Leanne's world

and so it goes...

2012-01-15T18:16:00.000-08:00

My life certainly seems like a round trip. Lots of things just keep coming back again and again, does that mean I am not learning the lesson the first time around? I refuse to go there but there is a slight possibility that could be true. The flip side, however....the Gospel is true and there is no new route to the same place. Something about the straight and narrow. Anyway, I am back into primary. They finally found my records and they will read me in next Sunday and sustain me back into Primary...wahoo....I was hoping to stay a little loose so that I might be able to do a little going here to there to see family. The Bishop assures me there are good substitutes but I have always found that substitutes are good untio you ask them to take your class, and then they are absent. Oh well, I will deal with it. He was not too sure as to which class but he thought it would be the 10 year old kids...."a real handful" was his comment. Well at least it has the same job description as most of my callings.

This is not on topic, but I am watching the golden globes and older women should not wear clothes designed for younger women....Jessica Lang has a saggy back totally exposed for the world to look at. Yes, full coverage in front but not nearly enough fabric in back. Why are we, as women, always trying to pretend we are not who we are. There is beauty in all ages if we will just accept ourselves for what we are....mature and just fine.

That said, I will go run over some Mozart and see how it plays this evening. This morning it was not playing well....fingers were just not moving in the way my brain was asking them. Just because it is fast and tight, two of my least favorite things, it was pathetic. There is a Left hand section that is extremely close note wise with Right hand melody that moves chromatically down the keyboard, and I need to lead with LH 4 and I keep putting down 5...bummer! I can do this, it is just doing it at the right tempo with the right notes at the right time. This too shall pass

Another year, another performance

2012-01-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

I have a whole 15 minutes before I need to be on the raod again...plenty of time to write an entry. Particularly if you come to the realization that most everything in my life is done in little time frames. It seems the world does not think I need bigger targets of time. It is a season, or so I keep telling myself!

I played for the seniors at the Bayview senior center this morning for an hour and now I am headed back to Freeland and Maple Ridge to do the same thing, different place however. I think playing for the seniors is one of the good things that I get to do. They seem to appreciate the effort and that is plenty of pay for me. I can not imagine having time to just hang out with friends and listen to the music of my interest. It is a good thing. And I take Carson with me so he entertains when I don't. He is so good with people and just smiles from the bottom of his soul if something moves him. He has always gone with me but I feared he would not co-operate as he got mobility, but he still tolerates being tied into the stroller so that I can keep track of him while I keep track of notes too. He is a pretty easy young man. He seems to enjoy the music, but twice in one day might be a high price for him. We will see how this all plays out.

The Lord gave me back my music when it should have been gone forever so I feel I need to hold up my end of the bargain. I said I would make my music available to anyone with no charge if he would allow me to keep playing....and great I am no longer, but I am good enough to make people enjoy the efforts. You always win when the Lord is on your side!

The Christmas Rose

2011-12-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

I grew up with Larry Nelson on KOMO radio. I listened to him from childhood through adult life. Basically from when he started broadcasting to when he retired. He actually went to school with Don Bruneau which added a little more interest to my listening. He loved poetry and would frequently share poems and thoughts he had on the radio in the mornings. One of the poems he sited had to do with the Christmas Rose. I don't remember much about the poem, other than it has given me a special feeling for a flower that can hold on until Christmas. And that is what I have this season. In back of my apartment there are several old roses that have seen little to no care in years, I am sure. But there are two roses that have just opened. One is probably white while the other is a watery yellow, but both are entering full bloom as Christmas also enters full bloom. There is a song "Lo How a Rose Er Blooming" by someone that refers to Christ as that rare rose. I understand that because it is so special and so of notes.

I am glad Christmas is upon us for a myriad of reasons, high on the list is I just enjoy the holiday. But equally as high is the reality that we all invest a lot of time and energy into making it happen, it is nice to play it to fruition. I have had a great deal of fun getting things together this year. It has been a difficult season of my life and I have been hanging on to the beautify and reality of Christmas maybe a little more than a normal year. Though my life has been insane there are good things that are a constant, and Christmas is one of those wonderful constants. Ready or not it is upon us and I celebrate that.

So like my valiant roses we all need to just persevere to the end, enduring so that we might grow to perfection and enjoying the process. Merry Christmas, one and all, know that I celebrate it this day and every day.

Those dang sea gulls

2011-11-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

I have spent the last three years of my life watching sea gulls and have arrived at some conclusions as far as they are concerned. I have heard them described as rats with wings, but such nice looking rats they are! At the beach they were out harvesting the tide flats in the morning, picking up clams or whatever to take into the air and drop. They harvested what was there and they fit in their environment perfectly. They were everywhere all winter but were represented by only a few in the summer by comparison. Procreation took precedence over harvest I might observe.

Now I live next to the football field and watch those same birds go through a really different ritual. In the morning I get up to watch them march down the football field to turn around and march back the other way. Where is the gull dignity in this? Gulls were meant for sea food not angle worms or whatever. Robins eat worms, crows eat worms but what is this with the sea gulls?

I will give them a vote for entertainment. It is rather like a slow motion game of football minus the ball and the tackles. I have seen many a high school football game with just about as much organization. But the food is more typical to the species...french fries and the likes...no worms!

In the grand scheme of things the life of a sea gull does not matter much, but they certainly do entertain me!

simplicity

2011-09-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have been finding myself with a little more time on my hands than I really have desire to fill. And that has caused me to do some looking around for things that make me happy. First of all is conversation, but it is hard to have a conversation alone so that one has to be put on hold until I can cultivate some locals that think and love to talk about thinking. Anyway, it has come to me that I really just prefer simple things.

I have been playing the piano maybe 2 or 3 hours a day. Everyone has heard my harangue on playing vs. practicing. Let it be known I have been playing. I have touched several hundred pieces, some are revisiting things Ihave loved in the past and some are totally new to me. Either way, I have had a lot of fun doing that. It is how I have been spending my evenings. I have Even sat down and mostly worked out a Rachmaninoff Prelude that I have loved for years. It is not performance worthy in any rights, but it is fun and something I have not played ever to performance, but that I have always enjoyed. had even thought about doing some writing but I have not gotten that tired of myself yet. I love to compose and am moderately OK at it, but it is just such a slow process when you do it by hand....haven't gone there.

I thought I would be spending way more time on the sewing machine. I have made a couple of household things I needed. But the big machine probably sounds like a thrashing machine from down stairs so I limit the use of it to small amounts and to the middle of the day. It is so strong and powerful that it vibrates the floor. I will invest time in Christmas things, noise or no, but not there yet. I did yard home a quilt that needs finishing so I think that will be my afternoon entertainment today, after Linda picks up James and Logan and after church. It is donation quilt but it is a particularly nice one with high loft batting, my favorite! Hurts my hands to tie it but I am trying...long live pliers...now if I can find a pair here.

Last great read....2 Nephi 11:5. What a positive thought and how amazing it is offered for free to all of us.

Gossip

2011-08-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

Life has allowed me to come to a further understanding that gossip, no matter the circumstance, is always wrong and hurtful. There are no exceptions to that rule. And for the righteous that justify their gossip by saying they need to know so that they can be kind, or help or whatever, one comment....step forward and plant your feet on solid ground rather than quick sand. If you need to know, and does anyone really need to know, then ask the person in question to their face. They will either tell you the information or tell you to move on and stop nosing into things that you have no need to know.

In researching for a talk I read a great story. A Bishop was aware of one particular woman that had the strong need to know things that were of no concern to her. He pulled her into the office and gave her a bag of feathers and asked her to take them to various houses (those that they knew she had gossiped about or with) and deposit several on each porch step until they were gone and then return to the office. She obediently did as instructed, placing the inconsequential feathers on various porches. Upon returned she was asked to go back and collect all the feathers. The woman quickly pointed out that collecting feathers, all the feathers, would be impossible. The wind would have broadcast them and they no longer could be collected. He pointed out that gossip was like those feathers, nothing and no one can undo the damage done by simple gossip. I know I need to be sure to remember that all the time. It is always interesting to know things and sometimes knowing is not the kindest help. Sometimes I drop feathers and then realize I have done so and try to gather them back to know that words can never be taken back.

I thought that was an interesting story and something that applies to all of us, no matter how much we pretend that we never participate in anything as wrong as gossip. I think we all do to various degrees and we all need to remember those feathers.

That said, I am marching slowly towards tomorrow. Tough road right now but I am moving in a direction that I want to go and I know that I can weather the storms. I just get tired of doing so! And my body is telling me this is not a good season with all sorts of not so subtle comments. Stupid body...get on board and help me out here!

royal watching

2011-03-29T11:39:00.001-07:00

Prince Charles and his sister (Princess Ann, almost my name if you notice) are pretty much the same age as my brother and I, a fact which my mother commented on occasionally in my growing up year. As I read here and there about the royal wedding coming up I reflect back on my little girl dream that Prince Charles would somehow manage to find me tucked away on the Island. I think it was my mother always commenting on the similarities between her children and the British royal children. All I know is that I harbored a very real dream that somehow fate would find me and I would forever live in grand style, happily ever after. OK, first of all, a title does not a man make as life played out for poor Prince Charles. We each have to make our own little bit of royalty and believe in it for ourselves. I think I lost that vision along the way and substituted something way too common. Life without dreams is barely living and sometimes I think I have walked away from too many dreams. Not dreams that actually can or should become reality, but dreams in the more wonderful grand sense. Dreams make the dull times pass a little more friendly to the soul and dreams do not have to be grounded in reality. That is the wonderful part of dreams. My sweet friend Fred is helping me with one dream....a boat that runs. OK, I did the boat last summer but I didn't do so good on the running part of the equation. Hopefully with his help I did better. Working on this project is almost like working with Lawrence, they are really similar in my mind....with a few years in between. There is so much boy left in Fred and in Lawrence and that is back to the dream thing. They have managed to keep the dream nurtured and alive even when the world has tried to put it out. It is my plan to put them on the boat and send them out to terrorize the salmon population of the Sound. This is the year that the Humpies should be running as they certainly weren't last year! And now I must focus ever so more on the Pita bread I am baking. It takes a lot of fussing to make it turn out right. I have been making humus and pita chips, and making my own pita makes it pretty reasonable in price, it is a fun experiment and I find myself in need of fun these days. Life has gotten way too serious and way to predictable and both are not good for the dreams I am fighting to maintain. If I can't have conversation I can have dreams, and both satisfy the same part of my life.

Blessings

2010-10-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Any time I think things are not going so well all I have to do is look at what I have. I get to watch Carson 5 days a week and we have become very good friends. And on Monday's I have an assistant in Amy who does whatever is needed to help with her little cousin. She is such a little mother. She will fuss over him and do what is needed to make his life more pleasant. And, for the most part, he appreciates her efforts. Sometimes he would just rather see older, more experienced hands, but most of the time he is pleased with her 4 year old hands helping him out. Always makes me wonder if they will have a special bond later in life because of this shared beginning, Sometimes it works that way.

And just in case you think all the beautiful sun sets play themselves out in the summer months I took a picture to prove you wrong. We have some of the most beautiful sun sets in the colder months., Maybe it is because we have more clouds, a reality of life, or maybe because we are more in need of the beauty they provide as compared to the rain they bring. Love rain but I love sun sets even more. I loved the variety of colors in this particular sun set, all the way from yellow to deep reds and purples were there. And then the beautiful reflections in the water to add more depth to things....yah, it was a really good day to be watching my front yard from the warmth of the house.

I loved general conference with the theme of gratitude. I think many of the talks reflected on our expression, or lack of expression, of gratitude. It is like the sun sets, absolutely free, and equally as beautiful. If it is so easy and so beautiful why is it that we do not show more gratitude? Interesting question that reflects so much on our society. I hope I am not one that fails to say thanks and fails to appreciate all that we do have. Yes, there are things I don't have and some of those things are really big, but nothing is as big as the sunset and as big as the things that I do have. Life is as good as we will allow it to be!

2010-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I get to step back a bit and look at my world in a different way. I think that comes when you learn how to look through someone Else's eyes, and this past week I have been allowed to do that. My Cousin Jim and wife Lauri from Nebish are here for a few days. They are staying in Freeland but they are stopping down here a bit too. They are a wonderful couple and he has always been one of my favorites from the beginning. Life always put us together as a team, and I feel much more rich because of that. And his finding Laurie was a true gift, she is remarkable and seems to bring so much pleasure to those around here.

Last night I invited my brother's family down for dinner at the beach. I try to do that several times a year. It isn't much, but it is trying. We all had a good time, or so it seemed. It has never been an easy task to keep them all together with no effort on their side. In the 30 plus years I have been back on Island I have been invited to their place exactly once! When I think about that my 3 or 4 times a year seems like a lot, and it certainly does not hurt me in the least.

Now I will say that Nephew Robert and his family is a totally different deal. We get together frequently and I find them such a fun family. They work when the work is do be done (and sometimes in place of family time, sad to say) and they play equally as hard. Their boys are easy to deal with a I love conversations with them. It is just a wonderful thing to have them close by.

Family takes time and investment, but the pay off is massive. I really enjoy my family, those close genetically and those a little further away too. Heck, I even enjoy those that don't enjoy me all that much!

Carson has arrived.....

2010-06-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Linda certainly hangs on to her pregnancies as long as is prudent, and then a little longer. But when she decides she is done, well....believe, she is done! She had a terribly elongated labor, maybe 45 minutes and then we had a handsome young Carson Lawrence Kincaid. He was just shy of 8 pounds and almost 22 inches in length. He is not a tiny boy, more favoring Logan than James I would say. He came out hungry and got right to task, took a nap and went right back to the eating routine. If his beginning is any precursor to his personality he will be a very easy to please and happy kind of kid. Needless to say, Linda is doing great, she will get more rest in the hospital than she has in months I suspect. They are talking about keeping Carson 48 hours and will keep Linda there too (and hopefully not in a chair like they did to Nancy).

Emily took Linda up this morning at 7:00 a.m. for check-in and stayed to assist and entertain. It is a pretty powerful experience to do that, I know, I have had several opportunities to do same. Both Mother and Aunt fared well this day, but I think both are kind of tired. Emily presently has Logan and James for dinner. Larry was watching James but he was at her house so James is blended in with her kids. Logan has been my side kick most of the day but ended up in Emily's care too. Larry will bring the boys to the cabin after dinner for some play, and then they head off to their own beds where he has offered to spend the night with them. Tomorrow the boys will be mine for the most part, and James will be able to meet his new little brother. Logan had that opportunity today and was almost pleasant. Children do not comprehend hospitals and are pretty Leary of interaction.

Here's Hank....

