Weekend Update

Another weekend is coming to a close. It started out with a piano lesson and then dinner at Bhojanic for some Indian. We order the Pani Puri and it was delicious and nice to do something other than the usual Chicken Tikka.

Saturday we had Aimee's colleague, Daniella, and her husband and little Noah over for dinner. It was so nice to have people over. In fact, we even re-arranged the furniture to commemorate the event. Surprised? Many likely are not. Dinner was balsamic roasted chicken, compliments of the Giada cookbook, served with garlic basil pasta and steamed broccoli.

A few pictures below include Daniella (with her chocolate cake, whipped cream frosting, and fresh berries), Matt with their little boy Noah, and Noah himself, checking out Crowley's bed (cross-reference post on Aug 9).

Speaking of Crowley, she had quite a weekend. It included a trip to Gotham Park (which is the park near us) and a trip Sunday morning to the new dog park at Piedmont Park. She loved it and it's huge there -- plenty of room for the happy little dogs, and the big mean dogs to co-exist. Anyway, she does this thing where she bellies up to the water dish and just drops her face in it, ostensibly out of pure exhaustion but it's adorable.

Mass this Sunday was at Christ the King for the Feast of the Assumption. And since it was the Cathedral, they served it up with all the fixin's (extra incense and what appeared to be more clergy). Aimee sang with the group and I played the piano for the psalm (this part was unexpected but super kind of the director). I hope it was suitable. We're really enjoying seeing how other churches operate with respect to music. Overall, a very hospitable group with great musicianship. Off to Austin this week for me...

A couple random thoughts and updates

I guess this is partially what a blog is for anyway right? First things first, my "T" key is experiencing about a 60% fail rate right now so please excuse any awkward mis-spellings.

Couple updates on the weekend. We went to Antico for some pizza napoletana. I was more than impressed with the fact that their website uses the .it top-level domain so I knew it was going to be special. It was. Phenomenal pizza in a very unique environment. As you can somewhat see in the picture, the seating is in the kitchen. Freshly made pizzas come out on those industrial strength cookie sheets and you eat wherever you can find a spot.

Saturday night we met up with Megan's cousin Bobby for some Thai at Surin of Thailand. Always great to spend some time with Bobby. If there's any chance in the world that I end up here, we can thank Bobby.

Sunday's mass brought us to IHM and then to the directors' home for a fabulous dinner with some new friends. What great people. I got a text from Fr. Tom that our ears should have been burning that night; it was mutual as we were telling our hosts about how Tom has inspected our lease to ensure it is, in fact, only 12 months! We're very blessed to have found a great parish in IHM. Jeff, Michael, Noah, Shannon, and Nimalie -- thanks!

That said, we're also pretty excited about meeting the group at XRex (Cathedral of Christ the King) too. Aimee thinks we're "two timing" but we're really just taking the opportunity to find the right place. More to come.

This week is a normal week of work for Aimee and me. Friday I have a piano lesson. I've found a great teacher at Emory in Dr. Laura Gordy. I love being able to take lessons again! Currently studying: Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 10, no. 2; Chopin's Nocturne in F minor Op. 55, no. 1; and a few pieces for piano and soprano by Fauré.

In closing, before I go watch Entourage with Aimee, here's an especially cute picture of Crowley from a couple days ago:

Church Shopping, part IV

This past Sunday brought us to St. Ann's Parish up in Marietta for their 10:30am liturgy, followed by brunch, and then a return visit to IHM. St. Ann's is a vibrant community with a beautiful "state of the art" church and some truly amazing people and music to fill it. This is one of those churches that "gets it". Incredibly welcoming, their hospitality is made evident immediately by the ministers who greet you and have a special hand out for visitors. Their liturgy is deliberate, yet creative (if not a bit theatrical); their music is well thought out and inspiring; their ministers of the Word, Eucharist, and general liturgical functions clearly understand the importance of their roles.

