The shameless plug

I'm only going to run the big ad once - promise - so listen up:

Tickets are now available for the twelve (12!) performances of Eagan Community Theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof. Call the Box Office at 651.683.6964 between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00 pm weekdays to reserve yours.While the rest of the Twin Cities was enjoying a glorious summer day today, we had our first tech/dress rehearsal. For a first run-thru, it went very smoothly. I wish I could watch "Tevye's Dream" from the house - amazing costumes!

If you're able to come (and I hope you can), let me know which performance you'll be at so I can say hi. Thanks for listening.

The b!tch is back

Greetings, fellow travelers! Three weeks have passed, and much has transpired. Here are the Cliff Notes to get you back up to speed:

• Had an audition and two callbacks at the beginning of the month, and was cast as Golde in Eagan Community Theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof. Last played this role [coughtwentysevenyearsagocough] at Winnequah Middle School. We have been rehearsing e v e r y night - but they didn't schedule me tonight. WOOT! Come see it. We have a lovely air-conditioned auditorium...
• St. Paul's Choir threw one heckuva spring gala, complete with a brand new (for us) grand piano and a huge Abba singalong; the songs from which are slowly leaving my brain.
• The school year ended, another batch of 18-year-olds was released onto an unsuspecting world, and the parade of graduation open houses began.
• Animal world update: mollies, mollies, mollies. Oh, and baby snails at J's place. Heh heh heh. AND Mom and Dad adopted the little orphaned kitten they found under their front step one morning. Dad tried to name him Emil (pronounced EE-mull. I know - he was vetoed). Their "mature" cat, Lily, is tolerating him mildly.
• IT"S BEEN HOT AS HADES AND HUMID AS... HADES.
• My summer voice studio is up and running. There is a part of my Taurean nature that loves a structured schedule.
  
• Knitting a little pink sweater during rehearsals and shifts at El Yarnery. It's the twin sister to the little blue sweater previously posted. Photos to come.

So that brings us to my rehearsal-free evening. And how did I spend it? Combing area thrift stores for "black or brown ankle boots with little to no heel". Gar.

Going40 in iRecital

Tonight was the final event of Scott's undergraduate degree pursuit: his senior recital. An enthusiastic and sizable audience gathered at Sundin Recital Hall for an evening of piano music. Half of the audience was utilizing their iPhones before the recital started. I had to laugh, thinking back to how un-tech my recital experience at Luther compared, lo se-e-everal years ago. Bloggers to my left, bloggers in front of me, bloggers to my right - a person couldn't spit without hitting one (classy, I know). Here you see Sous-Blogger Deb working hard to keep her title. A more devoted friend would be hard for Scooter to find. Truly. (BTW, I enjoy taking random aerial photos even more than one-arm self portraiture - I was sitting next to Deb.)Scott played a wonderful program of Bach, Mendelssohn, Chopin and Ravel, featuring a world premiere by David Evan Thomas. Even though I am in NO WAY pianistically inclined, it was clear this was an exceptional performance. I marvelled at the voicing and power in the Mendelssohn. (Kidlet, I promise to make you take piano lessons. Early and often.)

Below, a herd of Scott's fans from St. Paul's; proud partner Eric, right, covered the receiving line.

We are all crazy proud of you, Scott - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

An Easter Week miracle?

Apparently there has been a tear in the cosmic time/space continuum because Miranda and Colleen are appearing in the same YouTube clip (along with some major powers-that-be, listed below).

Richard Jay-Alexander (director), Donna McKechnie (choreographer), Kevin Stites (musical director), Steve Linder (producer) Brian Grohl (producer), Ben Toth (assistant MD), James Kinney (associate choreographer), Michael Donovan (casting director), and "Miranda Sings" (Colleen Ballinger)

Rock the resurrection

Get your God groove on here:

Pitch, 10; Rhythm, 3

Ooh, it's the morning of the district Solo/Ensemble Contest!!!

Did anyone else go through this rite of musical passage? I'm sure most of my students woke up with butterflies in their teenage tummies in anticipation. All that preparation (or last-minute memorization) for a 10-minute slice of your life to be dissected and evaluated and r a t e d.

And on top of that, seven lucky events get to have me as their accompanist. Mwah hah hah...

Saint Cecilia, pray for us.

UPDATE: No one died. Several cried (not mine), mainly because of one very questionable judge. My piano skills did not inflict pain or suffering.

The OMG update where Meema eats crow

Friends, we are in the presence of greatness: meet the very real, verrrrry talented Colleen Ballinger.

All I have to say is TGIF - Thank God It's Faked!
(Here's her YouTube channel.)

Oh. My. God.

Hello from somewhere beneath my taxes...

I know, I know - it's another YouTube post, but I need the readership's help with this one.

Is this woman really serious, or is this an attempt at comedy? Please cast your vote in the sidebar poll, and a few evaluative statements in the comments.

The ghosts of New Years past

Voices à la 1980 that speak relevantly today...

Happy 2009 to one and all!

The fourth day of Christmas

I love these guys.

Hitting the fan

So here we are. Christmas Eve.

You may ask, "Meema, are you done knitting?"

Depending on my mood at the moment of asking, the response could be any number of things:

a) hearty laugh
b) "Hrumph!" (or something)
c) "Yeah, right."
or d) the Evil Eye of Doom

There are things completed, things on needles, and things which must be started YESTERDAY. I'm storing up pictures to post after the gifting.

