Good Lord Love a Duck!
Mr. Workman, our Junior High Band Director used to say that all the time. It sounded funny to us. We were native New Yawkas and his slightly southern (Maryland??? Virginia???) accent, though mellifluous, struck a discordant note with our "Mistah Workman!" Especially as he counted out in 6/8 time, "Rest RAIST Rest." The poor guy. I imagine teaching a bunch of middle schoolers music cannot be a task for the faint of heart!
Has it really been almost a month since my last post? I am falling down on the job. Last I saw you dear reader or two, we had dug ourselves out of about 3 feet of snow, sloshed through the muck, mire and variety of ice crystals and had all finally made it to work. Since then, the Orchestra of St. John's had its children's concert with the "Kinderman" who took a youthful audience (and the kids were young, too - yuck yuck yuck) through a concert featuring Rossini, Mozart, Paganini, Brahms, Tchakovsky, Joplin, Ravel and more. The petite and vivacious Nancy S, Organist/Music Director of St. John's Church, opened the program with a rather comical rendition of Rossini's somewhat colorful character). That in itself was worth the price of admission (a mere $15 for adults, children free!), although I have to admit, it did take quite a suspension of disbelief to see Mrs. S. as the rather rotund Mssr. Rossini! Next concert is:
Has it really been almost a month since my last post? I am falling down on the job. Last I saw you dear reader or two, we had dug ourselves out of about 3 feet of snow, sloshed through the muck, mire and variety of ice crystals and had all finally made it to work. Since then, the Orchestra of St. John's had its children's concert with the "Kinderman" who took a youthful audience (and the kids were young, too - yuck yuck yuck) through a concert featuring Rossini, Mozart, Paganini, Brahms, Tchakovsky, Joplin, Ravel and more. The petite and vivacious Nancy S, Organist/Music Director of St. John's Church, opened the program with a rather comical rendition of Rossini's somewhat colorful character). That in itself was worth the price of admission (a mere $15 for adults, children free!), although I have to admit, it did take quite a suspension of disbelief to see Mrs. S. as the rather rotund Mssr. Rossini! Next concert is:
CONCERT FOR EARTH DAY, APRIL 18, 2010 AT 4:00 PM
“WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE”
HANDEL'S WATER MUSIC
ELGAR'S SEA PICTURES, featuring contralto Alison Matuskey of the Columbia Pro Cantare
JOYFUL WATERS OFF THE CHESAPEAKE (WORLD PREMIERE) BY AWARD-WINNING MARYLAND COMPOSER VIVIAN ADELBERG RUDOW
I cannot wait!
After the concert we all went out to dinner, only this time JOHN actually came along! Whoo hoo! 
We had a great time, lots of laughter and fun. Then it was back home to see some of the grown kids and baby Johnny:)
We had a great time, lots of laughter and fun. Then it was back home to see some of the grown kids and baby Johnny:)The following Sunday, we went to a party in honor of a former bell choir member and John actually came for that one, too! Wow this guy now has a lot of hubby credits stacked up!
At work, it has been the usual round of visits, court, etc. Thankfully no crises....yet.
There's been a whole lotta knitting going on.
EZ's Green Sweater (There's a yahoo group spawned from the Knitting Beyond the Hebrides group that is doing this sweater as a KAL and I'm 
only co-moderating, but the enormously talented Laritza Taft is providing a great deal of her expertise and time. It's really a lot of fun. Come join us!) Anyway, I've gotten to starting the neckline steek and am a few rows beyond that. I'm doing the dolman sleeves because Lord only knows, I need the room for the upper arms. so far it looks very strange, but then I am hoping things start looking up when the steeks are cut:) I have to laugh: right now the lower picture makes it look like a pair of bloomers!:)
only co-moderating, but the enormously talented Laritza Taft is providing a great deal of her expertise and time. It's really a lot of fun. Come join us!) Anyway, I've gotten to starting the neckline steek and am a few rows beyond that. I'm doing the dolman sleeves because Lord only knows, I need the room for the upper arms. so far it looks very strange, but then I am hoping things start looking up when the steeks are cut:) I have to laugh: right now the lower picture makes it look like a pair of bloomers!:)I finished a hat I made to learn the process of twisted stitch knitting and how to read those really really different charts! The hat was on dk weight yarn and it fit Johnny - so Johnny has it:)
Isn't he a cute little model?
