The concert's over, this last week of practising is done, and I am glad. Oh, we sang well and we pulled it off, but I personally was way too stressed and I don't like that. I like to be confident that I know what we're doing so that I can relax. Those stiffening back and neck muscles just are not fun.
What do you do when you're in a quandary? Do you ruminate for days, weeks, months and never make a decision? Do you make the decision quickly and change it at will? Or do you never intend to decide and just keep going wherever the winds and the world take you? The worst, I suppose, is to make the decision and then keep second guessing yourself.
The experts say to decide quickly and move on, knowing that the time saved will far outweigh the odd wrong decision, but how do you do that and live with the consequences of hurting people you love or closing doors you would have better left open? The business world is one thing but our personal lives are totally different--we need to live there!
So I am wondering about my choir commitments. Oh, I still love singing. I just don't like the nerves that seem to more and more go with it. This second part of the year I've been singing second soprano after having soared on the first all my life. To say that is a switch is understatement. I did it because my director needed more help in that section and my voice is not as high as it once was. I like to soar on those high notes and, if that's not possible, I don't go there. Switching to second seemed a natural choice. But it's too low for me. Oh, I love the parts singing and I really like the others in the section--great people--but after a night of singing my voice is scratchy and my speaking sounds low, not a good thing.
The thing that really got me going last night was having to constantly move from one place to another for different songs. In some I sang high soprano; in others second; and I did a couple of showcased solo bits, all of which meant I was moving between just about every song. Crazy! The end result is this: I'm going to go back to singing first soprano, and if a note is particularly high, I'll just let the other younger voices take it.
Okay, I've made the decision. Now I just have to put it into place. Help!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Ode to My Sisters
ode n. a lyric poem, typically addressed to a particular subject, with lines of varying lengths and complex rhythms, a poem meant to be sung. So goes the Collins definition of the word, and I think it is pretty appropriate for my three sisters for each is a poem in her own right. My sister, Joyce, gave me Chicken Soup for the Sister's Soul for Christmas and in reading it, I have thought long and lovingly about my own sisters and my relationship with each of them, wonderful women that they are. So, here's my 'ode' to them:
Being the oldest I have had the advantage of watching all of my sisters from the time they were babes, and, yes, I've even changed most of their diapers, so my mothering instincts clicked in early. At nine, I remember my father coming home one joyous Sunday and announcing we had a baby sister, the first for me who already had eight brothers. I was ecstatic! When he announced her name a couple of days later, however, I was a little miffed because I had expected to be consulted on the choice. She was MY sister, after all. Nevertheless, her homecoming and subsequent years were a joy to me. I don't ever remember fighting with her, although she may have different memories, but what I do remember is her sunny smile, her quiet joyful manner, her sliding around outside on her seat and propelling herself with her legs on the gravel driveway so much so that her little white high-top leather shoes wore out on the sides. (She didn't walk until she was 22 months!)
Joyce is today that same steadfast sibling, that person to whom I can tell my soul and she listens. She doesn't judge. She listens and commiserates and gives good advice. She is quiet but she is strong. When our mother was dying, Joyce is the one who, nurse that she is, talked to Mom of her difficult choices and I stood in awe at her strength. And she repeated that strong role with our brother, Ross, last year. She is an amazing person. I am lucky she is my sister.
When I was in grade nine our family was again blessed by another girl whose zest for life was shown early on. Our bright light, Linda--the Spanish word for pretty--showed early on that she was a force, a doer, an achiever, afraid of nothing. In my mind's eye I see her sitting on the beach at Grand Bend, a tiny blonde year-and-a-half baby who had crawled to the water's edge and then was delighted when the waves gurgled up around her. She took her sand pail and filled it with water and then dumped it over her head. We older children joined in soaking her over and over as she squealed in delight. Somewhere in our family archives that picture preserves the day. Today Linda is still delighting in a million different things, living every drop life has to offer. Musician, mother, wife, horsewoman, sportswoman, gardener--she does it all and delights in it. I love when she saves some soft-side comment for me and makes my day.
My youngest sister, Donna, was born after I had started university so my memories of her are different but still wonderful. One weekend I was home from university and my parents had gone away overnight. I was to sleep in their bed with Donna's crib alongside so that I would hear her if she woke up. If? She must have sensed they were gone as she woke over and over and I got very little sleep that night. I held her close, her tiny head snuggled into my neck, as her sobs softened and stopped. Then I would put her back in bed, snuggle down myself and drift off to sleep. A few minutes later, she would be crying again and I would repeat. That was a long night but I still feel the satisfaction at being able to comfort her tiny hurts. Today she is making an unusual life for herself as she fearlessly works in the entertainment industry. She is a singer, pianist, actor, and self-promoter, who is just finishing up a tour with the Disney cruise ship out of Port Canaveral. We have discovered a new relationship writing--e-mailing--each other because we are usually far apart. When I read her words, I am very glad that she is my sister and I marvel that now she comforts me.
So, you see, my sisterly relationships have been much different than those mentioned in Canfield's book, but still one of the most significant forces in my life. These sisters are the ones who intuitively understand me, since they come from the same place. We share that bond which has made us who we are and which informs our lives today.
Thank you, my sweet and wonderful sisters of the vast and varied complex rhythms. You are most definitely poems set to music and, today, I sing of you.
Being the oldest I have had the advantage of watching all of my sisters from the time they were babes, and, yes, I've even changed most of their diapers, so my mothering instincts clicked in early. At nine, I remember my father coming home one joyous Sunday and announcing we had a baby sister, the first for me who already had eight brothers. I was ecstatic! When he announced her name a couple of days later, however, I was a little miffed because I had expected to be consulted on the choice. She was MY sister, after all. Nevertheless, her homecoming and subsequent years were a joy to me. I don't ever remember fighting with her, although she may have different memories, but what I do remember is her sunny smile, her quiet joyful manner, her sliding around outside on her seat and propelling herself with her legs on the gravel driveway so much so that her little white high-top leather shoes wore out on the sides. (She didn't walk until she was 22 months!)
Joyce is today that same steadfast sibling, that person to whom I can tell my soul and she listens. She doesn't judge. She listens and commiserates and gives good advice. She is quiet but she is strong. When our mother was dying, Joyce is the one who, nurse that she is, talked to Mom of her difficult choices and I stood in awe at her strength. And she repeated that strong role with our brother, Ross, last year. She is an amazing person. I am lucky she is my sister.
