Hello Again

As I look out the studio window I can hardly believe my eyes. The sky has turned to what I call "ominous  gray", the last few leaves on my little tree in the front yard fight to hold on by a tiny thread and the garden lettuces that weren't made into summer salads now wither and turn to seed. Summer is gone, fall is most definitely here and winter is rapidly knocking on the door. My thoughts have turned more inward lately and I long to make a steady habit of blogging again. 

There is so much on my mind to share; I don't dare attempt it all in one post. I have decided I will begin with the most current news because it's the most important, and work my way back until I'm all caught up. 

October 21st...11:14 p.m. Amelia Grace - my first granddaughter was born...just missed my birthday by one day!! Momma and baby are healthy but Momma isn't snapping back as quickly as she'd hoped. They are all trying to get used to being a family and are putting off visits with friends and family until they get rested up a bit...yeah...I'm thinking that's going to be a while! I was so hoping to get to hold her this weekend, but they're not yet ready for visitors. :( Gran is trying to accept it and stay busy...I certainly have enough to do. Fortunately for me I finally have a smart phone and can easily receive and share photos. I think I need to start a new scrapbook!

We have begun "small groups" at church. We meet on Sunday night in lieu of the traditional evening service which of course has a percentage of folks coming unglued. I see some positive things coming of our group, but I'm not as open as our Pastor would have me be. We usually discuss the sermon from the morning, making life applications, etc. He's been speaking on Nehemiah and spoke this week about 3 distractions that keep us from doing the work God has for us...other opportunities, criticism, and fear. At small group he wanted to know our passions, what we believe God has for us to do. I said as little as possible because I still feel God's call to be an organist. That truly is my heartbeat but I can't figure out how it fits in His plan if we move to the gym (because our attendance has been up so much we are outgrowing our sanctuary space) and/or move entirely into contemporary music. How is it God is calling me to this ministry and yet I see my church moving in a different direction? I'm confused. I just cannot imagine my life of serving Him without music in it. Hubby is feeling it too as one reason he bought his euphonium was so we could play things together for church. I have to admit, it has been good for us working together on music. I hate the thought of us not being able to do that anymore. Hubby keeps going back to getting an organ for home so I'll have something even if our church music dies. I just don't know how to get it to fit or how we'll afford it, but I have worked so hard and learned so much I just don't want to lose it. He hasn't practiced in a while but he's down there right now and it is nice to hear him playing again. So this is one thing I've been addressing in my life - just what God has for me in the future. I am trying to come to the point where I can cheerfully accept whatever happens to my ministry as a church organist and in my heart I know God has it all under control and if I yield to Him there will be great contentment and joy...it's all part of wearing that crown. 

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!!

Seeing Red

No, I'm not angry or upset in any way, as a matter of fact the Lord seems to be giving me an extra measure of joy for which I am grateful. This time of year is difficult for me as this past Sunday was the anniversary of my Mother's passing. Usually this time of year brings a heaviness and the year she died was also a Sunday so it seemed especially real again, but God has been showing me my blessings and giving me a joy I didn't expect which has helped me tremendously in getting me through this week.

Anyway, back to the "red"...

Saturday was a busy day. We didn't get to go out to breakfast as I had hoped, Hubby had to meet a team out on the trails for a work session. I decided to practice early, only to go over to the church and find Women's Aglow having a meeting in the basement (directly under the organ). I didn't want to "tip-toe" around, so I decided to go home, take care of some other projects and practice later in the day. One of my summer projects is painting a chair and a side table to match my new bistro set we purchased for the back deck. I had wanted to get it ready for the 4th, but didn't make it. You may remember the chair from a previous photo I've used here:

 I only got my painting started when I ran out of paint, so a trip to the hardware store on my way back to the church was in order, then after my 4 hour practice time I tried to finish it up, but I didn't get to finish before it got too late in the day. I like the red color against the turquoise of the house.

For offertory this Sunday I chose one of Gordon Page's organ arrangements to play. I did it as close to perfect as is humanly possible during my practice time on Saturday, but when it came time to do it publicly, I messed up and it took me a couple of measures to get it back to something recognizable. GRRR. Ok, maybe this did have me seeing some red. I was truly upset with myself for that one.

This week Hubby brought home some freshly picked strawberries that he purchased from a customer. Eight quarts which needed to be washed, sliced and frozen. I took care of a couple of quarts on Saturday in between painting and practicing, but last night (Monday) we knew we needed to get them put away or they'd spoil so after another 3 1/2 hour practice session, and a weeding of the entire garden after cooking and cleaning up supper, we washed and sliced the rest. Our reward was fresh strawberries over ice-cream for dessert! Needless to say, I was one tired pup last night!

Our rose bush bloomed again, but it looks like these are the last for the season. I liked how they draped so nicely over the driftwood. 

We have been seeing lots of wildlife in the neighborhood the last couple of weeks. This young lady has been a frequent visitor and we enjoyed watching her until she made herself at home in the garden and nibbled a swath through the kale and beet greens!

Hubby now has hung what he calls his "scare deer" on the line outside in hopes of keeping her away. I have caught it out of the corner of my eye a couple of times and wondered who was in my backyard!

We also seem to have a large skunk that has made a couple of attempts to get under the garden fence. I'm not sure what to do about that one, of course we're forever scaring off the bunnies...cute as they are!

Yesterday during my organ lesson I started another new piece. This one is for Advent and will take that much time to get comfortable, I'm sure. I've heard my mentor play it every year for the last 20 years, but it wasn't until this year when I heard him play it that something came over me and I knew I just had to learn it. My mentor said, "you mean you realized you had to allow it to go into your system and become part of you so you can then let it flow out of you. I know, if you're not a musician, especially an organist you may think that sounds pretty flaky, but I'm here to tell you, it's true. He also said "you can call the guys in the little white coats to come get me any time...hardy har har". :D

Sometime during the night last night I had an awful nightmare. I have no idea why, but I woke up gasping in the middle of the night because I had dreamed I witnessed the church where I have my lessons being bombed! The "good" thing was, I somehow knew there was no one inside. The weird thing was I didn't "hear" anything happen in my dream. I was standing out front, looked away for a moment, then looked back and the towers were both gone, only smoke "towers" were left...like ghosts. The rose window was broken (the organ frames it on the inside) and smoke was pouring out, I knew the organ was gone and I wept as though I had just lost a family member. I shared this with my mentor and this was his reply: This world, as we know it, is passing on...it is so interesting about the destruction. I dreamed once (25 years ago??) that the church was packed with people, but it had nothing to do with the worship of God. It was all about us worshipping ourselves, because there was no mention of anything regarding Christ and His Sacrifice or even acknowledging God...The organ was gone and the console was used to put guitar cases, etc. upon. People were singing and carrying on, but it was all about ourselves. Black and white and tragic. Yikes. You have to wonder about imaginations. God help us all.

I don't know what it means, but it has left me a bit shaken. It was awful.

In the midst of all my business, I found time to make another set of cards:

and lose 2 inches off my hips and abs and 1 1/2 inches off my waist!! Onward and downward...FINALLY!!

Today our high temperature was a cool 52* and it's been breezy so I haven't been out to finish my painting project. I'm hoping for tomorrow.