A quick greeting.

Things are hectic. But very very fulfilling! Sorry this will be super short, but Eddie and I have our next to last concert tonight. Every single one of the concerts has been sold out and the reponse to the program and the new album "Inner Sanctum" has been phenomenal.
In all the hullabaloo, a friend send me this little video which has absolutely made my day. Everyone who has a dog or loves dogs will LOVE this, 'cause they know it's true.
Tomorrow we finish up our series of Christmas tours with a concert that will be filmed for a EPK. (Electronic Press Kit). So, if you're there, maybe you'll be in the video! :) So wear something brightly colored so that you can spot yourself in the film!
I'm wishing you all a beautiful 4th Advent Sunday. The waiting is almost over.....
Now sit back for a minute and reflect on the simple truth in this little video. love, cae

Our baby has arrived!

INNER SANCTUM has arrived!!! I actually held one in my hand- and I have a hallway full of boxes full of INNER SANCTUM CDs full of lots of Cae & Eddie & Florian and amazing, timeless music.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas.

I just got back from the Beauty Salon. I only go twice a year. (I know! Unbelievable!) One of those times is the week before our first Christmas concert. Sooooo, guess what's on the very near horizon? Yup. Cae & Eddie Christmas concerts! Yippeeeee!
We rehearsed yesterday for many many hours. Me and Eddie and Luke and Florian. And Peter our sound guy was there, too, to listen to the new songs and the playbacks so that he could create a beautiful sound landscape for each song. The audio system company FOHHN is sponsoring us with the most amazing new sound system. You can see what Peter will be using here: http://www.fohhn.com/index.php?id=12&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=436&cHash=78f9473a87
It is state-of-the-art high tech and just perfect for our "made-by-hand" vocals. Thank you, FOHHN !
The rehearsal went surprisingly well considering I have a nagging cough, and Florian had just gotten home from a Söhne Mannheims concert in Hamburg in the wee hours of the morning. At some point we discovered that we all had a bit of a headache so we all felt sorry for each other and ourselves. A bonding moment.
We really like the program that we have put together. There are some tried and true numbers, some new songs from our new album, "Inner Sanctum", and, of course, some surprises.
Our first concert is this Sunday, December 6 in Russheim. Then on Monday we will be singing in the Kammertheater in Karlsruhe. We've put together a slightly altered program for that audience to accommodate the "theater" atmosphere. Edo Zanki will be singing with us on at least 1 song. That will definitely be fun!
If you want to know where the concerts will be you can find the schedule on my website: www.caegauntt.de and then click at the bottom under "Meeting Places".
So many things to think of. Transportation, sound system, health, program, dog-sitter, what to wear, texts, Lifelines and CDs.
Did somebody just mention CDs ????? :)
WE'RE GETTING OUR NEW CDS DELIVERED - TOMORROW!!!!!!!!
We are so excited. Soon we will actually be holding the baby in our hands. What a long birth this has been.
So, dear Reader, this was just a quick note to get you up to date. Gotta run, because I've got a couple of people coming to look at Lifelines BEFORE they are for sale at the concerts. They want first choice. Whatever they don't buy, I'll have with me on Sunday in Russheim.

Dear Reader,
I want you to know that even when I don't write in my blog, I'm still thinking about you. It's true. But sometimes, thinking is all I do and I can't drag my sore, feverish, coughing body to the computer to write to you. Even though I have soooo much to tell you.
OK, enough excuses. Here's what's up. -
I have my fabulous sideboard now! Remember me telling you about the carpenter that I met who set about to build me a sideboard? He made it from German oak and walnut and even made the drawer pulls out of slate squares that we used on the floors. And then he set on top, exactly how I wished, a squirmy, twisted plum tree. I've put up the picture so that you can see for yourself how it turned out. He, Frank Roth, is an artist. And a perfectionist. And I am honored beyond words that he would take time out from his family to make this gorgeous piece. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.
Last weekend I served on the jury of the Werte Awards (Values Awards) in Schwäbisch Gmünd. This is an award that is given every two years to people who have served God and others selflessly either through volunteer work, projects, or courageous actions in everyday life. During the process of familiarizing myself with the various candidates, I was required to read through about 35 heart-wrenching bios. People who have opened their homes and their lives, and given generously to total strangers and embraced the unlovely. Honestly, this was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. I don't know what made me qualified to judge these people. Next to these Ambassadors of Compassion , I am a pauper.
The big news of the day: today, this very day, the graphics were finished for the CD booklet of "Inner Sanctum". Bernd Hartwig, the graphic artist, has stayed awake for the most part of the last 2 nights putting the finishing touches on the booklets. And I love the results!
This means, barring any unforeseen glitches at the press, we will have the new CD with us for the Christmas concerts.
We're scheduled to have our first Christmas concert rehearsal with Florian, who has been crazy busy with Söhne Mannheims, on Friday. We will then get the final set list put together and work out an arrangement or two. We are tremendously excited to be premiering several of the songs from the new album. Hope you like them!
I've been busy every evening making new Lifelines for you. I want to have a nice selection with me at the Christmas concerts. This week I've been making a lot of black Lifelines, simply because that's how it felt inside my head. Black! I HATE being sick. (I don't know anyone who enjoys it) In my mind though, I was just busy building antibodies to give me immunity from all the creepy crawly little flu bugs that seem to be everywhere right now. I hope YOU are staying well.
Luke is in the office while I'm writing this blog, listening to various Mozart recordings. He has decided that he appreciates Mozart's order and clarity of composition. I couldn't have said it better myself. And I studied music for 100 years!

I promised to tell you when ERF got the video of the ERF Gala up on the internet. You can find it at : http://erf.de/index.php?PHPSESSID=o7r7ctncgj8sgc4kvblf7o5sq7&node=4806&content_item=4#4806/4

We sing at 57:12 "The Prayer" from our new album INNER SANCTUM.
And at 71:55 We sing a little medley of two old Billy Graham favorites, "What a Friend we Have in jesus" and "Blessed Assurance".
I don't know how long the video will stay there on their site, so if you want to watch it, you might need to go ahead and do that.
You can see my hands shaking!

Maya and Domenico

I just finished reading my very first GERMAN book all the way through from front to back!!! Yes, folks, it has taken me more than 20 years to finally tackle a novel in German. The novel in question is the 5th in a series of youth novels about a young couple, Maya and Domenico. "Schatten der Vergangenheit". Shadow of the Past. Do you know what a youth novel is? It's a story that is written in a style and about situations that youth- in this case 17 to 18- year old young people, can relate to. Since I haven't read the first 4 books in the series, I don't know the history of this young couple. But in this book, Domenico, a chain-smoking, drug-using, rehab-jumping, hot-blooded hunk, wants to find his father, an Olympic gold-medal winning athlete who lives in Norway. He is accompanied by his long-time girlfriend, Maya. She is a good and generous girl who could be a poster girl for "Women Who Love Too Much". But, hey, they complete each other. She needs him to take care of, and he needs her to take care of him. So, they make a slightly dysfunctional entity ready to take on all the problems that the world throws at this age of teens.
Yes, I read the whole book! All by myself and without a dictionary. So, I think that means that I now have the functioning vocabulary of a 17-year old German.
You may wonder why I chose this as my first ever novel in German. The answer is simple. I am in the book!!!!
A man who works for Brunnen Verlag, the publishing company of the book, wrote me praising a song on my album, "Petrographs". He crowned "Flügel" the best Christian pop song of 2008- or something like that. He said such lovely things. :)
A while later, he informed me that he had played the song for the author of the book, Susanne Wittpennig and she found that it fit the story she was writing so well that she wanted to incorporate it into the action. While Domenico is in Norway, he discovers he has a musical half-brother who just happens to be a Christian, and they become very close. This half-brother plays "Flügel" for Maya and Domenico while they read the lyrics which are actually printed on page 248. And they compliment the singer (that would be me). At the end of the book, there is even a page about me, with a link to my homepage and to this blog!
I must admit, it was the search for my song and my name that made me start reading the book. But I eventually got sucked into the drama and couldn't put it down.
And now? Will Maya and Domenico find a way to stay together? Will Maya be a help to her father and mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer? Will Domenico stay in contact with his new found family?
Stay tuned for Volume 6 of the Maya and Domenico saga.