When I was in grade nine our family was again blessed by another girl whose zest for life was shown early on. Our bright light, Linda--the Spanish word for pretty--showed early on that she was a force, a doer, an achiever, afraid of nothing. In my mind's eye I see her sitting on the beach at Grand Bend, a tiny blonde year-and-a-half baby who had crawled to the water's edge and then was delighted when the waves gurgled up around her. She took her sand pail and filled it with water and then dumped it over her head. We older children joined in soaking her over and over as she squealed in delight. Somewhere in our family archives that picture preserves the day. Today Linda is still delighting in a million different things, living every drop life has to offer. Musician, mother, wife, horsewoman, sportswoman, gardener--she does it all and delights in it. I love when she saves some soft-side comment for me and makes my day.
My youngest sister, Donna, was born after I had started university so my memories of her are different but still wonderful. One weekend I was home from university and my parents had gone away overnight. I was to sleep in their bed with Donna's crib alongside so that I would hear her if she woke up. If? She must have sensed they were gone as she woke over and over and I got very little sleep that night. I held her close, her tiny head snuggled into my neck, as her sobs softened and stopped. Then I would put her back in bed, snuggle down myself and drift off to sleep. A few minutes later, she would be crying again and I would repeat. That was a long night but I still feel the satisfaction at being able to comfort her tiny hurts. Today she is making an unusual life for herself as she fearlessly works in the entertainment industry. She is a singer, pianist, actor, and self-promoter, who is just finishing up a tour with the Disney cruise ship out of Port Canaveral. We have discovered a new relationship writing--e-mailing--each other because we are usually far apart. When I read her words, I am very glad that she is my sister and I marvel that now she comforts me.
So, you see, my sisterly relationships have been much different than those mentioned in Canfield's book, but still one of the most significant forces in my life. These sisters are the ones who intuitively understand me, since they come from the same place. We share that bond which has made us who we are and which informs our lives today.
Thank you, my sweet and wonderful sisters of the vast and varied complex rhythms. You are most definitely poems set to music and, today, I sing of you.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Goodbye to Hilton
In this final post on Hilton Head, I take you again to Sea Pines Forest Preserve, where I had just commented to my husband that this trail would be wonderful for horses, when we turned to see this couple on horseback coming towards us. Talk about serendipity! I took several pictures as they came and went, all the while loving the framing quality of the trees around them.
I've enjoyed reliving my trip by writing about these pictures and hope my dear readers have, too. Arrivederci.
Which of these views do you like?
Amazingly there were interesting birds all through the swampy area and I managed to catch this one resting. We think it is an egret but are not sure.
For a final shot I give you my favorite ocean sunset picture. The waning rays of pink sunlight and blue sky make this picture a keeper; happily, we saw this scene almost every evening.
I've enjoyed reliving my trip by writing about these pictures and hope my dear readers have, too. Arrivederci.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Hilton Head South Carolina
These seagulls have the best place to live and do their work--right by the ocean. I know there are millions of the things but they still draw me to watch their antics as they peck about in the sand looking for something wonderful the sea might have brought in, sort of like we do.
Here's a different angle, making the shot so much more blue. Don't you love the performing seagulls?
One evening just before dark we walked the beach looking for that perfect sunset picture. Our friends took this one of us and I quite like it with the orange glow in the distance.
This is a favorite spot at our timeshare. The gently curving walkway is lined with swings facing the ocean where we can sit and gaze an afternoon away.
Of course, sometimes people just sleep!
We saw several alligators while in Sea Pines Forest Preserve (see yesterday's post) and I was amazed by this big fellow sunning himself on a lawn on the other side of the river from us, while mere feet away a man was cutting his grass with a riding lawnmower. Neither seemed concerned about the other.
I think this alligator was about 7-8 feet long, similar to the ones hubby saw while golfing. He followed his golf ball over to a creek and was just about to step closer when he heard a splash. Looking up he saw an alligator head come up out of the water, and he realized he had disturbed the fellow, causing it to dive into the water. Hard to know who was more scared. People there take these things for granted but we're just not used to them. And come to think of it, I'm okay with that!
Monday, March 26, 2007
We're Back, and We've Got Pictures!
After a ten-day driving trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, we're back to a Monday of reality catching up. Never mind, I'll sink my thoughts into the great times these pictures evoke for me, and perhaps you can, too!
On the beach at Marriott's Grande Ocean I caught a few good pics. Here is what draws us back again and again.
What a wonderful place Hilton Head Island is!
On the beach at Marriott's Grande Ocean I caught a few good pics. Here is what draws us back again and again.
Of course, the beach at sunset is a requisite view. The pinks and blues mesh so well, their softness belying the sheer strength of the ocean expanse.
At Sea Pines Forest Preserve, a natural treasure trove of alligators, turtles, bogs, and verdant walking trails, I captured these gorgeous turtles playing 'walk the log' in the soft sunlight over the pond.
And on the beach once again, my great husband, tolerating my request to run into the seagulls and make them fly, produced this group flight for me to preserve with a picture.
Back in Sea Pines again, I caught this beautiful bog, aptly named Boggy Gut and so substantial it looks like you could walk on it--but don't--and it brought to mind a painting I did several years ago from another snapshot on our trip to this same place.
What a wonderful place Hilton Head Island is!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I'm Travellin'
Hello to my fellow bloggers out there. What do you do when you're away from home burning to blog and all you have is a laptop with its limiting keyboard? Well, what I've done is nothing. Although I am normally a pretty good typist and a bit of an anal speller, working on this machine makes me crazy; hence, publishing this with no errors is going to be very annoying but I'll persevere.
The funniest thing on our first day out was crossing the border into the US at Detroit. As I maneuvered into line waiting for our turn, we noticed the car just ahead in a line beside us. A woman jumped out of the car--very unusual--and proceeded to run after money blowing in the wind. Oh, and there were two passports blowing away, too! Imagine the stress. There she was reaching under her car to retrieve one passport, the other cars all around moving on, then she was chasing a $100 bill which she never did get. I would have been pretty freaked, I think.
Anyhow, we just got over that and the car in front of us stopped dead, the driver jumped out and retrieved a gallon jug of something and then opened his hood and added it to the engine. Meanwhile the line was moving on and we were stuck momentarily behind this guy. Crazy!
In no time, however, we were back on track, through the border with no hassle, and on our way to the sunny south.
We're having a great time but, as always, getting home will have its joys, too. See you!
The funniest thing on our first day out was crossing the border into the US at Detroit. As I maneuvered into line waiting for our turn, we noticed the car just ahead in a line beside us. A woman jumped out of the car--very unusual--and proceeded to run after money blowing in the wind. Oh, and there were two passports blowing away, too! Imagine the stress. There she was reaching under her car to retrieve one passport, the other cars all around moving on, then she was chasing a $100 bill which she never did get. I would have been pretty freaked, I think.
