Don — Page 136

The CD Release Party

October 18, 2015 at 9:24 am by Claudia

Last night’s CD Release Party was simply incredible.

Magical. That’s the word I kept using. Magical. I couldn’t find a better one.

The restaurant was full of friends and supporters and singers and songwriters. The Hudson Valley has a thriving music scene and the level of talent continues to amaze and delight me.

Don had set up the evening to include performances by his fellow musicians. First up, was Montgomery Delaney, then Dave Kearney and Elly Wininger (Small Engine), then Open Book (Rick and Michele Gedney), then Marji Zintz – all of them sang two songs and all of them had completely different styles. Extraordinary. Don introduced each of the acts, telling a little story about his connection to them, how they have influenced his musical journey.

Then, I got up and introduced Don and Dan and they performed all ten cuts from their album, plus, after a standing ovation, an encore.

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Rick and Michele Gedney, known as Open Book. Simply exquisite. Rick was also intimately involved in this CD as it was recorded and mixed in his studio. He is so talented! And to add to all of his skills, he is a gifted landscape painter and I would love nothing more than to own one of his paintings.

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Our extraordinarily talented friend, Marji Zintz. She is a chanteuse, singing intricate, sexy, jazzy songs that cast a spell on you.

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The stars of the night: Don and Dan.

And yes, he is hot.

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Don, Rick and Dan.

I’ve witnessed many moments of joy and delight in the years I’ve been with Don. But last night might be one of the most joy-filled evenings I’ve ever been a part of. He was so moved by the support of his friends, by the performances of his fellow musicians, by, as he said, ‘a dream fulfilled.’

The entire evening, from start to finish, was magical. I am so, so happy for my husband. And for Dan. But seeing my husband so moved, with tears in his eyes? I’ll never forget it.

We’ll be talking about it for days to come, that I know.

Hard freeze last night. I’m just about to go take the sheets off. I almost resigned to the fact that my plants might be done. The catalpa is shedding hundreds of leaves as I write this.

That, my friends, is not making me happy.

The zinnias didn’t make it, and I don’t think the morning glories did, either. We’ll wait and see. But the geraniums in the barrels are hanging in there. And all of the porch plants are safely inside the house, making it look like a jungle.

Thank goodness I have memories of last night to balance everything out.

Happy Sunday.

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Let’s Hang On

October 17, 2015 at 8:59 am by Claudia

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Do you remember that old Four Seasons song?

Let’s hang on to what we got
Don’t let go, girl, we got a lot
Got a lot of love between us
Hang on, hang on, hang on to what we got.

That’s what I’m singing to my plants today and tomorrow. Yes, the dreaded hard freeze will be here for two nights, not one. Crap. I followed Janet’s advice and watered everything at dusk yesterday. I’ll have to cover everything with sheets around 5:30 pm, as I have to get to the CD Release Party by 6 or so. Earlier than planned, but better to be safe. And I have to bring in all the plants from the porch and there are a lot of them.

And then I’ll have to do it again tomorrow, if all goes well tonight.

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The only bee balm blossom that’s still going strong – the others are long gone. Will he make it through the freeze?

Don and Dan (who stayed the night with us) are on their way to the radio station, which is in the Catskills. They’ll be on live from 11 -12 this morning – if you’re interested in listening to them you can catch the program streaming live here.

Tonight is the CD Release Party, with lots of friends coming to celebrate. Some of them will also be performing along with Don and Dan. I wish you all could be here, too! I know we’d have a lot of fun.

Quandary: what does one do when one has a stack of books from the library, among them All the Light We Cannot See, which said person knows she should read but for some reason isn’t very excited about, and an email arrives informing that person that after weeks of waiting in a long queue, Make Me by Lee Child is finally sitting on a shelf reserved under said person’s name at the local library?

(Quite a long and awkward sentence but you get the picture.)

Answer: One drops everything in her own personal ‘queue’ and runs to the library to check it out, which she will be doing as soon as the radio show is over.

I mean, come on, it’s Lee Child. It’s Jack Reacher. End of story.

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Dad is being transferred to rehab today and it is the one we wanted him to be in all along. He had a rocky day yesterday. We finally figured out that he’d been given a sleeping pill in the middle of the night and he was out of it for most of the day. By the time I spoke to him a second time later in the day, he sounded better.

We’re grateful that everything has worked out in the end. Now to rehab and, hopefully, back home in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed.

Okay. To those of you battling the hard freeze, I wish you luck! Wish me luck, too.

Happy Saturday.

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A Pox on Hard Freezes

October 16, 2015 at 9:12 am by Claudia

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Do you see those little buds? Suddenly, there are morning glory buds everywhere, quite late in the season. I’m sure you will understand when I say I’d like to see them open up and bless us with their beauty.

But…Sunday night the temps are supposed to drop into the twenties. Just for one night. Then it’s back to normal. I’m in a little bit of a panic. The porch plants I can bring inside. The zinnias and morning glories? No can do. I’m already making plans to cover everything with a sheet and hope against hope they hang in there.

Otherwise, I’ll be in mourning.

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It seems especially cruel when there’s a hard freeze for just one night; it’s like a tease, but not a good one. I know winter is inevitable, but since the remainder of the nighttime temps are going to stay in the forties or high thirties for a while, it seems a shame not to see my flowers bloom.

Dad is still in a rather cheery mood. Meredith and I suspect that some of that is due to the pain meds he’s on. They’re mellowing him. As my dad can be rather irascible, to put it mildly, I must say it’s nice to hear him sound so happy. He calls me to tell me what he ate for breakfast and lunch. He details his conversations with the nurses. He talks about physical therapy. My dad, by the way, is pretty strong for a 92 year old, so I have no doubt that he’ll do well in PT. Tomorrow, they’ll assess his progress and decide whether he goes home or to a rehab facility. I’m thinking it will be rehab, but maybe not for as long as predicted.

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Don’t you want to see this flower open? I do. A pox on any hard freezes!

Don and Dan will be on The Front Burner radio show on WIOX on Saturday morning. They’ll be playing their music and talking about the new CD from 11 am to 12 pm. The show is hosted by our friends Elly and Dave (who will also be at the CD Release Party later on Saturday.) If you’re at all interested in giving it a listen, WIOX, which is a Public Radio station, streams live. You can find it here. Don’s going to be on another radio show next Thursday evening and I’ll share what I know about that later in the week.

If you have any wise tips as to covering plants during a freeze, I’m all ears – or eyes, in this case. The morning glories and zinnias are right up against and on top of a stretch of the chicken wire fence. Thanks, everyone!

Happy Friday.

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The CD Release Party

Let’s Hang On

A Pox on Hard Freezes

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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