Answer to a question.

Liebe Cae Gauntt,

zunächst einmal persönlich herzlichen Dank für Euren Beitrag. Ich habe ihn im Ü-Wagen genossen. Es war super!

Die Gala wird voraussichtlich am Wochenende ins Netz gestellt; im Fernsehen wird sie zunächst am kommenden Sonntag um 15:00 Uhr wiederholt und dann auch nochmals am 31. Dezember um 17:10 Uhr (jeweils auf ERF eins).

Ganz herzliche Grüße aus Wetzlar,

Annegret

ERF Medien
Annegret Schneider
Assistentin ERF Fernsehen

Berliner Ring 62
35576 Wetzlar
Tel.: 06441 957-266

Fax: 06441 957-51266
E-Mail: annegret.schneider@erf.de

www.erf.de

In other words:
This lady thanks us for taking part in the Gala. She was in the mobile recording studio and enjoyed it tremendously. :)
The ERF Gala will be put on the internet this coming weekend. You can watch it on television on the ERF 1 TV station this Sunday, November 1 at 3 PM (15.00) and again on December 31 at 5:10 PM (17.10).
And there you go!

Chaos+Holy Spirit= a thing of beauty

It has been a long time since my hands shook so hard from being nervous that I couldn't hold a glass of water still enough to sip from it. But that was the case last Sunday. I've been trying to figure out why this particular performance made us both (me and Eddie) so nervous. We knew there was a lot riding on it. We sang for the ERF 50th Anniversary Gala on Sunday. And we knew that the Rittal Arena was sold out (about 5000 people) and that the program was to be shown live on television. We also knew that we had one chance in front of a big audience like this to introduce our new album, "Inner Sanctum". So we wanted to do the best job we possible could. We also knew that there would be a lot of colleagues there that we haven't seen in years and even decades. So, we wanted to look our best, too. All of that, we knew.
What we didn't know was that on Saturday, after getting up at 6:30 AM and driving to Wetzlar to be awake and dressed for the show and ready to sing for the camera rehearsal, we would find - well, - pretty much -chaos. We tried to stay upbeat and see the humorous side of it all. After all, it was, for everyone involved, an exceptional situation. For the camera crew, for the orchestra, for the sound people, the teen choir, the speakers , the musicians, the performers and last but not least the soloists. And for all the people behind the scene. And of course, for ERF.
We were in our places on the stage at 10:30, were informed that our sound check would be moved to 12:15 and finally got to check our microphones at 4:45. Thank goodness we brought Peter Falke, our super duper sound guy with us.
I think the situation on Saturday sort of unnerved us. In spite of a delicious italian dinner that evening, we slept poorly in the hotel and had a big fight on Sunday morning. I wasn't ready to go down to breakfast at 3 minutes before 10, so Eddie stormed out of the room accusing me of ALWAYS being late, and ALWAYS doing this on purpose to him......
After he left, I brushed my hair and was ready to go to breakfast at 10:00, just as planned. But I sat down in the room and read another chapter of my book and then leisurely found my way down to the breakfast room where several other late eaters were enjoying their meals in the sunny breakfast room with lots of coffee and laughter. After enjoying their highly -preferable company I joined old grumpy Eddie. He apologized by squeezing fresh orange juice for me. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. By the end of breakfast, we were all laughing together and looking forward to the day.
Ingo Marx, an ERF writer, had told us the day before that the chaos just simply gave the Holy Spirit more room to work. And it seems that his philosophy is true! Because everything, and I do mean everything, went so smoothly and harmoniously and beautifully for the Gala Show that we just had our socks blessed off!
I've since been informed that nobody watching the program on TV could actually see my legs shaking, even though I was sure they would. Eddie and I were able to find our loving harmony in time to share that with the audience. The ERF people were so pleased and our Gerth Media record folks were pleased and colleagues were pleased and we were pleased and most most most important, we felt that the Lord was pleased with our offering. And we pray that listeners were moved, as we were, by how our chaos can result in a thing of beauty.

Definitely not summer any more.

Do you like our pumpkin? :) Luke and I cut the picture into the pumpkin using the Dremel tool. When we were done the entire kitchen was covered in pumpkin juice. As were our clothes and glasses. And hair and faces.
Tomorrow (Sunday) I have a concert in the industrial area of Germany: Remscheid. I have so few concerts in that area! So we're excited. We? That's Cae, yes. Florian, yes. Luke, yes. Peter, yes. Eddie, no! Eddie is in South Korea with his opera house performing "Der Freischutz". The soloists are all from the opera house here, but the choir and orchestra are Korean. And they're performing in German. Eddie and I Skype every day and he says that is quite enjoyable working with the Koreans. They are so polite and well-prepared. He's enjoying discovering the town of Daegu. Not Seoul. Daegu. A big, very industrial city about 5 hours from Seoul that most westerners have never heard of.
The interviews have begun that are an important part of releasing a new album. So I've been busy collecting my thoughts, opinions, and impressions of our new album, "Inner Sanctum" so that I can answer the questions that come up. And Marion Sitzmann, Florian's wife, is writing a German translation of the 3 English songs on the album so that everyone knows what we're singing about. She came by yesterday to discuss some of the finer points of her translations. She is one smart lady!
We'll have the booklet graphics finished by the end of next week. The master is finished and ready to be pressed. Oooohh, things are well on their way to being a final product I can hold in my hand.
Winter weather and a trip to IKEA has produced a pair of down-filled- house- shoe-feet-warmers that are DIVINE! Last night, as I sat in my "creative chair" making a Lifeline, I slipped those babies on and within a couple of minutes, my feet were toasty warm! It's just an added bonus that they are bright red. Just the sight of them helps warm my feet which are busy telling me that it is most definitely not summer any more. In fact, it's been getting down to freezing for the last 5 nights. I've brought the house plants back into the house and taken the candles out of the cabinet. Time for hot tea and candles in the evenings while I make your Lifelines! I want to be sure and have plenty of them to offer at our Christmas concerts, which will be here before you know it.
18 years ago, my parents came to visit us here in Germany. During their time here, we took them to Triberg. And they wanted to stop and take a look in the store, "House of 1000 clocks". So, we did, and my Mom and Dad fell in love with a massive and beautiful grandfather clock. They bought it and paid to have it shipped to their home in Texas, then moved it to Arkansas and now to Virginia where it lives in my sister's house. Last week, my sis accidently broke one of the weights that is pulled to wind the clock. Looking for a repair or replacement, I phoned the "House of 1000 clocks". Imagine my astonishment when the lady on the other end, Rebecca Weisser, the wife of the owner, turned out to be American, and a fan! We talked for a long time and it turns out they have a repair station in the States. So, problem solved, lovely new acquaintance gained and we will definitely be visiting Triberg in the near future. Maybe between Christmas and New Year when they have their Triberger Christmas Magic Days.
http://www.triberger-weihnachtszauber.de/
I know, it's only October. But we will have a crowd here visiting us that week and we're already collecting ideas for activities for the crowd. Must keep the young ones busy!

