My attic cleaning helper
and one thing we found up therere, I did n’y know I had. I’m keeping it!
Maybe I’ll remember to take picture of clean attic, It’s kind of cozy up there!
Archive for July, 2009
The Ten Minute Break
I am organizing my CD’s onto notebooks. I have had them on a shelf nicely fitted into my bookshelves, but I just couldn’t see them, One row was behind the other and it was too dark of a corner, old eyesight and all that! So I got a notebook and am going through the painstaking progress of organizing and putting them into a three ring binder. I am putting at least part of the cover in the pocket with the CD so it has its place. Not all of the CD’s have a list of the tracks on them. Then I start reading the liner notes. Who reads liner notes!!! Well, I have a favorite of Cecelia Bartoli and Bryn Terfel and the pictures are so darling and they do Pa-pa-pa-pagena! And do you know where Part 3 of the Messiah starts? off the top of your head? Probably my mother does! My categories (drum-roll, the girl can think categorically) are Classical Instrumental (about 40 of those) sorted by general symphonies and solo artists , the violinists with the violinists and the Pianists with the pianists and the cellist all in one section!!! Then there is the classical vocal artists, then the oratorio. I suppose ideally you would have the oratorio before classical soloists (tenors with tenors, sopranos w/ guesswho) but I missed that at 1:00 AM!!! And it was less bother to put the Oratorio second. Then there is choral, some classical, some semi classical winding up with a few Cono Choir CD’s! there is the Christmas section and the Folk- Rock-Jazz, which is kind of skinnier than the classical section. I guess we know who buys more CD’s!. I am looking forward to less meess, and more accessibility. That is what I can write in 10 minutes and that is what I am doing today!! ! We’ll probably starve. Actually I am almost done, Maybe in an hour
Advice Wanted
On Sunday evening as we were waiting for fireworks to star, a mother with a 12 yr old and 14 yr. old said to me she was a little afraid if the teen years. She was widowed 9 yrs ago and her son has already given her some really difficult times as he’s entered adolescence. She was asking me for advice. I always feel a little stumped at times like this because sometimes in life we ‘muddle through as best we can.’ There is always soooo much going on and where are the formulas that work anyway??!! I thought about it and gave her the best advice I could come up with. “Do something regularly that you all enjoy. It will give you good memories.” There are so many issues that come up over these years and decisions that require alertness when you are dead tired, sometimes we do it right, sometimes we blow it. You need good memories, times when you aren’t talking about grades and chores and “when I am 16/18 I am going to do this and you can’t stop me” and “who were you hanging out with?!”. My dad and I used to sing every Sunday afternoon. It was very leisurely and unstructured. I played the piano and that is how I learned to accompany. I think it kept us from killing each other. And, yes, they are sweet memories.
Now what’s yours?
A stray post
I don’t know what button I pushed to move this post wherever it went, but I found it at the top of my blog. And since it is so interesting to those who might be interested, I am re-posting it.
Monday , Monday
I feel about as creative as my title , bit thought I’d at least check in and say ‘hi’! so you know I am still alive. Joel and I went to Uncle John’s funeral last week, We left Sunday and we stayed overnight at the Copelands and had what Aunt Rosemary called a nice leisurely (and filling, delicioso!!) breakfast. Amy came over, so we tried to “catch up” . I don’t think I had seen her since our wedding nearly 32 years ago. Then at the funeral Brad and Jason were there. They are shorties! Well Jason might be that same height as my Sam , but Brad sure isn’t any taller than Joel! Jason has really cute, ready-to-have-fun boys. The weather was totally miserable, but not as totally as at Dad’s. It wasn’t ice. The pastor from Snow Prairie did a very nice, sensitive job of it. He gave us some time to talk about John before he said his piece (would you call that homily) . I think he used a passage from Revelation and then the Psalm that says “One thing I ask of that of thee…. that I may gaze upon the beauty of your holiness ….” You’d think I’d know it by heart. I had it taped to my desk for at least 3 years. Then we went to a delightful place for lunch in Coldwater. A friend of a friend of Sam Calhoun’s knew somebody. When Rosemary called them they said they closed at 2 but Rose mary urged them a little saying it would be a good sized group, they said they would stay open just for us. So we had a private lunch! It was a soup and sandwich place, but it was really good bread and homemade soup, really good. We took some pictures in there, too. (Picutres are on flickr) I should have taken more and I haven’t unloaded anything yet! You know, unloaded out of the camera! It just kept right on raining. Joel and I stopped near Sandusky OH on Sunday night. the motel had an indoor pool that was 87 degrees. It was really nice. I usually get tired of swimming (I don’t know how to do much ) in about 15 or 20 minutes but we stayed in for 35 (I always time everything,,, besides I knew when I wanted to get going!) it felt so good to swim. It just seemed to rain harder and harder. Then my Amish friend called me asking me if I would take his wife to see her mother “since it was such a nice day”! I said make sure sure it stays that way until I get there! AS soon as we crossed Sideling Hill, the sun was out and everything was dry!! Imagine that!
I had invited ‘all the relatives’ for a little birthday party for Joel on Wednesday, just for fun. I made soup and German Chocolate cake from scratch! Thursday I went to Philadelphia to go to Ellis’ Spring program at school and Friday I started my garden at the Lancaster County Central Park. So……. Saturday I stained my porch and cleaned house. I finally figured out how to clean this laminate floor. I just used warm water and wiped it up as I went so it wouldn’t leave water or smear marks. Any thing I put in the water makes it dull. I love clean floors. I think it is my favorite part of clean house. Well, it doesn’r sound like I can get my Pandora up and running this morning. I need some kind of reliable sound system!
I’d better scoot so I can get something done before it gets hot, hot, hot! Wish there were a few degrees between 40 and 90!! I will get pictures up later, just not while it is still so nice outside!!!
The Essence of First Friday….
…. is art. WE got these reasonably priced pieces of useful pottery. It is our anniversary ‘weekend’ after all!
And then there is the music. Our friend, Matt Monticchio is hard at his regular jazz gig in one of the shops! I think he is into it! I love to watch him play and this shop is connected to another one that I think is my favorite. And they always serve something nice to eat a drink here. Nothing fancy, punch grapes and cheese. Another placce served chocolate coated almonds.
Matt also plays for us at New City Fellowship. He is my Other Andrew!
So put ona happy face and………
….
Happy 4th of July!
