Housefilk report

MY, that was lovely. First guest arrived shortly after 4 pm Saturday. Last guest departed around 3:30 pm Sunday. We got joyslin, sandy_tyras with Gerry, Rhiannon, and Shawn, tmc4242, and faxpaladin, as well as selenite and myself. We filked and talked and sang and told stories and sang and talked and played music and and and... I sang a lot. I sang three of my own filks, including two brand new ones. Joyslin, who knows I love to sing Butterbug Blues with Joe and will do it at the drop of even a virtual hat, asked for it, bless her. Joe showed off his new guitar. Heck, we even got Karl to sing a couple of songs.

The kids were napping during the beginning of things, then came downstairs and socialized for a while, then had dinner, then were banished to play upstairs where we let them get into rooms and toys they don't usually have to keep their attention, then put to bed. That worked out pretty well, I think.

We served lasagna and chicken alfredo for dinner [1], with caesar salad and two kinds of garlic bread. Also chocolate and lots of chocolate chip cookies.

Although I did take the opportunity to use my new filk song book picked up at FenCon to sing "Stop Singing Ose or I'll Kill You", it really was unneeded, as we were singing lots of silly stuff like I like best. Like "Plastic Vorlon", that was hilarious. Todd playing the mp3 of "Online Religion". Joyslin singing along with me on several Tom Lehrer songs. I sang my new Firefly filk, and when Joe got here he sang his, which he described as a future environental awareness anthem, OWTTE.

It was excellent. I didn't get to bed until 4 am. I am so brain fried!

We need to do this more often. I got housefilks restarted here last year by insisting on throwing a housefilk birthday party for myself. (and then it went for several months before stopping again.) Well, there are four filkers locally, Karl, me, Sandy, and Joe who all have birthdays in January - and Margaret Middleton, Arkansas filker who wants to come out sometime, has hers then too. So I was talking with Joe before he left about throwing the Second Annual Traditional Birthday Party Housefilk Bash in January.

So, Sandy? Margaret? What do you think?

EDIT: Now with Pictures!

( footnote )

choir bravery

So this morning I peeled myself out of bed to take Maggie to Sunday school, so as not to break her heart. Karl stayed home to take care of Jamie and be hospitable to faxpaladin. We did not make it to the 8 am service, but got there just in time for her 9:30 Sunday school. I went into the 3 week adult class Karl and I had been going to. Then Maggie and I went to the 11 am service.

As mentioned before, I've started going to choir practice, for the last 2 weeks. The choir was doing a psalm, one of the ones where they sing the refrain once, then everyone, and then it's choir doing verses and everyone doing choruses. Victor, the music director, will during the choruses turn and sing towards the congregation below - although I don't know if most people notice that, I think most people stay facing forward. I was singing back up towards him and enjoying it, singing out, after all I had practiced this one with them a week and a half ago. He looked over at me, made eye contact and grinned - then got this "waitaminute!" look and crooked his finger at me with a "you, get up here!" gesture. I didn't move then, but noted that they were doing the Bach piece for the offertory - and I'd practiced that one with them twice, and been playing the slipped up during the start of the sermon to say softly to him that I hadn't brought my music, wasn't in great voice, but if he had an extra copy and wanted me to come up, I would - he did.

So right at the Peace I slipped upstairs with Maggie, who was a little angel and sat quietly. I sang the Offertory with the choir. Then I stayed up there, sang more of the liturgy with them, went down to communion and back up, did the rest of the hymns and liturgy from up there. It was fun. And it was a great week for the music. It's the end of the liturgical year, so Victor was pulling out the stops, had a drum (kettle drum?) and various brass instruments up there as well as the organ. Good music. We were doing the feast Sunday music, which I prefer, and it was really rich and exhilarating, even the parts early on I was doing from down below. I came home feeling really good from the music. And I feel really brave to have gone and sung with the choir - although I don't think I did that great, between allergies and exhaustion and not knowing the music too well yet.

Housefilk pics!

Housefilk pics from last night
( Joyslin, Todd, Maggie, and Rhiannon )

( Rhiannon, Sandy, Gerry, and Maggie )

( Sandy, Gerry, Shawn, and Joe )

( Todd, Rhiannon, Sandy, and Joe playing )

Heh - Maggie can't quite say "guitar" yet. But as a good Babylon 5 fan, she can say G'Kar. So that's what she calls Joe's new guitar. "Look, he's got a g'kar!" No, no, Joe did not bring a Narn. It's getting to the point I have a hard time pronouncing "guitar" myself.

political pet names

Y'know, listening to this song, I am seized with the temptation to give Karl the pet name of "John" for when he's getting Political.

He'd understand. Sadly, anyone else would likely think I'd lost it and was mistakenly using my first ex's name.

"Will someone shut that man up?" "Never!"

(He knows I'm teasing him and I love him.) (however, anyone using this to try to get Political on me will not be kindly taken.)