"And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house."

FACEBOOK DISCUSSION TODAY

Michael’s Status: Nobel Peace Prize for Good Intentions.

Debbie says: Hogwash

Fred says: It just proves that its a popularity contest.

Cae Cooley Gauntt says: He won because he makes the rest of the world believe that anything can happen. And that is the beginning of change. It breaks my heart to hear the negative reaction coming ONLY OUT OF THE U.S. Your son has done well. Be proud!

Lydia says: I'm with you, Cae!

Frank says: and it breaks my heart to hear him lambast his country and agologize for his country...... would prefer him to stand up for his country...... because it is also my country!
I agree with Fred!

Cae Cooley Gauntt says: I have never heard him "lambast" his country. Only apologize for mistakes that the U.S. has made that have caused indescribable suffering for so many humans. It's an arrogant man who doesn't think it's important to apologize. And a courageous man who apologizes for someone else's mistakes.

Fred says: The prize should be awarded based on tangible accomplishments; lofty speaches, good intentions and this generic "hope" don't count. If he can turn this hope into a reality that is an actual benefit to all of us and doesnt leave 50% of his citizenry divided and bitter, then we can start talking. At the end of his term we should revist this topic ... and see if he got his award for false hope. They made this decision after he was in office for 11 days; so i guess a good campaign stump is all it takes to win the prize. Finally, consider this, do you think of all the charitable people in the world who have do so much for so many people that his accomplishments have out weighted those?

Cae Cooley Gauntt says: "generic "hope" doesn't count"? You've obviously never been in a desperate situation. Because often hope is the ONLY thing giving you strength to go on. And whatever you think that the Nobel Prize should be based on is obviously at odds with what the Nobel committee thinks. They are not awarding his accomplishments, that is plain to see. And they're not awarding the prize to any of the regional saints who have accomplished a lot. No man has awakened such a global feeling of optimism in recorded history. It is only some Americans who choose to not embrace the possibilities that this era offers us all. The rest of the world senses a seismic shift. Only time will tell what else Barack Obama offers us. But for now- for so many- he has given so much.

I just can't resist posting yet another picture of the parthenocissus tricuspidata that is brightening up the outside of my house.
Who knew decay could be so beautiful?

Luke and I performing Eric Clapton's "Change the World" at the concert in Lauben.

These two ladies decided many years ago that they wanted me to come to their church and sing a concert. 16 years later, their wish came true. This was the first concert they had ever organized and they were way more nervous than I was! But they did a fantastic job and made us feel so welcome. Now they're talking about having me and Eddie come and do a Christmas concert.....

Caution: Fall ahead

I would have written you yesterday to tell you about the busy and lovely weekend concerts, but Eddie was "summoned" to the warehouse in Mannheim where the Söhne Mannheims are rehearsing for their new tour. They needed him to sing 2 words, "Komm Heim" which means "come home". He had to sing them at the top of his lungs at the top of his range for them to record and sample for one of their songs. Needless to say, we dropped everything and drove over there. They are rehearsing in a big box of a warehouse and to say there is a lot of equipment involved is quite the understatement. They were obviously tired; they've been rehearsing for 5 days solid, but they seemed in good spirits. We've been invited to their "invitation-only" dress rehearsal tomorrow evening in the warehouse. I know, I truly know, some of you would give your right arm to get so close to these guys. But remember, 4 of them played in MY band, long before Xavier Naidoo came on the scene!!!!
The weekend concerts went well. On Friday in Achern, Eddie and I performed in the Christuskirche. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, even though the minutes leading up to the beginning of the concert were VERY tense, to say the least. Florian had been rehearsing with Söhne Mannheims all day and had very carefully timed his drive to join us for the gig. But, of course, the traffic did not cooperate and he got to the venue at 5 minutes before 8:00. He actually called along the way to inform us that he would not make it by 8:00. Now that kind of information will get your adrenaline going!
He did get there and even had time to eat a roll and change his clothes before jumping onto that grand piano and playing like there was no tomorrow. Such a pro!!!
New sound man: Matthias Reusch. He did a super job. We felt very comfortable and well-handled by him. He is a stickler for the details, so we left it in his capable hands.
He also did the sound for my concert in Lauben the next night. What? You don't know where Lauben is???? It is a darling little village of 800 souls in Bavaria. And I think most of the villagers came to the concert. The renovated barn was packed.
Florian couldn't play for me that night so Samuel Jersak played. And how! He did such a good job. And his version of "Seele, was ermüdst Du dich" was goose-bump awesome! I think he was particularly inspired by the fact that his beautiful wife, Juliane, was there. :) She is such a bright personality in a dark world. She is almost finished with her studies to be a pastor. I'd go to her church in a heart beat!
She helped Luke set up the "Lifelines" and CD table. Luke was a very busy guy on Saturday. he played cajon, guitar, sang some backings, AND was in charge of setting up, selling, and packing away merchandise! But ask him, he'll tell you that he loved that evening.
He played all his instruments really well and did such a sweet job singing. The sound man commented on how similar our voices sound. That they blend perfectly. It's true. And you can hear that on our new album, "Inner Sanctum".
We got home in the wee hours of Sunday morning to find Eddie still up waiting for us after his Premiere of "Fidelio" in Karlsruhe. So, we hauled equipment, etc. into the house and fell exhausted into a sleep coma.
And awoke Sunday morning to find that autumn has arrived. Just look at the color of the tricuspidata at our front door! A certain harbinger of fall. Time to find some pumpkins to carve and turn up the heat on the water bed.

