Stroke Me, Stroke Me

"Please touch gently, with one or two fingers only.  And remember, any animal that has a mouth can bite, so don't touch them by their heads."  

This is what the animal expert from the zoo told the children at one of our branch libraries this week.  She needn't have worried about me touching them the wrong way, because I had no intention or desire to touch the creatures she brought with her.

A representative from an area children's zoo came to one of our branch libraries this week to present a program on the classification of animals.  

She brought along some creatures for the kids to see and pet if they so desired.  It was my job to take pictures of the event.  

I'd much rather be holding a camera than an African Millipede, thank you very much.

I'm not particularly fond of having a Red Rat Snake wrapped around my arm either. (I noticed she had a bandage on her thumb.  I couldn't help but wonder if that was the result of an animal bite.) 

When I took these pictures, I had my camera focused mostly on the animal she was holding,  Afterwards looking at the pictures on the computer screen, I was amused by the different expressions on the faces of the kids who were watching.

I Learned it From Bugs Bunny and... a GIVEAWAY!!

If you're like me, you learned this song from watching Bugs Bunny make a fruit salad on Elmer Fudd's head.  This is one of the songs the City Orchestra played at this week's concert.  My son is playing the upright bass as you probably already know.  This is the Barber of Seville.

Also, my blogging friend, Becky, is having a giveaway over at her blog, and she wanted me to invite you all over there to enter.  You never know, you might be the big winner!  She's giving away an awesome prize which includes a long list of really great items.  Why not click on the link for her blog to get all the details and get yourself entered? 

Have a great weekend everyone!

City Orchestra Performs at the Ice Rink (Truly Grateful Series)

I wrote about the City Orchestra that has recently formed in my little town a few days ago and showed pictures of their performance in the atrium at the hospital.  

They had their second performance last night.  It was originally scheduled to be held on the courthouse square in the gazebo there, but thunderstorms had been rolling through our area most of the afternoon, so the concert was moved to the ice rink instead so that it would be under cover in case more rain came through.  The City Orchestra was to perform first and then the City Band.  

This picture was taken before the concert began.  Some of the musicians are still arriving and those in the audience are trickling in with their lawn chairs to set up in the rink to listen to the performance.

They are starting to warm up in this picture.  That's my son with his bass standing there in the center of the picture.

They are still getting set up here.  This gives you a better view of the number of performers in the orchestra.

The ice rink is filling up quickly with spectators.  The gentleman here in the red shirt is in his 90's.  He is the director of the City Band which is to play when the orchestra is finished.  He's been the City Band Director here for as long as we have lived here plus many years before that, although I don't know for sure how many.  We've lived here for almost 21 years now.  He is much loved and well respected in our town.

The whole ice rink is filling up.  Looks like the orchestra is going to be playing to a packed house tonight.

The music begins and everyone settles in to listen.  The orchestra sounds great and is a big hit with the crowd.

My son is smiling at the crowd's reaction to their performance.  It was a little dark in the ice rink so this picture didn't turn out very well, but I like it anyway because he's smiling.

He has noticed that I am in the crowd and that I'm taking pictures, so he flashes a smile my way...a smile for Mom. 

Another couple of shots of the crowd as the music begins.  The orchestra has their full attention.

After playing several songs, the orchestra finishes to a standing ovation.  The crowd appreciated their hard work and enthusiastically showed how much they enjoyed the music.

Yes, I did take some videos of the performance, but I haven't uploaded them off the camera yet.  I love my job at the library, but working full time hours sure cuts into my blogging time. HA!  It takes quite a while to transfer the videos to the computer and then from the computer to Youtube before I can post them here, so I'll have to post them another day.  

Needless to say, I really enjoyed the concert and am so pleased that they had a good turnout with the crowd.  I'm glad they played well and that the audience showed their appreciation for their hard work too.

Lord, for music, for people working together to bring joy to others, and for this wonderful little town where I live, let me be truly grateful.

25 and Counting...

On July 27, 1985, I wore this dress,

and this fellow watched me walk down the aisle.

Tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary.

Like most couples who have been married for a long time, 

we have had our share of both good and bad days.

We have two sons who have filled our lives with much joy.

I'm working all day on our anniversary tomorrow, and my husband is out of town until the day after that, so we celebrated our anniversary with a mini-vacation over the 4th of July weekend when we both had three days off.  

For our Silver anniversary we went to Silver Lake, Michigan.  The weather was beautiful as was the view.  On the other side of the lake were large sand dunes.  They don't look very big in this photo, but they looked quite big when we were climbing up and down them.  We watched the fireworks while we were there from the balcony of our hotel room.  They shot the fireworks off from the dunes out above the lake.

This is my husband sitting on one of the dunes taking a break.  

We had been climbing them for a while.  It was quite a workout.  

I think he deserves a medal for his patience and putting up with me all these years.

Tomorrow we will have been married for 25 years, and the day after tomorrow, 

will be the first day of the next 25 years, if we're lucky.  We've been very lucky so far.  I hope that it continues.

For Those of Us Who Don't Look Like Beyonce

This is one for all of us who don't look like Beyonce and are able to laugh about it.  "Can't hide it so you got to make peace with it."  Thanks to my friend, Mo, the artist, who shared this link with me.

Sunset Punch

Sunset Punch

Like the smoke of honeysuckle and lilacs,

the sunset settles over the sky,

fills it up, seeping from corner to corner,

curling and whirling

in the melted orange creamsicle clouds.

And the heavens above 
are like the raspberry sherbet

that the PTA ladies swirl 
on top of ginger ale or 7-Up 

and, 

for lack of a better name for it, 

call it punch.

Ladle me up

another cup--

clear full.

Quick before it's gone!

