Evergreen Goes Orange

Evelyn and I helped serve the monthly Evergreen banquet this evening. She got to church about 4:00; I left work at 4:00 and got there by 4:20. We put cake and salads on plates and then put salads at the tables--216 guests came for dinner tonight. Evelyn helped serve a the buffet line and I bussed tables (removing the salad plates while they stood in line for the main course). There were a dozen or more workers there. And most all of us helped serve dessert after the main course (and after more bussing of the tables.)
This evening's theme was carrots, because the musical guests were a quartet called Wild Carrot. (I got to hear them sing a couple of numbers--wonderful voices, perfect blend, accompanied by a variety of acoustic instruments they played while they sang).
So leafy-topped carrots in bud vases made the center pieces. The salad was a carrot gelatin combo. And for dessert? What else but carrot cake?
In addition to the fun of the fellowship, the pleasure of serving at these deals is getting to EAT the wonderful meal that's always offered. Evelyn and I enjoyed it.
We here home by about 8:15. I changed clothes and watered plants outside. Then Evelyn and I read on the deck till it was too dark to read. Then I sat outside and watched the night settle in, listening to the birds chirp, watching the breeze turn up the maple leaves. Just before it was finally dark, Evelyn (having brushed her teeth, washed her face, and put on her pajamas) came outside to join me. We scurried inside by 9:45 when we felt the first mosquito bite.
I love to just be outside in the summer. It was relaxing and rejuvenating to do so this evening.

Eight Hands in Praise

This evening Evelyn and I grabbed supper at LaRosa's (I came straight from work) and then headed to church to attend the special musical program planned for the monthly Evergreen banquet. Four musicians from our church, Joyce Lawson, Cindi Cooper, Deborah Kerr-Brenner, and Brent Ludwick, prepared almost an hour of music performed on four pianos assembled on the stage in the chapel. The music was wonderful, including classics, two remarkable solos--Debussy played by Joyce and Chopin played by Brent--and a slapstick send-up of Chopsticks complete with ladies in boas, Brent in tails, and pianists hamming it up while rotating between the pianos.
All of us knew these four people were talented; tonight they proved they are remarkable talents. What a wonderful way to end the day!

A Star is Worn

Couldn't resist the pun in this title. I'm not a star, of course, but I AM pretty tired after getting home from our musical revue, "Cinemagic," at church this evening. The group performed for a packed chapel of Evergreen attendees and a few others who came just for the show.
They were a terrific audience, enjoying every song, the accompanying videos showing clips that went along with the singing and dancing on the stage.
I hammed it up as the emcee and blew only one of my six lines!
And, as I said, now I'm really tired. (Shouldn't have stayed up till midnight watching all the Oscars Sunday night!)
One cute feature: they had put stars on the tiles in the lobby outside the chapel and written a different cast member's name on each star. (There was no cement for us to sink our hands into, but the stars added to the motif and made a fun picture posing possibility.)

Purdue for the Holidays

I had heard the Purdue Glee Club several years ago, an energetic powerhouse of a male choir that presented one of the most engaging musical shows I'd ever seen. So when Joan Maxwell told us the church's Evergreen group was going to Purdue for their annual Christmas show, I told Evelyn, "Let's go!"
I could have only imagined what a wonderful program it would be. Today was the day. We left the church about 7:30 a.m. for the three-hours-plus drive to Lafayette, which gave us plenty of time to go to the restroom after we arrived and be at the doors when they opened at 11:30.
As soon as we entered the theater, we were serenaded by Christmas classics played in an upbeat style by a versatile theater organ. Then came time for the show. The first half--about an hour--was a tour de force of singing and dancing by the school's several different choirs in a musical revue that's worthy of Broadway. It's hard to imagine that Purdue doesn't even offer a music major and all these students are volunteers. The act ended with the stage full of all the singers, more than 200 of them, and the arrival of a flying Santa as the finale.
Then came the second act--with all these hundreds of singers arranged in silver robes on risers in a massive choir to sing another hour of sacred Christmas songs. You won't hear a more Jesus-centered, God-honoring program in any church this season. It was thrilling and remarkable.
It's difficult to describe the impact of these always-smiling, moving, performing singers. When they used choreography, it was perfect. When they were moving freely, each singer expressing his own personality, it was engaging. When they stood perfectly still and sang a capella (only once or twice in the whole concert; the rest was accompanied by a top-rate live orchestra), their performance was perfect.
(For a clip of last year's show, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leXQrGQCWFU, which gives a better idea of the impact of these performers.)
We ate dinner as a group before leaving Lafayette and enjoyed happy conversation with the 51 others on the bus, all the way there and back. It was a great day. And we got home in time for me to report on it here!

 I snapped this picture of the stage as guests were arriving for the noon show today.

Busy Work Day, Relaxing Evening

Spent most of the day working on art and illustrations for the February issue. Jim Nieman and I met with Mark Haas in two different hour-long meetings. Chose dates for web postings for the month of December (none too soon, since tomorrow is December!) and handled some correspondence. Evelyn and I decided to eat in and stay home this evening rather than our usual Friday night out. I stopped by Fresh Market and bought some food to heat in the microwave for supper. We needed a night just to be at home after a busy, busy week. Tomorrow we're up at 5:30 to be at church by 6:45 (that's a.m.!) for a daylong outing with Evergreen (our first!) to the Christmas show at Purdue University.  We're due to be home by 7:30 in the evening, which is earlier than I figured, and I'm sure it will be fun.

Our January issue goes to the printer Wednesday. It's in proof now.
Final tweaks and late copy happen next week.