Real Life

Fall is in full swing here in the deep South. We have a lot of hardwoods in our neighborhood, and the leaves are falling in massive quantities. Most of my neighbors obsessively try to remove all traces of autumn from their lawns, driveways and decks. I, however, am a little less diligent, to their dismay, I’m sure.

I’ll miss my German lessons for the next few weeks. Next week Jan and I will be in Pennsylvania for the York benefit concert. The week after that I will be playing in Jackson, MS. The week after THAT Jan and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving at the beach. That’s the story of my German studies; two steps forward, one step back. Or in my case, probably one step forward and two steps back!

Did you know that I play the cello? Not really, but as a keyboard player, I can play ANYTHING! I finished one of the last songs for the Timeless II album yesterday – an arrangement of “The Swan” by Saint-Saens. I added a solo cello to the piano part, and it sounds like the real thing. I’m thinking about creating an imaginary cellist and giving him credit on the CD for this solo. Maybe I’ll name him “Alexei Volkov” or perhaps a good ol’ southern name like Billy Joe McCabe. Then I’ll sit back and see if anyone calls me on it.

I practiced the piano a lot today. I’m adding a few new tunes for the upcoming concerts, and relearning some of the songs from “Christmas at Our House” for the December concert in Nashville. Today is Thursday; most Thursdays I practice 4 or 5 hours at home before going into the studio around 2 PM.

Jan and I bought a new Vita-Mix blender last week, and I love it so much that I have almost stopped eating solid food! I am now living on smoothies. We were at Costco, and there was a guy there demonstrating the Vita-Mix. I was like a pesky kid who wouldn’t go away. I kept asking him to make a coffee drink, then soup, then a sorbet, and before you know it I had eaten a full meal’s worth of samples. Today’s smoothie was red grapes, a few almonds, strawberries, blueberries, a whole apple (minus two slices for Riley) and an orange, with a little vanilla yoghurt and some orange juice. Oh, and a few baby carrots. Pretty soon I will be so healthy that I’ll be absolutely unbearable!