Anyhow, we just got over that and the car in front of us stopped dead, the driver jumped out and retrieved a gallon jug of something and then opened his hood and added it to the engine. Meanwhile the line was moving on and we were stuck momentarily behind this guy. Crazy!
In no time, however, we were back on track, through the border with no hassle, and on our way to the sunny south.
We're having a great time but, as always, getting home will have its joys, too. See you!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
A New Kind of Gift
Last night I went with my son in his jazzy sports car to Toronto to Massey Hall and a Wynton Marsalis concert. (You have to check out his website!) Getting there was half the fun or more.
We left mid afternoon, talked all the way there, had very few traffic slowdowns, and drove out of the foggy slop that had plagued southern Ontario all day. Watching the remaining snow patches along the side of the road was weird because there was actual fog lifting from the snow. I guess the air was so warm--around 12C above--that there was some kind of cloud-forming thing happening off the cold snow. Kind of cool.
We talked a lot as we always do, Kevin had to answer a few business calls along the way, and by 5:00 p.m., we had seated ourselves in his favorite little Italian restaurant on Front Street. The dark wood, the bright tiles inlaid on the floor, the sumptuous napkins, silverware and wine glasses waiting to be filled--all added to an ambience of pleasure. The food we consumed over the next two hours was very good, our waiter was the exact right mix of friendly and professional, and before we knew it the time to leave was at hand.
Heading for Yonge Street, we had no idea what the traffic would be like as people approached the theatres in the area, letting out passengers, stopping and waiting--we made two car lengths on each traffic light before it would turn red again. Crazy! Eventually we got close to Massey Hall and I jumped out while Kevin parked. I found my seat and wondered if he would make it before the start. Soon enough, though, he was beside me and ten seconds later the show started. What timing!
The great Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center orchestra did not disappoint. They numbered fifteen people and variously took turns playing solo spots from the fabulous string bass player, to the trumpeters, from the reeds--clarinet, saxes, and something that looked like a bassoon--to the pianist, all were entertaining and many were awesome. My trumpet-playing son told me of some of the nuances that I missed and that added to the texture of the evening. People do have different points of view at something like that, as I have found when I attend anything vocal. I see things most people don't because of my singing background.
The evening was a great success and our drive home full of interesting conversation and comfortable silences. We had no traffic problems, thank goodness, and arrived home about 12:10. Whom do we have to thank for this event? My hubby. One of my Christmas gifts--a new kind of gift for us--was a night at this concert with my son. And, naturally, I must thank my son for the lovely dinner and the trip down. I am very blessed.
We left mid afternoon, talked all the way there, had very few traffic slowdowns, and drove out of the foggy slop that had plagued southern Ontario all day. Watching the remaining snow patches along the side of the road was weird because there was actual fog lifting from the snow. I guess the air was so warm--around 12C above--that there was some kind of cloud-forming thing happening off the cold snow. Kind of cool.
We talked a lot as we always do, Kevin had to answer a few business calls along the way, and by 5:00 p.m., we had seated ourselves in his favorite little Italian restaurant on Front Street. The dark wood, the bright tiles inlaid on the floor, the sumptuous napkins, silverware and wine glasses waiting to be filled--all added to an ambience of pleasure. The food we consumed over the next two hours was very good, our waiter was the exact right mix of friendly and professional, and before we knew it the time to leave was at hand.
Heading for Yonge Street, we had no idea what the traffic would be like as people approached the theatres in the area, letting out passengers, stopping and waiting--we made two car lengths on each traffic light before it would turn red again. Crazy! Eventually we got close to Massey Hall and I jumped out while Kevin parked. I found my seat and wondered if he would make it before the start. Soon enough, though, he was beside me and ten seconds later the show started. What timing!
The great Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center orchestra did not disappoint. They numbered fifteen people and variously took turns playing solo spots from the fabulous string bass player, to the trumpeters, from the reeds--clarinet, saxes, and something that looked like a bassoon--to the pianist, all were entertaining and many were awesome. My trumpet-playing son told me of some of the nuances that I missed and that added to the texture of the evening. People do have different points of view at something like that, as I have found when I attend anything vocal. I see things most people don't because of my singing background.
The evening was a great success and our drive home full of interesting conversation and comfortable silences. We had no traffic problems, thank goodness, and arrived home about 12:10. Whom do we have to thank for this event? My hubby. One of my Christmas gifts--a new kind of gift for us--was a night at this concert with my son. And, naturally, I must thank my son for the lovely dinner and the trip down. I am very blessed.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Blue Mountain Pottery
Ah, memories, memories. When we got married hubby was fresh out of university and I was still finishing my degree, so that tells you how young we were. Happily we opened all the wedding and shower gifts because we had nothing, and we accepted people's offerings with a lot of gratitude. Well, of course, some of the gifts were more enticing than others.
The Blue Mountain pottery just didn't get us excited. And we received loads of it: a set of 6 small cup/mugs, a set of 4 taller mugs, a coffee pot (we don't drink coffee), and ashtray (we don't smoke), several vases of various sizes and shapes, and a host of other pieces I've done my best to forget. Gradually over the years, they disappeared in one way or another and we thought we'd seen the last of them.
Then, on our 25th wedding anniversary we had a party and members of the family scoured all the antique places and garage sales to find joke gifts for us. What else? Blue Mountain pottery. We laughed and laughed.
The best laugh of the night was when we opened a large, newspaper-wrapped piece. It was the big fish. After a moment I realized it was Mom's fish, given to her by some of my brothers and, true to form, she had kept and treasured it all those years.
"I want that back!" she interjected through all the comments and laughter. And she was serious. She still loved the piece. Here is a poor picture of it, the best quality I could get.
The Blue Mountain pottery just didn't get us excited. And we received loads of it: a set of 6 small cup/mugs, a set of 4 taller mugs, a coffee pot (we don't drink coffee), and ashtray (we don't smoke), several vases of various sizes and shapes, and a host of other pieces I've done my best to forget. Gradually over the years, they disappeared in one way or another and we thought we'd seen the last of them.
Then, on our 25th wedding anniversary we had a party and members of the family scoured all the antique places and garage sales to find joke gifts for us. What else? Blue Mountain pottery. We laughed and laughed.
The best laugh of the night was when we opened a large, newspaper-wrapped piece. It was the big fish. After a moment I realized it was Mom's fish, given to her by some of my brothers and, true to form, she had kept and treasured it all those years.
"I want that back!" she interjected through all the comments and laughter. And she was serious. She still loved the piece. Here is a poor picture of it, the best quality I could get.
