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Mid-January, Rain - January 13, 2012
Almost Midwinter - December 14, 2011
Saturday, Noonish, Sunny - November 05, 2011
October, White - October 31, 2011
October, 2011 - October 04, 2011


December 25, 2008

9:01 p.m.

The Known Place

It was a great gathering. We persuaded Dar to stay through dinner; he ate lightly since he'd have to eat again elsewhere. Rose's intern V. and her husband S., both from India, also came, and Rose's boss, Dr. Josh, and Pearl's boyfriend. It was great to see everyone. I think Josh said it was his first witnessing of the present-opening ritual. (He's a non-practicing Jew.) The scarf was a hit, and it matched Marc's hat very well. Dar loved his little angel. Pearl made her special from-scratch eggnog -- superb -- and I ate a little Manchego cheese for the first time in many months.

And ah, what I got for Christmas... well, you can see for yourself.

My family conspired to complete the reassembly of my cello.

These are all the missing parts except for the tailpiece and the bridge, which are still on order. The certificates on the side are from Pearl, for putting the cello together, plus a series of lessons and jam sessions, and help reading the bass clef if I need it (I probably do).

Each was wrapped separately and cleverly disguised in various kinds of boxes: cereal, electric fan, soap, tampons. The tampon box had a little clear window in the front, so they put a few actual tampons in front of the tuning pegs, for authenticity.

There was also a very cold package, which turned out to be a frozen package of bacon. This is in keeping with my brother in law's insistence that I need to eat more bacon and put more flesh on my bones. While this is not necessarily true, I took the bacon anyway because I haven't had any in ages.

Call me naive, but it was very much a surprise -- I might have guessed a set of strings or something, but I didn't expect the instrument to get completed all at once! My cello is going to come alive! Rose said Pearl has been practicing hers a lot again, in preparation for teaching me the basics. I was crying on the way home imagining us being able to play "Oh, Shenandoah" together. Duets of some kind. Next Christmas, maybe carols in the parlor.

I realize that I have a lot of work to do. But I have this family that believes in me. And I've recently learned that I can work magic. Oh, what cannot come true, in a world of a mystical kind?

********

In addition to this wonderment I ate actual stuffing with the crown roast, two or three actual crackers, and various cookies. Rose made dahl in honor of our Indian guests, and it was about the best dahl I've ever eaten. She also made creme brulee, crusting the top with her new creme brulee torch.

Dar and I sneaked off to another room so he could play me part of a rehearsal tape with the fabulous orchestra that played for Oliver. I could tell his performance was great. He got to stretch himself in this role. I'm sorry I missed it... he is overly modest, saying it's no big deal, but he protests too much. A couple of the guys wandered in and sat to listen as well, impressed. I was glad; he'd never foist his tape on anyone, but he deserves praise.

Then Dar had to go to New Hampshire, and the rest of us commenced lolling about the living room near the corn stove. Cats came and went. A couple of other friends dropped by briefly and brought more cookies. I was going to leave at one point and Pearl let out such a cry of disappointment that I stayed. There was movie watching, knitting, talking during muted commercials. I finally got the yawns and hied me home.

Arrived were a book -- Casanova's autobiography -- a CD -- Malcolm Dalglish's Hymnody of Earth, which I owned decades ago and had a hankering to hear again -- and thirty-three tiny vials of perfume samples from a special perfumer in Boulder, Colorado. I have sweet grass on my wrists and it is making me drunk. Listening to Dalglish singing Wendell Berry's words: "You are the known way leading always to the unknown, And you are the known place to which the unknown is always leading me back."


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