Windy. . .

Happy Saint Patrick's Day. . .

Weather. . .

On Saturday, March 13th, we woke up to snow. It wasn't the light and fluffy stuff, it was horizontal sleet! After a pretty mild winter, it was a little strange. . .


On Tuesday, March 16th, just 3 days later, the sun shone beautifully all day long reaching the mid-60's, at least, and brought the promise of a bright spring. We took a nice, long evening walk and I allowed myself to breathe a little easier, knowing that we made it through another winter.

This brought to mind one of my favorite Allison Krauss songs: "Get Me Through December". I found it on You Tube this morning with a bonus LOTR slideshow!

Looking forward to summer. . .

John and Jake. . .

We had a very busy weekend with back-to-back concerts at The Egyptian on Saturday and Sunday. These were the first concerts at the theatre since the "mixer incident" back in January so I was feeling a little on edge. In fact, even though everything went flawlessly on both days, I still spent most of the time feeling like I could just throw up. Time heals all wounds, I'm sure, but the memories of that one good-show-gone-oh-so-bad incident still haunt me on a regular basis. Honestly, though, everything- from the sound check on Saturday afternoon to the encore song on Sunday night - went absolutely beautifully!


The concert on Saturday night was blues singer, John Nemeth who grew up in this area and then moved away several years ago and now tours extensively all over the world. He just returned from Russia where he had many sold out concerts.


All of the musicians were incredible and put on an amazing show. . .


Curtis Stigers joined him on the last three songs and even gave us some much needed kudos after the show. . .

The nice thing about back-to-back concerts is that everything is already set up and ready to go the next day. The concert on Sunday was Jake Shimabukuro and his ukulele. One guy, one instrument and he's selling out shows all over the place! He is amazingly talented!

His opening act was the local fretless guitar player, Ned Evett, who is incredibly talented as well:

Jake was one of the nicest artist's I think we've ever worked with. He was full of compliments and good will from the time he arrived at the theatre. . .

He put on a beautiful show . . .

After the concert he stayed around until the last autograph was signed and the last fan walked out the door. And then he chatted with us!!

This is a terrible picture but I have to post it because Jake actually helped us push cases out to the truck!!

He told us how much he appreciated what we do and how incredibly hard sound people have to work in order to make a show successful. That's not something we hear everyday.

After working with all of the musicians that crossed our paths this weekend, I think I can (maybe) finally lay that awful experience in January to rest and stop worrying about what could possibly go wrong and just enjoy knowing that 99% of the time we're pretty blessed in what we do!

Here are YouTube videos from the two artists we worked with this weekend:

Speedy. . .

It seems like there is always something interesting going on when we're down at The Egyptian. Not all of it is fit to print but the big celebration for Jeret "Speedy" Peterson was pretty cool. It was snowing and cold but I think they still had a good turnout across the street at City Hall.

Never a dull moment. . .

Trailer Park Cuisine . . .

Rob and I went to lunch today with a couple of our good friends from the army band that we've been working with. . .


Our table was in a car. Inside a trailer. Well, it was a building that looked like a trailer. . .


Good food, great atmosphere. I highly recommend it!

It made me think of Antsy of The Trailer Park Troubadours. . .

Now I'm really looking forward to his concert coming up in a couple of weeks at The Egyptian!!

Don't Ask. . .

There's No Place Like Home. . . Or Is There??

Tonight I was sucker-punched by my own emotions. I hate it when that happens.

I'm not sure where to start so I'll just begin by saying that when I made the decision to home school my kids 10 years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into or where it might lead. Some days I pat myself on the back for a job well done and other days I kick myself in the butt for letting so many things slide.

I've known for a couple of years now that eventually Gloria would jump ship and that I would have to be prepared to let her go. I guess the mental preparation has been happening for quite some time now. I've even allowed myself to think about all of the things that I could accomplish if she spent each and every day in another place, taught by another person. And I've had guilt for feeling a little bit relieved about it. Mostly, I thought that I had accepted the fact that she needs things that I can't give her and that I'm ready to let her spread her wings, so to speak.

So, tonight we went to an open house at a Charter School that has an emphasis in the arts. I found their ad in a local magazine last week and decided to check it out. My sister had mentioned the school a couple of months ago and I kind of dismissed it but it seemed to keep coming up in random places. I talked to a few people about it, I looked at their website and Gloria and I had several good conversations about it. Anyway, I approached the whole idea kind of as a "done deal" in my mind. (I'm kind of matter-of-fact that way).

As the three of us (Me, Gloria, Rob) took a tour of the school, I started to feel really excited about the possibilities. So many of the things the school did and believed in went right along with my educational philosophies! Class sizes were small, the rooms were clustered in an odd, rambling kind of way, art was displayed on every available wall. It was a very out-of-the-box way of "doing" education. By the end of the tour I was ready to sign on the dotted line.

At this point I have to throw in a little side note (If you are reading this as someone who knows us well, this next observation won't surprise you.) :Gloria may look like me but she thinks like Rob.

That being said, when we all got back in the truck I shouldn't have been surprised that Gloria and Rob had completely different observations about the school than I did!! They wanted BIGGER classrooms. A more TRADITIONAL looking schoolroom. The art on the walls looked MESSY. Wha . . .?????

That's when my train wreck of emotions began sucker-punching me left and right (it honestly had nothing to do with the things Rob and Gloria were processing and EVERYTHING to do with my own expectations: past, present and future . . . ) For awhile it was all downhill from there as I second guessed every decision I had ever made concerning Gloria.

Fortunately this story has a happy-for-now ending. I talked to the right person at the right time (no coincidence, I'm sure) when we got to the church and she gave me some excellent comfort, wisdom and advice. (Thanks, Joyce!)

