Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! I am once again back with my family enjoying an unexpected week off from work. Unexpected because until two weeks ago I did not know that I had this vacation time. I love happy unexpectedness. :)

I had a wonderful Christmas. Right now all my younger siblings are running around the house playing with their new toys. It seems like the game of the moment is some sort of laser tag.

For the first time in several years all of us went to the same Mass on Christmas day. Normally half of us go to midnight and the other half go in the morning, but this year everyone went in the morning. I actually went to the vigil as well to accompany the soloists on the organ. Exciting but also a little scary as it's been about five years since I've played the organ in church and it was very last minute. Three of the pieces I received two days beforehand, and the final piece I received when I arrived at the church for a brief rehearsal. The organ is in need of some desperate repairs, and I had a few problems with stops the first two pieces, but the Communion pieces turned out much better, at least in my opinion. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to play more often. I'm planning to take a few lessons to brush up on technique, pedaling, and the stops. The biggest determining factor in how much time I spend will be whether or not I can obtain a key. My ultimate goal is to start playing for weddings again. Music took a huge backseat in college, but I don't think it could ever stop being a part of my life. One of these days I will get a piano as well, but for the time being it would be in competition with the TV and I don't think my roommates would approve. :-P Aside from the organ I am also playing a few times a month with a couple of friends. Right now we are working on Bach's Double and I cannot wait to have it done. It's going to sound awesome. I'm really enjoying having more difficult pieces to learn, because otherwise I am tempted to just stick with music that I already know or that is fairly easy to sight read. The challenge of having to practice difficult passages is exciting. And yes, I know that I have now managed to sound like a complete dork. :)