TA DA!!

The doctor says...I CAN SING AGAIN!!!

Here is a page which talked about Adele's problem...just like mine only her hematoma was bigger and nastier looking... Yikes!

It happens folks. The rule of thumb is...trust your instincts! I felt my hoarseness was different - in the absence of any cold or drainage - and I got looked at. Only vocal rest was needed for a cure. I think Adele had to have a little laser work on that blood vessel.

Been reading about Enrico Caruso...amazing man! His voice took tremendous strain and overuse. His schedule was WAY over the top.

Okay..that's it. Just wanted to share the good news!

Okay...so it's been awhile!

Howdy readers.

It has been a bit of time since I last wrote and time & events have passed without my comment. So.... here goes! Walking back in time...

Peter Pan curtain call

The Lost Boys, Peter and Wendy. Mallie is 4th from the left.

 Mallory and I are involved in youth theater productions, as always!. She was a “Lost Boy” in Peter Pan which ran the weekend before Thanksgiving and, in addition, I have started work on Little Mermaid. Mallory will stage manage with me. The show will run in February 2013.

Steve has been very busy playing a couple of silent Japanese films the last month. Apparently, the Japanese made silent films till 1936 which incorporates  a thing called Benshi. It is the traditional narration done by a live actor along with music. Very interesting. Steve also did a magnificent recital with a percussionist on Sunday, 10/21 and it was great to have the Warners in town and staying with us. The unfortunate thing was that I was also to have appeared on the concert. 

I went to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor on the Friday  (10/19) before and a vocal scope proved that I had a ruptured blood vessel in my right vocal chord with some bleeding behind the folds. This very thing happened to the singer, Adele, only she had it on both sides! I was ordered to immediate vocal rest for six weeks – no singing and limited speaking! The good news is that the chords can be restored by rest and I have a great doctor will do another scope tomorrow to see if I have been a good enough girl. You can imagine how it’s been running youth theater rehearsals! I have spent alot of time at home and away from people so as not to talk much in the daylight hours. I have had to cut out all voice lessons, church choir and teaching at the Montessori until next month. With the aid of a voice amplifier and NO SINGING I was still able to run the rehearsals with the help of some of the staff. Yowee!! Luckily, with Peter Pan finished and Little Mermaid now into blocking and dance rehearsals, I am off the hook with the youth theater till January.

Mallory had a wonderful three day trek to Washington, D.C. with members of her 8th grade class. They left on a Saturday night and drove through the night so as to make the most of their time. Highlights included a tour of Mt. Vernon, The Ford Theater, the National Cathedral, Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Solider where they laid a wreath, all the major monuments and a ghost tour of Alexandria, VA. They arrived home early morning on Wednesday tired but very happy.

Okay, this wild thing happened to me as well in October!!! The day before I went to the ENT,  I was teaching my usual round of music classes with the 3 ½ - 5 year olds when I noticed that one of the children was slumped down on the rug. We are all on the floor and sometimes the kids will take advantage of the relaxed rules to lie down on the rug we are on. This time, when I spoke to her, the child did not move and it was then that I looked at her face and realized something was terribly wrong. Her eyes were blank and she was not breathing!  The teacher asked me if everything was okay and I told her to call 911 immediately. She did and another teacher cleared the children out of the room while I rolled little Ava over on her back and started chest compressions. It was an awful sight – her eyes weren't focusing and her mouth was turning blue. The director of the school came in and, together we worked on her till the EMS appeared. Her mother and grandmother came and they all went to the hospital with her. She was awake and talking by then. She was running a fever and they were able to confirm that she had had a cerebral seizure. At 3 ½ it is amazing what you can come back from. They actually released her later that day. Wow! I must admit, when it was happening I was cool as a cucumber. When the technicians started asking questions about what had happened I started to fall apart. In fact, one of them asked if he needed to treat me as well! What a wild day!

To continue the strangeness, my next appointment, that day, was to teach a voice lesson at a Frank Lloyd Wright house! Yup! One of my students had a great aunt who had commissioned him to build her house in the late 40’s. We decided that since I was keen to see the place and there was a lovely Steinway there that I would come there. So after this scary, emotional morning I found myself, in the afternoon, in a lovely space, at a nice piano looking out over a pond and gorgeous foliage. Wild, eh? I was still able to sing but the hoarseness - in the absence of any cold - made me look for an ENT the very next day.... Yikes!

