The beginning of Christmas music season

The MMCO (Mid-Missouri Community Orchestra) had their Christmas concert at Parkside Manor on Friday night.  Here we all are.  What a great group of people!  We had caroling sheets and we invited the residents to sing along with us.  I hope they had a good time.

 Here I am with Steve and our trombone player, David.

 

  After our performance, we all went to the orchestra librarian's home afterwards for a little party.

I really don't have much to write about the rest of the week.  It was the first of the month but on steroids because we had Christmas decorations to put up on top of everything else.  Elise took me and Steve to see Fantastic Beasts on Monday for our birthdays and we three went tree shopping afterwards.  The rest of the week was spent gradually setting Christmas things out.  I finally finished this morning!

Thanksgiving week was great!

 I saw a physical therapist on Tuesday.  Got some exercises to do at home.  And, I am now walking without crutches or a cane.  Yay!

Turkey day was delicious and it was a day with just family – no random guests.  Unusual.  Emily and Joe and kids came and stayed overnight.  

 

 

 Elise and Sarah both had to work in the morning so we had a 5:30 pm dinner.  Steven came over but Tamara was at her parent’s home where all but one of her siblings had come for the holiday.  A very special Thanksgiving for the Wiles family.  

 Friday, I turned 61.  After a relaxing birthday breakfast, Steve, Emily, Noah, Lucy, Quinn, and I drove down to the Channel 8 studio to visit Steven and to take a little tour. 

 

 

 Channel 8's anchors are ready to read the news!

 Steven and his work space at the station....

 

 I enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner of ham, potatoes supreme, asparagus, ambrosia fruit salad, and pumpkin cheesecake.  I got lots of nice gifts.  I guess if you have to be 61, you might as well have a nice day to celebrate. 

And now it is Christmas time.  I made a bunch of little bowls and mugs and put paper-white narcissus bulbs in them- forcing an early bloom for the holidays.  The idea was to have them bloom by mid-December but they are starting to bloom NOW so I have been delivering early Christmas gifts to neighbors and friends the last couple of days.

Change is in the air...

Here is a photo of the recently released (as of Sunday) Columbia Missouri Stake presidency. 


Here is Steve with President Bateman, the St. Louis Mission president. 

 This is not the first time these men have met.  Back when Steve was about 17 and Michael Bateman was about 10, they met in a hospital room.  Michael had been hit by a car and was pretty banged up.  Steve, who was friends with Michael's aunt Vicki, felt sorry for him and brought all his baseball cards as a gift to the young invalid.  Here they are, reunited again after all these years.  And, who knows where the baseball cards are? 

  Finally, here are the crutches I have been using since Tuesday, the 15th. 
 
 For over two years, I have had a "trick knee" in my left leg.  If I were to sit on a low seat, I would need to support myself because my left knee would buckle.  I could never stand to pedal a bike because the left knee could not support my weight.  But, it never hurt.  It was just weak.  I might have aggravated this knee when Steve and I rode our bikes on the Katy Trail (see last blog) because the next day, Sunday, my knee hurt.  I limped.  But, we did our regular walking/biking routine Monday anyway.  And it still hurt.  Tuesday, I knew I would be walking with bus orientation so we did not do our morning routine.  And, as I walked to various bus stops, it hurt more and more until finally, as we were walking back to the refugee apartments, my left leg just stopped working and I could put no weight of any kind on it without extreme pain.  I had to call Steve on my cell phone to drive around the corner to pick me up.  We went to urgent care where it was determined that I had an inflamed ligament.  Ice, ibuprofin, rest the leg (hence the crutches).   Steve has been wonderful to be my gopher as my leg has healed.  I graduated to one crutch by Thursday and yesterday, I was able to walk without any aid albeit I went pretty slowly and carefully.  I start physical therapy today to strengthen the ligaments - something I should have done a few years ago when I first noticed the weakness.   I just hope I can start our morning exercising again soon because holiday eating is upon us and I don't want to gain too much weight!

Well, I am back....

I left for Arizona the last weekend in October and I hit the ground running ever since I got back!  My best blogging time in Sunday morning before church but last Sunday, Steve was home all morning and he needed the computer so there went the two-week catch-up blog plan.  Now I have three weeks to write about.  Thankfully, the events are few.