2010-06-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest Campbell...this is Hank, one bonenified Russian Terrier puppy. He isn't new to the family but a new Campbell. Curtis purchased hank when he was a couple of months old, but his life style didn't work out for the long run and he gave Hank to Emily and James. I think he is something like 7 months old and definitely still growing. He has beautiful black curls but has been clipped short as his hair was totally matted. He is handsome young lad but all puppy, all very big puppy. Daisy says we should send him back to where ever he came from, but she tolerates him kind of. He can not make sense of the snipped little white dust-mop on the floor but is so curious that he puts his gentle nose down and Daisy snaps at him. He bows to her geriatric demands and all is well for a time, and then he forgets and tries again!

And while meeting the newest Campbell we are also hoping to meet the newest Kincaid. Little Carson is way past due and Linda has an appointment today to see what is next, we are thinking induction is next and, believe me, Linda is more than on board with that thought!

So life is complicated but it sure is good too. And we might even have a sunny day to thaw out my cold little Daisy. I don't think building a fire is called for when you know the cabin will heat up with solar energy eventually....and it isn't all that cold really. I think the cabin is 62 degrees at present, the day is in the low 50 range, but it is still early and the sun is already out there doing what it does.

2010-06-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

What a cute set of cousins we do have in our family. How similar and how different. Amy has those amazing turquoise eyes and Logan has green. Both very unique in coloring and neither showing well in the picture but I know they are amazing even if the picture does not confirm the fact! Amy loves to look out after Logan and he is not so sure he wants to deal with his older cousin as a care-giver. They are just so cute when they interact.

The rewards....

2010-06-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Gloria came over for a short lesson this afternoon. You know, there is a reason that I do what I do. It is hearing someone like Gloria play that makes all of it worthwhile. You spend so many hours with children that do not have adequate support to succeed, adequate interest to suceed and many others area that fall short. But in life there are those that come along with all their ducks in a row and they are the reason we teachers do what we do. Gloria sat down and played the 1st Excursion for Piano by Samuel Barber. What an experience to listen to her play that. I have played it and it was a pivotal piece in my life, it taught me there was music that didn't follow the rules established by Bach but that was still wonderful music. What a joy to hear her play and to know that I had a real part in this journey. I listen to her today for free but there is a day coming all too soon when I will not be able to afford the tickets to hear this young lady. She plays my recital on the 4Th of June and Benaroya on the 5Th for big money. Yah, this one is going places and I will enjoy every step of the way knowing that she will succeed because she has family support and willingness to invest her considerable talent.

And the other side of the recital, we have lots and lots of beginners playing this year. It is always good to have beginners and most are from Emily. She does a great job with introducing students to the piano and I think the recital will show that. And the other positive side.....having the recital done means I have yet one more chunk of time open up for summer kind of things. Yah, it is a good thing.

Not the way it was planned

2010-05-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

I invested my afternoon into food preparations, and some mighty fine soccer play by Peter. Let's see, I started out with making a chocolate pudding to use up some milk that was getting kind of close to the pull date. Then I cooked some potatoes to make twice bakes for dinner tomorrow night. I had J-bers for a couple of hours so he helped me empty out the skins so that I could refill them. He was great about putting the mashed potatoes back into the skins and I think he will take great pride in serving them tomorrow evening. Then I cooked up 3 whole chickens so that I could pressure cook them and get them into jars to cook tomorrow evening. And fixed dinner of spiced mashed potatoes, Meat Loaf and Carrots with the pudding for dessert. And how have my efforts been received....not at all. My one and only is certainly not one that you can depend on and I know that, but I thought he might at least make an appearance, I was wrong.

And why do I do what I do? Heck if I know, I guess it is just a habit that is hard to break. But I did have some wonderful mashed spuds and meat loaf for my dinner alone. And I am well on top of the family dinner for tomorrow.

Joyce made comments about eating alone and how sometimes she goes to D.Q. just so there will be people around when she eats and conversations in the area. I get it, fact is I really get it. Unlike Joyce I have been doing this alone stuff for many, many years so it is not as devastating for me as it seems to be for her. In my pretend world I would fix healthy nutritious meals and my family would enjoy them with me, then sit down afterwards (and during sometimes) for good conversation about all sorts of topics. Boy did I miss the boat on that one! It worked while I had kids at home but the minute Nancy left for school it all crashed. But as I said, I enjoy my own company so it is not all that bad and most of the time I really don't care all that much.

So tomorrow we will have a family dinner, wilted lettuce salad, twice bakes, barbecued chicken and conversation....sounds perfect to me! Might even make cup cakes! I love having the next two generations well represented and close, I miss those not close but I celebrate those that are close.

The purpose of TV

2010-05-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have come to the realization that there actually is a purpose for television. Allow me to explain. I got up and cleaned the bathroom, did four loads of laundry (I know, everyone else did more but there are only two of us!), folded, swept and all those things a woman does on the average Monday morning. Then I picked up my stuff and headed off to teach lessons in Oak Harbor.

I worked with 8 young people, some perfectly fine individuals but not stimulating students, and a couple that are just fun to work with (that would be Cara and Taylor). Did the wal-mart run to purchase some window cleaner on a stick, so to speak, for the front windows, which, after a winter of salt water spray are looking pretty opaque!

Drove home, took care of the things I purchased, picked up the dirty dishes that seem to appear while I am out of the house and looked around for something to fill the last hour of the day before I try to get a good nights sleep....rare recently. I could sew but I hate starting a project with no potential of finishing it. I could read a good book but I don't have one on hand right now. I could read the scriptures and will after this but I want entertainment, brain dead stuff and the scriptures are not that! Hence TV...it is what one does when one arrives at the end of the day with nothing left to shuffle into thought or productivity and still some time to fill.

Ah the challenges I do face....OK, not much, but they are mine and real to me. Guess life is pretty good.

9 and counting....

2010-05-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Monday the 26th Nancy and Jace had their son Easton Ray in St. George, Utah. He is a perfectly average little guy with an amazing head of dark brown hair. I flew down to help them manage but had little to nothing to do. At least I was able to do some cooking, something that I enjoy doing and they seemed to enjoy having. And you will be pleased to know the grand state of Utah offered up a varied plate of weather, from 5 inches of snow on Tuesday evening, flurries on Wednesday and cool sunshine on Saturday. This does not feel much like spring to me, but this is what is happening. Makes me wish I had packed a few more warm articles of clothing, but I am managing without chilling myself too much.

Easton Ray had to go back into the hospital in Cedar for a day under the Billi light when his jaundice levels got too high, that was an unpleasant experience. They care for the babies well but the mom has a chair on which to live. We took turns staying in the hospital so that Nancy could get back to their house and get a nap. My insomnia pays off sometimes and this was one of those times I think. He came home the second time on Thursday morning and has remained at home since then. He will have to go back a couple of times to have blood work done to check his levels but there is no reason to believe things are not just fine.

He is a pleasant young man, rarely fusses and just accepts things as they come. I hope he keeps up this style because he will be an easy baby if he is able to maintain what he has started.

The 9 and counting refers to grandchildren...3 girls and 6 boys will soon be 7 boys with the birth of Linda's little one here in 4 weeks. Just thought I had better explain that comment as there is nothing in the writing that refers to that!

April Fools Day

2010-04-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

I was thinking back on April Fools days in my past. My father used to prepare us "Special pancakes" on this particular day. Mind you, he fixed pancakes most mornings for breakfast so that was not unusual....but trying to cut the special ones was always a treat. He would pour the pancake batter on the griddle, then gently place a well cut piece of cotton sheeting on top of the pancake, covering it with more batter. It made a perfectly acceptable pancake but it was impossible to cut and eat. He really had us all going the first time he pulled that prank, but after that the fun part was watching him crack himself up. My father was always the little boy when it came to many things, and his pancake pranks tickled his sense of humor greatly. We all knew what was coming but no one ever gave it away because it was just so darn much fun watching dad try to maintain a straight face as he presented his rigged pancakes to each of us.

I have always admired people that can maintain that sense of innocence into their adult, responsible years. That is what it is all about when it gets down to the bottom line. We are to nurture that child within each of us, that innocence and that wonder, while we go about our lives in a very managed, adult like way. It is the balance that makes it all worth the effort. So am I going to celebrate this day of fools....no, probably not. I am going to take the few empty hours that I am offered and finish a project that is on hold, put the beach that is living in my house back outside where it belongs and then head off to lessons and rehearsals. A good day to be the fool and enjoy life, but no pranks coming from my place in this world.

Rafts of ducks

2010-03-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

There is a huge raft of ducks that love to come and harvest the flats in front of the cabin. They are really rather attractive birds but they sure do leave a mess. And then the noise, I kind of like it but it does get old after awhile. I find that the gulls leave when the ducks are in the area, a couple stay but the majority head to another bar. I get it, the ducks just power clean the beach. They come in waves and eat everything there, then they move on to another area. They were here for about an hour and now they are gone. I took a short video of it because it was interesting and different. I never remember seeing the large rafts of ducks in years past, although I have heart such existed in the last several years. Ever changing eco-system I guess.

I am supposed to teach a class on scripture cases tonight for the beehive girls. Not such a problem except you you hit the reality that 2 of 3 do not know anything about a sewing machine and I have a total of 50 minutes from beginning to end of this project. Could be interesting at best. I am glad Kristin will be there to make her own and then, hopefully, the other girls will see that it is possible for girls their age bracket. I also have Avery coming to help and that will be a big difference. If Kristin works alone and Avery and I take the other two girls on one to one then I really do think we might be able to accomplish the task. It certainly is a simple project, I simplified again and again and think I have it down to a minimum of seams and all easy seams! More than that I can not do.

And now I will have my dinner and get on with my project. Dinner is corned beef with red potatoes and carrots. Not an every day kind of thing but something I do enjoy on an once a year basis. Left over corned beef with mustard is really good, and fresh is good too. At least it is different and that is a plus.

Not such a big deal

2010-02-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we invest a lot of wasted energy into believing something is a big deal, when, in reality, it is no big deal. Here a week or so ago I mustered up all my courage and decided that I would stop talking about doing something different with my hair and do something different with my hair. So, with Emily as my back-up eyes, I went to Bristol and told her to make magic. She did and I am now some sort of a blond. I thought it would be a big deal but it seems to be a big deal only in my eyes! Such is life. She put a rinse on my hair that took away the gray but made no attempt to go as dark or as red as my hair really was. I didn't want to be one of those older ladies that has dark hair with old skin. That looks so bad in my eyes. But, truth be told, I am not sure I like this either. It just looks so washed out and dead to me. I will live with it for awhile and see how it "grows" on me. All comments have basically come down to an "Oh"...not much change. I am thinking I want to go a bit darker next time and see if I can pull that off. I just have a really hard time seeing myself as any form of a blond, no matter how dark it is.

So my blond head and I are at Nancy and Jace's place. They are both at work so I am entertaining myself with the computer and with my book. It is nice to be able to just sit and read a book without the phone and other obligations like family and work. I love my family, the phone and work, but it is nice to be able to sit in the quiet all the same.

So there is my grand revelation.....and so life goes. Utah walls are nice for a change!

Winter Sunset at Maxwelton

2010-02-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes one gets to thinking that the summer has all the great sunsets. But I need to tell you that you are wrong. The colors were reflecting off of the water, off of the sand bars and everywhere. The picture hardly does it justice but it is the best I can offer you at present.

So, after assuring you I live in the most beautiful part of the world, I tell you I am flying south tomorrow to Cedar City and Nancy. My desire is to pack cloths that are for warm weather as I am always there in warm weather, but today it is not the case. We are warmer here than they are there. Sometimes it happens that way. Heck, a week ago we were warmer than Miami and several other places that are supposed to be winter havens. Such is life.

Now I am off to a basketball game. Stuart and Peter are in rec-league this season. Tonight will be my first Stuart game. Their team came out well last game, winning 25 to 4 I think Emily said. And Stuart scored a couple of shots and was a great factor in rebounds. Not bad considering he was by far the shortest kid out there. He certainly is not one to back down from some good physical play for the ball. That boy is not afraid of anything when it comes to a sporting event. I think he could be good at almost any sport...well, maybe not ice skating as the pictures posted awhile back will testify!

Something new....

2010-02-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

I know I should include a picture but my card reader doesn't work and the computer has issues anyway....so you will just have to take my word for this. On Thursday I made a huge step in a different direction. The jury is still out but sometimes you just have to try something new because it is there. All my daughters play with their hair. Nancy's blond becomes black, Michelle's black becomes reddish, Linda's curly becomes straight, Emily straight becomes, no, not curly, that will never happen....but it does change colors on a somewhat frequent basis. So what have I done? I took Emily over to Bristol's salon and we picked out a new look and I am now the new me.....I will post a picture here really soon, but until then you can just imagine it!

Am I happy with the results? Yah, I think I am. I am not big on change so I dislike things at the beginning but I know I do this so I don't make up my mind for a bit. I am still in the bit. Emily gives it a total thumbs up, and Linda seemed OK too.

Oh, did I forget to say what I had done.....oops.....later......

growing older

2010-02-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today Sue's grandmother was honored on the "Today Show". She is celebrating her 107th birthday. That was not a typing mistake, she is one hundred and seven years old! What an amazing thing. I think I remember meeting her years ago, but I know I have heard much about her. She is sharp mentally and physically strong for her years. I think it has been only the last two years that she has lived in an assisted living situation. I know Sue speaks highly of her, she talks about her positive outlook and her kindness to others. That seems to be the key to a long life, to live in such a way that you gain strength from the good things of others. And to stay invested in the future, something she seems to do well.

Her situation is interesting. She was aware of world war 1 and 2 and all the other conflicts that have come our way. She has seen the world go from horses as a mainstay to space travel. She has seen the beginning of transistors, of computers and, almost, of typewriters. What an amazing life span she has had. Talk about perspective on many things, this is a woman that has pretty much seen it all and been there to learn from it. It would be wonderful to sit down and just listen to what she has to say....but that can't happen so I will reply on Sue to share her insights with me. And if anyone can do that it is Sue, she is so gifted with words and has that same kindness that her grandmother has.

Am I concerned with growing older? No, not really. I will admit it sounds strange to my ear to say that I am 60 but it is not a bad strange. I have just spent 10 years saying I was fifty this or that and saying I am 60 feels strange. But I am expecting an amazing decade. Like my children's wonderful birthday thing, a decade of travel is what I am looking at. The first travel will be this weekend. Kristin and I are going to the Ballet in Seattle on Saturday. OK, not major but it is a beginning and we both really do enjoy dance so it is big for us! Sleeping beauty should be beautiful, I have never seen it nor has Kristin. Each day is another adventure and I look forward to almost all of them.

Competition

2010-01-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

This is the season of competitions for the young musicians and the older accompanists. The Saratoga competition is already done, the North Solo and Ensemble is this Saturday and the South Solo competition is next Saturday. Those three represent a tremendous amount of work for the soloists and for their accompanists. That in mind, I have tried to figure out why in the heck I do this again and again when I detest competition as much as I do. And, truth be told, I think most of the kids are in my camp, the "I don't like it" camp! So why do we put . Yah, I like that!

