Almost "Life with Beethoven" these days around Chris...his mind whirring with musical notes and theory...and I half expect to walk in and see him writing composition on the wall.
Unbelievable progress. Taught himself to read music in one week. Picked up the first book in Berklee College of Music's: Music Theory a couple weeks ago and is grasping the contents well and even attempting some composition. Has taught himself to re-hair the violin bow and is recording his playing progress...which is considerable. I'm talking from "...mice in a blender..." days to "Section of Bouree: J.S Bach" in three weeks.
The Bach Piece
http://youtu.be/YiOZCu_yYlg
and an earlier attempt at Ode to Joy
http://youtu.be/wNHk7tz4-uk
Even made his first "tip" the other night...as he was practicing while at a local laundromat and an elderly gentleman walked over and dropped a $20.00 bill in his case. He was stunned.
"At first I thought maybe he was paying me to quit practicing, Mom"
he laughed.
And busy learning some Christmas Selections, now.
Son. You never cease to amaze me!
Kind of a bizarre, exhausting week...with our buddy, Jim...having an circuit malfunction with his heart causing it to STOP BEATING...luckily his dead and then brought back to life episode was after the paramedics had arrived...so instead of a funeral...as Jim says...he has a GREAT STORY. I've been calling him a Zombie now.
"You were dead, but now you're alive...damn it....you're a ZOMBIE, Jim..give it up..."
Anyway, they've implanted a defibrillator...he's part way to becoming the Bionic Man, like he has always wanted to be...and soon will be back on the Harley or climbing Denali, like nothing ever happened.
So completely Jim.
~laughing~
Remembering a long conversation years ago about hiking the Appalachian Trail (well part of it) together...and lamenting the fact that i couldn't get the 3 months off work it would take. Now I have all the time and much much much less of the physical ability.
"No problem...you bring a good hiking staff and you can hold on to me and we will still do this!"
An indomitable spirit. Hell...We may still do it..or at least a scaled back version.
Is it any wonder I love this guy :)
And a long afternoon and evening with Angie as her Mom just went through heart surgery...successfully...thankfully. Her brother making it up as well...and his wife's family who live just outside of Cebu in the Phillipines...not an optimal place to be this week...so far we have received word from her sister (who is trying to find their parents amidst the chaos) and she is safe.
And preparing to take my annual sneak peek at FRED this week...which is always a stressful thing for me.
FRED
Is it any wonder that yesterday I came to a complete stop and did...well...pretty much absolutely NOTHING for the entire day. A bit of internet time...a little reading...and shared a pizza with Chris late. That's it.
Just dropped.
And so, catching up today. One of those Cinderella Days..with everything clamouring dust me, feed me, scrub me, toss me out, launder me...Note to my friend Gail in Africa who says:
"Where I am...everyone has a maid. They look funny at you if you don't"
I may be living on the wrong Continent.
(...okay...except for the whole spitting cobra thing...and the centipedes...and army ants...and huge spiders...and torrential rains...and outbreaks of freedom fighters shooting up shopping malls...)
Hey...you know what. Maybe I'll just stay here...maidless and all, m'kay?
But the bright spot in the midst of yesterday was finishing "Sycamore Row".
The latest John Grisham novel. A self-proclaimed sequel to his first novel A Time To Kill. A return to Clanton, Mississippi, the book opens with the suicide of Seth Hubbard. Hubbard is a white man of means in the small racially divided town. Most of the original book's characters make a reappearance...as Jake Brigance (the lawyer) receives a cryptic handwritten Will by post only a day after the suicide. In it, Hubbard's children and grandchildren are purposely cut from his original will and the bulk of his Estate left to his black house-maid. Grisham has a way of making a character thoroughly despicable...and before this book ends you will find little sympathy for Hubbard or his grown children. A nice twist and tying up of loose ends by the close of the story.
Overall, an exceptional read!
Amazing the difference a week can make...with the rains and winds the leaves are dropping fast now. You can feel winter and snow just around the corner.
And Tucker-Cat...who has velcro'd himself to the sofa most days, now. Snoring loudly.
Anticipating an early one. Winter, that is. My Christmas Cactus already starting to bloom. Two full weeks before Thanksgiving!
Looking forward to Thanksgiving with Chris and The Leprechaun this year :)
And looking forward (soon) to finding out whether my newest "grand-bump" is a he or she "bump"!
Always exciting.
Discussed school, and my oldest will begin his classes before long. Although he has headed in a slightly difference direction than his original idea of business management...it will help him achieve a good career and provide a solid foundation for his family! Proud of him for setting this goal and working hard to build a career instead of just "working a job" the rest of his life.
I KNOW you can do it!
Lennon's 25th quickly approaching...and laughing at my pragmatic middle son whose official birthday wish included
"My good office chair is shot to hell, Mom"
And us perusing office chairs together on Amazon...until
"Oh...THAT one is perfect!"
And so, along with a few other goodies...it will wing-its-way his way on or around the 20th!
They are all grown up now.
Office furniture for your birthday is a tell-tale sign.
~sigh~
Even though this feels like only yesterday :)
Have a wonderful rest-of-the-weekend!
Back to Cinder-Ella :)