First, the trip to Arizona:  I went to be part of Jesse and Kat's wedding celebration.
 
  They married in a very small ceremony (just Jesse, Kat, my sister Juli, and the minister) on Tuesday, October 25th - the anniversary of the day they met.  I flew out on Thursday, the 27th and hung out in Mesa with Jerri and Amy and family until Saturday morning when I drove up to Payson for the reception that evening.  I helped Juli set up the cultural hall in ward meetinghouse when I arrived - I ironed a lot of table cloths!  The reception was very nice. 
 
 They served a lovely meal followed by the cake cutting.

 There was a D.J. but nobody, including the bride and groom, wanted to dance so, after everyone ate cake, the party ended and it was time to clean up.  Jesse and Kat ordered way too much food and most of the post-celebration was spent finding ways to divvy up everything into containers.  The Payson police department got all the leftovers!  (remember that Jesse is a police officer) I stayed up in Payson Saturday night and drove down early Sunday to Mesa to attend Amy and Cory's ward meetings at 11:00.  Juli had to bring Jeremy down to the airport that morning so she came to church with us, too.   That evening, there was a celebration of fall birthdays for all the Bowden clan at Brent's place so it was great to see much of Jerri's family. 

 Brent, Susette with kids Noah, Parker, Luke, Elenore, Brig, Rose, Brielle
 
 Rob and Joanne in back with Chelise and Jason Patterson with Kendall, Drew, and Noah
 
 Cade and Colby in back with Emily and Brig Nichol and their kids, Ben and Lucy
Amy is on the right
 
 Brig with Cade and Colby

 I flew out early Halloween morning - Steve picked up up early afternoon and we celebrated trick-or-treating at Emily's place that night.  It was a nice trip.  It was good to be in Arizona again.  It was great to see family - especially all of Juli's kids.

Juli with grandchildren, Kason and James

Jesse and Jeremy Davies


me and Juli


Three of the four Young sisters:  Juli, Jerri, Jeanne

Steve and I were asked to attend a meeting of the stake presidency and their wives last Sunday afternoon.  There we learned that the stake presidency is being dissolved because Richard Houseman, our stake president, has been called to serve as a mission president in Brazil!  We have a stake conference this coming Sunday and that is when the change will take place.  My mind has been reeling with the possibilities for the future -  having Steve home at night on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays,  getting to sit with him in church, maybe leaving much sooner for a mission of our own.

Julina was in town last weekend.  She came to meet Larkin Clementine and just to relax and hang out with all of us.  So great to have her, even for just a short time.

 Emily with Larkin modeling her Halloween costume


Grandpa Steve and Larkin

Steve and I have been enjoying a beautiful fall - even if it seemed to come later than usual.  We drove up to Thompson (between Mexico and Centralia) a week ago Friday to check out a massive flea market / antique shop and then to have lunch in Mexico at a sandwich shop that offers gluten-free bread.  I had an amazing Reuben sandwich!   Yesterday, we loaded up our bikes into the back of the truck and went to Rocheport to ride along the Katy trail.  It was a perfect autumn day!
 

 
 The Moniteau River
 

 
 The beautiful Missouri River

 I had my fall studio recital yesterday afternoon. 




  Finally, I made two quilts for the Southerland girls.  Since Larkin has a gorgeous bird quilt to honor her first name, I made a receiving blanket for her middle name, Clementine


When Lucy was born, Emily was in quilt mode and didn't need me to make her a quilt.  But, she needs one from grandma so I made her a "busy:" quilt with pockets  (zip, velcro, button, tie) and cute animals that she likes.  It is also a sleeping bag so she can crawl in between the top and back of the quilt.  She really seemed to like it when I gave it to her.


OK, I need to quit and get ready to go to church. 

