adventurous saturday

Wow! Today was about as much adventure as I would want to have on a Saturday. A fun day overall, but definitely not an everyday thing.

First, I slept in this morning. It was my reward for surviving the first full week at school. And the week was good, but I needed the rest.

Then I met my friend Jenn for breakfast. We went to the North End Diner and the biscuits and gravy were AWESOME! We both had the biscuits and gravy platter, and oh my word I cannot say enough good things about it.

Then I went over to the hockey rink, because the older nephew (7 years old) was playing in an in-line hockey tournament today. It was a pretty big deal to him, so I wanted to watch at least one of his games. Here he is at a face off:

And then, because I was taking pictures of the older nephew, the younger nephew (3 years old) wanted me to take a picture of him. Here HE is:

Thank you for that.

Then I watched some more hockey.

This was the view for a good bit of today. I think we might have to have a talk about finding some more "gettin' up and goin'" after the puck...


After that game I left the arena and was going to go home, but I called Mom and she said her vet's office was having a big open house, and the little nephew was in the bounce house. This was not to far from my house, so I stopped by.

There were HUGE iguanas there:

And there were snakes. Nana was NOT to thrilled about the snakes, but little nephew and I got right up close and he petted the "fat" yellow snake (a Burmese Python, for any of you who were wondering):

And then they got him all dressed up in a surgery suit - exactly what they wear to do surgeries:

And then he got to do a surgery on a teddy bear:

Someone needs to have a talk with that teddy bear - nephew pulled 2 balloons, a screw, and a nail out if his tummy!


After that Nana took nephew back out to the bounce house, but I had to head home and take a nap - this day wore me out! There's nothing quite like a day with family.

K :)
PS. I want to have a scrub suit like that...

laughter

This weekend, I laughed.

Not just laughed, but laughed until I cried, and couldn't breathe, and had tears streaming down my face.

The most memorable time was while listening to Car Talk - the NPR program featuring Tom and Ray Magliozzi answering questions about cars. But the guys like to laugh, and laugh they did. One of them was reading a "Washington Post Invitation-style thing", where readers were invited to propose ways to make modern life harder than it needs to be.

I don't remember all of them, but here's a couple:

Replace the computer mouse with two Etch-a-Sketch knobs.
Drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road Thursday.
ATMs require a urine specimen.
All pills must be suppositories.
Bicycle-pedaled flush toilets.
Sell tires only in multiples of seven.
HOV use now requires three humans, a dog and a family of chickens.

Well.

The one about the ATM got me really laughing, but the one about the HOV lane really got the guys laughing. And then they got to laughing so hard that they couldn't even talk to each other. Not great news for a RADIO show.

Then one of them started making a high-pitched wheez-y noise as he gasped for breath. And then that noise got me laughing even harder.

Finally, I had to pull over to the side of the road, and turn off the radio just to be able to breathe again.

...

I'm chuckling right now, just remembering it.

Well I said all that to say this: It sure feels good to laugh. To laugh deep, and to laugh long, and sometimes to have a hard time stopping the laughter. My mom says that good laughter is like aerobics for your heart.
In that case, I am SO heart healthy...

Here's to good laughter.
K

friendship

I am going to take this opportunity to be thankful for my friend, Beth. She writes a blog too, and you can read it here. But today is to say how much I appreciate Beth.

We got together this week for coffee, and just talked. Not unusual for us, but the last time we did this was...

...

...

a year ago??? It's hard to believe that we haven't really spent too much time together in a year. Wow.

But, that's one of the things that I like about Beth. No, not that we don't spend time together, silly! It's that whenever we DO spend time together it is like we do it all the time. I appreciate her candor, and I know that if she thinks I'm off on something she will tell me. And we are real.

I think that this is the definition of a true friend. That you can not have to be together all the time,and still be real with one another. That you enjoy spending time together, whether it is on a regular basis, or on a MUCH more occasional basis than regular. That you can feel free to admit to your shortcomings, or struggles, and be secure that you will be corrected but still loved and comforted.

Thanks for the coffee, Beth, and let's do it again. Soon!
K

high drama

Yesterday I went to an opera. To be fair, as a music teacher it's kind of in my job description. But this time was not for me, but to support one of my students. She is in a summer intensive and the performance yesterday morning was the culmination of their work composing, writing, rehearsing and performing. It really was a great performance, and I enjoyed it very much. Then, to finish out the camp, they all go to the opera. I've gone before, and my student's mom loved having someone along to enjoy the student performances and the opera with her. It's nice to go with someone who is relishing it as much as yourself.

We saw "Carmen", and it was performed by the Central City Opera. It was fabulous!!! I can't say enough great things about the fantastic performance. Here's a picture, courtesy of the Central City Opera website:

Carmen: Central City Opera, 2011. Photo by Mark Kiryluk

Playing the role of Carmen was Kirstin Chavez, and playing the role of Don Jose was Jon Burton. These are the people in the above picture. They were FANTASTIC! The whole performance was amazing. Even though I have been in 3 operas and have attended several more, this was outstanding, and possibly one of the best. Oh, the DRAMA!

And, considering that Carmen was written in 1873 and first performed in 1875, it amazes me that the stories and lessons learned are still applicable today. Relationships haven't changed a whole lot since then. Carmen is a story about two people and the course their relationship takes. There are good times, but there are rough times too, and (spoiler alert!) even love is not able to overcome all, because Carmen is killed in the end.

I was moved, and very impressed by the stellar performances put on by the entire cast. Central City did a wonderful job, and I would highly recommend their opera season to anyone who is so inclined to be taken on a fascinating journey.
K