I was also able to go visit my "cousin" Hazel. She is my father's first cousin and I have never really figured out how that works so I just consider her a cousin. Poor thing is suffering from advancing dementia.  I did call before I drove to the facility - very nice, btw -  and she was so excited to hear from me. I had the weekend to put together a photo album of lots of old and newer pictures to take to her. I found the place and was let in by a woman with a heavy Eastern European  accent. The reception room was very nice with a fire place and all. She went looking for Hazel. Turns out she was in a day room, of sorts. She looked really good and had a big smile on her face when she greeted me. She was a lot more “with it” than most of the other residents. We went to her room for our visit and I was surprised to see her little white dog there. I guess as long as the dog stays in her room she (?) is allowed to stay. I must admit, I felt very sorry for that little animal. Kind of a dismal life. All the doors have the residents’ names on them. Hazel seemed a little unsure as to which was hers. I was there about 90 minutes and we had a good visit. I gave her the album and we spent a lot of time looking through it. She cried over all the old pictures. She knew every person in them too. It was a little hard as she would say…every minute or so…”so you’re Leonard’s daughter!” There were many times when she would try to tell me something and she could not find the correct words. I tried very hard to follow her intent to get to what she was trying to say. It was difficult to hear her speak about my parents as if I did not know them. She feels that they had turned away from her and I kept trying to steer her back to something else. Of course, I had to stop telling her that they had passed away as that upset her every time so I would, again, just try to change the subject.I noticed, in the visitor book, that her son, Dan,  had come the day before so it seems her sons are in and out. She claims no one comes to see her. She told me that she feels that she is more “engaged” than the rest of the folks there and I would agree with her. Most are incapable of speaking. Her room is very nice and has an attached bathroom. Her dog is great company to her, as you can imagine. In fact, every time she cried, which was often, she would sit and lick her arm. She did so enjoy the photos I was glad I had taken the time to make the book for her. I will visit her next month with another one – I have so many of my grandmother’s photos too – and it will be a great basis for conversations. She did not recognize herself in any of the photos she was in. I must admit it was very difficult to see her but I was glad to be able to spend time with her and see her smile. 

Now on to the present. We had a lovely Thanksgiving up north, per usual. It was warm on the holiday - 60s! The next day it snowed...of course! We stayed at Stephen's cousins' house on Long Lake. A lovely place built in 1899 and across the street from the Lake. Really nice and we enjoyed the change. This is a shot of us as we took a walk, before dinner, along the bay. As you can see, it was a really beautiful day.

The 3 of us on Thanksgiving Day enjoying the Bay!

The sleeping loft at the house

The stairs leading from the loft.

This is at the bottom of the stairs - kitchen to the left and living room straight ahead. We had the Macy's parade on!

The cool enclosed porch!

Looking out at Long Lake.

Hope your holiday time was great! Onward to the end of the year!!!

Halloooo?

Hi everybody.

Okay. Confession time. I started this blog in September of 2007. Been through a lot of life since then - haven't we all? This has been the place for me to pour over my feelings,  to keep a memory safe and to indulge in what I love to do - write.

Question. Is there anybody out there reading this? I guess it doesn't really matter to me as I plan to keep on...keeping on. However, a word here or there would be appreciated.

Feeling a bit isolated.

You?

If  you are reading this...take a moment and ramble around. Tell me what you were attracted to and what you thought was dumb, silly or cool. That way I will feel a bit more IN the world today.

Thanks!

P.S. This photo was taken at the Townsend Hotel as we enjoyed am anniversary tea to celebrate my folks and being married for 60 years. It was a good day.

Why I love Mandy Patinkin

I have always had a major crush on Mr. Patinkin. It all stems from his Broadway days and how he can sing the heck of out of a Sondheim song..... But when I read this, this morning, I knew he was the guy I always liked to think he was... This is about his role on "Criminal Minds" , a police drama on CBS...never seen it myself

 I quote...............
The star played a criminal profiler in the programme for two seasons, but quit before work started on the third series.

