The Jury is in

Judge Tina residing.

Last week as my piano students filtered through my piano studio, I was anxious to see and hear their responses to seeing and playing the new piano.   The reactions were varied from. . . . 

~not noticing (Whaaat???)

~ignoring (probably speechless:)

~two, yes TWO, of my students said, "Oh, you got an "old fashioned" piano." (good grief!)

~It sounds like the "grand piano" button on our piano at home.  (they practice on an electric!)

~One student turned the corner and almost sat in mid-air where the piano bench used to be, then turned around and sat in the new spot, again, not seeming to notice any differences in the piano. 

~One of the more excited students didn't want to play the piano because she was afraid to make mistakes and not live up to the standard of the piano! (I'll have to admit I felt the same when I first sat at it)

Because of the snow we had last week, I still have new reactions from my "no-show" students this week, something to look forward to.  I still have one student that didn't come last week, who after his mother told them they didn't have room for a grand piano, declared to her that "You can put it in my room, I'd sleep on it!"  It'll be fun to see his reaction . . . . . . maybe!

With this piano my students (and I) have been able to achieve a wider range of dynamics.  Softer softs, louder louds, crisper staccato, and beauteous (a word?) legato.   I can see that it will increase my standards and it almost automatically increased theirs!  I've played the piano for hours just having fun.  For some reason, just having fun isn't enough for me.  What is more rewarding is getting down to some "work" on it, and I'm going to dive into that this week! 

Court adjourned!!

Hometown Hero Salute

Lincoln has been home from his tour of duty in Afghanistan for almost a year and a half.  Just recently the Air National Guard Headquarters recognized the Airmen that had served there.  Lincoln received this rather large plaque.  McKay and I both went.  I wasn't going to pull McKay out of school, but since he was home sick, I decided to take him along (make him get a strep test) and go to the presentation.  It was a nice event with it's accompanying pomp and circumstance!   

They also honored the spouses and children of the Airmen.  They gave the wife a pen/pencil set and the children a set of dog tags.  Lincoln also was able to give a medal of support to someone.  He told me that usually this medal is given to someone like a commander, or someone in the office that supported his efforts.  He said he decided to give it to me because I was his greatest support . . . . . Ahhhhhhhh.  So now, I can say I've earned a military medal!

I feel kind-of badly about what happens to these plaques and medals and awards that Lincoln gets.  There is a menagerie of them hidden away in our crawl space.  He would literally need a room of wall space to hang them all up on.  I'm thinking that maybe I ought to start hanging some of them up!  Or at least hang them up for a while until the next one comes along.   I feel sorry for our family when they have to decide what to do with them!

Thanks for serving Lincoln!!

In Memorian

My mom just called me and told me that after I posted my blog on Friday, my brother George Googled "find a grave" and found our foster sister had passed away.  I'd tried finding her on Facebook, Blogs and Myspace but had never thought of finding her in a grave.   Though this makes me sad, I'm not surprised.  Alberta suffered from Alcoholism and was told by her doctor that she needed to quit, or die.  Both her parents died of the same, and although I don't know for sure, this was probably her demise also.  I believe she left two daughters behind. 

Alberta . . . . . .until we meet again.

Birth: Aug. 6, 1967

Chinle

Apache County

Arizona, USA

Death: Oct. 16, 1999

The Coyote Pass People Clan for the Red House People Clan

Husband - Marvin Yazzie

Parents - Paschal Roy Kinsel Sr and Sarah Ayze Kinsel

Burial:

Fort Defiance Cemetery

Fort Defiance

Apache County

Arizona, USA

You will live on in our memories.

Super Saturday

If yesterday was "Flashback Friday" then today has to be SUPER SATURDAY!  I've been keeping a lid on this news and only have told a handful of people about it.  I've been sooooooooo excited this week (and darn it! sick with a head cold!).  I've been dreaming of blog titles that could represent how I feel . . . . . .

~ A dream come true

~We must be CrAzY!

~We did it!

~Special delivery . . . . . . .

~Good things come to those who wait

~Dreams really do come true

~We finally took the leap!

~Drum roll please . . . . .

~Ta Daaaaa

~I can't believe it!

~A picture is worth a thousand words

~Our family just gave birth to a 800 lb 6' 1" inch . . . . . . .