"Creativity is a drug I cannot live without" Cecil B. DeMille

Gasp for air! What a week. Lots of creativity required, so I am one happy camper!
Monday: I got a pair of the darling striped rain boots from Aldi. Too cool! Now I'm ready for walking the dog in those autumn rains.
Tuesday: Sandie Wollasch, Dominik Steegmüller and I were in the studio doing backing vocals for Wolfgang Abendschön's new album. He releases a new CD every year and this is the 4th year that we have done his backings. And we have SO MUCH FUN ! There aren't any sheets to sing from. We get to invent, and arrange the BV's all by ourselves. And Sandie and I never run out of ideas. And once we get started, the backings kind of take on a life of their own and they are super unusual and complicated; just the way I like it! The 3 of us have an amazing musical vibe in the studio. I wouldn't mind singing backings with those 2 people once a week!
When we were done and had eaten our pizzas, I went upstairs to Florian's studio and spent several hours with him making sure he didn't wreck any of the last mixing of "Inner Sanctum". (I say those ridiculous things about Florian, but in truth, he is a genius! ) He filed and polished on the mix. Made tiny adjustments that you will never hear, but now he (and I) are completely happy with the mix. And that's good, because on ......
Wednesday: Final mastering of the CD ! All the frequency peaks and valleys are given just the tiniest adjustments so that each song on the album works with every other song. Then the silence you hear between the songs is set. It's not a science. It's just gut feeling. This album should be meditative and contemplative so we decided on relatively long pauses between the tracks. By long, I mean that instead of 5 seconds, we chose 6 seconds.
The mastering was done by Jürgen Lusky in House of Audio in a studio that was built just for this sort of thing. It's a close, quiet atmosphere and I was a little self-conscious because I had washed our dog that morning and didn't change clothes. I think I smelled a little bit "wet doggy". But I doubt you will hear that on the album. Also, I forgot to eat before I went and my stomach growled louder than the music on the speakers. But you won't hear that either!
When we were finished there, I popped back over to Kangaroo Studios to record the song "Heile mich, Herr" for the tribute album of Hella Heizmann songs. Her daughters are finishing the album that Hella began before she became too ill to work. They gave me the honor of singing the last song that Hella wrote. She wrote this for the patients at the Klinik Hohenmark where she spent several months recovering after having a mental breakdown several years ago. It is an honest and simple song with a text taken from the book of Jeremiah. "Heile mich, Herr, dann werde ich heil. Hilf mir, dann bin ich geholfen. " (Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed. Help me, and I will be helped.) It was hard to sing with the lump in my throat.
Thursday & Friday: have been spent preparing for 2 concerts next week. October 2, Eddie and I and Luke and Florian will be singing in the Evangelisch Kirchengemeinde in Achern. We will be trying out a couple of the songs from the new CD. It is actually quite unusual for Eddie and I to have a duet concert and it isn't Christmas. :) We are looking forward to it.
October 3, I have a concert with Samuel Jersak and Luke at the Ev. Lutherische Kirche in Lauben.
So I've spent a lot of time thinking, praying and putting together those two programs.
Eddie has his first performance of the season this evening. "Barbier von Sevilla".
And last but not least: We just got 3 tickets to see The Gaither Homecoming in Wetzlar on October 9! We 3 are super excited about that. David Phelps, one of our most favorite tenors (and a graduate of our Alma Mater, Baylor University) will be singing with them. Can't wait!

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams

Good and Old

We have now narrowed the choices for the cover of the album "Inner Sanctum" down to 4. I'll tell you what: YOU try to get 15 people to agree on the perfect album cover. Ain't happenin'. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker all have quite differing tastes in such things. We do still have time to get it right. I will not abandon ship......
Thommy Mardo did not disappoint us with his photos. They are just beautiful. What a talented guy! Wanna see one? OK...... Enjoy!
Florian is in the studio getting some mixing done. We'll join him later on today in the studio to hear what he's done. Gotta see whether he's messing everything up. :)
I had to turn up the temperature to my water bed. You know what that means? Summer is over. And THAT means that it's time for the Weinlese at the Schlechts. That's right. Time to cut those gorgeous juicy grapes off the vine. They are picture-perfect and sweet as can be. Stamp them barefoot into juice. (no not really. But I think of that "I Love Lucy" episode every year when we harvest grapes.) The work itself doesn't take all too long. Then Ruth and Traugott reward us by setting up beer tables and benches between the rows of now fruitless vines and feeding us ham hocks and fresh bread and various spirit-filled concoctions made from the fruit of the vine. Then there's coffee and cake at the Schlechts for the ladies while the guys get to ride tractors pulling trailers of grapes to the grape-collection barn to have the sugar content measured. Then there's more eating and mirth and maybe a round of sauna and maybe some slides or maybe just some good old jaw-flapping. And that is the operative word here: good and old.
I treasure this ritual and look forward every year to this day. I feel a part of an age-old tradition that has all but disappeared in the urban world. I love it!
Now, if you want a good old giggle, what better thing to listen to than a baby's laugh. Even better if there are several babies involved. Great little video. Less than a minute in length, but oozing with good feelings. It's nicknamed "The Anti-Depression-Video. Watch it and you'll see why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-UF-h1K4rM

Me and Sandie Wollasch

You know what is really really painful? Not feeling particularly good about how you look and then seeing yourself through a professional photographer's lens. BEFORE PHOTOSHOP !!
When you avoid looking in the mirror too much, like me, then you can conjure up this mental picture of yourself that isn't all that bad. Sure, there are the odd wrinkles and bulges and sags. I'm not blind! But, hey, it's not all that bad.
Then you see the pictures. The photographer's proofs do not lie. And there you are..... wrinkles, bulges, sags and all. Now, I know that by the time the photographer has worked his magic on the photos, I'll look for all the world like a regular glamour puss. :) But I have met the enemy face-to-face. And the enemy is me. I may not be able to do much about the wrinkles and sags without getting very very close to extremely sharp instruments. And that ain't gonna happen. But, those bulges-
I have now joined Weight Watchers. I am allowed to eat 22 points of food a day. I'm still trying to figure out what that means exactly. But I just stuffed myself with a nice soup I made from fresh vegetables and a dollop of sour cream. Altogether: 4 points.
I had so much fun singing with Sandie Wollasch last Friday. She is a ball of fire when she sings. All over the stage and all over the octaves. I LOVE listening to her! The ultra cool arrangements of standards that she and guitarist Matthias Hautsch have come up with are fascinating and intricate and fabulously entertaining. You should hear her version of "Tainted Love" and "Light my Fire" and "Eleonor Rigby". Knocks your socks off, baby!
So, I'm going to lighten up so that I can to a better job of keeping up with her. I was out of breath just watching her perform!
We have wrapped up our house renovations. We're all tired of the dust and the noise and the inconvenience of living in a construction zone. For now....
As we sort through the portrait photos for the album, we're thinking about who we want to officially thank in the CD booklet of "Inner Sanctum". Aside from the ubiquitous, but completely unnecessary, word of thanks to "the One who made this all possible- our Lord, Jesus Christ" there's of course, Florian. And then my partner in all things love and crime- Eddie.
Yesterday we had a visit from a lady who lost her husband quite suddenly 4 weeks ago. He was 51. She is dogged by the guilt of not having told her husband enough times how much she loved him. My suggestion to her probably doesn't seem kosher to some people, but I suggested that she go for 30 days to a catholic church of her choice (so that she, as a protestant, doesn't see anyone she knows) buy a candle, light it, take a seat and tell her husband all the reasons why she loves him. She should write them down, and whisper them aloud in the quiet of the church. Who can tell me for sure that her husband won't hear her??!!?? This ritual won't hurt her or anyone else, and it might help a little.
Sometimes you have to think outside the box.
When she left, Eddie and I fell into each other's arms and said "I love you". Nice and loud.

Southern

I lived a big portion of my life in the American south. Here's a little insight into how us sutherners talk......

