Dear Readers,
I apologize for not keeping up with my blog,,,,but since Lib’s big back operation in December we’ve been home bound and nothing worth writing about has occurred and this one won’t be long either.
This past Monday I was able to participate in a string quartet with some of my favorite musician friends Francis ( cello), Dave (viola), and Larry (violin). It has been several months since we’ve been able to get together and it was great to read through some favorite Mozart quartets! As Lib becomes stronger and is able to stay home unattended, hope to do more of this.
Yesterday I walked a mile with a cane! I’ve not been able to do that for 6 + years due to arthritis in my hips and a bad back. Had a laminectopy on my back those many years ago, but never walked more than a half mile. Then last year I had the hips replaced and there was no pain in walking, just needed to build up strength and endurance. I was walking about a half mile before Christmas and had t Lib not had her operation, I might have reached the mile goal sooner. Now we’re both better thanks to the skills of the surgeons and God’s grace!
It’s too late to play in the upcoming RPO concert, but I hope to be able to do the Pops concert in June.
It’s been a strange winter here in Brandermill...one of the mildest yet. Haven’t seen any snow and except for a wintery cold snap in December, it’s been like Spring most of the time. Now watch us have a late winter and some significant snow!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
LOOKING BACK....
What an eventful 2011 has been for us! As bookends we started out with my two hip replacements that began in January and ended around July with my being able to walk and sit pain free. The other beng Lib’s extensive back surgery where two rods and screws were inserted to correct the curve of scoliosis and other assorted lower back conditions. That was this December so she’s just beginning recovery as it were.
Between those we were brushed by the remnents of a hurricane and lost power for several days. Then we experienced our first ever earthquake!
Otherwise we have been blessed with relative good health for our age and ability to participate in group activities; (Lib -water arobics) and I with symphony orchestra performances and quartet sessions. We were also able to make some day trips to Roanoke and Harrisonburg to see friends
and family. This summer and fall we attended numerous baseball games to watch our grandson and his team. He’s also growing as a violinist/fiddler/guitarist.
Our other family in Delaware has a daughter graduating this school year and two sons actively achieving in their sports and intellectual interests.
The ability to keep in touch with several groups of family and dear friends via the interenet keeps us up to date in their lives and helps immensely for us to maintain community. We aere especially grateful that Lib could do her convalescing at home instead of at Charlottesville!
Thank you Lord for your loving kindness, for all your mercies and grace.
Between those we were brushed by the remnents of a hurricane and lost power for several days. Then we experienced our first ever earthquake!
Otherwise we have been blessed with relative good health for our age and ability to participate in group activities; (Lib -water arobics) and I with symphony orchestra performances and quartet sessions. We were also able to make some day trips to Roanoke and Harrisonburg to see friends
and family. This summer and fall we attended numerous baseball games to watch our grandson and his team. He’s also growing as a violinist/fiddler/guitarist.
Our other family in Delaware has a daughter graduating this school year and two sons actively achieving in their sports and intellectual interests.
The ability to keep in touch with several groups of family and dear friends via the interenet keeps us up to date in their lives and helps immensely for us to maintain community. We aere especially grateful that Lib could do her convalescing at home instead of at Charlottesville!
Thank you Lord for your loving kindness, for all your mercies and grace.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
THANKSGIVING PRAYER
Heavenly Creator,
I’m grateful for life in this beautiful busy exciting world. Really grateful that I can walk and move without the pain that I had this time last year. Thankful to be surrounded by a loving family of children, their mates and grandchildren. Thankful that Lib selected me to share these many years with her. It’s been an interesting journey and we look forward to relishing whatever time we still have together.
Thank You for friends old and new and the happy memories associated with those who are not physically present in my life, but who contribute to it through their messages of interest and goodwill.
Thank you for the memories of a loving father and mother, their exemplary lives, and the lively family which still manages to be lively when they gather together.
We look in anticipation to Christmas and the good news it proclaims.