Adam plays Fenzi 's five bagatelles for Clarinet on the 6th of February. 2 of the 5 bagatelles are this years offering. He has gone from thinking the Choral was too easy to realizing that playing musically is never easy and counting complex rhythms is never going to be a simple thing, to thinking he could never master the Fhughetta. He plays them both extremely well now and is a pleasure to listen to. Will he win the covetted nod to go to state? Probably not, he is only a Freshman and they always weight it to the older kids and I agree with that for the most part. Will he win? Oh yes, major big win. He grew in understanding, in self discipline, musically and in self respect. He knows he is playing well and he knows he is playing stuff that is very difficult. Yes, he will walk away a winner no matter what any judge says to the contrary.

And that is the reason I put myself through this year after year. I love to watch these young musicians open their eyes and realize that they need only please one person, and that person is themselves. Besting a piece of music is a heady thing and it is fun to watch them discover what it feels like to best something. Will I do it again next year? Probably, but I will not do it with this many students. Some will have to move on to another accompanist as this one is getting tired of the routine. But I will still keep the few that I consider magical, the few that I feel a real connection to and marvel at all the things they have taught me as we perfect music.

And no more saxophones! It taxes my limited hearing in a major way. I play blind as I cannot hear myself at all. One of these years I will have to admit I just don't hear well enough to do this super sensitive work, but not yet. I will cross that bridge when it comes.

2010-01-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

We had ourselves a memorable day down at the Center Grounds and their ice skating rink. We went down knowing that none of us were going to be stars of the show, but came home with the sure knowledge that one of us can actually skate pretty well. Little Claire Mo is a going concern on the skates. She fell down (photo one) but got up again and just kept at it. She put in many more laps than the rest of the family added together! Kristin was a trooper and tried her best but I think the face says it all. Stuart is a mad-man on the ice, legs every which way and Peter managed to leave some leg skin there. Don't know how he managed but the blood showed he had success! And sweet little Amy did her best to skate around in her shoe and cast....not a really fun day for her but she had a great attitude all the same.

We then walked a block or so and had some amazing pizza for lunch, collected our tired bodies and came back to the Island. I love these kinds of low key outings that are just designed to have fun. How can you go wrong?

Got home and talked to Linda on the phone, then Emily and James came over with brownies to celebrate the day. You don't do much better than that! So the adults played a few hands of Peduncle and called it a day. Larry even agreed to learn how to play the game and did a fine job holding up his end of the game. Emily, true to form, had the winning hands but we expect that so it is OK. James managed to pull of a substantial win too....but the geriatric set didn't get any hands dealt to them. Bummer....but a good game all the same. It is nice that we are all learning how to play so we can do it en mass. Peter, Stuart and Kristin already play a pretty descent hand of peduncle. (how do you spell that game, I swear that is not right but it is what the computer gave me!)

New Decade world

2010-01-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Another decade starts for the world and for me. I couldn't let this date pass without writing it down, today is 01-01-10. I think that is a cool date, nice symmetry and unique. So what do I expect of this decade? I expect to expand my sphere of influence. In more direct words, I plan on traveling more than I have in the past. I am going to visit a few of the places I have talked about visiting and I am going to have a wonderful time doing so. I have also made a commitment to spend a little less time at work and little more time at service. I love teaching lessons but it is becoming more of a job as I see things I want to do and can't do them because of the lessons. I figure this coming decade is my best shot at travel. I am young in an older sort of way and old in a younger sort of way. I have really good health, mental and physical abilities so I need to use them. The following decade will bring challenges I suspect. And, besides, I want to do this!

And I will welcome two little boys into my posterity. After starting this generation with a definite lean towards female we have certainly turned the corner to having more boys. My three little Campbell girls seem to be unique in the family what with Linda coming on board with 3 boys this year, Lawrence with one and Nancy with one. Then add Luzvie with 2 boys, yah, we are going heavy to the male gender these days. I am fine with that, I get to go to the Ballet with Kristin whenever I want, and I get to enjoy boy things too. Not a bad way to do things.

And now I will celebrate the day by practicing the piano. I have said I will do a solo for church in February and I like to do things that are challenging to me and not just brain-dead notes. I am going to do a Rachmaninoff that I have never taken to performance level. Not only doing, I intend to take it to performance level but it is extremely demanding on my very weak Left hand so it is therapeutic too. I swore I would not play pieces that so greatly exposed my handicapped Left hand, but, you know, no pain no gain. Maybe I need to face the monster and just see what happens. The piece is huge but still Sacrament OK as it is not showy. It sounds rather easy but it is a real bucket of notes with a miserable key signature and technical challenges. Yah, it is a huge step but I feel pretty good about it. Page one is memorized and the rest is coming along. I will not play from memory but I will played from open book memory.

There it is, the plan.....now the reality is that I must make it happen!

2009-12-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

I love the way young children take to the Internet and embrace it. James had not seen a computer without a mouse and, after a brief show and tell, he was up and running. PBSkids has some wonderful games for his age group and he loves them all. However, Curious George is by far the most important game there. There are all sorts of fun things that he can do with that website and he is darn good at all of them. I see where my children have gone with computers when introduced to them as children, and I know where I am with a mature adult introduction, makes me wonder where this generation that gets them from birth on will go. There is so much positive that can be done with computers if they will just learn to master the negative and put it in the trash where it belongs.

And the other thing I love about this picture. Look at that amazing posture! I spend my life trying to remind myself to stand tall, and heaven only knows I have suggested to Lawrence a million times that he needs to stand tall. He and I are the worst in the family. But our little J-bers, my oh my but that is good posture. I sure hope he keeps same but I acknowledge the reality that he probably won't.

Winter dinner at beach

2009-12-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

We had a family gathering at the beach and used the new bar for the first time. We can seat seven people at the bar with comfort. We put the kids at the bar, minus Logan, and the adults ate in the living room. Then we finished off the dinner with Caramel apples thanks to Linda. Messy but oh so very good. She helped the kids make their own and let them dip them in m&m candies.....what's not to love?! I will do some serious mopping on Monday but it is well worth the clean up, and the kids were really good about them. It would have been nice to have them go outside to eat them, but something about it being well below freezing made that not such a good idea. We miss the summer outside but it is still a fun place to gather. All my designers and workers have made a nice family place and I am enjoying same.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-11-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

I love holidays that give a person an excuse to focus on dessert! 2 apple and 2 pumpkin pies, now that is a topic that I can totally invest in. While thinking of the myriad of things I am thankful for one must include being thankful for food in all its abundance. What I eat today is wonderful but I want something different tomorrow, and the life style that we are allowed to live allows that privilege.

We had Thanksgiving with Emily and her family. She set a beautiful table, my father would have been proud. My father always disliked the reality that we carved the bird before we presented the bird. He allowed as it looked like left overs before it had ever made a first appearance. I do agree, but it is ever so much easier to carve it at the kitchen and then present the food to be eaten. Emily did it on the table and it worked well. We needed a few more people however, because we didn't do much damage. Truth be told, we are not much for turkey, most prefer the dressing to the bird. But the two have to go together and we all love the soup and will enjoy an encore performance tomorrow.

And, as is tradition in the family, we will get together again this evening for a major snack and dessert. One eats the main course for a noon meal and then just enjoys the desserts later in the day, like at dinner time. It saves a person feeling the need to over eat as much. I love it this way and am pleased my children have continued the tradition started by my Grandmother. She knew what she was talking about when it came to food!

Happy Birthday Nancy!

2009-11-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Today my baby turns 23 and is awaiting the birth of her baby. Life is certainly made up of circles. I waited and now she waits. And there will be a time where this child shall also wait for the birth of the next generation. It just keeps rolling on in a God-given pattern. I love the peace that those circles give. No matter how crazy life can get, and it can get mighty crazy, the patterns just keep rolling on as God has intended them to roll on.

But who would have predicted my cute blond baby would become the woman she has become. I knew from the beginning that she had potential to move mountains, but I guess I never really thought she would actually do that. When Nancy puts her energy into something things happen, be they mountains moving or other things less dramatic. I am in constant amazement as to what she manages to do and how she does it with such class. That is a gift she came from Heaven with because I have neither the knowledge nor the skills to teach that one.

And now I will move on to the circles of today....not as dramatic but equally as interesting and important.

Try again....

2009-10-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

Stuart the Ninja. Claire the princess. Amy the Fairy Princess. Kristin the pioneer girl. James the Iron Chef and Peter as Jack Sparrow. It has taken way too many tries to get these pictures posted. Someday I will learn how to do this a whole lot better, until then I will just keep trying. But the results were worth the effort and there is daylight savings time coming to an end tomorrow so I will hardly notice how long it has taken with my extra hour in the morning! What ever works, works in my book!

We had a good Halloween on Island and hope everyone else did too.

Million dollar view

2009-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful picture of my front lawn, so to speak. I live in the $5,000 shack with the million dollar view! Mind you, my intentions were to post the Halloween pictures but this is what came up when I attempted same. I will try again, but the picture was too nice to ignore, so I am including it.

Halloween before the party

2009-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

As a child I did not much like Halloween, it was always a bit of a disappointment. But as an adult with more control I think it is a fun little tradition. As a young child we would go to Woodland Hall and the community club would have a party for all the kids in the community. That was fun, but it stopped happening when I was around 10. From that point on it was just another day and I felt left out of the loop. But now, I get to be part of the loop and I completely enjoy the whole build into the candy rich festival.

The season started for me when I was able to participate in the selection of Garret's first Halloween costume. He will be a duck tonight in a costume hand made by his mom with his Grandmother watching on. It will be fun to see the finished results in pictures. The costume was cute, but the hat was the defining part of the critter, and the hat was not done when I left. And, true to the age, he is not fond of keeping hats on his head. Putting them on is fine, but keeping them on is a totally different story.

Linda and I made J-boy and cute little Chef costume that pleased him and looked really good. He got sick on Friday so I am pretty sure he didn't get to wear it to his pre-school and that was sad. But there is a church function tonight and, if all are well, I know he will enjoy wearing it there. And I don't know what Logan is wearing, but it will be cute, of that I am sure.

And then the biggest chunk of family, the Campbell contribution. Kristin is wearing Nancy's pioneer trek gingham dress and looking amazing. We had to shorten it a bit but it is going to work just fine for her. She also had another costume for the M.S. band concert, she was asked to do an interpretive dance to one of the songs and dressed in gypsy garb...i.e. an old dress I found and cut up and made into a flashy skirt etc. She looked great and Danced well too. Peter is donning a funky wig (Captain Jack Sparrow), a home made shirt with black laces up the front, a detested pair of church pants cut up and other stuff. Stuart is the Ninja and is pretty much going in black. Claire is the princess. We made her a wonderful costume with lots of Tulle and fluff, a coned hat with tulle coming out of the top, the whole thing. She is so cute and the costume is just as cute. Amy is the little fairy princess complete with wings and flowers...a purchased costume that is perfect for her.

I took Amy with me on Friday to play with the "Fun Band" at the senior center for their monthly dance for the altimers patients (no spell check help but you can figure it out) and seniors in general. She entertained everyone and got out on the dance floor and did her hokey-pokey along with the rest of them. She is really good in front of people and found a whole room full of grandparents a good place to be. I think I will take her back with me when I help out again. We made a good team!

And now I need to collect myself and be of some help to someone. Emily is in charge of the whole thing tonight so her plate is really full. She is good at this kind of thing, however, so I am sure she has it all under control. Now I need to post pictures which means I need to take them.

Easy remodel of the beach kitchen

2009-10-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

I want everyone to know this is the easiest remodel that I have ever done. Michelle and Emily both drew up plans and I loved them both. And then Yukiko gave me a whole bunch of un-used new cabinets, but old cabinets, so that I could plug in as many as I could on the girl's design. Curtis then turned the bar around to seat more and now I am off and running.

Larry ripped out the kitchen on Thursday and the floor was being installed on Friday. Then the cabinets will be put in, the sink moved a little from where it has been and a dishwasher installed next to the new sink. Once all the building is done Emily will select a counter top and it will be completed. And while this is all happening I am on the road in my Connie P headed down to see Lawrence and Michelle and then on to Jace and Nancy. A remodel that I do not have to participate in is the best kind of remodel. I am not particularly picky, this is a beach cabin after all, and I am sure it will be wonderful. (and I have no idea as to why there is a color change but let it stand....why not?)

Music of Nature

2009-09-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

When you step outside the door at the cabin you hear the serenade of hundreds of black birds. Now the humble black bird is not much to look at, although the red winged black bird is rather interesting. However, when you put a whole bunch of them in the trees on top of the bank and all trying to out sing their neighbor, the sound is rather amazing. You have this total wash of bird songs and it is breath-takingly beautiful. You have to look hard to see them in the trees but they are there. I have no idea how long they will be gathering before they make the final statement and head south, but I certainly am enjoying their songs at present. Let's face it, sea gulls are not the most wonderful singers on the Island, so the black birds are a welcome change.

The salmon are still running. This morning Doug was gone less than two hours and came home with 3 fish...and yes there were two people in the boat. Nice looking, about the 4 to 5 pound variety I would guess. They cleaned them in the waves so that the gulls cleaned up the mess. Then they brought them up onto the bulk head and got out the pressure washer and blasted the scales off them. That was a new concept but it seemed to work well from my perspective. At that point they were filleted and taken into the house to freezer probably. Oh it makes me jealous when they do that. Particularly when I know I have a fisherman that would love to be doing the same each and every morning. It will happen eventually but not this season. Poor LJ, he probably is not enjoying reading this now, but so be it.

The beach certainly offers me a different pallet on which to make my day. I think I needed the change because I am really enjoying something different. And it is fun to have Amy around occasionally. She is my side kick a couple of days a week, and she is a fun little side kick to deal with. Tomorrow Linda is bringing Logan and James and I have Claire and Amy, we are going to get together at one of the parks and let them have fun. Then home for naps each in their own space. It should be a fun outing for all of us.

Canning is beautiful

2009-09-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

You know, in a world of many beautiful things I find one of the most beautiful things to be canning placed on a shelf. The jars are canned peaches and/or peach pie filling awaiting a trip up to the house to be placed lovingly on the shelf. Canning and I have a love/hate relationship. I always go through the full spectrum of feelings while I can, I hate the mess but I love the results. I am empowered by the process but annoyed by the slowness. Yah, I hit them all, but nothing is as beautiful as shelves full of good food. And as a side light, if you can pale peaches you get pale product, if you can a peach with good color you get a good colored product. These are O'Henry peaches and they are vibrant before canning and can up beautifully. Or maybe I have been canning too many pears recently when you aim for as near white as you can get.

