A moment of grace

That title sounds a bit pretentious but I’m not sure how else to describe it. Let me start from the beginning.

We were delighted to spend the Christmas holidays this year in Vancouver with my uncle, aunt, cousins, and their families. On the morning of New Year’s Eve Sharon, my cousin’s wife, and I were sitting at the table, doing word puzzles, drinking tea, and watching the birds at the feeder.

Sharon had just filled the feeder for the first time this season and the birdy telegraph clearly told of a new food source, There were chickadees, pine siskins, and juncos, all chowing down.

As we watched the birds coming and going, chasing each other off and then returning to the feeder, one pine siskin came straight at the window flying a few inches from the ground under the area where warning decals were on the glass. He hit the window pretty hard and landed on the ground with one wing outstretched.

I wanted to hold him, to keep him warm. Sharon opened the patio door  and I took a few steps to where he lay. I slipped the fingers of my left hand under him. As I picked him up, his wing folded back against his side. I registered his closed eyes and his rapid breathing. How fast is normal for a tiny bird? There were bits of seed on his beak. I talked to him, I told him he was beautiful, told him I wanted to help him, told him he was safe. I don’t know how long I held him or what else I said to him. I didn’t want him to be afraid and I just kept talking.

After a while, he opened his eyes and moved his head a little. I took my top hand away and he continued to sit on my hand. Eventually I moved to the end of the picnic table and put my hand on the table top. By this time he was looking around. After a few more minutes I asked him if I could put him on the table. When I touched his back, he squawked three times and flew into the hedge.

I’ll never know if he survived. I hope he did. I do know that for those moments my vision narrowed and the only thing that mattered was the small bird, so light and soft in the warmth of my hand.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Preston

Davis Strait, Ekortiarsuk Fjord, and Eclipse Sound

Wednesday October 2 was a day at sea for us as we crossed the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada. I love sea days with Adventure Canada because there are always interesting presentations to attend or, if I want to, I can sit back and do nothing. My favourite presentation of this crossing was given by Rogier on using the camera in an android phone. I picked up some really good tips about different ways to trigger the shutter. Dennis mentioned that on one of his trips to Antarctica, he noticed that the professionals were using their phones as their wide angle cameras so they didn’t have to carry more than one camera body. The phones really are becoming more and more capable as an alternative to a camera for the average photographer. In the evening there was a kitchen party which I thoroughly enjoyed and which I’ve written about in a previous post.

Our first hiking opportunity in Canada was in Ekortiarsuk Fjord. This year they divided the moderate hikers into two groups. I went with the faster group and was very pleased  that I could putter at the back while I took photos and then catch up with the rest of the group. At times I was even among the leaders. Our group did get a bit strung out and the tail enders started to merge with the slower group behind us. Some of us got permission from Heather, our group leader, to make our way back to the zodiacs via the beach. We walked along the tide line where there was slippery kelp and slimy rocks so balance was a challenge in a couple of spots; however I managed to remain upright after a couple of less than graceful moves. The photo highlight was a cross fox.

He isn’t really very clear because he was quite far from us and his head is turned away from my camera. I was delighted to see him nonetheless. One of the compromises I make by not carrying my mirrorless camera is that I can’t get really good close-ups of wildlife. I still enjoy the experience though.

It was on this hike that I became disenchanted with my boots. They are the same size I usually wear but are a different brand. I found they were just not snug enough to give me really secure footing. In addition, they were supposed to be waterproof. The right boot was fine. The left boot leaked. That’s not acceptable in my world.

In the dining room I had a few of those ‘small world’ moments. Tina, the geologist on the trip, and I discovered that we live only a few blocks apart in Calgary. Later I met two woman also from Calgary neighbourhoods very close to me.

Friday October 4 saw us in Eclipse Sound. Again I hiked with the moderate fast group and was quite comfortable with the pace. There had been a bit of backing and forthing about chatting while on hikes. Some folks enjoy socializing as they walk and others find conversation irritating and want to be alone in nature. It’s not a problem for me. Sometimes I chat and sometimes I don’t. It’s pretty easy to tell from the response whether a person is happy chatting or not, and if I don’t want to chat I simply place myself far enough away from others that I don’t have to. Dave Freeze who was leading our hike collected us and suggested that we do the next part of the hike up to the ridge in silence and then spend a few moments at the top just enjoying the land. We did that and I got a couple of good shots of people as they rested and looked out at the tundra and the fjord.

