Let's Play Dress Up

Playing dress up was a lot more fun when I was a little girl and dressing up in my mother's clothes and clomping around the house in her shoes! It's so difficult to find the right dress. It has to be dressy enough for the occasion, the right shape and length, the right color, not too low cut and in a price range I can afford!

Thank you for your suggestions on websites for dresses. I hope you'll all keep helping me look and give me lots of advice in choosing a dress for my son's wedding.

Dress Barn's dresses are a good price, but I find most of them were prints instead of solids and those that I liked and felt would be appropriate don't come in the color I need.

Old Pueblo Traders has some lovely pieces in their special occasion dress section, but not a single one in the color I need.

Cato's dresses were mostly too casual for what I need and again, the few that would work did not come in the right color.

I prefer something in a chiffon, it should be a dark purple, preferably a plum or eggplant, lace is ok and since it will be fall, I was thinking a jacket dress would be nice, but all the ones I see look too matronly. I know, I know, I'm the mother-of-the-groom and therefore "matronly", but I also don't want to look like I'm lost in a bunch of drapey fabric. Maybe I'm asking too much?  I have found two possibilities:

Picture the last one with the plunging neckline with a black lace cami to fill in the 'V'. The first one is on ebay, it is the last in that color and my size available. If I go somewhere to go shopping and don't find anything I might lose the jacket dress, but if I don't go shopping I don't know if I might find something better. If I buy one online there is no guarantee that it will fit properly without trying it on. 

Oh my, I don't like making these decisions. 

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.

A Project Day

My summer is consisting of moving from one project to the next - most of them are organizing projects and projects that prepare the house, yard or other projects for the coming winter. One of the things on my list was organizing my computer files. I always wait until they are a mess and it takes forever to get them in order. It's also very confusing as I have 2 backup hard drives and somehow or another the folders are labeled slightly different and it's so hard to tell if I have everything on one that I have on the other. What a mess! Then of course I have my Google Drive which is cloud storage. One would probably wonder why I need external backups if I have cloud storage...well...I don't trust technology, especially when I have no control over it. What is the cloud anyway...I mean, really? Besides, I don't know how much free cloud storage I have on this thing and so I back up...twice. All that to say, I finally finished...it only took all day!

I did take a little time to visit Retreat Design today - the store that opens only once a month, but I didn't find anything that interested me.

The wedding plans are coming along. I have secured a friend to make the cake and another friend to play the organ and I have arranged to meet with the woman representing the venue in order to give her the deposit check. The next thing for me will be to locate a dress. If any of you have any favorite online dress shops...please share.

Hubby is out working on the trails tonight - I'm kinda tired of being home alone. I hope I can talk him into going out for breakfast in the morning. Tomorrow will be a practice day and I'll have to find another small project to complete. I have some organ music that needs to be put in a notebook, so I might be able to get that accomplished.

I feel as though summer is going by much too quickly. I truly don't want it to end. I dread the coming snow and cold with every fiber of my being.

No pictures today...I think I shared them all yesterday. I do have some very good news to share! If you all will remember my college piano professor, Gordon...well here:

New News...and Its' All Good !

Regular Dr. appointments today.
My oncologist is VERY pleased with what she sees. Blood work indicates all systems are working correctly and well, AND the indicators show that there is NO cancer growing a this point !! Will see her again in a month after another PT Scan.
There is no change between the last two chest x-rays, indicating that there is NOT any fluid building up around the lungs !!
The Dr. caring for the foot/leg infection is also VERY pleased with the progress. She has totally released me - no further visits necessary.

How's that for Good News !!
God is sooo good. Your prayers are working and are so appreciated !
(please continue praying for my back pain - discs I think - and my spirits as I continue to recover from the 7 months of chemo)

All I can say is "YAY GOD"!! 

Well, it's been a long, drawn out kind of day. I'm feeling the need to unplug and maybe have a big bowl of popcorn and watch a movie. 

Goodnight friends! 

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. 

Studio, yoga, organs and music

I'm not having the success I had hoped for in the weight loss area, but today is a new day and another new beginning. I found this picture and plan to add this pose to my routine. 

Today I'll be working in my studio as much as possible - I hope to get it near finished or even finished by the end of the day.  

My oldest and dearest friend and I have a phone date set for noon!! I'm so excited to talk to her, we've been friends since the first day of first grade when we sat down next to each other. I miss her so much. 

Yesterday at my practice time with my mentor I made it all the way through Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for the very first time - it wasn't pretty in places, but I made it!! 

Last night Hubby and I went back to the church and my mentor met us there. We "tweaked" some of my presets and had tons of fun in the process. I had Mentor play for a while so I could go out in the room and hear what it really sounds like. It's so different from when I'm sitting at the console. He is so talented - I could have  listened to him play all night. 

