Quatuor ébène

Ebene Quartet

I would very much like to have chosen a favorite piece from the selections heard during the two performances by Quatuor èbéne this week. Maybe it would be more likely to choose a least favorite from the repertoire presented ... nah ...  still impossible.
These guys were such a treat to sit with.  At one point I whispered to my husband, "That sounds exactly how flying feels to me."  The music seemed to dance in the air invisible leaping from one instrument to another, it swirled among them before it rippled out to us.  I thought ... this is magic.  I can see them, the Quartet, stirring it up ... I see the masterful mechanics of it, but ... how is what I see related to how my self receives it?  I thought ... this is the music most likely played in Heaven (who ever came up with the notion of little harps?).  These are the sounds,  subtle, intricate, complex, which one could be nurtured by in eternity.
I am not qualified to offer a critique of the performances, I can only say for myself ... these guys are magnificent musicians.  Beautifully trained, classically literate, bold enough to audaciously infuse the music with personality.  The Old Masters must smile to hear their labors re-presented in such a way ... the newer pieces, I imagine the more current guys would think yeah, that's what I meant when I inked those notes.What I heard was clarified and intentional ... brilliant so as to shimmer ... collaborative genius.
Quartet ... I didn't realize that quartet type music would sound so ... I cannot think of the word ... essential?  Like concentrated, as something rendered from a process.
What a treat to sit near this expression and experience it.

Husband had a favorite ... the interpretation of Come Together linked above.  I played it for him a few minutes ago.  He said, "It sounded better live."  And I think that may be it, the magic.  I could see the Quartet labor ... their collective "product" lived and moved in the air of the performance hall(s) engaging ... me ... an invisible touching, interacting with, my invisible.

Kitty update ...

In a word, thriving!

the breakfast of champions!
these little kittys rocked the saucer app

this little kitty hit the snooze button

"Shadow" (he plays with his shadow...) tracking breakfast all over the place!

Quilt Genius ...

Recently happened upon this while I was looking for a book.  Instant joy.  I wish everyone could stand next to this magnificent work (I secretly wish we might all have the opportunity to snuggle beneath it.  A quilt like this might very well have healing powers!)

Jim (and Bob's) Quilting

Quilt Guys

I seriously  may have to try my hand at this art form.  In the mean time, I have started an empty coffee can piggy just in case one of this might be offered for sale.  One can dream ... )

Kittens

A friend of Four's friend's sister was out hunting and somehow came upon a mother cat who had been recently shot and her liter ... still alive, but next up.  I don't know the entire story, but somehow Four wound up with the liter in a banana box snuggled up to a stuffed tiger toy and some kitty formula.  After an exhaustive search for a hospitable situation they came to my living room.  The local vets do not have the staff to bottle feed these guys and the humane society suggested they be "put down".  Their eyes are open, I'm guessing they are about three weeks old.  Last night we bought a hot pad for their box.  This morning someone put them in my bed ... briefly.  I like them.  I like that they are adapting well to bottle feeding.  I especially like that they found their way here where we can take good care of them.  We have been planning on adopting a kitten this spring. It's going to be very difficult to choose just one ... .

Sammy thinks they are okay.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Woke up this morning to news of the marathon bombing ... two suspects, brothers, one dead, the other probably won't end well (that's what I think).  So deeply, incredibly, sad for a thing like this to make sense to somebody.  At my home we pray for the victims whose lives pivot on the flash point ... and the "helpers" ...  God speed.  Crazy.  Crazy is the only word that comes to the edge of my mind as I attempt to think about this.  At the dinner table we talk about the many small freedoms that Americans take for granted ... we come and go, gather together or seek isolated challenges to exercise community and/or independence.  Yesterday I saw an image of American soldiers who sacrificed limbs on foreign soil, a group was organized for some sort of warrior recognition.  They were operating those low bike things.  At the grocery store I see men with amazing metal appendages ... they still wear their hair high and tight ... .  I think one may be required to become a warrior in a flash, right in ones own neighborhood it seems. Crazy.
And, it seems so odd to me this morning that I can hear Patsy Cline singing way back there when the world was black and white ... it's located somewhere above and behind my left ear folded deep in the grey matter ... so sweet it makes my teeth hurt.

