Music Monday--Balloon Bass and Box

I realize this is a rather unconventional choice, but it made me smile, and starting out the week with a smile seems like a good idea to me.  So this is my pick for Music Monday today. 

I think this is a worthwhile reminder too.  Don't worry about what you don't have--make music with what you have.

If you are interested in knowing how he made the balloon bass, click here.  Amazing what can be done with just three balloons.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

The Awakening

We had the first snow of the season this morning.  It didn't amount to much at all, just a light dusting.  It was enough to make the grass look white, and it covered the tops of the cars as you can see by my son's car in the driveway here. 

It quickly melted off when the sun rose.  It was just a little taste of what is sure to come in the weeks ahead.  Ready or not, winter will be here soon.  It inspired me to write this poem.

 The Awakening

  

And so it goes,

and so it snows.

Overnight the first of winter's white

danced onto the lawn.

And so it goes,

and so it snows.

 Bright crystals, swirling in morning's light,

greeted us at dawn.

And so it goes,

and snow it goes.

Morning sun, swift, gave no warning.

In a blink, the white was gone.

And so it goes,

and snow it goes.

The clouds are breaking, but winter's waking

with the icy breath of a cold yawn.

Stop! Turkey Time!

I'm going to be working extra hours at the library for the next few days to fill in for others who will be gone.  Then, with the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the week, I am not going to have much time left over for blogging.  As a result, I won't be posting for a few days, but I'll be back next week.

Feel free to read something in the archives from the sidebar while I am gone, if you wish.  There are a lot of lonely posts back in February, March, April and May of 2008 before I had any regular readers that few have seen.

I hate to leave you all week long with nothing new to dance to, so here is a bit of silliness especially for Thanksgiving week.  I bet you never saw a turkey wearing parachute "Hammer" pants before!

 

Hope you all have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!

He's Back!

When I got up this morning, I found dishes in the sink because someone had a late night snack last night.  

There was a laptop computer sitting on the couch plugged in and charging that wasn't there yesterday morning, 

and there was a basket of laundry sitting in the laundry room. 

These things made me smile.  Why?  Because all of these things mean that my older son is home from college for Thanksgiving break.  I'm glad to see him and so glad to have him home.

This picture is an older one of my son and me, but I like it.

 

I wrote a poem about him coming home.  It is partly based on how I used to feel when I was in college and got to come home on break and partly written to portray how I would imagine (and hope) that my son feels.

 Homecoming

Coming up the driveway, I sigh and smile.

The trip back was through a storm.

I haven't been here in quite a while.

It's good to be back, escape from the dorm. 

Maple leaves have been raked to the street,
just the place where they should be.
The kitchen smells of cinnamon rolls. Sweet!
It has all been waiting here, waiting for me.

Where ever I go, I get hugs and a grin.
It's so good, so good to be home again.
Family and friends are all around.
It feels so good to be back in town.

Little brother looks taller to me,
but Mom and Dad look just the same.
Right now, I can't think of a better place to be.
They know me here. They share my name.

Soon we'll have turkey and perhaps some ham,
potatoes and gravy, biscuits and jam.
We'll share a prayer.  Thanksgiving Grace.
It's so good to be home.  There's no better place.

It Made Me Smile. It Made Me Think. It Made Me Cry.

This video is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.  It made me smile.  It made me think.  It made me cry.  The mothers' faces tell it all.

Kathy from the blog, Spot On Cedar Pond, posted a story about a hen that she owns.  Her post reminded me of this video which made me want to find it and post it here.

Music Monday ---Train

My younger son was home sick from school part of last week with the flu.  While he was here sacked out on the couch with a fever and chills, and I was taking his temperature and pushing Tylenol and orange juice at him while trying not to get sick myself, he had VH-1 playing on the television.  

The video for the song, "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train came on.  I like it.  It is upbeat and catchy.  That, combined with lyrics that are fun and at times a bit quirky, made it stick in my head.  

My son is feeling better and is back to school today.  This seems like a good song to get me moving on a Monday morning.  You can't see me (that's probably a good thing!), but I'm dancing around the living room and singing, "You're the only one I'm dreaming of.  You see, I can be myself now finally, in fact there's nothing I can't be..."

