Morning at Hope Community Center

Each month I sing with a JABA (Jefferson Board for the Aging) group at the  Hope Community Center.  I usually don't go on a Wed. and as a result of doing so today, I met some new people. It is a mixed population with a fair amount of African American people and so I love to sing some old Spirituals with them. Songs like, "Down the the Riverside", "Wade in the Water", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".  Always, "Stand By Me" goes over well with all ages. Great song!

Probably my favorite song we did was, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". Since the song is a sad one.. I like to also make up new verses. I sang:

"Well I came here in this morning
just to sing and make a friend
and I'm singing, and I'm hoping
that you'll have me back again

Will the circle be unbroken
by and by lord by and by
there's a better home awaitin' in the sky
in the sky"

After we sing, we all have lunch together.  Today was some birthday cake too--so you know where I am off to after this entry. (to the gym! :)

PS how do you like that bright red color of the Hope Community Center?! 

Ivy Creek Foundation Nature Sing Along

Well, I went out on a limb and created a sing along event at our nature center, Ivy Creek Foundation.
The songs were mostly about nature and animals. The picture above is the Education building where we did the sing along.   This is the same building they have presentations on  all sorts of things like frogs, bats, astronomy, birding, beekeeping, hiking, tracking. (and now...singing)

It was a small but very appreciative audience tonight. I think all the songs about Bears were probably my favorites. Do you know these songs, "The Bear Went Over the Mountain", "Waltzing With Bears" and "Teddy Bear's Picnic"? --they are fun songs to sing.

I also got a little crazy and created a few parodies. Here is one:

Ivy Creek (Edelweiss)

Ivy Creek, Ivy Creek

It’s a nice place to meet friends

Bird watchers, trail blazers

I am happy to be here

Meet at the barn for a morning walk

Birding walk together

Ivy Creek, Ivy Creek

Bless these trails and forever

We ended the evenings singing a few songs from the peace movement, "Down By the Riverside", "Blowin' in the Wind", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "If I had a Hammer."

It was fun! Oh and if you are reading this and you live around here,  I am doing another sing along there on July 3rd at 3:30. Why not come and sing and then go out for a hike!

Mudhouse in Crozet gig

Here I am with my friends Ursula Goadhouse & Maia Oden. They are songstresses as well as myself and last night we had a gig together at the Mudhouse in Crozet. We each did a solo set and then sang one song together, "Sometimes I feel Like a Motherless Child".

My favorite moment of the evening was singing my song, "Once I was the Wind" 
and when Maia came in with her harmonies, I got the goosebumps. That is a way I know something is magical in the air, the goosebump experience.  What gives you the goosebumps?

A man in the audience was so moved by that song and he approached me in tears and told me he was never so moved by any song as he was that one. So, I gave him my CD and told him that song is on it and it was my gift to him. He then told me he had been going through hard times financially and otherwise.  Later I saw when his wife joined him at the table, he held up my CD to her and said, "she gave this to me!" and I learned that it was much more gratifying for me to have given a CD away than having sold it. It was a big gift to me!

Another ESOL event

A week or so ago I did another sing along event with an ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) at Albemarle High School here in town. It was part of their graduation ceremony.  It was a lot of fun! The picture below is not very good but it is of someone coming to get their certificate.

Amazing Rainbow sighting!

The other night here in Charlottesville, I saw the most amazing double rainbow I had ever seen. The colors were the brightest ever and it lasted such a long time. I took some photos of it but they really didn't capture the immense beauty. But here is one of my photos above for you to enjoy.

Dulcimer recital

Last Sunday I participated in a dulcimer recital with my teacher, Phyllis Gaskins pictured above. Yes, that is a banjo she is playing!  But she was doing it to help her students as they played the lead part on the dulcimer. I do have to say that taking up the dulcimer many years ago was something I am so glad about. I have met the nicest people and done some cool things with it. I love the history of it.

For instance, did you know that the mountain dulcimer is one of the few indigenous American instruments in American music?  Most instruments in American music were brought over from other countries and adapted into American music.  The banjo is from Africa, the piano (pianissimo) from Italy, guitar from Spain, etc.

So I think that is pretty cool.

Nashville!

Trip to Nashville.

So, I was in Nashville recently.. no not to get a recording contract or to play at the Grand Old Opry but I like how you are thinking! :)

I was actually at Vanderbilt University participating in more cochlear implant research. It was a challenging two days of testing. I enjoy that I can give to science in this way and hopefully my small participation can help future cochlear implant recipients.

It is just like me though that here I was in "Music City" and what did I do when I was not at the lab? I walked at Centennial Park. It made me realize that all of my life I have lived near a park and they have played an important role in my life. I especially enjoy finding beautiful nature spots in big cities. The juxtaposition of being in a big metropolitan area and finding a unique tree like the one pictured above is something I love. It is an old catalpa tree. I don't see many of those around here but when I was a girl we used to try to smoke those long things that dropped from them. Silly kids!

Below is a close up picture of a big hole in the trunk that looks like a gnome home:

 I did begin to write a new song though.. and so I am going now to work on that. Will let you know if it becomes something worth sharing.