Patinkin now reveals he couldn't stand the gory storylines and wishes he had never taken the job.
He tells New York Magazine, "The biggest public mistake I ever made was that I chose to do Criminal Minds in the first place. I thought it was something very different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women (in storylines) every night, every day, week after week, year after year... It was very destructive to my soul and my personality. After that, I didn't think I would get to work in television again."
Patinkin went on to land a role in hit drama Homeland opposite Claire Danes, and he is much happier in his new job.
He adds, "A show like Homeland is the antidote. It asks why there's a need for violence in the first place."

Thanks Mandy, for realizing that we need LESS of this kind of crap to filter through our brains and to see the way it can alter how our society tolerates such violence.

Pure Michigan!

Here is the Pure Michigan  shoot I was a part of last month! Look for me in "Rochester" which was filmed  at MeadowBrook Hall. I am 2nd on the right in sparkling grey.

My life in the movies - Part 1

This past Sunday, our pastor offered a sermon titled "Detours". It was, basically, the idea that Life offers detours all the time and that, through the most unexpected turns, your life unfolds. Well that is certainly the case here.

First off, I should say that my best friend, Michele, is another example of a major detour story. Through a series of Lemony Snickett type situations she has now one of the most interesting and crazy jobs ever. She is the Private Chef to a major "Bollywood" movie star.

Huh?

Okay, let's walk through this... First a definition..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood 
Alot of folks have seen some of these films as they are starting to reach our shores and run in art houses. "Monsoon Wedding" and "Bride and Prejudice" come to mind as fun romps. This can be found in your local video store. (An Indian friend mentioned "Three Idiots"!) The Bollywood scene is run by many clans that basically make all the films. The young actors of today have come from long - in some cases extremely long - pedigrees. They have an air of royalty to them, I think. (Indian friends, correct me if I'm wrong!) This entry will focus on members of the Hussain and Bachchan families.

Okay, back on track now... So I have been talking to Michele since August about this wild ride she has been on. This actor is on a special diet and eats every 2 1/2 hours and grabs time with a trainer when not on set. She said.."it's like I am working for a racehorse". She has become part of an entourage that includes a manager, a butler, a trainer, a nutritionist, a driver, a bodyguard and a nanny.

During the week preceding Labor Day she calls to say that I will be getting a call from a casting director. She said they were looking for kids for three days of filming at Six Flags Great America. (Oh, did I mention that all this filming is being done in Chicago?) Sure enough, that call came through and not only did they offer my daughter 3 days of paid extra work but they wanted me too. I could get very big headed over this but we hired sight unseen and they needed bodies, plain and simple. Still it was fun to feel that they "needed" us on set. It sure helped that Michele had been hanging out with these people!

The film is called DHOOM 3 and stars many of the most popular actors today in Bollywood -  Aamir Khan , Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra and Katrina Kaif.  The wife of Mr. Bachchan, the lovely Aishwarya Rai  appeared in the earlier DHOOM 2. This time around she is on mommy duty as they welcomed a daughter into the world just last year, I believe. These two are the Brad/Angelina of Asia. I believe that Mr. Khan signed on for DHOOM 3 and Abhishek has been in all three movies.

Whew! Getting the idea here? This is big stuff. But....because we are on American soil these folks are just actors with strange names, right? So this is what we are signing on for...three days as paid background extras in a Bollywood movie!

TALK ABOUT A DETOUR! Sure didn't see this one coming!

BTW, Michele is working for Aamir Khan or, as she refers to him, "the actor". 

Okay, so now we get an email packet that is full of things that I must do to get Mallory a work permit for the state of Illinois. I learned alot about it over the course of a few days. Keep in mind, this was butting up to the Labor Day holiday and offices were going to be closed. I got on the computer and sent emails to her principal and, when he said yes, to all her teachers. To work on a union film a minor (under 16) must have the following to get a work permit... Stamped birth certificate (no photocopies), social security card (yup, the card!), a recent form from her doctor that shows she has had a physical within the last year and is healthy, a letter from her principal, on school letterhead, that states that she is a student and the hours she is in school, a signed letter from the company stating that she is working for them and a letter signed by the parents stating that the student has their permission to work. I think that's it.

OH...this is in ILLINOIS right? If this film had been shot in Michigan she could go to her District Superintendent to get the permit. Nope. We had to go to the Illinois Board of Education office located in the Thompson Center at 100 W. Randolph and Clark.

