How Does It Feel To Be One Of The Beautiful People?

In rehearsals, we (and by "we," I mean the tenors) had our struggles with the short Introibo motet that we mixed with the Introibo chant for Communio. I saw Kathy offer up a short prayer to Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Cecelia just before we started singing it today for Sexagesima at Holy Spirit Mission.

We did pretty well with it, avoiding major stumbles and causing Kathy to offer up a prayer of thanksgiving when we were done. Then, loud and clear, came a review from a little girl critic across the aisle from us:

"That music was beautiful!"

I mentioned earlier that it's inappropriate to applaud in church, but I never said anything about such a comment. We all chuckled, and Kathy gave the girl a hug. Unfortunately, she and her mother left before we could ask if she could sing soprano with us.

That, however, is our purpose: to sing beautiful, sacred music worthy of, and reaching for, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Sunday Looks Iffy, But Stay Tuned

Click to enlarge this timeline for the rest of this week from bass Mark Deutschendorf and his band of merry National Weather Service Reno meteorologists:

We've managed to avoid snow cancelling our "gigs" at Assumption in Truckee so far, but it looks like this Sunday may--emphasis on may--be the first time. Kathy will make the decision and let you know, and I'll keep you posted as well.

Here's a tip: If you want to get an idea of what the NWS Reno brain trust thinks will happen, the most useful portion of their website (IMO) is their Area Forecast Discussion. It's updated at least a couple times a day. From their discussion of 2/13/19, 15:21 PST (I'm glad they don't put it in ALL CAPS anymore, but the caps you see below are from the report itself):

This weekend through the middle of next week, northeast CA and western NV will remain under a large-scale upper trough. This brings high confidence that afternoon temperatures will remain below average through the period, with 20s and 30s for most areas Sunday through Tuesday. At the higher elevations (above 8000 feet), widespread single digits and teens can be expected with deep cold air entrenched over the region. 
 
 As far as precipitation, confidence is high that any showers will be in the form of snow. There will be three waves moving into the upper trough: one Saturday, one Sunday, with a third possible around next Wednesday. As far as snowfall amounts, there are of low confidence as it will depend on the exact track of the waves. Also, with snow being of a convective nature, localized areas could have burst [sic] of heavier snow showers that are unpredictable given their small-scale nature. Keep in mind that while we have light snowfall accumulations forecast for the valleys over the weekend this is for non-paved areas. If snow is not persistently moderate to heavy, or falling between the evening and mid-morning hours, it will have a hard time sticking to roads in areas where the air temperatures are in the ~mid 20s or higher (roads can heat 15-30 degrees above air temperatures in the afternoon this time of year). 
 
BOTTOM LINE FOR THIS WEEKEND: be prepared for slick, snow-covered roads in the higher elevations (pass level) of the Sierra and northeast CA with LENGTHY TRAVEL DELAYS QUITE POSSIBLE. For valleys, periodic slick travel conditions are also possible, mainly between the evening and mid-morning hours. -[Shane] Snyder 

What this amateur meteorologist gleans from this is that we might be able to sing if the snow levels stay high enough, say 7,000 feet or more. But things could change before then, and often do. If we can get there, it will be interesting to see how much snow has been piled up around the Assumption parking lot.

The NWS Reno Facebook and Twitter feeds are worth following also. I-80 California road condition info can be obtained from the CHP Truckee barracks (Facebook, Twitter) or via Caltrans.