patriotic music

A friend and I attended a patriotic concert this evening.  It was performed by the Imaculate Conception Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral Brass Quintet and a pianist/organist who is a friend of mine.  It was performed at the Cathedral which is a grand old church.  It was a beautiful concert but what I really appreciated the most was the chance to sing along.  The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, My Country 'Tis of Thee, and God of Our Fathers were all sung by the audience and choir.  It was beautiful and brought back some wonderful memories.  I attended a small Lutheran elementary school and was blessed with a 7th & 8th grade teacher who was a fine musician.  (On the weekends he was the choir director and organist for our church).  I remember singing all of these songs during our class music lessons, often while we were up and marching around the room.  I know our country isn't perfect.  It is, after all, populated by human beings, but it was a real pleasure to unashamedly sing out these wonderful songs. It is OK to hope and pray for the best we can be.

A Whale of a Tale

Actually it was more like a whale's tail.  Three times each summer our church holds one day camps which are our version of Vacation Bible School.  Today was the first one for this year.  I volunteered to help and it turned out to be a fun day. The theme today was science and in the afternoon the campers (ages 4-10) contructed small catapults and balloon powered race cars with which they later competed in car races and marshmallow tosses.  They also mixed oil, water, food coloring and Alka Seltzer tablets to create tornados in little bottles.  This was the experiment I helped with and the kids were fascinated.  Me too.  The morning activity was the big hit of the day though.  Pastor Bill had invited a naturalist from the New England area to come and present a program on whales.  I understand that she presented the same program at the library this afternoon. She has been studying whales for over 20 years and did an excellent job of teaching the kids about whales.  They asked lots of questions which is always a good sign.  Did you know that every whale has distinctive tail markings?  No two are alike.  The highlight was her lifesize inflatible whale, with markings copied from one of her favorite real whales named Nile (like the river).  The whale took up about half the length of the large room we were meeting in, and after it was fully inflated, she took the children inside in small groups.  I did not go inside.  As a friend said, there was no problem with crawling in and sitting down, but getting up and out again would not be a pretty sight.  All in all it was a fun, fascinating day and the kids had fun too.

Adding to the list

Yesterday I wrote about things I never plan to do, including Goat Yoga.  Today I am adding two more things to the list.  These are both based on recently heard news reports.  First of all, I will never raise chickens, free range or otherwise, in my back yard, or on my balcony for that matter. Once chickens get to be a week old they are not cute, fluffy little chicks any more. Having watched my parents raise chickens (1500 at a time) I know whereof I speak.  Secondly, I do not plan to take up Ax Throwing.  There are actually two places in Fort Wayne now where you can take Ax Throwing lessons.  All I need to do is to think back to my attempt to throw a boomerang during my recent trip to Australia.  My boomerang did not fly up and around and gracefully return to me.  Instead, it landed with a tired little thud only about 20 feet from me.  Therefore, I have an experienced based fear that if I tried to throw an ax at a target somewhere across the room i would be much more likely to end up flinging it in the path of another participant.  It would be just too embarassing to injure someone else or chop off my own foot.  In case you're wondering what I will do with all my free time, never fear, I plan to do safe things like read a good book or write this silly blog.

an addition to my list

Over the last months I have mentioned a few things on my un-bucket or "I will never do that list." Sky diving and bungee jumping still head the list but I heard of another activity today that I am definitely adding.  Evidently Goat Yoga is a new, very popular activity. They showed a clip on TV this evening of people in a field doing Yoga while goats apparently stood around watching. From time to time I have considered taking a Yoga class.  I think it is probably very good exercise, but with goats??  Do you ride the goats, or practice your positions while leaning over a goat?  I have met a few goats in my time (my brother and sister-in-law raise goats) and have spent some time, though not a lot, in goat pastures.  Believe me, if I ever have the urge to exercise, I would much rather spread my yoga mat on a nice clean hardwood floor somewhere than in a grassy, scratchy, smelly pasture.  But perhaps I just don't appreciate the wonders of Goat Yoga in the great outdoors.

Midsummer's Eve

According to my Old Farmer's Almanac, today, June 23, is Midsummer's Eve.  I'm not sure why that should be since June 21 was the first day of summer but if the OFS says it, it must be true.  Midsummer? I hope that doesn't mean that summer is half over.  
I really wanted to follow the directions included on the calendar page.  It said "As a precaution to ward off witches and bad luck, folklore suggests that you throw herbs and salt into a bonfire on Midsummer's Eve."  My problem is where to build a bonfire.  The ground around here is pretty soggy.  I considered my balcony but remembered that my lease says I'm not even supposed to have burning candles in the apartment.  Of course it doesn't specifically say anything about bonfires.  Ah well, maybe I can build a bonfire next year.  I wonder which kind of herbs work best? And salt?  Does it have to be iodized salt or will any salt do?  And how much salt and how many herbs?  I'd better get some specifics before I try this.  Happily, I don't seem to be threatened by witches or bad luck just now.

"Send in the Clowns"

I saw an excellent production of "A Little Night Music" at the Arena Dinner Theater this evening.  I had never seen this particular musical by Stephen Sondheim before and I really enjoyed it.  The singers/actors had excellent voices and the live instrumental music was beautiful.  The setting of this multilayered and sometimes silly love story was "the turn of the last century in Sweden" and the costuming was outstanding.  I applaud the cast and director for not playing this with fake Swedish accents.  I have always loved the song "Send in the Clowns"  and it was a real joy to hear it as it occurs in the story.  I don't think it will spoil the ending to tell you they all lived happily ever after.

Summer Time

It's officially summer time now.  Today was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year.  Actually it's the day with the most daylight.  Every day has 24 hours, give or take a stray second every few years or so. According to the weather person, daylight lasted for 15 hours and 8 minutes today.  Of course it rained almost all day so it was a little hard to tell.  Coincidentally, Greek Fest also started today. Their music was a little muted but I'm sure, as we dry out, they will ramp it up.  I have no strong feelings about Greek music, but I know I will make my way to the festival sometime this weekend because I must have some Baklava.  If you've never had this flaky, honey flavored, 1000 calorie a bite, heavenly pastry, I highly recommend it. Happy summer! Happy eating!