Of puppies and late autumn flowers and eating acid-free

Sorry about not blogging last week.  Steve and I both had speaking assignments in the Mexico Ward last Sunday.  The drive there and back plus the three-hour block just took more time than I thought it would....Oh, and we had to bump family dinner time up in order to attend a special fireside that evening with J'den Cox, Columbia's own Olympic bronze medal winner!  He is a wrestler and the manager of the MU wrestling team is a member of our ward who also served a mission to Brazil so he got to travel down to Rio with J'den and his family for the Olympics in August.  J'den, a devout Christian but not Mormon, has other LDS connections.  His great-grandmother was Virginia Mutrux, a charming and one-of-a-kind lady in our ward when we first moved to Columbia in 1981.  So, many of his extended relations are members of the church.   It was a great evening.

The past two weeks have been fairly average.  Lots of walks and bike rides.  One day, the local Canada goose population was grazing on the Albert-Oakland park trail so I took a picture.
 
 Steve and I traveled to Fulton on Wednesday, the 12th to attend a funeral for a dear woman who died of early Alzheimers.  She was a year older than me!

I have been enjoying Season 1 of Poldark.  Imagine my dismay when I learned that Season 2 is currently being aired on PBS but it is already half-way through.  And, if I want to watch the first 3 episodes, I will have to pay for it.  So be it!

Health-wise, I am taking part in a breathing study to lower blood pressure through the medical school at MU.  I hope it works because it would be nice to reduce my medications.  I HAVE stopped taking my statin drug for cholesterol.  I hope changing my diet and ramping up my exercise can keep my numbers low.  And, I sure hope the side effects of the statin leave (joint pain, fuzzy brain).  Breaking news:  I have yet another dietary restriction added to my life, as if having to eat gluten-free was not enough.  I have interstitial cystitis - an inflammation of the bladder lining.  I believe I have had it for several years but it never really flared up until July when I started taking 1 tablespoon of vinegar in water every day for cholesterol reducing.  That increase of acidity  REALLY aggravated my bladder.  Lots of pain.  Like a bladder infection only I didn't think it could be that because I had no chills/fever which have accompanied my bladder infections in the past.  I looked up how to treat IC (interstitial cystitis) and diet is the first way to treat it - and it is even more restrictive than gluten-free.  NOTHING acidic at all.  The only fruits I can eat are blueberries, pears, and certain kinds of apples.  No chocolate!  Good grief.  But, I started to follow the diet and it seemed to help a bit.   And, I finally got a urinalysis about two weeks ago.  And, it WAS an infection!  I started medicine and I started to eat regularly again because - wahoo - it was NOT IC.  Well, by the end of my antibiotics, I was still having lots of pain.  And, to make things more complicated, my primary care physician is on leave - I suspect medical because she has had cancer in the past - and our e-mail communications about this condition were very irregular.  Darn.  I LIKED my doctor and I didn't really want to go to someone new.  But, last Monday, at the end of my antibiotics and still in pain, I finally just called the clinic and made an appointment for the next day with another doctor on the team.  And, I am DELIGHTED with this new doctor!  She really answered my questions and provided support and I have a consult with the urology clinic on November 2nd.  Yes, it really was an infection.  IC can make it easier for infections to occur.  Yes, I need to go back on the acid-free diet to allow my bladder to heal.  And, I have discovered an inexpensive, over-the-counter medicine called Prelief that eliminates 98% of the acid in whatever I eat.  So, if I know I will be eating acidic foods, I can take two of these pills and viola!  No pain.  Oh, how wonderful to not have this constant pain anymore.  

Yesterday, the 22nd, Steve and I spent the day enjoying autumn in Missouri.  We began with some grocery shopping at the Amish.  Baking supplies AND a bushel of apples (the less-acid kind that I can eat) so I can make some applesauce.  Then, we drove westward for some pecans from King Hill Farms in Brunswick.  (pecans are NOT on the good list - only almonds and cashews - but hopefully, once my bladder heals, I can resume eating some of the stuff I used to eat).  Then, we drove up to Brookfield where the Marceline Branch has a new meetinghouse (actually, it is an old Baptist church that has been remodeled) because Steve had a couple of interviews.  And, then, on our way home, we visited an older couple from the Marceline Branch who raise and breed Yorkies!  They live with a woman who also raises and breeds Yorkies.  It was Yorkie heaven!  I must have held two dozen puppies or full grown dogs.  So cute and so friendly. 

They also had these two miniature horses!