That all said, I need to go teach some piano lessons. Like canning, it is a love/hate relationship. I love it when the student is prepared and wanting to do better, I hate it when I am pulling them through the literature. Yah....doesn't that describe life in general.

Even birds take naps

2009-09-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

The morning was well underway when I saw this great Blue Heron on the post. His head was drooped down and he looked to be sleeping. I was talking to Emily on the phone so I hung up and located my camera. By the time I got the camera he was starting to wake up, (and of course I have the pictures posted backwards so number 2 is actually number 1) and the second pose is his full attention on the sounds I was making. I will have to admit he had probably been out hunting for food for many hours before I saw him, but I had never seen such a tired bird on a post before.

There are days that I feel the same way, but give me something to occupy my brain and I come right to attention. He was not sure if I intended to eat him or just watch him and paid close attention until my intentions were clear. And then he lost interest and headed out into the air to find a more private place to take his nap.

One thing I can not complain about is the neighbors at the cabin. When you can claim blue heron as your closest neighbor then you know you are living in the right place. There are at least 3 on the beach all the time, foraging food or just watching the coming and going of tides.

news flash

2009-07-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

My family has lived in the Maxwelton Valley for over 100 years. My mother kept track of the high and low marks in the valley for well over 50 years on a daily basis, prior to that it was just on observation but not recorded. She said she had seen 99 degrees but never 100, and she had seen 1 but never 0. Well, today we broke the century mark but good. I saw 105 on the thermometer in the kitchen for most of the afternoon! No, that is not a typo, that is really what I saw. It is hot beyond belief and has been all week, building to this record breaking day. According to the news folk it has shattered the recorded temperatures in Western Washington. Shattered by several degrees records that have stood a long time and, with a little bit of luck, will stand forever or until I no longer care. What a miserable day to be trapped in heat beyond reason! There is nothing one can do. Even the pool is so hot that dipping in the water offers no cool, and the sun is burning down enough to burn the most tanned of bodies. Yah, this day will be one to remember and one that I want to forget really soon.

Too hot already

2009-07-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

I live in Washington for a reason and that reason would be the fact that I am a wimp when it comes to heat. With that statement made, I do not approve of the weather that has settled onto the Island this week. Today I have seen it as high as 94 degrees and it is not as hot as it will get...but more than hot enough to heat me plenty. If I wanted to live in the heat I would move to it, it does not need to move to me! And they say it will get worse before it gets better. They are talking a three day climb before it breaks at the end of the week. We will see if this all happens....but lets hope it doesn't!

Last week Kristin and I went to Sun Lakes to enjoy some time in the sun, and, of course, it rained. I get used to this kind of stuff but it still makes me laugh when it happens yet one more time. Eastern Washington in July should be pretty dependable but it can not trump my ability to find bad weather to camp in. The Connie P solves that problem however, it really could care less if there is rain or not. We enjoyed the weather from the inside looking out....and even got some time to go swimming between the showers. Or rather Kristin did, I sat that one out. I am certainly a fair weather swimmer in my old age!

the Brides of yesterday and tomorrow

2009-07-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Many years ago I decided that I wanted to have a picture taken of all my daughters in their wedding dresses. I decided that this would happen when the last one married. Well, Nancy did that this past December so I felt this was the summer to do this. And everyone was to be here on the 4th of July so we celebrated the 3rd of July with Bridal pictures. And let me tell you, it was one of the funniest picture shoots you could possibly imagine! Spain has the running of the bulls and we had the running of the brides...all documented of course....as we came from the porch and down the hill to in front of the roses.

And, as might be expected, some of us did better getting into our dresses than others. Nancy is the most recent bride but she has lost weight with her training for yet another marathon so her dress was rather loose. Linda's dress was too big when she wore it and still is, but looked beautiful on her all the same. Michelle has a 5 month old baby which explains her challenge with zippers really well. Emily has 5 babies from 3 to 11 to justify her situation and I claim the 32 years between wearings to explain the fact I could not zip mine. The future brides didn't have those concerns!

Kristin wore the dress that matched Nancy's (She wore a bolero jacket at the wedding but it was hot so we omitted the jacket for the pictures). Claire wore the dress that matched Linda's wedding dress (worn by Kristin in the actual wedding pictures) and Amy had a beautiful white dress that Emily came by. They were as excited with this day of dress-up as we were!

Then we did individual shots with the husbands in shorts etc. and the wives in wedding dresses. An interesting combination that showed the true spirit of the day. We did a serious picture and then some really stupid ones....and stupid we do really well! The final Amen came from Nancy as she did a full lay-out back summersault on the trampoline while in her wedding dress. It was breath taking. When I think of all the money invested in those dresses it just makes me smile to know we can have fun with them.

I have decided our next visit with these dresses will be at the next wedding in the family. Several years away at this time, but we will need several years I think to better what we have already done! Sometimes you just have to take a step backwards and see the fun in it all...we did and it was a great day.

paper or paperless

2009-06-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

All bank statements and other bills of the sort always ask if you want paper or paperless. Nice thought but does it really work? I always check paperless in that I can print things off at home if I truly want them. Being of the paper generation I prefer to have things in a hard copy for my files, so I do opt to print most things at home. However, if it is paperless then how come I spend so much of my time shuffling papers? Seems like I sit down to my desk and there is always this collection of papers that need attention. They need to be filed, they need to be paid, they need to be read and so the list goes. And my complaints are minimal in the grand scheme of things, after all, my life is not that complicated!

The radio keeps talking about help getting folks out of debt and that makes me wonder how much paper the average person has to deal with. I don't have a fraction of what many have. I wish the world knew the simplicity that used to exist before Credit cards. You had the money, you purchased the item, no money no purchase. It was a pretty simple formula but it did not give the financial institutions the scope to make massive profits. Credit cards came into being and banks sprouted up like dandelions in the yard. Where there was one bank there are now eight banks, and all seem to be doing quite well as far as I can tell. Of course, they are all working off of my money, mine as in a tax payer, but their top echelons have to have their yachts and bonuses you know! Boy would I love to close all banks but a couple and then have the CEO make no more than double the line worker. All would win and maybe we could stop spending what we don't have.

Back to my papers and then to a walk. Should do it the other way around but I am waiting for the day to warm up a little before I take off.

Another use for canned salmon

2009-06-16T17:50:00.001-07:00

It is always fun when you come up with another use of something you have. And that something is canned salmon. It needs to be used, 2006 variety and aged a plenty. So, with that in mind, I was thinking what I could do. I have made fritters and they are amazing but I wanted something different. So I did the old Hot Chicken Salad thing but substituted Salmon and added some fresh lemon juice and fresh parsley. I then served it with chives on the top and, though no one is home to eat it but me, it is mighty fine. I get so tired of the same foods and am always trying to come up with new ideas. This is not a new idea, but a turn on an old idea that pleased me greatly.

I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy eating out so much. The idea part, the taste part and let us not forget that they do the dishes after all is said and done. I have been watching the "food network" on T.V. some evenings to harvest some new ideas. And I have found several things that I have either tried or intend to try. It isn't as much fun as eating out but it is more fun that eating alone and eating the same stuff you have been eating for the past century (and I can honestly say that!).

Todays enlightenment from the food network was deseeding roma tomatoes. Easy process and it makes them better in many salads. Cut them in half and then grab them and squeeze the seeds out of them. Chop up the other parts and away we go. What a simple concept and it will be helpful in many things. I loved Chopped tomotoes in things, but sometimes they just get too seedy and runny, this will solve the problem. It is nice to learn something new!

I could get used to this

2009-06-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know who has messed with the climate on Island but I could really learn to like it the way it is at present. For the past two weeks we have had as close to perfect weather as they give forth in this world. High temperatures around the mid seventy range and lows in the upper 50 range. What could be better? Mornings tend to be overcast but the sun has been out and on full display by lunch and remained that way for the remainder of the day. OK, this is not typical but I am liking it all the same. Makes it a little hard to get tasks done but the cool, overcast mornings aren't bad for working and then, of course, the sunny afternoons are excellent for not working!

People that live further South don't get it. They seem to think the glory is to wake up every morning and have the sun out. I could rapidly learn to detest that. It is the fact that it is not out all the time that makes it so wonderful. Washington is always in a state of change, if it is raining and you are unhappy about that, well, wait a bit and it might change. Our hot spells never last all that long and the rain, well, OK, sometimes that does go on way too long. But it only makes the breaks in the overcast more special. I don't think I could enjoy a climate that was even remotely predictable. I look at the high dessert folk and sigh because they always have sunshine and it gets old fast, or at least for me. Give me variety and I will be a happy girl.

Thank you

2009-06-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

I did the first of my piano recitals last night, the most difficult of the two because I had to play that darn Beethoven that I have complained so much about, plus a Clementi and a Kuhlau Duet. Went well, didn't play near as well as I would have hoped but my hands are really well trained and when I get started crooked they just seem to know how to bail me out. I deleted a couple of runs that were just too risky and improvised them...worked OK. Remind me to avoid pieces that accentuate the 4 crosses with these hands. They just hurt when I do too many of those crosses. Maybe I should just stick with chords and/or slow pieces.

But that was not really my topic. Several of my students brought me flowers (the best kind, home grown) and cards (equally as perfect as they were home made). Why is it we, as a society, believe it is not important to say thank you. Even more so, not even acknowledge that something kind has been done. Are we really so selfish that a short note is too much of an investment? I don't do things for the thanks, but it sure makes me want to invest the next time and when no thanks come occasion after occasion I just kind of stop investing my thoughts and send (or not) perfunctory things.

I think the ones that hurt the most are the ones that you really invest in. I am not talking money here but thought and love. You spend hours and hours working on something either physically or mentally. You give something that you are so heavily invested in and they either say nothing or a short little thanks. I walk away feeling like I have made a huge mistake and that I should not have done what I did. Does that mean I give for recognition? I don't think so, I guess I just need the validation that you appreciated what came your way as much as I invested in giving same to you. Tough subject, and for those that don't subscribe it is a subject that causes much hurt. I just know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the vast majority of problems in this world could be solved if people would just express, either verbally or physically, their thanks. We are told to offer our thanks in prayers, but we also need to offer them to each other.

That said, I had a wonderful whirlwind of a trip to Utah for Garret's blessing and I am beyond words thankful that I have the family that I have, one and all. I hope my actions as well as my words convey that because I try to do that. And now my actions must convey paint to the walls of the bedroom at the beach. Ah the variance of the word convey!!!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

It is sad when memorial day becomes more a celebration of no school and/or work, and the reality that the sun is actually shinning on the Island and has been the entire weekend. With that said I was reflecting on the real meaning, the reality that a lot of people have sacrificed themselves so that I can appreciate the day of no school/work and the extra weekend day of beautiful sunshine. Some sacrificed by laying down their lives, but I think the greater sacrifice was for those that layed down the quality of their lives for the rest of us. For all those "walking wounded" that live out there, many on the streets where few care if they live or die, and many carrying around burdens deep in their souls that can only be removed with the greater light that death will bring us all. That said, it is amazing how little war has directly affected me.

Both my parents were World War 2 participants, Dad in the Navy communications division and mom was a P.T. in the medical Corp of the Army. Larry served during Viet Nam as a jet mechanic on a carrier off the coast of the country. My brother opted not to serve and I wanted to but didn't....long story, bottom line, I didn't. I knew only one person that was killed in Viet Nam. He was a local boy that was just big, kind of a bully and not too bright. But in death he was honored like he never was in life, honored and I suspect forgotten by most of us. (Jim Langworthy if anyone needs a name). But I reflect back on another childhood friend, Everett, and the burden that he has carried since Viet Nam. There is a part of him that never came back, an important part that allowed him to bond. Maybe he saw too many of his friends taken at too early an age, I don't know, but I do know it has affected him greatly. His wounds will only heal when he passes from this life. And the wounds his challenges have caused also. The mother that loves him and has been removed from his life for years and years. The friends and siblings that are not welcomed beyond superficially.

Yes, war stinks but freedom smells really sweet. So today I do not mourn those that gave their all, I mourn those that gave their yesterdays, their today's and their tomorrows. And with that statement I will try to be more sensitive to others and look beyond their put-off kind of behaviors and give real thanks for their sacrifice and pray it will not be asked again. And yet knowing that it will be asked again, asked of me and mine.....but knowing there is a plan from our Father in Heaven and all will be well. So I celebrate it all today....and then hit a rehearsal to celebrate a young man that has practiced enough to master his music!

Silage

2009-05-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

They are starting to bring in the first cutting of grass on the ranch as silage. It is a great week to do so, the weatherman says great weather for almost a week, and that is not common for this time of year. It no longer matters in my life but it sure brings back a pile of memories.

Silage and haying seasons were some of my favorite growing up. Those two times I was part of the team, not at home doing girl things i.e. cooking and the sort. It was afternoon and evening work thanks to the dew that always blankets the Island. In the morning they would either cut more grass or, during haying, use the tedder to fluff up the hay to encourage more drying. Shortly after lunch it would begin. One man on the tractor picking up the grass, two men in trucks transporting same to the pit (or barn if that were the case) and my father on the tractor in the pit packing and putting loads where they were needed. I was never allowed to participate in silage, it came about after I had graduated, but it still affected us in that Larry did a lot and Lawrence was always available to help, but never asked. He rode miles and miles each season in the hopes of being asked. It was a heartbreak for both of us.

But the part I wanted to focus upon was later in the day. Meals were catch as catch can when the work dominated during those times. So we would all eat together, my job was to make sure it was ready when needed and easy to eat and run. We usually ate outside under the trees between my parents and grandparents and had a barbecue. I would fix salads and desserts, then grill whatever was needed to be hot when they arrived. Heading toward the barn someone would say this is the last run before dinner and I would hop to it and be sure all was ready. Everyone ate together and it was always a party, it was always fun. The crew would head back to the work and I would start cleaning up and getting ready for phase two....watermelon under those same trees when the work was done for the day.

I never really gave my mother credit for being much help with those days, but in retrospect, she was very much involved. It was her ideas that told me what to make and what to do until I got things more under control. She was the one that would make the schedule for me to follow so that everything was ready at the same time, a skill that is extremely helpful to me to this day. Some of my ideas were great but not practical, and she would cross out those ideas and substitute more practical things. Lasagna was great, not so much spaghetti, that kind of thing. One held it's heat really well, the other was a problem. I didn't appreciate how much thinking went into those meals when I was doing them, but now that I am responsible I understand that she really did an amazing job of leading me through those lessons.

So the grass in now down and being picked up, and I sit in my kitchen and watch with a normal day in front of me and a little piece of me feeling very sad to be excluded from something that was so important to me as a child. No big meals today....but I will invite Joyce over for dinner again tonight so there will be more than two of us. A small blessing and a good blessing.

