Smiley Face

• I had my first family piano recital last night.


• I played: Marching. Skipping. Clowns. Hamsters. Rain.


• Everyone clapped for me.


• I clapped for myself.


• I was wonderful.


• Am I a little prideful?

Attention All Bloggers!

"We have some exciting news!"

Melissa and Austin are expecting a BABY!

My Turn -- My Time

When I was around 11 years old, my Grandpa W. lived in a furnished house with a piano. When we visited him, I enjoyed sitting at the piano plunking out familiar tunes by ear. I loved the rich, golden tones and I loved to sing to my plunking. Many years later (after I was married and had four children of my own), we tucked the kids into bed one night and Mike and I sat talking....I told him one of my hopes was to have a piano of my own one day. I told him I would like to take piano lessons. It was one of those off the wall wishes that I never actually thought would come true. It was just a pie in the sky kind of dream.

But the seed was planted in Mike's mind, and he turned my dream of wanting a piano into a reality. A few weeks later he happened to drive by a sign planted in the front yard of a house in the area advertising: Piano for Sale. He stopped. He knocked on the door. It was only 7:30 in the morning but he had to inquire about the piano. A woman came to the door in her bathrobe. She showed him the piano....which sat lost and forgotten out in the garage. She said she had played it as a girl but her children were not interested in learning to play it and it didn't fit into her decorating scheme. To his great surprise, it was not an old, rundown, battered piano. It was a nice spinnet, and even though it was maybe 20 years old, it was in great condition. Right there on the spot he bought that piano.....complete with a bench full of piano music, for only $75 (which even in 1981, was a real bargain). That afternoon in one of his most glorious moments, Mike loaded that piano into the back of our Mercury Montego station wagon to take it to its new home. Then smiling from ear to ear he walked in the door and announced, "I have a surprise for you." As he struggled to get the piano out of the back of the car and into the house, he said, "Happy Birthday Honey!"

He was so proud of himself for finding such a wonderful gift for me and I couldn't have loved him any more than at that moment!

I was excited about learning to play. Having previous music lessons on the clarinet, I already knew something about music. Having a busy household and not that much extra money, I decided to teach myself. I diligently practiced and in a few months I had taught myself the basics and learned the songs in the "First Grade Book." I was so proud of myself and played quite a bit. The kids like to spin and dance to my playing in the living room.

But when Kristie was in kindergarten she showed great musical aptitude and we started her in piano lessons. Gradually I played less and less and she played more and more. I was busy with a house full of children and all the tasks that it entailed, babysitting, church work, service, errands, cleaning....and soon enough I forgot all about my dream of one day taking piano lessons. It was not like a sacrifice, it was more like a natural transition. By the time Kristie got married, Melissa was taking lessons and I had another 12 years of listening enjoyment. Eventually I forgot most of what I had learned about playing piano. During the busy years, it was not my time for piano lessons.

A few weeks ago my daughter-in-law, Heather, said to me: "You enjoy piano so much, have you ever thought about taking piano lessons yourself?" At that moment it was like a lightbulb went off inside my head. "YES," I replied....thinking to myself that I most definitely had thought about it, but had long since forgotten. Right then and there I told myself that it was a new year and I had the time, I had the money, and I had the inclination to take piano lessons right now and I was going to do it!

The very next day (on Sunday) I asked someone I know if she was still teaching piano and if she was interested in a new student. She was teaching, but didn't know about taking on a new student. Then, on Monday when I was at work (at the college) one of the music professors came to my desk asking to see the president. The president wasn't there, so he stood there talking to me for a few minutes. I mentioned that I wanted to start piano lessons and he reminded me that they teach lessons right there at the school. I had completely forgotten and I was so excited! As soon as he left I looked into the Spring 2011 catalogue and found a class for group lessons. I signed up for it the next day! The class starts on Friday (day after tomorrow) and I can't wait to get started!

Finally, after many years, it is my turn for piano lessons!

This is the first page of what I will learn on Friday.
I am taking the class for credit, so I will be sure to take it seriously.
I don't think you are ever too old to learn something new.
I'm hoping it will stir up my brain cells and help my memory!

The A to Z of 2010

A Austin joined the family
B Brian was baptized
C Called my mom almost every day to strengthen our relationship
D Decorations...Grandkids + Family Dinner Night = Many Interesting Decorations
E Emberly fixed me up with play pearls at most of our Sunday dinners
F Forty Years and Counting, Congratulations to us!
G Glasses--Ansley's pretend birthday glasses made her, in her own words, look "older"
H Highchair Haircut....got to see Evan in all his glory, eating while he got his hair cut
I I found and began corresponding with my second cousin who lives in Tennessee
J Job at Brookhaven is still intact....for now
K Kristie surprised us with a whirlwind visit for Mike's 60th birthday
L Liam gave me his first spontaneous hug
M Money--Pierce bought me a Christmas present with his very own money this year
N Newlyweds made a lovely little nest
O Olympics...enjoyed watching them this year with the nearlyweds
P Popcicles--Miss Amber ate lots of popcicles at Grandma's house this summer
Q Quiet--We are keeping expectant grandchild #11 quiet for a little while
R Reading Fort--Weston made a giant reading fort out of pillows this year
S Shimmied... Little Aaron shimmied up the pole at the playground all by himself
T Tent...Hailey and I slept overnight in the tent in the backyard this summer
U Unusually snowy this year
V Valentines Day was twice the fun with Austin & Melissa around the house
W Wedding ... 2010 was all things wedding!
X Xciting times in the loft at the symphony
Y Year with Elizabeth, my friend
Z (zzzzz) it is nice to sleep when you have an empty nest

The Thing I Do--Highly Recommended to Others

Every year in January this is what I do.

I go to the bookcase to retrieve my stack of loose papers.

These papers are the email and/or the blog posts I did throughout the year.

They are all in order because I put them there every day.

Right after I write or blog....I print it out.

It's that simple. Takes 2 minutes.

I find that I either write a meaningful email or multiple emails each day to someone...

either to one of the girls, to my sister, my friends....

and this year it was to my newly found second cousin.

I am always surprised to see how much I actually write

about everyday happenings

and about my thoughts and feelings.

I bring my stack into the kitchen.
I use my handy-dandy 3 hole punch
so the pages will fit neatly into my notebook.
It takes a little more than an hour of steady work
to get all the papers punched and organized.
And once I'm through, I have a very nice journal.



I have been keeping this kind of journal since 1998.
I love writing about every day experiences.
Good Thing
If you know me, you probably realize
it may well be the only way that I remember my life!

Thrift Incorporated

If you know me, you know I love thrift stores.

We have a new thrift store here in Carrollton.

It is very clean and has nice used items from A to Z....

and every so often I make a point to stop in and browse.

A few months ago I came across this wonderful thing.

It is a quilting frame made out of PVC pipe.

The legs can go up or down.

The quilt is held in place by 1/2 round of PVC pipe

clipped over the top of the quilt.

During the past week I tied one of the quilts ....
and I found my newest bargain very handy.
It only cost $4.99.
It was like new, and still in the box.... which included instructions on
the easy use and easy assembly of the frame.
I love "vintage" shopping!