2024
Dear Friends & Family,
It’s that time again: the unveiling of
my annual holiday epistle! I know…it’s all about me and too many sentences
begin with “I”. Alas, I do live alone (except for my animal friends) so that’s
my excuse. You will find the usual clickable links (underlined) to lots of
photos and videos. If not online, you won’t see the photos or videos and,
consequently, will miss the best part! Best get thee to a computer (or iPad or
iPhone) and visit my web site at http://saxchick.net.
Just click on the Holiday Newsletter graphic (like the one above). It will
remain online until next December, when it will be replaced with a new holiday
letter.
I finally returned to my carpet mural production
this year, creating two in the early part of the year. One is a cat in cubist
style (or my version of it); the other is a ginkgo tree, dedicated to my Aunt
Marion, whose love for the ginkgo tree at her residence led me to my own
exploration of and fascination for the species. I have five more frames ready
to go so will have to get motivated to come up with more designs for carpet
murals.
I have a new obsession to add to my
growing list: wax seal stamps. I am amazed by the hundreds, maybe thousands, of
designs available. When you can’t find what you want you can submit your own
design for a custom stamp! Besides the obvious application of sealing letters I
am exploring other ways to use them: on packages in and on greeting cards and a
few other things I have in mind but have not yet done.
Watercolors have not been in my
repertoire since 2013, though I don’t rule out picking it up again. I did,
however, dust off my watercolor paints to create some leaf prints, which I
decided would be greeting cards.
Artist friend Paula introduced me to the medium and I used leaves from my own
redbud and ginkgo trees to print. I added wax seals to some (maybe all) of the
cards just because they are so much fun and I have a good collection of gingko
and other stamps to play with. Quoting Nietzsche, “We have art so that we shall
not die of reality”. That will be my only
political comment.
I continue my obsession with the Artificial lntelligence art
program AI Art Generator Pro (DALL-E3). Of course, I’ve generated lot of images
that include a saxophone, including every animal you can think of
playing one! Cats are featured in many of my “creations”, including cats cooking and gardening. I like to think
of images that wouldn’t normally be found anywhere if I didn’t come up with
them. Of course, I generated some holiday-themed images,
including re-imagined Nativity scenes and perhaps a few of questionable taste.
In others I have inserted
saxophones where they don’t belong (surprise!) or maybe where they should have
been. Believe it or not, I occasionally produce some images that don’t include cats or
saxophones!
I have slacked off some from my
fascination with carving avocado
pits but I still enjoy it. I have made a lot of ginkgo and redbud leaf
jewelry and have decided to stick mostly with the things that are best suited
to the medium. That means turtles, Christmas wreaths, and whatever else might
strike my fancy.
I continued my obsession with
photographing the beautiful birds
and other wildlife that come
to visit here. Most birds are camera shy and are not very accommodating at
posing for me. I try to lure them in with peanuts but the birds are so quick
(and my camera and I are so slow) that it is a challenge to capture good
photos. Still, I keep at it and occasionally get lucky. You will be happy to
know that I am getting a new iPhone with a much better camera than my current
cell phone has. I love having a camera (cell phone) at the ready and have
realized that mine is just not good enough. You can expect better photos next
year!
I still teach a handful of dedicated
students (saxophone and trumpet) and am content to concentrate on a special
few. I am not looking for new students but most likely will not be able to
resist if an eager new prospect should inquire.
One notable project I completed this
year was defrosting my 50-year-old freezer…after
30 years of use here in Richland Center! It felt really good to get it cleaned
out and looking like new (inside anyway) again. Now I need to get motivated to
clean out the excess in my house.
Our Aunt Marion, the last remaining
member of our mother’s family of eight siblings, turned 101 on July17th of this year. A
small group of family members celebrated with her at her residence in Dixon,
Illinois. She is still mobile and sharp, though her short-term memory is
fading, causing her a lot of distress. She was asked to sing (and did) at the
Heritage Square (her residence) 50th Anniversary gala on November 3,
accompanied on piano by the Director of Nursing. Not bad for a
101-year-old! I compiled a brief
(relatively) biography of
Marion’s long and interesting life so far, including some fun old photos.
You can see a small rogue’s gallery of family group selfies from our
holiday get-togethers during the year.
Miss Kitty continues her reign
as Queen of the house. She has also proclaimed herself the official produce
inspector. As soon as I bring in produce from my garden she is right there to
check it out. Her favorite is the string bean. She can hardly wait for me to
unload the day’s harvest before snatching one!
I planted a garden again this year. Unlike
last year’s drought this spring planting season began with more than enough
rain. Some plants thrived on it, while
others were drowning. Eggplants and beans were productive. Peas and squash were
disappointing.