Beethoven

2009-05-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

I love the music of Beethoven. It is so moody. It has such power, power in strength of volume and in the power of silence....both of which he uses really well. However, I love later Beethoven and not the early stuff. The early stuff is too Classical for me, too many notes just buzzing up and down with virtuosity being more of a focus than emotional fulfillment. That said, I am supposed to have the Spring Sonata for Violin under my hands in a couple of weeks. It is a beautiful piece of music to listen to but I have never seen myself playing same. It is classical and just buzzes with notes rushing from point to point only to rush back again in a whirlwind of accidentals and other pitfalls.

Can I play it? Yes I can, and rather well actually. However, the rub comes when we start to discuss the tempo. I do a pretty amazing job of it at 100, but it is scheduled to be performed at 116 minimum, with 132 being more correct. Not with these hands! I worked it hard a few weeks ago and had it near 116 without too many major mistakes but after a few days my right hand hurt so much I put it away and have just dusted it off again. 1 - 4 crosses are not my thing these days....pulls something that does not like to be pulled. I do better with the 1 -3 cross but even that sets my thumb into fits if I do it too many times in one session. And the sad thing is Gloria is the soloist and she plays it brilliantly! I am going to keep working but I suspect I will be doing the fake-job before I get done. I am good at what I do and I know what to drop and what must play, and I will do some serious dropping of notes to make it all happen. And that bothers me, I really don't like to do that but I am not too sure if my hands will hold up without the dropped notes.

That said, am I going to go get my Left hand done any time soon? No, I don't think that is on the schedule in the foreseeable future. The hand works even though the thumb is rather a useless hammer part of the time....but it works! I get more frustrated with my right hand when it comes to pain and runs. The left hand falls down when it comes to anything requiring strength, heaven forbid you have move rapidly through octaves! I can't depend on the hand to do what I ask of it, hence I avoid that kind of music too. One of these days....

And until then, I pick and choose my music wisely and play for myself more than for others. Works for me!

2009-04-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sewing on the Island is getting to be a difficult thing to do. On Thursday Avery finished off two skirts that she had in process. When you finish projects you start planning the next, only logical. But there is no place to purchase anything other than cotton fabric i.e. quilting materials, on the South end. Heck, I don't think there is anything more than that on the North end either. We have become a total "Island" when it comes to fabrics. One has to venture across the water to construct anything at this juncture in time. That just seems wrong....but I am not offering to open a store to fill the gap!

So today when the urge hit to sew I decided to sweep instead. Mind you, the sweeping was necessary but the sewing was what I wanted to do. And it is unusual for me to want to sew, then to have to plan so far ahead. When with Emily and Michelle I purchased several new patterns and one of them had my name on it....but it takes interlock or something that has a descent amount of give. Next trip off Island I will try to remember to get fabric and then see if the urge comes again.

And are the floors beautiful....not so much, I sat down and am writing this as an avoidance.

The Utah Family

2009-04-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to get off the Island and head to Utah for spring break. Most of my piano students were canceling so why not, I wouldn't have income even if I had stayed home. And there was this little grandson that I had never seen! A major incentive as if I needed one to hit the road. Anyway, arrived at the Campbell/Godsey home on the 4th of the month. had the usual breakdown complications that just seem to be a part of my travel plans...but I have had the resonator go out enough times that I know what it feels like and I know what to do about it. Frustrating at best, but it is something that I have faced before. It delayed my arrival by several hours and caused a lost night of sleep, but not too much more. Part was still under warranty so the cost was in time and not money.

Master Garret is a very pleasant young man. He is full of conversation and loves nothing more than to lock his baby-blues onto someone or something and then just study it at length. He really responds to being spoken to, you talk to him and he talks back with his little goo's and all. He had some skin issues but Michelle has those well under control now....I remember those with Emily, annoying but something that you can control. He remains rather angular but 100% a charmer. Lawrence and Michelle seem to have divided up the work/fun of taking care of him really well. Lawrence's awful work hours puts him getting home from work around the time that Garret takes a nap, so the boys just nap together. It is really sweet.

Emily is down to 3 days of school left before her B.A. degree and she is more than ready to have this phase behind her. They pull together really well but this has been one very long, hard pull. Kids are all well, I am constantly impressed at how well they all read. Stuart is only in the 2nd grade but reads scriptures as well as I do! And little Claire is learning to read too, she starts school in the fall. Amy, well, she is just busy and bright but reading is not in her day to day plan right now! They should be getting news from the U of W on the Ph.D. program as early as this week. Everyone has their fingers crossed and prayers wafted on high.

Stopped down to Cedar with Kristin to see the Oliverson portion of the family. Jace had to work the night shift but joined us anyway, heck, who needs sleep anyway! They are both well and looking good. Jace has lost a descent amount of weight and Nancy has lost some too. She really didn't need to loose but is supporting her husband and has lost too. Her exercise routine keeps her firm and thin, and adding some good eating habits has made her a little more thin. She is the only girl in the family that plays with being too thin! Nancy has had a couple of really tough weeks but she is in good spirits and is doing a great job learning all the home skills that she needs. That girl may learn to be a good cook if she keeps trying like she is!

And now I am headed back to the Island. I am settled into a park, got the piano down and played some Beethoven that I need under my hands when I get home, and then some stuff that I just enjoy. Not everyone has a piano in a 23 foot RV but I do, and I really love it. Practice time at home is always hard to come by, too many interruptions and complications, but on the road I have minimal of both. I could become a very spoiled girl if life allowed me to live like this more!

Giant Daffodils

2009-03-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Quite a few years ago a new woman moved into my circle of friends. Her name was Barbara and she came to the Island via Utah, having entered life in the U.K. We quickly became friends as we had a lot in common, but that is not why I am writing this post. Today I was out and about and saw something that always makes me smile and always makes me think of Barbara.

Her first spring on Island she told me that she had seen some giant Daffodils and that she really wanted to have a start of them in her yard. I had no clue as to what she was talking about and told her that. She continued to explain where she had seen them and the light of recognition went off in my mind. Yes, I knew the giant daffodils that she was wanting. So, being the kind friend that I am, I suggested she ask at the local nursery for them under their common name (if I would have had time I would have given her the genus specie but I didn't have time) and their common name was silly but it was the only name I knew them by....skunk Cabbage! Unfortunately she got smart before she went and asked! So I didn't get my final laugh, but I get entertained every year as the glorious yellow flowers appear in bogs throughout the area. And after Barbara's input I look at them differently, they are, in fact, beautiful. Mind you, their beauty is something that has to be observed from afar as they have a very strong, pungent Oder!

I wonder how many things in life fail to get due respect because of something like an Oder? Skunk Cabbage is truly beautiful but I had never taken time to look at it, I just judged it bad because it smelled bad. It makes me think that one needs to re-evaluate things every once in awhile just to make sure something of great value has not been overlooked due to prejudice in one form or another. And, yes world, I love avocado....my mother would gasp to know that fact. Sometime in the last 50 years they must have improved because they were bad years ago and they are wonderful now. Just an example of what I mean.

Primroses

2009-03-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

I wandered out and spent a few minutes in the yard today, pulled some weeds and other fun things like that. Kind of between sun shine and not, trying hard to hit the real thing and actually missing it totally. Such is early spring in Washington, changes rather frequently. My circle of primroses caught my eye and made me think. The table decorations from my parents memorial were primroses, and then my friend Avery Wilson purchased more for me rather than sending flowers or a card (by the way, she was probably 11 at the time). I enjoyed all the bright colors of the primroses until they no longer had color to share and then I planted them in my flower bed and encircled them with rocks to give them some structure. Every spring they make their much welcomed statement in the early spring and every year I remember my parents and most particularly my mother as she loved her gardens way more than I, as a child, thought healthy! I am sure she is smiling from her home on high on those beautiful flowers, and so am I. They were a gift to honor my mother from a young lady that I enjoy working with, a very thoughtful gift to me and to my mother.

And that made me think further. I have this wonderful contorted filbert that I love in front of the house. It probably garnishes more comments than anything else I have growing outside and I love it. When Larry's sister died we were given a planter filled with spring flowers and, like the plants from my parents memorial, I love their bright colors until they were all gone and then I emptied the container into the flower bed by the filbert. Each spring I have a beautiful display of deep purple minature Iris and some minature tulips and small daffodills that are among the earliest colors in the garden. They make me remember Susan and all the positive things she taught me. Her life was kind of a tradjidy, but she taught me the power of honesty. She made mistakes and she paid high for those mistakes, but she was so open and honest with me and taught me many things.

I love spring flowers, but most of all I love spring flowers that mean something to my heart as well as to my eyes. (Humm, spell checker is not working so you get this one raw. Does not this stupid computer know I need all the help I can get when it comes to spelling!)

Passport

2009-03-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

I took myself up to Langley today to officially apply for a passport. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time but found ways of not making it happen, something I am completely too good at! Anyway, I downloaded the application off of the Internet, filled it in, got my birth certificate and off I went. I came to a realization here awhile back, things don't have to be complicated if you just don't make them complicated. My background is completely clear and easy to understand but I don't have complete documentation on some points of interest to those that really delve into these things. Point at hand, I have documentation of Long going to Franco, and Long becoming Godsey but I have nothing that bridges the point between Franco and Godsey. And that gives the authorities fits! It takes a simple leap of logic to connect the dots but they leap not at all. So how did I manage it this time....simple....I deleted the Franco name and it sailed through. So why did it take me all these years to come to that realization? Heck if I know, but it did. And now, in 4 to 6 weeks, I will be available to run around the world at will....anybody taking a trip that needs my supervision? I will soon be available!

All this documentation is kind of a farce anyway. They make it feel like they are enhancing national security as you get this passport, but the reality is they allow all sorts of people with negative intentions into the country every day while they stress out about the Franco/Godsey situation. The only thing I have ever blown up was a potato in the oven and that has been years ago...you stick them first and then they don't blow potato chunks all over the oven to be cleaned up later. Potatoes are simple, passports should be too.

Hello Dolly

2009-03-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Linda and I are doing something unique and different....we are going down to the Fifth Ave. Theater to see Hello Dolly on stage. I haven't been to a professional live production in an extremely long time. They are expensive and I detest going alone. I don't think Linda has ever been! So when Hello Dolly came up I thought this would be a good one. I played the local production and Linda was in the cast. We both know the show upside down and backwards thanks to those hours of rehearsals. I, of course, never saw it, but I still know what was going on...one of the joys of being the rehearsal accompanist and then in the pit. I can't help but think it will be a fun day.

She is leaving the boys with Lisa so we are truly alone for a time. It will also be her first trip away from Logan for more than an hour or two. See, lots of firsts today! Beefy-boy should do well and there is a back-up plan, Lisa is still nursing Isabella. Should be a fun day and the boys will be fine too.

Friday the 13th is good

2009-03-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day on many levels. Garret is a whole month old today. It is hard to be so invested in someone and still not have even set eyes upon them. It was never my plan to have my family live a long way away so I had never thought about having a grandchild that I could not see with slight investment of time and energy. But that is the way things are right now. As a grandparent I want to be available but not in the way, and sometimes it is hard to see the line between the two. 3 weeks from today I will be on the road headed south to see this young man and I greatly look forward to the experience.

And it is good that this week is over and the wounds can begin the healing process. I so respect the young people I work with and how they feel so deeply but embrace tomorrow with so much health. They honor and love Katelyn but today they have moved on, she is still in their hearts and minds, but life is for the living and so they must live. What a healthy way of being and how I try to emulate them. All challenges are just that, challenges, and it is how we carry the load that is the measure of the person.

That said, Romans 8 and some before and after address being joint-heirs with Christ. What an amazing thought. Inheritance has been such a rats nest in my life and it is good to hear it all put in proper perspective. If we are to live worthy as joint-heirs with Christ what does it matter how things unfold here and now on this confused earth? It is of only temporary significance and I need to remember that all the time. I most certainly lost the battle but I feel so assured that the war is mine....I will be joint-heir with Christ and that is the true prize. It isn't in money and/or acreage, it is in the good you bring to others.

Ya, Friday the 13Th is a wonderful day and I am glad I am here to embrace it...and now I want my shower and breakfast, they too are in need of my embrace!!!

Some days are hard.

2009-03-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a hard day in seminary. Some people think teaching seminary at 6:20 a.m. every day is a negative thing, but I really do love it. Weeks like this one make me realize how important it is and how blessed I am to work with the young people as closely as I do. The death of Katelyn last week has hit most of the kids really hard so today we honored her with a DVD which they will play at her memorial tomorrow. Kip assembled it with the help of some of the other kids, took most of the night to put it together and it was very touching. To say there was not a dry eye in the house would be an understatement. We all intellectually understood that Katelyn was gone but seeing the final frame with her birth and death dates on it, well, that was just difficult.

And, yes, I know....guns don't kill people, people kill people. But when guns are involved it just makes it more difficult. One of the things we all did was try to find the positive in this extremely negative situation. The positive is the love of a Heavenly Father and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We just need to learn to listen to those promptings and then maybe things like this would not happen as much. None of us know if Katelyn had time to react, time when she knew she needed to stop the game and get out of the room, but we all know what it feels like to have the comfort the Holy Ghost can provide. It affirms to me that I need to invest more energy into listening to those promptings, no matter how small and act upon what I know to be right.

And Katelyn will be missed but she will live on here on earth as well as in the Celestial Kingdom beyond the veil. She lives because she touched a lot of people here on Island and in other places too. She lives because there are many people that will remember her with a smile. More than that a person can not ask I think.

Service, doing what is needed

2009-02-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

Service is an interesting concept that I love to do, but that sometimes I forget what it really is and avoid doing it for those reasons. Service is doing what is needed when it is needed, or at least that is my definition for service. I will put it another way. If you are walking through the hot desert and the sun is baking your brains, your body is demanding water to make the trip and you see someone coming towards you in a jeep. They get out of the jeep and hand you the most beautiful dress you have ever seen, jump back in, grab a quick drink from the gallon of water they carry, and roar off into the sunset. Is that service? Yes, it would be nice to have that amazing dress, the one you have always wanted, but no, it is not service. Or rather, it is self service, done for the giver and not the receiver. Service is needs based, the needs of the receiver and not the giver!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do some service and a few people have looked at me as if I had a cracked head. Stephanie and I did special music for a singles conference. I admit, that was weird, there are so many single people that could have done an admirable job but they asked us so we did it, and we did well or so I believe. From there I went shopping, heck, I was on the mainland with almost 3 hours to fill, got some new slacks, a skirt and a top....all in all a productive day I would say....but that is not the point.

