Surprise!

Yesterday is backblipped, I'm trying to catch up.

When I went out onto the terrace to tidy things away before dark, I found this clutch of lemons waiting for me on the table. We haven't bought any lemons since we've been here -- they are always available. And we're also enjoying the fresh eggs from Gracia's chooks (we do pay for those).

Mystère actually ventured out on his own this morning. He didn't stay long -- he just crept nervously round the terrace for five minutes and came back indoors. I left him in the house while I did a bit of shopping in the morning, but after lunch I sat on the terrace and left the door open, and he ventured out to join me, eventually feeling relaxed enough to fall asleep on his cushion in the sunshine.

This evening I watched a Youtube documentary about cellist Matthieu Saglio's new album, Voices. It was interesting because it was made in a completely distributed way -- his quartet did the initial instrumental recording together, then went to their homes in Spain and France and refined and recorded further. He had invited singers in Spain, France and Peru to collaborate on tracks -- they were sent the band's rough drafts and recorded their part using those. And then the band got back together and re-recorded their part in harmony with the singers. This is a procedure that I imagine would not have been contemplated before Covid. Having listened to the album, I can confirm that it worked -- I really enjoyed the fusion of different musical traditions. Sadly I can't find a sample online but if you have an account on a streaming service you should be able to find it.