...a note from Christine...

     2008 - here we go.  The holidays flew by with not as much down time as we had hoped or could use, but that's okay.  My vision for 2008 is to learn to create down time moment by moment, by slowing my internal and mental pace.  That's a challenge for this very cerebral, planning,  "get the job done now" kind of girl.
     I just went back to the newsletter from last January to see what I wrote about my vision for the year ahead.  Interesting.  Here it is:
      I also want to get in the garden more, write more, accept more help in the office, do more yoga and meditate faithfully!  How's that for resolutions? I have no desire for huge changes in my life, as I am quite content - just refining and redirecting the existence I already enjoy.
     Well, huge changes came to us anyway, in the form of the wonderful new location for MoonHouse Studio.  The hard work of creating that and moving there forced all those quieting activities into the disorganized corners of my life for the last six months.  The garden is overgrown with weeds and my personal altar is dusty.  But,  we have definitely been redirecting and refining our life, and maybe this year I'll actually live it with a bit of balance...something else that has been out of whack lately!  Thus the quote from the Greek tragic dramatist.  I think Chris can tell you that I could easily be referred to as an American tragic dramatist occasionally!  That's something else I'd like to rein in this year. 
     Thanks for another blessed year here on Planet Earth.  I loved singing for all of you.   Christine

Swan Songs fulfills musical wishes by arranging private concerts for individuals facing the end of life, with a Texas artist or style of  music that they have requested.

To learn more about Swan Songs or to make a donation online, visit www.swansongs.org
 

Quote of the Month
"The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man."
Euripides
Greek tragic dramatist (484 BC - 406 BC) 

       Part of the fallout of moving our studio out of the house after so many years was that we needed to keep changing...to move Christine's booking office into the old studio, to de-clutter the living spaces, and finally yesterday I had a chance to totally re-arrange my home office.  I pulled a nice table out of our storage building, put some new shelves on the wall, moved the filing cabinets into the old studio, moved our record company inventory from Austin Self Storage to our old drum room...you get my drift.  We like to call it all "dressing for success".  If we take the time on the front end to make our workspaces easy to navigate, maybe we'll get some work done!
     The new year always holds some kind of unknown promise, doesn't it?  We look ahead at our wall calendars and think, uh-oh, we haven't booked enough shows or sessions, but when we look back at the calendar we're taking down from last year, almost all the days were filled with something good.  It's a hard thing to trust, even though it happens the same year after year.
     Thanks so much to those of you who support us in our musical endeavors, those who come to the shows, and especially those of you who just open these newsletters now and then and follow along.  We couldn't do it without you.
     Happy New Year - bring it on.  Martin Sheen's character on West Wing would always mark a new beginning by saying "okay, what's next?".
     See you at the gig...
     Chris