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.