I’m grateful for life in this beautiful busy exciting world. Really grateful that I can walk and move without the pain that I had this time last year. Thankful to be surrounded by a loving family of children, their mates and grandchildren. Thankful that Lib selected me to share these many years with her. It’s been an interesting journey and we look forward to relishing whatever time we still have together.
Thank You for friends old and new and the happy memories associated with those who are not physically present in my life, but who contribute to it through their messages of interest and goodwill.
Thank you for the memories of a loving father and mother, their exemplary lives, and the lively family which still manages to be lively when they gather together.
We look in anticipation to Christmas and the good news it proclaims.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
A Musical Dream
I was six years old when my father bought my first violin in Landour, Mussoorie and presented it to me with the challenge to pluck out “Twinkle Star” as it didn’t yet have a working bow.
For several years he would teach me by rote and later by note how to play this instrument. I have no idea what his dreams were for me..only that he continued my instruction and then handed me over to another teacher when the time seemed right.
When we returned from India the second time I was a young adolescent and at a pivotal point in my musical journey. Wasn’t making progress and about ready to chuck it...but a Providential link up with the concertmeister of the newly organized Roanoke Symphony swiftly got me back on track.
My father continued my lessons with the instructor at James Madison University when we moved to Mathias, WV. Later Shenandoah Conservatory at Dayton, Virginia accepted me as a freshman and pointed me to part time employment in the town.
Another coincidental relink up with the Roanoke Symphony led to a career teaching strings in the
Roanoke City Schools for 34+ years.
Four years ago when we moved to the Richmond area, it was apparent that our 6 year old grandson had more than his share of musical interest and talent. I was allowed to work with him as often as possible. He has made good progress and is now literate at an intermediate level.
This past Sunday was part of a dream come true. I had signed us both to play in Richmond Symphony’s “Come and Play” orchestra event. Wasn’t sure his baseball schedule (his other interest) would allow him to participate. But, I went on faith, downloaded the music and prepared
him the best I could. Sure enough, his Dad and Mom came through and supported this effort.
For that I’m SO grateful.
At the rehearsal and concert it was gratifying to see him enthusiastically match me bow for bow and passage for passage as we shared the music together. I hope he was impressed enough to want to continue this adventure. Violin music covers such a wide range of genres. From my 74 year old perspective as a teacher and musician I see the great advantages that might accrue from advanced skills in this area.
Most string musicians are VERY interesting people worth knowing, whether they’re professional or just advanced amateurs. Most are interested in making music with other musicians. They are
multidimensional folks and can carry on interesting conversations besides current team scores.
In Roanoke I became acquainted through my church with a musical group whose interests and playing included pop, blue grass, and Celtic genres. They were lawyers, a physician, and school and government employees. We met once a month and had the best of times.
So, I will sow the seeds and do my best to cultivate my grandson’s musical abilities and hope
that long after I’m gone he will be able enjoy the fruits of his musical journey which began
beside his Granddad.
For several years he would teach me by rote and later by note how to play this instrument. I have no idea what his dreams were for me..only that he continued my instruction and then handed me over to another teacher when the time seemed right.
When we returned from India the second time I was a young adolescent and at a pivotal point in my musical journey. Wasn’t making progress and about ready to chuck it...but a Providential link up with the concertmeister of the newly organized Roanoke Symphony swiftly got me back on track.
My father continued my lessons with the instructor at James Madison University when we moved to Mathias, WV. Later Shenandoah Conservatory at Dayton, Virginia accepted me as a freshman and pointed me to part time employment in the town.
Another coincidental relink up with the Roanoke Symphony led to a career teaching strings in the
Roanoke City Schools for 34+ years.
Four years ago when we moved to the Richmond area, it was apparent that our 6 year old grandson had more than his share of musical interest and talent. I was allowed to work with him as often as possible. He has made good progress and is now literate at an intermediate level.
This past Sunday was part of a dream come true. I had signed us both to play in Richmond Symphony’s “Come and Play” orchestra event. Wasn’t sure his baseball schedule (his other interest) would allow him to participate. But, I went on faith, downloaded the music and prepared
him the best I could. Sure enough, his Dad and Mom came through and supported this effort.
For that I’m SO grateful.
