Our Hilltop weather cannot make up its mind, as far as temperature and flowers go. We bring several flower pots indoors when it’s below freezing, we put them out when it’s suddenly 80°F, and then bring them back in again a day or two later. But one thing that is out in force every day […]

Spring is bustin’ out all over at the Hilltop! Well, more like peeking out in spots. Lots of early daffodils, pink and blue hyacinths, and even a lily and some other flowers that Crystal just planted. The trees still remain leafless and our perennial garden remains dormant for a while longer. Along with those bits […]

Since last I wrote, life has been a kaleidoscope. First, here is an update on our cat named Oliver. After three weeks on his new thyroid medicine we had his blood tested again. The “normal” on the scale is 0 – 4 points. Last time he was at 14! This time he was down to […]

I’ll start with a review of the bizarre and ordinary events since I last wrote, in the order they happened. But first, if you have felt a strange disturbance in the force, let us remember the 5,000 poor souls (and perhaps double that number to come) so far discovered deceased in a series of major […]

It has been a rather uneventful couple of weeks, so this will be shorter than usual but I hope of some interest. I have started a short break from composing, in order to catch up on editing these 47 minutes of orchestral ballet music I’ve already written. The conductor’s score has grown to over 200 […]

I believe this is the first time I have had occasion to write “2023” on anything! As always, it feels funny. Sometimes for a few weeks of each new year I forget and write the number of the old year out of habit, but at least I hardly ever have to write a physical check […]

I hope you had a good Christmas Day! It may seem odd to some people, but for us “Christmastide” season does not begin until sunset on Christmas Eve, and in much of Europe Christmas trees still do not go up until then. Ours went up just a few days before that. The trade-off is that […]

As they get done, I’ve been posting here my virtual mockups/demo’s of the new pieces from my in-progress ballet. Below, I am happy to share with you the newest one! These will be recorded by a live human orchestra in Europe in fall of 2023 for an album and performed live with dancers in the […]

Happy Thanksgiving to all! It may come as a surprise to those who know that my hobby is cooking, but for me this holiday is not primarily about food. It is not about parades, football, autumn, days off from work or school, pilgrims in boxy hats or what they may have done right or wrong, […]

In this diary entry I’m happy to share with you not one but two spankin’ new short pieces of music for my ballet titled Raffaella. The first one is called “Raffaella’s Communion and Pas de deux with the Prince.” In her roughly Renaissance-era, Italian fairytale setting, Raffaella has a religious coming-of-age ceremony and then dances […]