Christmas pictures
January 15th, 2012
Merry Christmas! If I post the pictures in mid-January, that means it’s still Christmas, right? Pass the nog.
Winnipeg Mochitsuki
January 15th, 2012
Mochi-making is traditionally a pre-New-Year’s activity in Japan. Sweet rice is steamed and then pounded into a sticky goo, which gets eaten in various ways – toasted, fried, with anko (sweet bean paste), etc…
Fall pictures
November 1st, 2008
Various pictures from the fall – gardens, woods, and baking.
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Announcements
September 24th, 2008
Have I been too busy or too lazy to post? A bit of both, I think.
There have been a lot of things going on though! In general, September happened, and all sorts of things have started up again. I’m doing some teaching (including some math tutoring and piano lessons, both of which are firsts for me), both choirs have started up, the usual computer work is continuing and some more has been added on.
Most of my time has been spent preparing for an upcoming concert though. October 19th, Sari and I will be in Fredericton for the first in a series of three concerts devoted to Bach, and featuring all six sonatas for violin and harpsichord, along with a bunch of famous solo harpsichord music. This first concert will have the B minor and A major sonatas, the Italian Concerto and the first French Suite. A fun challenge for me! I’ve played a lot of the music before, but I really feel that I’m much more prepared to tackle it than I was when I first tried it. Of course, when I last played the Italian Concerto and French Suite, I had only been taking harpsichord lessons for a year or two, so I should hope I’ve improved since then!
I’m really looking forward to this performance, and i hope the familiar repertoire brings in some new people. We’re working on some more advertising too, so expect to see posters and brochures appearing around Fredericton in the next week! If anyone in Fredericton has any suggestions of good places to put them, please let me know and we’ll make sure they get there.
Byrd Concert
November 16th, 2007
A heads-up about my next concert: I’ll be heading back to Fredericton tomorrow to give a solo harpsichord recital. Here are all the details:
Sunday November 18, 2007
3:00 PM
Gallery 78 – 796 Queen Street
If you can come, you might want to get there early – it’s a pretty small space, and there has been a fairly large amount of publicity!
I’m travelling by bus again, which I’m not really looking forward to. It’s straightforward, and cheaper than the alternatives, and takes very little effort, which it nice, but it’s 12 hours sitting on a jiggling lump of metal. The worst part is actually the schedule – I have to get to the bus station before 6AM! It’s too early for the regular city bus schedule, so I have to go even earlier on a night bus, or spend a lot of money on a taxi.
On the last trip to Fredericton (just a couple of weeks ago!) I also took the bus. I found that the best activity is to listen to podcasts and audiobooks on an mp3 player. I think I listened to about a dozen Escape Pod stories last time, and I have a pile more downloaded now. There’s a lot of good stuff on that site, if you’re into science fiction at all! A lot of variety within the scifi genre too, which is very nice. There’s a lot more out there than the usual Star Trek stuff, and Escape Pod manages to sample a lot of different subgenres.
I should really get packed up so that I can grab a few hours of sleep before setting out. See you at the concert!
Walk in the Woods
October 14th, 2007
Post-wedding, Sari and Jon-o show the Reverend around the trails of the Addleman Manor
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monthly (?) update
September 19th, 2007
It’s been a while since I posted anything here. It’s been a busy time!
Since the last post in mid-August, I’ve been travelling all over the place. Sari and I spent the beginning of August in New Brunswick, as I mentioned before. We stayed for a couple of weeks, doing a trio of concerts with Seasons Baroque, and house sitting for my parents for a while.
The rest of the month was spent with various other trips: We both visited friends in Vermont, then Sari spent a week in Toronto to do a couple of recordings with the Toronto Chamber Orchestra (you can see a video of one of the sessions on youtube!), while I took a lengthy bus ride down to Philadelphia to visit some weyrmount friends – a delightfully geeky bunch! Then, as soon as we were back in Montreal together, it was back to the Maritimes, performing again with Seasons, though this time we were playing for Graham’s cousin’s wedding in Nova Scotia! It was a fun trip, but very exhausting – left early Saturday, rehearsed that evening; drove to NS on Sunday and played the wedding that afternoon; back to NB on Monday, another quick rehearsal to get ready for the next concerts; and then back to Montreal in time to return the rental car Tuesday night!
We’re now in Montreal for another couple of weeks. Sari will be off for a weekend playing in the Sackville Early Music Festival, and then as soon as she gets back to Montreal, we’re headed back to NB together! This time, it’s not just for a concert (though we’re doing that too!) since we’re getting married! October 7th is the date, and it’s creeping up on us alarmingly quickly. It’s all coming together now, but there’s still a lot of work to be done!
Right after the wedding, we’re doing two concerts – with all these musicians there, it’d be a shame to waste the opportunity! Tuesday October 9th will be in Fredericton, and then Wednesday the 10th in St. Andrews. Check www.earlymusicfredericton.ca for more details, as usual.