Still singing here, "I don't want to miss a single thing you do, tonight."   

Happy Monday to you!

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Decisions, Decisions (Truly Grateful Series)

I thought the view of the sunset from my back door was pretty last night...

and then I saw the sunrise out my front door this morning,

and I couldn't decide which one I liked better.

I am glad I was up early enough today to see the sunrise.
I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.

Lord, for the beauty in the rising and the setting sun, let me be truly grateful.

A Lovely Day

It was a lovely day today. I took a few pictures of the remaining yellow leaves on the maple trees in the front yard.

The sunlight was shining just so behind them, making them almost seem to glow.

Traced by the complementary color of the blue sky background, the yellow leaves appeared to be shimmering in a light all of their own.

The heavy, black silhouetted branches provided a stark contrast to the light, airy feel of the leaves and sky.

It was just lovely.

Speaking of lovely---Have you ever met a handsome gentleman in a department store who then began singing to you and dancing just because he was so thrilled to have met you? No? You haven't?... Me, neither.

Well, perhaps you will enjoy watching it happen to Vera Ellen when she meets Donald O'Connor. All the best old songs seem to be from musicals.

Here's another question for you. Have you ever been wearing a diamond tiara on your head and a gorgeous, fluffy, cotton-candy-pink dress with a sparkly, sequined top and a floaty, flouncy skirt made up of yards and yards of fabric?

Did you dance with a handsome, debonair gentleman wearing a tuxedo at a fancy party who suddenly danced you out the door to a lovely moonlit garden with a bubbling fountain?

What?--You haven't done that either? Seriously, you've never done that?...Me, neither. *Sigh*

Oh well. A girl can dream, right?

It's Friday night, a perfect night for a dance and a little romance. What a perfect way to end such a lovely day.

How Rude!

I'm not sure when it happened, but I think good phone manners have gone by the wayside. At least, that is the way it seems to me when I answer the phone and make calls from the library. In the past week, especially, I have encountered an abundance of rudeness over the phone. Lately, I have felt like saying "How rude!" to some of the patrons I have talked with on the phone. Stephanie Tanner from the old TV show, "Full House" comes to mind.

Recently, one patron requested over thirty books through our inter-library loan system. Although some would consider that a large number of books to request, I really had no problem with it. Requesting books from other libraries is one of the services that we offer. It is just part of our job.

I would like to explain something though. We belong to a network consortium of libraries called the SEO (Serving Every Ohioan) Library Center. The consortium is made up of "75 library systems at 166 physical locations throughout 37 counties across Ohio." When we request a book, it may come from any one of those other locations.

How long it takes to get a request filled depends on several factors. It depends on how many libraries own the book, where it is currently checked in and available on the shelf and/or when it is going to be returned by whatever patron currently has it out, the time it takes to find and fill that request at whatever participating library it is coming from, and the time it takes to get the book to our library depending on the distance it has to travel to get here. If someone requests thirty books, it is almost certainly guaranteed that those books will not all arrive at our library on the same day at the same time. They will probably come from several different libraries and will not all be available at the same time.


With all of that in mind, let me continue my story. When a requested book arrives at our library, there are three possible ways for a patron to find out about it. They may receive an automated email message, a phone call from me or one of my coworkers, or they can just go online and check their library account themselves using the bar code on their library card to see if their request has arrived. It is up to the patron how they want us to notify them, and they choose the type of notification when they apply to get a library card with us.

Now, back to the patron who requested over thirty books. Four or five of the books she requested arrived at the library. One of my coworkers called her to let her know. She came and checked those books out. So far so good. The next day a few more of her requested books came, she was called, and she picked up the books. On the third day, several more of her requested books arrived. I called her on the phone to let her know they were now available at the library for her. She was angry at me for calling her and said this to me, "I was just there the last two days in a row. I can't just drop everything I'm doing and run to the library every time a book comes in just because you call me about it."



I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. These are books that she requested we get for her. The books have come in, and I am calling to tell her they have arrived. And she's angry at me for calling her? She doesn't want to have to be bothered with coming to the library to pick up the books that she requested? Well, that is interesting.

