Croc in the water...

My sister and I have been unable to mow our lawn this year. The neighbors have helped out tremendously and mowed the front yard, but avoided the back yard. The grass got up to 2-4 feet tall in some areas. At this point we would need a baler to take care of the lawn. Athena would go out and wander through the grass. It looked like a crocodile in the water with just the head sticking out of the water.

I tried a weed whacker and got a 10x20 ft area. I found 3 toys and apparently the dogs had taken some cans out of the garbage and licked them out (yikes) because we found several cans in the back yard.

My neighbors came over several times and mowed sections of it. With the grass as tall as it was and all the rain we have had lately, we had clumps that were still 2 ft tall and the cut grass still needed to be picked up. There were several areas where there was a flurry of white stuffing. Oops, those were toys. Well they definitely bit the dust. That was so much work to get the lawn down like that. Wow, what great neighbors and friends we have.

I had mentioned the crocs in the water to one of my friends at work. She brought her 2 sons over and they raked and mowed and raked and mowed...and raked and mowed. They also weed whacked along the fence. They moved the screen door to block the dogs in the house (we have a doggie door in our sliding glass door). When we came home from work and found my friend and her kids out taking care of the lawn, we came out to thank them. This is where it gets funny. They told us how they blocked the doggie door with the screen and then Luna pushes the screen away from the door and looks out at us. Her head went back inside and Athena stuck her head out. It was like they were trying to say, "yeah, we could have come out any time we wanted."

When you are not able to get out and do the things that you need to, it means so much to have friends and neighbors like these help out. I have actually cried because we haven't been able to mow the lawn. I'm...full figured and get out of breath and overheated quickly. Right now I'm on oxygen full time, but I have been starting to loose some weight and hope to get in better shape soon (you know, hour glass instead of blimp, or maybe just tree trunk instead of blimp). Anyway, I'm not exactly up to mowing the lawn and it stresses me out. Sandra has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 2 yrs old. She can mow the lawn, but then she can hardly move for 3 days afterward.

It may seem very simple to mow the lawn or some of the gazillion other things my neighbors do for us, but we are very, very, very grateful for all of their help.

Eggs aren't all they are cracked up to be.

I love to eat omelets. I have mine with ham mushrooms and olives with cheddar cheese. It just absolutely amazes me what some cooks think an omelet is. when I order one from the cafe at work, they sometimes grill the ham, mushrooms and olives. They scoop out some of that mystery scrambled-egg-from-the-bag that they poured into a bowl. They let it run all over the flat grill and pretty much cook the egg before the extras are added. They add the extras, and roll it up. They then put the cheese on top. When you try and eat it, it comes out as several layers of scrambled egg, some cheese sometimes on top, and miscellaneous ham, mushrooms, and olives all over the plate.

They used to have a guy that would saute the goodies. Pour the egg on the grill but create edges to keep the egg from spreading too thin. He'd add the goodies so they get incorporated into the omelet. He folds up the omelet and puts the cheese on top and steeps it. Much better.

I still like the cheese on the inside with the goodies. Then some more cheese on top.

It's all in the details

I had a rehearsal tonight for the New American Symphony Orchestra. We have our pit orchestra for the Clytie Adams Dance recital next week. My favorite piece that we play is the 3rd movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony. It has a whole lot of notes that go really fast. You have to let your bow bounce to get a nice, light sound, but if you are too much in the "sweet spot," where the bow bounces the most, then you get too much bounce and you can't go fast enough.

And just when you get into a rhythm for it, the bowing changes so you have two notes going the same direction on the bow. I get so frustrated sometimes, because I am trying to get the two notes, but only the first one comes out. I'm thinking it. I'm hearing it in my head, but it is just a tiny bit too fast for me to get both of the notes.

It's all a matter of getting just a little bit more control of my pinky finger on my bowing hand. That is the finger that makes the bow bounce...most of the time. Apparently, viola players have an additional magic finger that comes out whenever a solo passage appears in front of a violist. We so rarely get the melody, that it comes as such a surprise. This magic finger makes the bow bounce whenever you have to play a solo. The big joke is, "how do you get a viola player to play down bow spiccato(that means that the bow goes in one direction-down and bounces the whole time)?" The answer is to write a whole note (a long note) and write solo over the top. I so fit that joke. It's sad really.

The other pieces are deceptively easy. We are playing F�r Elise, orchestral arrangement; Minuet by Beethoven (you may recognize it from the "think system" with the Music Man, but Beethoven didn't write it for them); selections from a Bach Suite, several dances (which is appropriate since it is for a dance recital) and some others I can't think of at the moment.

A good junior high group could play these, but if you don't put life into it, then it sounds like a good junior high group playing it. That is where the details come in. Those subtle things at the end of phrases that let the music breath and round out the phrase. Playing the dynamics (the louds and softs in the music) and the different nuances in tambor.

