Matthew Peak

I'm trying to balance being there for him while trying to get the house ready for winter. Some of the things (like dealing with the outside water), he always deals with. Now it's up to me.

Shoulder surgery recovery is going well. Spencer's starting to be more active, walking a bit, and moving the elbow and wrist of the healing arm. He's started to do more things on his own without me needing to step in.

Here's my reply to comments on facebook: ...The healing time for this surgery can be up to two years. His surgeon, who recently had the surgery herself, said that she only got to the point where she could lift her kid after two years. I'm expecting a lot of lifting in my future.

My partner had shoulder surgery today. It went well. He's home now, but looking forward to a long recovery. It may be more than a year before he'll be lifting much of anything again. I'm going to be doing my best to help him heal.

All the leaves have dropped from our Maple.

Election Day

Table with photos, a flag, and Roy’s ashes.

Traveled to Northern California last weekend to inter my dad. More than five years after he passed we were able to lay him to rest next to his wife. I know he expected to join her and I became frustrated that we weren’t honoring his wishes.

Going to inter my dad next week.

I was feeling like we needed to do the same for my dad. He expressed his interest in being laid to rest near his wife. But this hasn't happened. I had to convince my sisters that this was important. I'm frustrated that they didn't necessarily see it that way.

Epic road trip to bring my father in law from Colorado to Iowa for my mother in law's interment. He's 89 so wouldn't be safe to drive himself. But it was important for him to be there so Spencer (and I) made it happen.

I will be traveling a bit for personal stuff in the next month or so. I feel like I will be doing my duty and looking forward to the next thing.

I will miss my mother in law. Life will be different without her.

In the middle of some stuff. My mother in law (👬) passed away last month. We’re trying to manage my father in law’s memorial and internment plans for her.

Last Friday my partner’s uncle passed away.

This company's mission is to provide opportunities for older singers. This is their first complicated opera, though it's staged on the simpler side. I enjoyed it. I hope that they are able to build on this success and create new productions.

Program for The Mother of Us All featuring Susan B. Anthony.

Gertrude Stein wrote an interesting opera with her musical collaborator. It's about suffrage, but told creatively. The singers in this little/new company were fantastic.

Saw the opera The Mother of Us All on Saturday. It’s Gertrude Stein so it’s complicated. More in a bit.

Hey! Spencer's big 6-0 birthday is tomorrow. Let me know if you have any advice or thoughts for someone reaching this milestone. :^)

Spencer's been dropping dribs and drabs of trivia like: one performer must switch numerous characters (in one page of the libretto) so as he moves about and through the set, he must change many times. Hopefully, they find an effective method for doing this.

The Mother of Us All, the opera Spencer's been working on, plays next weekend. This production has a cast of eight performers, many taking on multiple roles. I'll see it next Saturday.

Spring is coming. I have a few windows open to get a bit of fresh air tonight. It's still too cold to plant new things outside but our landscape designer guy, who came this afternoon, suggested we could start fertilizing, and give our two new arborvitae some deep soaking water.

Spencer's working on an opera: The Mother of Us All. Rehearsals start tonight. I'll tell more later.

Spencer opened windows all over the house. Fresh air all of a sudden.

I killed Threads on my PC. Photos weren't loading right and I got tired of managing it. You probably won't notice....

I have allergies so I tend to have Kleenex all over the house. We haven't been to the store in a while and I'm counting down those boxes.

Planning a car trip from Winnipeg to Vancouver. Does anyone have tips?

Did I just dream it? It was on my phone.

Jonathan Bailey posted to my social media. Must be true and real, right?

Trying not to keep posting weather reports.

Going to see the Minnesota Orchestra tomorrow. Saw them last Saturday as well. They are world class. Wish I learned to be a percussionist...maybe play the timpani.

This snow mostly gone. Sixty degrees today and warmer tomorrow. It's hard to know if this is the new normal or if we can expect more cold weather. Saturday is supposed to have rain and then snow later.

Spencer's aunt is struggling to manage cancer and her husband is struggling to manage dementia. We visit with them every week via Zoom. It's very important to stay in touch with them and other family each week. We've made these digital connections a priority.

trying to avoid the current news 'cause it'll just make me sad. looking at bluesky today, sadly, is part of that problem. want to be in a different reality.