As Promised

So this time last year I was seriously thinking that I would read all of Dickens in the year 2010. A friend even offered to read them with me and we got going pretty good I thought. But I soon realized that I wanted to read/research Dickens more than I wanted to do school work and that there really wasn't enough time for both. I don't like to admit it, but Dickens isn't something I can read for fun before bed. I need a less wordy companion for that, and when school is on I don't have time for much other reading. Lesson learned.

Sort of.

(I love that the program for this blog doesn't have grammar editing, I hate being told how many times I write a fragment! grrrr.)

This semester I will have no music classes. No piano lessons. I will be in choir once a week and attending recitals and convo's, but not studying music (Dr. Webb would not agree, choir is studying music...and he's right, but still...). This past semester I had 20th century music literature. It was a great class. We were required to do a listening log. I think mine was abysmal, but that is beside the point. I had done this in one other music lit class with the same professor and enjoyed it, I tried, that first time, to use it to listen to music I would not normally listen to. I listen to a variety of classical music for pleasure and must admit to a certain amount of complacency. Don't get me wrong, I do have a tendency to analyse what I'm listening to more often than not, even the pop stuff I enjoy, but when listening to instrumental music, or art music (I prefer this term), I have a definite bias. Piano, piano, piano, and yes, some more piano. Symphonies and concertos are in there too, but mostly solo piano music, and even the non keyboard art music CD's I own are composers most famous for their piano music.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, if I were interested in being some sort of piano repertoire expert, or wanted to only ever be a casual listener. However, I have higher aspirations, as always. So, rather than set myself up for shame thinking I'll stick with academic extra curricular activity for a year, I'm just going to try for a semester. I want to keep my finger in it so to speak. I have no idea what the future holds. Applications have been submitted, and fingers are crossed, but who knows? I may graduate this spring and need to find a job at Price Cutter. I may be accepted to grad school in another state, I may stay at MSU. Any of those things will be fine. But one thing I do know is that I want to continue to study music my whole life. So I want to develop a habit.

To that end I am going to start a listening log right here. Once a week, usually on Sunday morning, as that was the time I sent aside this past semester to work on grad app stuff and it didn't cut into other studies much, I will post the piece of music and what I find out about it. I'll do what I can to keep it on the level, meaning I will not be likely to ever cite Wikipedia. Rather, I will use the resources I've learned about in class and have at my disposal as a student. I'm not going to set up any kind of chronology or plan. In fact, if you are still reading this and would like to know more about a piece of music, any music, comment and let me know what it is, I might use that for an entry.

When I can I will include a link to the music, or perhaps find a way to upload mp3's from my computer.

That will be all for now.

Eclipse

Well, they are in reverse somehow, but above are some of the better ones of the pictures I took of the eclipse a week ago. It was chilly, but I wore my wool cape and slippers and sat on the bench my husband had made and enjoyed the show. This is at least the second eclipse I've seen, the first was when I was 12, or was it 13? Maybe younger, and it was my birthday.... anyway,we went to the outdoor theater in St. Louis to see Debbie Reynolds in the Unsinkable Molly Brown and she actually stopped the show to have the audience turn around and watch the eclipse! I'll never forget it! This time it happened on my niece's birthday! The winter solstice, Dec. 21, Iris is 6 now, absolutely crazy how fast those kids are growing! I'm so proud of them!

Shameless plug: I've added a new blog to the list on the right--> Abby is Melting, my cousin has begun a powerful journey and is sharing it with the world. I'm so proud of her, and inspired by her.

Soon, I will be writing about two things which I intend to do with this blog over the next few weeks. But for now, I must go to the library.

More to do...

Well another semester is over! I did pretty well, five A's, not too shabby I guess. Also got my sis' family Christmas in the mail in time to reach them for the holidays!! Thanks very much to my husband, who is always helpful and easily keeps me motivated and on track. I've been sewing and crafting and baking up a storm this week, and there is still more to do.....

Colored Glass

There are a plethora of smalls ways I try to be like her.

Seeing the beauty in the simplicity of colored glass vessels,

Light shining through them, their shape distorting the images seen through them,

These are simple pleasures, simple beauties.

I miss her so much, I have missed her for so long.

Knowing that I will now always miss her

Is sometimes too much to bear.

So I will always have stories for the children,

Always have something for them when they or I visit.

I will always wonder at the sunlight reflecting on frost, snow and ice.

The birds will always captivate my attention and cause me wonder.

My scarf drawer will always be full and available.

I will make bad puns shamelessly.

I will appreciate good fashion sense and try to find my own.

I will never shy away from wearing a hat,

and I will never underestimate the value of a good belt.

Kindness and generosity will always be my intention.

And I will always choose to forgive, I will always choose to love.

Something Unexpected

I had fully intended to write about Jason's Granny and Papa, yesterday was his Papa's birthday! Happy birthday!! But I had no idea I would end up in the delivery room while my best friend's daughter gave birth. I was amazed. Briana did it all with no drugs of any kind, and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Rylan James, was 8.4 lbs and I think they said 20 inches long. I told her she is my hero, and I meant it, the pain, the down right agony she was in, but she handled it like a champ. Didn't even start making noise till the last half hour of contractions.

I am thankful that I was there for that, thankful to have been one of the witnesses.

Now begins what promises to be the craziest week of this semester, so I think this will be the last post in the month of Gratitude, I missed a few days, and have a list of people I had planned to mention, but there will be other years, and who says I can only be grateful for the people in my life one month of the year?? **GRINS**

Brights

My dad's sister Twyla married Tim Bright and they had six kids. I have many memories of adventures and good time with this family. Recently I've been excited to reconnect with them on facebook. Tim and Twyla spent nearly twenty years in Ghana teaching and ministering. I always enjoyed the stories they told while on furlough in the states, and wish I'd had a chance to visit them while they still lived there. I'm glad they are in the states now though, they have a lot of grandchildren to spoil! I am thankful for these fun people, and the memories I have of them!

DeWelts

I've waited for this day to write briefly of my gratitude for my mother's family because 68 years ago today Don DeWelt married Elsie Printz. The role those two played in my childhood was not only large, but also important to me. Many of the things I like best about myself, or think of as important to this world can be traced to conversations with either of them when I was still a child and the time I lived with Grammy while I was a teenager. My mom's parents had a big impact on many lives around the world, both directly and by way of their descendants. I don't remember when we started going to Joplin every month, I just remember that being an important part of life and one I never wanted to miss! Spending time with Grammy as well as my cousins and Aunts and Uncles was often the highlight of each month. Not because my life at was droll or bad in anyway, just because there was so little need to explain. We all knew each other so well that it seemed like everything picked up where it left off at each visit. Imagination and curiosity were encouraged at almost every turn, and we took full advantage! Uncle Dan wrote short stories that featured us as characters at one point! The five cousins made up all kinds of games to play in Uncle Chris and Aunt Carol's living room, the rules of which I no longer remember exactly. I think I could easily fill a good sized book with memories of time spent with this group of people. They are very dear to me --both the memories and the people. My gratitude for them knows no depth.