Let's get on to the typical observations! This is the first church that I've seen use the lighting as part of the liturgy. When the service starts, beginning with an enthusiastic "Welcome!", the lights come to life from their dimmed state, indicating that the show is on. I liked this. They dimmed them again after the Holy, Holy is sung and then bring them back up during the Amen. Hence the theatrical reference above.

Their audio was clear, at a good volume, and well balanced. Much of this is due to the way they actively manage their output. In an environment with dynamic music, wireless mics, and different speaking styles, "presets" don't work (warning: I may have a personal bias here). Anyway, their sound and video was actively, yet unobtrusively, attended to by two A/V guys. Yes video. Two screens hang tastefully on either side of the sanctuary. They have prayers, imagery, and texts for the music -- because of this, there was no need for a music aid and one's attention could be focused on the altar.

Now, by many accounts, their music is fantastic. I'm not 100% sure it was for me. It was done well but many of the selections are closer to what you'd hear on a Christian radio station and with no music, it was very difficult to sing along. Sure, go 10 more times and it's in your head but but for a first time visitor, I need music. At least to read the contours and rough timing of the music. It was all guesswork. Mostly bad too. Most of our trip was courtesy of Carl N. who is related to our friends Monica and Kevin from OSP. He and his family were so welcoming, it was really a joy to spend that time with him and his two little boys. We'll be back, if nothing else than to hang out with them.

Brunch was at J. Christopher's (recommended by Carl -- thanks!). Back at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Aimee sang with the choir, and I played the piano for 3 of the pieces. I still can't believe they let me accompany their choir, untested. I am now tested. We'll be back!

This coming Sunday we will be going back to the Cathedral of Christ the King (amusingly referred to as XRex recently). Hoping to meet Elyn there and be part of their group as well!

Church Shopping, part III

This week we visited Immaculate Heart of Mary parish and had a really great experience. They are a 51 year old Catholic community in the North Druid Hills area with a Vision Statement that reads:

"A community dedicated to knowing, loving, and serving God"

Perhaps not the most ambitious of visions, but in it's simplicity, presents a challenge indeed.

The assembly was a nice mix of families, individuals, couples, and young adults -- all with an average degree of diversity. The music was very spirited, due in part to a 9' Baldwin, a lively pianist, and good choral singing. One of the first things we noticed is that their repertoire is not unlike what we're accustomed to at Old St. Pat's.

One of the last things we noticed (as it didn't occur until the end of mass) is how unabashedly welcoming they were. The woman sitting in the pew in front of us turned to Aimee after mass and commented on her voice (just hers, not mine) and promptly introduced us to the music leader. He proceeded to welcome us with open arms and invited us to participate, no audition required, in their group the following Sunday. Also the young adult ministry seems to be inviting and purposeful and we hope to give that a try soon.

We're looking forward to next Sunday for St. Ann's in Marietta in the morning and then back to IHM in the evening. Two masses you say? Two masses.

Atlanta Living - Aimee's first post.

There's been a lot to get used to living in Atlanta. The weather, the winding streets, the funny accents, the large prevalence of grits...

Seriously though, Crowley's definitely been having some issues. For some reason, she thinks that the dining room table is very tasty, probably a little like grits. Although, I do think it really adds to the uniqueness of the table.

She had her first grooming today at Kelsey's Dog House. She looks super cute and she got to play with the other dogs all afternoon, so she's a happy doggie today!

All seriousness aside - the oddest thing about living in Atlanta these last 2 weeks has been that we have had the strangest urge to go out and do some skeet shooting! Then I happen to look out my bedroom window and it all makes sense...

That's right... Skeet Shooting.

Who knows - maybe we'll take it up as a new hobby. The music thing isn't really that fulfilling... Pull!

Church Shopping, part II

This past Sunday we visited St. Thomas More in Decatur. Aimee was skeptical from the beginning because it shares its name with the parish she grew up with (St. Thomas More, Munster, IN)! All in all, it was a nice place.

