September 15-20

September is marching on to its end.  For most of the week, it was just regular old stuff. 

I purchased a simple orchestra arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” for my 8^th graders and I had to watch the music video (AND Weird Al’s parody video) to prep myself on the tricky rhythms.  Just in case you haven’t seen either one lately, here you go….

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q          Bad

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2mU6USTBRE          Fat

 My Netflix watch for the week was “Westworld” – a 1973 sci-fi starring James Brolin and Yul Brinner.  It was a VERY slow moving film and, of course, quite dated as far as special effects.  I would give it a 2 out of 5.   Kirsti, were you the one recommended it to me? 

Life got a bit full on Thursday when I started my day substituting in seminary and went immediately afterward to a district-wide secondary instrumental music teacher’s gripe-fest, er, I mean, meeting.  I am SO glad I only teach part-time because the full-time teachers really do have a huge load to carry.  Afterwards, and following a quick stop by home to let dogs out and back in, I had Rock Bridge orchestra.   Then, I drove home for two lessons and then drove BACK down to the south of town for an orchestra booster meeting and a late-night Gertrude, the cello, pick-up from her trip to Iowa. (see last blog).

Friday was just as full – another seminary day followed by Oakland orchestra and then Steve and I drove to St. Louis to help clean the temple that afternoon.  We were assigned to help with shampooing the carpets.  In the evening, we watched Noah, Quinn, and Lucy while Emily and Joe enjoyed a night out to celebrate their 10^th anniversary.   

 

After supper, we let the kids play on the trampoline a bit before baths, stories, and bed.

Steve agreed to watch “The Mirror Has Two Faces” (one of my favorite films) and to actually stay awake – which he did!  And he admitted afterward that he saw some merit to the movie and could understand why I liked it so much.  Thank you, Steve!

Saturday morning

Emily had a photo shoot in Illinois so Steve and I went with Joe and kids to Noah’s soccer game.  Since Joe is the coach, we had to make sure Lucy and particularly Quinn didn’t run onto the field (he loves his “dada” and his “woah”).  It was easiest to do this by taking them to a next-door playground.  It was brand-new and very cool and creative.  

  Look at the fun xylophone! 

 

 

 

 Quinn got a bit wet playing with this imaginative water spout. 

 

 After the game, we drove to a nearby community college where Parents as Teachers had collected a whole parking lot full of service and emergency vehicles and trucks.  Not only was there a fire truck and police car but big highway department trucks and trash trucks and a crane and an 18-wheeler and RV and school bus.  

 

Lucy is holding a little Instamatic camera (I had one as my first camera!). Emily found it at a flea market.  Lucy loves to "take pictures" with it!

 Notice Quinn is sans his blue jeans which he soaked at the playground fountain that grandma and grandpa let him play with - oops.

 The highlight was a police helicopter landing.   

 All three kids had a blast!

Steve and I left for Columbia around 12:30 and got home to some very happy dogs (thanks, Sarah, for taking care of them!) and to make raspberry ice cream to take to a stake public affairs committee get-together at 5:00. 

It was a very full 72 hours!  I haven’t even had a chance to play my cello to see how it sounds!  This morning, I worked on two more days of seminary lessons and I bathed Trissy.  She must have rolled in something because she reeked.  I also replaced an area rug that SHOULD have been clean but it, too, smelled.  One of the trials of having pets. 

Fall arrived this week

The leaves are still green but, brrrr, it has been chilly this week.  I got to turn off our AC and wear a jacket and I had cooked cereal for breakfast yesterday....all signs of fall

Here is the weekly update on Steve and me…..

Steve is doing better.  Mr. Kidney Stone (the size of a small pepper corn) left Monday afternoon.  Poor Steve.  I had a doctor visit on Tuesday morning – I finally decided that my right hand grip was not going to start feeling better on its own (it has been bothering me off and on for three years!) and I had also developed a painful Achilles tendon that has kept me from walking for exercise these past two weeks so that needed some medical attention, too.  I am waiting for a hand brace to arrive at the pharmacy and I guess there are also some shoe inserts to help the ankle.

We had some fun events to look forward to this week. 

Civic Orchestra has not started up yet – because our conductor is touring with his group, Alarm Will Sound, in Europe – so Tuesday night, Siri Geenen decided to gather some of her lady friends from orchestra and elsewhere for food and visiting.  There was a beautiful spread of food brought by everyone.  Mary Manulek is a cellist in CCO and she also has a gluten-free bakery business (her husband is celiac) so she brought some delicious things that I could eat.  After we were through stuffing ourselves, we watched a wonderful little documentary called “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”.  It featured a Holocaust  survivor who was a professional pianist and still alive and playing at the age of 109. 