It was such a blessing being in the same room with two of my favorite men who both love and care for me so much and want the very best for me. 

I hope to stop by each of your pages later today!

Summer Begins

I'm sorry I've been gone so long - I've been reading, just haven't had the time to respond. Let me see if I can update you without getting too long winded. 

Son and his girlfriend came for Mother's Day - it was such a nice visit, she and I are trying to get to know one another better. 

Son bought girlfriend a ring...hasn't popped the question yet, but has the ring. They just bought a house - it's been stressful as you can imagine, but the house payment will be less than the rent on the apt., so it should be a good move providing Son finds a job soon. He only has another 4 weeks before he loses his unemployment - he's been sending out resume's but no takers. Please pray something turns up soon.

Daughter#2 got an internship at Quicken Loans in Detroit. It's not what she wanted, but it's good, paying work for the summer. She is a tiny, country mouse in the big city and she's not liking it one bit! This is her first time away from home completely alone. Please pray for her safety in the big city.

I'm missing all my "babies" and my mother a lot lately. I'm so lonely, but I'm digging in to some neglected projects around the house. I started work on my studio - the clutter is closing in on me. I've gone through and reorganized all the music by level and now I have to reorganize my scrapbook/card making supplies. It's a mess!! I hope to have gone through everything by the end of the month and be completely done with the house project by the July 4th weekend. My neighbor said if I have anything to sell that I can put it in their sale at the end of the month. That's a motivator right there! 

I just found out this week that the scrapbook store where I go to purchase all my supplies will be closing their doors by the end of the summer. Businesses are dropping like flies around here. I will no longer have a place to get supplies for my scrapbooking and card making. I'm so mad and sad all at the same time. These ladies in the store have become very good friends as well. It's the last place in town where I could go to see people and enjoy conversation. 

Also this summer I'm trying to shed some pounds...I have a good start, but haven't lost anything yet. I'll also be practicing a lot, teaching a few students, gardening, and deep cleaning the entire house. 

Student recital was last week...Thursday night. That's everyone , minus Carol who takes lessons via the internet. It was a big night as we focused on a senior recitalist. Everyone did very well and I was so glad when the evening was over and it was very stressful.  I have leads on three possible new students for next year! I'll lose one (my graduate) but might gain three, that's good!

With all my projects, I've been trying to better discipline myself and make better use of my time which means the computer must come last. I miss being on here, but I must do this for now. Also, the screen on my laptop is still broken and I have to borrow a computer. Please pray I can get the screen fixed soon. 

Hubby planted the garden on Sunday, he also purchased a new machine (on faith). We pray it will be the thing to get our business back on it's feet, making a profit. 

Our weather has been beautiful, coolish but mostly sunny. I'm fine with the temps in the upper 690's and 70's! 

That's about all for now. I hope to be a more regular poster once I have things more in order around here. 

Remember Me???

I know, it's been way too long. Life seems to be speeding by at an ever increasing pace and there are never enough hours in the day to do all I want or need to do.  I've spent a considerable amount of time catching up on all of you this morning - forgive me if I didn't say much, there was just so much to read...my fault, I know. 

Despite what a couple of you believed the last time I posted, the snow had not yet left us. It wasn't until this weekend that our yard was finally free of it's white, wintry blanket. Even now, there is a patch of snow in the back yard and lots and lots of puddles! There are still walls of snow across the street where the plows had it pushed up - hopefully soon we'll be able to access everything, but not yet. 

Last week was so busy and yet as I look back I can't figure out why except that Daughter #2 finished out her semester (with straight A's!!) and came home to "crash" for a couple of days which meant a distraction for me...albeit a welcome one. Not much got accomplished on my new organ music I have begun studying, but I am enjoying having something specific to work on with my mentor again, and I truly believe it's been good for him as well - having a goal like this and something to actually "teach" again seems to have really perked him up - I truly believe he needed it as much as I did. 

I did get the bathroom cleaned..."spring cleaned", which meant getting on my hands and knees and climbing on a step ladder, but it felt good to have one room completed. Just as I finished this chore on Saturday, my son and girlfriend pulled up and surprised me with a visit for Mother's Day! The entire house including the bathroom needs a good going over again now that they're gone - but I'm so glad they came. My studio is the next on the list, though I'll have to be scientific about it as it has to stay accessible to students as I re-organize. HMMMM. 

Mother's Day came and went. Like I said, my son surprised me on Saturday and we spent the day shopping and visiting. Sunday was church of course and Daughter #2 planned a light lunch of finger foods as our dinner reservation wasn't until 5:00. Daughter #1 called and we chatted for a few minutes -

she sent flowers and a lovely tea cup and saucer from Crate and Barrel.

Daughter #2 planned the meals and gave me a flower...I don't know what it is.

