October

Well, like so many others, I have BO (blogging overwhelm) due to the length of time it has been since I last made an entry.  So, I will just dive in

I last wrote about Hawaii.  Since then, the entire month of October has happened! 

The first week, we had Rod and Karen Smith over for dinner on Friday– they are such great people.  And, we had a fabulous Saturday and Sunday of General Conference.  How can you top such a weekend?

The second weekend, eight of my Rock Bridge students played in a double quartet for wedding of the principal of our school, Jen Mast.  

 

 It was outdoors at her parent’s farm east of town and the weather was picture perfect.  

 

 And, I was completely surprised when Jenna McAllister and her parents walked up to me as the kids were tuning up!  Jenna (can’t remember her married name) played on the RBHS basketball team with Jen in high school.  She flew all the way from Italy to be at this wedding!

Before the wedding, Steven joined dad and me on a shopping trip to the Amish. 

 Oh, it is such a fun store to explore.  They have a gluten-free section and  their bulk candy and spice prices cannot be matched anywhere.  They do not have electricity so the store is a bit under-lit.  And, the family who owns and runs the store live above on the second floor and it is always fun to hear the tromping of little feet running all around.  I love going there.   

this is how the store building looks

Amish vehicle

 Another highlight of that Saturday was a celiac carry-in at noon.  The attendees were few in number and the food was ho hum – either because some of the dishes were not only gluten but also egg and corn and dairy and pretty much everything else-free which equals taste-free OR the cooks were not very good.  But, it was good to hob nob with my fellow celiacs for a bit.

The third week was a doozy because I had two BIG EVENTS to carry-out.  Rock Bridge Orchestra’s first concert of the year was on Thursday, the 17^th.  Of course, we have been preparing since the beginning of school but concert day is always crazy.  First, we rehearse in the Performing Arts Center which means setting up 54 chairs and stands, stuffing programs, addressing any last minute glitch in the music.  Then, I have to go home, get in my concert black, eat something, and dash back to the school in time to help the boosters (Friends of Rock Bridge Orchestra) get refreshments set up and tune instruments.  And, then the concert –which I programmed too much so it lasted over an hour and a half (we DID have an intermission in the middle). By the time I was conducting the last page of the last piece, I was SO READY to be done. 

 The second big event overlapped the concert – Julina, Alex, and Imogene arrived Thursday afternoon from Indiana for their open house the next evening.  So, early in the week I went shopping for decorations and refreshments.  We kept it simple, thankfully, so shopping wasn’t too ridiculous.  Emily and Joe and family arrived Friday morning.  We set up the cultural hall after my class at Lange (yay for not being an A-day and going to Rock Bridge).  I was a little disappointed with the attendance that night but, hey, we have a year’s supply of ice cream in our freezer now.   

Noah and Lucy helping with the set-up

No receiving line!  Juli and Alex just visiting on couches with the guests.  As you can see, it was very casual.

 Because it was a simple décor, take down was fast and we were all in bed by 10:30 so we could all leave in a timely manner on Saturday – Emily and gang at 7:30 to be at the First Congregational Pre-School Fall Festival by their start of 10:00, Julina and gang at 8:00 to get back to Greenwood, and Steve and me at 8:15 to meet the Southerlands at the Fall Festival (well, we picked up Lucy but left Joe with a napping Quinn and met Emily and Noah at the event).  

 

 

Lucy was courageous enough to take a donkey cart ride

  

We only stayed until noon because there was a stake presidency/high council temple session at 1:00 that we attended.  But, we returned to the Southerland home afterward for hanging out and a chili and cornbread dinner before driving back to Columbia.  Because, Sunday, Steve had to speak in Moberly Ward and I had to speak in the Macon Branch.  Wow, I am tired just re-reading this paragraph!

Last week had a few out-of-the-ordinary events (who wants to read about Lange, Rock Bridge, private students, CCO, and church all the time???) First, on Tuesday, I was interviewed about the RTO (Really Terrible Orchestra) by Paul Pepper in his new radio show called “Radio Friends” (his television show, Pepper and Friends, was cancelled a few years back) that airs every morning on KBIA.  The show will air on Wednesday, October 30^th.  And, I think anyone can access either a podcast or a vodcast of the show through KBIA’s website.  Check it out.  On Wednesday, dad and I actually went to a movie!  On Beckie’s recommendation, we went to see “Gravity” in 3D.  Wow, it was an incredible movie.  Well worth the effort to see on the big screen and worth the 3D price.  Thursday, I had a doctor appointment and a haircut.  And, Sadie broke my cello bridge that evening during a lesson.  She was lunging for Littlecat and knocked over the cello and SNAP!  Thankfully, Tom Verdot, our local luthier, answered my frantic phone message the next morning and I dropped the cello off twenty minutes later. By the time I finished teaching at Rock Bridge, it was done.  Whew – especially since I had a wedding the next day!  Dad and I made another quick trip to St. Louis to attend the Southerland’s ward Trunk or Treat Friday night, stay overnight with them and go to the temple Saturday morning.  

 

We had to return from St. Louis by noon so we could attend an RTO rehearsal and then I had the wedding out at the winery by the river.  What a view, huh?

   We came home at noon to a very sick Alfred.  Although, we didn’t know how sick he was at the time – he was just barfing.  But, as the afternoon progressed, he got sicker and sicker so that when I returned from the wedding, both dad and I felt his condition was emergency status and we called the vet.  She agreed – he had a blocked urethra and x-rays showed a bladder four-times the normal size with kidneys also enlarged.  We left him with her and immediate surgery. He had to have oxygen during the surgery because his lungs were also bad (he was mouth breathing – a bad sign) and the vet really didn’t think he would make it through the night.  He did, however but he is still not out of the woods.  There may be extensive kidney damage and possible muscle damage to his urethra to the extent that he cannot urinate on his own.  So, the next couple of days will tell.  Until then, he is staying at the vet.  

OK, that was long.  Most of you who read this also follow me on Facebook so you saw the video I took of the mass leaf drop from our big tree out back.  Well, it is now completely bare – in 24 hours!  

Check out my bonsai maple all decked out in red....