If she didn't want to have to come and pick up the books, then why did she order them? Perhaps she would like it if I just jump in my car and run them right out to her house for her. While I'm there, why don't I just make her a nice cup of tea and some biscuits with strawberry jelly on them. I could plump up her pillows for her, and pull myself up a chair and read the books to her too, since I've made the trip. I might as well, right? I've got nothing better to do with my time, after all. (Heavy sarcasm here--we are very busy at our library. There is always something demanding our time!)

I didn't say these things to her, but I was definitely thinking them. Instead, I said as politely as I was able, "We will hold the books for you for up to nine days to give you time to come in and pick them up. After that, they will be returned to the lending library."

"I'll be in TODAY!" she snarled back at me.



"OK, that will be fine. Thank you," I said to her, but she didn't hear me because she had already hung up the phone.

We also have what seems to me to be a large number of hangups. People call us. We answer. They hang up. They don't apologize and say they have the wrong number. They don't say anything at all. They wait for us to answer, and then they hang up on us. On just one day of last week, I had five hangups and my coworker had three.

Here's another phone problem we often encounter. We call and say we are from the library and we are calling for say, Joe Smith, for example. The person on the other end will say, "OK."

I don't know what that means. Does "OK" mean that I am now talking to Joe Smith? Or does it mean, "Hang on a minute while I go get Joe Smith"? Or does it mean, "Joe is not home, but I'll be happy to take a message for him."?

Even when we get an answering machine, we sometimes find rudeness at the end of the phone line. There is one patron that I call regularly. The message on her machine says in a rather angry voice, just the words, "Leave a message." That's all, just those three words in a very curt tone. There's not even a "please" or "thank you" to go with it.

We also get the calls from patrons who have lost a book or have books out way overdue who are upset about having their account turned over to the collection agency. The collection agency charges us ten dollars to take over that account, and we pass that cost on to the delinquent patron. Not surprisingly, the delinquent patron gets upset about this. We lose thousands of dollars worth of books, videos, compact discs, and other materials every year because of irresponsible patrons. This is what makes it necessary to use the collection agency. We frequently must take the brunt of the patrons' anger about this matter over the phone.


If they become too abusive, we refer them to a supervisor if there is one available. If there is not a supervisor available, we give the caller the name of our department head and a time to call back. Then we cut it short and simply hang up. Arguing with them is pointless and is a waste of our time.

Other patrons call to renew the books or other materials they have checked out. Once again, I have no problem with this. Renewing the checkout time is just another one of the services we offer. What is a problem is that patrons often do not have their library card available to them when they call us to make these renewals. We are required to have the bar code numbers off of the card in order to renew books on the computer. Some people get irate when we tell them they must give us those numbers.


There are also those who talk much too loudly into the phone, and those who talk too softly. Some mumble, some swear at us, and some don't have the information they need in hand when they call us. For example, they may give us an incomplete or incorrect book title that they are searching for when they call to ask us if we have it available. They then get angry with us if we are unable to locate it on our computers. We have several ways of searching, and we do the best we can, but we aren't always successful.

Some people call in and there is so much background noise from the television or loud music blaring or dogs barking or kids screaming from wherever they are calling that we can't understand a word they are saying to us. Others call in on cell phones with bad signals. Then they become upset when we say we can't hear them.



I could go on with quite a few more examples, but I think you get the idea. Good phone etiquette is a part of effective communication. I wish more people would learn it and practice it. If an occasion arises when you find yourself on the phone with your local librarian, do me a favor, and please be polite. If their phone experiences are anything like the ones I have dealt with lately, they will be more than happy to talk to someone who is courteous and pleasant. It might even make their day to talk to someone with good manners.

Ringy Dingy sound bite Voices sound bites

I haven't offered up a good rant here in quite a while, so I guess I was overdue. I'll try to get back to dancing and being grateful with the next post. Thank you for listening and allowing me to vent.

Making Joyful Noises

Today was a day of making joyful noises of all sorts.