Here is the Parish Mission Statement:

Saint Thomas More Parish is a welcoming Catholic community rich in diversity and culture. United by our love of God and one another, we come together to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, foster mutual love and spiritual growth, and provide outreach to the community by sharing our time, talent and treasure. We strive to grow in faith through our celebration of the Eucharist and sacraments of our Roman Catholic tradition.

I liked that their website showed the planned music for the upcoming Sunday. Their selections were nice, though I find it tough when a less common mass setting is done without music to read as an aid.

The other people in the assembly were very nice and welcoming and the liturgy seemed to be well thought out. The lectors were clear and well understood which kept us engaged -- at least up until the homily.

We found two key things off-putting in the bulletin. The first was a section in the beginning about being an "active Catholic" and how there are several requirements that must be met before they would verify one's status. It mentioned: "Your envelope will let us know that you are attending mass regularly." Just didn't feel very welcoming.

The second was a large, bold section with a "quote" from the National Right to Life News. It was a little inflammatory and dangerously close to being mis-quoted (they left out the fact that the article at that point was referring to non-US health care programs). That was important because it implied that our programs, that our president, was in fact euthanizing the elderly. When, in fact, there are a lot of factors in determining end of life care including our faith, our own notions of humanitarianism, our insurance, and how those actually involved are economically situated. It's not that I necessarily disagree with this but since we picked up a bulletin on the way in, these were essentially our first impressions and those can be tough to overturn.

Finally Settling In

We've been here for nearly two weeks and finally feeling settled in. "Settling in" is more than just unpacking. It's unpacking and choosing how to decorate our new home. Choosing what, of the many articles and items we brought from Chicago, will go up first -- or not at all. For us especially, it's finding a few brunch spots and finding ways to make Crowley's adjustment smooth (the latter topic will warrant its own post). Also it's preparing a nice blueberry cobbler to help us remember exactly where we unpacked everything in the kitchen.

Along with the settling in means that Mark gets to finally take pictures of our new apartment. All of our Atlanta pictures can be found on our picasa site:

picasaweb.google.com/mscozz/OurYearInAtlanta

I'll try to keep this site updated along the way but here are just a couple pictures of the new place:

View of our building from Monroe

Our bedroom

Our kitchen

Nice and big bathroom

And our den.

Church Shopping, part I

It's right up there with finding a good dry cleaner. Well, actually more important than that. We have to find a good church. Since we're taking a year hiatus from Old St. Pat's, our objective really isn't to find a replacement; it's to find a place where we feel welcome, can experience good liturgy, find some friends, and have an opportunity to do some music. And Catholic. Though, I can't promise we won't make our way to a Baptist church once or twice.

First stop was the Cathedral of Christ the King. We went to the Sunday 5:30pm liturgy on July 4th so we weren't expecting a big crowd, nor were we disappointed in that regard. The music was a schola from the cathedral choir and they sounded pretty good. Not sure where we'll head next but we haven't written this one off completely yet!

Our move to Atlanta

Well -- we're getting moved in here in Atlanta. Pretty slowly but we are getting there. After a "last mass" on Sunday we had dinner at the Parthenon and then got started loading up the truck on Monday morning at 5:30am.

Turns out we have a lot more stuff than either of us anticipated. That, combined with a dead battery in the Budget truck when we were preparing to leave meant we didn't leave until after noon Eastern (our new timezone!). Here's a picture of Dad helping with the loading.

Also I found a nice photo op with the fire escape outside the loading dock.

We had great weather right up until around Nashville. As we came to the end of Day 1 of Travel, we ran into a thunderstorm, horrible visibility and fog, sleepiness, and steep hills. We arrived into Chattanooga and I was never more happy to get to a hotel. We stayed at the Sheraton Read House downtown and made our way to Atlanta the following morning.

Aimee had orientation on the 30th (no rest for her!) and then started today on the first. She'll be working at the Emory Eye Center for the next year. Thankfully she has a long weekend to look forward to soon. More to come soon -- until then we'll be making frequent visits to Home Depot. Maybe Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I don't know if we'll have time.

p.s. be sure to become a "Follower" of our blog…

Send off at the Castillo's

Just a quick post to mention our send off party hosted by Frank and Courtney Castillo.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mscozz/SendOffAtCastillos#

We are SO incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Castillo's and all of our friends from Chicago. We truly carry that with us in our hearts...