In the afternoon we took a zodiac cruise to see a polar bear and her two cubs that had been spotted on land. We got close enough to get a reasonably good look at the trio but not so close as to disturb the bears as they wandered along the shore and the cubs slid in and out of the water.

After seeing the bears the plan was to go up the river to the bottom of a waterfall

but there was clearly a front coming in and it was getting a bit bumpy so our driver decided not to chance it. Anyway one of the other drivers reported on the radio that he could only get half way up to the waterfall. Instead we headed for a zodiac that appeared to contain a couple of polar bears. These bears were not at all skittish and proffered spiked hot chocolate.

Our Christmas letter

Another year has gone whizzing by and I haven’t written a Christmas note to one single person, so I thought I’d do it en masse this year. Since the pandemic Richard and I have been indulging our hermit natures. We are singing in only one choir; Richard has continued with voice lessons and I have continued with lutherie lessons. Other than that, we’ve pretty much stayed home and there are many nights when we say to each other, “I’m glad we don’t have to go anywhere tonight.” Changed days from when the only time we stayed home was when we couldn’t find something to do elsewhere.

We are exploring options for heating the shop more evenly so I have been able to spend more time in there when the weather is cold. I’ve been getting better at using my scroll saw, one of the first power tools I got from my colleagues at Forest Lawn High School when I retired. After Richard gave it an overhaul last year and with some careful practice on my part, the blades are staying put most of the time rather than pulling out on tight turns. I made a variety of ornaments for Christmas this year. Some people got a lamb made from two different woods. I cut mittens, gingerbread people, cat and dog variations, and some funky travel trailers. Sorry I don’t have many photos as most of them are already wrapped and under Christmas trees.

I have patterns for intarsia ornaments that make up an entire manger scene and I’d like to construct the whole thing at some point. Rather than ornaments to hang, though, I think I’ll put small stands on each of the figures so they can be displayed on a table or mantle. That may or may not happen in the coming year as I tend to get involved in other projects and realize in October that Christmas is coming and I need to get a move on.

Richard has continued to write music. He’s working on another piece for his “Summer Suite for Harp and Cello” - a set of pieces he’s been composing for a friend who is a beginning harpist and her daughter who is a professional cellist. Writing pieces so the harp is easy enough and the cello part is still interesting has been a fun challenge for him.

He also wrote a new Christmas benediction for the choir. Writing “incidental music,” as it’s called, is rewarding because it is performed more than once a year, unlike an anthem. In addition he continues to transpose songs for me for the ukulele, and he figures out chords when the standard 3 chords I use for songs don’t quite cut it. He wrote a vocal trio called “Bunny Slippers” that he and two friends will perform at the year end recital for the vocal studio. I’m not going to give too much away here but it’s going to be a real crowd pleaser with just the right amount of silliness. This past Sunday he and I sang his arrangement of ‘The Birthday Carol’ in church and people told us they enjoyed it. It’s so wonderful to have Richard and his knowledge of music as a resource in the house. I go at it intuitively playing ukulele by ear and that only gets me so far before I get stuck. When I do I turn to Richard who is always willing to help. Sometimes we play ukulele together. It’s a productive mix because I have a background in classical guitar technique and Richard has in depth musical knowledge. We appreciate learning things from each other.

Richard has enjoyed connecting with a friend once a week to play a co-operative computer game. With a busy calendar, it’s a flexible way for both of them to keep the friendship alive while killing off evil zombies. Judging from the noises and snippets of conversation that come from the study when Richard is playing, it’s completely engaging. “Where are you? Oh I see you. Watch out he’s over there! Nonononononono (pause) I just died (pause) again.” I have it on good authority that the noises coming from the other player are of similar intensity.

Some of the highlights of the year have been trips out to Vancouver to visit family. In the milder months we drive and in the colder ones we fly. One trip was particularly special in that we helped my uncle celebrate his 98th birthday. He and I had a lovely chat about his younger years and his memories of Mum. As I grow older I cherish the time I spend with family whether it be family by blood or family by choice. I read somewhere, although I’ve been unable to track the quotation, that when we retire we move from focusing on achieving things to focusing on appreciating things. I have many more things I want to accomplish and, at the same time, I’m more aware of the daily things I can appreciate.

