1. Rock Star has returned. He appeared the other morning, lounging casually on Jessica's bed as if nothing had happened. "Where have you BEEN!?" I asked him. Only a few missing whiskers suggested some kind of wandering adventure. We were overjoyed to see him, and I basically let him walk all over my laptop while I tried to work.

2. I have one more day of teaching left before I enter Christmas Shopping Mode. I'm so glad to be out of the glare of American Christmas-shopping mania ... but people still like presents.

3. I'm thinking of having a little benefit concert of my own while I'm back home in the Boston area -- so, open call to my musician friends from around there. Want to play on a benefit, and maybe even help me put it together? Something low-key, but where we could try to make a few hundred dollars to assist in the transport of our new electric piano from the US to Tanzania. That stuff's expensive ... so give an email if you'll be around Boston for the holidays, and would be willing to donate your artistic talents to a little gathering.

Jingle bells, ho ho ho, etc!!
Love,
Ellen