Grand Piano!!!

On Monday when we bought the piano I cried when the man shook my hand and congratulated us!  Delivery was today, yay!  I can't wait to see my piano students faces next week.  (and can't believe I'm leaving for stake conference only an hour after it arrived, but, I'll be back!!)

Flashback Friday

Before I get to my "flashback" I wanted to add a claim-to-fame statement!  McKay and I both have been a little under the weather the last couple of days.  I took McKay in to the doctor for a strep test.  Our doctor is on Andrews Air Force Base.  One of the places we like to take visitors to see is the hanger where Airforce 1 resides.   Most of the time we can get a glimpse of it, which is always a treat.  Yesterday, I glimpsed another airplane, and said "what the heck?"  After a moment I realized it was the Chinese President's, Hu Jintao's plane).  I thought it was pretty COOL to see and I think, so did McKay! 

ONWARD:

A fellow blogger's post jogged my memory for this post.

This week, I've thought about my foster sister twice.  Once while pulling out a piano book for one of my students, because Alberta's name was written on it, and once when I read the blog post of Lollie Joy's Joyful noise. 



Seeing this picture again reminds me of
Alberta's contagious laugh.



Back in the 70's our family participated in a church program called the Indian Placement program.  It was a program designed to help members of our church who lived on a reservation and didn't have access to good schools gain a good education.  The students simply were placed in member's homes (off the reservation) for the school year and then they returned home for the summer.  We had a "placement" student, Alberta, for 3 years.  I loved having her in our home.  I always thought as an adult I'd have a placement student in our home, but thankfully, the schools on the reservations have become better and the children stay home with their families and are educated well.

Alberta and the other students had to go through a "delousing" every year when they came back for the school year.  My mother had always been adamant (even before this) that we never borrow or lend out combs or brushes to anyone!  This was reinforced many times as outbreaks of lice would occur in the schools!

Several years after she stayed with our family, Alberta came back for a visit.  She came via Greyhound Bus.  After this visit, I and my husband, drove Alberta back to Salt Lake City to the bus station.  As we were sitting with her waiting for her bus, she did something that I will never forget.  An act of true charity, true human kindness and it really made me think about the kind of a person that I am and was. 

She had noticed that there was a rather ratty looking man of her nationality sitting waiting for the bus also.  Without saying anything she took out her comb and went over to him and began the long process of combing out his long matted hair.  I don't believe she knew him, but she did recognize that he needed help and she helped him in a way that only she could.  I know that she had gotten "the comb and brush" lectures right along with the rest of us but it didn't stop her.  I would have never thought of serving someone in this manner.  It impressed me deeply.  To my surprise, the man accepted the combing of his hair, as they chatted softly in their native language. 

I was taught that day.

I haven't heard from or about Alberta in years . . . . . . I often wonder how she is doing.

Flashback Friday

Journal Jar question:  "Do you remember your favorite childhood fantasy?  Tell about it."

I remember I loved the show I Dream of Jeannie.  I would ask my mother to call me in from playing when the show came on, and invariably she would "forget."  I would be so mad and disappointed when I realized that I'd missed the show.  Now, having watched the show as an adult, I realize why she wasn't very anxious for me to be in love with the show.  It had a lot of "stuff!"  I was blissfully unaware of all that "stuff" though and loved everything about the show, especially Barbara Eden (though I hated her as Jeannie's evil sister).  I thought she was so beautiful!  I loved her bottle, and couldn't figure out why she hated to be locked up in it.  I could imagine lounging around on all those pillows through all eons of time.  I could imagine having magical powers and being able to control the world around me with a arm-fold and nod of the head (and a audible doink)!

A couple of years ago, when Lincoln got home from Afghanistan, we took a long vacation.  One of the things we did was stay at a resort in Cocoa Beach for a week.  I had the theme song of I Dream of Jeannie running through my head a good portion of the time.  The resort we stayed at even had displays of "The Jeannie bottle".  I was so excited to see the street name:

I made Lincoln stop and with cars honking, made him take a picture of me next to the sign.  WOW, I had no idea those signs were so huge!  They look so small when you are looking for or at them! 



Now my life can be complete!  LOL!

Flashback Friday

This post was inspired by my new addiction . . . the show Hoarders.  I'll explain!

