down
and up...down and up. that has been my response to people to the question of, "How was your summer?" being back at school today for teacher meetings, I heard that question a lot! July was lousy, but August has been good. for the most part, very good. and I'm excited about being back at school, it's going to be a good year. I finally got some music ordered, so hopefully it will get here soon!
my time with the boys early last week was great, as I knew it would be. we went to Burlington after my Voices recording session on Tuesday, and ate pizza, and played a round of laser tag at the arcade. great fun!! you know that I'm not a shoot 'em up kind of guy, but we really had a good time. I suppose it helped that I won, but... we'll go again sometime, once everything is done. I think that's November.... oiks.
I'm going to pick them up tomorrow afternoon so we can have dinner together. I'll pick up some Italian Bread on the way home from school, so we can make spaghetti and garlic bread. yum. they start school on Wednesday, which is the first day for students for me, too. I think they're getting pretty excited about it. it'll be good to be back with friends.
one quick link:
a quote:
make sure you read the paragraph about the preparation of the clay. how did they discover that process? thanks to wofa for the link!It is said that if you use a Yixing teapot for many years, you can brew tea just by pouring boiling water into the empty pot.
ok. enough for now. my thoughts are with those in the South dealing with the hurricane. I really can't imagine.
just a
big smile...I'm not sure why, but I just feel like smiling. I am so glad to have come out on the other side of this week, and actually, other than a few moments of tension and anger, it was great. the validation of what I do could not have been more pronounced. and I am proud of the work that I have done. Voices will be a terrific show; we managed to get the recording done under the time alotted, the Counterpoint concerts were a musical success, (though not attendance-wise) with what I think was some of our best singing. I certainly felt that I did some of my best singing. ever. and on top of it all, I won the pool for the concert length that we had today! $10! when Bob told us last night what the program would be for today, we knew that it would go over an hour, so we decided to do a pool to see who could guess the right length. I said an hour and six minutes, and thankfully, just prior to the show, he cut a piece! otherwise we would have gone around an hour eleven... the audience was absolutely fabulous today, with rousing applause right from the get-go, and it made me remember why I was doing (and loving) this.
best of all, I'll pick up the boys tomorrow, for four days together. it's been three weeks since we've had an overnight, so we're due.
I've got some work to do on the Counterpoint website, and tonight, much to my displeasure, I had to rebuild the church site, after a config file mysteriously disappeared... I have now learned the importance of doing a backup of that site... not that anyone really uses it anyway, but. it was an hour I wasn't happy to spend...
I do have a couple of school meetings this week, and I need to help with the mixing of the Voices cd. that should be fun, though, since the engineer, Chuck Eller, is someone I've heard about for years, but never had a chance to work with. actually, never thought I had a chance! he's a wizard, and a genuinely nice guy. a real pleasure. the boys can hang out while we mix the cd, and then we'll go out for supper in Burlington somwhere. maybe Pizza Putt...
a ton of other things to write about, but they'll have to wait. it's getting late, and the sooner I can get up in the morning the sooner I'll see the boys! have a great day.
catching my
breath...wow. mid-August already! time is flying. things are actually going fairly well, though my Dad is going through some health issues right now, that are keeping us all a bit on edge. keep him and my Mom in your thoughts.
Voices is going wonderfully; one more week of residency, including the cast recording. I'm excited about that, since originally, I wasn't going to be a part of most of it because of my Counterpoint commitment. but, we've worked out the schedule so that I can do it. I, and the band, and the singers are very happy. it's going to be a terrific show. though the time commitment is huge, it has been a great experience, and exactly what I needed right now.
Counterpoint is also going well, though our audiences have been much less than we hoped. hard to get people out on a summer evening, I guess.
I took the boys to Pizza Hut today for Emerson's and Lincoln's 11th birthdays. (really Wednesday) the pizza was great, as always, but what was most exciting was the three-inch praying mantis that was sitting on the railing outside our window! I don't think that I have ever seen one "live". it sat there for probably ten minutes before it flew away, actually lighting on the side of the building where we couldn't see it anymore. I checked it out, very up close when we left. cool. the boys hung out with me today, and came to the concert, and then we came back to the apartment and made spaghetti. one more week, and they'll get to stay a few days. that's always fun. I have missed seeing them these past couple of weeks.
Chellis starts soccer this week, and we're struggling figuring out how to get him to practice. Marnie's new job is keeping her very busy, and I'm away at Voices for most of the week. something will work out. he may finally learn how to really ride a bike...
ok, I need to pack, and get some sleep.
have a great week!