Oh, yes, another holiday mix-in: my mom has been in the hospital since Sunday, and could be spending Christmas (and then some) there as well. Send healing thoughts Rita's way, would you?

Back to bloggerizing. I stumbled on these sites last year, and have been waiting to share until this holiest of days. Enjoy!

p.s. At 9:00 this morning, I'll be listening to the live broadcast

of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge (England) on National Public Radio. It's an very traditional Anglican service, steeped in beautiful music. There's no better way to eat your breakfast on Christmas Eve morn...

Preparation, pageantry, and L&C on ice

TGIM. Strange, isn't it? It was a wonderful but crazy weekend, and I'm actually relieved to be back in the weekday routine.

Saturday started with a rehearsal for Lessons & Carols, which morphed into a long lunch with the AnderClan. Boy howdy, but the girls were squirrely! Oh well. It's amazing to watch B and Kidlet together - two peas in a pod. After lunch, Kidlet and I baked four dozen cookies, then made homemade pizza for dinner... bath, bedtime stories and songs, and one tired Meema.

Sunday morning was the children's Christmas pageant at St. Paul's 10:00 service. B and Kidlet were both cast as Mary. That's right - our Jesus had two mommies this year. Woo hoo! B struggles a bit with stage fright, but lasted much longer than previous years; Kidlet presented the baby at the end of the story while B looked on from the safety of Caytie and Mark's laps.

I've spoken many times on the love I have for my church choir. A feistier bunch of singers there isn't. Hearty, too, as yesterday would prove; Minneapolis was treated to a delightful winter rain which promptly froze as the temperatures dipped in the afternoon, just in time for our service.

Our annual Service of Nine Lessons and Carols was not as well attended as hoped, but those who braved the elements were enthusiastic and received a heckuva musical experience, IMHO. The choir sang so. freakin'. well. We performed Benjamin Britten's "Hymn to the Virgin", for which the four section leaders sang antiphonally from across the nave. I was blown away with how solid and sensitively the choir sang (YAY ALTOS!!!). Several other transcendent moments took my breath away.

The wonderful thing about singing in an Episcopal church is that we know how to put on a spread. Note the lovely traditional English Tea reception:

Following the festive gathering in the undercroft, Richard and Brian annually host a gathering even more festive in their Arts & Crafts bungalow. How festive, you may ask? Feast your peepers...

B and Kidlet learned the magic behind the Christmas decorations.
Maestro Scott finally gets a chance to kick back and relax.

Our genteel hosts, Richard and Brian, a.k.a. Mr. and Mr. Christmas.

And now we return you to your holiday knitting, already in progress...

Busy, busy, busy

2.5 hours of rehearsal for Lessons and Carols service? Check.

Four dozen Christmas cookies baked? Check.

Kidlet fed, bathed, and bedded? Check. (Sometimes it feels like a major event.)

Panic-driven Meema knitting down her gift list while George Bailey sticks it to Old Man Potter? Checkity check check check.

Please join us for A Festival of Lessons and Carols at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, tomorrow afternoon at 4:00.

One day more

Set your alarms, people - the dawn of a new day approaches.

The perfect fifth

Maybe it's because I'm a geek (this time, musical). Maybe it's because I'm a church musician and it's Sunday. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to share this video with y'all. I hope you find it funny, too; if not, well, more's the pity.

Hey, Sarah Palin

This rewrite of "Hey There, Delilah" cracks me up. I find myself singing snippets at random times (this, and "Pardon Me").

18 days and counting - enjoy!

The Mason-Dixon extravaganza

Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner have come and gone, entertaining hundreds of knitters in Saint Paul in the process. Dang, but they're funny.Meema confession: I left my camera's SD card at home. Wha? I know - dumbdumbdumb. My mom and dad were in attendance (in their South Park shirts, no less!), so these pics are courtesy of Dad's camera.

A willing audience member models the Mystery Sweater. It's a bit hard to see, but the torso has a sizable MLK quote chain stitched all around. Can also be knit without text. Wonderful design.

After about an hour of their "blog post" presentation, they began the process of - what else? - signing.

And signing.

And signing some more (see the pile on the table corner?). That's Ann at left, Kay on the right, and a bevy of Yarnery ladies.

Jess, Eric, Scott and I reprised our roles as the Yarnery Family Singers to honor (in order) knitting commerce, knitting communities, and knitting authors. Hope you likey.

Song #1 - Welcome to Our LYS

Songs #2 (On Ravelry) and #3 (Mason-Dixon!)

UPDATE: The lyrics are now posted on The Yarnery Blog. Feel free to check them out, but please ask first if you want to repost them. Thanks!

Ode to Joie

I get very nostalgic over The Muppet Show; don't ask how many times my hand has been on the phone (never dialed) when "The Best Of" infomercial comes on the tube. At any rate, this video was brought to my attention by RM, our sole female member of St. Paul's Parish Choir's tenor section.

Love the Beaker in your life!

Where do wool blankets come from?

I [heart] the Street!

4' 33"

If you've had a busy week, play this video and just breathe (or knit).

They aren't kidding; this is real music. Read here if you'd like some background.

Knit like no one is checking your gauge!