"Small Things" Quotes

H2O macro ~ via PINTEREST

Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. ~Sallust

Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon. ~Booker T. Washington

We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.  We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.  ~Mother Theresa

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. ~V. Van Gogh

starting the turquoise ... I think it'll be good

Chair

"found" abandoned ... as it looked this morning

I think this detail will be fun to inlay with turquoise

it sands easier "apart" the joints needed reworked anyway

the cane ... cool, but beyond repair because the drill holes for threading the weave  have deteriorated into a line
I'm going to leave the cane on there just cause it's cool ... will fashion a thin board seat to upholster
it will also help to stabilize the chair I think

I like this fabric, left over from another project.
I'll use the black and cream stripe for the welt cord

I have a bit of hand sanding yet to do, then I'll glue it back together 

As has always happened on previous projects, I "fall in love" with the chair as I sand it.  This wood is absolutely magnificent.  I'd keep on working on it now if we didn't have company coming in for dinner.
Fun.

The azaleas are at the peak of their glory today.  Everything "Spring" is full thrust (except for my 100' long bed of Daylilies and Irises ... Tiger Lilies, Shasta Daisies ... so long little Lily of the Valley, farewell Spider Lily ... my new neighbor napalmed his side of the bed ... it drains towards mine.  I am saying, "No big deal".  Talking to husband about a privacy fence and maybe a row of Crepe Myrtles ... a white Spirea at the end of the drive perhaps ... anyway).  Pictured above, one little survivor, transplanted in time, and reminding me that the front beds really want to be raked and turned ... time to start thinking about bedding plants. The front yard needs to be mowed and edged.  This would be a good day for that if I can round up some gettie-up.  I'm home for the day and the housework is already all caught up.
The pollen wafting on the air is pervasive! Kinda dread getting out in it ... maybe the mower is out of gas ... .

C aka 4

I think this is the only one of her alone, and I don't want to post her buddies without their permission ... so ... Prom 2013.

PROM ~ Two and Four with Dad

Sunday ... long day ... but lotsa fun

Wheels up at 7:45 ... Co brought coffee (wonderful surprise!), and boy did it ht the spot ... no sugar doesn't bother me anymore (that's what I tell myself ... ).  I flew the first leg and upon arrival flew four little 1.0 orientation flights.  First guy already had his private so that was just fun ... he was really outstanding (and smart).  I had a couple of young kids who were more like passengers and a couple more kids who rocked their stick time.  It is such a pleasure to fly people new to, yet curious about aviation ... even more so when they have an aptitude for it.  So ... a good day.  Got pretty bumpy as the day wore on, that doesn't really bother me much at all (more concerned with getting puked on quite frankly) ... my buddy wasn't feeling the bumps for some reason (I think it had something to do with the Saturday night before ... good to be a kid ... ).  My feet got so hot in my boots that I pulled them of during my break.  Delighted when buddy flipped one of his rides to me all except for sliding back in to my ropers ... sky pic taken after we landed.  1.7 back to home base was fun but I was a bit skittish for some reason.  Probably just tired ... not a huge fan of pitch black ground (forests and lakes) and single engine night ops.  It was nice to catch the field beacon from a ways out ... something kinda special about the sweeping light from ones own field.
Today ... house work (and lots of it!) and trying to re-boot my mom.  She is one month away from moving in to her new place and back pedaling faster then racing bike.  Tommy is pretty much fried out on her shenanigans ... .

PROM

I love helping my girls get ready for Prom.  C had a difficult time finding the right dress at an acceptable price this year.  She sort of settled for this dress ... not what she really had in mind, but I think she was just worn out with the shopping process.  She thought "this dress" would do.  During the week of trying it on, thinking about make-up hair and nails, shoes ... someone came up with the idea of using the extra material from a shawl (came with dress/she'd never wear it) to create some straps/cap sleeves.  Lotsa ironing and handwork later ... voila ... I think she is very pleased.  Real Prom pics to follow in a couple days.