This came into sharp relief this summer when Richard was faced with an unexpected surgery. All went well and he has completely recovered. We cancelled the first of our scheduled back-to-back trips with Adventure Canada out of the Northwest passage. That was disappointing for both of us but we have a plan to take the trip next fall so cross your fingers for us. Once we tried to get through the passage and were stopped by ice. This summer it was because of health issues. I’m going on the third-time-lucky theory for the fall of 2025. I was able to take the second trip from Greenland to Newfoundland as you will know if you’ve been following the blog. Yes, I am going to finish writing about that trip in the near future.

There are other changes around us. Due to a rezoning bylaw, what was once a neighbourhood of single-family dwellings is rapidly becoming a neighbourhood where bungalows are knocked down and replaced by buildings with anywhere from 6 units to over 100 units in them. I can’t say we love this and it will, no doubt, get personally annoying when the two houses across the alley from us come down and construction begins on a four storey combination residential and retail building. There is one going in down the block which is almost finished and the alley is always blocked by construction vehicles. I admit to being just a tiny bit cranky about the prospect. Oh well, I will do my best to follow Mum’s advice and ‘cross that bridge when we come to it.’

We had some work done on the camper van early in 2024 anticipating that we’d spend a good deal of time during the summer travelling in it. That didn’t happen so we have yet to enjoy the new awning and the improved lighting in the interior. We are hoping to travel next summer although we haven’t made any firm plans as yet. I’m also planning to arrange space in Beano, our 31 year old Toyota van, so that we can spend the night in it if our plan is to get somewhere quickly rather than make a lot of stops. It is much easier on gas than the camper and we would still be able to take advantage of camping which we both enjoy. It’s also a fun project.

In the new year we are planning to join a second choir; I have joined a ukulele jam that meets once a week; and Richard is investigating ways for us to work more consistently on our fitness. 2025 is an open book. Richard and I wish you a Merry Christmas and health and contentment for the new year. May the surprises that inevitably happen be delightful ones

Haiku 3 Hands

 

Seven hundred years
Mummified by cold and wind
Hands reach out to me

Nuuk Greenland October 1 2024

Rainbow in Nuuk

I felt quite smug today. I found my way right to the town centre and then down to the museum. I made a brief stop in the museum to see the Greenlandic mummies. They were around a corner very carefully lit. The rest of the small room was dim. I stood there for a few minutes letting my eyes move over every detail of their bodies and clothing, thinking how all humans past and present are related. I wanted to make some kind of a gesture of respect but I couldn’t think of anything so I said a mental thank you for their lives and their exquisitely preserved remains. Before I turned away I hoped that they had lived well and were valued. In the gift shop I bought a book on the mummies. On a previous trip we actually saw the place they were found. Then, still a little pensive, I headed to the qiviut store.

Mummy's hands by Liz Carlson

I looked around for quite a while before buying a toque, and neck tube for Richard and an ear band for myself. Because one Danish kroner is worth about 20 cents, it’s easy to lose track of how much things actually cost. Qiviut ain’t cheap! Purchases in hand, I walked back to the ship. I’ll probably go into town again this afternoon with my sketchbook. I also didn’t feel much like taking photos today. I got a few including one of a rainbow over the harbour.

It is weird to be here when it is dark in the morning. I was in town when the sun came up this morning. It’s now bright and sunny with a few clouds. I went the wrong way when I left the ship. Instead of going through the border control which I didn’t see, I went the other way and simply walked around the fence. One of the workers gave me a rather strange look but I just smiled and carried on. It’s amazing what you can get away with if you just look like you know what you’re doing. When I came back to the ship I went the right way.

There is a lot of construction going on here at the moment. The woman in the qiviut shop said she was surprised that I knew how to get around because of the construction. I’m sitting in the Compass Club on the ship as I write this and the lady in the next bay window is coughing like crazy so I moved back one. Now I have a tickle in my throat.

Construction

Looks like the shuttle buses are doing a good business. I enjoyed getting out and walking this morning. BTV and Janet are taking the bus tour which I’ve been on before and then going to the museum. I feel like I needed unstructured time today. Adventure Canada doesn’t want you to be bored and I know from experience that it’s up to me to carve out down time.

