Labor Day 2009

Hi Friends, We had an awful lot of fun seeing what you voted for in the WCRB Labor Day 500 countdown. We were overwhelmed, frankly, that thousands of you took the time to do this, especially since voting took place in the last couple of weeks before Labor Day and so many people just aren't around. Thanks so much for voting and being a part of this. Some pieces were "naturals" (yes, of course we expected Beethoven's 9th, Pachelbel's Canon, Vivaldi's Four Seasons) and then there were some things you voted for that took us by surprise. It made for a really interesting countdown, really interesting listening, and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Other than checking back with WCRB for your favorite pieces, how did you spend the rest of your holiday weekend? WCRB's countdown accompanied us all weekend. We got some chores done on Saturday (but never the whole list--who are we kidding?), and did a family day trip Sunday, not far, just an hour from home, but we went someplace we had never been, and on Monday we had a wonderful cookout with my parents (yay, Grandma and Papa are here!) courtesy of Mother Nature's good mood. The weather was glorious and even though the food was so simple (most of it from our gardens) it was a day of... riches. As glamorous as, say, jetting off to Paris for the weekend sounds, I'm OK with letting that be for others. At this point in my life I preferred my day which included having my little one show his grandparents his just-bloomed sunflowers and his newly-decorated baseball room, of seeing three generations at our kitchen table, of catching up on the doings of family and friends, of serving Italian food complete with my homemade pear crostada (rustic pear tart) made with recently picked pears from Papa's pear tree, on this holiday honoring labor, honest work, with family members who have labored honorably their whole lives. Who knows, dahling, someday I may jet off to Paris for the weekend... but for now, for me, Labor Day 2009.... was a day of riches just as it was. It will go down as my favorite Labor Day so far.

Until next time,

Laura