At the rehearsal and concert it was gratifying to see him enthusiastically match me bow for bow and passage for passage as we shared the music together. I hope he was impressed enough to want to continue this adventure. Violin music covers such a wide range of genres. From my 74 year old perspective as a teacher and musician I see the great advantages that might accrue from advanced skills in this area.
Most string musicians are VERY interesting people worth knowing, whether they’re professional or just advanced amateurs. Most are interested in making music with other musicians. They are
multidimensional folks and can carry on interesting conversations besides current team scores.
In Roanoke I became acquainted through my church with a musical group whose interests and playing included pop, blue grass, and Celtic genres. They were lawyers, a physician, and school and government employees. We met once a month and had the best of times.
So, I will sow the seeds and do my best to cultivate my grandson’s musical abilities and hope
that long after I’m gone he will be able enjoy the fruits of his musical journey which began
beside his Granddad.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Autumn Memories
The advent of Autumn always puts me in a mellow mood. I have loved this time of the year for the great memories it returns to me year after year.
In my early teen years I attended Woodstock School in the foothills of the Himalayas. Fall was the season for hiking the nearby mountains and valleys and enjoying treks over to Mussoorie without the fear of being inundated by rain. It was also a melancholy time as the Fall Line foretold Going Down Day and separation from our classmates and friends. It was around this time that I became acquainted with the popular“September Song”
Marriage and the birth of two daughters found us living in Roanoke, Virginia. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs through Roanoke and our family spent some great Fall weekends as a family driving down to the Peaks of Otter and climbing to the top of Sharp Top mountain. It is one of Virginia’s treasure’s especially in autumn. After the girls left home for college and marriage Lib and I enjoyed some trips to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a mountain city resort area resembling Mussoorie. The tall pines and cedars at the 4000 foot altitude were uncannily similar to those adorning the Himalayan foothills.
Then a request to play for dinner at the Greenbrier resort hotel began a new sideline which would add to my Fall memories. The back country road Va.#311 from Salem to near White Sulphur Springs has to be one of the finest drives when the leaves are at their peak. The road runs over two mountains and the view from near the summit of Pott’s mountain when the sun is low on the horizon is a sight to behold. Over on the West Va. side of the trip the road winds through miles of valley scenery of farms and homes nestled among tall oak and maples.Then #311 junctions with I-64 and shortly one is arriving at the Greenbrier.
I performed on a fairly regular basis at the Greenbrier for nearly 20 years and always enjoyed being there in the autumn. There would be a fire in the huge main entry hallway. My accompanist and I would play for tea, go to supper in the basement where all the supporting people ate, and then play for three hours in one of the many dining rooms. Our diners always appeared happier and more jovial during this season. And for whatever reason my violin seemed more resonant matching their mood. Then we moved to Richmond, Va.
Last year Lib and I celebrated this time of the year with a bus tour to New England. It was a little earlier than the present blog and rainy weather made some of it rather dreary. However, there were some really fine days especially toward the last when we were in the northern Vermont mountains. One afternoon in particular we were at the summit of a ski resort and could almost see over into Canada. The air was crisp and the vista stretched forever, a beautiful unforgettable panoply of low mountains one after the other in scarlets and russets.
This year we haven’t trekked anywhere. Some health issues await a procedure to eliminate the pain from walking and movement for Lib. Instead when I see a beautiful tree in all its flaming glory it will remind me of days past in this wonderful season of the year.
.
In my early teen years I attended Woodstock School in the foothills of the Himalayas. Fall was the season for hiking the nearby mountains and valleys and enjoying treks over to Mussoorie without the fear of being inundated by rain. It was also a melancholy time as the Fall Line foretold Going Down Day and separation from our classmates and friends. It was around this time that I became acquainted with the popular“September Song”
Marriage and the birth of two daughters found us living in Roanoke, Virginia. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs through Roanoke and our family spent some great Fall weekends as a family driving down to the Peaks of Otter and climbing to the top of Sharp Top mountain. It is one of Virginia’s treasure’s especially in autumn. After the girls left home for college and marriage Lib and I enjoyed some trips to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a mountain city resort area resembling Mussoorie. The tall pines and cedars at the 4000 foot altitude were uncannily similar to those adorning the Himalayan foothills.