Speaking of dogs, Trissy has been battling something in her paw.  It didn't really respond to the antibiotic we got for it.   Being on the top of her foot, it hasn't made her lame.  But, it is sure ugly and she has really been worrying it with her tongue.  The current medicine the vet gave her does seem to keep her from licking it as much as she did.  

 

 Finally, some shots of my zinnias and of my morning glories.  The latter I had given up hope that they would ever bloom.  LOTS of green growth all summer long but no flowers until about a week and a half ago.

Beautiful October

I do not have much to write about last week.  The highlight was yesterday and attending Naomi LaFond's wedding on a farm on Lizard Lane in Grubville, Missouri!  She married her many-years best friend, Jon, on his family farm.  It was a beautiful setting - the weather was absolutely perfect - and Steve and I enjoyed ourselves. 

 Several church members from Columbia made the drive to attend (it was located south and west of St. Louis - it took over 2 /12 hours to get there) and it was fun to see Erin's brother and his wife who we knew as teenagers.  Their youngest is 18!  Here is Mary Ellen Davis Naylor with Naomi


You can see the popcorn in Naomi's hands.  That, along with hot coco, peanuts, and M&M's were the pre-wedding snack.  She had an old fashioned bathtub full of ice and soft drinks, too.  They served a yummy dinner and we had to leave before the bonfire, hayride, and dancing got started. 

Here we are with Sarah, who also attended, in front of the doors that Naomi walked through before walking down the grassy aisle. Before the wedding, Steve and I attended the temple and I gave Noah a piano lesson.  It was a full day!  But fun.

Things are still pretty green around here and, up until Thursday night, it felt like summer!  Ugh.  Had to run the AC.  Thankfully, we are back on track with "normal" October weather again. 

I have started watching a new series via Netflix - Poldark.  I zipped through the first three episodes of season 1 and I am anxiously awaiting disc 2.   I sewed, I went to pottery, I went to Civic Orchestra rehearsal, I taught five people from Democratic Republic of Congo how to ride the bus on Tuesday, I worked on quilts at Laura's on Thursday, I taught lots of cello lessons.  An average week.....

goodbye September

September quietly came to a close on Parker Street.  We had open-window weather all week.  I finished going through each room and color-dotting all the important items.  Probably a good thing I had just completed this task when we happened upon the Columbia Senior Center garage sale yesterday because all I could see was table after table of dust collectors and I was able to easily say "no thank you".  I did find a vintage ironing board that I bought for $2.50.  They don't make ironing boards like they used to.  This wasn't one of the actual wooden board types like my mother had but it was clearly from the 60's and it is really sturdy and stable.  I also found a Swingline stapler for 50 cents.  The only reason Steve and I were even there was to help our two-doors-down neighbor, Jan, haul a desk to her home. 

As we all know, fall is open enrollment time for health insurance and Steve and I decided to see if Obamacare was really a cheaper way to go.  NOPE!  Boy, I am SO grateful for Steve's retirement package and for the affordable healthcare we have until we go on Medicaid. 

Speaking of health, Sadie had her teeth cleaned Tuesday.  Dogs have to be anesthetized so their mouths will stay open during the procedure so it is kind of a big deal - no food/water after midnight, leave them at the vet all day....  Well, when we picked her up that afternoon, we learned that she had three teeth pulled because they were loose.  Gum disease?  Not sure.  But, they also had NOT given her any pain medicine so, after she got home, she was NUTS with pain.  Frantic panting and burrowing her head and inability to stay still.  I've never seen poor Sadie so agitated!  So, back to the vet for pain medicine and for the dosage for the tranquilizer we used to give Trissy for thunderstorms.  And, finally, after about 2 hours, she was able to calm down.  In fact, she was pretty loopy that night....could hardly walk.  Thankfully, she woke up the next day all perky and normal.   Ugh, I already try to regularly brush her teeth but I will be more assertive so hopefully, she won't have to go through something like that ever again.