Let's see, I finished the Snowdrop Socks from the Six-Sox KAL on Yahoo (those are not fuzz on my legs; they are stray eyebrows..):
Like the classy executive-style phone in my office? It's the latest (Fisher-Price) model. Who needs a Blackberry when you've got this baby? Colin, I think my feet are the same size as yours! Seriously, I'm not 
kidding, although I think your legs are nicer, LOL:)!
Oh and that's not all! I succumbed to the Knitmore Girls' suggestions, fortified by my knitting buddies' proposal to join the KAL and began Bonne Marie Burns/ChicKnits Mondo Cable Cardi and I cast on a few days ago. I'm beginning to think that my theme for 2010 is "green," LOL!
Before I go, I want to let you all know how utterly lucky I feel. This past Thursday evening, I was terribly exhausted. Wednesday had been a day of visits, EfM in the evening and then I was up (rather stupidly) until about 3:30a.m. Then up again at 7 a.m. to get to court by 9. Not a biggie - normally I'd just take a quick nap and go to practice. But instead, I had a visit after court and didn't get home until 6, so I really really struggled to get to choir. When I finally arrived, I was feeling better. One of the guys from choir very kindly opened the church door for me. As I was thanking him, I tripped over my own feet and slammed down onto the pavement onto my left knee. Ouch. With help, I got up and went back to my car and drove home. As it turned out, I was just fine. Three days later and I have maybe two small black and blue marks on my knee, a lot of stiffness and some sore muscles but nothing more. I later found out, that I fell within inches of hitting my head on the threshold (which is quite sharp stone). I don't even have scratches on my hands or legs. It gets better. The choir didn't start practice until they knew I was safely home. When I didn't answer my cellphone (had turned off the ringer in anticipation of practice), two of them came to my home to see if I was alright. I don't think I've ever been so touched by anyone's kindness as I was that night. That night I don't think I even remember my head hitting the pillow. A good thing, because the next day in court was a fairly busy one!
Yesterday, I had dinner at the home of a friend from high school. A bunch of people from Oyster Bay (NY) High School Classes of '71 and '72 have relocated to the MD-DC-VA area and every so often we get together for dinner at one of our places. Last night was great. Lynne T and I went to a quilt/fiber art show right before the dinner. It was really interesting and a lot of the work was just beautiful. I'm not particularly artistic and would never take art classes in college, but the more I knit, crochet and spin, the more appreciation I have for artists who use fiber in their creations.
After we had seen the beautiful artwork, Lynne and I proceeded to the home of Melissa and Tom J and their children, Tommy and Catherine. They are such a lovely family. Soon, Demetrius, Jon and Ronni, Perle and (finally!) Peter arrived. Melissa made the main dish and we all brought side dishes/desserts. I was STUFFED! It was great catching up with everybody. Every time I see these friends, I am so honored to know them. Lynne is a psychologist who is also an artist and who would love to make her living that way. I believe she will. Melissa is a director of a pre-school, Tom works for the US Coast Guard. Demetrius works at NIH trying to find a cure for cancer. Jon and Ronni work in his business as a forensics expert and consultant. Perle is a geologist and Peter, well, he could tell us what he does, but he'd have to kill us. We were all so lucky to have the families we had, the upbringing we had and the environment we had to grow in. Kids now have so much more to contend with than we did! Even if one or two of us had crazy homes, there was always someone else's house to go to. There were 170 in my graduating class - and this was in the NY metro area on Long Island! We had woods, ocean, places to hang out, places to play. The beach was a 15-minute walk away. The woods were in our back yards. It wasn't idyllic by any means, but Oyster Bay was a great place to grow up.
