Chris put music on my tablet. I put sticky notes on my music so I would know where to start so I wouldn't have to turn pages. I practiced again. I cleaned my comb. I heated up the last of the bone broth and drank it. I put the laundry away and picked out warm clothing for the trip to Guam and cool clothing for once we get there.
I took a shower and got dressed in red and green. The headband I made Wednesday was blue with snowflakes on it. It would not go with what I was wearing. So I got some red, white and green fabric, cut a strip off and trimmed it down to 26 inches. I ironed a 14 inch piece of stabilizer to center part. I folded it in half and sewed up the side. THEN, I had to turn it inside out. That was really hard with the stiffener in it. Once I got it turned, I folded the short edges in and inserted elastic. I stitched where the end of the elastic was to hold it. Then I put the other end of elastic inside the other end of the headband. I had to pin it several times and try it on to get the tightness just right. Then I stitched that end down as well. I put it on and admired it. Then I changed into a black skirt. I packed up my trombone and stand. Chris carried them to the car while I carried the music. He drove us to the chapel and found a parking space there. We went inside. No one was there but the chaplain, turning on the heat. At 6:35 the pianist came. The guitarist called to say he was late (I think). So I practiced two songs with the piano. Then I sat with Chris to relax while the pianist played songs from the hymn book. The chaplain's family came, and Russ. I was hoping for more. I think another family came before the service started. Someone said there was a crowd at the front gate, trying to get in for the service, but there was no roster for signing them in. Anyway, the chaplain started the service. It was a series of readings from the Bible, followed by Christmas hymns. Even though the pianist was right there, he sang acapella. Chris did some of the readings. After the service, more people showed up. Finally the little chapel was at least half full. The chaplain called for a 5 minute break before the caroling. I breathed through my trombone to warm it up. But the break went on for half an hour. I think there were cookies in the other room. Then when he called for volunteers for caroling, I got up with Ms. Kim and we played Sleigh Ride. I am not sure many people sang, but it went well. Then a man got up and Ms. Kim played while he sang O Holy Night. That went well, too. Another lady sang Silent Night in Dutch after we sang it in English. Then I got up again, and played Do You Hear What I Hear with Chang. It went well even though we did not get a chance to practice it again. Then we sang Here Comes Santa Claus. And Santa did show up. He invited the kids to come up and have their pictures taken with him. By this time song sheets had been copied and passed out. The chaplain announced Santa Claus is Coming to Town. He started it acapella, but since Ms. Kim and I had practiced it, we scrambled to play along. We only got the second verse. Then Santa had to go fly around the world. We sang another song and then I signaled Janelle. We got up together to play Frosty the Snowman. The crowd sang along. In fact they sang one more verse than we had planned so we played that part again. After we sat down, there was a long lull. Then Janelle's father got up and he played while she sang My Favorite Things and we sang along. The words were not in the song sheets, but people with smart phones googled the words. Then he played a song from The Grinch which I did not know. There was another lull. Dr. Chu called out a hymn number and Chris got up to lead it with her, but she wouldn't get up. But Russ did and they did great. Acapella. Poor Ms. Kim. I knew she wanted them to ask her to play. A few other people either got up or called out numbers. Chris had us sing Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee. I think there was another song, and then we sang “We wish you a Merry Christmas” to end the caroling. People milled about. I packed up my trombone. I hugged Ms. Kim and thanked her. I shook hands with Chang and thanked him. I found Janelle and hugged and thanked her. The Catholics were coming in for their service. Chris said I could drive home while he attended the service. So I did, freezing in the dark. When I got into the house, I realized I had left my handbag in the car, so I had to run back out. I checked my phone, and there was a message from Chang asking if the music was for tomorrow. I hadn't seen the message but it had all worked out. I changed my clothes, then sat down to write up my blog and listen to the concert band version of Sleigh Ride. I tried to play along with it but the key must have been different. I listened to several renditions but none matched my music. Then Chris came home from chapel. We watched two episodes of Xena. Then he called Michele on skype and we got to talk to Al, Cecily and Marie. But they all bowed out and left us with Michele. It was after midnight so we did not talk long. And then we went to bed.
* Chris helps to lead the singing. *
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