Hubby bought me 3 red roses - one to represent each of my children. Son gave me a book I had been wanting about re-growing food from scraps and he and his girl dug up a lonely Crocus

they found on the trail and potted it for me, then they did some raking in the back yard while I fell asleep in the sun on the deck. I woke up with quite a sunburn!! Since Son's girlfriend was able to take a 3 day weekend, Monday was spent antiquing. We also had lunch out and stopped by the church where I practice to show Son's girl a real pipe organ. She has no musical experience or knowledge whatsoever, but has been curious about what I do on Sunday mornings. Mentor was there and was ever so gracious to give an impromptu introduction to the instrument. 

That brings us to today - I'm supposed to be doing my housecleaning and my work-out, but I'm so tired from the weekend and so behind on emails that here I sit. The afternoon will be full of students and the week will probably be as busy as the last. My online time has been limited as I have been focusing on some neglected projects and also due to the fact that my computer screen is broken on my laptop which makes reading and typing is next to impossible...it gets worse by the day. We are in the process of trying to locate a replacement but in the meantime, I'm using the desktop in the basement where it is ccccold! 

I hope to be able to check in with you all at least once a week. 

Toccata and Fugue in d minor BWV 565 - J.S. Bach

The best part of my day today was finally beginning my study of this fabulous piece of organ literature.

Teaching and Crafting

It's such a gloomy morning - fog, light, misty rain...I think...could be snow...not sure. 

*Light cleaning as usual this morning, 

*Marc's laundry, etc. I'll do stuffed baked potatoes for lunch and make a boiled dinner for supper - we have to finish     the ham. 

*I have practice time scheduled for this afternoon. David has me starting to learn J.S. Bach's famous Toccata and         Fugue in d minor and I have to prepare prelude, offertory and communion music for Sunday as well as work on           recital pieces. 

*No students today

*I must get in a work-out today 

Our church is giving one of the ladies a "storybook shower" next week. Erin wanted me to make bookmarks to include in the books we chose. We found these adorable bookmarks on Pinterest and so I need to find some time soon to sit down and have a little fun. Aren't they the cutest?? I can't wait to get started. 

I've had some teaching challenges this week - I'm finding I need to find a different approach with a couple of my students. I hope it works because I don't want to lose them. 

My studio/office space is driving me crazy...it's so cluttered right now and I need to reorganize but I just don't know what to do with it to make it better. HELP!

Must get busy, so I'll be back to see what you've all blogged about later. 

Routines and Projects

It's VERY windy this morning and dark, for the second day in a row - I found it tempting to stay under the covers.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and planning regarding this week - I have a lot of projects on my plate and a new routine to put into place...discipline will be the key.

Positive comments continue to come from church people regarding the organ - some still talking about last week. Our music director who so rarely makes a comment about my music was very complimentary about the prelude. I was shocked! I mean, this guy will go years before saying anything and then it's usually an offhanded kind of compliment or one done mumbled under his breath as he leaves the room - but this time he looked me in the eye, said it was great and even wanted to know what it was because he wasn't familiar with the tune. A friend of mine said she had brought a guest who is just amazed at our music - mentioned the choir and organ specifically. She said she feels she has been missing out on so much in other churches she's attended. I asked her to encourage her friend to tell our pastor how she feels about the music. Hubby is afraid that might be viewed as pushing my own agenda...I would like your opinions.

The prelude I played yesterday is difficult to play from a physical standpoint - the hand is stretched a lot and that combined with the large amount of finger substitutions necessary, it is very painful to my hands and I woke up in pain this morning. Marc said I was rubbing my hands together in my sleep.

I told my Mentor yesterday how Easter went, he said: "That experience is what I've wanted for you for 22 years!"

This week looks to be pretty "normal"...teaching, practicing, etc. I am looking forward to a massage on Thursday morning - I may ask her to spend some extra time on my hands.

I do have some organizing in the studio that needs doing. It's a project that will take weeks, but it's starting to get to me in here. I haven't begun yet because I don't know quite how to make it function like it should and I don't know where to begin.

Daughter #2 still has not found her wallet. She came for lunch again yesterday and brought her friends. We had Ham and Cheddar Chowder and Oatmeal Cake...they didn't leave any leftovers.

Please pray again for my friend/teacher, Gordon. Last week he posted he was feeling better and was out in the yard doing spring clean-up and enjoying the physical work and fresh air. This morning his wife posted this:
Prayer Request for Gordon - He hasn't had a good weekend. He is tired of all of this. He is anxious and hurting and can't breathe very well. It would be wonderful for him to have something to give him hope. We soooo appreciate all your prayers! You are so wonderful to continually lift Gordon up and we are so thankful for you. He goes to the clinic tomorrow for blood work and will ask about the breathing problem. Please pray there are no more complications with all the chemo in his poor body. (I guess you can tell, I'm tired of all of this, too.) We know God is always with us...but we are frail humans. Thanks so much!