Fa who foraze, whatever that means. Welcome, welcome New Year’s Day.
2012 was an amazing year for us. As most of you are aware, we moved. After 25 years in beautiful Chenango County, New York, we relocated to beautiful Washington County in southern Indiana in mid-July. We moved away from the tiny town of McDonough, to the equally tiny town of Vallonia.
Musically, 2012 saw the issue of my “Back in the Window” instrumental CD and the “God Bless the World” vocal CD. And I wrote 22 new pieces of music, including some anthems, some songs, and a few really unique pieces that will see the light of day later this year.
Since arriving in Indiana, I have become the choir director of First Christian Church in Salem. That’s a Disciples of Christ church, which has a lot of similarities to the United Church of Christ, where I spent the last 8 years.
On the farm, Cindy and I built the first of a series of sheds; this one being the chicken coop, wherein she maintains 3 chickens. We also have one cat that patrols the grounds: rodent control. We’ve spent a lot of time building inside too. We completely re-did the kitchen, and most of the office. The front room closet-extension is next.
This move has been really exciting, but it has its down side. We’re a lot further away from all our family and friends in NY now, however we are a lot closer to our daughter and her family, which includes our two grandchildren. We’ve already visited them near Chicago 3 times and they’ve been down here several times also.
2013: from a personal perspective, I am planning on a really fun, really productive year. From a larger POV, the world can be such a difficult place; no need to go into detail- just listen to what passes for news anymore. Despite the way things seem, I am still just enough of a 60s person to think that we could possibly make even a little step closer to Peace on Earth. I like to think that the music that I create will have its own small effect towards that lofty goal.
Happy 2013 to all my friends, fans, & family.