Then a request to play for dinner at the Greenbrier resort hotel began a new sideline which would add to my Fall memories. The back country road Va.#311 from Salem to near White Sulphur Springs has to be one of the finest drives when the leaves are at their peak. The road runs over two mountains and the view from near the summit of Pott’s mountain when the sun is low on the horizon is a sight to behold. Over on the West Va. side of the trip the road winds through miles of valley scenery of farms and homes nestled among tall oak and maples.Then #311 junctions with I-64 and shortly one is arriving at the Greenbrier.
I performed on a fairly regular basis at the Greenbrier for nearly 20 years and always enjoyed being there in the autumn. There would be a fire in the huge main entry hallway. My accompanist and I would play for tea, go to supper in the basement where all the supporting people ate, and then play for three hours in one of the many dining rooms. Our diners always appeared happier and more jovial during this season. And for whatever reason my violin seemed more resonant matching their mood. Then we moved to Richmond, Va.
Last year Lib and I celebrated this time of the year with a bus tour to New England. It was a little earlier than the present blog and rainy weather made some of it rather dreary. However, there were some really fine days especially toward the last when we were in the northern Vermont mountains. One afternoon in particular we were at the summit of a ski resort and could almost see over into Canada. The air was crisp and the vista stretched forever, a beautiful unforgettable panoply of low mountains one after the other in scarlets and russets.
This year we haven’t trekked anywhere. Some health issues await a procedure to eliminate the pain from walking and movement for Lib. Instead when I see a beautiful tree in all its flaming glory it will remind me of days past in this wonderful season of the year.
.
Monday, August 29, 2011
IRENE...reflections on a hurricane.
It began day before yesterday Friday, Aug. 26th. We began to realize from online weather maps of a visit from an unwanted weather event named Irene. From TV and online media there was some indication it might reach a category 3-4 before finally going out to sea. Friday evening at Lib’s suggestion I went to our local Kroger store, bought some bottled water (two gallons), some other small items, and some cash money. With increased interest we watched her move up alongside the North Carolina coast and checked on the weather forecasts there from official weather stations. We worried that Mike and some of his family were in for a bad night. They live in Greenville, NC. I also emailed my brother John who lives on the coast in Lancaster county, Va. only to discover when I opened my Google mail, that they had wisely left home and ensconced themselves in a Richmond motel across town.
Late Friday night or early Saturday morning we could hear a light rain on our roof and skylight. Saturday morning at daybreak it continued. TV and computer both indicated we would have significant rain and wind later in the afternoon. We ate a light lunch. Soon Cathy’s family called and volunteered to tie down our deck furniture. My estimate was that we would escape high winds, but Lib wisely invited them over to check out things. It’s great to have family living close who can help out this way. A little later it began to rain in earnest. They came over and secured the deck furniture. It was nice just to visit with them and get their take on the situation.
The electricity had flickered most of the afternoon, but the winds from our perspective weren’t any more severe than a summer afternoon thunderstorm. Around 3:15 the current went off and except for the radio and a cell phone we were isolated from what was happening in the larger world. Later the wind picked up and rumor had it that we had some gusts over 50 mph. Around 5:30 we had ice cream for supper. We checked out the contents of the freezer side of the fridge and were satisfied by their state of frozenness.
It began to be dark by 6:30. Lib and I made preparations for a long night. Before the light faded I took movies of the blowing trees. Some of the time, as I was filming, it would be very calm. Then when I shut the camera off there would be an impressive gust and the trees would dance wildly. It was sort of frustrating not to be able to capture significant action on demand! Lib did see a a small tree fall across the drain ditch near our neighbor’s house.
Around 10:30 the radio announced that 75% of Richmond’s houses had lost power. I called a friend several miles away at whose church we were supposed to play on Sunday. They had power and that was encouraging as was the fact that most of the familiar radio stations were broadcasting. We turned on some small electric candles and went to bed. The concern we had was whether sometime in the night, without warning, one of the nearby trees would finally lose its grip in the wet soil and drop on our roof!
Around 1:00 AM I was awakened by the Verizon phone "battery losing power" signal. It took me a few minutes to find where the beep was coming from. I went to the kitchen for a drink of water and monitored news on the small radio. There were still occasional gusts and then it began to be quiet.
Dawn peeked through around 6:30 and we started the day by 7:30. We ate our traditional cereal breakfast. Our neighbor who brings us their paper to read came over and we exchanged mutual
questions about how we had survived the night. I was sort of hoping we would have electricity soon, but the radio discouragd that. Seems that state wide there was over a million without power and some 300,000 in the Richmond metro area. That’s a lot of lines and transformers to replace!!
Cathy called and brought us over some hot coffee. That helped immensely to put a positive cast on the day. The morning was spent reading and planning for the day. Food in the freezer was still frozen as was ice from the ice maker. We ate bagels and cream cheese with jelly for lunch and planned to have pork chops for supper. They would normally be grilled anyhow. It had been exactly 24 hours since the electricity had been off.
That afternoon we read and listened to the radio to pass the time. Lib and I had several conversations about family and our recollections of past hurricanes. Around 5:30 we grilled the
chops and warmed up some store bought mashed potatoes. That was supper.
Afterwards I drove out in the neighborhood to see if there was any ice to be found. There was
frozen food we hoped to save until the current came on. In a 45 minutes of driving I saw numerous trees by the side of the road. The few stores that were open were out of ice. It was
interesting to see what Irene had done with just 40-65 mph gusts.
We talked by candle light until 9:30 and then went on to bed. Sort of reminded us that this was
how people used to live just a few decades before we were born. And that there were many who
lived much closer to the whims of the weather around even now. Thought about women who daily had to walk a mile or more to carry water from a stream, lake, or well back to their homes.
Where cooking was done with wood or cattle “chips” over an indoor fire area that filled the whole hut with stinging smoke. Where going to the bathroom meant carrying a little container
of water for hygiene early in the morning before daybreak to a wooded area for a bit of privacy.
Whatever time left in the day would be devoted to back breaking hoeing and cultivating crops
to feed the animals and the family. We thought about how delicate is the web that connects we moderns to life through electricity! Without it, it doesn’t take long for life to return to primitive modes!
Around 5:00 am the current returned thanks to round the clock efforts by Dominion power. As
I finish this at 1:30 pm there are many still without, including I suspect, our daughter and her family. Hopefully, when she returns from work it will be on.
Late Friday night or early Saturday morning we could hear a light rain on our roof and skylight. Saturday morning at daybreak it continued. TV and computer both indicated we would have significant rain and wind later in the afternoon. We ate a light lunch. Soon Cathy’s family called and volunteered to tie down our deck furniture. My estimate was that we would escape high winds, but Lib wisely invited them over to check out things. It’s great to have family living close who can help out this way. A little later it began to rain in earnest. They came over and secured the deck furniture. It was nice just to visit with them and get their take on the situation.
The electricity had flickered most of the afternoon, but the winds from our perspective weren’t any more severe than a summer afternoon thunderstorm. Around 3:15 the current went off and except for the radio and a cell phone we were isolated from what was happening in the larger world. Later the wind picked up and rumor had it that we had some gusts over 50 mph. Around 5:30 we had ice cream for supper. We checked out the contents of the freezer side of the fridge and were satisfied by their state of frozenness.
It began to be dark by 6:30. Lib and I made preparations for a long night. Before the light faded I took movies of the blowing trees. Some of the time, as I was filming, it would be very calm. Then when I shut the camera off there would be an impressive gust and the trees would dance wildly. It was sort of frustrating not to be able to capture significant action on demand! Lib did see a a small tree fall across the drain ditch near our neighbor’s house.
Around 10:30 the radio announced that 75% of Richmond’s houses had lost power. I called a friend several miles away at whose church we were supposed to play on Sunday. They had power and that was encouraging as was the fact that most of the familiar radio stations were broadcasting. We turned on some small electric candles and went to bed. The concern we had was whether sometime in the night, without warning, one of the nearby trees would finally lose its grip in the wet soil and drop on our roof!
Around 1:00 AM I was awakened by the Verizon phone "battery losing power" signal. It took me a few minutes to find where the beep was coming from. I went to the kitchen for a drink of water and monitored news on the small radio. There were still occasional gusts and then it began to be quiet.
Dawn peeked through around 6:30 and we started the day by 7:30. We ate our traditional cereal breakfast. Our neighbor who brings us their paper to read came over and we exchanged mutual
questions about how we had survived the night. I was sort of hoping we would have electricity soon, but the radio discouragd that. Seems that state wide there was over a million without power and some 300,000 in the Richmond metro area. That’s a lot of lines and transformers to replace!!
Cathy called and brought us over some hot coffee. That helped immensely to put a positive cast on the day. The morning was spent reading and planning for the day. Food in the freezer was still frozen as was ice from the ice maker. We ate bagels and cream cheese with jelly for lunch and planned to have pork chops for supper. They would normally be grilled anyhow. It had been exactly 24 hours since the electricity had been off.
That afternoon we read and listened to the radio to pass the time. Lib and I had several conversations about family and our recollections of past hurricanes. Around 5:30 we grilled the
chops and warmed up some store bought mashed potatoes. That was supper.
Afterwards I drove out in the neighborhood to see if there was any ice to be found. There was
frozen food we hoped to save until the current came on. In a 45 minutes of driving I saw numerous trees by the side of the road. The few stores that were open were out of ice. It was
interesting to see what Irene had done with just 40-65 mph gusts.
We talked by candle light until 9:30 and then went on to bed. Sort of reminded us that this was
how people used to live just a few decades before we were born. And that there were many who
lived much closer to the whims of the weather around even now. Thought about women who daily had to walk a mile or more to carry water from a stream, lake, or well back to their homes.
Where cooking was done with wood or cattle “chips” over an indoor fire area that filled the whole hut with stinging smoke. Where going to the bathroom meant carrying a little container
of water for hygiene early in the morning before daybreak to a wooded area for a bit of privacy.
Whatever time left in the day would be devoted to back breaking hoeing and cultivating crops
to feed the animals and the family. We thought about how delicate is the web that connects we moderns to life through electricity! Without it, it doesn’t take long for life to return to primitive modes!
Around 5:00 am the current returned thanks to round the clock efforts by Dominion power. As
I finish this at 1:30 pm there are many still without, including I suspect, our daughter and her family. Hopefully, when she returns from work it will be on.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Virginia Earthquake
Our first earthquake hit here in Richmond around 1:51 PM EDT! Lib and I had just finished lunch and were in our living room when I heard what I thought was a distant and low helicopter approaching us. Shortly after, the house began to rattle just a little and the sound became louder. In a few seconds the rattle became quite alarming and stronger. Since neither of us had experienced a prolonged quake we didn’t know exactly what it was. (Earth quakes don’t happen ever in Richmond, do they?!) About the time I had figured out what it was the rattling began to subside and it was more of an item of interest.
Since we have a computer I went on FaceBook and discovered that some of my friends had experienced it also and that their friends in far away places also felt it! Next I went to Twitter and reported briefly our experience and then looked for others. Sure enough there was all sorts of news that was being reported first hand. I went back to Google News but they didn’t report it for several minutes. It was a window rattler for sure!! I search with NOAH and discover that the epicenter was Mineral, Virginia and officially it was 5.9 on the Richter scale. We may have after shocks but they shouldn’t be as severe.
Since we have a computer I went on FaceBook and discovered that some of my friends had experienced it also and that their friends in far away places also felt it! Next I went to Twitter and reported briefly our experience and then looked for others. Sure enough there was all sorts of news that was being reported first hand. I went back to Google News but they didn’t report it for several minutes. It was a window rattler for sure!! I search with NOAH and discover that the epicenter was Mineral, Virginia and officially it was 5.9 on the Richter scale. We may have after shocks but they shouldn’t be as severe.
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