Anyhow the fish went back to Mom but when she died no one wanted it. Eventually someone took it and stored it in the basement because none of us could bear to get rid of it. Then on every wedding, birthday, or kind of gift-giving celebration since then, it has come out. My kids received it on their wedding days, I got it for a birthday, we passed it around to great laughter, each time. The best joke was when I figured I wouldn't get it for our 40th because it was in my basement, but somehow, someone found a duplicate. Now there are two floating around! Imagine my surprise when Sue gave me an article last week stating that kitschy Blue Mountain Pottery is now a hot item on E-Bay. Woe is me for all the pieces I used up or got rid of. In fact, I have to close now, to see if I can find Mom's fish in the basement!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Maple Syrup and Belgians from Singing Brook Farm
Today I sing of a sunny Sunday when all was smiles and snow and surfeit. My husband and I decided to head for Fanshawe Park's maple syrup 'do' where my sister's family provide beautiful Belgian horses and a wagon to take people to the sugar bush. Here is Steve with two Belgians working for their supper.
My favorite picture of the day is this closeup of the beauties who worked so hard to make a lot of people happy and to raise money for the Kinsmen club's charities. The girl so taken with the horses is from the Kinsmen club but she just loved the horses so much she was right in there with them most of the time.
When Steve stops to pick up passengers, us among them, his son, Adam, holds the team nice and steady.
The Kinsmen Club of London spearheads this event which lasts over a couple of weeks, especially during March Break. In the bush are set up working displays of old time sap gathering and syrup making, as well as the more modern hoses you'll see running among the maples. Notice the sap pails in the foreground below:
Here Steve encourages the horses back along the roadway to the pancake, sausage and syrup meal that was waiting. (Yummy! They also had cotton candy made from maple syrup which was reported to be excellent.)
My favorite picture of the day is this closeup of the beauties who worked so hard to make a lot of people happy and to raise money for the Kinsmen club's charities. The girl so taken with the horses is from the Kinsmen club but she just loved the horses so much she was right in there with them most of the time.
If you want to see more about Singing Brook Farm and their horses, try their website, although Linda tells me it isn't where they'd like it. They're all too busy out with the horses!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Today, It's Raining
Usually you'd see a headline like the above and think, oh, oh, this is going to be sad and dull. It's that old pathetic fallacy literary thing. Nature in tune with people's feelings. But I feel happy. I feel wonderful. Ecstatic, even. You see, the snow is melting, the ice is crumbling, the street is a river of runoff from our driveways and I can almost smell spring in the air.
Often we escape to Hilton Head, South Carolina, when it's cold and snowy, so much so that we've come to associate a certain wet warmth in the air with HH. We're not quite there today, but it's coming. Yay! I'm really ready for spring and for our next holiday in Hilton Head, a place we've returned to over and over again.
So what can you do on a rainy day? Well we've been to the gym for an hour's workout, we saw our daughter-in-law, and chatted up a few people in between puffing out our 20 minutes on the treadmills and the weight circuit. It's a great way to connect with like-minded people and to be spurred on by their successes.
Hopefully, the sun will come out this afternoon and that will just ice this cake-day for me. In the meantime, I've exercised, I've eaten a healthy breakfast, I'm spending the day with my sweetie and I don't have to cook dinner tonight. (Thanks to friends for an invite out!)
I hope your day is sunny but if not, find the happiness in the rain, like Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain.
Often we escape to Hilton Head, South Carolina, when it's cold and snowy, so much so that we've come to associate a certain wet warmth in the air with HH. We're not quite there today, but it's coming. Yay! I'm really ready for spring and for our next holiday in Hilton Head, a place we've returned to over and over again.
So what can you do on a rainy day? Well we've been to the gym for an hour's workout, we saw our daughter-in-law, and chatted up a few people in between puffing out our 20 minutes on the treadmills and the weight circuit. It's a great way to connect with like-minded people and to be spurred on by their successes.
Hopefully, the sun will come out this afternoon and that will just ice this cake-day for me. In the meantime, I've exercised, I've eaten a healthy breakfast, I'm spending the day with my sweetie and I don't have to cook dinner tonight. (Thanks to friends for an invite out!)
I hope your day is sunny but if not, find the happiness in the rain, like Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Old Friends - Part 2
If you read my blog much you know I love to sing; hence, I have a concert coming up in a few weeks and am pretty excited about it. Of course we are still working away perfecting everything but the Ladies Choir part will be awesome. We have a young men's choir and a large children's choir, all of us making up Cantabile Singers of Woodstock.
This poster gives an idea of what we are about but I'll also give you some of the songs the ladies choir are doing:
1. Gate Gate, a setting of a Buddhist mantra (We struggle with constantly changing time signatures and Sanskrit text, but the changing pace and the lilting, haunting music make this a keeper.)
2. Go where I Send Thee!, a Gospel Spiritual (This is fast, fast, fast and fun, fun, fun.)
3. Away From the Roll of the Sea, a lovely sea song (You'd like the softly flowing melody, the soprano solo over nice choir parts, and the peaceful feeling it leaves.)
4. Sister Act, a medley from the musical. (From stately nuns to clapping rock and rollers, to rocking Latin singers, we constantly evolve singing this medley. I particularly like the pun effect of singing I Will Follow Him, an old rock and roll song, here applied to Jesus. It's all very cool and a lot of fun to sing.)
5. The Road Less Traveled, (a dreamy piece where listeners are exhorted to 'wrap your dreams in a rainbow, hang your hopes on a star'. I really like the composer's ability to match the meaning and lilt of the words to the notes. It is very singable.)
6. Here's to Song, by Canadian Composer Allistar MacGillivray (Our director's beautiful soprano solo makes this a show stopper. And, of course, any music which praises song has to be good!)
7. Jack and Jill, a cute and crazy take on the nursery rhyme. (As the pianist madly runs over her keys in a frenzied rush up and down the hill, we choristers follow, lead, follow, running so fast it's a wonder WE don't break our crowns. This piece is a challenge but we're up for it.)
8. Arirang, a Korean Folk Song. (Arirang is a Korean mountain and the song says that though my love is leaving, he'll not go far without hurting his feet. Okay, that doesn't begin to tell you how soft and lovely is the melody, how sweet and simple the harmonies. It's just a soothing song to sing.)
9.The Father's Love, a sacred song which may or may not be in this concert, but is definitely in our church service a few weeks later. I like the way the music speeds up and slows down to mimic the words, ending with 'If you keep my commandments, and you love one another, your joy will be complete. Isn't that what we all want?
Just to keep us on the path, our director has planned an event for ladies only tonight: a much needed practice, a meal someone else is cooking (yes!), and some R & R in a hot tub/spa to round out the night. Sounds like fun! Oh, and my title is the title of the concert. See you there?
This poster gives an idea of what we are about but I'll also give you some of the songs the ladies choir are doing:
1. Gate Gate, a setting of a Buddhist mantra (We struggle with constantly changing time signatures and Sanskrit text, but the changing pace and the lilting, haunting music make this a keeper.)