Now, I have said yes and all the emailing starts. Not to mention the phone calling..."Does she have her permit yet?"  Yikes! Okay, add to all this that school is starting in Michigan and Mallie really wants to be there on the first day. Shooting starts the next day. I swear up and down that, as the office opens at 9:00am that I will have the work permit in hand by 9:15 Wednesday morning. And that, thank God, is how it worked out. They weren't thrilled but, honestly, it was the best we could do.

So the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...EIGHTH GRADE! Whew! As soon as it ends I whisk her off and we are on our way to Chicago!

My Life in Movies - Part 2

Okay, so we arrive in Chicago and what a lovely drive up Lakeshore Drive. The sun is starting to make an exit and we pass all kinds of activity on the road and beaches. Sigh. Nice. My friend lives in Rogers Park and it's an area I am not familiar with. We had a little hang out time that evening.

Michele was not yet off the clock!

She had to cook 30 burgers and caramelize onions for the next day. These were to be props but since the star dudes would be taking bites out of them they had to be made with the best lean meat available. Mallie and I almost didn't survive the onions!

Morning came and we scampered downtown early to be at our 9am appointment at the Thompson Center. People have asked how much the work permit was and I tell them it's $30. Free to get but you have to shell out that much to park in the city! Sigh. We walk into the building and it is amazing! Look at that floor! Wow! See "Part 1" for more shots of the place.

Mallory and I can now breath a sigh of relief and we have a little time so we head to our favorite cafe in the Pilsen area - Cafe Jumping Bean. This is a cool place and we love it!! Lots of murals around too. I bet if you looked around this blog you would see more on this place. I first went there last year.

Anyway, we were now ready to head out to Gurnee, Ill. and the wonderland that is Six Flags Great America! We were told by the guard at the gate to wait for the "van". Turns out the production folks had a fleet of black, Mercedes 12 seat vans that roamed about the park taking folks from here to there.  Here's a shot of Miss Mal waiting for the van.

The DHOOM 3 folks had the place rented out for three days so we walked into an empty park. It felt like like a bad zombie film, you know..? Dude, where are all the people?

We finally asked some maintenance guys for the restaurant we were to meet everyone at. It was called Aunt Martha's Kitchen but we called it Base Camp for the duration. There we met with our contacts and started the daily paperwork that every extra needs to fill out.

We then got walked over to our "holding area". Now, I am told, that we had a very cool situation. Most times you are on location the extras wait in a room or another building until they are needed on the set. Since we were to be in the park for the duration our "holding" was at the outdoor "Johnny Rocket" restaurant. We were steps away from the action all the time. In fact, you'd be laughing and talking and you'd hear a Production Assistant say ROLLING and you had to pipe down immediately.

There are many things to say here about the next three days. I will try to hit the highlights.

One of the coolest things was the Tea Man. This production was made up of many Indians and so the Tea Man was considered an essential member of the crew. He was a small man whose job it was to keep all the water coolers filled and carry around a large container of the most amazing Chai tea I had ever had! Michele, being privy to this, was able, on a couple of occasions, to snag a cup for me and brought it over to the set. The Indians stopped, several times a day, for a tea break. Very civilized!

This being an amusement park, there were several times when the PAs called out for folks who were willing to ride some of the rides for shots needed. I always put up my hand. After the past several times I have had to sit out on the cool rides because I was with my kid or friends with back issues I thought, YEHAW!

I got the chance to ride "X Flight" five times in a row!! Check this out!!  Check out this ride!!   I even kicked off my shoes and rode barefoot. Somehow it make me feel more adventurous!  The next one they needed volunteers for was the Raging Bull. Check out how it feels to ride this one!

Such fun! At one point, in the afternoon, we noticed that Raging Bull was running. Several times the rides were run as a bit of backdrop for the scene, I would guess. There was only one rider and it was our PA Rob looking mighty pleased to have the chance to go solo! He was hilarious!

Michele had to make an additional 30 burgers the following evening, for the next day's shoot, and watch as most of them had to be thrown away. There had to be alot to go though the day and they all, again, had to be the finest leanest meat there was. Whole Foods Market is her home away from home as she has to buy top of the line organic for "the actor". Here is a shot of her ninja chef set up on this day!

