December, 2022
December came along fast, starting with enjoyable playing a morning of string quartets!
Dec. 3rd - Our walking group chose to walk indoors as raining was coming down quite ferociously. Instead we went in to the Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill's oldest hotel. Every December, elaborate decorations are festively adorned all over the inn, in the lobby and in the many festivities in the ballrooms. For children - meet Santa Claus and Brunch with Santa. We followed around the arrangements of the 12 Days of Christmas where each set up. Here are a couple.
Although it was still raining, I had an urge to go up to Hillsborough to look at cars and the excitement of buying a new car! More and more I was anxious about the steering of my Ford Escape, especially when driving alone out in the boondocks to meet our group trail walks. While Dan was in NC staying with me during my cataract surgery recovery, he had taken my old car to the local auto repair shop for service, and found it would be to an expensive repair. Time to think about getting another car. This Saturday, it took me 15 minutes to look at two cars and decided on one in 5 minutes. I had a very good salesperson who did not push me to any car I didn't want. I basically wanted the same Escape car I had, but the new version was too technically for me to figure out. Instead in the showroom, there was a Ford ECOSport, and immediately know that was the one. All the paperwork was done, my old car was traded for $3000, and I drove home in my new one!
Dec. 6th. My first Coventry Board of Directors meeting, when I was made a director. There are 5 directors, I am on the bottom step. It was just to welcome everyone and no business was brought up. Our next meeting is on January 6th, so that will be the start for me.
Dec. 7th. Every year, Trinity School where I teach strings, and where my grandson is in his Junior (11th) grade, invite grandparents (I count too!) for Christmas lunch. This year it was in the Duke Washington Inn in Durham, and the meal was delicious. It's a very enjoyable time to visit with other grandparents and teachers, especially this year for 90 year-old Nancy Brook, violin teacher and trustee who, with another violin teacher (a very good friend of mine, now in her 80s, and in Pennsylvania) started Trinity School 25 years ago. The school has grown from a small number in a church fellowship hall, to over 500 students on a large campus. Nowadays, during the school year, grandparents collect daffodillies' in the spring, all around the school, putting them in vases to take to patients recuperating from surgery, or recover illness. In a day of heat in spring, Italian ices are given out to the students by the grandparents.
Dec. 9th. Talking about music, three families of those who live in Coventry, had planned Holiday Open Houses with beautiful decorations and it occurred to me that there was not much live music in the community here, so making a fourth, I asked a few of my cello students, and a neighbor who plays violin, to come to my house to play Christmas carols. I have a loft upstairs, which is perfect for having musicians playing there, with visitors singing along and enjoy the nibbles and apple cider in the living room. It was well appreciated, so perhaps we will do it again next year.
Dec. 11th. Continuing with music, our first evening concert for 2 years for the Chapel Hill Philharmonia. The program was Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel's "Overture in C Major", Fanny was the older sister of Felix Mendelssohn and composed from an early age, but being a woman, was blocked, and only a few songs were published under Felix's name. Next was "Conga del Fuego" by Arturo Márquez. It's fun to play with the infectious beat of conga rhythm. Marquez attended the Mexico Music Conservatory, writing mostly in the traditions of of his native country, especially its dance forms. The biggie - Sibelius Symphony No.1 in E minor, op 39. Lots of work to put together, but gradually we came to understand the big statements from small earlier ones. Sibelius admired the yearning melodies reminiscent of Tchaikovsky. The symphony opens with a solo clarinet, gorgeous sound. In the second movement, the cellos got in with the violins and clarinet, a beautiful passage. The finale, again with the clarinet melody, then with the whole string section. An acceleration introduction to the Allegro molto section, built on a folk dance tune. The Allegro returns with fugato passages leading to a long crescendo, the reprise of the second theme. Soon softly by the clarinet, then with the strings. The second part of the melody is passed to the winds and brasses while the played a sustained B in 6 octaves. After the climax, it goes to the home key of E minor for a short coda, and the work closes with a pair of soft pizzicato chords over a fading tympani roll. No triumphant resolution, no heroic tragedy, perhaps more like a resigned sigh.
Dec. 18 - another visit to the Carolina Inn- a Christmas Afternoon Tea. Jennifer's annual event, this is the eighth year, with Jennifer, I and the grandchildren - Kate and James. Sadly Jennifer's mother passed away some years ago - she always enjoyed it, as I do.
Dec. 29. We all drove in my new car to Wilmington. I'm very happy with it, it's so comfortable. 163 miles to have lunch there, meeting up with Cynthia, Elisa's step-mother, at a favorite fish restaurant, Cape Fear Seafood Company. All sorts of fish dishes. Mine was Smoked Salmon Alfredo - a smoked salmon cake, (I could have had a second one!) mushrooms, asparagus, rice and roasted garlic alfredo. We each had a spoon of the slice of Key Lime Pie, Dan's favorite. We all love it too! Afterwards we drove to Wrightsville Beach - a gorgeous beach, blue skies matching the ocean. We walked along the sand. Too cold to put toes in the waves.
Dec. 30 Lunch with Ben - Kurama Japanese Seafood - Scary fire on the teppanyaki grill table but fascinating how the food is cooked and served. It was delicious for all of us. I had chicken teriyaki, my favorite. We had a very enjoyable time with our good friend, Ben. After lunch, we said goodbye to Ben, and went home for a rest before the next event!
Krista, a good friend of Elisa where they met some years ago, working at UNC, and now a friend to us all. Last summer she came to the beach for a few days where Dan and Elisa had rented a condo. We enjoyed ourselves paddling a canoe around the Indian Beach waterway. Catching up now in the winter since then, we chatted away during a light dinner, after the Japanese lunch!
Dec. 31st. Time for the family to go back to New Jersey tomorrow, so lot of tidying up etc. After dinner we watched the movie "Glass Onion" at home. I tried to watch, but my eyes wouldn't stay open and I fell asleep.
Waking up on January 1st, 2023!!!!! Happy New Year everyone!
Jane.
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