This morning, my husband went to church early to practice with the church orchestra. The church orchestra was to play for this morning's service. He plays the bass guitar with them when he is needed. He came back when practice was over, and I asked him how it went. He just shook his head and said, "Not good." I didn't think too much of it. I assumed that someone must have hit a wrong note here or there, but I didn't question him about it otherwise. I was sure everything would be fine.

So the church orchestra played for the 10:30 service. They played three songs. The first two songs went fine. They played them very well, as a matter of fact.

I thought, "Well, whatever happened at the earlier practice that caused a problem, it must have been ironed out before the service."

Then...they played their third song.

The third song they played was "How Great Thou Art," Well, it was supposed to be "How Great Thou Art." Unfortunately, it came out sounding nothing at all the way "How Great Thou Art" should sound.

They played it during the offertory. It started out just fine. In spite of the fact that about nine members of the church orchestra were missing from this morning's performance, things were going along pretty well. (The flu is widespread here and hitting hard in our little town right now.)

Part way through the song in this particular arrangement, the meter was supposed to change from common time to cut time. Meaning, to put it very simply, it was supposed to go twice as fast. Well, that's all well and good, but that is only going to work if everyone in the orchestra remembers to switch speeds at the proper time. They did not.

What occurred then was a musical catastrophe of astronomical proportions. It was an epic performance that will go down in the history of the church as a tale that will be passed from one generation to the next for years to come. Some of the orchestra members remembered to switch meters. Some did not. Others became lost in the confusion and stopped playing altogether. Some tried to figure out which team they should join in with, those playing faster or those playing slower, and they didn't quite get in sync with either one. The director tried frantically to get them back on course, but it was too late.

At one point, he stopped the performance altogether and told them to pick it up at a certain measure. Bless their pea picking hearts, they tried. They really did, but it was too late. They just couldn't pull it together enough to save it. It was a complete disaster. It was absolutely and totally awesome in its awfulness.

All I kept thinking was "It's worse than the Mayberry Band. It's worse than the Mayberry Band. It's worse than the Mayberry Band."

Some of you may remember a particular episode of the Andy Griffith Show where Andy tries to get the town band in shape in order for them to be able to participate in a band festival at Raleigh. It is a struggle, to say the least. Here is a portion of the show. You don't need to watch it all unless you want to. You need only watch the first minute or two to understand what I am talking about.

Did you notice the look of horror on the mayor's face? My husband said that same look was on the face of every person in the church when the orchestra finished playing that piece. He looked up and saw a whole sea of faces wearing that look.

When they finally came to a crashing finish, fortunately, the church pianist jumped in with the song "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" to signal the end of the offertory. This allowed the orchestra to escape and slink back to their seats among the congregation.

Some of them, including my husband, were visibly laughing at how absolutely atrocious the performance had been. It was one of those situations where if you didn't laugh, you would cry. I didn't dare look at my husband. I knew it would set me off in giggle fits that would not be stopped. It was only through a tremendous effort on my part that I wasn't rolling on the floor and literally cackling I was so struck with the need to laugh.

He was trying to stifle his own laughter, and I could see his shoulders shaking out of the corner of my eye while the pianist finished the song and the ushers carried the offering up to the altar. Even seeing his shaking shoulders out of the corner of my eye was dangerous. I was doing some silent shaking of my own.

About ten minutes later, I was finally feeling as if I had things under control again when I glanced over at my husband. He glanced back and then leaned over and whispered in my ear, "So how did we sound?"

Oh dear. The shaking with silent, stifled laughter began all over again for both of us. I didn't think we'd ever make it through to the end of the service.

Obviously, the song played by the orchestra was not intended to sound like that. Some of the orchestra members were quite upset about how things went, but the majority were able to just roll with it and laugh about it.

A friend of mine who is a member of the orchestra told me after church, "I just wanted to die right there in my seat. I just wanted to die." She was able to joke and laugh about it though.

There was no point in being upset. It was just one of those things that happen. My husband said that was the absolute worst public performance of music he had ever had the privilege to participate in, and that included the time his fourth grade class played flutophones for a school concert in elementary school, which I'm guessing may have sounded something similar to this.

