It was a very pleasant weekend with many diversions. The quartet had a couple of holiday gigs. There is something very special about singing christmas songs to people. There are always people who cry when they hear the songs. That always causes me to feel particularly sentimental about the songs, and then I sing more from my heart, and then more people cry.

There is a vulnerability that people have at the holidays - we are so busy, we have more to do, we remember how the holidays used to be, perhaps thinking of good times that will never be repeated, we remember who we miss and why.. all those things are right on the surface. A song carries extra nostalgia and causes our tears to take us over the edge. I think it's enjoyable for people to feel that way. Many people come up to us after these events and talk about how lovely it is to be able to sing (when we do a sing-along), because it's the only time of year they are able to sing. I can't even imagine how terrible that would be.. to only get to sing one or two songs all year long.

JL's new store, Design Within Reach, opened in Berkeley and we attended the gala grand opening, and did a little shopping too. Stella's fabulous holiday party was more crowded and festive than ever. We did a gift (steal) exchange, and every gift I picked out was stolen at least once. I guess I have good taste. But at least I ended up with a decent bottle of French wine, instead of the glowing Santa lamp.

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