Southern women know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity

Southern women know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The crick


Southern women know everybody's first name:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah

Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southern women know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl'stn
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna

Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Spa
The Beauty Salon
Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food

More Suthen-ism's:
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them,
you "PITCH" them.
_____

Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."
_____

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."
_____

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, as in:
"Going to town, be back drekly (directly)."
_____

Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular, sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.
_____

All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.
_____

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad.
If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin'!
_____

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and
"a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.
_____

Only a Southerner both knows and understands the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.
_____

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.
_____

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.
_____

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... and when we're "in line,"... we talk to everybody!
_____

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.
_____

In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural.
_____

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.
_____

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.
_____

When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine
Southerner!
_____

Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.
_____

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway.
You just say,"Bless her heart"... and go your own way.
_____

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!
_____
And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff...bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language!
_____

Love, Peace and Happiness

You may not know that I lived with my Air Force doctor Dad and Mom and baby sister in Japan for 3 years. Of the many things that my parents bought while we were there, only a few have survived. These brass trivets in the photo are now living at my house. My Mom always said that they are the Japanese symbols for love, peace and happiness. If a Japanese person happens upon this blog and reads something else, PLEASE let me know!
One and a half rooms finished. Hands hurt, knees hurt, back hurts. And that's all just from watching Eddie work! But we are so happy with how our solution to our floor problem is working out.
Who says you can't breathe new life into old things?
Not me!
My 82-year old Dad just told me he wants to get married. He and his girlfriend have been sneaking around the old folk's home at night. They are enjoying each other so much! My Dad sounds like a teen-ager on the phone.
Who says you can't breather new life into old things?
Tomorrow Eddie and I will get up at 6:30 AM for our 18th First Day of School. Alex began first grade in 1991 and Luke begins his senior year at the European School tomorrow. When I got pregnant with Alex, this was not a reality that I could possibly imagine. All these years of getting up, getting children up, then sending them off to be schooled by teachers who have vastly different priorities and belief systems from mine. Grace has helped us make it thus far!
On Thursday, Eddie and I go to Thommy Mardo's photo studio in Mannheim to have our portraits done for the new album, "Inner Sanctum".
Thommy, PLEASE breathe new life into these old things!!!!

Action Figure

About every 10 years or so we (read "I" in that spot) decide that some house renovations are in order. This year it was time to repair the broken floor tiles. If we had 8000 euros, we would have a company come in, move all the furniture, hammer all the old tiles out, even out the concrete foundation and lay new tiles. We don't.
So, we had to consider what options we had if we did everything ourselves (read "Eddie" in that spot). After visiting myriads of tile stores, talking to countless experts, and saving our pennies, we (read... oh you know) have decided to hammer out only the broken tiles, even those areas out, and replace them with tiles that don't match the original ones because they are almost 40 years old and not made any more.
Well into the project, Eddie decided that considering all the furniture had to be moved to get to the broken tiles, he might as well use this opportunity to renew the walls. So, old wallpaper is coming down, none is going back up. He wants to paint the bare concrete walls with a silicate paint that adheres to the surface. It only comes in white.
My job in all this is to keep up his spirits and strength by keeping him fed and watered. Yesterday I made him a strawberry cake. Today, peach cobbler. Tomorrow I'm making Spanakopita. Any contributions are welcome!
I'm posting a picture of him filling in the holes in the naked walls before he paints them tomorrow. This man was today the talk guest on the big local radio station. People think he lives a charmed life of luxury. He doesn't. Here it is 1:00 in the morning, and he's still on his feet forcing himself to get this job done.
I read this quotation by Frank Tibolt today while Eddie was cutting tiles with his diamond bit hand saw: "We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action."
While I am never at a loss for inspiration, Eddie is a man of action. This project would NEVER get done if I was trying to do it alone. Who's da man? My man!

Life is Fragile. Eat Together often.

Eddie and I sang the last note of the last song for our new album, "Inner Sanctum", yesterday. Luke had joined us in the studio just to listen and he did stay awake a long time considering how little sleep he had the night before! But at some point he just stretched out on the sofa and fell asleep. It didn't bother him at all that we were walking in and out and listening- loudly!- to the recording.
Such mixed emotions about finishing up the recording process! Could we have sung this line better? Should there have been one more verse to this song? Maybe I should have sung harmony on this part. Is this the right combination of songs? Lots of little details in the creation of this album that only we will ever know about.
And then we have to ..... let go. We have to say to ourselves "We did our very very best. We surprised ourselves sometimes with how well things turned out. And we were seriously disappointed in our performances sometimes. But now it is time to give this album wings and throw it up in the air and hope it will fly. "
Oh, wait- are we talking about the album or about our son, Luke????
It is a similar process. The difference being that the results of this album will just be a little flash of light in a night sky- if we're lucky. While Luke will go out and choose his life and possibly affect hundreds and thousands of people along the way.
Could we have done some things in the last 18 years different? For sure! Did some things turn out surprisingly well? Without a doubt!
Florian is still slaving away in the studio ironing out the wrinkles on the mix. So, Eddie and I will cook him a meal and take it to him in the studio and listen to what he's done today.
Because we have learned: Life is fragile. Eat together often.
Maybe Luke will join us.

And the winner is..... "Inner Sanctum"

Oh, dear Reader, so many good things happened yesterday in this adventure called- Let's Record an Album:
1) We got to hear all of the songs with all of the instruments, choirs, orchestra, etc. for the first time. There is a lovely depth, continuity, and surprise in each one of the songs. The arrangements are just amazing, thanks to the genius of Florian Sitzmann. It still needs to be mixed and mastered- that is studio talk for ironing out the wrinkles. But we can hear where it's going and we're very very happy with what we hear.
2) It is now official: The album title is Inner Sanctum. We are just so pleased and so relieved that this discussion is over and the most perfect album title has been approved.
3) Ralf Schroeter has hammered together a marketing and publicity plan for this album that is so ambitious and broad that it makes me want to go take a nap! This is a first for any of the albums I've been involved in. He is all fire and flames (a German idiom describing excitement over something) for this album. He just loves it and is already coming up with catch phrases to describe it. Things like "this album is a danger for your complacency", and "dare to awaken your spirituality" and "fragility meets power". I guess my voice is the fragile aspect of the music????? It's certainly not Eddie's. He sings like a Greek god!
4) Bernd Hartwig, our graphic designer, also heard the songs for the first time, and has a stunning idea for the cover. We can't wait to see what he comes up with.
5) Perhaps most amazing of all: Lukas was home alone all day and mowed the lawn, did his wash, cleaned his room and walked the dog. All without being told. What????????

On September 3 is the photo shoot for this album. Now, if only I could lose 30 pounds before then.......

Inner Sanctum

Today we recorded the last 2 songs for our duet album: "The Prayer", made famous by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli and/or Angie Stone and Josh Groban. Pretty big shoes to fill. We gave it our best shot. We DEFINITELY don't sound like any of them, but we poured out hearts into it. And "Inner Sanctum", lyrics by me :) and music by Freddy Scholl (Galileo). Eddie sang the lead voice beautifully. Here is the text to the song.

INNER SANCTUM lyrics: Cae Gauntt

1) Mercy upon me
And those who are too kind to see.
Mercy upon the one who steals us blind
‚til naught but hope is left behind.

2) Mercy upon me
And the slaves of inhumanity.
Mercy upon the soul in disrepair
Save dignity unbroken there.

3) Mercy upon me
And the faces of hypocrisy
God, full of mercy, do not serve
The punishment we sore deserve.

refrain
Mercy on this humankind
On those well-bound And those who bind.
Mercy, mercy on us all
To halt the pride Before the fall.

Disperse the clouds that veil who we could be.
And hide the light you give
Lord, grant us inner sanctum as it should be,
And teach us how to live.

Deus misereatur (May God have mercy)
Mea culpa, mea culpa, maxima

Disperse the clouds that veil who we could be.
And hide the light you give
Lord, grant us inner sanctum as it should be,
And teach us how to live.