Back when Lincoln and I were first married, and our oldest child was a baby my hubby decided that he wanted to try his hand at farming with my dad.  We packed up all of our stuff and unlike the Beverly Hill Billies, we left the big bad city, and moved to the country.

I'm thinking Justin and I BOTH look like babies!  Ahhhh! Justin looks so sweet!

Here is my rugged hunk of a man, with my brother George.  I can't believe how
young they both look!

Those were the days!  Okay, back to Hoarding. . . . . the last show I saw was totally gross (which I love!)  Anyhow, as they were cleaning up the house, all of the sudden a bunch of mice all-of-a-sudden appeared and were jumping around like ballerinas . . . . landing on people, landing everywhere, trying to find a place to hide . . . . . it reminded me of . . . .

Doing chores with Lincoln on the farm.  Justin and I and Smoky, my parents dog, would load up in the pick-up truck and go to feed the cows.  Smoky loved feeding the cows.  I stayed in the truck with Justin.  WHY?  Because every time Lincoln would pick up a bale of hay to load it on to the truck, a zillion and a half mice would emerge and run everywhere!  Smoky loved pouncing on them and trying to bite them. 

WELL, one particular morning, while watching this happen, my husband got a look of terror on his face!  One of the mice had run up his leg, inside of his Levis.   Lincoln made a grab for the mouse and caught him high on his inner thigh.  What would you do in this situation???  LOL!  There was only one choice.  Lincoln squeezed, and hard!  I can imagine those little bones crunching . . . ooooooo yuck!  Anyhow, Lincoln never lifted a bale of hay off the ground without tucking his pants into his boots from then on!  What fun!  NOT!

Farming was never boring!!!  Lincoln kept us all hopping with his exploits!  I believe it cured him for good on wanting to be a farmer.

Twas the week after Christmas

'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house, nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.  The cookies I'd nibble, the eggnog I'd taste, all the holiday parties had gone to my waist.  When I got on the scales, there arose such a number!  yada, yada, yada. . . . . . . (actually the scale was kind to me, whew!)

Okay, Okay OKAY! I know it is the week after New Years, but the poem was so cute I just had to use it.
 
I was dreading the week after Christmas . . . . no piano lessons . . . . no appointments . . . . . nothing on the calendar . . . . . hubby was working . . . . . and no plans for anything.  Actually the week was rather pleasant.  I did a few things I'd been wanting to do, and Lincoln came home early so we could spend most nights away from the house.

We saw:
 

Kinda stupid, if you ask me . . . . but I think that was what they were going for :)

True Grit - - I could not figure out why they needed to remake John Wayne's version of this.  This movie is good, and violent . . . . and after listening to Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) speak, it made me feel as if I needed hearing aids.  McKay thought he was hard to understand also, making me feel much better.

The little girl was quite precocious, as she very well needed to be!  We tried to put the John Wayne version on our netflix list, and there is a long wait for it.  No surprises there!

Lincoln and I left McKay with his cousins and went out to dinner and a movie.  The scenery in this movie was awesome, and if it weren't for some twists and turns at the end of the movie, I'd have called this one a dud, but the ending made me want to watch it again.  I always enjoy Johnny Depp, though I could take or leave Angelina.

Last, but certainly not least, Lincoln and I went to the Kennedy Center to watch a Broadway quality rendition of South Pacific.  This however, is NOT the playbill from the Kennedy Center.  

The playbill from the Kennedy Center had a picture of : 

I was soooooooo disappointed that I didn't even scan it in to post!  I love Playbills for souvenirs . . . . . . I guess it has been 50 years since he was elected president and so he took over the cover . . . . . . 

Below are the actual actors in the play we saw.  I had a hard time getting over the Frenchman's bald head.  I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.  He had an awesome voice however, as did all of the actors and actresses.  TOTALLY FANTASTIC!  The play started at 1:30, and we didn't drive away from the Kennedy Center until 4:30.  The time flew past and I tried to savor every second of it.  We purchased these tickets over 2 months ago, and I've been anticipating it for so long.  It is quite enjoyable to watch a play that you know like the back of your hand and could sing every word to every song.   

 

A Grrrrrreaaaaat week!

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot, Happy New Year to all!!!  .....and to all a good diet.