* * * * *

On a brighter note, my son's string quintet played this afternoon at the open house held at the hospital which showcased the new addition to the building that they have been working on for months. The quintet played for an hour and the performance went very well. I didn't record their performance, but it was very well received.

When my son came home, he was making his own joyful noise. This performance was a paid gig for the string quintet. They had been told up front an amount that they would be paid by the hospital administrators who hired them. The group assumed that the price quoted to them was for the whole group to split. However, they found out after the performance that the amount that the administrator quoted to them was the amount to be paid to EACH one of them. He expected to come home with twelve dollars in his pocket. Instead he came home with sixty! You can bet he was making a BIG joyful noise over being paid that amount for only an hour's worth of work. I thought the hospital administrators were VERY generous in how they rewarded a group of high school musicians.

I hope you were able to hear or participate in some joyful noise of your own today wherever you are. I will be remembering the noises from my little corner of the world today for quite a while, I think.

Dona Nobis Pacem

"Dona Nobis Pacem" - Latin for "Grant Us Peace"

Today I am participating in Blogblast for Peace.
November 5, 2009
Bloggers from all across the globe
will blog for peace.
We will speak with one voice.
One subject.
One day.

When I think of peace, two things immediately come to my mind. One is the song in the video below, "Let There Be Peace On Earth (And Let It Begin With Me)."

I think the only way we can create peace in our world is to first find peace within ourselves. That is why I decided to post this song for today. I believe that is the message that it shares.

This song has been sung by many different voices, but this A Capella version sung by the PS22 Children's Chorus that I came across was the one that really captured my heart with its simplicity and beauty and feeling. I hope you enjoy listening to the wisdom of this song as sung by these sweet, innocent voices. The lyrics are below the video if you would like to follow along.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.



Yes. Let this be the moment now. Yes, indeed.

The second thing that comes to my mind when I think of peace is a greeting that is often spoken in my church and in other churches along with a reply. The greeting is "Peace be with you." The response is "And also with you."

So I'd like to end this post by passing the peace, as we call it.

November 5, 2009

The Peace Globe Gallery

"Peace be with you."

WOOT! WOOT!

The library levy passed yesterday with 77% of the vote---WOOT WOOT! That means I get to keep my job, for the time being, as long as we don't get further cuts in our state funding. Thank you to those who expressed your support. It is much appreciated.

Come on baby, LET'S DANCE!

Playing the Waiting Game

I've been wearing the flair,

I've had this sign in my car window for a while,

and this sign has been in my front yard too.

When I finish posting this, I am going to go cast my vote. Then there's nothing left to do but wait and see what happens.

This is election day and one of the issues on the local ballot is a renewal levy for funding for the library where I work. If the levy passes, I will get to keep my job (at least for now). If the levy fails, I will lose my job.

So today, I am playing the waiting game.

Young Love

My fifteen year old son asked me if I would take him to the flower shop on Saturday. He wanted to get a single white rose for his girlfriend. They have been dating for sixteen months now, and they were celebrating the anniversary of when they met.

I said, "So you two have been together for one and one third years now, huh?"

"Yeah," he said and grinned.

Well...gee...I'm just not ready for this. What's a mother to do, though, in the face of such open, unabashedly giddy love and devotion.

I took him to the flower shop, of course.


Later that day when his girlfriend came over, she brought with her a miniature pumpkin and two miniature gourds as an "anniversary" gift to him. You would have thought she handed him a million dollars from the smile on his face.


A flower, a pumpkin, and some gourds---just small tokens, but they are tokens of young love.

As a result of this exchange between my son and his girlfriend, I have the song, "Young Love" in my head. There are at least three songs with the title, "Young Love."

There is one by Air Supply and another by Chris Brown, but the one in my head is the song by Sonny James. So I decided to post it for this week's Music Monday.

My son would say, "Mom, that is a moldy oldie!"

He's right, of course. It is an old song, and it may have a bit of mold on it, but this young love between my son and his girlfriend is obviously still quite new and fresh in my household.

Wow! Did you notice the sparkly vests and the string ties? HA!

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!