Photo Shoot

It's been a busy week...Sunday was the LSMTA Piano Recital, my students all did well. Hubby saved the day again by printing the programs at the last minute and serving refreshments when he noticed the rest of us got caught talking. 

Monday I went down the hill for organ practice time and had a scary trip back home; I'm trying to decide whether or not I should continue that trek during the winter months. Because of the snow, I've had several cancellations and reschedules lately, the reschedules I don't mind so much, but the cancellations sure cut into my budget at a tough time of year. I have three scheduled for today and two of them are very late...maybe they're not coming? 

I have a grocery trip I need to do for our Thanksgiving week, but customers have not been paying in a timely manner, so we are behind. Please pray I can pay bills and get the food I need to feed my kids when they arrive. 

I have a very long list of small projects that need doing...I won't bore you with it, just know that I am overwhelmed by it and by the amount of music I have to learn between now and Christmas so please pray for me. Daughter #2 is our budding photographer...she really does quite well and we are hoping to be able to purchase a camera for her for graduation. Last weekend she borrowed the camera from work so she could get some good shots of herself for her web page and resume and I mentioned how I'd like to have some good photos of me at the organ,so we took full advantage and had a great time doing a photo shoot. She took all these pictures, even the ones of herself (technically), she got everything all set up and all that had to be done was click the shutter. I hope you enjoy....

Our daughter #2 and soon to be college graduate in search of a job..Pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Scientific and Technical Communication, a minor in Journalism and a certificate in Media with a concentration in Marketing. 

What I do: Communication, Collaboration, Photography, Design, Technical Writing, Creative Writing, Editing, Marketing, Publications, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Cumulus, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint.

And if the job has anything to do with bicycles, that will just be icing on the cake !

Hubby and Me on a brisk Sunday morning before church: 

And finally, my long awaited pictures of me at the organ. Mentor chose his favorite and wanted me to add it to my email signature and so I have done. He also told me I needed to share it with Gordon; he said "he'd be so proud":

Stay safe and warm!

What a Beautiful Fall We've Had This Summer!

Which makes me wonder just what fall and winter will bring! 

I continue to stay busy, trying to harvest the garden before everything freezes and catch up on all the chores I was supposed to do this summer but instead spent most of my time sitting on an organ bench LOL! I've finally cleaned the basement and the garage. I still need to scrub down the ceilings and walls - between the wood stove and all the mosquitos we squashed this summer, they're gross! 

You may have seen on Facebook that we had an organist meeting last week - we hadn't had one in a quite a while. We headed over to the Heritage Center following dinner and played the pipe organ there. I'm planning on everyone coming over for dinner on the 3rd of October, then heading over to our church to try out our "new" organ...now that it's been here for almost a year LOL! 

It's been an emotionally trying week. Most likely we will be voting PT to be our Pastor in October, but before we do that he wanted to give members a chance to meet with him to discuss any concerns about his vision for the church's future. Hubby and I didn't sign up, but PT asked for a meeting with us. That took place over breakfast at our house, Monday morning at 7:00. He wanted to meet and pray with us regarding his decision to not marry Son and his intended. He also wanted to discuss church music and the fact that people are complaining about the new organ. Just as I thought I finally had everything as it should be, had a successful concert, etc., now I find out I have to go in today and rethink everything I've been doing. I have to try to balance allowing the instrument to do what it is designed to do and still make "everybody happy". It's finding out that though I had thought I was aiding in worship, I have been hindering it. I feel like I've been punched in the face. Praying God will give me wisdom in what changes to make. 

Monday I unloaded on Mentor and he understood completely and let me have my rant, then he consoled me and told me what my next step needs to be. I honestly don't know what I'd do without him! He always knows just what to say to help me keep my focus where it should be. Monday night I felt like a wet dish rag. 

Yesterday I tried to put it out of my mind and I spent the day pulling up garden vegetables and preparing them for the freezer. Also I finished work on my studio website so it is up to date for the coming year and I signed up my 16th student! Last year I prayed for 15 and God gave me 13. This year he has brought me 16. I haven't met them all yet, that will come next week. 

Today I'll spend the afternoon on the organ bench trying to figure out what needs to be changed. I hope I'll be able to practice some as well. Also, a lady from church who has been a "fan" all along has asked to be introduced to the organ as far as finding out what everything does and what I'm doing when I'm up there. I don't think she has a music background at all, so....interesting. She plans to stop by sometime this afternoon. 

Lunch is leftovers and supper is probably stuffed baked potato and maybe some fresh carrots, broccoli and beans from the garden. I'll have to go out in this rain storm to gather them.  

Son called. He wanted my opinion on the suits and ties for himself and the guys and also the sashes to cover the chairs that his intended doesn't like. He told me he signed up the caterer that we talked to last time they were here. I'm glad because it will make things so much easier, but I'm also concerned about the money aspect. They are coming up on Saturday and I'll go with Son's intended for her final dress fitting and will be at their beck and call for anything else they need done. This is most likely the last time I'll see them before the wedding. 

I honestly don't see things settling down until after the wedding - then it will be time to prepare for Christmas! I know once winter settles in and Hubby goes back to hockey, I should have my evenings more to myself...I think...who knows! 

