Steinway Re-born

My mother's old Steinway, 1898, was recently rebuilt by a great piano technician Debbie new in Aspen, Kevin Stock. It was the full Monty: new sound board, strings, a new Renner action. He also replaced the legs and the music stand with the style that was originally on the piano a hundred years ago! Most importantly, it sounds fantastic and the action is a dream. Debbie is breaking it in, practicing for three up-coming gigs!

Doc

We've had a couple of nice visits with our Santa Fe friends Doc & Lydia. Doc, a long time resident of Santa Fe, is a true raconteur, with great stories of the city and its colorful residents! He is also a wonderful artist, creating icon-like works of wood and hammered tin with enameled paintings. Lydia had an extraordinary career in show business in Russia and is a delight. They are true gems.

Graduation!

Hooray, Jessica graduated on August 16. Congratulations to Jessica for completing a long hard journey over the past two years.Two 40 day trips to Sagewalk Wilderness Camp, Oregon. 52 miles of hikes each time with backpack and sleeping in tents, the first trip in sub-freezing weather of January. Junior & senior year at Monarch: no proms, but farm crew, kitchen crew, & maintenance crew. We spent three days at graduation, lots of hugging, "sharing" and getting to know some of the other parents for the first time. It was a small group. Only five graduated from the original peer group of 14. Way to go Jessica! Each student made a presentation and Jessica sang an acapella duet, awesome. She sang a second duet with the same student. We are so proud of her hard work and all her accomplishments!

Santuario de Chimayo

We also visited Santuario de Chimayo, the "Lourdes of North America". Debbie quickly became best friends with the priest who rescued this old church. In a tiny chapel next to the altar there is a hole in the floor. People come from all over the world to scoop out the "miraculous healing dirt". So, I scooped and brought some home for my dear friend Angela, who is in the early stages of her journey of healing.

Santa Fe!

Another wonderful visit to Santa Fe. Heard 2 operas (I only slept through one of them!). It was fun to see cellist Lynn Harrell give Debbie a big hug after a SFe Chamber Music Festival concert. I went to a labyrinth walk at St. Francis Cathedral, and and got my picture in the paper. If you look really really close, you can tell it's me! Here's a first: I helped make a sand mandala with a Tibetan Lama at the Stupa outside of town. I am enjoying getting to know Dorjee, a wonderful Tibetan who has a shop next door and at the Tesuque Flea Market. Another reminder of: "when you think you are having a bad day, it's really not so bad." Brother Al & Anne came to town for the opera & stayed with us for a couple of days, and we had a nice time together. On the next to last day we had a big event. I had my mother's old Steinway rebuilt by a great technician that Debbie knows, and he delivered it on my last day there! Wow, it looks great, plays beautifully and sounds wonderful!!

Finally Quest Pix

We also finally got some photos from Jessica's winter Quest trip in the Canadian mountains, 11 days of backpacking on skis and living in the snow.

Jessica's Birthday

We enjoyed a great visit with Jessica, her second time home in 18 frakkin' months! She looked great, very healthy, and very mature. We had a nice gathering for her 18th birthday. She's completed her high school academics but returned to school to finish "the program". This week she does the five day Pinnacle, which is an intensive group with lots of emotional work and little sleep. Then, she is off for the Gift Trip, which is two weeks of community service at a facility for adults with mental handicaps. In mid-August we gather in the little town-next-to-the-middle-of-nowhere for her graduation, hooray! We are all glad this journey is coming to an end, and proud of Jessica for all her hard work. The adjustments to college life should be a snap, and in fact day-to-day life a lot easire: no kitchen crew, no farm crew, no barn crew!