2. Go where I Send Thee!, a Gospel Spiritual (This is fast, fast, fast and fun, fun, fun.)
3. Away From the Roll of the Sea, a lovely sea song (You'd like the softly flowing melody, the soprano solo over nice choir parts, and the peaceful feeling it leaves.)
4. Sister Act, a medley from the musical. (From stately nuns to clapping rock and rollers, to rocking Latin singers, we constantly evolve singing this medley. I particularly like the pun effect of singing I Will Follow Him, an old rock and roll song, here applied to Jesus. It's all very cool and a lot of fun to sing.)
5. The Road Less Traveled, (a dreamy piece where listeners are exhorted to 'wrap your dreams in a rainbow, hang your hopes on a star'. I really like the composer's ability to match the meaning and lilt of the words to the notes. It is very singable.)
6. Here's to Song, by Canadian Composer Allistar MacGillivray (Our director's beautiful soprano solo makes this a show stopper. And, of course, any music which praises song has to be good!)
7. Jack and Jill, a cute and crazy take on the nursery rhyme. (As the pianist madly runs over her keys in a frenzied rush up and down the hill, we choristers follow, lead, follow, running so fast it's a wonder WE don't break our crowns. This piece is a challenge but we're up for it.)
8. Arirang, a Korean Folk Song. (Arirang is a Korean mountain and the song says that though my love is leaving, he'll not go far without hurting his feet. Okay, that doesn't begin to tell you how soft and lovely is the melody, how sweet and simple the harmonies. It's just a soothing song to sing.)
9.The Father's Love, a sacred song which may or may not be in this concert, but is definitely in our church service a few weeks later. I like the way the music speeds up and slows down to mimic the words, ending with 'If you keep my commandments, and you love one another, your joy will be complete. Isn't that what we all want?
Just to keep us on the path, our director has planned an event for ladies only tonight: a much needed practice, a meal someone else is cooking (yes!), and some R & R in a hot tub/spa to round out the night. Sounds like fun! Oh, and my title is the title of the concert. See you there?
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Things I've Learned About Myself
I just had to write this because I've realized how excited I get when people praise my writing. Sister-in-law Sue made my day when she responded to my Books blog. I didn't really know she was a reader and she didn't know that about me, either. Imagine our surprise to find we have similar reading tastes.
Of course my Shades of Bliss daughter is always complimentary and we both enjoy exploring each other's blog ferreting out things neither of us knew about the other. Blogging is such an intimate thing in that way, and intimacy is often hard to sustain face to face. It's like sending a lovely card or letter to a friend and expressing your sadness at their loss, your elation at their successes or your happiness wishes for their milestones in life--words in a card are often more substantial than the spoken variety and certainly last longer.
When I open up other bloggers' comments, such as Ocean's, I feel my eyes open wide, that bright 'Oh, my God, she's talking about me!' elation just lifts me in my chair, and I hungrily read on, so happy to be noticed. Thank you, Ocean. (Aren't her pictures wonderfully enticing?)
What does all of this mean? It means I love blogging. It means I want to write even more. It means I am hungry to share with others and if that makes me a little obnoxious I'm sure my readers will tell me. In the meantime, I've learned that my love of writing grows with every positive comment and I blog on, anxious to connect with the world.
Of course my Shades of Bliss daughter is always complimentary and we both enjoy exploring each other's blog ferreting out things neither of us knew about the other. Blogging is such an intimate thing in that way, and intimacy is often hard to sustain face to face. It's like sending a lovely card or letter to a friend and expressing your sadness at their loss, your elation at their successes or your happiness wishes for their milestones in life--words in a card are often more substantial than the spoken variety and certainly last longer.
When I open up other bloggers' comments, such as Ocean's, I feel my eyes open wide, that bright 'Oh, my God, she's talking about me!' elation just lifts me in my chair, and I hungrily read on, so happy to be noticed. Thank you, Ocean. (Aren't her pictures wonderfully enticing?)
What does all of this mean? It means I love blogging. It means I want to write even more. It means I am hungry to share with others and if that makes me a little obnoxious I'm sure my readers will tell me. In the meantime, I've learned that my love of writing grows with every positive comment and I blog on, anxious to connect with the world.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Three Good Things
1. My new digital camera that I got for Christmas. This is my third and it is most definitely the best. Why, you ask? This one's batteries last for many pictures instead of just for one or two with my HP camera. Also this little Canon has an easy release feature for the memory card while my fingernails suffered in trying to extract the card from my HP. And this camera is smaller. It fits neatly in my pocket or purse. I really like it!
2. My term as Chair of church council is over! Yay! I thought I would be able to do that job but I hated it and I resisted all efforts to keep me on, although I must say most people understood my desire to back off that and just concentrate on singing, a thing that gives me joy. It's all about looking after my inner person.
3. I have my 21 visits to the gym done for a special they have going and that qualifies me for a free session with a trainer. This shows how much I am liking the gym and the people that work there. I love to go. Well, I sometimes have a struggle making myself get there but once I do, I feel so much better inside and out for doing it. Here's to being the best you can be!
2. My term as Chair of church council is over! Yay! I thought I would be able to do that job but I hated it and I resisted all efforts to keep me on, although I must say most people understood my desire to back off that and just concentrate on singing, a thing that gives me joy. It's all about looking after my inner person.
3. I have my 21 visits to the gym done for a special they have going and that qualifies me for a free session with a trainer. This shows how much I am liking the gym and the people that work there. I love to go. Well, I sometimes have a struggle making myself get there but once I do, I feel so much better inside and out for doing it. Here's to being the best you can be!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Bad Computer, Good Day!
Yesterday I did a bad computer thing. I knew I shouldn't have done it and I knew I would get punished but I did it anyway. Well, I didn't do it on purpose but the results were bad anyhow. My computer guru son was here and we were discussing how I could optimize my system (which is getting old) and he left me to remove and reinstall MSN Messenger to solve a problem. I removed it all right. And I inadvertently wiped out Internet Explorer and a bunch of other things. I reinstalled MSN Mess. from the Internet but all I could get was version 4.5 or something when I am used to the latest version with all its bells and whistles. Bummer.
So why didn't I just reinstall the missing things? The guru has my Windows XP CD so I had to get him back over here. Long story short, my machine has issues and this morning he took it back to his shop to reformat. We'll go from there. Meanwhile hubby is at work so I'll blog on his machine. I can't give up my habit, you know!
