No more painting and birthdays

I have finished painting!!!! DONE DONE DONE and I hope I don't have to paint for the rest of my life.  Ironically, I asked for and got a really nice step ladder for my birthday.  I sure could have used it these last six months but I didn't even think I needed one like what I got until I used one at a friend's house recently and realized what I could have been working with.  Look at the difference between what I used all during the painting project and what I COULD have had!  It is a miracle I didn't fall off!

Oh well.  It will come in handy for lots of other projects.

We celebrated my birthday Sunday night with a feast from Lonny Rays BBQ and gluten-free chocolate cake AND pumpkin cheesecake.  My mouth was so happy. Here is some of my birthday loot.....

Beckie is here from Hawaii.  She arrived last Wednesday and leaves this Wednesday.  All too short a visit but we are making the most of the time we have with her.  Steve and I went to St. Louis on Saturday to celebrate Noah’s 6^th birthday and here are some photos of the evening.  Emily and Joe took Noah and his friend, Wyatt, to the City Museum while grandparents babysat the sleeping little ones.  We watched the original “Angels in the Outfield” and “The Bee Movie”.  Both very entertaining.

Beckie and Quinn above

Noah with all his birthday gifts below

Emily did the cake.  Isn't it cute???

Steve and Lucy after church

A nice November week, even with a cold

Have you ever driven down the road in the middle of a leaf flurry?  Steve and I did this morning.  It was pretty fun.

This week started off bright and early Monday morning in a seminary class room.  I am now a substitute seminary teacher – I know, I know, I was needing more to do in my life, right?  It was a pretty easy gig –a class of six students and only four were present that day.  And, all four were pretty subdued – fairly typical, I suspect.  So, it went well but it DID throw a kink in my usual morning routine.  So did Friday’s Rock Bridge orchestra’s quartet gig at a big state-wide teacher meeting.  We all had to be at RBHS by 7:00 a.m. so the kids could play background music for 45 minutes.

Some home-improvement activities lately.  Steve and I cleaned the garage last Saturday and have been dropping unused/unwanted items off all this week at the curbside for trash pick-up, or to Hazerdous Waste disposal, or Habitat for Humanity, or Second Chance, or Goodwill.  We WILL park both cars in the garage by Thanksgiving, by gum.  AND, I resumed painting – I STILL had to paint the downstairs hallway and the three remaining doors (studio, bathroom, pantry)that were not done when the sports room and Noah’s Ark room were painted in June.  Got that project done Thursday/Friday.  Now, all I truly have left are the bedroom-sides of the quilt room and family history room doors upstairs.  I plan to do those this week.  Again, Thanksgiving is my self-imposed deadline for completion. 

Speaking of house.  Remember that our house has a shifting problem?  And that we decided to NOT pursue a 30K+ foundation repair?  I am SOOOO glad we made that decision because in the last six months our front door stuck and now it doesn’t and our back door couldn’t be locked and now it can.  Go figure.

Steve and I attended Rock Bridge’s fall musical, Seussical, on Friday night.  We went partly because I got two comp tickets and partly because I wanted to support my orchestra students in the pit and on stage and partly because Bryce Lafond had a lead role as Horton.  And, I expected a typical high school-quality performance:  out-of-tune pit (especially trumpets), average singers, cutting-out microphones, and awkward acting/dancing.  Well, was I completely surprised!  It was an amazing production from stellar pit (well, they DID get a ringer to play 1^st trumpet – a band teacher at OJHS) to fabulous singing/acting by all the leads (female  AND male) and the entire cast.  Bryce has a wonderful voice.  The girl who was the Cat in the Hat was Broadway-level good.  AND, all the microphones worked ALL THE TIME!   In spite of a rather random plot, we were entertained and impressed.  

Finally, we went to the temple yesterday and then joined Emily and Joe and kids in Historic St. Charles for an hour or so of just wandering.  Here are a couple of photos….