As usual, I planted a few new trees (mostly to replace those
that the deer killed). I even planted a ginkgo tree, the capstone of my ginkgo
tree fascination! It amazes me that it is the oldest living tree – a living
fossil! I imagine dinosaurs lounging in the shade of its fan-shaped leaves!. They can live for 2,000 years or more so mine will likely
be the last thing standing on my property. The deer have not touched it. My
fruit trees produced a good bounty…enough for myself, friends, and deer.
My concert buddy Shirley and I attended
our usual series of MSO (Madison Symphony Orchestra) concerts, taking turns with the
driving. It’s unlikely that either of us would go if we had to drive alone to
every concert, but having a good friend to share the driving, dining, and
conversation makes it an enjoyable experience and we both enjoy keeping up our
exposure to excellent live music. Through the year we heard works by Higdon
(“Loco”), Kabalevky (“Cello Concerto No. 2”},
Beethoven (“Pastorale”), Dvorak (“New World
Symphony”), Rimsy-Korsakov (“Scheherazade”), Verdi
(“Requiem”), Moncayo (“Huapango”),
de Falla (“Noches en los Jardines
de Espana”), Revueltas
(Suite from “La Noche de los
Mayas”), and a Pixar movie concert featuring scores by Randy and Thomas Newman
and Michael Giacchino. The season actually coincides
with the school year so, beginning in September, we heard music by Valerie
Coleman (“Umoja”), Joseph Jongen
(“Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra”),
Tchaikovsky (Variations on a Rococo Theme” for cello and orchestra), and de Falla (“”Three-Cornered Hat”). November brought us works by
Leshinoff (“Rush for Orchestra”), Grieg (“Piano
Concerto in A minor”), and Shostakovich (“Symphony No. 5”). In the spring we
were treated to a concert featuring the Overture Center’s amazing organist,
Greg Zelek, with the UW-Madison Wind Ensemble.
We actually do have an excellent
concert series right here in Richland Center, just down the hill from my house!
There are actually six concerts in the series but I had a scheduling conflict
with a few of them. Saxophonist Otis Murphy and organist Greg Zelek were two of the notable featured artists. You can see
them on the concerts page.
Madison Opera Company presented three operas: Bologne’s
“The Anonymous Lover”, Bernstein’s “Candide” (loved it), and Rossini’s “The
Barber of Seville”. I get season tickets, along with good friends Janet and
Bea, and we sit in our special spot every year.
Four Seasons Theater staged the musical
“The Hello Girls” by Peter Mills in the Overture Center’s charming little
playhouse. It was about the Signal Corps and its vital role in the World War I
victory. The women who operated the telephones (a rather complicated task
requiring foreign language expertise) became America’s first female soldiers.
Janet and I thoroughly enjoyed this one!
On our third annual jaunt to Fireside
Theater in May dear friend Bea and I saw the musical, “Nunsense” by Dan Goggin. As
expected, it was a hoot!
I would be remiss if I didn’t
acknowledge the very special friends who attend all of these cultural events
with me. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends! Our conversation
and lunches are just as fulfilling as the actual performances. This summer
three of those friends and I attended a few plays at Spring Green’s American Players Theater, where the acting
is world class and the two theaters are beautifully located in the woods. Up
the hill (the outdoor stage) we saw “Ring Round the Moon”, a delightful comedy
written by Jean Anouilh. In the Touchstone (APT’s lovely indoor theater) we saw
“Wolf at the Door” (not my fave) by Marisela Trevino Orta and Michael Hollinger’s “The Virgin Queen Entertains
Her Fool”, a thoroughly entertaining stage production.
In late July our Community Players of
Southwest Wisconsin staged a production of “The Music Man”. Sadly, we are
no longer able to use the charming Coppertop Theater now that the University of
Wisconsin-Richland campus is defunct. It played an integral role in bringing
our community (and beyond) to cultural events here in Richland Center.
Our saxophone quartet, Burlap Sax,
resumed playing enough to perform at a couple of our favorite venues: Harvest
Guest Home and Walmart. We really enjoy playing for the HGH residents and for
Walmart shoppers! This year we played both Halloween and Christmas programs at
Walmart and a holiday program at Harvest Guest Home. I treasure our little
saxophone family. Each member is a gem of a human! I will post our holiday
concert pics after they happen on December 8th
and 15th.
As always, I wish each of you a holiday
season filled with people who appreciate and adore you, music that stirs your
soul, pets that love you unconditionally, food that’s worth the calories, and
health good enough to enjoy it all!
A joyous, healthy, and peaceful new year to you all!
Love,
Carol Kramer & Miss Kitty
