October Color...

October was glorious, really.  And I did savor it, reallly, amidst the busy-busy.  Just no time to stop and write about it, right?  Here's my usualy catch-up post for you.  Trying so hard to hold on to time...

A rare moment to enjoy the backyard. Who knows what day this was but it happened!  And it was great. 

Got out kayaking a few times.  Some solo trips to Euclid Creek...

... and a fun adventure down Rocky River with Elissa and Holly that included a good amount of "float time" with drinks and conversation out on the perfect, shimmering, 70 degree lake.  

 

My dahlias finally bloomed! Including a few of the new varieties that I thought would be a bust.  

Nat and I had a blast at the Mad Hatter themed MIX party.  People really showed up with their costumes and it was delightful. We do miss the crafts of days gone by, though.  

And oh yeah.  We bought another house.  Happened upon this double in North Collinwood (3 blocks from lucknow) that seemed to need surprisingly little work, plus it has a 3rd floor that can be turned into an apartment.  So we put in a low offer and they took it and here we go again!  

I think it's just charming and is going to produce some nice income for us.  After we finish cleaning and painting and renovating and sageing it because one of the reasons it was so cheap, we learned-- is that there was, you know, a murder there in February.  We saw things that looked like blood splatter when we toured but we were all like,  no, it can't be. And the seller did not disclose it... which got us 2000 off the price when we pointed it out.

So we've affectionately begun calling our new project  "Hauntmere" or "murder house".  And we bought really good stain-blocking primer.

That memorable moment when the home inspector breaks into the second floor porch window because the interior apartment door got locked with no key...

A more expected October lake....

(I still love her madly)

Broadway series has started up again!  I was pleasantly surprised by The Wiz-- witty and fun!

October porch views.

There were beautiful moments in October.  And  there were some sad ones.  And beautiful/sad ones, too.  October was just a whole thing..

Aunt Pat died early in the month- peacefully at home with hospice care, from stage 4 ovarian cancer.  We were able to visit her the weekend before she died to say goodbye.  And we were able to be at her memorial service, which felt important.  I will truly miss her, and her gentle, kind spirit with the undertone of biting wit.  She was a grand lady and helped hold this part of my family together...

October also brought the culmination of the intense emotional experience that has been rehearsing the Sacred Veil.  We spent a full week at Severance every night preparing for our "one shot deal" concert.  We were blessed with two nights of rehearsal with Eric Whittacre himself, and he was wonderful.  I was so grateful for all the work we put in before he arrived-- the Chorus was prepared and ready to take his directions and create a work of art.  It was exciting and joyful and thrilling and also shattering, to add certain crescendos or consonants that just brought the emotion of the piece to a fever pitch-- "opening the breastplates" of the audience, as Eric put it, so that we can really get in there and change their hearts.  

There were so many tears and smiles on that stage, all intermingled. It was unforgettable.

The performance itself went off perfectly.  Four curtain call and rave reviews.  Nat and Ivy came to hear which was really special. 

A part of me is grateful to have put this work behind me.  I will get some of my heartspace back.  But there was definitely something uniquely satisfying about the combination of hard work, art and pain that we put into this, which I will miss. 

Random photo of Kitten hugging the dog.  I love my pets.

A lovely day at Holden Arboretum.  Chilly and grey yet also perfect. We always enjoy this place. 

This is how Winter helps me to practice my music.  I missed SO many Windsong rehearsal in October, between travels and funerals and Whitacre.  I'm trying to get caught up because the "broadway extravaganza" performance is going to be SO fun and I want to be at my best for it too.  Plus I may have a little tiny solo in "For Good...'

Chapin Forest overlook.  An October tradition and just a treasure of a place.  I always wonder why we don't come here more often.. but maybe the infrequency is part of the magic?

That and the color and the light and the open vistas... Sometimes I cannot believe that I actually get to live near this.

Rounding out the month with a few last warm evenings for a little patio dining...

... art openings with friends...

... and a last few lingering evening walks through the neighborhood, smelling of falling leaves and dressed in color in the slanting fall light, before the dark nights of Daylight Savings Time are upon us...

The foliage this year has been on point.  Then the week of Halloween someone flipped the "fall" switch and all of the trees are bare now.  All except for our yard of course, where we will be raking til January.  Or where we will be leaving this carpet of leaves because it's pretty, and because November already promises to be as fast as busy as the month before.  

Hold on for the ride, friends.  Life just comes at you fast.