A great Saturday

I know I missed something by not heading to Mystic for the strolling minstrels and other features in Mystic Village, but I had a great day staying local. I recycled my cans, did my wash at the parents and had lunch with them, then off to the Hartford Public Library to listen to their program by the Hartford Area Youth Choir. I don't think I smiled or cried as much in two hours in a long time! The kids were great and their group leader and accompanist were inspiring. I wouldn't let myself leave without making a donation. Not much - but being as cheap as I am and it being the Christmas season with all the purchases ahead - $20 to the director and $20 to the accompanist (a student at my alma mater). They probably think I am some nutty old lady, but it made me feel better to do it. The audience was such a mix - some suburbanites like me, some kids who hang out at the the computers at the library, lots of the homeless people who use the library to stay warm, parents of some of the singers - it was a wonderful group to spend my afternoon. I followed it up by going to mass at the Cathedral and kept my focus on keeping things on the right path to follow the real spirit of this time of year.

I stayed with the spirit by stopping by my brother's to drop off some presents for my sister in law. She is the only Martha Stewart in my family and her house is always beautiful decorated with decorations AND homemade goods. So I have over the years purchased the series of International Pencil Santas from Lenox for her. The series ended this year so I had two to give her since last Christmas. I got up there and she and my niece were watching a DVD movie and eating popcorn and had homemade cookies on the counter. So I had milk and cookies and watch her open her Canadian and Dutch Santas. My sister in law had a Christmas spirit moment too on Saturday. She had advertised to sell her piano and two young musicians had come up to look at it on Saturday and she surprised them by saying - if you want it it is yours, no charge - they were besides themselves and one of the boys sat down and played it like it had never been played and both my sister in law and niece felt very good about what had just transpired. These are the stories I like to hear about the holidays. I was missing a very important holiday event in North Carolina on Saturday, but I think my being at the choir presentation and then sharing the spirit with my brother's family and sharing my gifts with them would be something that the event hosts' would be happy about.

After my brother's house, I came home and decided that I would walk over to the Package Store for a bottle of wine and happened on one of the owners' wine tasting events. I love my local package store - one because it is in the same place it was when I was growing up and always had good people owning it and now two couples own two area Package stores - the wives run the one a block from my house and the husbands run the one on Rt 44. And we got talking and I found out that one of the wives moved here from Raleigh NC.

Another North Carolina event came about because I emailed some NC connections to tell them about my upcoming trip to Boston and the fact that I will see Rick Majerus in person. It has been a fantasy since 1994.

And my Texas connection came around as I watched LSU win their game last night (good friend in Texas is a LSU alum and big sports follower) and then a high school friend who now lives in Texas called me on Thursday to say she met a real estate agent from my old company who sat next to her at a Hilary event in Houston. I love when my worlds collide.

Something that I have not written about but that happened on Tuesday or Wednesday - I was calling one of our school appointment people to make sure they were still coming on Monday and the mother shared with me that she was very excited because she had read some kind of "cosmic guidance" (so I felt bonded to her already) that at 5:43 p.m. that day something very good was going to happen in all our lives...and at around that time I got a call from my cousin's son that he could get me tickets for the BC-St Louis game... In my "there is no such thing as coincidence" life, I was overwhelmed with the call.

But back to last night, I had a glass of wine, fired up 3 different incenses (I felt I wanted as much inspiration as possible) - sandalwood that my sister gave me last weekend ("grounding and opening to a higher self"); Rose; and Passion (patchouli & ylang ylang) and candles. It was a very peaceful setting and it translated into sleeping until 8:30 a.m. today. It is a process to keep this time of year peaceful and restful for me.

No plan for today. Do need a walk and it is a snow storm waiting to happen climatically. I think it is being overblown as usual, but as long as it does not impact my trip on Tuesday. I went on the Boston College web site last night and found out that there is a Music at St Mary's Christmas Concert at 4 p.m.!!! (BC is a Catholic college) Another "coincidence" since I will need a calming event to balance the anticipation of seeing Rick Majerus in a matter of hours.

I love my life in a very bizarre way.