[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Amazing, Jung! Wonderful coincidence!

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

I want to add my heartfelt thanks for your generosity. Who can imagine getting to hangout with their favorite musicians and be included in their family life?! We are blessed by your musical and artistic gifts and by the kind of people you are. A huge thank you to your whole family! You’ve made our Advent a time to remember forever.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Yes, we lost a national treasure in Gordon Lightfoot. I grew up listening to his music. My very favourite, and one which I know Mona and Lisa could do an exquisite cover of, is Pussy Willows Cat-Tails. The lyrics are beautiful and the arrangement is heavenly. I would love to hear and MLT version of it! There is room for harmonies, cello, and flute too!

Pussywillows, Cat-Tails – YouTube

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Jeannette Wannamaker.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

How beautiful! Thank you, Jung.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Wishing you good health and happiness on your birthday, Papa Rudi! I’ll be celebrating this anniversary of your nativity too over here in Canada – without you, there would be no MLT joy! May you have many more years of life, love, and music-making!

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

“Joy and woe are woven fine, a clothing for the soul divine. Under every grief and pine, runs a joy with silken twine.”
― William Blake

MLT joy for me: 2 weeks ago, a very good friend of mine lost her son to addictions he had bravely fought to overcome. He was found dead in a park from an overdose. 10 days ago, a lovely 19-year-old young woman who was part of my daughter’s Waldorf school class for 8 years, was killed in a car accident. I’ve been coping with the grief in part by binge-listening to MLT songs only to find that they have indeed woven that silken twine of joy through the very painful experiences of grief. Tremendously comforting and healing.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Early Morning Rain would also be a great choice! And yes, Gord’s Gold on WOTT! I would love to hear what Mona and Lisa have to say about various selections on that album. Song for a Winter’s Night would be another good choice for a cover – I can almost hear the MLT’s sweet harmonies.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Thanks, Tim. Yes, the music is definitely helping!

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Thanks so much. I agree, there is magic here!

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Thank you, Jacki. Well said – I love your image of a warm quilt – so comforting.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Thank you, Jung. Light in the darkness is a very good way to describe MLT.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Thanks! I think I will – I’ll let you know what comes back.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

I’m so glad to hear that the surgery was successful! Good news indeed! I hope that today finds Lady Jane Beagle feeling one step better in her recovery.

You hit of the nail on the head, Christopher, with what you wrote about education – learning definitely happens in the process of whatever we are trying to achieve. Critical thinking is the casualty of skimming the surface of an ocean of information without diving deeper. One thing I appreciated about my daughter’s elementary school was the practice of presenting information that was allowed to sink in deeply over a few days through reflection, class discussion, creating one’s own notebook entries, art, music, etc. before moving on to new information. While this meant covering less information, it led to the development of critical thinking skills. Here are a couple of samples from her notebooks, written with fountain pen in grade 7. The students were required to add borders to their notes and draw their own maps freehand.

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

That is the sad thing, isn’t it, the fact that students are cheating themselves of the learning that happens when they wrestle with material to complete their own work? I remember as a student, reading and reading, then struggling with making the connections and coming up with something interesting and useful to write. Even the process of writing my thoughts down required mental struggle. But the moment it all came together was so rewarding – I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything!

[Jeannette Wannamaker]

Wow! That is accurate analysis coming from AI! Can it also make broader connections between songs, themes, etc.? I’d be worried if I were a university professor trying to grade papers!