The people you meet on a movie set are interesting. I met two sisters, Hope and Toy. The first day, Hope's daughter was on the shoot and then she had other commitments so Hope brought her sister. They were from a large family - 7 kids! - and had only one brother. Whew! There was Scott, who Michele called my "husband" as there were several scenes we were paired in.  Scott is the one in the stripety shirt, Hope has the wild glasses on (a prop) and Toy is next to her. We laughed alot. We were all passing around our kid's photos here.

Here is a few of the costumed extras. It was 90 degrees. Check out the lady's legs. She had a rabbit costume she wore.

In the middle shot above you can just see a shot being set up and the head of Mr.Khan - wearing a baseball hat - and Mr. Bachchan looking like a tall homeless dude with long coat and beard.

There was Ed, "although everyone on set call me Mr. B". Ohhhkay.. This guy was a professional background extra. He was one of those guys that needs to tell you every cool thing he has ever done. I bet if I had put a gun to his head and asked him to repeat my name he would be dead today. It was the constant .."don't look in the camera.." that made me kind of pissed but I realized that he too, was part of this weird situation we were in. Just another character!

Another scene comes to mind of Mr. Khan's nanny, a tiny Indian lady, walking with his child and followed by this huge bodyguard in his "Men in Black" attire pushing the stroller. Or how, between scenes, an assistant would kneel in from of him and shade him with a big umbrella. Old school, dude!

Following union rules for minors working on sets, Mallie had to attend at least 3 hours of studio "school" every day. The black vans would arrive and take the kids off for a bit. This was a little bit of a drag as she had no homework or textbooks as she had only had one day of school! I was very proud that she introduced herself and jumped into the group so readily!

We changed locations, in the park, the third day and the weather was getting a bit funky. There was a call for volunteers to ride "Raging Bull" and I went for it. Only, this time, as we climbed all the steps that took us to the top the heavens opened and it poured!! Mr. Khan and Mr. Bachchan was there already, sitting in the coaster, while the director sat one car over looking at playback. I was wondering....hmmm are they going to have us ride in this rain? I mean, I will do (almost) anything once but this is pushing it. As it turned out, they simply filmed a scene of us getting on and off the coaster. I was one lane over from the stars. Cool!

In the shot above, you can see the director (the bald dude in blue) and Abhishek who is the tall guy across from him. His bodyguard blocks the view, You can just see Aamir over his right shoulder. The photo right above is a better view of Abhishek in the sweater vest.

We had a lot of fun. Here we are with our "props". Doesn't Mal look thrilled?

It was one of most boring, exciting and interesting things I have ever done in my life. Really fun. The movie comes out in 2013. It will be in Hindi and subtitled. I hear you can get it on Netflicks. I think we'll have a viewing party when it comes out.

That's a wrap!

A morning musing

It's a quiet morning and I am on my second cup  of coffee. The neighborhood is beginning to stir and I can feel the humidity starting to rise. Sigh.

I am currently involved in a great book called "My name is Mary Sutter" by Robin Oliveira. Only  a quarter of the way through but engrossing. It's about a woman in the Civil War era who is desperate to train as a doctor. She is a midwife and comes from a long line of such. Amazing to think about the advances of medicine over the last century. Wow.

Today is the beginning of a new era for our household. I have been speculating the arrival of "Flo" - as my friend Kim calls her. Actually, the final exit and the new arrival, I guess you could say.

Yesterday I had one full year in without any periods. And, yesterday, my beautiful 13 year old started hers. Wow. She is 13, I am 50 and my mother would have been 87. Thinking about my mother makes me tear up because she is the one person I wish I could have picked up the phone to share the news with. I wonder if I will be lucky enough to get that news when I am 87.

My mother was 37 when she had me as I was 37 when I had my daughter. All three of us make up the Friday Girls club as we will all emerged into the light on a Friday. I was a morning girl and my daughter is an evening girl. I am not sure when my mother made her appearance. This November it will be 3 years since she left us. I know she is near us and I feel her presence often. Wow...just as I wrote this it became very calm and quiet out here on the porch. Lovely. It is the best thing about summer, for me. The chance to rise early and enjoy my porch with a good srong cup of coffee before anyone else is up.

My mum never had the chance to experience this space in the morning but she enjoyed it alot of afternoons and evenings. I think she is here now, enjoyng the bird songs and the light as it hits the neighboring trees.