It's a cold day here but the sun is shining and the sky is blue so I am happy. (Well, as happy as I can be without my computer!) I've been to the gym, spent an hour preparing and cooking fresh cauliflower soup and Greek salad, cutting up a wonderful pineapple and tidying up my kitchen. I love having great food waiting for me at mealtime and my new resolution is to do this every day so that I don't succumb to bad food choices later on in the day when my energy is much lower.
For the rest of my day I'll be proofing two projects: one, a Classroom Puzzler that is ready to publish, and two, my second book of memoirs from the time I met and married my husband to the years when our children were young. I love doing both of these projects so won't miss my computer too much..............
So why didn't I just reinstall the missing things? The guru has my Windows XP CD so I had to get him back over here. Long story short, my machine has issues and this morning he took it back to his shop to reformat. We'll go from there. Meanwhile hubby is at work so I'll blog on his machine. I can't give up my habit, you know!
It's a cold day here but the sun is shining and the sky is blue so I am happy. (Well, as happy as I can be without my computer!) I've been to the gym, spent an hour preparing and cooking fresh cauliflower soup and Greek salad, cutting up a wonderful pineapple and tidying up my kitchen. I love having great food waiting for me at mealtime and my new resolution is to do this every day so that I don't succumb to bad food choices later on in the day when my energy is much lower.
For the rest of my day I'll be proofing two projects: one, a Classroom Puzzler that is ready to publish, and two, my second book of memoirs from the time I met and married my husband to the years when our children were young. I love doing both of these projects so won't miss my computer too much..............
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Books--Bright and Shiny
I have been tagged by Shades of Bliss to wade through the book list below, sorting, sifting, sometimes finding gold--an exercise I welcome. In my library of over 1500 books you will find many of these titles, well worn but well loved. I am a reader. I usually keep going till I get to the good stuff and have only set aside about 3 books in my life (and one of them is on this list.) Sometimes on finishing, I am disappointed but usually the book gets to me and I am glad I've persevered.
I have another list somewhere of the best books of all time but I'll have to find it and you'll have to know it is a few years old so misses some of the new finds. Meanwhile here is the list sent, annotated by me:
Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read.
*Italicise the ones you want to read.
*Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
*If you are reading this, tag it if you like.
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) - loved it, for its ability to reach into my known world and come up with utterly believable tenets. Yea, Dan Brown!
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) - loved this and the movies, too.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) - I taught this to Grade 10 English classes and fell in love with it. What a shame it is Lee's only book. She hit gold with this one.
4. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell) Read it years ago, loved it for its look into the war between the states and its effect on people.
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) - read when my son was reading. great series.
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) - see above.
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) - see above.
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) - I read this as a girl and reread the series on a trip to PEI with our kids in 1980.
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) and all the other books in this series too! Loved her characters and since I'm a great believer in true love, was able to identify with Jamie and his doctor wife.
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) I read this a few years ago and was saddened immensely by the plight of India and its poor people. Thought Mistry wrote very well but too much 'human condition' for me.
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling) - read the first Harry Potter to please my nephew. It was good, interesting, but I wasn't inspired to read the rest. not my thing.
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) - another good one
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) I loved this book. Bronte was well able to make her readers identify with Jane's plight and amazingly the book is timeless. This is quite a feat in writing.
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) - I read this before the Lord of the Rings series. Bilbo Baggins is pretty unforgettable. Good book.
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) - Haven't read it yet.
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) - loved this as a kid.
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) - very dark but good.
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) - read in a kiddie lit course I took years ago where I was first introduced to a number of wonderful children's authors.
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom) - an absolutely soul-stirring book. If you don't cry with this one, your tear ducts are gone.
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) - good book, read years agl
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) - saw the movie!
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) - a fellow teacher introduced me to this and I was happy to meet Ayn Rand. This book would be good to reread as its theme of the dangers of making everything available to everyone at the expense of individual worth and individuality itself is timeless.
34. 1984 (Orwell ) - read it as well as taught Animal Farm. Both are instruments to make us think.
)35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) - I love King Arthur myths and Bradley sure can write them!
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) - may have read this, can't remember.
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible I've read parts but most of my bible knowledge comes from bible stories in Sunday School when I was a child. I have never sat down and read the whole book.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) read as a child
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) - read this and like it very much.
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) saw the movie and should read the book. It's a tearing-your-heart-out kind of thing, though.
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) - I've read this, I have it, but for the life of me I can't remember the story right now!
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) - read it years ago.
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens) - studied this in grade nine, my first intro to Dickens. What a great author to explore.
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) - the sadness of this belies the title. I don't find Fitzgerald 'great' although I recognize his ability to create word pictures.
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) - My favorite author for many years. I was lucky enough to teach this to Grade 13 classes. A super book.
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) - read the book, saw the movie, lent the book and still mourn its loss because it was never returned. McCullough is a fantastic writer.
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) - read it, interesting, but I must tell you Atwood is just too sad for me. Her poetry shows a stupendous word picture ability which she carries into her prose but I just don't read her anymore. Life is too short to be depressed.
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) - had a gr. 13 student doing an independent study project on this so I read parts but I haven't made it a priority to read the whole thing. Some day.
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) - I've read this but I have to say Rice's witches books are 10 times better than her vampire books.
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) -
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo) - I read this in French at university and then fell in love with the musical years later. Hugo has created plot and characters to capture your heart. And the music from the musical is some of the best I've ever heard in a musical.
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) - Le Petit Prince--I read it first in French and then in English years later. A wonderful story and certainly not just for kids.
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje) - I read it and saw the movie and found both unsatisfying. If the reader has to go so much more than halfway towards the author in order to understand the book, then the author has missed the point.
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) - a marvelous find from my kiddie lit course.
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay) -one of my students introduced me to Kay and I have enjoyed his fantasy since then.
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) - a marvelous book I read as a young teenager from my mother's library.
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) - saw the movie with Robin Williams but can't really remember it too much.
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence) - another Laurence treasure. It is so sad that she ended her life before writing more. She said she had no more books in her--a shame.
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) -read this marvelous book as an adult and loved it. This is the mark of good kiddie lit.
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier) - another of my mother's books I read as a teenager. Very good.
84. Wizard’s First Rule
85. Emma (Jane Austen) - saw the movie but haven't read it yet.
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams) - a great find which I taught in my Gr. 10 Eng. classes.
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) - another good one, the forerunner of modern sci-ci.
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields) - read it but can't really remember it. What does that say?
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) - I taught this to grade 12 English students and we all enjoyed this treasure about the power of the beast within us all.
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) - This was my first Ludlum and I really liked it but subsequent ones lost their appeal as there was a sameness to them.
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) Tried reading this and ran, yes, RAN, from it.
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) I can't believe I haven't read this!