In the afternoon I went down to the Temple, dressed in white and sat down at the organ to play for the first session of our ward conference in the Assembly room of the temple. I played about 15 minutes of prelude, the opening hymn and then postlude until the room was again empty, found a stepping off point and cadenced. Walked back to the escalator that took me to the locker room, changed into street cloths and came home. Someone made the comment that I had not done a session and didn't I feel bad. I don't think they liked my answer because I assured them I felt great about my service. I had done service for the living and not the dead, but I had offered my service with a grateful heart at being asked. Yes, there were others that could have done what I did, but they asked me. Service is what is needed and not always what we want to do. It would have been rewarding to do a session but it did not diminish the rewards I felt for doing the service I did.

Heavenly Father has a plan for us, an individual plan as well as a group plan. It is our responsibility to keep an open heart and mind so that we can hear and feel what he would have us do. I know he gave me back my music so that I could use it to serve others, and through that service help people find their way back to him.

Garret Oliver Godsey

2009-02-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

I started out this session trying to up-load a picture of Lawrence and his family onto my blog, but all I get is a series of numbers etc. Not what I had in mind so I will just do nothing on that angle. Sometimes I wonder why I can up load pictures and why I can't....I swear I do the same thing both times. Such is the life with a computer I guess, they are truly unpredictable under my hands!

Garret Oliver Godsey came to this world on the 13th of February weighing in at 8 pounds and standing 20 inches in height-length. He has a light dusting of black hair but it looks like the kind that will soon be history. And in the only picture I have seen of just him, he looks a lot like Lawrence at the very beginning. Emily says he is a calm little boy and that is good. She said she has hardly heard him. I know that he is well cared for, of that I am certain, Michelle has wanted this baby forever it would appear. I understand, I was there when Emily was born. I didn't think I could have children and then there was Emily. A pretty amazing experience any way you look at it.

The birth of Garret really slides the family into boy mold. We are now at 3 girls and 5 boys, and if you include the grandchildren of choice (Luzvie's kids) it is 7 boys. I am glad I like little boys a whole lot because I think that is just a fine number! I will say it also makes the three more special because they are so unique. Family is what it is all about and I get great pleasure seeing my small beginnings start expanding. Coming from a mom that was an only child and a dad that had one surviving brother to this is breathtaking. I could not be more pleased. The next generation of the family is composed of a whole lot of remarkable souls, remarkable in all ways.

Just listen folks....

2009-01-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

I am always amazed at what teachers assign students to perform. Do they not listen to the student to ascertain if they are capable of playing the piece or do they just hear what they want to hear? There is a major concerto competition coming up with the auditions on the 24th. I am playing for 4 students. There is Adam that will do just fine, maybe fine enough to win a place and maybe not, but he will not embarrass me or him. Needless to say, he is my student, I started him with his first 1 1/2 reed and still work with him on Stamatz concertos. Then there is Zoe, plays a very competent viola but practices the art of Sorta-pitch when things get moving. Her teacher doesn't seem to notice that so I just try not to notice too. She should do well, probably getting a seat because she is a really good young violist, albeit a little pitch handicapped. Next we have Wyatt, not my student, playing the extremely fast Quantz Concerto. He is very good but he has not mastered the art of tonguing at that fast tempo. So would it not be better to play the slow movement and show off his remarkably good tone and control? Nope, we are going with blazing fast that shows off all his weaknesses (thank heaven's there aren't many). Lastly there is Jacob, a trombone from the north end. He really knows his instrument and he gets from note to note with speed and accuracy. Intonation is remarkably good too, but he has one volume and it is loud. On and on it is loud with no contrasts at all. And he is playing a transcription where the instructions so no transcriptions. We will see if they honor their own rules because he really is very good. And last of all, a mid-island clarinet that is trying to get some scholarship money from WWU. She is doing the slow movement of a Brahms Sonata and refuses or has no clue as to how, to count. The accompaniment offers no support to the solo and she is all over the place with her notes. It will never hang together unless I just throw the music out the window and improvise around her random notes.

So why do teachers do this to students and why do students do this to accompanists? No answer, only I hope I never do it to the students or to myself in that I do all my own accompaniment work. I think we get our egos too involved and somehow think that the student playing a more challenging piece makes us look better. True, but only if they can pull it off with authority.

Meanwhile I will continue practicing those hard runs and go out there to showcase those I am working with....and maybe guide the one young lady away from Brahms.

A Full Day

2009-01-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder why I do what I do, then I remember it is because I like what I do! That would be today. What a long day. Started off going to the gym for my average but brief workout. I figure it is better to go and do something than stay home and do nothing, so I go with that something in mind. Works eventually. Anyway, taught a piano lesson and then sewed with Avery for a couple of hours. Booked it up to Oak Harbor to teach some lessons and do some accompaniment work for the upcoming concerto competition. Came back to attend the WICO rehearsal (Whidbey Island Orchestra Organization) and now I am back at square one. I am tired but all in all it has been a good day. Avery learned the fine art of zippers, single flap and double flap. A necessary skill but not one that I find easy to instruct so I brought in Tarey to do the deed!

While up north I picked up stuff at Wal-mart and Albertsons. I figure that I might as well take advantage of the trip and do some shopping while out and about. I also discovered that you can not purchase a freezer in Oak Harbor, or the portion that I was shopping anyway. So it means I head off to the mainland tomorrow after my lesson and rehearsal to look at Sears. I figured Home Depot would have same, not a one! That came as a shock! But I am rather certain Sears will come through on this department. I will purchase same tomorrow (hopefully) and Larry will collect it on Monday. Will work for both our schedules I think. My chest freezer is not holding temperatures as good as it once did so it is time to get a new chest freezer for long term storage.

Time to decompress and head to bed. Tomorrow is another day, and it might even be a sunny day. That is an extra plus this time of the year. There was some nice sunshine today as I was locked in a practice room with students. Earning money can be such a drag but I am so grateful that I am able to do just that. There are many that have no income at all, I get to do what I want pretty much when I want. Not such a bad routine!

2009-01-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

They always say that a picture is worth ever so many words....and this pretty much says a bucket. We had some deep snow just before Christmas and my one and only went outside to make a snowman, or snow pile or something, in his pajamas. No gloves, no boots and plenty of cleavage! Some families are known for their cleavage on the front side, some for the cleavage on the back side.....mine would be the latter. I would have thought the snow crawling down the obvious cleavage would be ever so cold but he stayed out there for well over an hour. I took the picture form the bedroom window. Heck, I am smart enough to stay inside where it is warm and dry, don't need to be out there getting snow in places snow has no need to be!

When he finally finished his project it was the tall pile of snow. I thought it was an igloo but it was just a pile. He then walked around to the deck and put the flag on the top of the pile. But that wasn't good enough....if you are going to be "poor white trash" you need to take the final step. He went and got some clear plastic and covered the pile so that it would not melt. So I ended up with a flag sticking out of a pile of snow covered with plastic wrap. Oh I was proud! Well, at least I was entertained! I sure hope it is more genetic than environmental. I would hate to think I have populated the world with more Cleavage baring snow piling, flag sticking, plastic wrapping off-spring! Ain't life grand?!

Faith is...

2008-12-28T08:15:00.000-08:00

I think faith is an interesting subject, one I get to teach on today for Sunday School but also one that always hides in the back of my mind for manipulation and thinking. The scriptures have all sorts of amazing definitions for faith, what it is and what it isn't. But I always like to put things into my own words and into the sphere of which I work. A while back I came to define Faith as playing an octave with your pedals at the end of a Bach piece at double forte volume. That takes faith, you can't look at your feet and the volume is already up there. You just have to believe in all the practice, in all the times you have done it right, and put your feet down with conviction and confidence. That is faith in my world.

Brother Fredrikson once accused me of giving him confidence....misplaced confidence! He knew he had a voice but didn't know he had a singing voice, but when told he could sing enough times he started to believe it and then, through his belief, he brought about the desired end. He became a soloist as well as a choir member. Therefore I must conclude that faith has to do with confidence and sometimes, it would appear, misplaced confidence. Nothing really changed with his voice, only the confidence to use that voice. Faith does not waver, we do. Sometimes I have enough faith to just present my gift and feel relatively confident. Other times I present it on the confidence of someone else.

I have Faith in Heavenly Father but sometimes I don't have faith in me. When that happens I have to borrow the faith from someone else until I am strong enough to have it for myself. That is the concept I want to teach my wonderful little ten through 12 year old students today. Use your own faith, exercise your own faith, but when you just aren't strong enough to make it happen then look around and borrow from those that are so willing to offer it to you. Look to unit leaders, look to parents, to friends and peers that you respect. Look there until you can look inside and blow the little sparks of your own faith to full light.

One of the things I admire most about my children is their faith. All of them have a generous supply of it. They keep going when logic says it is time to quit. That is faith in action and that is what we all need to cultivate. Emily was willing to exercise her faith in her musical ability to pick up a viola and play violin music for Nancy's wedding without the preparation time necessary. It didn't happen for other reasons, but the faith in her own ability was still there and I have no doubt it would have been a positive experience for both the performer and the listener, albeit the music might have been sacrificed a little.

What a key component to life this faith is. It is what I intend to work more on as the new year comes upon us. Having faith in all things, including faith in me.

Winter sky

2008-12-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

This would be 525 heading towards Maxwelton Rd. And the best part of the drive! Maxwelton was pure white and ever so interesting. Sunlight Beach road was accessible only with 4 wheel drive so Joyce had to catch a friend to get home! We slid on in with no problems. I love the Island in snow when I am safe within my four walls! And this was even good snow!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

What an interesting Christmas morning this has been. So far I have cleaned the down stairs and gotten a good start on the upstairs portion of the house. Maybe I should explain a little. We went down to Utah for Nancy and Jace's wedding on the 20th. I won't try to explain all the ins and outs of that, but would encourage you to check their web site because, in time, I am sure they will have pictures and comments. Suffice it to say, it was very nice, full of snow and complications, but great all the same. Our flight home on the 21st was canceled due to snow in Washington, and complicated by snow in Utah. We did get out on the morning of the 22nd, one of a hand full of flights that actually were allowed to land at SeaTac! The Kincaid's decided to stay in Utah for the week so they defaulted their tickets and are planning on returning on the 26th, weather willing.

That said, no one is home so there is nothing to do but what needs doing. Such a sad state of events, having to just do what needs doing rather than pushing it aside to do things that are much more fun. Makes me laugh a little when I think of it, but work is a saving grace most of the time and today is no exception. I even vacuumed the laundry room, you know that is scrapping (humm, interesting thought) the bottom of the barrel for me!

And now I am fixing a Christmas dinner for Joyce and Jock, Larry and myself. We will have left over Turkey, a long story in and of itself! You see, Linda stored her turkey in my freezer. When I lifted out the hamburger I was taking south to Lawrence the turkey failed to fly back into the freezer. Needless to say, when I got home it was thawed in a very cold room. I rinsed it, smelled it, felt it and made a decision....I cooked it! And it is one of the best tasting turkeys I have had in ages! WSU ran studies on same, the closer things are to spoiling the better they taste. I must have gotten pretty close because it is really good. And of course I decided not to share the fact with Linda but was over-ridden on that one....she might as well laugh at me while I laugh at myself! And I will replace the turkey! And then I am making Herb Bread but can't get a hold of Emily to get the recipe so we are having Michelle's french bread with what I think needs to be added to make it herb bread.

I had feared this would be a difficult day but it has been perfectly acceptable. I got a cute picture from Luzvie in regards to their Christmas and have had a phone call from Nancy too. The rest will check in later I am sure. And, the bottom line, the house needed some attention.

Life gave me time I didn't really want, but life also gave me a vacuum cleaner and the two have balanced out until things are perfectly acceptable. All is well here on the Island with a beautiful white Christmas that is melting quickly as the rain is coming down and the temperatures are going up. So typical Island!

Between do and over-do

2008-11-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

It is the between time. The turkey is in the oven but too early to peel potatoes and that kind of thing. The table is set but too early to put the things on the table. The floors are clean but, well, but nothing, it is rare they are clean, not waxed but at least mopped! I always feel like I should be doing something but there is really nothing to do for an hour or so, might as well sit down and write for a minute.

I was remembering a couple of Thanksgivings that really stand out in my mind. When I was a teen we went down to Ran and Esther Ericson's house for Thanksgiving. It was the first time (and only time) we ever had Thanksgiving away from home, first time I didn't do any cooking for Thanksgiving. It was a good day but that is not why it stands out so much. We sat down to eat and the snow started to fall. It fell all the way through the meal and dessert. We actually left a little more early than we might have otherwise left because the roads were getting a little dicey. We got home safely but it made the holiday unforgettable for me. It snowed the rest of the day and was beautiful as only the Island can be beautiful in the snow.

Another very memorable Thanksgiving was at my new house in Auburn. Kenneth and I had just moved in at the end of October so everything was still new to me (the house was 20 years old when we moved in, but so new to me that it was amazingly exciting). I know my parents came and I can't remember others, but I remember the feeling of finally cooking the traditional Thanksgiving meal in my own kitchen with my own family. I was pregnant with Emily at the time and things were not going well. Kenneth was sick and going down hill rapidly but it still felt magical. Little did I know at the time it would be my only Thanksgiving under those circumstances.

And then I remember the first Thanksgiving Luzvie was with the family. She had never heard of such a thing but thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. I explained to her how the meal was rather traditional and why we ate certain foods for that meal. She loved it all but her little nose curled when I said we were doing pumpkin. She didn't like pumpkin. (we looked it up in the Tagalog/English dictionary because we needed to now we were talking about the same thing). I was shocked as everyone loves Pumpkin pie (Wrong, James doesn't like it!). When the meal was eaten and dessert presented Luzvie agreed to try to pie....and loved it. When she had pumpkin in the Philippines it had been as a vegetable and she didn't like it at all, and I understand that. I am not sure I would have liked it myself! From that day to this I can not make a Pumpkin pie without a little heart tug for Luzvie.

I remember Thanksgiving dinner when my grandmother was alone and could not come to the house, it was her last Thanksgiving. I took down a plate and ate with her in her trailer. It was beautifully touching to have that solo dinner with my Grandmother. I came home and ate with the family too, but it was nothing compared to that shared time with her. The same thing happened when my parents could no longer join us, I think it was Emily that took dinner down to them and enjoyed their company.

I remember Yukiko and the amazing changes she made in the traditional American dinner, and how much I loved those changes! She is magic with food and with Children. Heck, she even prepared macaroni and cheese right out of the box because it was Lawrence's favorite food and she wanted everyone to have something special!

And now I need to remember to get away form the computer and back to reality. A few more corners to clean and then food to fix. I am beyond words grateful that Linda, Curtis and boys are with us this year. Joyce and Jock are here too, but it is the children that make it special for me. All others are at family dinners but not my family dinner....it is good all the way around, but the best part is I have Linda home to share dinner with. God bless us all, everyone!

