Birthday Celebration

Wow! Time really does fly when you are having fun. It seems like a lifetime ago that I last posted to this blog. My life has taken a dramatic turn towards true happiness and complete fulfillment - and his name is Corey. We have been busy getting to know and love each other for the past 2 months. Thus, no blogs.

We celebrated Corey's birthday the other night at the Fireside theater. After a stroll through the gift shops (Yes, Corey actually shopped with me!), we enjoyed an extremely delicious buffet. The Fireside has the best sweet potatoes I have ever had (and I am not a big fan of sweet potatoes). My favorite main dish was the seafood and pasta. The sauce was so tasty that it made you feel like you were dining at a 5 star restaurant. My taste buds were dancing! The waitress was kind enough to put a birthday candle in Corey's dessert. The lady at the next table asked when the actual birthday was, and he said, "Today." She was also celebrating her birthday that day, so a conversation developed. She was actually one year older than Corey.

After making our bellies happy, we went into the theater for the Patsy Cline show. Our seats were in the center of the third row - great seats! With a well chosen cast of only 7 people, the life and songs of Patsy Cline unfolded before our eyes, interspersed with a variety of very funny slap-stick type jokes: "I slept like a log last night. In the morning, I found myself in the fireplace half lit!"

We both had an awesome time and hope to attend many more plays at the Fireside (right, Corey?). The 2012 season looks very promising!

Have you ever been to a Pipe Organ Crawl?

Friday, April 29, was a perfect day for a pipe organ crawl. On this sunny and comfortable day, organists and other members of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Organ Historical Society gathered at the unusual, saucer-shaped Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church in Racine to socialize and share their common interest in pipe organs.

So what do you actually do at an organ crawl? An organ crawl moves from one church to another. At each church, a presentation is made to introduce the instrument (the pipe organ) followed by a featured organist "putting the organ through its paces" by playing marvelous melodic music.  Beyond that, other organists may "experience" the organ if they so choose (and often do). Sometimes the chamber (I hope that is the proper term) which houses the pipes and other necessary equipment needed to create the glorious sound, is opened for inspection. Three churches in the morning, a break for lunch, three churches in the afternoon, a break for dinner, and a pipe organ concert presented by a Carthage senior, Mark Paisar, completed the astonishing day.

The world of pipe organs (as you would suspect) has its own jargon. Ranks, great, swell, solo, pedal, manual mechanical action instrument, electropneumatic action instrument, diapason, trumpets, etc. were among the terms bantered about amongst the experts attending the event. Due to the patience and willingness of my friend, Corey (a gifted organist in his own right), I was able to absorb some of this new information. Not only was I in awe of the talent surrounding me, but the beauty of the organs and churches took my breath away. Thank you, Corey, for a truly perfect day.

Here are a few pictures of the day:

Buzard organ Opus 34 at the Mount Pleasant Lutheran Chuch

Hutchings-Votey op 1518 organ at the Olympia Brown Unitarian-Universalist Church

 

Olympia Brown

Unitarian-Universalist Church

Stained glass window in this church

Organ console at the First Presbyterian Church

Despair

A glimmer of hope felt on a gentle breeze touched the thick, rotting Oak.
Alas, by sunset, the breeze moved on, leaving the Oak to die.

Blizzard Aftermath

Believe it or not, Rick was able to plow me out with his pickup truck! I thought for sure that I would have to find a front-end loader somewhere - that's how deep the snow had drifted across my driveway. But, the sweet man that he is, spent over two and a half hours (in the dark) picking away at the drifts and opened it up so I can get out. Here are some pictures of his handy-work. THANKS RICK! Your operating skills continue to AMAZE me.

Snow measurements taken

February, 2011 blizzard

It may take a week for me to get plowed out! Or, I may not see you until May!

More pics from this afternoon.

View some pictures from this morning.