 

Two very intense weeks

I am going to get music stuff out of the way right now – As you know, my poor cello – Gertrude – had to have a new bridge fitting.  Then, less than a week later, as I was tightening the end-pin screw at the beginning of a Civic Orchestra rehearsal, the threads completely stripped and I could not keep it tight. Back to Tom Verdot’s it went.  Works like a dream now. 

Civic Orchestra had their first concert of the season last night.  It went very well – we played Schumann’s Fourth Symphony and then a new work that was described by our principal horn player as morse code for orchestra and she pretty much pegged it.  Our final work was the Bartok piano concerto which was 30 minutes of insanity for the pianist and the winds and brass.  I will never purposely listen to that work ever again in my life but last night, I was in awe of the brains and skills involved in playing and conducting that piece.  Ridiculously difficult.  

Back mid-October, I had my fall orchestra concert at Rock Bridge and six students didn’t/couldn't attend for various reasons.  So, their make-up assignment was to perform at Candlelight Lodge this afternoon.  I selected a few simple duets and we entertained the residents for about thirty minutes. 

 

 I had my fall studio recital yesterday afternoon here at the house.  The size of my studio has dwindled this past year and some my students are currently working on their orchestra music rather than solo works so I had only four perform at the recital – short and sweet. 

Finally, last Monday was the all-city instrument extravaganza where all the 5^th graders are bussed to Jesse Auditorium to listen to  the band and orchestra instruments prior to attending the Try-Me-Out nights so they can choose which instrument they want to learn next year in 6^th grade.  Two of the members of Prairie Strings are string teachers so we asked the two who are not to join us and we played Harry Potter excerpts to a VERY appreciative group of 10 year olds.  Let’s hope it boosts the orchestra numbers next year!  Two of my evenings last week were then spent helping an endless line of ten-year olds try out the string bass.  SO EXHAUSTING!  Holding the bass with either my raised right or left hand at all times to make sure it doesn’t fall, asking every parent “do you have a vehicle that can transport a bass?”  “Are you prepared to pay $70 per month to rent a bass?”  Ugh.

 OK, music stuff is now done….

The truck had to get a new starter.  Sarah borrowed it Tuesday to move her old twin bed out  and it died in the driveway at the Lamb’s.  Dad and I went out that dark and rainy night hoping all it needed was a jump start but, alas, it needed a tow truck and $455.00 of repairs. 

Emily and I went to Wisconsin last weekend.  She has two friends in the Milwaukee area – one who just had a baby – and I have a cousin, Charlotte,  whom I had never met, in Portage.  So, we packed up her little Honda  and Quinn and headed on up.  It was a beautiful weekend to travel – the peak of autumn colors for most trees – and we had a great time.   We stayed with Charlotte and her husband, Fred, Friday night and had a great Saturday morning visiting.  

Fred and Charlotte Reckling, me

Quinn on our trip (notice his Linus shirt)

 We got a hotel room for Saturday and visited Samantha that night, went to the Brookfield Ward Sunday morning and then visited Stephanie after that.  We got to St. Louis around 9:00 and I was so tired of driving that I just stayed in St. Louis and got up at 5 a.m. on Monday to get to Columbia in time to pick up my cello from repair and head over to the Instrumental Extravaganza.

 

Finally, the most important news is our dear Alfred.  He really fought a good fight and the veterinarians at Noah’s Ark Animal Hospital were so great – they all loved him and wanted him to get better just as much as we did.  We gave him many chances to heal and he just kept pulling out his catheter.  Who knows if he had kept it in long enough for his urethra to stay opened but on Friday morning, even the vets said that it was time.  Steve and I were able to be with him as he passed.  And we buried him in our back yard yesterday morning.  We still have Littlecat – I am changing her name to LC or Elsie – and I will still try to find a home for her, if I can. 

 

Even though he was not feeling well, he still looked so handsome. I loved that very fine cat!