My Aunt Margery passed away on March 8th of this year. I have been writing her letters - about every other month - to keep her updated on our lives as she lives (lived) in the south and we are in the north. This letter was to go into the mail when I got the news. This covers from about mid February to early March. Margery was a shut-in in the later part of her life and lived into her 90's, I can imagine that those last years were not so happy. Anyway, she never read these words and the letter was never sent. Here is the edited update letter to update you on what all has been happening in our lives.
Tuesday,
March 6, 2012
Good
morning Aunt Margery! I am sitting at my computer and thinking
that I need to catch you up on all the comings and goings…and there have been
quite a few lately! First off, I have to say that I hope this finds you well. I
get so little information about you I prefer to think of you getting along and
finding some joy in your day, however large or small it may be. I hope that my
little newsy letters can be considered a little break in your day. It does come
with love!
What has been happening with us.. Hmm! These last couple of weeks have been filled with music! I was asked to perform at a benefit for a friend of ours who is also a theater organist like Stephen. This is an annual event at a small theater in Royal Oak that is home to the Stagecrafters – a local community theater group with a great reputation for really good productions. This was a concert of “Love Songs, sweet and sour” with 8 singers participating. We had two performances of it bracketing Valentines’ Day. The second show was on a Sunday and that was also the kick off of Mallory’s Winter Break week so her and I headed off for our annual trip together.
This time we decided to cut up the time and visit two cities. So, after the afternoon concert, we got in the car and drove to Chicago to stay with and hang out with my best friend, Michele. We had a great time with her. She lives in a community called Pilsen in the Latin area of the city which borders on Chinatown. We spent one whole way walking around the city, shopping, riding the public transit (Mal loves that!) and poking our heads into all kinds of places. The second day we went to the Adler Planetarium and had a wonderful time spending the morning looking at all the amazing exhibits. We headed back home Tuesday night.
Wednesday I worked all day teaching at the Montessori school and teaching 7 hour long voice lessons! Thursday morning Steve and I drove to Grand Ledge (Lansing area) to rehearse for our recital that was to be held on that upcoming Sunday. I drove back, gathered up Mallory and we were on our way to Cleveland.
Stephen’s brother lives there and we always stay with him but, this time, we stayed with another old friend who is working in the city during week and rents an amazing 3000 sq. ft. loft in the warehouse district. It’s a truly interesting place to be. It’s in a turn of the century small car factory that has been renovated into business and loft spaces. His kids were down for the school break too so we hung out and hit some of our favorite places – Westside Market, Malley’s Chocolates and, this time, the brand new City Aquarium. Open only a month, this attraction has opened in the city’s old power plant. Very cool indeed! We drove back home on Saturday afternoon in time for Sunday church and then our recital. A childhood friend of Steve’s was in town from Traverse City as he was playing several pieces with the choir – alto and soprano saxophone – and so he was able to come to our concert as well as keep Mallory occupied. He is like an adopted uncle for her and she loves to spend time with him. 
After such a whirlwind of activity it was great to get back home. The week back from school was busy as we were auditioning our next Youth Theater show – “Seussical, the Musical”. It’s a fun show featuring the characters and stories of Dr. Seuss whose birthday I share! Speaking of that, I spent most of my free time getting the house in order and shopping as I was throwing a birthday party on Friday March 2nd. I decided the best way to celebrate the grand FIVE OH was to have my friends near.
We had a great time and I went on to have a great weekend as my friend Michele drove in from Chicago and another old friend flew in from New York. All stayed till Sunday - including Michael, my brother-in-law who drove in for the party as well and stayed nearby at his cousin’s place... Really nice weekend! We ended it with Steve, Mallie and I going to a local Finnish hot tub place and relaxing before coming home and having pizza. Ahhhhh!
This week we get back into the swing of things. Now I go back to running between both show rehearsals –“The Wonderful World of OZ” in Farmington and “Seussical” in West Bloomfield. Mallory is back to rehearsals for her school musical, “Once on this Island” where she has a lead. She had Piano Achievement Testing day on Sunday as well so after the girls headed out we took her over to the local community college to run her through her paces. In the 4 areas of testing she received, as a final score, a 99.5! We had lots to celebrate Sunday evening.
So now we jump into work. The house is coming along as we continue to pull Mom and Dad’s things out of the garage and incorporate them into our home. It sure is a good feeling to be surrounded by the things I used to see everyday. I am working on my student voice recital that I will hold on March 31st. Stephen has a meeting with a local organ technician who seems keen on handing over his business to him. He is an established name in town and the two will meet tonight to see what all can be done. Stephen is getting to be known in the organ circles as someone with a lot of knowledge and skill and I am so proud of him.
Where we are now................
The Student Vocal Recital was a success! Eight singers performed for an enthusiastic crowd. Mallory went on to Solo and Ensemble Festival and played a cello piece with Mr. Stephen as her accompanist and received a ONE rating along with an A+ in tone and interpretation. We are currently running "The Wonderful Wizard of OZ" and all is going very well. I return to the "Seussical" cast next week to push on to a late May opening. Mallory opens, next weekend, in her show ("Once On this Island") and I will so enjoy being in the audience watching her instead of seeing her from my position off stage. Stephen produced lovely music to deepen the walk for our congregation through Holy Week and Easter. He has booked a few more silent film presentations as well as recitals and is busy working on new music.
Thanks for checking in with us!
