Skin and Bones

I taught one of my favorite songs for 2nd graders today - Skin and Bones. It's very quiet. I sing a line, and the kids respond with a descending oo-oo-oo-oo. On the last line I sing, "She opened the door and . . . BOO!" They LOVE being scared and we must all practice it together, saying the boo all at one time and then being perfectly quiet.

Composing Update

A composing project I assigned myself this fall was an Advent Cantata for church choir. That's pretty ambitious, so I started with one anthem. It can stand alone, but I might incorporate it into a larger Advent work. Right now it is for choir and organ, but if it goes any farther, I can also orchestrate it. I wrote the music first and then the lyrics, which is a little backward, I think. But it seemed to work okay. The lyrics are not earth-shattering.

Today I took a copy of that, as well as the hymn I arranged last year, to church and dropped it in the choir director's box. I put a CD with them. It's always a little scary to put yourself out there and see what other people think. I would be thrilled if the choir performed either one, and maybe I could get Earl to "commission" a piece or two from me. A composer's most difficult task is to find people to play her music.

Tennis

This fall I am making up for not playing tennis during sabbatical. I have a standing date with Jennifer on Friday mornings. I walk to her house and watch the children come to school, and then we walk to the park across the street and hit the ball around for an hour or so. Hal and I have played about three times on recent weekends, including this morning. I am actually getting better. That is not to be mistaken for being good. It's just that I am better than I used to be.

Piano Puzzler

A while ago I subscribed to the podcast for the Piano Puzzler on NPR. Then, for some reason, the podcasts stopped. Last week I found them again here at American Public Media. Hooray! Now, once again, I can listen to Bruce Adolphe play his compositions where he arranges a song (popular, folk, children's, etc.) in the style of some great composer. The contestant has to guess the composer and the song. It's a real music geeky pleasure!

Kids say the darndest things

Teaching beginning strings is fun and challenging, not to mention exhausting. But sometimes some kid says something that just makes you smile. We spend the first 5 classes practicing holding the instrument, plucking the strings, holding the bow (without the instrument), and the kids are just DYING to use the bow on the strings and to use that block of rosin. Well, this week we finally put bows to the strings, and when one student found out we were actually going to do it, she said, "This is a sacred day!!!"

Wait until we start using fingers on the strings and then bowing.......So much to put together.

Book

I just finished The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell. Not only is our book club discussing it this weekend, but the whole city of Claremont is reading it. The father in the story is an American ex-pat living in Shanghai just before WWII, and he has a rocky relationship with his wife and daughter who end up moving back to Pasadena. It is a story of love and reconciliation between a father and daughter, and a good read.
Three and a half stars out of five.

Sigh

Well, I've lost interest in the World Series unless the Red Sox can do something tomorrow.

And so, here's a video on youtube for general enjoyment. A beagle escapes from a pen by climbing the fence.

Fall Weather

My family knows I have a self-imposed rule in the house. No furnace until November 1. Well, Hal and I woke up to a house that was 60 degrees on Saturday morning. Best solution for now is to go someplace else that's warm. Or use a space heater. Or blankets.

The Santa Ana winds have started blowing and the days are warm, but the nights chilly. The house warms up during the day, so we are good for now. I'm trying to figure out why a 65 degree house here feels warmer than a 65 degree house in Evanston, though.

Another Movie

Netflix sent us The Visitor, and Hal and I got to watch it last night (after the Dodger win). I really enjoyed it. Like Babette's Feast theme of redemption through food, this one was redemption through music (drumming). Well, maybe not redemption, but healing, or coming alive.

Check out Claire's new pictures - her London haircut, a trip to Portobello Market and TP (Trent Park - her campus)!

Movies

Hal and I enjoyed Burn After Reading last night at the Laemmle. It was full of laughs, and was pretty light compared to other Coen Bros. movies.

Here's a fun "movie" of the announcement at church this morning by our resident "Bad Girls."
I can't seem to take a level movie....