Bread and Salt

I finally officially celebrated my new living quarters with a housewarming last week; it was truly heartwarming. It was wonderful to be able to spend an evening with friends in my new surroundings. As a freelance musician, there are so few opportunities to plan ahead for such an occasion. This time, I made it happen!

And I was introduced to the tradition of giving bread and salt for the new home. I don't remember ever hearing of this in the USA - according to Wikipedia the tradition may go as far back as the Romans. No matter, the wish of always having enough to eat and the necessary "spice of life" to accompany it, is a lovely thought. Thanks to all!

Ingredients - Time to Bake!

The rest of my week was spent on an orchestra tour. Good music, warm hospitality and full houses made the time on the road worthwhile. We experienced the first snow of the season in southern Germany - beautiful, clinging to the still-red-and-yellow leaves on trees, but still MUCH too early in the year. As we drove north, the snow disappeared and we were privileged to have a bit more of October's fantastic clear air, blue skies and impressive cloud formations that seemed to go on endlessly over the plains. . . puts the world and us humans in an interesting perspective.

It had to remind me of Barbra Streisand singing "On a clear day you can see forever and ever. . . "

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymmHn5yLjVA