I love Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving. I love the food, I love the thoughts that go along with the whole thing, but some years I love it more than others. Some years it is easy to love the holiday and other years it is a wee bit more difficult. This would be one of the latter years. My mind wants to prepare this large and lavish meal for my family, but my family is all somewhere else except the Kincaid's and they will be my God-send. It had looked a lot like it would be Joyce and Jock for the Thanksgiving meal....good and all but not special without some extra serious mental work to make it special. Each day is special and each holiday is special if we choose to make it so. I just like the easy ones that are special because there are so many family and friends around that it couldn't help but be special. Those others take work, they are well worth it but they take work all the same. Linda and Curtis will make it feel like more than a normal dinner that we have around here...you can count on Linda for that kind of stuff!

I know Nancy will be going to Jace's family for Thanksgiving. Haven't heard the plans at the Campbell house but they have family in the area so I guess they have options. Same with the LJ Godsey group, her family is all in the area so they have options too. In my own little heart I hope they are all together, the LJ Godsey group and the Campbell's, but I suspect they aren't. Having them together would be wonderful but things don't always work that way. I know Lawrence and Michelle spend many important dates with her "familish" as she calls them. And I also know there are lots of Campbell siblings in the area that Emily and James enjoy. And I must always remember, Joyce and Jock count us as family so it is a family gathering of more than it appears here.

But I still miss the days where my grandparents would come, my parents would be here, Luzvie, Emily, Linda, Lawrence and Nancy were all around the table. Good times....please take time to remember good times like that and be thankful for them, just like I am. Memories don't just happen, they are built and I cherish the memories I built around my family as they were all mine.....mine in heart as well as physically. Eat turkey and be thankful.....

Make mine RED

2008-11-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

This would represent the beginning of the project. I decided that I wanted something different and had to limit the price greatly, so what do you do under those circumstances? You paint, and you paint something really different. I have always painted every space a shade of white. Some are tinted green, some orange but all basically white. I have this wood stove known in my heart as Belching Bertha, and she insists on putting soot all over everything on an all to regular basis. After dealing with this monstrosity for nigh onto 30 years I came to an understanding, more color means less visable soot. With that thought in mind I painted the living room gold a few years ago. I liked it. I painted the family bathroom Orange and I liked that too. Then came Nancy's joking that I should paint her room yellow (hay, I thought she was being serious!) so it is now bright yellow. Curtis said the beach bathroom would be nice in a rich copper....it is. Next step, a red kitchen with white cabinets and, while on a roll, a red dinning room.

Do I like it? Yes, I think I do. It is still in process and I will post a picture when it is completed so the jury is still out. But I think I will like it just fine. It is almost all painted now, one wall in the dinning room left and it has the first coat but I ran out of paint and it is the Sabbath so I will continue on Monday after a store run. It also helped to put in a new light fixture in the dinning room, one that actually pushes out some candlepower! It is so nice to be able to read in the dinning room and it brings out the rich red color without making it look Christmas like.

Next project, well besides finishing what is started, is the hallway. But I am thinking of waiting on that until after this weekend with Nancy being home and her bridal shower. She doesn't need to deal with the mess and my hands are saying they would like a day or two off painting. Painting puts such pressure on thumbs and mine are weak to start with. And now they are loudly complaining about the abuse! But the eyes are happy and the whole thing makes me feel good, so the hands will have to accept the problem with grace.

Now off to church. Primary program is today so it will be a strange and crazy day. I am glad these only happen once a year but I certainly see the validity of them happening. Ours will be acceptable but not a particularly exceptional presentation. I had expected more what with Karol being President, but she has been sick and others have taken charge and have not pulled it together particularly well. But it will be done and that is the big thing.

Halloween

2008-10-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

The final day of October means Halloween has arrived yet one more time. I have read that it is the second most popular date on the calendar, greater than birthday celebrations for many children. Although they say Easter is gaining in popularity and Christmas, of course, is still number one. Why....Candy of course! And Christmas has to be the presents as well as the food. But I was thinking of Halloween the way we did it growing up. It was certainly much different than today and yet, when you look at it, almost the same.
My parents did not subscribe to holidays for the most part and Halloween was one of the least observed. As little children we would wear self created costumes to Woodland Hall and the Maxwelton Community Club would hold a function for all the children in the community. We would have desserts and games, apple bobs and pin the something on the something are the only two I remember. Most of it was an excuse to just get together and talk I suspect. I do remember that I enjoyed the night out.
As we got old, maybe eight and up, we didn't do anything organized. Leland and I would cross dress usually and head to our Uncles house and Grandparents houses, but that was as far as we were ever allowed to go. The cousins were driven to a more densely populated community and came home with pillow cases full of candy. We usually had no candy but a cookie and/or popcorn ball. I thought having that much Candy would be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Then in about the 5th grade I was invited to a friends house for Halloween and they were going trick or treating. My first (and only) time so I was greatly excited. We dressed up in put together things, then covered them with rain gear as it always rains on Halloween! And off we walked. It was fun for awhile and then it stopped being fun when we got to an older woman's house, the group of us was maybe 10 or 12 girls, and she ran out of candy. I was at the back of the group and she said she would go find some money for us but begged us not to do anything bad to her. Looking at her terror of the situation really affected me, I just hung back from there on out and collected no more candy, and then went home feeling kind of low. In our rural community everyone went to the densely populated areas and harvested, they had to invest huge amounts of money on our behalf....and thus ruined Halloween as I thought about it.
Today it is all well again. The children go to the church and we take care of our own. They dress up and get candy while the adults get desserts and visiting. Hummmm...the circle has come around and it is a good place to be. I again love the day and look forward to maybe being a little more involved in costumes next time around. I got to make some costumes for Emily's kids a couple of years ago and it was grand fun. I would like to do that again in the future. But for now I will just enjoy the fact that it is a fun excuse to pretend and enjoy people and food.

A Day Away

2008-10-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

I found myself annoyed at the walls that I deal with day in and day out so I decided to take a trip. Mind you, I had neither time nor money for a trip so I made it a short trip! This is Lake Wenatchee State Park. I thought the leaves were beautiful and it reminded me of a picture my mother painted again and again. She painted a scene like this in the summer colors, the spring, touched with snow in the winter and, of course, he most favorite, in fall finery. I can't say as I left home thinking this was where I was going, but I kind of found myself here as I was following paths I used to take 30 plus years ago. Lots has changed in those 30 years, but many things have not changed. The leaves are just as beautiful, the roads nearly as empty, the woods more full of homes and the feeling almost the same. It was one of my favorite running away places all those years ago.

I enjoy my job as a teacher, as a mom and grandmother, but I really do get tired of the sameness of my life. Each day is pretty much like the day before and like the day that will follow. I guess that comes with doing most everything alone. I am content most of the time, but sometimes I just need to look at something more than home turf has to offer.

I remember going to New York City eons ago, alone, and thinking how much alone a person could be surrounded by litterly millions of people. I walked down Wall street, down 5Th Avenue and Broadway alone. There were crowds everywhere but it was still one of the most alone times of my life. I spent almost 10 days wandering the city alone. And the reality, that was not a problem. I have always enjoyed my own company and nothing much has changed. I find it easier to be alone sometimes than in the presence of people that fail to recognize you exist. That is the kind of alone feeling that is most difficult. Walking the Wenatchee River with Daisy dog didn't feel alone at all, but surrounded by people that fail to recognize I have a personality, needs and interests, well, that is the core of being alone...the negative alone. I have come to the conclusion that alone is more a mental thing than a physical thing. You can combat a physical alone feeling, but the mental, well, that is different. That said, I need to stay in contact with me and my adventures out into the world are those times to stay in contact with me....well, unless someone better comes along!

generations

2008-09-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Anyone that does not believe life is an on going process needs only to look at these two men working side by side, or kind of side by side. They go out to the orchard and load their wheel barrows with the clippings and then they head to the garden to deposit them to be composted back into the soil. James could not be more pleased with himself than when he is outside doing his "work" for the day. And I don't think I need to comment on how pleased his Grandfather is to have him tagging along. He complains frequently but I don't think he would trade these minutes for the world. Talk about power, watching your life and knowing it is going to continue long after you leave this earth. It tickled me.

Fall started today and I will have to admit I was not ready for that to happen. August was such a cold month that the heat of September was really welcomed. Particularly when it cooled down every evening so sleeping was always possible. But today we are back to the gray that is the trademark of Washington. It is good but....

I went out and picked another batch of blackberries this noon. The strange weather of the last two months has given us a good crop. The blackberries are fat and, for the most part, juicy. Some are pretty dry but you just pick around them. I think we take our abundance for granted sometimes. How many areas can walk down the road and harvest enough blackberries to make a crisp and do it within 15 minutes? That is pretty unique to the Island, pretty unique to our rural area and something I will always appreciate.

Chimney sweep

2008-09-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you there was no boy on the face of the earth that was more proud of himself than my boy yesterday. This picture was taken after he had attempted to clean up a little bit! Somehow boys and dirt just go hand in hand, no matter the age.

Tuesday Larry went over to the Hoch's place to help Glen with a stove pipe issue. I guess they had their share of challenges getting the thing to work right, and did a lot of cleaning in the process. Two big boys playing chimney sweep must have been nothing but cheap entertainment. I guess they even left some rather tell-tale evidence in the size of Glen's posterior on the furniture! That I am sure went over well with Debbie! But it now works and the wash machine did a job on the cloths while the big guy hit the shower and scrubbed the rest off. What did the women of yesterday do with such a mess? I guess they scrubbed extra long and extra hard....I am glad I get to do it the easy way!

Logan McKay

2008-09-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

The scales have tipped to the male side, but in a very pleasant way. On September 3rd, about 7:30 in the evening Linda and Curtis welcomed little Logan McKay into the family. Now I admit Little was never an adjective that I thought I would be using in conjunction with Linda's family, but it applies this time. He is a small child, 7 pounds and 11 ounces and almost 21 inches in length. For the Kincaid section of the family that is down right tiny! But he is well, he is healthy and Linda had a relatively easy delivery. There has never been an easy delivery, want to get that out right away, but the arrival of Logan was about as uncomplicated as you can get.

Babies all look like babies, a couple of differences as to size and color, but they all look like babies. That said, he seems to favor Curtis. That is good in that James really favors Linda in many, many ways. It only seems fair that Curtis has a child that looks like him too.

With the birth of Logan I have had the privilege of watching Master James for a couple of days. He loves being on Island, not because he really enjoys me but because he loves the freedom and the entertainment. He arrived at the house late but the first thing in the morning he wanted to see the puppy i.e. Kayla and he wanted to go out with Papa. They spent several hours outside just doing guy things. Good for all concerned. And, of course, they break every once in a while for trampoline time. That is the best to watch. James crawls up on the chair and onto the trampoline, Kayla bounds up and lays down on her back so that James can bounce her around. That is the most strange thing, dogs are not supposed to like being bounced on their backs but she appears to love it. If dogs could giggle I think she would! Emily had no idea what a nut this dog truly was, although she did know she was going to be a fun dog.

The rest of the story...

2008-08-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have taken the time to tell the world at large my lack of infatuation with the Rug Doctor, so I might as well finish off the thought. The rugs downstairs look a lot better, however the above mentioned device leaves them too wet and in Washington that means they rot rather than dry. Yah, they greeted me the next day at the front door with an unfriendly smell that said I should have left well enough alone. I decided the best defence was to pretend I didn't smell what I knew I smelled and that time would just fix it. I am sure it would have too, in weeks or months. I gave in a built a fire down stairs, brought in fans and air fresheners and tried to make my house smell appropriate. Took 4 days but the down stairs carpets are now down stairs again. I won't do that again soon!

And then there were the hard wood floors. They need attention way too frequently but, while on the topic of floors, I decided to work on them too. It would save me a bucket of time if they were sanded and an appropriate sealer put on them, but that takes money and contracts and all sorts of things I am short on. So I use work instead. I started in the living room, swept three times in an attempt to get all the little dust bunnies. Then I moped three times trying to insure the dust bunnies were extinct. And finally I applied 3 coats of wax, being careful not to read the instructions too carefully, particularly the part about not applying to unfinished floors. They are right, of course, but this is my little fake-finish routine. For a couple of weeks it really looks like the floors are finished. Then for a couple of weeks it looks like I just need to mop and/or bag the floors and then, well, and then it looks like I need to get going and do it all again. I purchase a month, give or take, with each day of hard work. Did the living room on one day and then the dinning room on another. Tomorrow it will be the hall way and then I will sit back and enjoy the faux-finish. I tell you, when I have a better clue as to the next step in my life I will either refinish the floors or I will just walk away.

And yes, there is a life beyond floors. Now we need to discuss bathrooms....NOT.

The rocking shuttlecock

2008-08-21T13:19:00.001-07:00

I would like to pay tribute to the marvel of a rocking shuttlecock on a pressure cooker. What a nice invention. I can pay attention to the canning process while writing a blog on the computer in the opposite end of the house. Such a deal. It just makes it rattle and I listen to the speed, knowing if it is hot enough or too cool. It doesn't get much easier than that! Right now I am canning string beans and they take 20 minutes. But last night I did some chicken that takes 75 minutes, way too long to just sit and wait so I worked over the beans while cooking the chicken. With the old dial canner I would have had to stay in the kitchen and actually pay attention rather than sitting downstairs watching the Olympics while preparing the beans to can. Still is work but such a more pleasant way to do the work.

Self Cleaning Floors

2008-08-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

I think someone should invest some thought into making self cleaning floors. I have a self cleaning oven. You turn it on, lock the door mechanism and walk away. In a few hours you come back and mop up some white dust and the oven is clean. Yes, I know there are robotic round things that will move around your room and vacuum, but I mean clean and not just collect dust etc. Why this thought? I rented the rug Doctor to clean my carpets today. I want one and all to know it is misnamed, it is not a Doctor because it knows only what I know and I don't know all that much about cleaning rugs.

That said, I cleaned the rug in our bed room first. Daisy is a very dependable dog but she has been left home a lot this summer and it would appear she has decided to punish me for doing same. There have been a few occasions where she has marked my side of the room with her indignation at being left home. Poor baby....but such is life. Anyway, I moved the bed and used the misnamed Rug Doctor to clean it well. Then moved down stairs and gave it a good cleaning. Mind you, it is not clean. One would assume a clean carpet would not give off extremely dirty water, and as many times as I went over the same place I always had very dirty water. I guess it means I need to do this much more frequently....Oh well, such is life. Chances are it will still not be done frequently. And if I do decide to do it more I need to invest in purchasing a machine rather than renting the thing.

That said, I need to get to canning string beans. Oh the joys of this post fair week! But it is all good and I really don't mind all that much.

The County Fair

2008-08-16T20:27:00.001-07:00

It is amazing how simple the County Fair is when you don't have children doing everything. Those days of baskets lined up in the kitchen, each loaded with ingredients for whatever is happening that day are gone and, truth be told, I don't miss them. I do miss the involvement however, but have come to the conclusion I can have that on my own terms.

