Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

My friend Beth writes a blog, like a day off, and she was saying how she wanted to learn to live every day like it's a day off. Well, today IS a day off. I got a SNOW DAY!!!! OK, not just me, but several school districts here in Colorado Springs.

I LOVE that unexpected feeling of wonderfulness when you realize that the whole day is free, and you just gained 8 hours that you didn't have before.

I feel totally relaxed, and am definitely going to enjoy my snow day!

Hope you have an unexpected gift sometime soon.
K

ice hockey

Last night my Dad took me to a hockey game. It really was fun - we went to get some dinner, then saw Colorado College beat Michigan Tech 4-1. I have to admit that I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I like to watch any sport where it is exciting, and there's stuff to watch, so it was a good night all together.

Though, I had a moment and cried a little bit in the restaurant. There was an older couple a couple tables over, and I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye. She was fixing his dinner, and from the way he sat there I assumed that he had previously had a stroke. After she got his dinner ready, she carefully placed the fork in his hand so he could eat. As I was watching this, I started thinking about Grandmas and Grandpas, and it made me a little sad that 5 of them are gone, but would have done this same thing in the same situation. And then I thought that, god forbid, I may have to do this same thing for Mom or Dad one day in the FAR future. But as all these thoughts flashed through my mind in about a second, I had a tear. Then, I couldn't stop them, and had to dig a kleenex out of my purse in the middle of dinner in Pei Wei. Good Heavens. I truly am a mess.

Anyway, Dad and I had a really nice time. We talked about CC hockey, and about other things, and about how much we enjoy my nephews (his grand kids). It was fun.

On the way home I got to thinking about how weird the circle of life it. First, when we are little we spend tons of time with Mom and Dad. Then we get a little older, and more time is with friends, and less time is spent with Mom and Dad. Then we get to be a teenager, and we wouldn't be caught DEAD with Mom and Dad. Then we (I) live across the country for 14 years, and only get to see Mom and Dad once a year. And now, we live 6 miles apart, and week each other every week. Just kinda funny...

K

power!

I feel totally empowered!

This week I changed the bulb in my car's dome light, changed the wiper blades, got one of the guys at the auto parts store to put in a new headlight bulb, and today I refinished my headlights!!! Usually car-stuff makes me want to have someone else take care of whatever needs to be done, but that time had come, so I stepped up.

Just want to point out that the headlight refinishing involved using my drill, and 3 grades of sandpaper as well as a polishing attachment.

I'm so proud of myself!

Just wanted to share with someone...
K

tears, death, and some drunk people in a bar

So the opera is over.

I am a little glad, and a little sad at the same time. Let me review: I sang in the chorus for a local production of La Boheme, by Puccini. This particular production was a "semi-staged" version, and that means that there were no costumes, no props, and no scenery. Other than that, it was very much like the last time I sang in the chorus for La Boheme. Sang the same songs, though a different part this time, and got to portray drunk people in a bar, as well as impertinent little kids. It really was a ton of fun.

I do have to say that the last time I did La Boheme, I thought we were IT. I had in my mind that there was no way that this production would match up. Yeah, it could be good, but...wouldn't come close.

Well, I was totally wrong. The principals in this version totally knocked it out of the park. They were SO GOOD! I think a huge selling point for me was that the "semi-staged" version meant that the chorus sat on stage throughout the whole thing. Even though we only sang in Act 2 and part of Act 3, we sat up there for the whole shebang.

Boy, I hardly have words. Mimi, one of the 2 female leads dies at the end of the show, and this Mimi died sitting in a chair. Wearing a formal dress. Singing higher than I could ever sing, dying in a chair or not. One of my piano students came, and her mom told me that she was sobbing at the end of the show. Mimi was THAT good, and THAT moving, and THAT convincing.

Wow.

I had a tear at the end, and I've been in it before, and even seen the whole thing before.

Wow.

I am so impressed by Puccini's ability to take this timeless story of not just Rodolfo and Mimi's love, but their friends, their dealing with life's circumstances, as well as their entire relationship with each other and put it into this amazing and touching lyrical story.
If you've never seen La Boheme, I suggest you watch a good version. Soon.

So it may seem like I am out of Operaville, but this last weekend I tried out to sing in the chorus of Mozart's Magic Flute. We'll see if I make it...

Musically,
K

drums, a kora and some beats

This link is of an amazing musician from Mali, West Africa and his name is Issa Bagayoyo. I had the privilege of seeing him live this fall, and sometimes I think I could listen to his stuff all the time. Just wanted you to experience Issa too.

Don't be afraid to get up and dance...
K

Issa Bagayogo Live at Colorado College from PPLD TV on Vimeo.

lights out

The other night I came home, and my neighbor was out in the street, waving around a flashlight. So I stopped. While I stopped, I hit the button for my garage-door opener. 'Cause that's what I do when I pull into my street. And my neighbor was very nice.
He said, "That won't work".

Huh.

"Did you say that won't work? (pause for my brain to work for a moment). "Why?"

" 'Cause the power is out. (pause for me to comprehend) We don't have any power."

So I said thanks, and idled there for a minute, totally thrown by the fact that I didn't have any power.

I eventually parked in the driveway, and made my way up to the the door and into my house. It was a little weird, but I made it. Had to use my cell phone to get up the stairs, but I made it. I found a flashlight that I keep on the upstairs landing for this purpose, and found my way around. I lighted one of those "jar candles", and put it on my dresser, so I could see in the bedroom. Then I used that candle, and the flashlight to find my way around and light some other candles, and eventually it looked like I was having a seance with all the candles. It looked like the "talking to the dead" scene in Ghost. I hope I DID NOT look like Whoopie Goldberg, though...

