November, 2021

November has been a bit of a whirlwind. For me, it's worth to get the vaccinations, booster, flu and tetanus shots. I feel more confident. Sadly though, after 20+years, my doctor is retiring, he's even younger than I am. I know it's been a very hard couple of years for medics. Here is a photo I'm going to give to him as a remind of how well he has taken care of me so I could be with the grandchildren from birth to 17,18  and 13 year-olds.      

My musical life is certainly becoming happier these days. Lots more music opportunities coming up. St. Matthews, the lovely, very English Episcopalian church, was established in Hillsborough, NC in 1752, in the county of Orange. Following the Episcopalian love of music in services, I have been asked to book several services for the upcoming season. One, last week a memorial service for a lady who had been baptized in the the church 80 years ago! We were a string quartet, playing the prelude and during the service. The family chose a program of music that their mother loved, so it was a very moving tribute to her. 

We are looking forward to playing Christmas music at different services - Solos by a singer and a violinist on December 12,  the second Advent Sunday, and the string quartet for the Christmas Eve services. Also, I was pleased to be asked by another organist of a Chapel Hill church, with whom I had worked a few years ago, to play with the organ accompanying and with the choir. 

Unfortunately, although we were very glad to be back playing in the Chapel Hill Philharmonia, our December concert is cancelled due to the fact of not having enough time to rehearse the whole orchestra. However, on the December rehearsal, we will be having an open evening, inviting family and friends to hear how far we have gone with Dvorak's 5th symphony, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings and Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. It is so fulfilling to be playing again with friends.  

At home, I have been taking the cats out in the afternoon to have some fun (in spite of the fact that they spend outside most of the day and sometime evenings). They get so excited and go tearing down a path into the woods. Here is Tiger getting his climbing practice in. Ollie is hard to photo, she can out run Tiger!

               It took him some time to figure how to get down, but he did manage it. No firemen this time!

                 

November 22. The birthday of my beloved John. He would have been 90. 

So very much missed, as is Betty, his beloved wife. 

South African Jacaranda.

November 25, America's Thanksgiving Day. This year, I didn't feel comfortable travelling to New Hampshire to be with the Salemson clan. It was a sad decision, but the thought of going to overcrowded airports and planes was too much for me. Weather-wise too, was a huge change from 50+ degrees to 14 degrees, for just a few days. However, we all got together on FaceTime and had a good catch up from everyone. The happy side for that day at home, was the visit of my great-niece. Michelle and her husband live only an hour or so from Chapel Hill, so when her husband who is in the military was deployed to New Jersey and not able to come down for Thanksgiving, Michelle came up to me. It was very special to visit have her as I don't see Wolfe family that often. They are in Milwaukee, Arkansas, Oregon, and especially Michelle's mum and dad who are in Hong Kong. Michelle had made a delicious Corn Scallop dish. I would have been quite happy with just that dish, but she opted to have our Thanksgiving dinner provided by Whole Foods, so all we had to do was to warm up the food and put it on the fancy china! It was supposed to feed 4 adults, but there were at least 6 portions or 8 with kids, so we divided it up for leftovers. I am still eating the remains of my part, as is Michelle, I'm sure! We spent the afternoon going through family albums,  Pictures, some nearly 100 years old of her great-grandmother, my mother May, Macgregor (wedding in Capetown July 1927) and the children, Elizabeth and John from babyhood. It was devastating when John died in 2007. Fortuitously, Michelle happened to be in South Africa on a course  so she was able to be with her grandmother and other family members for the funeral. My kind daughter-in-law Jennifer made it possible for me to go out to South Africa to be with the family for the funeral. I have so much to be thankful for. 

The day after Thanksgiving was relaxed for me. Michelle, with her very busy schedule as an ultrasound tech, had no time to relax until the weekend. The demand for techs is huge at this time, and she is often going out of her office into hospitals where she is sorely needed. 

From my patio. 

On the last Saturday of November, I joined my walking group to the Seven Mile Trail not far from Hillsborough. It was part of the Moorefield estate. The house was built in 1785 as a summer home for the family of US Supreme Court Justice. A two-story, Federal-style with a Chinese Chippendale staircase, furnishings and portraits, formal gardens, walks, the family cemetery and planned vistas. The house and gardens are open on the last Sunday of the month during the spring and summer and the Seven Mile Trail  is open year-round. Our walk was only partially on the Trail beyond the pastures. but hiked around some of the 70 acres of woodland that goes down to the Eno River. A beautiful day, and  looking forward to a lunch in Hillsborough. Life is not perfect though.  When I went to leave, I found my power steering had clamped up, so I couldn't move the car. Fortunately a friend in the group had been waiting for people to leave for lunch, so I was able to go with her to Hillsborough. We stopped at one Ford dealer, but they don't have technicians on weekends. At the restaurant, I called AAA, and arranged to meet at the Trail parking lot. There was enough time for us to have a good lunch, then another friend who lives near me, drove me to see the car being put on the truck. It is now in the Service department of the Ford dealership between Chapel Hill and Durham. Surprisingly, I had the service check up only a couple of weeks ago. I hope to hear something soon!

                                        Thar she be! I do love driving this car, but this was a surprise. 

On a good ending - my annual eye check up. No need for cataract surgery on the right side. It's slightly blurry, but in fact, the eye has better long sight than before. I don't have to wear my glasses when reading, using the computer or going around the house. Unfortunately, I often cannot find my glasses!

These medals are so far for our team of walkers, Dan, Maggie, Jennifer and me. The longest was the walk from Lands End to John O'Groats of 1,084 miles. It took us a few months, but we made it. It's a great inspiration to get exercise, although in the North, it can be too cold to walk, and in the South, summer is unbearable, unless you walk at night or very early in the morning! In spite of that, I'm enjoying it very much.

I hope you all have good endings, and look forward to December and a New Year. 

love

Jane