on the move

Hey folks! Brenda and I have been back in Frankfurt for a little over a week now, and it's been cold and cloudy every single day. Ah, it's good to be home. Brenda's been busy rehearsing for her upcoming performances of Lucia di Lammermoor while I've been studying and preparing for our move next week. We're meeting our new landlord tomorrow to sign the rental contract, so it looks like this move is really happening. The new apartment is very close to the Main river and just one pedestrian bridge away from the Frankfurt Christmas Market, which, I'm happy to report, opens tomorrow.

Our little plus one (or Knödel as we like to call him), has been quite active lately. Brenda has been feeling him wiggling around in there, but he's too shy to kick whenever my hand is on her belly. One of these days I'll catch him in the act.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we'll be making this blog private so we can feel more comfortable about sharing parts of our lives (e.g. baby pictures) that we don't necessarily want to share with the entire world. To do so, I will need email addresses for everyone who wants to read the blog. Once I put your email address on the list of approved readers, you will receive an email invitation to access the blog. If you want to keep reading the blog (and we hope you do!), please email me at: chadcgraham@gmail.com

One last thing, for those of you who missed Brenda's live-streamed performance of Ariadne auf Naxos in Munich last month, someone was kind enough to post a clip of her aria on YouTube. If you're interested, here's the link.

Until next time, have a great week!

all aboard for motherhood

Hello all! It's the other half of Chenda reporting tonight, althought I'm not sure I constitute just a half anymore. I feel I represent two thirds of our little family for the time being! :-) 

If you remember from last week, Chad had mentioned I was battling a sinus infection. Unfortunately when I woke up on Wednesday it had moved into my chest as well, and I was all around miserable. I sadly had to cancel for Wednesday night, but I know it was the right decision. I was able to sing the last performance on Saturday, which was difficult, but I'm glad I was able to, since our friends Susanne and Stephan were in the audience! 

The curtain call after the show. Not the most flattering costume for a pregnant lady, but what can you do!

With Susanne at dinner after the show. She has also performed the role of Konstanze, but in a rather different fashion! She is part of a marionette theater group (along with her brother Andreas) that performs operas. Chad and I are lucky enough to have seen some, and we plan on going to their newest show in February!

On Sunday we came home to Frankfurt and we are soo happy to be here! Chad previously mentioned we'd be here for almost 2 months (more like a little less than 7 weeks, but who's counting!) and during that time we'll be moving into our new place! We'll be sad to leave this apartment, which is, after 5 years, the longest amount of time we've spent somewhere other than our childhood homes, but it'll be great to have the extra space. 

We went to see our doctor today for a check up on how things are proceeding with the little one, and I'm happy to say that everything looks great! I also got a very important document. We don't have an equivalent to it in the US, which the German doctors find quite baffling. It's called the "Mutterpass" which translates to - you guessed it - Mother Pass. I like to think of it as a passport to the land of motherhood, but really it's just a little booklet in which all my pertinent medical info having to do with the baby is stored. Don't leave home without it! Literally. I'm always supposed to have it on hand. 

Rehearsals for my next show in Frankfurt start tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, since the opera is Lucia di Lammermoor (one of my favorites!) but I'm going to take it pretty easy, since I'm still getting over this pesky virus! Chad has miraculously stayed healthy, so I hope to report the same next week! Until then, hope you're all having a great autumn! 

blue skies in Bavaria

What a beautiful week it's been in Munich. We've had blue skies almost every day with temperatures in the 60s (who needs a coat in November?) and I've been outside enjoying it as much as possible. Unfortunately, while I've been out soaking up the rays, my better half has been stuck indoors fighting a sinus infection. Brenda noticed a runny nose and sore throat on Saturday during her first performance of Die Entführung aus dem Serail (a great show with a great cast!) and since then it's only gotten worse. We don't know yet if she'll sing her second performance tomorrow night. The opera house wants to know by 9 AM tomorrow, so we'll see how she feels in the morning. Ah, the joys of being a singer.

I'm not used to this kind of weather in November in Germany. Here's hoping it continues!

On Sunday I walked by a packed beer garden Brenda and I have frequented. I somehow resisted the urge to buy a giant pretzel.

While Brenda's been working (on singing and getting healthy), I've been studying for my third and final tax exam. I took and passed the first two exams when we were in Berlin last season, and now it's time to take the third. The topic for this exam is business taxation, which, as you might imagine, is rather complicated. I read some sections and think "I have no idea what that means." Luckily, I had that thought a lot during law school and I learned what to do: read it again. If you read a section enough times something usually sticks, or at least that's what I'm hoping.

Brenda and I head home to Frankfurt on Sunday, and we get to stay put for around two months. We're really looking forward to it. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

der Knödel

Greetings, again, from Munich! Brenda and I returned to our home away from home yesterday for her second production of the season at the Bavarian State Opera - Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The nature of Brenda's work has her traveling around a lot, and so far in 2015 Brenda has spent forty-four nights at home in Frankfurt. That number will double by the end of the year, but as of right now we've been in Munich more in 2015 than anywhere else. Good thing we like it so much.

Next year we're going to be home a lot more, and I'm guessing most of you have heard why. Brenda and I are expecting a baby boy in late March, and we couldn't be more excited! We'll be having the baby in Germany, which means we'll have to learn some new German words (e.g. the German word for "baby" is, well, "baby" but trust me when I tell you it gets harder). We'll also have to familiarize ourselves with Germany's laws designed to support and protect pregnant women. One such law says that pregnant women (after the 17th week, I believe) are not allowed to work past 8:00 PM. That could be problematic for a singer who has most of her performances in the evening, but the law allows for women to waive that right. (The show can go on!) My point is that we're going to be learning a lot in the coming weeks and months, and we're thrilled about it. 

Happy Halloween!

In preparation for our little jack-o'-lantern's arrival, I've decided to change our blog from public to private. Since we started this blog in 2008, anyone with the URL has been free to read it. I'm not entirely comfortable, however, with the idea of posting pictures of our child for the whole world to see. So sometime in the next few weeks I'm going to change the blog's settings to limit who can read our posts. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I'll figure it out and let you know.

Until next time, have a great week!