I had a nice time, being quiet, and doing a sudoku, and I turned on my laptop and played games on the computer for a little bit. It was nice.

But it got me to thinking, as I took my candle into the bathroom, to brush my teeth, that this must have been how Laura Ingalls Wilder felt, and how she did everything back in the day. I totally felt like Little House On The Prairie!

It was a good feeling, to be able to do everything I needed to do, but still conquer the lack of electricity. Maybe I am flexible after all...

Turn out your lights once in awhile.
K

singing

I LOVE to sing. When I was little, I was constantly singing around the house. Usually it was the jingle from a commercial, or the theme song from a TV show. You can ask my Mom - it drove her crazy. We had a rule in the house growing up: no singing at the dinner table. Guess who that rule was made for???

This is a cool video that a friend of mine sent me.
Hope you enjoy it!
K

the Ya-Ya's

I am re-re-re-reading The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I absolutely LOVE this book, and am convinced that I would have fit perfectly in Garnet, Louisiana. If you haven't had the pleasure, it is all about a family in Louisiana with a playwright daughter, outdoorsy father, crazy and out-there mother, and the mother's 3 friends that she grew up with. They called themselves the Ya-Yas.

The entire book is about that family, and even if it is a totally dysfunctional family, it is about all of the things that tie them together. It is about Vivi sending the Ya-Ya-rebelia to Sidda, and learning about her past, and her mother's past, and her mother's friends past. How they were willing to call each other out when they did something wrong, how they took care of each other and their families. How they were family to each other. The Ya-Yas.

I got a call from my sister today. She's out in Oregon for Grandpa Jack's funeral. She just called to see how I was doing, but I have a feeling it was a check in for her too. Sometimes it is nice to talk to someone who understands, even if they are annoying sometimes! (Me, not her.) It is nice to talk to someone who knows how it feels to have lost all the same Grandparents. It was nice to talk to her.

We are like those beautiful quilts that my Mom makes. She takes little bits of fabric, and makes them into beautiful quilts. Her most recent project was to take different pieces of Grandma Bev's and Grandpa Larry's clothes, and make them into a quilt for my cousin Christina's wedding present.

I think that that's a good way to look at family. All of out imperfections are woven into the fabric that is our family, but if you step back and look at the whole thing, it's beautiful. And keeps you warm on a cold night. Family can do that for your soul.

So, I'm off to read about the Ya-Yas. Again. And crawl under a flannel quilt that my Mom made. I think I'll sleep well tonight.

K

and the hits just keep on comin'

OK, maybe I'm bring dramatic, but I think you'll agree with me in a minute.

But first, I have to share about my friend Jen. Jen has an unnatural attachment to the Bon Jovi song, "Livin' On a Prayer". I don't often tease her about this, 'cause i don't want her to feel bad, and all. She's not even from New Jersey. But she DOES love this song. So, in honor of her little quirk, I set her ringtone on my new phone to "Livin' On a Prayer". So that's not the good part. The best part was when I told her about it. She laughed so loud and hard that it made me laugh too. That was the best feeling. It made me happy that she was happy.

So that brings us around to today. This evening she called and said it makes her sad that I'm sad. You see, my Grandpa Jack died today. Don't get me wrong - I have some tears. But I'm not really sad for Grandpa Jack. He loved Jesus, possibly more than anyone I've ever known. Grandpa Jack has been sick for awhile now, and he was not doing so hot lately, so I'm actually relieved for him. I'm most sad for Grandma Betty, 'cause she will have to live for awhile without him. Now, I know eventually that they will be together, but for the immediate future, she's going to have a rough go of it.

It just makes me sad for all the missing: I've been missing my other grandparents lately, and now I'm missing Grandpa Jack too. I drove home from rehearsal tonight in tears. I know they will stop eventually, but they kinda hurt right now.

Here's a picture of Grandpa Jack, Grandma Bev, and my Dad when he was really little:



I think this picture was taken around Christmas of 1949. Grandma Bev passed away about 2 and a half years ago - she's beautiful in this picture. Dad's not this cute anymore.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get a Kleenex.
K

the chain letter

This is my favorite picture of Grandma Annie and Grandpa Glen (my mom's parents). I think it was taken when I was really little, like 3 or 4.

Back when I was in my 20's, and Grandma Annie was still alive, and all of us girls lived in different places in the country, my mom, sister, grandma and I had what we called the chain letter. It wasn't a chain letter, per se, but more like a layered-type letter that we passed around in a circle. I would get the chain letter, take out whatever I wrote last time, add my note for this time, and see if there was anything included for me. Then I would mail it to Grandma, then she would do the same and mail to my sis, then she would do the same and mail it to Mom. And around and around it would go. Sometimes, mom or grandma Annie would make 3 copies of a good recipe and send it out so everyone could have a copy. Sometimes it would have a recipe that was just for me. (That's how I got Grandma Annie's Potato Salad recipe!) But the chain letter kept going around, and about once a month it would arrive in the mail, always with something new and exciting.

Don't get me wrong, there was usually nothing "exciting" in the chain letter. We are not terribly exciting people. But getting a note from everyone was great, and the best ones would be where Gram put something in just for me.

I miss the chain letter.

I think that it's really Gram and Gramp that I miss. But the other day I thought about the chain letter, and the infinite connections that we had with each other. I am sad that they are gone. I'm sad that they can't be here to love on my nephews like I can. And they WOULD, if they were here.

But such is life. I will move on, and live life. I will still have those kind of connections with my other family. But it will never be the same as it was with Grammy and Grumpy Gramp.

I love you both.
K