What an interesting exercise. Thanks to the starter of this tag game. I've had fun reliving all of these book memories. I would like to tag my friend, Betty, who will probably have to set up a blog to do it, but she is a reader and I think would like this. Go, Bet!
I have another list somewhere of the best books of all time but I'll have to find it and you'll have to know it is a few years old so misses some of the new finds. Meanwhile here is the list sent, annotated by me:
Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read.
*Italicise the ones you want to read.
*Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
*If you are reading this, tag it if you like.
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) - loved it, for its ability to reach into my known world and come up with utterly believable tenets. Yea, Dan Brown!
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) - loved this and the movies, too.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) - I taught this to Grade 10 English classes and fell in love with it. What a shame it is Lee's only book. She hit gold with this one.
4. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell) Read it years ago, loved it for its look into the war between the states and its effect on people.
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) - read when my son was reading. great series.
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) - see above.
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) - see above.
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) - I read this as a girl and reread the series on a trip to PEI with our kids in 1980.
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) and all the other books in this series too! Loved her characters and since I'm a great believer in true love, was able to identify with Jamie and his doctor wife.
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) I read this a few years ago and was saddened immensely by the plight of India and its poor people. Thought Mistry wrote very well but too much 'human condition' for me.
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling) - read the first Harry Potter to please my nephew. It was good, interesting, but I wasn't inspired to read the rest. not my thing.
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) - another good one
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) I loved this book. Bronte was well able to make her readers identify with Jane's plight and amazingly the book is timeless. This is quite a feat in writing.
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) - I read this before the Lord of the Rings series. Bilbo Baggins is pretty unforgettable. Good book.
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) - Haven't read it yet.
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) - loved this as a kid.
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) - very dark but good.
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) - read in a kiddie lit course I took years ago where I was first introduced to a number of wonderful children's authors.
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom) - an absolutely soul-stirring book. If you don't cry with this one, your tear ducts are gone.
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) - good book, read years agl
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) - saw the movie!
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) - a fellow teacher introduced me to this and I was happy to meet Ayn Rand. This book would be good to reread as its theme of the dangers of making everything available to everyone at the expense of individual worth and individuality itself is timeless.
34. 1984 (Orwell ) - read it as well as taught Animal Farm. Both are instruments to make us think.
)35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) - I love King Arthur myths and Bradley sure can write them!
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) - may have read this, can't remember.
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible I've read parts but most of my bible knowledge comes from bible stories in Sunday School when I was a child. I have never sat down and read the whole book.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) read as a child
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) - read this and like it very much.
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) saw the movie and should read the book. It's a tearing-your-heart-out kind of thing, though.
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) - I've read this, I have it, but for the life of me I can't remember the story right now!
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) - read it years ago.
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens) - studied this in grade nine, my first intro to Dickens. What a great author to explore.
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) - the sadness of this belies the title. I don't find Fitzgerald 'great' although I recognize his ability to create word pictures.
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) - My favorite author for many years. I was lucky enough to teach this to Grade 13 classes. A super book.
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) - read the book, saw the movie, lent the book and still mourn its loss because it was never returned. McCullough is a fantastic writer.
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) - read it, interesting, but I must tell you Atwood is just too sad for me. Her poetry shows a stupendous word picture ability which she carries into her prose but I just don't read her anymore. Life is too short to be depressed.
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) - had a gr. 13 student doing an independent study project on this so I read parts but I haven't made it a priority to read the whole thing. Some day.
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) - I've read this but I have to say Rice's witches books are 10 times better than her vampire books.
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) -
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo) - I read this in French at university and then fell in love with the musical years later. Hugo has created plot and characters to capture your heart. And the music from the musical is some of the best I've ever heard in a musical.
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) - Le Petit Prince--I read it first in French and then in English years later. A wonderful story and certainly not just for kids.
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje) - I read it and saw the movie and found both unsatisfying. If the reader has to go so much more than halfway towards the author in order to understand the book, then the author has missed the point.
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) - a marvelous find from my kiddie lit course.
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay) -one of my students introduced me to Kay and I have enjoyed his fantasy since then.
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) - a marvelous book I read as a young teenager from my mother's library.
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) - saw the movie with Robin Williams but can't really remember it too much.
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence) - another Laurence treasure. It is so sad that she ended her life before writing more. She said she had no more books in her--a shame.
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) -read this marvelous book as an adult and loved it. This is the mark of good kiddie lit.
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier) - another of my mother's books I read as a teenager. Very good.
84. Wizard’s First Rule
85. Emma (Jane Austen) - saw the movie but haven't read it yet.
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams) - a great find which I taught in my Gr. 10 Eng. classes.
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) - another good one, the forerunner of modern sci-ci.
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields) - read it but can't really remember it. What does that say?
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) - I taught this to grade 12 English students and we all enjoyed this treasure about the power of the beast within us all.
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) - This was my first Ludlum and I really liked it but subsequent ones lost their appeal as there was a sameness to them.
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) Tried reading this and ran, yes, RAN, from it.
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) I can't believe I haven't read this!
What an interesting exercise. Thanks to the starter of this tag game. I've had fun reliving all of these book memories. I would like to tag my friend, Betty, who will probably have to set up a blog to do it, but she is a reader and I think would like this. Go, Bet!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The Joy of Writing
Finding a title that is unique yet sufficiently carrotish is quite a challenge but sometimes we succeed and that is part of the thrill I get from my writing. Not that I think today's title is that great but at least it suggests my topic and is an allusion to The Joy of Sex, an alluring title if there ever was one.
For me, writing of my past, my experiences, my family, my hopes, my dreams is all manna. I especially like to write things that touch my soul deeply such as my stories of Ross, or my Mom. The fact that they are both gone allows me to reach deep inside and pull out those words that are rich with meaning and help me express my loss. Maybe that's why people often write better after they have experienced a few things. Interestingly, when my eyes are crying with sadness--or with joy--expression comes easily without so many stops to pause and think of the sense of the thing or the best word for what I mean.
And when the piece is done, through wet eyes I reread, revise, revisit the emotions because that is the only way I can reach those people now. But isn't that wonderful? Isn't that ability to remember loved ones through writing absolutely cool? I mean, imagine if we just lost people and gradually our memories slipped further and further into the past, never to be revisited, and eventually to just wisp away like ashes in the wind. Now, THAT is a sad thought.
When I write of my husband and my children, my extended family and all our collective quirks, I experience an inner happiness that keeps me going. I think of Kevin and his way of laughing as he jumped excitedly in his jolly jumper--he still has that joy. And of Beth, whose sense of humour and love of acting the clown resonate with every wide-eyed grin. The thing I absolutely adore about my Ron is that he has never lost his child-like delight in the world around him and his ability to share it with everyone. What a sense of satisfaction and, yes, joy I get when I write of them all.
