Throwback Thursday

Yes...I'm participating in Throwback Thursday...my first. I don't know how often I'll do this, but it works for today. I've been working to clean and organize my computer files like I mentioned in yesterdays blog entry and I wanted to share a couple with you today.

The first one is only a throwback to last weekend...LOL. I began making artist trading cards again...I'm not real happy about it because though they are fun, they take up way too much time that I want to spend scrapbooking. Why am I doing it you ask? Well, since the scrapbook store closed, just like I feared, I have lost touch with my friends from there. Without the store, we don't have a reason to get together regularly and easily except for the monthly ATC meeting. SOooo...in order  to see my friends I'm making ATC's. :P Anyway, I was not excited about the ones I made this month, so I didn't take any photos of them, but while we were at our meeting, our hostess took our picture of us posing with her cat, Bob.

Three of these ladies are dear friends and have taught me so much about paper crafting...we have so much fun when we're together. Mary is next to me, Linda is next to her (she is the expert on "tea bag folding" and "spirelli"), and across the counter from her is Jeanne (I can't even count the number of things she has taught me). At the bottom of the photo is Mary Ann, I don't know her very well, only from the ATC meetings. I am planning a get together after the holidays to have them over for a crop.

The second photo throws us back much further. In my file organizing project, I've run across an annoyance on my computer. I can click on a file, open it up to view, then click the arrow which should take me to the next photo on the list, but instead it jumps around randomly to other photos and I haven't been able to figure out where it goes or why it chooses to display the particular photos it displays. It's quite annoying when trying to work with a specific group of photos. Anyway, I was working away and clicked on this recent photo of me and my son on his wedding day.

It's a new favorite of mine for obvious reasons. I then clicked the next arrow and it took me here:

Suddenly the tears were flowing. Pretty weird if you ask me.

Three students scheduled for today...one made it so far, the others just rescheduled for tomorrow, so I'm done for the day. Calico beans for supper tonight with corn bread. Not much excites me about food these days, but this does. :)

 Well, I'm making a little progress with my project, more to come...stay tuned...

Oh My Goodness !!

We certainly do have a lot to catch up on! I had to go back and read up on what I posted last...I almost got lost trying to find my way around LOL! So here's the plan...there is a lot to share and I don't want to overwhelm you all in one post, so I will be working on the project of sorting and cleaning out my computer files and pictures and sharing things with you as I go along. By the time I finish, we should be all caught up...that is if I can do it fast enough LOL. 

So we got our first big storm of the season yesterday, dumping approx. 24 inches of unwelcome white stuff. Here is a picture of our downtown that someone posted on Facebook:

Most of my students yesterday and today cancelled so I started a major cleaning project that has been waiting for me for weeks. I cleaned the kitchen walls and ceiling to get rid of what swatting mosquitoes this summer left behind. I still have the rest of the house to do, but it's a start. While in the kitchen I also cleaned the stove, refrigerator, microwave, windows, coffee cart and counters. I hope to get to the cabinet door fronts soon and clean out the cupboards. I'm saving floor scrubbing until after the family leaves after the holidays. No sense cleaning before we have 6 dogs in the house!!

So with the coming of winter, I will spend today sharing our last bit of summer with you. We had a garden again this year, but it struggled due to our colder than normal temperatures. One day as the season was winding down and I was out picking some of the last of our produce and I snapped a few photos of the plants as they were going to seed. 

Hubby tilled it under and got the manure on it just in time before the snow began to fly! I'm already missing my tasty veggies...I'm so spoiled! I cooked up some frozen spinach from the store the other day and it was so bad I couldn't finish it! :P I even had a friend out there this year, though I was never able to get his picture. I named him Timothy (after the NCIS character Timothy McGee), he was a toad and I thought he truly did remind me of Sean Murray! He didn't seem too frightened of me as long as I watched where I stepped. His favorite place to hide was under the spinach! 

Well I hope you enjoyed the last of summer with me, I enjoyed visiting the garden one last time. 

More updates to come, stay tuned....

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. ;)

Race, Inventory, Wedding Plans...OH MY!!

It was a very lonnnnnnnnng weekend. Friday I got my stitches out. I still can't kneel down on my knee and it's tender to the touch. Saturday was the Deer Chase and I spent my day back and forth between the race to get pictures (the above are not mine) and the scrapbook store to spend time with my friends. As you can see, Hubby and Daughter #2 raced the tandem and since they were the only tandem entered this year, they went home with some nice prizes. 

Son and his intended didn't arrive until later that afternoon. Just as they pulled in I was on my way back to the scrapbook store to help them do their final inventory. I hated leaving, but I felt I needed to help my friends and at home we'd probably just put in a movie which is exactly what they did because everyone was tired after the race and Son was tired after the drive. It was a long evening of emptying shelves and counting every piece of paper. It was so hard boxing up paper that I knew I could use on my projects...just watching it go to waste. I just couldn't buy all I wanted to. I left about 9:00 p.m. but I think they worked for a while longer. I just felt I needed to get home to my family. It's hard being pulled in two directions. I was so tired!! I'm very sad about this whole thing. They are my good friends now and I saw them almost everyday. I was always welcome to stop in and chat...wasn't expected to buy something every time I came in the door. Sometimes we'd just talk. We had a lot of fun and I learned a lot from them. It was my last place I could go relax and have fun. We're still going to try and keep in touch, it just won't be the same and it certainly won't be as easy. I even thought as I was driving down the street today...oh, I'll stop in and...then I realized I couldn't because they weren't there...just a bunch of empty shelves and a room that echoed. Someone asked if I taught the class I spoke of and yes, I did. It went very well...one of my "students" even blogged about it with photos...marji'sstuff.

