Some Nice Things (Musical and Otherwise)

I am going to be singing "Nun Wandre Maria" in the 9 am and the 11 am services on December 8, and "Cant deis Aucells" either on January 5 or the 12th.

The Spanish song coach is having three get up and sing get-togethers in December.  I emailed her back and said I was available for two of them.  The problem is if there are not enough people she will cancel, so it remains to be seen whether they will actually take place.  If they do, I will sing both of the church pieces at the first one, and "Cant deis Aucells" and possibly the "Chanson Boheme" from Carmen at the second.  There is no point in singing the Sequidilla.  If I need help getting more secure with the B it is better to confine singing it to my lessons with my teacher (and my practice time at home).

The tenor from my Requiem wrote me a nice note saying he was not available to sing in the Carmen concert but that he might try to come.  He is very nice, in addition to being a magnificent singer.  So I wrote to the other tenor from the Met chorus, the one who was initially scheduled to be in the Requiem.  If I don't hear back from him by Monday I will write again.

The Youtube Habanera now has 8 likes and 4 dislikes.  Someone took down one of the dislikes (although did not change it to a like).  The person who took it down must have been the initial "disliker" because I assume you can't change a vote on Youtube unless it's your own.  My friend figured out how to use the like and dislike buttons and she told me she loved it.

As for nonmusical nice things, Thanksgiving is my and my partner's 37th anniversary, give or take some time apart.  We are going to eat out tomorrow although I also made a dish of sweet potatoes and apples that we have every year.  She made it for me (and the other guests) that first Thanksgiving and taught me how to make it (and how to cook, full stop).  We also got an invitation for Christmas Day to someone's house.  Since my mother died we have not been to anyone's house on Christmas Day, only to a restaurant.  I told the hostess that we could not afford to buy presents for anyone and that in fact we had not bought presents for anyone (including each other) since I left my last full time job.  This is perfectly ok with me.  (And she said it was fine with her because she never knew what to get people.) Unless you have children, I think this is a wasteful way to spend money, especially if people buy expensive "surprises" for people that the recipients don't like and don't want, which happens more often than not, hence all the tacky jokes.