I want to drink it up--

 sunset punch.

*   *   *

The photos in this post were all taken on my walk in the park last night within the span of 45 minutes.  It is amazing to me how much the skies and clouds can change in such a short amount of time and when viewed from different angles and perspectives.  The sunset views seemed to change around every bend of the path, each more beautiful than the last.

A New Tradition Begins With a Concert in the Hospital

There has been a city band in my little town for the past 159 years.  We are kind of big on traditions around here.  Now a new tradition has begun.  Our little town, in addition to having a city band, how has its own city orchestra.  They had their first performance last night inside the atrium at our local hospital.  It was a magnificent concert.  As you probably have guessed, my son playing his upright bass was a part of that orchestra.  His girlfriend and her violin were also a part of it.


Some of you who have been reading this blog for a while may remember the pictures I showed you of the outside renovations done to the hospital.  I don't think I've had pictures on here of the inside of the hospital though.  It really is quite nicely done inside.  The atrium is especially beautiful.


This picture shows the orchestra performing in the atrium.  We are on the third floor looking down from the open balcony on the inside of the building.

This next picture shows what the inner balconies look like.

My son is down there playing his bass.  Can you see him on the right there?  This picture shows the giant tree mural in the center of the atrium in front of where they are playing.

This is my son with his bass.

He's busy playing music in this next one.  I really like this picture.  The concert was wonderful.  The musicians did a great job.

This is a water wall that is behind the atrium on the other side of the building.  I think it is really pretty.

We were surprised to see the front page of the paper tonight.  Look who made the news!  He laughed when we showed him the paper.  He said that the mother of the boy he has been tutoring on the bass this summer is a photographer for our local newspaper.  Yes, we do live in a small town, don't we. 

As you can see, I'm taking pictures again.  My husband had enough points from his frequent traveler's plan to turn in for a gift certificate at Best Buy.  With that he was able to cover most of the cost of an inexpensive point and shoot camera for us.  I'll try not to drop this one, and maybe, eventually, we will buy one that has more features.  In the meantime, this one will work just fine.

Time With the Family and Abraham Lincoln Art

On Sunday we went to a graduation party for two of my nephews.  One just graduated from college and the other from high school.  We bought one of those disposable cameras because I wanted to get some pictures while we were there, and I thought I'd share them with you.  Please forgive the poor quality of the photos.

Here are the two graduates.  The taller one is the college graduate.

These are my brother's kids.  We took pictures of the nieces too.  This is the younger one.

This is the older one next to my husband.

One other nephew was there, but we didn't manage to catch him on the camera.

I did want you to see this though.  This is a painting that my nephew, the artist, did of Lincoln.  He's the shorter boy in the first picture above that graduated from high school this year.  I've written on this blog about some of his art before.  You may remember his painting of a ship on the ocean or of the giant eye that I wrote about in the past.  Anyway, I thought he did a wonderful job with this.  He is going to go off to college this fall planning to get a degree in art.

Wise Words From A Wee One

I have no idea who this little girl is other than that her name is Sophia.  She seems very wise to me for one so young.  

A Listening Walk Of My Own

When I was much younger, I can remember reading the book, "The Listening Walk," by Paul Showers.  The book has been revised with new colorful illustrations by Aliki and a more streamlined text, but the basic story remains the same.  It relays the sounds a girl hears while on a walk.

It has been so hot these past few days, that I have been waiting until close to 10:00 in the evening before taking a walk in an attempt to beat the heat.  Generally, I take along my mp3 player and listen to music while I walk, but a couple of nights ago, the battery on my player wasn't charged so I left it at home.  The neighborhood was quiet due to the hour of the day.  Yet, there was plenty to be heard if I listened closely.  It reminded me of reading "The Listening Walk" as a young girl.  I tried to listen and take note in my head of some of the sounds I heard while walking, and this poem is the result.

My Listening Walk

I hear

errant bugs

 frying 

in the zappers

 sizzle, snap,

sizzle, snap,

in the yards

of the houses

that I pass.

Walking shoes,

rhythmic feet,

catch

in a bit of gravel--

ping, clickety, ping

tiny stones jump and fly.

Rubber soles slap, slap, slap

a steady rhythm

on the black

of the asphalt

on the street.

The teenage boy,

on his way home,

(late)

whirs by on his bike--

rickety rack, rickety rack.

His bicycle seat 

squeaks, squeaks

(just a bit)

as he shifts his feet

pushing on, 

leaning back.

Sizzle, snap,

sizzle, snap,

ping, clickety, ping,

slap, slap, slap,

rickety rack, rickety rack,

squeak, squeak.

Air conditioners

hum and rumble

beating down the heat

beating down the heat

hrrum, chuka, chuka

hrrum, chuka, chuka,

Drippity, dribble,

drippity, dribble,

water slips to the ground 

underneath.

Another window
in another house

open to the heavy air,

no air conditioner there.

Wire screen allows the escape

of a rat-a-tat,
rat-a-tat,

of corn in a popper

growing big, growing fat.


Hrrum, chuka, chuka

hrrum, chuka, chuka,

drippity, dribble,

drippity, dribble,
rat-a-tat,

rat-a-tat.


Mosquitoes whine

zingity-zizz, 

zizzity-zing

as they dance

their dance of the night.

Bats slide by 

like layers of silk

upon silk.

Wings, black petticoats

 not white,

swish, swish-a-wish, swish

swiftly, softly, 

dipping and slicing

the twilight night.

 They dine, 

biting the blood biters,

cutting their zip, 

zapping their zing.

They are my heroes 

in flight.

Zingity-zizz, 

zizzity-zing,
swish, swish-a-wish, swish,

zap, zappity, zap, zap, zap.