Last year we were forced to remove our highly deteriorated Silver Maple tree. Well, the front yard became very bare (and the summer cooling bill very high), so we found a replacement. A Sun Valley Maple was chosen and installed in September while it still had plenty of green leaves. We experienced a very short-lived display of its Fall colors before cold air and a strong wind stripped it clean for this season. Then, last weekend the color of Winter gave a foretaste of things to come, but fortunately cleared out so a lot of cement replacement and updating could be finished here. Several weeks ago we signed onto a contractor’s schedule for much needed driveway and walking area improvements. At least 3/4ths of all cemented areas were replaced and there’s now more area to walk and carry instruments by parked vehicles on the driveway. One additional benefit was an enlarged front flower bed area which we and many clients have enjoyed over the years. Our long-lived rose plant became a casualty of the process however, so I guess we’ll start anew next year. All the work will be a welcome improvement to traffic in/out of Tesco Productions and allows us to make other changes that were dependent on this being done.

In a good book with many chapters there are twists and turns in the story line and sometimes unexpected or likely endings – but always at some point the story concludes. The characters in the plot acquire friends, families, community relationships, jobs, possessions, reputations and ultimately a legacy that’s left behind. This past week our family experienced the latter pages of a closing chapter. It was with satisfaction and yet some sadness that the book was again briefly reviewed, some pages appended with final notes, some marked for additional perusal at a later time, and still others just left tucked inside on the shelf of memory.

As I look around my life – whether it’s to see the many, many signatures on the signed walls of the studio, reflect on current and past people who have made countless recordings here, see stacks of old equipment that need a new home or removal, or hand off a piece of gear to a much younger generation who with excitement put it to a new use, I’m being more reminded that we’re all penning our individual transcription. The pages are being written, the pictures drawn, the captions affixed. As Scripture admonishes us to do, may we each finish well so the story read by others today and tomorrow has a place of proper esteem on the mantel of their lives.

With the hot summer days winding down it’s still kind of hard to reckon with another year moving well past the midway mark. It’s been of course a very trying year in a lot of aspects and that has affected even recording sessions. One of the most unusual aspects is the need for masks and sanitizing all the common surfaces. So this brings us to a second round of recording a Christmas compilation with Tom Tomoser. Each family member is involved either singing, videoing or overseeing/arranging the music. It began this year with a keyboard recording (and that’s a lot of surface to clean) and then adding sax parts and flute. Vocals will round out this collection of a dozen mostly traditional Christmas tunes – but presented in fresh ways. It won’t be long before we’re wishing all a “Merry Christmas”.