St. Patrick's Day in Chicago

St. Patrick's Day is a great time of the year to be in Chicago! To see our picture album, click here. We kicked off the holiday with the Civic Celebration Mass at Old St. Pat's. In attendance were Mayor Daley, the Prime Minister of Ireland Brian Cowen, Chairman of the Parade James Sullivan, Parade Queen Kerry Ann Brennan. The mass was celebrated by Cardinal Francis George and led in music by the Old St. Pat's choir (including Aimee).

We made not one, but two batches of corned beef and cabbage and shared the meals with our great friends. It was delicious. And I'm so done with corned beef for the year. At least for this month anyway.

Aimee's sister Katie and her friend Kathleen joined us for St. Patrick's Day and the Siamsa na nGael concert. The concert is a celebration of Celtic arts and held at Symphony Center and features the Metropolis Symphony and the OSP Choir. It was the culmination of weeks and weeks of rehearsals -- rehearsals that always provided a great reason to hang out with some amazing people.

Finally, we finished off with our first ever race. Aimee and I decided to sign up for and train for the Shamrock Shuffle with Megan. It is an 8K race (4.97 miles) and we finished in under an hour. The weather held out and all in all it was great fun! Definitely will do again...

I wonder what St. Patrick's Day will be like in Atlanta....

link to our St. Patrick's Day Photo Album

Our Trip to Tucson

This year's conference for the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society took place in "sunny" Tucson, AZ. We were there for 6 days and enjoyed a variety of activities (me more so than Aimee...). The Southwest Airlines once again delivered a great journey down there and the JW Marriott Starr Pass was a fabulous place to stay, albeit a little on the pricey side.

I took advantage of the hiking trails, spa and workout facilities, pool, and golf course. One of most memorable was a day long visit to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. There are quite a pictures in our Picasa Album from that experience. The surrounding landscape is quite nice and certainly a departure from what we're used to seeing around Chicago. This is a picture from one of my hikes:

One of Aimee's big reasons for coming was to present her research poster. The poster was 4' by 8' and very nicely done. Here's Aimee at the poster session:

Finally, we' like to really thank our friend Megan for being willing to spend 6 days away from her home and live in ours and watch Crowley. She allowed us to relax and know that everything was taken care of at home.

For a link to our Tucson photo album, click here

Our move to Atlanta...

Wow..it's been a while on this whole blog thing. Sometimes you just need a little motivation. As most of you know, Aimee and I will be moving to Atlanta for a year starting July 1st for her fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology. I'm hoping to use our blog as a way to share picture and stories from our little adventure. First things first though. We need a renter for our condo in Chicago.

Click here for more information...

Siamsa na nGael 2009

Last night was the Siamsa concert at Symphony Center.  Aimee sang as part of the Old St. Pat's choir with the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra.  Here are some pictures from the event (click on them for extra big versions!)

a wide angle shot from my seats inside the beautiful hall

closer view of the performers with director Bill Fraher and conductor Stephen Alltop

close up of Bill Fraher, Stephen Alltop with soloist Rod Dixon and concertmaster Tom Yang

using my zoom lens to the extent of its capability, here is Aimee, Anna, and Megan (along with the other sopranos).  Compare this to the first picture above!

After the concert with Anna, Aimee, Megan, and Wes.  

We enjoyed a welcome Lenten Reprieve of Guiness, Fish and Chips, and Corned Beef at Hackney's afterwards.  :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day weekend in Chicago is always something to remember!  Aimee sang at the Civic and Community Celebrations at Old St. Patrick's (and I dutifully attended).  We had also had the great pleasure of having Kristen's dog Beamer with us since Wednesday.  It was great fun!

Click on Beamer to see our Picasa album with pictures from the weekend.