Music in my earbuds

While all this intense excitement is going on, on the knitting front, there is music going on in my earbuds. Hopelessly dorky, see the pic. Abba, I ask you! but I love them. When I'm out walking, the wall of sound propels me at very aerobic speeds.

And the Mamas and the Papas, if you know anything about early music, you will have enormous respect for the musicianship of their compositions and interpretation. Pure early medieval riffs all over the place. The phrase California Dreamin' is itself an early riff, no wonder it went over well. They're also funny.

Then there's Bach, whom I hate on the keyboard, sorry, but the unaccompanied cello suites are heaven to listen to, just slow your heartbeat enough to be calm and cool, and YoYo Ma is doing all the work. And the guitar, especially flamenco, especially modern new compositions in the flamenco metaphor, created and played by Armik, lovely to hear, make you want to compose music, always a good sign, highly recommended.

And Sting, who has such a range of period and style that you have to find something you like here! and it's based on the labyrinth, one of my best spiritual exercises.

When I was a student in France, I was dragged along to Chartres like all the students, in March, right before Easter, where we all froze while being lectured on the exterior wonders of the Cathedral, etc., and inside, the whole place was jammed with folding chairs ready for Easter. Which is why I failed to note that there is a labyrinth in the floor of the cathedral, dangit, never knew and I was right there.

We were taken on a bus, and I can hugely recommend this as the best way to approach it, or at least go by car, because as you cross the Plain of Chartres, the tip of the cathedral starts to show on the horizon, bigger and bigger until you get there, like a fanfare of music. Brilliant design.

Speaking of design, maybe not so brilliant, here are updates on the hanging planters,



which are producing tiny little tomatoes and peppers now, while the wave petunias are waving away, and one of the stacked planters



which is jammed with little plants all competing to grow fastest. And one repaired stack,



replanted with seeds after a combined attack of squirrels and chipmunks put paid to the several previous attempts. Hope springs eternal around here. Theirs and mine!

Oh, and people interested in an update about HP: he's doing well, very stable, and since one of my continuing concerns is how to entertain him, given that he can only read and watch tv, I'm delighted that the FIFA soccer has started this morning, on a channel we can get, yay.

Between the French Open (tennis) and Wimbledon coming up and the soccer tournament, my job of recreation director is pretty much filled for now.