Tuesday, May 26, 2009

4 Years Ago

Just found an old photo of Libby (right) and friends from her freshman year of pre-college conservatory...and now, her freshman year of college is over.


These girls look so young. Because they are.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Impromptu Archaeolgy

[Cue Indiana Jones theme]


So I go out to the yard with pitchfork in hand, ready to turn over the soil next to the compost pile for planting giant pumpkins. To my dismay, I keep hitting something at a depth of about 6 inches. I call Annika, my pre-archaeology high schooler, to dig up the object. She brings out her big pick, her small pick, a trowel, a hand rake, some brushes for fine work, and a spoon:


Proceding with caution, she soon discovers part of an old pipe.


The pipe is open, so she begins to clean it out with care.


Using the fine pick and the spoon, she clears the soil from the mouth of the pipe...



only to find something(s) moving...






Worms. Why did it have to be worms?


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Swallows and Amazons Audio Downloads!

Some of you might recall that I am a great fan of Audible's audio book website and programs, and others might know that I am a long-time fan of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books.


Still others might not care one bit.


But for those who do, I just heard that Audible now carries 4--count 'em! 4!--of the series, expertly read and unabridged. The titles available so far (I hope for more) are Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, Winter Holiday, and Peter Duck. Audible has one of them miscategorized as a book for 5-7 year olds in one instance, and for 8-10 year olds in another. These books are great for all ages, but a very young child might find a 10 hour audio book a bit long. Unless, of course, he is sitting in a car for hours, in which case the S&As will become his best friends.

Click through the links and take a listen. The quality is great, and the reader is lovely.

Monday, May 4, 2009

An Amazing Weekend!

Yeah, I was a bit busy...Trip's high school string orchestra played Friday night. They opened with the Largo movement from Dvořák's New World Symphony. Catholics might recognize this as the tune to "Jesus Christ, Bread of Life." The violas had the melody for most of it, so Trip, as the leader of his section, was easily heard. They played a few other pieces, all emphasizing the lower strings, which is the strength of the orchestra.

Saturday morning was the SAT exam. How did he do? Who knows? We'll see in a few weeks.

The exam was followed by YME rehearsal. After his rehearsal, we went to see Prof. Kreeft speak on modernism. Wonderful. Shortly after that, I went into Juilliard to see a composer's recital (pre-college). I was so impressed with the students. Libby had coached one of the groups, and they were really amazing, and the piece was lovely.

But there was no time for dinner after the recital...we were off to Carnegie to see the Chicago Symphony play Bruchner 8. 5 full minutes of standing ovation--well-deserved. We were going to see my brother performing with his band on the east side, but we were exhausted. At home, we needed some sleep, since...

The next morning we went to the Catholic League communion breakfast, which featured keynote speaker...Prof. Kreeft. That was great, since Libby is a fan, and had not heard his talk on Saturday.

Later, after Libby taught for a few hours, we went to the evening Mass at our local parish and sang. Then I drove her back to school. When I got home, she had left a message that her ID and keys were in the car. Yup. I'll have to buzz in there in the morning.

Time for bed!