So today I am grateful for what was, what is and I am hopeful for what will be!
Hopefully my next post won't take so long. Until then:
God be with you 'til we meet again!
+
kidding, although I think your legs are nicer, LOL:)!Oh and that's not all! I succumbed to the Knitmore Girls' suggestions, fortified by my knitting buddies' proposal to join the KAL and began Bonne Marie Burns/ChicKnits Mondo Cable Cardi and I cast on a few days ago. I'm beginning to think that my theme for 2010 is "green," LOL!
Before I go, I want to let you all know how utterly lucky I feel. This past Thursday evening, I was terribly exhausted. Wednesday had been a day of visits, EfM in the evening and then I was up (rather stupidly) until about 3:30a.m. Then up again at 7 a.m. to get to court by 9. Not a biggie - normally I'd just take a quick nap and go to practice. But instead, I had a visit after court and didn't get home until 6, so I really really struggled to get to choir. When I finally arrived, I was feeling better. One of the guys from choir very kindly opened the church door for me. As I was thanking him, I tripped over my own feet and slammed down onto the pavement onto my left knee. Ouch. With help, I got up and went back to my car and drove home. As it turned out, I was just fine. Three days later and I have maybe two small black and blue marks on my knee, a lot of stiffness and some sore muscles but nothing more. I later found out, that I fell within inches of hitting my head on the threshold (which is quite sharp stone). I don't even have scratches on my hands or legs. It gets better. The choir didn't start practice until they knew I was safely home. When I didn't answer my cellphone (had turned off the ringer in anticipation of practice), two of them came to my home to see if I was alright. I don't think I've ever been so touched by anyone's kindness as I was that night. That night I don't think I even remember my head hitting the pillow. A good thing, because the next day in court was a fairly busy one!
Yesterday, I had dinner at the home of a friend from high school. A bunch of people from Oyster Bay (NY) High School Classes of '71 and '72 have relocated to the MD-DC-VA area and every so often we get together for dinner at one of our places. Last night was great. Lynne T and I went to a quilt/fiber art show right before the dinner. It was really interesting and a lot of the work was just beautiful. I'm not particularly artistic and would never take art classes in college, but the more I knit, crochet and spin, the more appreciation I have for artists who use fiber in their creations.
After we had seen the beautiful artwork, Lynne and I proceeded to the home of Melissa and Tom J and their children, Tommy and Catherine. They are such a lovely family. Soon, Demetrius, Jon and Ronni, Perle and (finally!) Peter arrived. Melissa made the main dish and we all brought side dishes/desserts. I was STUFFED! It was great catching up with everybody. Every time I see these friends, I am so honored to know them. Lynne is a psychologist who is also an artist and who would love to make her living that way. I believe she will. Melissa is a director of a pre-school, Tom works for the US Coast Guard. Demetrius works at NIH trying to find a cure for cancer. Jon and Ronni work in his business as a forensics expert and consultant. Perle is a geologist and Peter, well, he could tell us what he does, but he'd have to kill us. We were all so lucky to have the families we had, the upbringing we had and the environment we had to grow in. Kids now have so much more to contend with than we did! Even if one or two of us had crazy homes, there was always someone else's house to go to. There were 170 in my graduating class - and this was in the NY metro area on Long Island! We had woods, ocean, places to hang out, places to play. The beach was a 15-minute walk away. The woods were in our back yards. It wasn't idyllic by any means, but Oyster Bay was a great place to grow up.
So today I am grateful for what was, what is and I am hopeful for what will be!
Hopefully my next post won't take so long. Until then:
God be with you 'til we meet again!
+
Comments
The baby is adorable and has grown soooo much! Love the hat too.
I am one who can't wear green tho I do love greens. Your projects look great - bloomers and all.
It's great that you have kept in touch with old friends. And what a variety of paths you took.
Enjoy!