Lest we forget forgiveness makes us holy. Please teach us how to live.

I can't wait for you to hear this!

We've had guests from the States the last few days. A couple that we went to Baylor University with. We have seen them a couple of times since then, but never for such a long stretch of time. We truly had a gab fest. So many people we wanted to find out about, and they knew them ALL and could get us caught up on their lives. Of course, they don't know any of our friends, so it was a pretty one-sided information-gathering.
It is hard to fathom how much our lives have changed since we were at university. Our lives, family, jobs, friends, language, tax status, physical traits, and interests have changed drastically. But God's hand in my life has never disappeared. I look back and see how He has guided me/us in fascinating, scary, wonderful and sometimes painful ways. But His hand was always there. I have an awful lot to be thankful for!

Sometimes change is good.

Yesterday the string ensemble came to the studio to play on our new album. Florian had to do all that recording without us because Eddie and I were in Karlsruhe looking for a new suit for Eddie. He is singing the German national anthem for the first soccer game of the Bundesliga. We did find a new suit and he looks very classy in it! You can see for yourself tomorrow night (Friday) on television: ARD at 20:32 !
We will be in the studio next week working on the last 2 songs for our new album!!!
I was reminded today of my first paid singing job. I was a student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas and needed money. (What student doesn't?) So a fellow music major pianist and I went and auditioned for Surf and Sirloin Supper Club. Every Thursday and Friday night we did 3 sets of pop songs while the diners enjoyed their steaks and/or lobster dinners. We did fabulous songs like "Evergreen", "Midnight Blue", "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life", "Alfie", "Shop Around", and "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Tons of other songs, too. Fun fun songs. And we tried to learn about 5 new songs each week. And we took requests. When I remember how many classes I took each semester and how many choirs and singing groups I was in and how much homework I had and how much I was in love with Eddie then I'm amazed at how much energy I had.
Things have changed.
I still sometimes get paid to sing. But when I'm learning new songs, there's not much room in my little brain for anything else!
One other thing that has changed: One time at the Supper Club a man actually paid me to STOP singing! He couldn't enjoy his meal with me singing my emotions out all over his food. THAT hasn't happened since then.
Sometimes change is good.
p.s. I've discovered the "Axis of Awesome". Check out the 4 chords that rule the pop world. Pretty funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBVnMf2t7w

My Summer Bird

Imagine a warm and sunny Saturday. Then imagine it spent in a dear friend's garden with the sound of her garden fountain and birds in the trees and good food and drink. Then imagine you get paint canvases and acrylics and get to paint a big old picture of anything you want using your fingers, putty-knife and brushes.
THAT was my day yesterday. How very cool is that??!! I feel like I just got back from a week's vacation. I had no idea what to paint, so I just doodled. And out came this bird. My summer bird. Carrying a carefree song to remind me of that golden day.
Wishing you a refreshing retreat from the ordinary.

Make your own album cover!

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or something similar to put it all together.




Did you ever dream of making an album? Well, now you can at least make an album cover! This is so much fun. Try it. I'd love to see your results!
My son did one and his band was named "Tottenham" and his album title was "Unnecessary Purchases". How perfect is that?!
Bespoke Furniture-
It is pretty difficult these days to find a craftsman who can actually make something from "scratch". For example, a carpenter who can fell a tree and make furniture out of it. Do you know anyone who can do that? I found someone. He is a very quiet unassuming man with a wicked creative streak. He works for a company making doors and windows, but his heart is in making amazingly beautiful didgeridoos and creating furniture out of indigenous trees. I've commissioned him to build a wall cabinet for our living room. When he's finished I want it to look like a tree on the wall, with branches and nooks and crannies for bird's nests and CDs. Today I get to go see the tree he found for me. It's a German oak. Famous for it's strength and longevity. This one was struck by lightning 5 years ago and has been "ripening" ever since. He will wrap the tree in black plastic and lay it in the sun for a week. That's the environmentally friendly way to kill any pests that might lurk in the tree.
I'll keep you posted on the progress!
Tomorrow Adax Dörsam, the amazing master of all string instruments is coming to the studio to add his art to our album. Be very excited! :)

The first crop of hay has been cut in the field close to the studio. Driving by last weekend I saw not one, not five, not 15 but 35-40 storks gracefully strolling through the field sucking up bugs and frogs. It was quite a sight, folks. Storks are kind of fairy tale creatures to me. And so very rare, that in the 28 years we have lived in Germany, I doubt that I've seen 40 storks. If they were around, they would be hard to miss. They are honking big birds! As we all know from watching the Disney movie, "Dumbo", the stork is kept busy carrying babies to happy families. Seeing so many storks in the area make me think we're about to experience a population explosion. None at my house, please, thank you very much! My youngest just turned 18!
I had 2 concerts in the last week. Last Thursday at Dudelsack in Karlsruhe as special guest of a Sandie Wollasch concert. Sandie and Matthias Hautsch (guitar) and Tommy Baldu (percussion) invited me to do 4 songs with them. I sang "Lean on Me", and "What Are You Doing the Rest of your Life" (by special request of Sandi) as solos. Sandie and I sang two duets: "Shop Around", a great romping fun song made famous first by Smoky Robinson, and then again by The Captain and Tenille, and "Things", an ode to the 60's and Bobby Darin who wrote it and first recorded it. I completely forgot my text and just made stuff up, but nobody noticed except Sandi who tried desperately to follow my rantings. She was fantastic and we laughed so hard. We always enjoy singing together.
We sang together again on Saturday when we had a 4yourSoul concert in Bamberg. A long drive to sing one of our rare 4yourSoul concerts in an Open Air venue on a rainy evening along the banks of the Regnitz River. Was it worth the 3 1/2 hour drive? You better believe it! Edo Zanki was in excellent voice as was our special guest of the evening, Charles Simmons. Such a talented singer. And kind of nice to feast your eyes on, too! :)
We've blocked 2 weeks in March 2010 for 4yourSoul concerts. We do enjoy singing together so much, but each of us is also committed to their own projects and it is really hard to coordinate concert dates. Maybe by reserving these dates for 4yourSoul concerts we can actually do a tiny tour. If you're interested in booking 4yourSoul during this time, March 15-28 2010 then you can contact Silke Pfaff at: info@onstagemedia.de
Today Luke (my 18 year old ) is having some musician friends over to jam. We love it when they come over and rock the house. It's moments like these that make Eddie and me so glad we finally bought a house. Rock on , my babies!

Opera Chorus

Yesterday we recorded 8 singers from the Badisches Staatstheater Opera Chorus on our new album. There are several songs that absolutely required a BIG FAT -VOICE CHOIR. Well, we certainly got that- in spades!
But the first surprise for me.: Even opera singers know who Edo Zanki is. He was hanging out in his studio cooking lunch for another production team. He introduced himself to the opera chorus and they were star-struck! Cool!
Second surprise: These 8 voices were so homogenous. They blended beautifully. No matter whether we were recording full-out big sections of Händel's "Worthy is the Lamb" or a vocalise to be sung purely without vibrato. Fantastic blend!
Third surprise: And it shouldn't have been a surprise, but I was impressed. They were all excellent sight-readers. Florian doesn't write plain and simple vocal arrangements. When I saw the arrangements he wanted the choir to sing I was prepared for this recording session to last long hours. But these 8 singers sang these complicated arrangements almost perfectly the first time through! That was exceptional to behold.
Fourth surprise: They were so funny and easy to work with. Diva voices without diva personalities. They just ate gummi-bears and cookies and grapes and laughed and joked and sang their guts out.
The men had "Fidelio" rehearsal at 6:30 so they left first. But Florian kept the 4 women to sing some even more complicated vocalise for another album. I mean, it's not every day that you have voices like this in your studio. So Florian made the most of it and you'll also be able to hear the ladies singing on Xavier Naidoo's new album. They did a fantastic job!