Work has been completed in and on our house. What looked like a large and expensive job became a larger and affordable job. Confused? Yup, me too! We needed a new roof, that was clear, and the wind storms of March completed what had started to spell the end for our roof. As the roofing companies passed through with estimates, one guy mentioned after being up on the roof and patching a few spots, gratis, I may add....that some of this could be covered under our homeowners inurance.

Sure enought. Many phone calls and inspections later, here I sit on the porch of a house with a new (and lovely) roof. The company also paid for new ceilings in the upstairs rooms ( minus two of the bedrooms) and  an amazing paint job. The back hall no longer has a crummy, leaky ceiling and it looks amazing. All for the measly sum of $500 in the form of a deductible.

And, somehow, I feel I have my mum to thank. It is just this amazing stroke of timing and luck that makes me think that she somehow had a hand in it. Crazy, you may say but I feel it nonetheless.

With the foundation issues addressed last November and the roof and ceiling issues this June...sigh. What a year. I really feel blessed.

As usual, I am hopping from subject to subject but, as this is a real blog, I guess I have the green light to do so.

If anyone is readinng, so far, let's recap. Lovely, sunny morning...good coffee... quiet...and a bit of longing ....Perfect settng for a blogger, eh?

More music!!

This is Mallory and her step dad playing at her annual piano recital just last weekend. The camera messed up so I'm afraid it starts mid piece but the other two selections should be just fine. Enjoy!

A little reminder

Singing, week after week, at our church and offering wonderful music is a lovely thing. I think we all get a little jaded when you are doing something week in and week out. You forget that, to others, music is uplifting and can touch people like nothing else can. We too need to be reminded to enjoy the gift of music.

This week has been a struggle. Hectic schedule, hormonal shifts that are wreaking internal havoc....Anyway, on one particularly black morning I came downstairs and found an envelope on the kitchen table with my name on it.

5/1/2012
Dear Rose,


The beauty of your voice singing the Sunday morning anthem lingers in my memory.


Thank you for this gift, that you might not know you gave. 


I regret, as a visitor, that the sanctuary was not filled to hear both the music and Peter Smith's encouraging message about creativity and choices.


Again, thank you for the gift you shared.


Best Regards,
xxxxx  xxxxxxxxxx
(visiting from Colorado)

Wow. It is a gift and thanks for such kind words. Made my day!

UPDATE!!

My Aunt Margery passed away on March 8th of this year. I have been writing her letters - about every other month - to keep her updated on our lives as she lives (lived) in the south and we are in the north. This letter was to go into the mail when I got the news. This covers from about mid February to early March. Margery was a shut-in in the later part of her life and lived into her 90's, I can imagine that those last years were not so happy. Anyway, she never read these words and the letter was never sent. Here is the edited update letter to update you on what all has been happening in our lives.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 

Good morning Aunt Margery! I am sitting at my computer and thinking that I need to catch you up on all the comings and goings…and there have been quite a few lately! First off, I have to say that I hope this finds you well. I get so little information about you I prefer to think of you getting along and finding some joy in your day, however large or small it may be. I hope that my little newsy letters can be considered a little break in your day. It does come with love!

What has been happening with us.. Hmm! These last couple of weeks have been filled with music! I was asked to perform at a benefit for a friend of ours who is also a theater organist like Stephen. This is an annual event at a small theater in Royal Oak that is home to the Stagecrafters – a local community theater group with a great reputation for really good productions. This was a concert of “Love Songs, sweet and sour” with 8 singers participating. We had two performances of it bracketing Valentines’ Day. The second show was on a Sunday and that was also the kick off of Mallory’s Winter Break week so her and I headed off for our annual trip together. 

This time we decided to cut up the time and visit two cities. So, after the afternoon concert, we got in the car and drove to Chicago to stay with and hang out with my best friend, Michele. We had a great time with her. She lives in a community called Pilsen in the Latin area of the city which borders on Chinatown. We spent one whole way walking around the city, shopping, riding the public transit (Mal loves that!) and poking our heads into all kinds of places. The second day we went to the Adler Planetarium and had a wonderful time spending the morning looking at all the amazing exhibits. We headed back home Tuesday night.