I get a bit grumpy when people don't mark their parts so that they play it the right way each time. Of course, sometimes the conductor tells you something and you just sit there, looking at your music, wondering, what the heck am I supposed to do to mark that? For example, we have one piece that the first section is repeated and the 2nd section is repeated. Okay so far. The second time we only play 8 measures and then we go back to the same section and play it again to the end, and repeat that whole section again. Huh? Okay, 1st time to the end..repeat..2md time..shorty repeat..3rd time play to the end and repeat..4th time to the end. So what do you mark?

I also get grumpy when I make all the rehearsals and others miss a few. Of course, if I need to miss, I have a really good reason, so it is perfectly okay...??

Our first rehearsal last week sounded much more musical. We really made the music come to life. I think we got all new people to impersonate the people that were there the first week for the rehearsal tonight. Okay, so we didn't have new people, but it was like everyone was having a "full moon" moment through the whole rehearsal.

Thursday's rehearsal should go better. We only have two days to forget what the conductor told us. We may actually remember some of it. Also, every little bit of practice helps (except the ones that happen when we stop in rehearsals, haha).

It is weird in music. It is like the group is a lump of clay. As you start to mold it into shape, it begins to sound like something you recognize. As you learn to put more details in (you get better, more accurate, etc.) it gets closer and closer to what it is supposed to be.

Then the acting comes in. You have to act like you are playing the right notes, just the way you want to, even if you don't. (of course, if it is jazz, do it several more times, to emphasize that you meant to do that) Nine times out of ten, the audience doesn't know whether it was right or wrong. If you give it away by putting your instrument down or make a funny face, or look appalled at someone else, then the audience will know.

That is probably why people think I'm really good on the bass. I'm not, but I get a lot of comments on how well I play. I move with the music and play with confidence. I'm actually kind of famous for getting into my music. It seems to put the listener at ease and fools them into thinking I know what I'm doing.

The final steps defy all reasoning. Parts we have never played correctly, magically fix themselves at the concert and so it usually goes without a hitch. Well, we are a semi-professional orchestra and when we get the details, the music has energy.

Pictures are before a concert several years ago. As I am the one taking pictures, I am not in any of these.

Luna-Be the Ball

We adopted Luna from an animal control facility when Tribble passed on. We were looking for a young dog that would be a good companion for Athena. They hit it off great so we adopted her. Then we found out she was almost as old as Athena. Luna is a border collie/ Brittany Spaniel mix. She has the coloring and most of the look of the border collie, but the hyperness of the Spaniel.

She was very nervous about coming home...until she found a tennis ball. She brought it over and chased it wherever we through it. When she is focused on the ball, nothing will distract her. The funny part is watching her tail. If the ball is on the floor, her tail is wagging and she's watching you. As soon as you touch the ball, the tail stops and she is in full concentration mode. She had very quick reflexes and was very smart about where it would go if you are standing at X and kicking it. She would figure out the trajectory and be right there to get it.

She has a really good disposition. She is good with people, kids (okay, kids are people too, but I'm emphasizing the kids, because they can be stressful to some dogs), and she is good with other dogs as well.

She also had some really good training because when we call her (and she's not playing ball), she comes. When she brings the ball, she can put it into your hand if you ask her to. The only problem that we have encountered with her is she got a bit stressed and ripped up the carpet under the kitchen table. I guess when we are rich we'll get new carpet.

She seems to trust me a lot more than Sandra. Sometimes the ball has gone under Sandra's bed. She is over there trying to get it out. If Sandra lifts the bed, she won't go under, but if I lift the bed, she'll quickly go under and retrieve the ball and come back out.

Athena-The Bear

Her original name was Meesha. We got her at the pound. The notes on her past said of the previous owners, that the father hated the dog. She is a border-collie Chow mix all black. Lots of hair like a chow, but moves like a border collie. Because of her "past" she seemed to have a difficult time around men. It took about a year and a half for her to feel comfortable enough with my dad that she would come to him when we were not there. We tried to find a "godlike" name for her since she had such a rough start and we didn't care for the original name. We tried a number of Greek mythological names and she responded to Athena.

Everyone says that she looks like a bear because she is so big and hairy. She has certainly turned into a "Gentle Ben" kind of dog. She still gets nervous around kids, but she is doing a lot better.

We give her such a hard time and she gives it right back. We'll get her feet and she'll pull her feet under her so it looks like she doesn't have any feet. She'll tickle us with her nose, by nuzzling up to our bums.



Now, we talk with our dogs all the time. Athena has been the most responsive. We would ask her if she had a good day. Sometimes, we wouldn't get anything, but sometimes she'll wag her tail and start "talking" in dog speak, obviously excited about something. People think we are nuts when we say that we talk with our dogs.

I just remember growing up and mom and dad would have friends over. The other kids would come up to their parents, "mom..mom.MOM..MOM!" and then mom would turn and yell at them. If they had acknowledged them from the start, even to say, "mommy is talking, please wait" I don't think they would ever yell at each other. Our approach with our "kids" is to respond when they bark. They bark at a noise from outside, so we go check the door and let them look out. They settle down and we have less barking.