Musical Musings

I have been doing my best to record the names of the songs and the artists that the dancers on "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance Canada?" have performed too. I was therefore very pleased to find these songs listed on the websites of each. One song I was particularly attracted to was "Shosholoza" by the Soweto Gospel Singers. I checked out their website and previewed their latest CD "African Spirit." Here is another addition to my wish list!! I would love to go to a live performance. They have a great sound and very colourful costumes. I sure seem to be attracted to that South African sound: Lorraine Klassen, Johnny Klegg, Lucky Dube, Ladysmith Black Mombasa...

I am saddened this week by the death of Odetta at the age of 77. What a powerful, soulful voice she had. She sang "Freedom" during the March on Washington in 1963 with Dr. Martin Luther King.

I am thinking of Eva Cassidy who passed in 1996 at the age of 33 years from melanoma cancer. I think her voice is one of the most beautiful I have ever heard. She was such a versatile singer and excelled in many genres: blues, jazz, rock, gospel, etc.
She was shy and enjoyed performing in small venues. It was thought that she never obtained a major recording contract because she could not be pinned down to one type of music. I discovered today that her birthdate is the same as mine - February 2nd.

My Wellness Report: I had my fourth chemo treatment on Wednesday and am doing well so far. That is four chemo treaments down, two to go. Yay!! Since I am on a new chemo drug (Taxotere) this time I decided to take only this drug rather than the combination of Taxotere and the antibody Herceptin. This gives me a chance to see how my body responds to Taxotere (possible side effects of skin rash, edema) before I add the Herceptin. I want to enjoy this time of year and all the Christmas festivities as much as possible. In my next treatment on December 31st I will take the combination of Herceptin and Taxotere. I have to take the drug Herceptin for one year - 17 treatments, spaced 3 weeks apart. I expect it will be early March before I undergo surgery. I so want to go with Alice to Canmore the last week in March so hope I am up to it by then.

Sonja's last day of classes was yesterday. She has a big exam tomorrow, one next Wednesday, and one next Friday. Then she will have finished her first semester at the U of A!! She has taken a break from her part-time job for study and for a Christmas holiday. I'm glad for that as she has been so busy.

Aina is up to her eyeballs in audits, reviews, studying for her CA. Trevor is under the pressure of not only a new job but of a takeover by Keyera of the company that he was originally hired by. Thankfully they will both have some time off at Christmas.

Kai is finding welding very sporadic, and would like to make a change from the trades. He has a new girlfriend and is back to working out regulary at the gym so is in fairly good spirits. I think he enjoys having Sonja's companionship.

Jarl has had steady work since he started his own company Geospark in July. Rebecca is busy with household chores and caring for and running around after her children. Spencer started playing hockey this year and is very keen. So Rebecca has become a hockey Mom and is in charge of 40 hockey jerseys. This is no small feat when one has a 1-year old to care for. Luckily she has the assistance of good friends, like Launa.

We are looking forward to being with our family for Christmas Eve and Day at Aina's home in Red Deer. It is going to be a sleepover. How exciting!