Sizing up Death.

If I be the first of us to die,
Let grief not blacken long your sky.
Be bold yet modest in your grieving.
There is a change but not a leaving.
For just as death is part of life,
The dead live on forever in the living.
And all the gathered riches of our journey,
The moments shared, the mysteries explored,
The steady layering of intimacy stored,
The things that made us laugh or weep or sing,
The joy of sunlit snow or first unfurling of the spring,
The wordless language of look and touch,
The knowing,
Each giving and each taking,
These are not flowers that fade,
Nor trees that fall and crumble,
Nor are they stone,
For even stone cannot the wind and rain withstand
And mighty mountain peaks in time reduce to sand.
What we were, we are.
What we had, we have.
A conjoined past imperishably present.
So when you walk the wood where once we walked together
And scan in vain the dappled bank beside you for my shadow,
Or pause where we always did upon the hill to gaze across the land,
And spotting something, reach by habit for my hand,
And finding none, feel sorrow start to steal upon you,
Be still.
Close your eyes.
Breathe.
Listen for my footfall in your heart.
I am not gone but merely walk within you.
-Nicholas Evans, from "The Smoke Jumper" copyright Nicholas Evans, 2001

Today I said Good-Bye to Hella Heizmann.
Her girls, Melanie and Viola, were so strong and poised and graceful and generous with their grief, I know Hella would have been proud of them. They even sang 2 duets at Hella's request. And they did beautifully.
Hella had also requested that I sing a song that meant a lot to her, "Ich Brech Noch Einmal Auf" from my CD Welt von 1000 Wegen. I was honored but scared that I would break down crying when I stood up to sing making a spectacle of myself. It was such an emotional day. So many tears. Melanie told the story at the beginning of the service about how Hella had asked her girls to sing for her funeral and they were afraid that they wouldn't be able to do it. And Hella's response was, "You can do it, my treasures, you can do it". And they did. So, when I stood up to sing I heard Hella saying to me matter-of-factly, "You can do it, Cae, you can do it". And I did.
As I stood at the graveside, a big beautiful butterfly landed on the flowers on the casket, showed off its' colors for a moment, then flew away to greener pastures. Some day I will do that, too.

Treasure in the trash

Today I received another package from Scotland with Amanda McGregor's gorgeous hand made beads. You can see her work at www.moogin.com When she ships them to me she wraps each bead carefully in tissue paper so that it is like Christmas morning full of beautiful little surprises. The pictures never do them justice.
I'll be making these into rings. And everyone who sees these little jewels will be amazed that there are such creative and talented people in this world.
You know what else I love about Amanda McGregor? Well, she's cute as a bug- but that's not what I wanted to mention! She told me last week that her husband is a "bin man". You know what that means? That is British for "Sanitation Engineer". He's a trash man! I met him once and figured him to be the lead guitarist for some alternative rock band in Scotland. He has that very cool Chris Martin (Cold Play singer) look about him. But no, he's a bin man in Edinburgh and loves his job. "He gets to be outside all the time and he sees parts of Edinburgh that no one else gets to see", she said.
Why can't we all find treasure in the trash?

Makes me smile

And in the midst of all the sadness, someone turns 70, a baby is born, a new song is written, and God sends butterflies to our garden that are so whimsical that I can't help but smile.

Until we meet again.

An amazing artist died today. She has been an inspiration to me for 25 years. She was the only female Christian artist in Germany to command big audiences when I came here. She was always poised and well-spoken, well-dressed and perfectly mannered. Her style of singing and enunciation was the standard of excellence for so many young singers. Her music has moved thousands and thousands of fans here in Germany. Several of her songs have become part of the tapestry of protestant music. "Denn Er hat Seinen Engel befohlen über Dir" was the youth hymn of the 80's.
I learned a lot from her.
My heart goes out to her two beautiful daughters, Viola and Melanie, and her husband, Fritz.
She and her daughters were recording a new trio album this summer. They will have to finish it later. In heaven. Maybe they'll let us sing with them......
Good-Bye, Hella Heizmann.
Until we meet again.

I am a garden

Eddie and I spent most of the day today cutting down a big old prickly Thuja tree. It was about 4 meters tall, ugly, and had the most painful needles you can imagine. They were often in our skin. Especially if we went barefoot in the garden.
After hours of back-breaking work, it is now gone. History. Hasta la vista, baby. And good riddance! And while we were at it we cut back other bushes, trees, pulled weeds, and generally opened the garden up a bit. It looks so light and un-cluttered now.
I think I need to do this with my life. Cut some stuff out. Organize and un-clutter my activities. Let a little light into my life.
Light helps me grow.
I am a garden.

A thought-provoking answer

" Is it better to call ourselves a Christian country and not act like one, or not label ourselves as such but act with Christian morals and ethics? "
I posed that question yesterday and received an insightful answer from a Facebook friend of mine. He is an academic, but didn't present this as an academic "response-to-end-all-responses". Nevertheless, it is challenging and thought-provoking and I wanted to share it with you because all too often we are unaware of the history of our faith and therefore aren't informed enough to judge what we are being taught.

"The idea of the United States as a "Christian nation" is a product of the Second Great Awakening of the 1830-40s. Such a concept would not have made sense to the writers of the Constitution. Their religious understanding was shaped by their independence from State-dictated religion and Enlightenment philosophy which postulated a world controlled by inherent laws rather than divine fiat. The current resurgence of religious sentiment in U.S. politics is due to the radical growth of American evangelical anabaptist churches which has accompanied the emigration of rural Southern culture into the middle of the continent. Leaders of these communities realized that, unlike the previous generation, they now commanded a potential political power and could use that power to push their agendas through governmental policy. In this way, American Evangelical denominations resemble the Roman Catholic Church, which views itself as much an arbiter of public as private behavior.
To call the United States a "Christian nation" is to assert that the majority of citizens are Christian and therefore have the right and obligation to assert Christian morals and ethics through the political process. The writers of the Constitution were deeply concerned that the will of the majority not overwhelm and silence the rights of the minority and created a number of specific mechanisms in the legislative and judiciary branches of government to counter the tendency of the majority to exploit their numbers in achieving their goals. Historically, the protestant and Roman Catholic Christian churches asserted their influence on public policy through influence, protest and lobbying. The innovation of the American Evangelical churches is to use their numbers to attempt to directly control policy through the legislative process.
It is misleading to regard American Evangelicals as a majority. Although 80%+ of Americans define themselves as Christian, if this is defined as membership to a specific church, regular attendance and tithing, the numbers shrink significantly. If American Evangelical churches are taken separately from mainline Protestant denominations (with whom the share Nicene orthodoxy but differ on social issues) and Roman Catholics (with whom there are differences on Apostolic Succession and sacramental issues), they represent significantly less than a majority.
The significant factor is money. Historically, itinerant Evangelical preachers had to provide for themselves and this created an entrepreneurial aspect to their ministries. Prosperity Theology takes this idea a step further, insisting the disproportionate tithing will produce not only spiritual, but temporal gain. Financial success is equated with spiritual virtue. Increasingly, money given to the Evangelical churches has been funneled not into edification of church property or direct relief to communities in distress, but to the church's prophetic ministry. This has included the use of modern publishing and broadcasting tools, tools which generate significant profits. These profits are reinvested into the ministry which has claimed an increasing share of the market share, which in turn creates the appearance of increasing membership in those ministries. It should come as no surprise that these ministries seek to defend the U.S. capitalist system as part of the divine order.