What a pound of FAT looks like ... ewwww

scale model

A pound of body fat is about equal in size to four sticks of delicious butter. Butter ... is ... not ... my ... friend.

Now I have been strictly practicing the MEDI Weightloss plan for about three weeks (today is my third weigh-in day).  I feel great physically.  Have to say I am not as physically strong as I thought I was ... back to the gym for me.  I love to work out when I am on track with it, but it is easy for me to just stop altogether.  As I write down my calorie intake and exercise output I notice that the very first thing I drop from my routine activities is time specifically for myself.  I feel good about getting stuff done that helps my family or the groups I'm participating with, but feel guilty just taking care of my own stuff.  Part of the several weeks I expect to be working on this "Shape-Up!" project are to help me create new habitual thinking patterns.  Like ... butter is not my friend ... Cheetos are yucky ... stuff like that, and ... it is perfectly okay to spend time working out alone if no one wants to join you (AC/DC is always ready to play).  The few more pounds I have to lose is not my heaviest bit of extra weight ... yikes!

Lunch dishes from Easter

Avocado/Bacon Deviled eggs
also cheese and seafood salad with crackers for appie

Vegetable Broth soup which V prepared (delicious)

Fresh Green Beans (my favorite)

Cous Cous w goodies ... everyone's favorite
With Grilled Steaks (L's specialty)

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter/ Chocolate Icing (Thx Two)

C snapped this on the way into church

My first notes on Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning

Chinese street-artist DALeast
(he took tangles of cables and created this)

The soul in distress has various avenues for self-preservation, among these are:  Comforting/soothing images from the past (visualization), seeking the beautiful from what can presently be seen (I think even through an other's eyes this would be possible and helpful ... Frankl describes this most as natural beauty seen with one's own eyes, but I think to extend the observation to any of the senses as an appreciation of Handel for example, or a beautifully turned phrase ... ), and a sense of humor (which manifests in many different cloaks ... perhaps even in tears I think)
He talks about those things we love ... as the quote "-the salvation of man is through love and in love."  I think he is really on to something there ... the places where our love is given/shared ...  a beloved, a child, a belief, an occupation or past time ... a pet, a hobby, a thing.  I think it is important to observe what we love and how we love (as Lewis' Four Loves explored).  A while back I said I wasn't going to think about love ... but I have thought, and felt about "it" quite a bit.  Love is ... truly is the greatest of these ...

 ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13 (NIV)

 I begin to understand and thus accept that now, too bad it couldn't come in the other order as faith might have aided.  Frankl has observed that the prisoner who has lost faith (in a better future) is doomed.  The book is not overtly spiritual, but I see it as a very pointed portrayal of the human predicament in general. As I see things, we are trying to survive in a very toxic hostile environment here on the "fallen" planet Earth.  In a sense mankind is in fact prisoner to the rule of evil.  "Wrapping" one's soul in a patchwork quilt of loveliness is a means of transcending the meanness of our present state I think. And ... I think it is almost certainly possible to "float" on that pool of joy that we ... hmmmm ... collect(?) for ourselves.  It seems critical to me that what one loves should be identified and nurtured/protected.

This Sunday the Pastor talked about the dual, and opposing, sides of our nature.  We have a "taste" for the "bad" stuff ... stuff that causes pain or moves us backwards.  I'll try to note the sermon here because I thought it totally rocked as excellent thinking on a topic, anyway ... This idea of victim of _______, what ever it might be, can be easily grasped as Holocaust Victim and this book serves as a guide, I think, for successfully navigating through various "sufferings".