Sarah and I attended a painting session at The Canvas yesterday.  

 

 

 

 I guess you can tell where I will be putting my creation.  We both had a lot of fun.

Saturday evening, Steve and I had TWO dinner opportunities!  We started at a meal for members of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society here in mid-Missouri.  We enjoyed barbeque- mmmmm.  Then, we made an appearance at the Bear Creek Ward chili cook-off at the meetinghouse.  Both events were outside and by the time we got to the church, temperatures had cooled off quite a bit.  I had not brought a jacket so I was chilly and we left fairly soon after arriving. 

Saturday was a busy day because we also had our second RTO rehearsal.  My appearance on Radio Friends with Paul Pepper back in August brought two woodwinds to our ensemble.  They are sisters and one plays flute and one plays clarinet.  They have to be in their seventies but they still sounded pretty good on their instruments.  We also have a horn player from a previous Radio Friends appearance who has been quite the recruiter for our group.  She found another flute player as well as a trumpet player who plays fairly well.  It was a great rehearsal.

Speaking of instruments, Gertrude, my cello, is taking a road trip to Iowa tomorrow to visit a “cello spa”.  Mary, who I mentioned earlier in this blog, is from Iowa and she knows a luthier up there who is so good that many cellists from here in Columbia take their instruments to him.  Mary’s husband is going up to Iowa tomorrow for a few days and he was already taking Carol Elliot’s cello (she is principal cellist in CCO) so I am sending Gertrude to get a different bridge.  I had to have a new one put on about a year ago by a fellow here in town and it just didn’t sound the same when he was done.  We all think the reason is because he uses thicker bridges.  So, Gertrude is being fitted for a skinnier bridge – hopefully, she will sound like her old self again when she returns.

Steve and I watched “Divergent” Friday night.  Of the three post-apocalyptic films I have seen recently:  Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Giver, I have to say The Giver was the best.  It was certainly the least violent.  

That's all, folks

Great start - not so great end

I am referring to this past week.  And, so as to not keep you in suspense by telling about our week in chronological order........Steve woke up today with a kidney stone.  He was slated to be out the door by 6:00 am on his way to the stake center for a 6:30 meeting and then off to Fulton Ward for the installation of a new bishopric.  But, that all went out the window around 4:00am.  He woke up with  all the usual symptoms - and throughout the day, he has been dealing off and on with pain/sweats/nausea.  Fortunately, he had some leftover flomax (makes you pee) from his last stone so he has been drinking water and peeing every 30 minutes and taking Excedrine for pain and I think he may be out of the woods tonight.  He is just exhausted and he is currently snoring on the couch, Sadie curled up next to him. 

Monday was awesome - our Chronicles of Narnia marathon:  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe before lunch, Prince Caspian after nap, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader after dinner.  I cut out quilt squares and shelled pecans while we watched. 

It was Back-To-School week for me.  Oakland Middle School was Tuesday and Rock Bridge High School was on Wednesday.  The 8th graders continue to try me every day.  I sent e-mails to two parents about behavior problems and I will likely have conferences with them and an administrator this coming week.  Oh, joy!  The mother of one student is excusing her daughter's extremely rude behavior on ADHD.  Oh, PLEASE!  Let's facilitate bad behavior rather than have her learn how to behave in society.  Now, if she had said she has tourettes, I might be more understanding.  My RBHS group had seat auditions on Thursday.  The cello and viola sections were fairly easy to determine but the violins were another matter!  How do you place EIGHT almost perfect performances???? It was tough.

I had a nice time yesterday morning at the stake Relief Society workshops.  Then, I went to a baby shower in the early afternoon and, after that, Steve and I went to the movie theater (twice in three weeks!  What's up with that?) and saw The Giver.  We really enjoyed it.  Steve and I have both read the book (a while ago) and he accurately stated that the movie is to the book like Scrooge is to A Christmas Carol - they both kept the message while taking some artistic licenses.  We also watched Jack Ryan, Shadow Recruit on Netflix Friday night- that was also good.

I managed to program our new universal remote - yay, me.  We cancelled cable.  Yay for $31 more each month.  I got to work on a blurb book, family history and some oil painting.  That was satisfying.  And,that's all, folks!