We always get a wake-up call in the morning beginning with, “Good morning, good morning, good morning.” After that the expedition leader gives the ship’s position, the temperature, and the wind status, he usually reads a quotation that has something to do with our kind of trip. This year rather than the  quotations we have Tony who makes up a song about yesterday’s activities. He often borrows the tune which he plays on his harmonica before singing the song. The people I’ve talked to seem to think it is fantastic. Barbara and I aren’t as convinced especially when MJ follows the song with some ‘poetry’ reported to be composed by AI. I believe the AI part unless MJ spends more time writing bad stuff than I think he does. To give Tony his due, it's not easy to come up with song lyrics each and every day based on the previous day's events.

Last night I met Kaili who was so nice on the phone when BTV and I were trying to get things arranged for this trip. She wanted to meet BTV so I made sure I introduced the two of them this morning. I really hope AC keeps her on. She was the best of the bunch on the phone.

I didn't expect to see flowers in October

Harbour in Nuuk

Sedna godess of the sea

kayaks

I like this view in Nuuk

Monday September 30, 2024

[From my journal]

It’s been a good day. To start off with, I wasn't as tired as I have been for the last few days. Mind you, I’m tired now that it is almost 10:00. I did feel fairly human when I got up this morning. We had a great zodiac cruise to the face of the glacier. We were in Randy’s zodiac. I was right beside him on the starboard side and was looking around not saying anything. I met his eye and he smiled at me and said, “It just makes you smile doesn’t it?” I agreed with him. We saw an iceberg, not sure if it was really big enough to be an iceberg or not, but it was the most gorgeous sapphire blue I’ve ever seen, very intense. On the way to the face of the glacier, Randy took us up to a number of waterfalls. I was surprised that some of the vegetation around the waterfalls and little streams was still green.

Randy Edmonds

Waterfall close up

We saw a bunch of bird’s nests along the wall beside the water. We asked Gary later what they were and he said he thought they would probably be kittiwakes. We also saw some glaucous gulls. Randy took us as close as he could to the face and then through the ice and back to the ship. It was overcast which made the sky, sea, glacier, and the rock rather monochromatic. I didn’t mind that. I took some photos on my phone and wasn’t going to bother with the camera until I remembered the card flying back and forth between Vancouver and Aukland. That made me get the camera out and I got some decent photos with it including one of the gulls on the ice which allowed Gary to identify them later.

After lunch there was a choice of activities, crafts, classical guitar, or a talk by Gary on how to use binoculars.  He told us to identify the eyepiece that wasn’t adjustable, and the one that was. The one that is has a dial and + and - on it. We were to focus on something in the distance that wouldn’t move i.e. not something on land because the ship was moving. Then look through whichever eye had the non-adjustable eyepiece and adjust the binoculars with the regular adjustment wheel in the middle. After that was nice and sharp look through the adjustable side and adjust that until it was nice and sharp. From there you only have to adjust using the middle knob. People in our group saw a minke whale. I thought I saw it but it turned out to be just a wave breaking over a submerged rock. We saw gulls as well. Gary explained that glaucous gulls look different depending on how old they are. Their beaks and their feathers change colour.

While we were on the cruise with Randy he pointed out some snow buntings. I wish I could have gotten a picture of them but I didn’t.

After the binocular session, there was a talk by some of the Inuit onboard about truth and reconciliation and then the briefing about Nuuk tomorrow. We each got a customs form to fill out. Apparently the folks in the main office are getting quite busy trying to arrange customs clearance a day later than we were supposed to arrive in Canada. I checked the amounts and if you’re out of Canada for 48 hours you can bring back $800 worth of stuff. I don’t think I’ll be spending that much on qiviut .

Tomorrow is Nuuk. There are bus tours which BTV and Janet are going to take. I’m just going to walk into town on my own and poke around with my camera and phone. In theory, the sim card should work in Nuuk but I’m not holding my breath on that one. There is free internet at the library but everybody and his dog will want to be on it. BTV and Janet are going to get lunch some place in town and my plan is to go into Nuuk in the morning and look around, come back onboard for lunch and then go back into town or, if I’ve done everything I want to, I’ll come back to the ship.