On the way home we had a very productive conversation about the whole school issue and, while we didn't come to any grand conclusions, we all agreed to keep our options and our minds open as we navigate the upcoming rivers of educational choice over the next couple of months.

I'm sure I'll keep you posted. . .

Compassion. . .

If you'd like a shot of reality this morning click here. Reading about this experience could make you feel rich/thankful/blessed/sorrowful/devastated/humbled/moved to tears/moved to action. . .

The Y. . .

We joined the Y this winter.

I love it and I hate it. I love it because it's made working out much easier but I hate it because it's made working out much easier. I've never been a big fan of working out but now I have no choice.

There are 4 big motivating factors that get me to the gym:

The first one is, of course, money. I'm paying for it so I better get the most out of it that I possibly can (same reason I dislike going to buffet restaurants!).

The second thing that motivates me is the opportunity to watch a little television. We haven't had TV since the big changeover last June so it's really nice to watch the news. Or Oprah. Or The Biggest Loser. It's nice to plug my headphones into the jack on the treadmill and catch up for an hour. I've decided that's really all the TV I need.

The third thing that gets me to the gym isn't a thing but a person: Gloria. She actually enjoys working out and especially loves the pool at the West Y. I'd like to keep that love alive so when she asks me to take her, I do my best to make it happen.

And, finally, I go because I can. The day will come when my arms and legs might not be so willing to lift and bend and move so I'd better take advantage of them while I'm able!!

Rob's New Baby. . .

Quiz Meet Slideshow. . .

Fun, Friendly Competition. . .

We had a great time at the quiz meet today in Greenleaf! Here is just a little preview of what our day looked like:


I took over 400 pictures at the meet so it might take me awhile to sort them all out. . . Stay tuned. . .

'Twas The Night Before The Quiz Meet. . .

Ewww. . .

I'm beginning to hate the rain. It's bad enough that my backyard is mostly dirt so I spend a lot of time either cleaning the dog's feet or mopping the floor. Or both.

But I especially hate the rain on Thursdays. Obviously the kids can't ride the horses when it's soggy but lessons are never canceled. There are plenty of things to do around the farm even when it rains. There's a lot more to having a horse than prancing around in an arena. There's also this:


As I was scooping, I began to formulate blog titles for it in my mind. None of them were appropriate to my family friendly sight but it kept my mind occupied while I worked.

Much in the same way a crying baby makes for good birth control, this particular activity reminds me why poor Gloria will probably never have a horse of her own!!

Friends Through Thick and Thin. . .

Dale. . .

We have a lot of history with this man. . .

Some good, some not so good (but mostly good!) . . .

The truth is, Dale is a good, good man. . .

Dale is kind and good and resilient and honest and really, really funny . . .

And after living in Lawton, OK for the last year with his military bride, he stopped by for a brief visit in Idaho before heading to Germany for 4 years in September. . .

So, this was good-bye . . .

But just for a little while. . .

Calo Flemenco. . .

Zach's New Lab Partner??

Vintage. . .

My little venture into the attic has motivated me to tackle the entire area and purge at least 75% of it. I'm embarrassed to say that there are at least 2 full boxes that hold every canceled check we wrote from about 1992-1995. Every. Single. Canceled. Check. I have my work cut out for me. But I have a feeling I'll also find some treasures with stories to tell . . .

Take this green and white polka-dotted dress for instance:

When I was in the 6th grade, my mom made me this beautiful dress with white fringe around the collar and hem. The dress had a special purpose: I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance The Charleston with a group of my friends at a school assembly. I even had a long string of white beads to swing around as we danced. We practiced and practiced and practiced and I could not wait to kick up my heels and twirl my beads in front of the whole school.

The morning of the program I woke up with a terrible sore throat. I was no stranger to strep throat so my parents knew I wouldn't be able to go to school. I missed the program. I didn't dance The Charleston. I didn't wear the dress with the white fringe around the collar and the hem.

When I found the dress in a box in the attic, I almost cried all over again at the memory. It was a sad, sad day. It did, however, make me very happy to see Gloria prance around in it, kicking up her heels and looking very much like I must have all those years ago.

She also got a big kick out of wearing my prom dress. . .

The box that held my 2 treasured dresses also held a remnant from Rob's past. I have much to say about this lovely black jacket but I'm going to try to be nice.

Rob played keyboards in a rock band in the late eighties. They were called Rock Candy and they had a female lead singer. It wasn't me.

All I'm going to say about it is that it's only by the grace of God that our relationship survived that time period. Anyway. . . his "band outfit" included this black jacket that he decorated with "bling". . .

I just can't say anymore without saying something I'll regret. . .

I'm sure there will be more stories and treasures in the near future. . .

Pam and Tyson. . .

I met Pam Mavencamp many, many years ago at Quaker Hill. While we've never been in the same vicinity long enough to be considered close friends, I have always felt a real connection with her when we've gotten together at various Quaker functions over the years. Well, today she got married!! It was a sweet ceremony at the Friends Church in Star and it was quite obvious that Pam and her Marine husband, Tyson, will be very happy together!!


Steph and Gloria know Pam from her many years as Recreation Director at camp so they came along, too!


While I was really excited to see Pam get married, I'll admit that I had a little extra motivation to attend the wedding. . .

I had a feeling that Joe and Erin would be there . . .

So, of course, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Ethan (and, of course, catch up with Joe and Erin. . . )!! I haven't seem him in a very long time and Gloria was a baby hog most of the time but I managed to get a little fix while we were there . . .

I also had a chance to visit with a bunch of people that I hadn't seen in awhile including Lynn and Kevin Smith and Ellen Morse. It was nice to see everyone and really great to be a part of this sweet new beginning for Pam and Tyson!!!