Falling into Fall

Great pictures, Waddoups! I can remember that first day of school excitement mixed with trepidation. Who will I sit by? Will the teacher like me? Am I smart? Why do I have to wear these blasted thick long brown stockings held up with a garter belt? (Seriously.) I'm sure I have told you before that I grew up attending school, from kindergarten(belt) to college, wearing a skirt (no, not the same skirt, come on - that would have been a real problem! I would have been asked to go home and change into something longer, like a full length gown, by the time I was in junior high). Such oppression - such nonsense. Remember the story about Susie, when she was about 10 and my ma and pa took her to a movie playing at the Varsity Movie Theatre at BYU? It was winter, and she had on pants under her winter coat, but when they got to the ticket counter the cashier told them that she wouldn't be allowed in because she had pants on. Mom took her hand and they went into the restroom close by in the hall. Susie removed her pants, showed up at the counter again and was welcomed into the theatre. But enough of that. All water under the bridge, or wet pants in the dryer.
We went down to SLC Friday. I went to Day Murray music and spent a blissful unrushed 2 1/2 hours perusing choir music. I had a list of songs for Thanksgiving and Christmas that I had one copy of, hoping to find a dozen of them there, but found some great arrangements and surprises while I tried out several on their muted piano. Our theme this year for Christmas program will be "Let Every Nation Welcome Him" - a global Christmas carol program. I have always wanted to do The Carol of the Birds, taken from the Pablo Casals melody, and this is the year. Then we will sing a Welsh carol, a French carol (Ile ne la divin enfant (sp?), Silent Night woven with a contemporary song Carol Him Softly and some others I am waiting to see if they have in publication. We went out to dinner at Monsoon Thai (very good) and to see Junebug the movie (very good). And, of course, I did stop off at Xocolate for our usual small box of chocolates. Duh.
We are watching the Emmys tonight, although I don't watch Lost or Desparate Housewives. But we enjoyed the Johnny Carson tribute alot. And Jon Stewart's show won several awards, which we applaud. We don't get HBO, so we will have to rent Huff, Empire Falls, Warm Springs, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
You may not know that Sarah McGee's wedding is off. Her boyfriend Chris called it off and went back to his former girlfriend. I feel for Sarah, such a heartbreak. Mary says she is handling is fairly well, but, oh, that hurts.
Also, Dad is doing well. (My dad, your grand/greatgrandfather.) He says he has a steady pulse, and they are putting him on a medication to regulate it. He wrote "I Got Rhythm, I got music. I got my gal, who could ask for anything more?" We are so relieved. They have bought their season tickets for every series of concerts, lectures, plays and bowling tournaments offered within 60 miles of Provo.
Well, that's the news. Love goes out to you all. Let's talk! Warm thoughts, Ma

First day o' school

(Hooray for digital cameras...this year you'll see first day of school photos before January!)
Just thought I'd send along the traditional and tolerated first day of school photos. Much excitement and adrenaline all around...I think everyone woke up at least a half hour before they had to.


Lauren: preoccupied with wearing just the right thing ("I just realized that I need to look like I didn't try too hard but still look cool"...ah, middle school) and broke a record by 8 a.m., already phoning me from school to bring some forgotten money.





Maddy: aiming for "sporty girl" comfort in t-shirt and shorts, painstakingly prepared her lunch and snack last night and slept in the longest this morning.

Sam: wearing summer clothes & no new school clothes at all, sporting a fresh-cut hair trim, and had his backpack on, ready to go at least an hour before the bus came. The bunch of them will home in an hour or so.

I have to admit I miss them today! (Although I did get many errands done today it is .) It's a delicious, warm-with-a bit-of-breeze day here and I've just visited my favorite farm stand...gorgeous peaches, raspberries, tomatoes, and apples. Don't you love September?

A.

Awesome Awgust

I so enjoyed hearing from Annie on the blogspot. I am very familiar with the surge of resolve that comes with being away from home, then returning. Ready to shake things up, redo a few rooms, build a spa and hire a masseuse, build a better computer, declutter (yeah, right), start a traveling harp ensemble complete with a dance troupe, take in several families from the Katrina disaster. (We could put them up next door in that big house that has been vacant for going on five years. What a waste!) Then I settle down and settle in and rent a video and get over it.
We did have lovely visits from the waddoups, nancy and dave, and chris in August, and that was so enjoyable. We did alot but not nearly all we wanted to do. Loved being with the grandkids and their parents. Such a good time with such oustanding people. A brief visit with the lovebirds from Tucson. Nancy says she is still moving in and is feeling quite domestic. Chris reports that he is in Philadelphia to see Sochi, his good friend, who is very ill and they can't seem to find the cause or cure. Good man.
We had a great stay with Matt and Frank in their beautiful home. It has such great features with its old wood sliding doors, moldings, and a plaster floral/garland decoration on the ceiling int he dining room. Frank has been working on remodeling and restoring. He finished the upstairs bathroom while Matt was in Italy, which entailed some emergency plumbing in the process of tiling and putting up fixtures. He is getting into woodworking with an eye to making some fine wood furniture. Leona, Marcel and Juan were great, if somewhat laidback hosts. Cats. Sleep, eat, nap, be cool, bring grasshoppers and crickets inside to entertain and eventually eat, sleep, eat, nap, etc. They drew the lucky card.
We loved the concert where Matt played with a trio of pianist/harpsichordist and recordist (recorder player). Tellemann to Vaughan Williams. Very nice program. And Matt certainly does well on the cello (thanks, Frank, for having one). It was pure enjoyment. So Matt specializes in strings, and Frank specializes in pipes (water). Good combination. There was a lovely gathering at the pianist's home afterward for a select group of friends. Such warm and loving people. Gracious and effusive, generous and kind. And they adore Matt and Frank. So gratifying. We had to get to Cincinnati that night to catch and 7 .a.m. flight out. But we did have a wonderful time in the guy's good care. Thanks, you two.
We are going to Holdaway's tomorrow, for a barbeque. And that will bring summer to a proper close. We have to go to choir practice right now for the dedication of the chapel next Sunday evening. I will try to start up ward choir next week and see what we have here. We lost virtually all of our basses, and all but one alto in the new division.
Currently cinema deprived, but fall is here, and we can safely go back into the theatres for more than explosions and horror or silliness. We have rented Downfall, which is about Hitler (German made) but haven't watched it yet. Your dad heads for Baltimore on Tuesday for the week.
We would like to do something as a family for the hurricane victims. Do you each want to send a check into the Red Cross in your neighborhood? We could do a matching fund thing. If you will tell us what you send in, we will match it all. So sad, and so disheartening. Those who have the least seem to get the least attention. Our hearts are aching for them all. Contrary to what some may say, I don't think God has anything to do with natural disasters, but watches to see how we represent Him in the aftermath. Love you so, Ma