It certainly feels busy and I think I need some down time. Walking around at my own pace and doing whatever I want should fix some of that. I’m quite content to let MJ wake me up in the morning since I’m not catching either the 8:15 bus tour or the 8:45 bus tour. By special arrangement, the museum opens at 9:00 so I’ll attempt to get into town about 9:30 and hit the museum and then the quiviut shop. I may or may not find a place for a cup of tea.

Clothing: for the ice tour today I wore my light fleece pants with my rain pants over top. My rain pants seem to be leaking because I had a wet spot on my butt that took a while to dry. I’m pretty sure it’s just the middle seam but it might be time for a new pair of rain pants. I wore my hiking boots with just my regular socks underneath. My toes were a wee bit chilly but nothing too serious. I had my heavy gloves with me but only wore the ones with the fingertips that work on the touch screen. My hands were chilly but not frozen so that was fine. On the top I had my Ice Breaker short sleeved T, then my grey marino turtleneck, then my Grimsey sweater and finally my AC jacket. I took an ear band rather than a toque and the only time my head felt the cold air was when we were zipping back to the ship on the step. Again, proof positive of what a wonderful purchase that sweater was. I will be so sorry when it eventually wears out.

I love my Grimsey sweater

I think I’ve about covered the events of the day and now it’s time to ‘lay this log’ as the guy on the  Bushman and Blue YouTube channel always says when it’s time for him to go to sleep in his tent.

Till tomorrow.

Music and me

I’m so excited today I can hardly restrain myself from jumping up and down. I love to learn things and last night, when I should have been in bed, something about music finally clicked. That was Mum’s word, “One of these days it will click,” she would assure me. Some of you will read this and say, “Ya, big deal. I’ve known that forever,” and some of you will read it and not know what I’m talking about. I understand because I’ve been in both those places.

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t sing. When I was little and we had huge family gatherings at my grandparents’ house Mum played the grand piano,  I sat on the bench beside her and we sang. As soon as I was old enough I joined the junior choir at church and when I was about 11 Dad bought me accordion lessons for Christmas. That’s when I learned to read music. Well, more correctly, I learned to read treble clef since the bass clef in accordion is a kind of shorthand which uses a single low note to indicate the bass note and a single high note to indicate the entire chord which is then delineated by M major chord, m minor chord, or 7 for 7th chord. I didn’t progress far enough to need more information than that so I don’t know what happens to accordion notation as the pieces get more complex.

But I’m getting side-tracked. I kept singing in the junior church choir and when I got into junior high I signed up for music vocal as one of my options. The talk around the community was that there was a hot shot music teacher named Marilyn Perkins who taught the choral program at Viscount Bennet, the school I attended for junior and senior high. Each year there was a band and choral concert at the Jubilee Auditorium and that was a very big deal. Being in Miss Perkins’ choir was THE thing to do. In grade 7 we didn’t get Miss Perkins but if we registered for music vocal again in grade 8 we got her.

I was awe struck from the first moment she walked into the room. There were two of my friends in the class with me and I remember “Perky” giving us some music and suggesting that the 3 of us take it to the organist at church and sing it as a trio during the service. We did that and having Perky for music in school made me increasingly dissatisfied with the music at the church. Miss Perkins was the choir director at a neighbouring United Church and, much to my father’s chagrin, I jumped ship and began attending that church so I could sing with Miss Perkins.

Along with choral music, I joined the folk club at school and learned to play the ukulele. I thought of it as just a  guitar with training wheels and figured I could more easily sell my parents on the instrument because it didn’t cost as much as a guitar. At some point I ‘graduated’ to guitar and with the help of the other kids and the teacher sponsor, Barry Luft, I learned to play chords and sing along. I loved the folk club. We had Hootenannies and met once a week before school to learn new songs. I started a song binder consisting of lyrics and chord names which I still have. I couldn’t read standard musical notation for the guitar but I didn’t need to because everyone played chords. There were a lot of nights with guitars around campfires that have stayed with me.

Sometime around grade 9 I saw that some of the other kids, the high flyers in the choral class were taking voice lessons so I thought that would be a good idea for me too. Most of those high flyers were also taking piano lessons which gave them an advantage in sight reading. I took voice lessons all the way through high school, quit when I went to university, and then found a teacher at the university when I went back to do my BEd. I continued with the church choir under Marilyn Perkins and, when I got a job in Banff after university, I drove back and forth from Banff to Calgary so I could attend rehearsals on Thursday nights and services on Sunday.

