I devote this entry to answering some of the questions I have received about recording music in Bulgaria, which might be interesting, or might not. But if not, my apologies, and the regular Hilltop news and photo (which is Beatrix Potter’s house in England, also called Hill Top) will return next time. Why record in […]

There are only a few bits of news to tell this time. The weather has remained unseasonably cold for this time of year here, so gardening has not progressed too much, but our chlamydia plants have very pretty blooms coming on and starting their big climb up and around the trellis. I planted some chive […]

Feeling too busy? Wish you could learn to say no more often? I have not had much success at it! My Lenten resolution was to “give up” saying yes to too many things, not only for Lent, but generally. I am trying to finish up the projects still on my plate and then start saying […]

Happy birthday, April 3, to my wife of now close to a dozen years, Crystal! I try to surprise her every year with something a bit unusual from among her many passionate pursuits. One thing she enjoys, perhaps out of her nostalgic sensibility, is playing scratchy old antique vinyl records of original cast recordings and […]

After a sudden change of plans, which often seems to happen in the arts just to keep us a little crazy, my symphony recording project was switched to another orchestra. Question: What happens when you take top professional symphony players from a dozen Eastern European symphony orchestras and gather them into the state-of-the-art Bulgarian National […]

Could it be a sign of spring? At Hilltop, our big flock of turkeys has mysteriously returned, sauntering across the back pasture from time to time, and they seem fearless. They come right up to me begging for food. (I have been known to give them some dried corn.) They would probably eat out of […]

Last time, I showed you the “before” pictures of painting the primer on our raw brick fireplace. Here is the finished job. We’re happy with the end result! It’s a lighter off-white than it appears here. In other world-shaking news, I have now lost almost 25 pounds on my diet that has been going on […]

In the latest “bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew” news, after long saying we’d like to do it, Crystal and I finally got ourselves into the car and down to the hardware store together to pick out and buy paint. It was for our indoor, yellow, unpainted brick fireplace. You have to put a special primer/sealer on the raw brick […]

The weather report said we got eight inches of snow a few days ago, a very rare thing in Nashville. I hope you stayed safe and enjoyed it, if you got some too. We had plenty of food and firewood and working utilities, so we cozied in with our books and some work and enjoyed […]

It is a most interesting life, being the spouse of a musical theater actor. People likely know or can guess that the personal preparation is intense at home after landing a role, before the first rehearsal. What people may not know, though, is that the same intense preparation can go into an audition that only […]