Cold and blustery day....

It's 37 degrees here at 3:00, and very cloudy and blustery outside. I've been inside all day, just doing odds and ends around the house. I even made some pumpkin bread.




I will be getting out later this afternoon to take one of our international students from Jamaica to the mall, so I'll have to be sure and dress warmly. (I know she's not used to this weather!!)



The leaves are starting to fall from the trees, as you can see in the pictures below. Of course, it doesn't help if your tree is already DEAD to begin with, so it didn't take much for those leaves to fall off.

I am embarking on an adventure this Christmas season; I have joined a choir of 'shepherds and shepherdesses' to perform in the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors".



A local organization is doing the program in December, and I thought it would be 'fun' to do something different this year. And boy is this different!! I really didn't know this was an opera until I read up on it, and it will be a challenge to learn and sing, but I think it will be worth it. (yes, it's in English!) I have done things before with this same organization, including a trip to Poland & Austria in 2001.

The rehearsals will keep me pretty busy but I'm ready for it. The choir only participates and sings in a small part of the opera so I won't have a lot to memorize, but one song in particular talks about the different kinds of food the shepherds/shepherdesses are bringing to Amahl and his family. (you can Google the opera and read the storyline if you'd like) In this song, we sing about "olives and quinces, apples and raisins; nutmeg and myrtle, medlars and chestnuts." But that's not all! We also bring "citrons and lemons, musk and pomegranates; goat-cheese and walnuts, figs and cucumbers."

They bring even more, but I won't go any further. Guess I'll have to do a search for "quinces, myrtle, medlars, and musk" to see just what those are!!

Our son Christopher is getting in quite a few hours at his new job at Best Buy, but it will be another week or so before he gets his first paycheck. It's always hard to have to work for a couple of weeks before you see your 'reward'. And he is still plugging along with his classes, so he's a busy boy!!

Santa arrives today at the mall, and tomorrow at our local Bass Pro Shops. It's amazing how he can be at so many places at one time!! =)

(I will try and snap a picture of the one at the mall when I am there today.)

Have a great weekend everybody! Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow!!