We served dinner to the missionaries Friday night and they are always asking if they can do anything for us.  Well, this time, we said "Sure - how about helping us move the grand piano?"  It really wasn't that big of a deal.  We just relocated it away from the east window to the south part of the living room where is has been before.  This is to make room for the pink couches that have been out in the garage.  They needed to come in to make room for Elise's storage items.  She sorted everything into piles last week and yesterday morning, Steve and I filled the north part of the garage with her not-going-to-use-in-this-apartment things.   Elise's stuff-to-integrate-into-the-apartment items still in the garage, as well as the few remaining items in the Noah's Ark room where she stayed, should be gone by mid-October and then we can park the truck inside again.  Have you noticed as you drive down a street and look into people's garages that very few are actually used for car parking?

Steve and I watched an old and rather obscure musical Wednesday night - Flower Drum Song.   It is a Rogers and Hammerstein and I remember playing some of the pieces in Scotscapades in high school.  It focuses upon Chinese Americans and would not be exactly politically correct today which is why I think it is not done any more. 

Finally, we are loving this General Conference weekend.  Yesterday, we watched the morning session here at home and the afternoon session at Carroll and Sheila Wile's home with Steven and Tamara.  Today we will be here at home again. 

Happy October, everyone!

Two big events from this past week

 First of all, I met a long-lost cousin via Family Search.  Her name is Linda Dale.  She was posting Fraedrich (my mother' maiden name) information so I e-mailed her and, come to find out, our grandfathers were brothers!   She and her husband live in Des Moines, Iowa.  We had e-mailed a couple of times and she sent me a packet of Fraedrich information.  Last Friday, they were traveling home from a vacation in Branson and I invited them to stop for lunch.  We had a lovely visit.    Here we are....

The second big event was Saturday afternoon - the funeral for Marty Hook - choir director at Hickman High School for many years.  He was one of the most influential teachers for Emily, Elise, and Sarah who all sang in his ensemble.  This photo was taken at Sarah's last concert with him, her senior year. 


Below is a Facebook tribute Sarah wrote yesterday.  Emily also wrote a beautiful tribute on her blog which I cannot cut and past but here is the link.  http://emilys-little-world.blogspot.com/


11 years ago, I sang my last official Choir performance with Hickman High School's A Capella Choir directed by Marty Hook. At the end of the performance, the choir sang That Lonesome Road and as always, Mr. Hook invited Hickman Alumni to come up and sing. A tradition held for years. I was lucky enough to get to sing with my two older sisters that night. As a farewell to High School, to Hickman, to A Capella, Mr. Hook, and all the amazing memories. The tears flowed freely that night. And we three snapped a picture with the Choir director who had shaped us during some of the most formative years of our young lives.
Today, I had another opportunity to sing That Lonesome Road in a choir of Hickman Alumni including those two same sisters (as well as some dear friends). This time in memory of the life of a man who had touched so many.
The emotion was almost too much to take, and I could barely get the notes out.
To me, Mr. Hook was one of the most influential individuals in my life through high school. He awakened in me a passion for music the likes of which I had never felt. He opened my eyes to beauty I had never known or imagined, as well as the joy and magic that can only be felt when bringing music to the hearts of an audience. Introducing me to music and shaping me as a musician. Inspiring confidence. Encouraging leadership. Driving growth as he has done to young hearts and minds for years.
And today I know his heart swelled as he heard the voices of generations of his students, friends, and colleagues come together as mostly strangers, with little to no rehearsal, and make such a beautiful sound together. His heart swelled because I know, while he is no longer with us in this mortal sphere, he was there.
What a beautiful service it was with touching words of comfort and inspiration, and beautiful music abounding!
While my heart is raw and my eyes wet, I am thankful to know that he truly lives on and is honored by so many. I have no doubt his voice is raised in chorus with heavenly concourses.
Mr. Hook, you will be missed. But never forgotten.

After reading this and Emily's tribute, you can see how important he was in their lives.  So important that Emily braved four children alone and drove to Columbia to sing in the choir with Elise and Sarah.  I got to attend the funeral, both to pay tribute to this good man and to hold Larkin, who slept through it all.  It was full of musical tributes - so beautiful and so emotional.  It was full of so many musical people.  I am so glad I went.

After supper, as Emily and the kids left for St. Louis (Joe was at a business conference), I took a priceless photo on our front porch....