Sunday after church I went with future daughter-in-law to get her dress fitted, then on to Shop-Ko where we found her shoes and then to Walmart to look for more flowers to go with the ones she already purchased, but we didn't find any. 

Monday at noon we met with Jean (my former boss at Curves) who is making the cake, then at 1 we went to the Heritage Center where the wedding will take place and got some of their questions answered and met with my Mentor about the music then on to the inn where they will spend their wedding night to pay for the room. We finally got lunch around 3 and then I took them to the church so future daughter-in-law could hear her march music again because when Mentor played it for her she was still left nervous about her entrance. He had a bad headache so I wouldn't ask him to do any more. I played it a couple of times and had her practice walking down the aisle. She seemed to feel a bit better about it but I won't be surprised if when they come up next I'll be doing that again. 

I did find a dress. It's not my favorite, but both the color and the price is right. It arrived today and it's a bit too big so I'm sending away for the next size down and will keep the one that fits the best and return the other. I wanted the jacket since it will be October, but now that I see it I'm not real fond of it. 

It's been raining all day and it's been quite cool the last few days...dare I say it..."fallish"...it's in the air. There have even been reports of leaves changing color. As every year, I'm not happy about the change, though I love fall, I have the feeling it, like summer will be short and cold and winter will come early. They are calling for a colder one than usual for us. After last winter and a cold summer, we're all going to go crazy!

I was back to the chiropractor again today...after several headaches I found out my neck was out. She also worked on my hips a bit. I'm always wiped out after an appt. and unintentionally took a nap in the chair this afternoon. I'll probably send out a few emails tonight and turn in early. 

A "Day Off"

Due to the business of this summer, I should be thrilled with a day to be home and catch up on a few projects and...in a way I am, but at the same time it feels so very strange.

Friday is one of my usual practice days but by no choice of my own I will not be practicing today. We are once again having car trouble. Daughter #2's car is in need of repairs to the front end, it got so bad that the tires were being worn unevenly and in one spot down to the cord. Hubby had her take our car and hers sits in our yard. Hubby and I are now forced to share his truck and since this is Deer Chase weekend, he needs his truck, so....I stay home. Unfortunately he is being forced to take me to the Dr. in a few minutes to get the stitches out of my knee, then I probably won't see him again until quite late tonight. It is nice to take a break from my normal routine, especially since I have nearly lived on the organ bench this summer, but at the same time, I miss it.

Our fur babies are not doing well. We don't know what for sure is up with Gilmore, other than he is 16 years old. He's very restless and we haven't decided if he's in pain or just anxious perhaps due to "doggyheimers". Suki has been diagnosed with fluid on her lungs and an enlarged heart. She is now on medication, but I don't know how long I can afford one of them.

I'm craving sunshine today so I'm trying to get outside as much as possible. I've been trying to do my computer work outside, but as we all know, it's difficult to see a screen outside and it's nearly too warm in the full sun on the east side of the house and on the west in the shade and cool breeze it's nearly too cool.

Time to leave for my appointment, so I will finish this later.

After my appointment I walked up to the scrapbook store for a bit...last 2 days of being in business. :(. Part of the process of closing the business is not only selling off the inventory, but also selling some of the furnnishings such as the racks on which the paper is stored. I'm always in need of storage for paper and I was one of the first to be offered one of the racks so I told them to please save one for me and I began setting aside some cash for it's purchase. Today they told me I should take it home and when I asked how much I owed them for it they said "well, we've discussed it and decided that since you have been one of our only customers who has stayed loyal from the day we opened the doors, we are giving it to you as a gift". WOW! I told them I walked up and fortunately since it has wheels on it, I could roll it home. They told me no, that they would take me and my new paper rack home.

Tomorrow I will definitely stop in for a while...several of us are planning to hang around and support our friends on their last day. Some are bringing snacks and cards. Tomorrow is also the Heritage Days Parade and it has been our tradition to watch the parades together from the porch of the store. Last one. :( I do hope we will be able to maintain our friendship apart from the store. Speaking of cards, I want to make a special one for them so I'm going to close this out and get that done.

Have a good night.

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!!

Concert Day

The day I have been planning for and stressing over is here.

I apologize for being MIA for so long. Between practicing my fingers off, coordinating practice times between recitalists, typing up the program, teaching, helping with wedding plans and trying to keep up with the laundry, cooking, cleaning etc., I am spent. Most of my online time lately has been spent to try to find a dress to wear to the wedding (unsuccessful so far), emailing regarding the concert and typing up the program and program/composer notes. 

This afternoon I have to pick up cookies I ordered for the reception, let one of the organists in to practice, set up the reception area, and do a little light practice myself. My mentor came up yesterday to offer advice and to give me someone to play in front of - he said "you're fine, you don't need me."..BUT I DO!

Son and his intended were here this weekend to work on wedding stuff. I have to talked with my mentor yesterday about music as he has agreed to play the organ for the ceremony. Later in the week I need to call the lady we've chosen to make the cake and talk about design. 

I woke up nauseous - I know it's my nerves. 

I ask for your prayers for me as I prepare and for this evening as I play that first God would be glorified, that the church will be well represented to the community, for those coming that are not of our church family, that they will feel comfortable and at home and possibly pay us a visit on a Sunday morning, that our gratitude to God and to our church family would be displayed, that the music itself would be played well and received well and that the "dedication" of the instrument to God would be heard through the music that has been chosen.

I will return soon. I hope I'll have some photos to share.