(not necessarily in that order)
Every now and then preparing Sunday service music requires non-musical skills learned in grade school, involving colored pens.
Why? Because not only does tomorrow’s song require a goodly number of singers, but we have to be in a specific formation. And that means we can’t move people around to achieve a nice distribution of colors.
Welcome to my world! 😅
Feels like a fitting end for a long, full couple of weeks.
Happy weekend! 😄
A bench painted with compassion, love & trust, spirituality, awareness, growth, health, creativity, and courage.
Mandala bedspreads in our Airbnb.
An embroidered velvet guitar case in a funky cute shop.
Seems to me they’re definitely keeping Guerneville nice and groovy. 🌈☮️
It had been over twenty years since I saw Richard and Jim, so what a thrill it was to find that the love and joy we’ve always felt in one another’s company hadn’t diminished one iota over the years!
They live near Guerneville and this time Ramesha and I managed to schedule a visit while we’re here.
We go way back to my freelance flutist days in San Francisco — Jim played piccolo with the SF Opera and Richard was the driving force behind The Flute Exchange, a flute quintet with which we performed and recorded through much of the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s.
Gosh, we had a lot of fun and we made some glorious music.
Today’s blog post is pretty much a photo dump of today’s activities.
Things started rather inauspiciously when a tree fell and the power went out for several hours. We were already planning to go to the coast, but it turned out that we couldn’t get a decent coffee except by driving to the coast.
We once again totally enjoyed Cafe Aquatica, as well as the incredible views of the coast.
In the afternoon we once again visited Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, enjoying it just as much as last year, but walking even farther (by accident; we got turned around).
We’re taking a few days off in Guerneville and I’m feeling super grateful for the beautiful Airbnb we found — an entire cottage, quiet and cozy.
So, as I sat at my computer wondering what to write about, I happened to glance up and there it was: today’s blog!
LIFE IS GOOD.
‘Nuff said.
…without leaving Ananda Village!
A group of us gathered to sing Swamiji’s Italian songs, eat bruschetta and other Italian-themed goodies, and listen to stories about time spent in Italia–at Ananda Assisi itself or as part of small or large singing groups over the years.
Ten or so of us shared our living-in-Italy experiences and it made me rather nostalgic.
The opening of La La Land is, of course, a thrilling dance scene which I’ve watched over and over because it’s incredible on so many levels.
But what is really intriguing me is the way it has inspired so many people to recreate it — either literally or with revised lyrics.
There’s something so joyful and uplifting in the music itself, amplified by the exuberant movement, and it’s clear that people are having so much FUN with it!
And that why I say I’m a little obsessed, because I’ve watched maybe thirty different versions of “Another Day of Sun” throughout this afternoon and evening.
There are versions by dance companies; versions in high schools, college dorms, and summer camps; versions by medical students and students from MIT; a virtual choir/orchestra version; versions from all over the US, as well as Japan, Korea, India, France, Chile, China, South Africa, and Scandinavia.
I even found versions where it was a wedding couple’s First Dance, with friends and family who obviously learned the choreography beforehand so they could join in.
It’s so heartening to me, seeing such a wide variety of people of all ages who put serious time and energy into these projects, having the time of their life dancing and singing together.
Here are a select few for you to enjoy!
With Ramesha out of town, I had movie night with some friends. One of them is a dancer/choreographer who hadn’t seen La La Land yet.
There are many wonderful things about the movie but it’s late so I’ll only focus on one: the opening scene on the freeway!
I love, love, LOVE that scene, as well as the song itself — “Another Day of Sun”. It leaves me happier every time I watch it.
But I love even more this video of the choreographer explaining how they did it! Absolutely amazing behind-the-scenes stuff.
Ramesha often wakes up in the wee hours of the night and can’t go back to sleep, so he gets up and does his morning meditation practices — at 2:30 or 3:30 am — then goes back to bed.
Well, last night was my turn to have trouble sleeping, finally getting up at 3:30 am. I read my book for a while; drank some chamomile tea; and meditated.
But instead of going back to bed I figured it was a rare opportunity to shift myself to more of an “early to bed and early to rise” routine.
I was pretty pooped all day, but I’m hoping it will prove to be worth it.