non-random acts of kindness – The Books are Taking Over…

Sweet Sadie, can she be your Lady?

Gentle readers, you need a cat. Specifically, you need this cat.

Hi! I'm Sadie. Can I be your lady? — Hi! I’m Sadie. Can I be your lady?

Sadie is 8 years young. She was recently orphaned when her human died unexpectedly two weeks ago. She’s currently living with the very kind daughter of her human, but that situation can’t last forever as that nice lady, Pam, has two cats already. Sadie would very much like to play with those kitties, but they’re not so much into her. So she’s staying in the bathroom and looking for a new home.

Sadie is healthy, up to date on her shots, and has all of her medical records. She’s a Chinchilla Persian, a total sweetheart, and would love a home with adults, other cats, and older kids. She’s located in Western MA but can be brought to the greater Boston area and is available for a meet and greet or for a foster arrangement if it’s the right fit.

Leave a comment here if you’re interested and please feel free to crosspost this info to other interested parties.

Thanks!

~Kelly

4th Annual Helping Haiti Talent Show – Boston Medical Center

Many of the readers around here know that Geoff and I both have neurologists at Boston Medical Center. You may also remember me singing in the Boston Medical Center Concert When Patients Heal You last November. (Video is here, sorry for the sound quality) I’ll be singing in the concert again this October. Watch this space for more details.

Anyway, the BMC is loaded with great talent and with people who give their time and talent to not only give back to the community here in Boston but also but to raise money for others who need it, as well as to fund health care for those who would not otherwise have access to it. I’m not performing in the concert listed below, the pianist/nurse/saint I’m performing with in October is. Check it out.

HELPING HAITI

GLOBAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY

Want to make a difference? Here’s how.

That’s globalhealthneurology@gmail.com with questions or to volunteer. To donate, click here. The concert has a $20 ticket/donation at the door.

The Baskt Auditorium is in A Building at 72 East Concord St. Boston, MA 02118 on the Boston University Medical School campus.

~Kelly

Really Good Music for a Really Good Cause- Benefit Concert for Tom Zajac

The greater Boston community of Early Music folks is coming together tomorrow night to do something that, in my many years here, is pretty much unprecedented. We’re getting together to give our time, talent, and treasure for the benefit of another musician.

Tom Zajac is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and teacher. He’s a musical powerhouse and also just a really nice guy. As it sometimes happens with the vagaries of nature, he’s had a series of totally necessary medical procedures and uncomfortable surgeries that have left him unable to keep up with his usual number of gigs, teaching assignments, and concerts. That means that despite what insurance is covering, he’s facing an income gap.

We’re trying to fix that.

Tomorrow night at 6:00pm as a part of the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concert Series friends of Tom Zajac will present Battaglia d’Amor: A Benefit Concert for Tom Zajac, an All Star Lineup of groups in concert at First Lutheran Church, Boston. For those of you playing along at home, that’s 299 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116 in the heart of the Back Bay.

Are you ready for this? This is the list of performers. It’s like a rock star list of the early music groups from Boston and beyond. Here they are, in no particular order:

If you’re planning on attending, please RSVP here. We’re expecting this to be completely sold out and SRO. Admission is a suggested donation of $20, though you’re welcome to give more if you are able. All money will go directly to Tom. Everyone, all performers, staff, the venue, and the publicity from BEMF, is all being donated on his behalf. Everything.

If you can’t attend and would still like to help out, there’s a GoFundMe page set up here. We’re almost at our goal. If you can help out, please do. Ideally we’d like to smash that goal to pieces.

I’ll be there tomorrow night working front of house on behalf of Cappella Clausura and Meravelha. In advance I’d like to thank you for your help and for being a part of this fantastic community effort.

~Kelly

Last Two Jewelry Shows of 2014 – Buy Local!

It’s that time of year again, crunch time for shopping for friends, family, roommates, and that annoying Office Yankee Swap. Have no fear! I have your solution.

December 6th, 2014

I have two shows coming up, my last two shows of the year. The first is 11:00am – 5:00pm at First Church in Jamaica Plain. This show has been going on forever and is beloved among JP residents. Get there early, the good stuff goes fast!

Also, the good people at First Church will be doing a canned food drive as well as a drive for gloves, hats, scarves and new men’s socks for patrons of the food pantry. If you have any of those items, no other clothing items please, bring them with you to help brighten someone’s holiday.

I am really looking forward to my first show with the good folks at First Church in JP. I hope to see you on Saturday.

December 13th, 2014

Then, on Saturday December 13th, I’ll be in a completely different venue and there will be free wine. That’s right, I’ll be at the Brookline Liquor Mart and there will be wine tastings all day as well as a group of local craft vendors selling all sorts of items from 1:00pm – 5:00pm.

The folks at Brookline Liquor Mart have added this Art Fair to their extensive list of December offerings. Come by and check us out. It’s sure to be a great time. And, I’ll have wine charms for sale.

I hope to see you at one or both of these great events!

~Kelly

Tacloban, Samar Island, and two very different storms

After more than a week, many survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines are still struggling to get basics like food, water and shelter. And places like Samar, Leyte, and Tacloban are now getting mentioned in the news all over the world. Samar and Leyte seem to have been hit the worst from the typhoon.

I know these place names. Not because I have ever been there (I haven’t), but because of their famous place in history – specifically, in the fall of 1944, when the Allied invasion of the Japanese-occupied Philippines led to what was the largest naval battle in all of World War Two, and possibly the largest in recorded human history.

Continue reading “Tacloban, Samar Island, and two very different storms”

Happy Halloween and Go Sox!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to say thank you for all of the kindness and consideration given to us this past week. It really does mean a lot to me to get so many cards, phone calls, visits, and all of the other things people have done for Kelly and me. We really feel loved.

And as if the universe wanted to say “sorry Geoff, here’s something to cheer you up”, my beloved Red Sox won the World Series last night, right here in Boston at Fenway Park. It is so awesome to walk around today wearing one of my Red Sox shirts and have total strangers – some with Red Sox gear, some without – suddenly smile from ear to ear and give a thumbs up, or laugh and say “Go Sox” or all sorts of other combinations. It really makes me feel great. Maybe 2013 will have some redeeming qualities after all.

And I wanted to say Happy Halloween to everyone!

Here’s some great creative costumes to check out. And of course, it wouldn’t be Halloween without the Jack Chop. *

-Geoff

*And if you haven’t seen the Jack Chop infomercial yet, what’s wrong with you? Watch it, just remember it’s NSFW.