I do miss blogging regularly and hope to be back at it...someday soon. Please don't forget me. ;)

Time to put my feet up...

However, not by choice. If you've seen my Facebook posts, you're probably already pretty well caught up on things here, but I will expound a bit.

The concert went fairly well...I, of course didn't do as well as I had wanted. Despite my mistakes, it seemed quite well received, everyone else was amazing and the program content excellent. The photo above is of everyone who performed, including a guest violinist and a guest flutist. Hubby and Mentor both seemed pleased. This is what Mentor had to say when I sent him the pictures this morning: 

Hope you slept last night!  I was singing Praise to the Lord the Almighty over and over......  I did get to sleep,

Congratulations on every aspect of the recital; it was all quite wonderful. The organ really does sound good in the space; less is always more and then when you need the oomph, it is there.....  Lots of fun!

Corbin said, "The organ really sounds good....and she really can accompany a hymn, can't she?." and I was glad to hear that come out of him. 

Be happy.  Then get practicing ha ha.

DLS    

One of our music directors wants me to work up more chorale preludes so we can include them in our worship before we sing a hymn!!! Our Pastor wants me to play my grand finale for something....perhaps a "music night" for evening service? Both he and his wife loved it and one if not both of their children have an interest in learning something about the instrument. 

Several people are already talking about doing something for Christmas. 

On my way to practice this afternoon, I fell and put a gash in my knee. 

Six stitches later and I'm trying to rest with it elevated and iced. My music isn't ready for Sunday, the house is a mess and I have a full teaching schedule tomorrow! I guess I'm pretty much stuck in the recliner at least for tonight. On the upside, in all reality, I could have broken my ankle, hip elbow, knee...all were involved - so I'm considering myself quite fortunate. 

My unsung hero in all of this is Hubby! He spent hours and hours to see to it that we found the right organ, he arranged to get it here, he installed it, makes adjustments on it when necessary, advertised for the concert, listened and offered advice when I practiced, printed the posters, printed the program, set up tables and chairs in the gym, was MC for the concert, served in the kitchen for the reception and did all the clean up after! THEN when I fell today, he was right there to pick me up and drive me to the Dr., closing the business when he was already behind schedule. LOVE THAT MAN!!

Summer Happenings

Well, once again, it's been a while since I've blogged. I'm here attempting to catch you up a bit on the goings-on in The Little Turquoise House. I actually had to go back to my last post to see what I wrote! 

Hubby's business has been doing fairly well with the new machine. We are just praying that it continues and is steady. 

All our kids were here for the 4th weekend. Daughter #1 and Hubby arrived from Chicago late Thursday night, 

Daughter #2 came in from her internship in Detroit Friday morning 

and Son and Fiance pulled in Saturday morning. Yes, you read that right...fiance! They are now officially engaged! I'm trying to give it all to the Lord. Her family is not very involved in her life and probably won't do much, if anything for the wedding, so since they are planning to get married here in town, I will be acting as both mother of the groom and mother of the bride. It is set for October 18th so we have a lot to do in a short amount of time. 

Our church gave a baby shower for a couple of sisters who are expecting their babies a week a part. My kids grew up with them so I felt strongly that I should go. I made a couple of cards: 

Did I tell you the scrapbook store is closing? I'm so sad about that. I can't remember if I shared with you all about the bookmarks I made. I'm planning to teach a class on how to make them before the store closes. If it actually happens, it will be a "last hurrah" for the store...probably the last class ever.

Hubby has been doing trail work, cutting wood for winter and gardening. He drove the tractor in the Pasty Parade a couple of weeks ago to advertise the trails and the Deer Chase. 

The garden is getting a slow start due to our cool weather and isn't doing very well, then to add insult to injury, a deer came through last night and ate some of our kale and beet greens! GRRRR!! 

One pleasant surprise: our roses bloomed! These are special because my mother-in-law moved this bush whenever they moved and then she gave us a start when we moved into The Little Turquoise House. Hubby says he only remembers it blooming twice in his lifetime. This makes three! It's called a Black Prince...why, I don't know. It is beautiful though and we are enjoying the lovely blooms and the scent is amazing! I've been having fun taking photos of it. I sure hope it blooms again next year. 

I had so many things I wanted to get accomplished by the 4th this year, I have completed about half of them. I did get my studio completely reorganized and I'm so thrilled about that! 

This week I have had to put the house back in order after everyone left...it's amazing what a disaster is left behind after 6 dogs and 7 people share a small space and only one bathroom!! 

Organ Recital plans are beginning to come together. I had a meeting with the other organists this week and they all "met" the new organ for the first time. It was neat to watch them enjoy the different sounds and have so much fun, especially considering they all play on pipe organs regularly and our is "only electronic". 

My mind jumps from recital plans to wedding plans and back again. 

Suki got a haircut right before her "cousins" arrived. She doesn't like sharing her home with so many...I really should have taken pictures while they were here. 

Because of something someone dear said to me this week, I leave you with this final thought as it is the highlight of my week: 

I will try to catch up with all of you in between students tomorrow. God bless you all.