During those years Marilyn coached me in singing until she became ill with her second bout of cancer. She died 2003. When I retired in 2008 I had the idea that I would finally devote myself to singing. I’d learn to sight sing and hone my technique and skills so that I could sing in more choirs. I started taking piano lessons with the express purpose of improving my reading. I was never particularly attracted to the piano as an instrument and after 7 years, never having gone beyond grade 3. I decided that there were certain things in life I no longer had to do if I didn’t want to. At first piano was fun because it was new and the learning curve was steep but I realized that I simply wasn’t committed enough to put in the work it would require to accomplish one of my goals: to be able to sit down and play for my own enjoyment. Since I quit lessons I have only sat down to pick out a soprano line in some of the choral music we sing. Clearly giving it up was the right thing to do.

Another thing I did when I retired was to start voice lessons again, this time with Elaine Case, daughter of my first voice teacher. Elaine is a knowledgeable, kind, and patient teacher and my technique improved quite a bit in the years I studied with her. I lasted longer with her than with piano, about 10 years I think. Again, it became a question of my commitment. I was singing at her recitals and I was progressing but I hadn’t found a singing niche that really suited me. I have a “big” voice which is not always suitable for small ensemble or chamber choir work and I still wasn’t able to read and sing my line reliably without a lot of help from others who could read better than I or from the piano.

I might have tried for the opera chorus but I’d kind of been there and done that as a member of the stage management staff at the Banff Centre and with the Calgary Opera for its first few seasons. I’m not fond of memorizing songs in other languages, learning blocking or wearing costumes, and my lack of ability to read would probably have gotten me into trouble as well. It seemed like it would be a huge amount of work, a lot of which I didn't like.

While I was teaching I took up classical guitar. I very much like the sound of the instrument and I enjoyed playing for a number of years. By now you can probably see a pattern. I’m not sure how many years I played and I didn’t take any examinations but I think I was probably playing at about a grade 4 level. As with my other musical undertakings, I got to a place where I simply didn’t want to do the work it would have taken to improve beyond the level I was at. It’s useful at a certain point in life to admit to yourself that you just don’t want to put in the effort. Luckily by this point I’m not depending on the amount of effort I put in to hold down a job or get a degree. I can simply stop.

By the time I stopped taking classical guitar, I had 4 guitars, 2 classical, 1 folk, (the second guitar I ever bought) and an acoustic electric that I bought just because I liked it. I own two of those guitars now, the other two having found homes with people who will play and appreciate them more than I do.

In 2015 Richard and I took a trip to the Canadian Arctic with Adventure Canada. The host and musician on board was David Newland. He played guitar, sang, and occasionally played ukulele. I stayed up late singing with the handful of people who wanted to keep the music going long after most of the others on the ship had gone to bed. It took me back to the hootenanny days and I had a blast.

When I got home I decided that I would buy myself a ukulele for my birthday. I knew the chord shapes from guitar but it really messed with my brain that a G chord in the first position on the guitar was a C chord in the first position on the ukulele. One of the attractions of the uke was its size. I have some arthritis in my thumbs and that made playing barre chords on the guitar, which I had never gotten very good at, even more difficult. The uke was smaller with a narrower neck and the strings are not under so much tension so it was easier for me to play. I also discovered something that I have never been able to do on any other instrument before except the harmonica: I can play the melodies of songs by ear, and sing the words in my head. This is an important stress reliever and I can do it for hours without noticing how much time has passed. 

The disadvantage of studying something in reasonable depth is that you always have the teaching voice in your head. When I sing it is almost impossible for me not to think about whether I’m supporting the sound correctly, when and how I need to switch from one register to another, whether my vowels are placed well, and where I should take a breath. Those are all important considerations for a singer but it’s hard sometimes to get out of my own way. When I play one of my ukes by ear all of that falls away.