This year I worked with open class food preservation. Another person was in charge and at the last minute didn't come through so I got to do it. It was actually kind of fun, but there have got to be lots of changes for next year. Like people have to follow the directions and those directions need to be spelled out a whole lot more clear. The judge was going to D.Q. half the entries because they didn't have proper paper work, I talked her into white ribbons however. If she had actually D.Q.ed all those we would have had empty shelves. As was they were plenty sparse, but I spread everything out so it looked roomy rather than empty.

And the 4-H portion. No one had all that many entries, just a particularly busy season for everyone. Avery had success with several of her things, bombed on photography but that is not uncommon, but her sewing was well received and she had some cookies that did OK. Samantha had straight blues on her things (4-H had almost straight blues which tells me there was not much judging going on) but my little Kristin came through with the winners. She took sewing Junior Grand champion and reserve grand champion. She also took grand champion in food preservation....and she only entered 5 things to get those 3 purple ribbons! She didn't have much but it was class work, I agree on that one.

Already leaves me thinking that we will do more next year. I can't possibly be more busy than this year! I don't think it is humanly possible to be more busy!

So tomorrow we break things down and then I have my house guests go home and I can start cleaning things and getting organized to start work the first week of September. I have started scheduling things and we will see what comes of this years schedule. Should be easier as there is no seminary.

Blue berries

2008-08-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

One would think blue berries would be getting near the end of their season but they don't seem to be doing that. This has been a good year for those little blue critters. I have made at least two dozen quarts of pie filling plus frozen a bunch just as whole berries for future pan cakes and muffins. The family keeps telling me more is better but I am thinking I have gone a wee bit overboard this year. I have so many processed for storage and no one is eating them. Mind you, if I made more pies we would eat more pies. But Larry rarely eats them, the crazy man seems to prefer corn flakes to almost everything, so, being the good little girl that I am, I finish them off and.... and the results of that habit of finishing things off has greatly increased my circumference over the years. So I just process the berries and I don't eat them.
When Linda is no longer pregnant she swears she will use some for her gatherings. And Emily says she practices great conservation on her quarts of pie filling also. I have encouraged her to use a little less conservation until I get the count down a little. Even Nancy has kind of caught the vision as to the easy pie process. Purchase the crust, open the jar, dump and cook...how much easier could that be! Lawrence makes his own crusts but he too has been slow to use the abundance of berries.
Meanwhile, I have picked over a gallon of berries today. It has taken me all day as I pick awhile and then do something else for a time and go back later. I think this is the end of the back-log created with my trip South. I am back on top so it will not take so many hours each day. Ah the joys of abundance!
I do have ulterior motives for doing this however. I can see food storage as a more and more important part of our lives as the economy becomes more and more challenging. We have plenty of healthy food storage, but who wants to live a totally healthy life. I need sugar and processing these berries guarantees me a supply of sweet things for at least a year. One can live on wheat and beans, but it will be much more worth living with sweets!

You are living my life...

2008-07-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

I got an interesting letter from my friend Sue. We date back forever, well, nearly. We became friends when we were 18 and that is forever in my book. Anyway, she and husband Gordy live what she joingly calls the "Orange County Life Style". The beautiful home and all the trappings surround this extremely down to earth family. Looking in you see one thing and talking you hear something different. Gordy is a very successfull CEO and travels the world all the time. Sue has been a secretary by choice and recently stopped working so she could travel more with Gordy. They spend about a week every month it would appear out of the country. Most recently they returned from the huge Air Show in England (Gordy's work was at the airshow) where Sue had a week to tour the UK. She saw all the places one would want to see and even was granted the priviledge of seeing Queen Elizabeth, rather unexpected but nice all the same.

Growing up I was sure I would marry a professional and call the world my home, she thought she would stay planted and manage a family. We have switched identities it would seem. We are both satisfied with our lives, but there is this piece of me that still desperately wants to travel and to expand my reference. I don't do much, just parent in all the vastness of that word. All important and it is my choice, but there is still the world out there and I have seen none of it. I try to keep an eternal perspective and that helps, because I will be able to see and do so much when I leave this world for the better one to come....but I still wish I were not so tied sometimes. I would love to take each of the grandchildren on a tour of somewhere and do something. That, however, will not be happening so I will just leave them lots of writings and that will have to suffice. My mind and I can still travel at will and will continue to do so as long as it is functional...and that better be a dang long time because I have lots to imagine doing!

The 21st century

2008-07-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I have officially arrived at the 21st century. What allows me to draw that conclusion? A simple fact, I have no car for the rest of the week. Gas prices are crazy and only seem to be getting more crazy and life has thrown me a curve. My car has gone South while I have LJ's car here to fix, and the fix is not happening in a timely manner...hence no car. Larry is taking the Saturn to scout camp and that leave me with the RV, or nothing. I have decided to take a short camping trip on one night just to get away from the house. Local but still out of the house, I love those short trips almost as much as I love the real ones.

Gas locally seems to run about 25 cents a gallon higher than everywhere else. One of the joys of living here I guess. I keep thinking it will round a corner but it doesn't. It has affected my lifestyle and will continue to do so more and more as time moves on.

But as I am forced to stay closer to home I also have the benifit of a good berry crop. The raspberries are in full swing and just now turning the corner to lesser production. The blueberries are slow this year, but they are constant and I think there will be plenty. The Marion berries are now showing some ripe but are still a week out to the real deal. And the black caps are producing slowly and steadily, I freeze them as I wait for enough to deseed....those little rocks in your mouth are very unpleasant so I remove same and make a seedless jam with them. Nothing much else happening in the garden until beans and corn, and those will be in September I think. Late year for almost everything.

That said I will go start my day. Larry has the car so I can't go to the gym again. Makes me sad, I was doing so well and now I am not doing as well. Such is life. I am determined to meet my goal however, so I will just keep picking away at it until I get my life under control and then I can work hard again.

Patience

2008-07-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am getting a crash course on patience this week. Lawrence's car has decided to take the long road to nowhere so he has my car while I try to get his car back on the road. Meaning a new engene installed, something I know next to nothing about but have a lot of people willing to help, some a plus and many a minus. Anyway, Larry and I are sharing a car and that has never worked well. I got to church barely in time to play prelude and then sat in the car for half an hour after church. I arrive early and leave early, he arrives late and leaves late....not a good combination. But I used my time wisely and read scriptures so it was not for nothing, and tried to manage my attitude. That too was necessary.

Tomorrow I will get started on the tasks at hand, finding a engene for the 2002 honda and cleaning all the messes the past three weeks have hatched in my home. In my house, the beach house and the RV. The major three all could stand some serious cleaning. I am going to take them one at a time. Tomorrow I address the car and then the house, Tuesday I address the RV and go camping at South Whidbey State Park so that I can dump all tanks, Wednesday I address the cabin because Linda and Curtis will be installed there and she will help me as much as she can. But, you know, it was all worth it. I had a wonderful week with my entire family here. I really don't mind paying the bill now....it was worth it.

someday

2008-06-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

Someday I will figure out this thing works and then I will be a much more interesting participant. I don't think anyone can respond to my writing because I don't know how to invite them. Oh well, can't say as it really matters all that much. I don't have much to say anyway and when I do I write a letter to those I care about.

Someday the bathroom remodel at the beach will be done. It is like walking uphill every step of the way. The men in my life are all willing to help, but not willing to get things done in a reasonable frame of time. They do something and then sit around and do nothing for weeks. Then I complain and they do one more part of the project. It makes me feel bad to have to ask for each step to be completed. Kind of takes the pleasure out of the whole thing. I guess I made the assumption that their saying they would do it meant from first step to last without me having the beg for each and every step along the way. I Hate begging! I hate feeling like I am nagging when things don't happen! What was supposed to be a fun family project has turned into another chore to get behind me. I hate chores that need to get behind me! Maybe when it is done I will go back to finding some enthusiasm for the completed project rather than resentment for all the begging that I have had to do. You would think this was all for me.... Folks, it isn't! I have not spent one night at the beach since 1977, or rather in the cabin. I did drag the Connie P down for an overnight last year. Argh!!!

Second Hand new

2008-05-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the second hand store with three new shirts and a new jacket. I had purchased a red jacket some time back and wore it a lot, liked it a lot but I have managed to loose enough weight that it no longer did good things for mem both physically and emotionally. So I found a new one. It is not as nice as the one I sent out, but it is home with me now. And it is a full two sizes less than the one it replaces so that makes me feel good. I then found 3 shirts, one was a blue cotton that someone had chopped the long sleeves short on. I know they were chopped because they did a lousy job of it. I thought about fixing same but I like the length so we will just pretend it is peachy! Then there was another blue one that has long sleeves and, when I finish this, the sleeves are coming off that one also. It is the season for short sleeves and I will insist. The other is a silk number that I am hoping will be cool enough for the trip to Utah to help Nancy. It is dark of color but light weight so I am thinking it will be fine. Three new things, that is a major haul, plus a replacement of something I had enjoyed. All in all a good day for digging at the second hand store!

Hurry up and wait

2008-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Boy is my life a constant game of hurry up and wait. I rush around and get off to seminary, go to the gym and try to do something constructive....not an easy thing for me but I try, then home to do house work etc. But there is this constant interuption called lessons. Some come on time, so don't come at all and some take hours longer than scheduled. It feels like everytime I get serious about doing something I have an interuption. Mind you, it is how I make a living but one would think I could get control over some of this confusion.
I have the best group of kids this season so I really can't complain about that. One advanced student and 6 intermediate plus 5 advanced beginners and my instrumental kids. They range from rediculously advanced to just fun to work with, but all fall into that advanced classification. Sometimes I think it is them that keeps me sane! And, of course, there are the beginners, some of which you have to pull along through strength of will and determination, those are the ones I would rather not teach. I gave notice to two just last week, either get the line out and fish or cut off the hook and get off the boat, so to speak. Enough already. They come under prepared with a set of excuses that I am not interested in. Either do it or don't, the choice is yours, but I am not the judge or the jury to make those decisions for you. We all have busy lives and that is just the way it is. The parents do not work with the kids and somehow they expect me to make them something in the 30-45 minutes I work with them every week. Won't happen. You invest nothing and you get just that in return. Being a musician is a huge investment of time, energy and, to a degree, money. Which reminds me, I have gone up for next year. I need to earn more and I either quit or charge a little more.
And I am also seriously thinking about spending one day a week working out of Avi's studio in Oak Harbor. It offers many benifits that I would enjoy, high on the list is not being responsible for collection of tuition money. Lessons here, gota go...

rose bushes

2008-02-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

I pruned the rose bushes this afternoon. I like doing it early because I don't have to cut off so much that is green and growing. Mind you, I cut off the potential but that is easier than the real leaves. Roses are something I would like to grow well, but I don't. So be it, I refuse to spend all the hours necessary to do a good job. I like what I have and they bloom to a degree. Roses bloom better when pruned rather harshley. Kind of like people. I think some of the most beautiful people are those that have been pruned the most. I know I am always improved by a spell of hard things. Interesting how we grow kind of like Roses, so with that in mind, why don't I embrace my hardships? Because they are hard, dang it! And hard is just not fun to deal with. There has been a lot of personal pruning in my world and it seems to be going on and on. I know it will make me a better and stronger person, but I get tired of the cuts even if they are for my own good.

I was supposed to fly to Salt Lake to see Lawrence, Michelle and Nancy this weekend but things just didn't work out. There is a funneral in the ward and everyone was having issues that I would not be there to pull things together. It is nice to be needed but I would like some freedom eventually. I was really looking forward to being off Island and in the real world, but instead I am home pruning the roses and making dinner. Linda and Curtis are coming over so that is a good thing. I love feeding Curtis, he loves to eat and I love to have some appreciate what I cook. Larry seems to prefer corn flakes to my food and that is hard sometimes. But Curtis, he loves food as much as I do. Mind you, both of us are a wee bit fat but he is a good fat when it comes to pleasing his mother-in-law!

Today is also the last day for work at the county for Larry. Retirement starts Monday. May I say that I am terrified of this. He doesn't seem to like me and my world very much and having him around and underfoot all the time just sounds awful. Mind you, I probably will never see him but the hours will be crazy and I have grown accustomed to having time where I dont have to be careful of his needs and wants. It will be a hard adjustment for me....I think he will handle it better.

Friday ends another week

2008-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

And so ends another week. It has been a good week but Friday always leaves me feeling a little disappointed. I enjoy what I do during the week. I enjoy working with the young people that I invest so much of my time with. But Friday always feels like there should be something special about the day. And, truth be told, there rarely is something special about it. It is usually just another night of being alone. Sometimes I spend the night with the computer, sometimes I read and/or watch television but that about is it. I remember the days when I would go out to a concert, to be with friends and just to relax and celebrate the end of a week and the beginning of a weekend. That is eons ago now, but I still remember and I still wish I could have some of the things I left behind. Being married to Larry is a lonely thing and Friday's make me feel the emptiness more than any other day I think. It is enough to make a person not like weekends!

I remmber as a young person not liking summer vacation. You would get out of school and then go home and work. I never saw any of my friends from the day school got out until the 4th of July, and then not again until the fair and the beginning of another school year. I used to dislike that so much. Always left me wishing school would go on year round so that I could see friends and have interactions.

One would think that kind of beginning would leave me in good stead to fend off the loneliness and it does most of the time. It is just the times when I can not muster the strength to look at another hour alone.

That is pretty much why I gained weight. I found a companion in food. I could eat and it made the pain a little less obvious. But now I am trying so hard to loose the weight and these long lonely evenings make it even more difficult. I do OK most of the time but not well enough to have the weight come off quickly. A pound a week seems to be my lot. But I feel better now than I did 40 pounds ago. I can move much easier and that is a good thing. Doesn't help the lonely times but at least I feel better.

Enough....I will go read until I am tired and then go to bed.

2008-01-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

2008-01-28T13:19:00.001-08:00

Oh to be able to see life through the eyes of a child! If we could all just take the time to remember that joy what a better world it would be.

2008-01-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

Life is such a simple affair when you are little. All you have to do is just be yourself and the world thinks you are the most marvelous of all God's creations. Today has been a snow day. School was delayed and life has taken on that magical aspect that comes with white on everything. So I took off on a short walk with Daisy Dog and little James. I don't know who was more excited, the dog or the grandson, but they both loved the walk. They bounced and they ran, intentionally falling into the snow and getting up. The wide-eyed wonder of a child and the innocence of an animal made me think how lucky we are that we can see through their eyes just every once in awhile. I don't think I take near enough time to just enjoy things. Always rushing off to the next thing to accomplish and forgetting to just enjoy what is without manipulation. Good day for snow and for boys and dogs.