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Today we had a recital. I worked on several songs but had only one ready. Afterwards, the hostess asked me for the music which means a) I picked a good song ("Cold Missouri Waters," about a guy who's good at his job but gets a little too cocky one day and still regrets it decades later on his deathbed) and b) I didn't destroy it.
More excitingly, Robin made his first appearance with four songs, one of which I tried to sing harmony with and which at least one person in the audience also sang harmony with. He was a bit quiet and a bit nervous, but he did just fine. And it was fun to hear, after the lyric "I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife," an "oops" from the audience.
I also heard another person for the first time--I didn't know she could play the guitar and sing. That was nice. And there was a guy who did some songs in Portuguese, as if this would somehow be easier, but of course it meant we couldn't get distracted by the meaning and just focussed on the music. I always use the strategy of having an interesting meaning to distract people from my actual abilities, so I think this guy was being quite brave. It wasn't a problem though because he sounded really, really good. I did wish I knew Portuguese, too. And then the hostess also did a song in a foreign language, and she also pulled it off.
I think the hosts had the most fun with "All That Jazz" which required a lot of skills and a lot of silliness from both of them. I also really enjoyed the host's rendition of a Chopin Walz.
I was glad Grieve could make it with his family which includes a four-month old baby, and he also prepared songs!
And M&H did several songs, my favorite being "Would You Like To Swing on a Star?," a humorous old tune which they did magnificently, both the singing and the piano playing being appropriately dramatic and silly. It's sad, but I never quite caught the point of that song when I was a kid.
Another guy brought a home-made theramin which he did not yet know how to play but which he let everyone try. See the link above for instructions on how to see someone who does know how to play one. One hand is controlling the volume; the other, the pitch.
We also tried keylime pie ice cream. Good, but strong--I liked mixing it 50/50 with vanilla ice cream. And there were other good foods, good friends to catch up with, awesome weather, nice garden, happy cat, and a timed team Set game.
There was also an incident where I dropped the pen I was borrowing so I could have my hands free for defensive maneuvers during the lollipop song (see link above for relevant detail). It wasn't one of the cheap ballpoint pens I'm used to, but a nice rollerball, which means I got a dark blob of ink on my dress. Robin found me some ink removal laundry fluid, which removed some of the ink. Then I washed it, which removed enough more of the ink that I now feel I can keep wearing the dress. I was trying to think of how to refashion it if necessary, and with a blob in the crotch of it, the best I could think of was to split it into a top and a (shorter) skirt--a lot of work. Then we used the ink thing again and got rid of a little more ink, and now I'm washing it again. It's a good thing we had all these loads of darks lying around. I'm not sure where we're going to dry all these clothes, but we'll figure something out.
More excitingly, Robin made his first appearance with four songs, one of which I tried to sing harmony with and which at least one person in the audience also sang harmony with. He was a bit quiet and a bit nervous, but he did just fine. And it was fun to hear, after the lyric "I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife," an "oops" from the audience.
I also heard another person for the first time--I didn't know she could play the guitar and sing. That was nice. And there was a guy who did some songs in Portuguese, as if this would somehow be easier, but of course it meant we couldn't get distracted by the meaning and just focussed on the music. I always use the strategy of having an interesting meaning to distract people from my actual abilities, so I think this guy was being quite brave. It wasn't a problem though because he sounded really, really good. I did wish I knew Portuguese, too. And then the hostess also did a song in a foreign language, and she also pulled it off.
I think the hosts had the most fun with "All That Jazz" which required a lot of skills and a lot of silliness from both of them. I also really enjoyed the host's rendition of a Chopin Walz.
I was glad Grieve could make it with his family which includes a four-month old baby, and he also prepared songs!
And M&H did several songs, my favorite being "Would You Like To Swing on a Star?," a humorous old tune which they did magnificently, both the singing and the piano playing being appropriately dramatic and silly. It's sad, but I never quite caught the point of that song when I was a kid.
Another guy brought a home-made theramin which he did not yet know how to play but which he let everyone try. See the link above for instructions on how to see someone who does know how to play one. One hand is controlling the volume; the other, the pitch.
We also tried keylime pie ice cream. Good, but strong--I liked mixing it 50/50 with vanilla ice cream. And there were other good foods, good friends to catch up with, awesome weather, nice garden, happy cat, and a timed team Set game.
There was also an incident where I dropped the pen I was borrowing so I could have my hands free for defensive maneuvers during the lollipop song (see link above for relevant detail). It wasn't one of the cheap ballpoint pens I'm used to, but a nice rollerball, which means I got a dark blob of ink on my dress. Robin found me some ink removal laundry fluid, which removed some of the ink. Then I washed it, which removed enough more of the ink that I now feel I can keep wearing the dress. I was trying to think of how to refashion it if necessary, and with a blob in the crotch of it, the best I could think of was to split it into a top and a (shorter) skirt--a lot of work. Then we used the ink thing again and got rid of a little more ink, and now I'm washing it again. It's a good thing we had all these loads of darks lying around. I'm not sure where we're going to dry all these clothes, but we'll figure something out.