This year two official musicians were onboard the Adventure Canada trip to Greenland and Labrador. Tony Oxford plays and composes his own songs and he knows  a whole catalogue of songs by other artists.  Adam Ruzzo is trained in classical guitar and can switch from playing complex classical repertoire to playing folk, popular, and his own compositions at the drop of the hat. Shortly after the trip started Tony and Adam hosted a kitchen party. A kitchen party is a Newfoundland and Labrador tradition where “friends, family, and sometimes even strangers come together to share music, stories, food, and dance.” [https://newfoundlandbuzz.ca/]

I always travel with my ukulele now and I showed up to the first kitchen party with it in tow. I was sitting on the side when Tony approached me and asked if I would like to do a song. I said I would. The kitchen party began and after a while Tony called on me. I played my favourite “The Logdriver’s Waltz” with which Canadians of a certain age will be familiar because of the National Film Board short cartoon of the same name. I played the melody twice through and by the second time some of the audience were singing. I need more practice in front of people because while thinking how cool that was my fingers got all fumbly and I missed some notes. Nevertheless, people clapped at the end and I sat down.

I continued to play from the sidelines as much as I could and soon Tony invited me up to stand with the musicians. I played as many of the chords as I could and sang with great gusto. Adam encouraged me by telling me quietly what chords to play and Tony invited me to sing a verse of a song by myself. I felt as if I completely belonged.

At the second kitchen party I became part of the onstage gang and stayed to sing and play after the audience had left. It was a great workout for my head because I’m able to watch a guitar player’s left hand and read what the chord is so that I can play it. That’s when I’m playing guitar. What I was trying to do that night was to recognize the guitar chord and translate it to the ukulele chord. I missed a ton of chords and some I left out completely but it was fun and nobody paid any attention when I played a wrong chord. I think that’s part of the spirit of a kitchen party.

Unfortunately I missed the last kitchen party. I’m not as young as I once was. The cruise was drawing to a close and I knew that if I went, I would love it, stay up way too late, and be a total wreck in the morning. I stayed in my cabin and packed instead. When I saw Adam later at the hotel he gave me a hug and complimented me on my singing.

I don’t often play ukulele and/or sing in public by myself and Jake has been gently nudging me for years to work up a couple of party pieces. I’ve started a few times but haven’t gotten anything polished. Last night I was noodling away on my uke and I remembered two choral pieces I particularly liked. I looked up the words to one, listened a few times to YouTube versions, and then picked out the melody in C. If I could play the melody in C, I reasoned, I could sing the melody with chords in that key. I found most of the chords I needed with the help of various cheat sheets. A couple of chords didn’t sound right and I couldn't find ones that did, so I asked Richard. He dropped what he was doing and came to my rescue. He asked if the key of C was a bit low for me.

I spread out all the info I had on ukulele chords, and the Nashville number system which had never really made sense before. I decided to try playing the song in D. I know some of you can transpose with your eyes closed but for me this is a very big and complex step. The basic chords were easy enough but when I got the the others I figured them out by looking at what they were in C and then moving up a tone to give me the minor and the 7th chord I needed. I tried that key a few times and it worked. I very smugly announced to Richard that I had figured the song out in D. He listened and suggested it was still kind of low for me and that I could probably do it in F.

I wrote down the Nashville numbers beside the chords I had for the key of C, and then tried playing the song in F using the Dial a Ukulele Chord chart that Jake gave me. I kept getting the shape for two fo the chords so I drew the chord diagrams of them on the side of the page.  I palyed the song several times beginning to end using my diagrams and the Dial a Chord wheel. By then it was past 1:00 a.m. and I figured I’d better go to bed. So much for keeping up with the time advantage I got by moving from NL time to MST when I came home.  I have been going to bed before midnight and getting up around 8:00.

Today I got up (later than 8) and tried the chords again. I now know I’ll be able to learn the words and chords in order to sing and accompany myself. This morning I looked up the second song and I’m planning to learn that one as well. I think a good key for it will be D, but if not I'll pick a different key. 

If I learn to play in C, F, D, and G, I can probably handle most of the songs that show up at kitchen parties or their equivalent. I don’t care if I have the spotlight or not. I love being part of the  energy that happens when people sing and play together. I’m hoping to find other opportunities to be part of such gatherings and there’s a little voice in the back of my head saying, 'Maybe you can learn to play melody and chords in the same song. I have no idea whether I'll accomplish that or whether I'll poop out somewhere on the way. I do love new projects. You and I will have to wait and see.

Thanks for persevering to the end of this story, and by the way, I have maintained my motivation for a couple of things: writing and woodworking. I can be pleased with that.