People who suffer chronic abuses on either side of Power/Control dynamics, as either the "doer" or the "done to" can get pretty messed up in their souls.  Frankl observed that suffering can be borne in many different ways and he believes that we choose our way.  I think that is correct.  We choose.  I like his words: 

"Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances - to choose one’s way."

 to choose one's attitude.  That particular flying job I want came to my attention very early on Sunday morning ... quite frankly, it, thinking about it ... and what I perceive to be the injustices surrounding not getting it, can still hi-jack my brain and my feelings ... I wanted it really bad ... and I earned it.  And ... for me to dwell "there" is suffering (on a small scale).  I am learning how to be aware of painful "things" without getting sucked in to the painful ... memories or images.  Maybe I am finally adapting to choose "better".

(time to go to my little job)

Frankl / Love

Photo by~

 Dirk Wüstenhagen.

—that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire.(49)

The salvation of man is through love and in love.(49)

I knew only one thing—which I have learned well by now: Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the be­ loved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his(49) inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.
 (50)  

My little lists for the day

mandy disher photography

April!

Personal notes (iow ... not at all remotely interesting to any one else):

• Diet ... rocking!  I love it!
• Two kid's getting ready to graduate ... that rocks!  I love it!
• I have a little two day a week ... um ... 6-8 hours a week job that pays well ... love that.  Getting a bit behind on some other important things though.  Like ... I want to write my notes on the book Man's Search for Meaning.  It is an excellent book and I want to remember several bits of it exactly as Frankl notes them. My kitchen floor is also a bit of a mess (the mess that hides under the cabinet recesses ... it is an irony of aging that one can see perfectly well things which are five feet away, but need "readies" for things close at hand!
• Thank you note shopping is a priority item ... I am getting behind for want of note cards!
• Sammy is a behavioral challenge on walks.  He is strong enough and large enough to pull me along at will.  I am working with him to get his will reconnected with my own.  It's not a big deal on the neighborhood walks, but if he wants a real walk ... he's going to have to readjust to "minding".  The very long break in routine walks developed some poor choices ... on the other hand, it is interesting and fun to see him try to pull me along to the places where I would have him sit before letting him browse the bushes.  He wants to drag me to those "stops" and sit down to wait impatiently for me to tell him "okay" (as though politely knocking a door to his pit stop).  I'm going to start him out with three 20 minute walks per day covering the same territory each time.  I think it will help him concentrate on obeying if we go over and over the same exercise before we start introducing a buffet of doggy distractions.  Seems like God walks me through the same stuff over and over again until I am most comfortable walking with my hand in His ... . That dog might be a theologian as well as a meteorologist!  
• So ... today ... a map through the day:

1. Kitchen floor *
2. Bathrooms
3. Develop meal plan/ grocery list for the week (a favorite thing to do)
4. Drive Two to school. (check car for fuel ...)
5. Get note cards.
6. Saw a job I am interested in ... call for more info.
7. Fold laundry which is now in dryer *
8. Dress for and attend funeral (elderly Church friend)
9. Grocery shop ... reset pantry and frig (I love doing this every week)
10. Pick up Five from school
11. Tennis shoe and knee pads shopping with Five (look for resistance bands)
12. Prep for dinner
13. Take Five to volleyball practice (stay there and timeshare with book)
14. Cook dinner ... dinnertime.
15. Weights *
16. Later ... thank you notes * and quiet reading time.

Maybe not exactly in that order ... and Sammy's walks need to get squeezed in somewhere!  After 5 and 11 and after dinner *.  I like one long walk better then three short walks 'cause like Sammy, I want to see the sights!

Mandy Disher ... the photographer has some very beautiful images on her site.  Her processing style is very cool.  I like seeing it how she "sees" it.

*  I review to see what I didn't do yesterday ... and I didn't like not completing the list!  A few other things were done and some of these things took longer then I estimated they might.  I see that I didn't do the stuff that was specifically for me.  One of the things about this diet is they say to schedule in to your day time to take care o your body with exercise.  I don't think housework counts ... .  Well, today is another day ... I'll try again. It's just the game plan, but I really need time to walk the dog and do the weight training.  Working on that! That and the kitchen floor ... lol.

winter is closing in soon by Gunnar Gestur on Flickr.