Wednesday I worked all day teaching at the Montessori school and teaching 7 hour long voice lessons! Thursday morning Steve and I drove to Grand Ledge (Lansing area) to rehearse for our recital that was to be held on that upcoming Sunday. I drove back, gathered up Mallory and we were on our way to Cleveland. 

Stephen’s brother lives there and we always stay with him but, this time, we stayed with another old friend who is working in the city during week and rents an amazing 3000 sq. ft. loft in the warehouse district. It’s a truly interesting place to be. It’s in a turn of the century small car factory that has been renovated into business and loft spaces. His kids were down for the school break too so we hung out and hit some of our favorite places – Westside Market, Malley’s Chocolates and, this time, the brand new City Aquarium. Open only a month, this attraction has opened in the city’s old power plant. Very cool indeed! We drove back home on Saturday afternoon in time for Sunday church and then our recital. A childhood friend of Steve’s was in town from Traverse City as he was playing several pieces with the choir – alto and soprano saxophone – and so he was able to come to our concert as well as keep Mallory occupied. He is like an adopted uncle for her and she loves to spend time with him.

After such a whirlwind of activity it was great to get back home. The week back from school was busy as we were auditioning our next Youth Theater show – “Seussical, the Musical”. It’s a fun show featuring the characters and stories of Dr. Seuss whose birthday I share! Speaking of that, I spent most of my free time getting the house in order and shopping as I was throwing a birthday party on Friday March 2nd. I decided the best way to celebrate the grand FIVE OH was to have my friends near.

We had a great time and I went on to have a great weekend as my friend Michele drove in from Chicago and another old friend flew in from New York. All stayed till Sunday - including Michael, my brother-in-law who drove in for the party as well and stayed nearby at his cousin’s place... Really nice weekend! We ended it with Steve, Mallie and I going to a local Finnish hot tub place and relaxing before coming home and having pizza. Ahhhhh!

This week we get back into the swing of things. Now I go back to running between both show rehearsals –“The Wonderful World of OZ” in Farmington and “Seussical” in West Bloomfield. Mallory is back to rehearsals for her school musical, “Once on this Island” where she has a lead. She had Piano Achievement Testing day on Sunday as well so after the girls headed out we took her over to the local community college to run her through her paces. In the 4 areas of testing she received, as a final score, a 99.5! We had lots to celebrate Sunday evening.

So now we jump into work. The house is coming along as we continue to pull Mom and Dad’s things out of the garage and incorporate them into our home. It sure is a good feeling to be surrounded by the things I used to see everyday. I am working on my student voice recital that I will hold on March 31st. Stephen has a meeting with a local organ technician who seems keen on handing over his business to him. He is an established name in town and the two will meet tonight to see what all can be done. Stephen is getting to be known in the organ circles as someone with a lot of knowledge and skill and I am so proud of him.

Where we are now................

 The Student Vocal Recital was a success! Eight singers performed for an enthusiastic crowd. Mallory went on to Solo and Ensemble Festival and played a cello piece with Mr. Stephen as her accompanist and received a ONE rating along with an A+ in tone and interpretation. We are currently running "The Wonderful Wizard of OZ" and all is going very well. I return to the "Seussical" cast next week to push on to a late May opening. Mallory opens, next weekend, in her show ("Once On this Island") and I will so enjoy being in the audience watching her instead of seeing her from my position off stage.  Stephen produced lovely music to deepen the walk for our congregation through Holy Week and Easter. He has booked a few more silent film presentations as well as recitals and is busy working on new music. 

Thanks for checking in with us!

A Smidge of Kashmir!!

If you had told me, back in the 70s, that my child would be playing Led Zeppelin in her middle school string group.....HA! Here is a tiny bit of the group. Again, my camera didn't have alot of memory left AND I had , inadvertently, erased the performance of "Clocks" - a cool Cold Play tune. Arrggghhh! Ah well...enjoy!

Looking for new music

This is a very cute video by Jim Gill! We love his music in my Montessori classrooms!

Mallory plays at her first Solo and Ensemble Festival

Although the memory in my camera ran out I think you can get a feel for how well she did! She got a ONE rating for her performance. GO MAL!

Friday 13

When is a Friday NOT a TGIF? When you are a musician that works all weekend....;) Today is Friday the 13th.....run for the hills!!!

