End-week-end

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.
-- Unknown, but very known, from an old friend

I've unintentionally been posting weekend weddings and other happenings one week after they occur. So, illogically, look for the wedding I played today one week from now.

The Franklin Park Conservatory wedding found me performing from a vantage point I don't usually take -- behind the guests.


From this position I could watch the mothers and wedding party tentatively make their way down the curving staircase, then steadily wobble past me and down the aisle to the "altar."



Navigating through the Conservatory is much easier now! That is, when the doors to which Security directed me are unlocked, I don't leave my keys in the car in my haste to get in the building after locked-door-delay, and the plants intending to deter passerby from heading outside aren't placed exactly where I need to make my exit.

The Taylor Mansion boasts an aging patio in the front of the building; a hedge of sorts separates this spot from busy Broad Street. Setting up on one side of the fountain seemed appropriate.



But then I moved to the other side after realizing I needed a better view of the wedding party as they entered, and equally important, to keep a wary eye on the western sky. A waterfall of rain through which the sun oddly blazed graced the wedding site just as I got the harp in the car after the ceremony.


Last weekend's two weddings were capped off with the first gathering at my house in a very long while. Really good fresh food, great people, and a bonfire for purging items / thoughts that no longer fit in our lives conjoined under clear skies. The house actually felt good despite its various states of construction -- turns out plywood floors are a hit -- and preparing for this was a healthy way to complete projects in and around the house. There is nothing better than being amidst the glowing positive energy of new and old friends.

The work I've been doing to step up with the harp is paying off bigger and sooner than I anticipated, creating a strange amalgamation of distress and wonder. Balancing attempts --> planning another get-together, listening to a diverse array of music, chopping off a good amount of hair, experimenting with limited-ingredient vegan cooking, and eating dark chocolate. Oh, and consuming chocolate-covered strawberries -- the instructions specifcally say they must be eaten within 48 hours of delivery and I'm behind.