Regarding the American Evangelical churches, there are also strong theological contradictions to orthodox Christian thought. There are some who believe that it's tenets vary so far from the Christian traditions as to constitute a separate religion or, to some, heresy, much in the same way of Catharism, Bogolism, Waldensianism and Mormonism.

Here are some points of discussion:

Adherence to Old Testament law and customs. According to Paul and the epistles of John and Peter and further elaborated by Augustine and Luther, Christians are sanctified by grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore we are not judged by the Law rather redeemed through grace and the Law does not apply to us.

The obsession with supernatural evil. The biblical God differs from many other religions by being a single First Principle. Evil is not a First Principle and Satan is not co-equal with God in a cosmic struggle between Good and Evil. He is cast as the Tempter, the voice of despair, but his power is nullified by God's primacy. Jesus, as 2nd person in the Trinity cannot by definition be involved in a spiritual battle with Satan for men's souls. Nor can mankind be understood to be in the midst of a cosmic battle between good and evil. Huxley points out that obsession with supernatural Evil actually encourages greater natural Evil to exist.

A literal interpretation of the Biblical canon. For the 4th century Christian fathers, such a concept didn't exist. A scientific world view had yet to be postulated and so there was no thought of interpreting myth literally. The Church fathers were extremely well-read in Greek philosophy and understood that Truth, as an inherent principle of a beneficial divine creation, manifests in many guises as a natural law. It could be found in Biblical texts and in Greek philosophy. The books of the Bible were understood as a testament to Truth not as Truth itself. This view remained paramount in Christian theology until a scientific world view emerged in the 18th century. Even then, fundamentalism as such only existed in certain Pietist and American Evangelical traditions and never entered into orthodox Protestant or Catholic thought.

Christian triumphalism. Christians are freed from sin and death through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. We are called to the imitation of Christ, to bear joyously the trails of that calling regardless of our worldly status. In worldly terms, Jesus' ministry was a disaster: three short years in Galilee culminating in a week in Jerusalem during which he was arrested and executed, deserted by all but a few women and one disciple. To equate those events with the type of worldly success seen in the American Evangelical movement today is to stand its meaning on its head. The major point of Jesus' narrative is that having utterly failed at worldly leadership, God raised Jesus triumphantly from the dead to give us hope that in all things, it is God who will ultimately be the judge and reconciler.

Apocalyptic determinism. The belief that there are clues to the exact playing out of the end times encoded in the Bible is neither orthodox theology or good Biblical exegesis. The latter first. Jesus' statements in all 4 gospels indicate that God alone knows the course of history. To interpolate various passages of the Pauline epistles with passages from the book of Daniel and the Revelation of St. John into a single literal narrative is a type of amalgamation that is outside traditional orthodox Biblical study. It is cabalisim and gnosticism. The concept that there is a definite course for history laid out by God both denies the free will of God and the Biblical understanding that man is in control of his own destiny.

What is personally most disturbing to me is that all this emphasis on “Christian values” seems to contradict everything I was taught and believe about God’s love and human nature. We are all sinners, redeemed by grace to equal degree. Even the just are scarcely saved and I count myself as no less or greater a sinner than anyone else. When I look at my fellow human being, I am taught not to see the Law but to see the redeemed sinner. That means I don’t look for that which is failing, but for the light of God’s presence in their lives. Everything else is chaff and the log in my own eye.

Heels of compassion

Today I'll be making earrings. Lots of ladies like to pick up earrings as little souvenirs of the concerts. So, they go fast. I enjoy designing them and putting them together. So: win-win situation for all!
Yesterday I heard a sermon criticizing President Obama for saying at a visit to Saudi Arabia, "The U.S. isn't a christian country any more". I'm not absolutely sure what the President meant by that, but I can guess it was a strategic political statement aimed at mending relations with Muslim countries. There has been so much suffering and hatred in the Middle East in the name of christianity. I think he is trying to distance himself from that and begin anew on a balanced and secular playing field.
The pastor in his sermon was bemoaning the fact that we aren't a christian nation anymore. My question is: Which is better- to call ourselves a christian nation and not act like one (consider just the last 8 years!) or to not label ourselves as such and act with christian morals and ethics?
I, for one, would definitely choose the latter. Jesus himself showed us how to care for the poor, feed the hungry, tend to the sick. I think it's time we concentrated on that aspect of our christianity! Salvation can follow on the heels of compassion better than behind the wheels of a tank.

Beautiful concert last night! So many fun elements: a new sound man who did a great job, Luke accompanied me on the guitar for 3 songs, Florian played a wonderful instrumental piece that really transported me to some other tranquil place, Eddie guested on 3 songs, and I had to be given an injection of cortisone by an emergency doctor who just happened to be in the audience. Fun times!
I'm still having trouble breathing from my bout with the flu last week. The doc says there's fluid in my left lung. Well, it was such intense work to haul in enough air to sing, I absolutely sweated like a pig. Maybe I had swine flu! I mean, I was totally soaked. And a big woman soaked with perspiration is not an attractive sight!
We live in the famous flatlands on the Rhine river plains. This area gets heat WITH humidity so high that army troops are trained here before they are stationed in the tropics. Fortunately there are only a few weeks out of the year when the weather is almost unbearable. We are in one now. Last night after the concert as we were all leaving and enjoying the cool of the evening outside the church, we were treated to the most amazing spectacle of summer lightning. It was like God saying to us "Sorry for the suffering in this heat, people. Here's a little something to ease the pain."
We are enjoying a beautifully quiet Sunday. I'm about to go have some Sunday morning coffee on the back terrace. A blessed Sunday to you!

Last night I got to watch Eddie sing the "Doctor" role in Samuel Barber's "Vanessa" in Giessen. Some of the music was wonderful, the stage design was very interesting and I really liked the libretto (by Gian Carlo Menotti) of the opera. One of the lines: "And, you old people, may death release you before you too clearly remember or cease to dream". Oooooh, I really like that line.
After the opera and the ubiquitous party afterward, we went back to the hotel room. It was blistering hot in the room so we opened the windows, which face the busiest street in Giessen. It took us about 1 minute to decide to pack up and leave. So, Eddie drove home while I helped from the passenger seat (with my eyes closed) and slept until 10 this morning.
It's now almost 31° and we have fans going in every room and all the shutters closed. If we don't move around much, it's actually OK.
Tomorrow, the 4th of July, I have a concert in the area. I'm trying to decide just how few articles of clothing I can decently wear to sing in. And just how to deal with the fact that I have a persistent cough that I will have to fight tomorrow night. I've asked for back-up in the form of Luke, Eddie and Florian. Together we are strong!
I just listened to a few rough mixes of songs for the new album. This is going to be very very special. :) Hope you like it!