Dumb, dumb, dumb. I have this great black ("fluffy") cat named Amy..great luck. My Dad was a working musician who always left the house with $13 in his wallet...worked for him. I kinda like the number 13. You? I feel it's had a bad rap. Kinda like some swear words that can be very comforting in a stressful situation when you are not around others.

(The photo was shot within the American Cemetery in France to honor those that fell in the WW11 Normandy landings and just up from Omaha Beach. Okay...that is bad luck there for those buried there. Nice photo, Elise N.!!)

I digress. Friday of a rather uneventful week, for me. True, I am only working on one show instead of the two - March, it was - but it has been a little quiet. Last week was Holy Week coming on the heels of my student recitals and running between two locations/productions, heading up rehearsals. I long for time off and it seems that, when I have it, I have a hard time feeling "entitled" to it.

What was that, Tony Robbins? Right! I am repeating the "story" I tell myself. I need to create a new story to get to the next level of my life. Workin' on it, bub.

Maybe I am just a cat-like person with regards to relaxation. Just do it.

Hope your "13th" is groovy. And I'll throw the weekend in the deal as well...;)

To good not to share..again

What Love means to a 4-8 year old....

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4


'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)


'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8


'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5


'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.'

Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4


'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7


'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6


'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8


And the final one...

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Are you stocking stories?

I have been reading Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth". and I have to say it has been resonating with me. The idea that really hit me was the concept of a "Pain-body". The idea that we are all born with some DNA-like human pain of regret or shame or...undefined pain. It can cause some babies to cry and cry for no reason. It can cause normal people to look at life and seize upon the unkind word, the feelings of shame and holding onto stories that hold deep emotion. Mr. Tolle says that the emotion is something to sit with ...to allow. It's the story connected to it that is unnecessary and what feeds the "Pain- body".

We all do it. A memory of some slight or action against you that can bring that pain and emotion to the surface in an instance when you recall it. Or something someone said that you replay over and over...even if the incident happened 20 years ago. The body, not knowing the story is 20 years old, reacts as if it were the now, happening this moment. How can that be good for us??

On the eve of my 50th birthday - one that make me fully an adult (and I can't tell you why I feel that way) I am pledging to stop the stories in my head. To take the emotion, when it comes up, and sit in it. To take a moment to examine it and to think through the possible trigger. TO TAKE A MOMENT TO NOTE THE DATE OF THE INCIDENT.

I don't know about you but that was a big point for me to understand. What do you think?

Weird Space

I'm in a weird space. (Say, anyone ever wonder why the I before E rule doesn't apply to "weird"?)

Anyway....! Ever have this feeling..? A shame ball in your stomach? And it just shows up. You have not done anything bad per se. Yet, this feeling covers over you...

I recently found a friend of mine. Someone I was very close to 30 years ago. I have thought of this person, from time to time, and wondered...what is she doing these days? Found her. On Facebook even! I sent a quick message...no reply. Through my post another friend contacted her - reply!

Now somewhere in the ether of my youth there was a time where this person had suspicions about me that were false. I think the reason she has not responded to me is...she still believes I acted against her...with her then husband. Oddly enough, I had a great working relationship with this man because we did not have any "involvement". Here's the kicker...I am feeling shame..! Why? Because her incorrect assessment diminishes me. Yet, if it is a basic untruth...how can it?

So what is it? I think there must be some "shame ball" (my made up concept) that is planted in each of us. For some, it remains small and only occasionaly makes it's presence known. In others, it grows out of control like a cancerous tumor. I know the emotion comes from my head but I feel it in my gut. Like I am about to called to principal's office. I cannot control my friend's thought process - obviously. I guess this emotion is mixed with a dusting of sadness. She has not thought about me and therefore, our friendship all those years ago was not as close and deep as I remembered it to be.

Now who had the incorrect assesment, eh?

Closing night of "Joseph..."

Well we have closed yet another show. "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was a success for many reasons. The company branched out to another location and we enjoyed being in a real theater! The Berman Center for the Performing Arts was fantastic and we made the most of the experience. The cast had a great time, the crew did well and we will be back!

The best part of it was the chance for Mal and I to work together. I was the Stage Left Stage Manager and she was my right hand man..er...uh..gal! I am blessed to share these kinds of experiences with my blossoming tween! The last photo is of Cathy, one of our narrators and my "sister" and Lauryn, our creative director's daughter. Thanks ladies!