Dec. 22, 2003
My Christmas Letter
Christmas time? Again?
Well, I'm not sure how that happened so fast, but it must be time to write the annual Christmas letter! I spent Sunday night decorating my Christmas tree with my current squeeze, Derik. For the past two years, I've moved in January and haven't felt like dealing with Christmas decorations on top of boxing up all my earthly belongings, but I'm so excited to have a tree this year! I have ornaments that I'd forgotten all about, as well as perennial family favorites like "The Meatball" and "The Elephant," bequeathed to me by my mother when I left home. As Derik and I laughed and decorated, I realized how many Christmas traditions from my friends and family have been incorporated into my own yearly routine: the hot chocolate with a melting candy cane stirrer comes from Ellie DeBacher (I helped her decorate her tree for several years, and now it just doesn't feel right to decorate without that special treat), the squabbling over prime lighting and branch locations comes from my sister and me, and the ridiculous, chaotic assortment of ornaments ("Christmas Pickle," anyone?) comes from my mother's sincere belief that all ornaments are beautiful in the eyes of God. The tree looks beautiful (in the eyes of God), and now we're just waiting to see what the cats will do....
It has been an eventful year for me. I performed at the Georgia Renaissance Festival as Joni Minstrel, Village Protest Singer, for the third year in a row and will be back this year for a fourth. Mom has made a habit of coming to visit me during "Ren Fest" season, and I hope she will again this year. I also got a visit from Dad and Steph in November, who came to hear the fall concert put on by the community choir in which I sing, Collegium Vocale. I still really love choral music and feel certain that I will always make time for that kind of singing. I still perform with a Christmas caroling group in December, and I'm still playing in coffeehouses and clubs in Atlanta, touring farther afield when I can get the time off from work (still at The Atlanta Opera). In the spring, I will "officially" release Were You Prom Queen?, my second album. I am very anxious for it to go out into the world and for people to hear it. Unlike the first CD, this one took a very long time to record, so I almost can't believe that it's finally finished. I'm excited about this next step in my music career!
Despite the fact that I laid pretty low this year, working on the album, there have been some other cool music moments for me. Just last week, I helped organize a benefit concert with some of my favorite bands in town and got to play on a bill with them. We did the benefit at a little club in East Atlanta called The Village, and it kind of made me feel like one of the cool kids, you know? I even got a song on the benefit compilation we did, which means there is a CD out there that contains songs by Kenny Howes, Orange Hat, The Indicators... and Lindsay Smith! It's one of those things where it didn't hit me until it was over that I'd actually accomplished something that would have made my shy college self proud.
This has been a crazy year for weddings; I went to seven this year, five of them within a span of seven weeks! My cousin Lynn Fletcher married Ed Riley in October, and a week prior to that, I was the Maid of Honor in the wedding of my two best friends, Kelley Yearout and Allison Fleming. I introduced them, an accomplishment of which I am insufferably proud. In May I will again be a Maid of Honor, this time in the wedding of my sister, Lee, who will marry Tom Carter, the man she's been dating since she was in high school. "Excited" does not even begin to cover how much I am looking forward to this wedding!
Let's see, what else? I lost 10 pounds on Weight Watchers (but plan to gain it all back by the end of the year), I got a new boyfriend (the aforementioned Derik Rinehart), and I took up bike riding (sadly on hold right now due to cold, icky weather). My New Year's Resolutions include taking the train to work instead of driving so that I can get more reading time, re-losing the 10 pounds that I will have re-gained over the holidays, and doing at least one extended tour in support of the new CD. My Christmas wishes include peace, joy, and all the love in the world to you and yours. And lots of music and sparkles, too!
Much love,
Lindsay
What’s in my stereo at home:
What’s in my car:
What's in my CD player at work: