Old Friend in a New Place

When I was eight years old my parents bought a piano, and I started lessons. I played until eighth grade and then "gave it up" - at least I gave up the formal lessons. I continued to play and would frequently serenade whoever in the house would listen during middle and high school years. When I'd come home from college I would sit down on the bench and pound away at the keys - reteaching myself, it seemed, every time. Although I'm far from being a great piano player, it's always been a source of relaxation and joy.

It was sad when my parents moved from my childhood house 2 1/2 years ago and put the piano in storage. I could no longer wonder into the living room to say "hi" to my old, faithful friend (piano).

But two weeks ago my faithful friend and I were reunited. By the very kind act of my Uncle B. and Aunt S., the piano was transported to our house. Family and a neighbor came and helped us move her in, and it has been a joyful reunion. I forgot how much I like to play...not because I'm good, but because I enjoy music. It can echo any mood you want it to. You just have to find the right piece. (Dri-Do you remember the song "Hymne". You copied it for me years and years ago. I found it the other day - still love it.)

But here's my dilemma...I think the piano needs a name. A good, sturdy name for a friend (piano) that I've had for 20 years. Any ideas?

Trip to N. Carolina/Southern Virginia

In my mind it was the last fling of the summer before the grind of work begins again. We worked some, played a lot, laughed hard, and cried a little. It was a great trip.

Some highlights:

1) Seeing M in the airport after two months.

2) Trip to M's work (beautiful place!) and Molasses Grill (wonderful restaurant!)

3) Exploring Duke and Chapel Hill.

4) My Taco salad at Jason's Deli on Monday. Seriously my second favorite salad EVER (California Pizza Kitchen's Chopped BBQ Chicken Salad is my first)!

Picture on the left is of moving day (Saturday). M is in a very cute house that will suit she and Marlie perfectly. Picture on the right is in the Duke Gardens. Beautiful place...if you have a chance to visit...do it! Picture below is also at Duke Univ.

Plans for today

1) It was really nice to catch up on my favorite blogs this morning. I have missed doing that recently.

2) I thought I would go to work today. Then I decided that I was going to take one last day before summer ends (at least in my world) to enjoy my house. The grad school paper is done, I have to go to work tomorrow because of meetings, and I can work from home today while in my pajamas. In between times of work I can clean my home for guests I have coming this weekend, play my piano, crochet, and relax. Sounds lovely. I can't wait.

Catching Up

It's been a long time without blogging. I am going to try to catch up with what I have missed...slowly.

The first thing to report...

The chompers are out and the pain is gone. My mouth still feels funny and I have a lingering stitch that doesn't want to dissolve. But the swelling and bruising is gone and I have long been off the Vicodin. I am glad it is over and definitely glad I did it during the summer. It would not have been pleasant to have to return to the classroom to talk for 8 hours a day shortly after surgery.

Happy Birthday, Poppa E!

Happy (big milestone) birthday to a wise and generous man I am proud to call "DAD"!

Hope it was a great day. (I'm interested in hearing all of your dinner stops!) And here's to a fantastic year!

Love you!

The Chompers are Coming Out

Surgery occurs tomorrow at 9:30am. I wasn't nervous about it until I started looking through the google images of wisdom teeth. Then I saw a whole bunch of people with swollen faces and gauze sticking out of their mouths. This cute carton makes me feel better, though. It almost looks fun with all of those teeth smiling. Unfortunately, I know better. I will be put to sleep, and they will remove all four. The bottom ones will be the least fun. They are pointing in various directions. The top two shouldn't be as bad. Let's hope surgery is a smooth ride tomorrow. And if not, let's hope the medicine is very, very strong.

Happy Birthday, Momma K

It's a milestone. I won't tell you how old my very cute and loving mother is turning today, but let's just say you'd never guess if you saw her.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope it's a wonderful day and a wonderful year.

Love you!

Chicken Piccata

Loved this recipe. It was relative quick and very tasty. Have to give credit to my Menno cookbook again for this one. Enjoy. Let me know if you try it.


Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
dash salt
dash pepper
1/4 cup of flour
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
8oz cartoon of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of chopped parsley

Directions:
Pound chicken breasts to 1/2-in thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; coat with flour.
In a large skillet, brown chicken in 3 Tablespoons butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.
Add remaining Tablespoon butter to skillet, and cook the mushrooms and garlic until tender.
Return the chicken to the pan.
Add wine or chicken broth and lemon juice. Simmer for 7 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
Top with parsley.

Explanation

I have three reasons for not blogging lately.

1) I visited my college roommate and her family this past weekend. One thing I learned...there is not a whole lot of time to blog when you have twins. We had a great time playing instead. We went to the park, the farmers market, and out to eat. Good times. The twins are SOOOO cute.

2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows arrived on my doorstep Saturday. I got my paws on it Sunday, and got no sleep until I finished reading it yesterday. Wonderful book. Sad the series has ended, but I decided I will now take my time and go back through all of them and re-read. (Will lose less sleep this time.)

3) The renovation of our master bathroom has begun. It started Monday with a meeting with our contractor. The demolition began yesterday and they are now currently fighting with our new shower. It appears that nothing in this house can be standard. So the opening for the shower that we thought was 48'' is really 47''. They have a plan, though, don't worry.

So those are the culprits. I will be back to blogging as usual now.

Finally

It's 3:15am and finally raining. It freaked me out at first because I had forgotten what it sounded like on our chimney when it rains hard.

Toying with Me

I don't think I'd be upset if it ACTUALLY RAINED, but I am rather annoyed with the weather right now. My great state is experiencing drought like conditions. So it's 2:45 and I've been up for an hour because of thunder. (I am not a fan of storms - or being in second stories of houses when storms come in.) But there is NO rain that is accompanying the thunder. There is just the audio reminder that it's out there but not at our house.

Hummingbird

I am thrilled that a cute little hummingbird has decided to add our backyard to his list of stops. I see him buzzing through our yard about once a week. He's a fast little thing.

(Picture not mine :) ).

New Look

FYI

Time for a blog template update. I love the dark dotted look and will probably go back once winter approaches, but I feel the colors did not do this season justice. A new look was needed for summer. :)

The Deacon's Bench

T and I are searching for a church. We haven't been very pro-active, but yesterday we decided to take a trip to a church we've visited before. For the first time we heard the pastors preach (we seemed to have the knack to go during the summer when they are on vacation) and we were impressed. More impressive was what they did afterwards, though. They provided a time they called "The Deacon's Bench" when people (anyone) from the congregation had the opportunity to come up to the front and make comments on what they just heard. It was fascinating. People did not come up and merely say, "Good job, it was interesting". Instead they questioned and asked for more explanation in a particular area, added their own opinions, and even at times doubted what was said. They were critical thinkers and were working together as a congregation. We liked it. Perhaps the search will become a little more pro-active.

NPF

T and I went to watch our first NPF (National Professional Fastpitch League) softball game on Saturday. For me the experience was a cool one for many reasons. The main reason was to see the women getting a chance to play the game they love at a high level of competition and getting paid for it. Society has given this opportunity to men for a long time in many sports. It is fun to feel like perhaps I live in the era when this same opportunity is being extended to women. It will take a while for the organization to have widespread recognition. But as I watched the little girls and boys scramble for autographs after the game, I am convinced that the NPF has a future. I know I will return.

My favorite part of the game...the left fielder breaking through the fence to prevent a home run. Second highlight...the pitcher laying out to catch a foul ball to end the top of the inning. The Racers won the game in the 7th inning 3-2.

Sunday Circle Game

I'm still in vacation mode, as I assume some of you are as well. So I decided that the circle game should be related to travelling.

In 1997 my dad visited his 50th state when he, my mom, and I travelled to Hawaii the first time. I think this is a cool accomplishment, and I hope that I too can one day say that I have experienced all 50 states. So here's the question: Approximately how many states have you visited and which one is your favorite?

I had problems of thinking of all fifty states, so I have provided a list here.

(This picture is from our recent Hawaii trip, not our previous one. And yes, B-rent, I swear I took this picture and the ones below in the vacation update.)

Recycling

I am ashamed that it took this long to happen, but I am FINALLY taking advantage of our curb side recycling...and I feel very good about it. Plastics #1 and #2 you shall never enter my trash again! Aluminum cans, you too!

P.S. I am now in the habit of using my canvas shopping bags...at least 98% of the time...and I am a true believer. Not only am I saving on plastic bags, but I can sling all my groceries over my shoulder at once and make only one trip into my house. Love it!

Nature Walk

Last night T and I took a slow, leisurely walk around our local Metro Park. We decided on the short trail that curls along the river. For some reason last night I was particularly taken by the beauty of the trees. I loved reading the plagues that described the black walnut (pictured), American sycamore, hackberry, and of course the pride of our state, the buckeye. The 70 degree weather made our spontaneous tree tour a very pleasant walk. I think my favorite was the Sycamore with their peeling bark that revealed a cool combination of greens and white. It was a nice reminder that although Hawaii and California (vacation spots this year) are gorgeous places, there is much beauty to discover in my own Midwestern state.

Highlight #2 last night was the Great Blue Heron relaxing in the river as we approached. He was a beauty and seeing those birds in flight is always breath-taking.

New Websites

I was surfing the web tonight and found these two sites. If you are interested in environment-friendly practices check them out.

The first http://www.care2.com/ is a site that list all kinds of suggestions for "green living" as well as news and a variety of other things.

The second http://www.earth911.org/ focuses on recycling.

Back Update

I went to the spinal specialist yesterday for what is hopefully my final visit. My hip/back is still sore but has improved since my first complaints in November. In an indirect way the doctor politely told me that to rid myself of the soreness I need to improve my posture, drop a few pounds, and gain some muscle tone. I have done well in thinking of posture and have been surprisingly viligant (pain is a good motivator) about doing my exercises. Weight, on the other hand, is not easy for me to lose. The truth of the matter is that I like food and quantity control is not a strong point. I'll keep working on this matter. I am hoping that in another 6 - 8 weeks, I'll be blogging injury free. We'll see how it goes.