Libby Weber's Blog

It’s been a turbulent start to 2025 in my neck of the woods, to say the least: destructive fires all around SoCal, the sudden and unexpected loss of a beloved friend, the vandalization of one of the churches where I sing, and some truly alarming institutional changes at the highest levels. Given that all humans have an inherent negativity bias, it’s all the more important, I think, to give equal, if not greater weight to the good things that come our way. Such as this weekend, which brought badl...

Another half year has passed since my last update, and like many other folks, I’m feeling rather weary as I enter the home stretch of 2024. Fortunately, there’s been a lot of personal and professional good to buoy my spirits despite the buffeting of the past year and a half. Singing has been fulfilling, writing has been coming in semi-regular fits and starts, my spouse and dogs are doing well, my wizard rock band had an amazing time with our fellow music nerds LeakyCon in Portland in July, and I...

A sonnet, a lyric, a limerick, and an obscure bee madrigal

Spring is my favorite season in San Diego, with wave after wave of fragrant blooms, mourning doves nesting in our patio bougainvillea, pinniped pupping season in La Jolla, and of course, April is National Poetry Month! This spring, I’m delighted to be sharing a whole slew of updates, the first of which is that my HUGE sonnet book RISK A VERSE: A Year in Daily Sonnets featured in not one, but TWO library displays!

First, the Sally T...

An update after all this time? YES!

Is there much to say? OF COURSE!

Is any of it particularly important in the grand scheme of things? UNLIKELY!

But life is a glorious, improbable thing, and putting joy and whimsy out into the world is needful at all times, but particularly during difficult ones.

First, the good:

Spouse, the dogs, and I are well, though they have been taking vacations this winter and my work and performance calendars have not allowed me to do the same. I miss th...

I blinked and suddenly it’s been a year since I posted an update here. That’s what I get for blinking, I suppose.

Little has changed since my last update, even down to the usual late-October flailing. But this year, I’ve come to realize that what causes me to feel so off-kilter this time of year is at least partly Daylight Saving Time. Now that we’re on the far side of it, I find myself getting sleepy at an appropriate time and waking up much closer to the time that my alarm goes off....

Happy autumn! Though I must confess: this season always throws me for a bit of a loop. It’s partially due to the diminution of daylight and having fewer opportunities to enjoy sunshine. It’s also partially due to the end of summer singing hiatus in September, so by the time October rolls around, I inevitably feel like I’m attempting to steer a car with no brakes down a mountain road. A friend shared this wonderful piece on why October always feels dire, which I’ve been holding in my heart as a s...

It’s been a busy few months since my last update, which is nice to be able to report. The most notable thing is that my spouse and I are fortunate enough to be fully inoculated, and we’ve tentatively started spending time with other vaccinated folks, including friends, nearby family, and music ensembles!

It feels like so much after a year of enforced distance, but on the bright side, the technical skills we’ve honed in order to participate in virtual music projects have borne some unexpected ...

Merry December to all who are still observing the passage of time, happy solstice to those looking forward to shorter nights, welcome Yule, merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a joyful Great Conjunction (photo credit: the wonderful Dana Wayne)! It’s been awesome to watch Jupiter and Saturn draw closer to one another over the past weeks. And hey, I’m glad at least the planets are able to get together safely for the holidays!

This is the weirdest Christmas week I’ve had in a long time, since D...

Howdy from Still-At-Home Land! Things in the wider world are fraught and disturbing, and closer to home, San Diego County has its first wildfire of the season, which broke out southeast of Alpine during a pretty gnarly heat wave. We’re fortunate enough to be nowhere near it, and the marine layer has been protecting us from the ash and smoke high in the atmosphere, so the Long Low Ladies and I have been able to continue our lengthy evening rambles, the orange cast of the sunlight notwithstand...

 I like to read books on dog training. Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor. Every sentence is a riot. Some day, if I ever get a chance, I shall write a book, or warning, on the character and temperament of the Dachshund and why he can’t be trained and shouldn’t be. I would rather train a striped zebra to balance an Indian club than induce a dachshund to heed my slightest command. For a number of years past I have been agreeably encumbe...