. It felt really good to be singing in a structured environment again. The director is great, he knows how to get a great sound while still having fun with the group and the singers are all wonderful. I feel like I can have fun while still learning and moving forward as a musician.
And speaking of musicians... Aaron played in a master class at the Navy Band Saxophone Symposium hosted at GMU this weekend. (A master class is a time that a student will play for an accomplished teacher/performer and then the teacher/performer will give critique so that the student gets a new perspective and the audience can observe the differences, so everyone learns.) Simply amazing! Aaron sounded better than ever. To add to the excitement, Aaron played a piece that was commissioned for the performer giving the master class AND the composer was there! Both the performer and the composer came all the way from Sidney, Australia! Both were very complimentary of Aaron's performance and Aaron got to hear insight about the piece straight from the composer's mouth.
So I think that's all the big stuff. Sorry there are no pictures this time. I need to be better about taking them. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are having a very Happy New Year! I'll write again soon.
Love,
Caitlin