I know, I know. I need to move past these topics and try for creativity instead of reality and sometimes I do but really I write for me. For the experience of reliving my life, working out my thoughts, refuelling my brain. I write for the joy of writing.
For me, writing of my past, my experiences, my family, my hopes, my dreams is all manna. I especially like to write things that touch my soul deeply such as my stories of Ross, or my Mom. The fact that they are both gone allows me to reach deep inside and pull out those words that are rich with meaning and help me express my loss. Maybe that's why people often write better after they have experienced a few things. Interestingly, when my eyes are crying with sadness--or with joy--expression comes easily without so many stops to pause and think of the sense of the thing or the best word for what I mean.
And when the piece is done, through wet eyes I reread, revise, revisit the emotions because that is the only way I can reach those people now. But isn't that wonderful? Isn't that ability to remember loved ones through writing absolutely cool? I mean, imagine if we just lost people and gradually our memories slipped further and further into the past, never to be revisited, and eventually to just wisp away like ashes in the wind. Now, THAT is a sad thought.
When I write of my husband and my children, my extended family and all our collective quirks, I experience an inner happiness that keeps me going. I think of Kevin and his way of laughing as he jumped excitedly in his jolly jumper--he still has that joy. And of Beth, whose sense of humour and love of acting the clown resonate with every wide-eyed grin. The thing I absolutely adore about my Ron is that he has never lost his child-like delight in the world around him and his ability to share it with everyone. What a sense of satisfaction and, yes, joy I get when I write of them all.
I know, I know. I need to move past these topics and try for creativity instead of reality and sometimes I do but really I write for me. For the experience of reliving my life, working out my thoughts, refuelling my brain. I write for the joy of writing.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Spring is Running Today
Today I give you my window view at a different angle because I liked the little stream shining in the sunlight on our flat roof. As the melting ice becomes a stream, water meanders over to the drain and I can smell spring in the wet air of my open window.
Another angle shot shows the icicles on the edge of the roof but what you can't really see is the stream of rushing drops as they melt. It's like a series of taps dripping off the roof. Very cool.
Finally I give you a straight-on view, half filtered by the screen but you can still see the icicles shining in the sun and the wonderful blue sky background. One of the best things about winter is the break it gives us from hot sun, so when the thaws come--and they will almost every day now--my heart leaps with excitement. I'm ready for spring, summer and fall!
Oh, I know today there is bad news of ice storms, trees down, electricity off and tornadoes dotting the south but here, just here in my own little space, heaven is in the glimmer of a shining dripping icicle. Glass half full!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Skating in Canada, Eh?
To live in Canada and not skate is somewhat rare. From pond skaters to backyard hockey skaters, from Saturday night public skating to organized lessons in figure eights to getting goals, we are a nation of serious skaters. And if ice skating isn't enough, in summer we lace up the roller blades and go 'roller-bootin'. What is the attraction?
I believe there are three things. Human beings have that desire to go fast. We love to fly down hills on our bikes, to dive off the high board, to whoosh down the tallest slide, all for the thrill of sheer speed. And let's not even talk about what we do with our cars.
Secondly we love competition which is the end result of good learning. I mean, if you practice long enough, you'll get good at things and when you get good you like to prove your excellence, isn't that right? We all like to feel we have achieved things and often that centers around competition. Certainly figure skating is internationally a favorite to watch on tv for its beauty and grace but also our reverence for winners. And many of us remember 'Hockey Night in Canada', with that frosty voice of Foster Hewitt as he revved up--"He Shoots! He SCORES!!!"--bringing our living rooms alive with the thrill of the winner, a feeling which has only increased over the years.
For us Canadians, however, I wonder if our love of skating stems from our long winters. Even when we have little snow, we still have a lot of cold, short days and long, dark nights to pass between November and March. With our skates we can get out and embrace winter, steam up our glasses, warm up our toes, all the while having fun.
I've been skating since I was a little girl about 6 or so. I remember a Saturday night when I was allowed to go with my dad and brothers to public skating at the Ingersoll arena. Round and round I skated along the boards as I listened to the music and watched the boys dart in and out. I was one of the big kids! Suddenly I heard my name called over the all-powerful loudspeaker. It was like God was calling me to get off the ice. I looked up at the booth high above the seats and saw my Dad waving me off. Apparently he was afraid I'd get hurt with all the wild activity on the ice. Little did he know I was just preparing for my future of racing the boys around the school (and winning), of reveling in my role as the end of crack-the-whip when they couldn't shake me off, and of flying through the Fourteenstep with my brother, Ross, a fabulous figure skater.
These are some of the reasons I still go skating when I can although my feet don't obey like they used to. Yet when I step on the ice and stride away with long, sure sweeps, I am thankful for my muscle memory which links me to those feats of old. And I keep going.
I believe there are three things. Human beings have that desire to go fast. We love to fly down hills on our bikes, to dive off the high board, to whoosh down the tallest slide, all for the thrill of sheer speed. And let's not even talk about what we do with our cars.
Secondly we love competition which is the end result of good learning. I mean, if you practice long enough, you'll get good at things and when you get good you like to prove your excellence, isn't that right? We all like to feel we have achieved things and often that centers around competition. Certainly figure skating is internationally a favorite to watch on tv for its beauty and grace but also our reverence for winners. And many of us remember 'Hockey Night in Canada', with that frosty voice of Foster Hewitt as he revved up--"He Shoots! He SCORES!!!"--bringing our living rooms alive with the thrill of the winner, a feeling which has only increased over the years.
For us Canadians, however, I wonder if our love of skating stems from our long winters. Even when we have little snow, we still have a lot of cold, short days and long, dark nights to pass between November and March. With our skates we can get out and embrace winter, steam up our glasses, warm up our toes, all the while having fun.
I've been skating since I was a little girl about 6 or so. I remember a Saturday night when I was allowed to go with my dad and brothers to public skating at the Ingersoll arena. Round and round I skated along the boards as I listened to the music and watched the boys dart in and out. I was one of the big kids! Suddenly I heard my name called over the all-powerful loudspeaker. It was like God was calling me to get off the ice. I looked up at the booth high above the seats and saw my Dad waving me off. Apparently he was afraid I'd get hurt with all the wild activity on the ice. Little did he know I was just preparing for my future of racing the boys around the school (and winning), of reveling in my role as the end of crack-the-whip when they couldn't shake me off, and of flying through the Fourteenstep with my brother, Ross, a fabulous figure skater.
These are some of the reasons I still go skating when I can although my feet don't obey like they used to. Yet when I step on the ice and stride away with long, sure sweeps, I am thankful for my muscle memory which links me to those feats of old. And I keep going.
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