Getting into the Christmas Spirit

With only four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas the season feels a little rushed. Granted, most years it feels rushed because of trying to coordinate parties, gifts, time off, etc. But this year in particular feels like there isn't as much time. I'm just glad that there should be enough time to listen to the music, sign the songs, watch the movies, and read the stories that make the season special.

Once tradition that I started last year was listening to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. While I can usually remember all the important bits when it comes to plot and character, I forget the subtle tidbits that really bring the story alive. I find my eyes filling with tears as Scrooge witnesses the grief of Tiny Tim's family and I cheer at his transformation from wretched miser to loving caretaker. It is a great reminder that "mankind is our business" and we are to mind it as carefully as we would any financial undertaking which would bring us gain. We've already watched one version of the movie together as a family (the Muppet Christmas Carol) and it was fun to watch Kanga as she began to realize what the story was about. As we explained a few things we could see the wheels turning. She
might be ready to watch the George C. Scott version soon (my personal favorite version).

Something else I'm looking forward to is watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert from 2004 with Frederica von Stade and Bryn Terfel. My grandmother gave us the DVD of the concert the for Christmas in 2006 and I look forward every year to watching it. The music is so wonderful and it's a fun performance to watch. None the least because of Bryn Terfel's Welsh flag. The whole production is fantastic.

I also enjoy the music. Most of the stuff on the radio is okay. I do hate the song "Christmas Shoes." What I really like is Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Josh Groban, and The Piano Guys. I realize that all of those groups have non-Christmas albums and I like those too, but I really like their Christmas stuff. Particularly The Piano Guys. There is something about sitting on the couch with the tree lit reading a book while soft piano (and cello) plays. Such are treasured moments.

I really love the Christmas season and am glad that I can spend it with my family.

Halloween and Getting things done

I didn't get pictures of the kids this year for Halloween, but they looked good as a cat and firefighter. I wasn't sure what to think when Tigger wanted to be a firefighter again this year, but in the end I figured that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a firefighter. Beats the pants of other things he could have wanted to be. Angel took the kids out while I stayed home and took care of Roo and hand out candy. Roo was all wrapped up in a blanket. Once when some friends were at the door with their kids they asked what he was dressed up as. I said he was a burrito. The kids had fun and collected a fair amount of candy. We were able to listen to the music that one of our neighbors pumps out every Halloween. They set up a DJ table and have strobes and a fog machine, turning their driveway into a open dance floor. It was a pretty good selection this year. Somehow we've managed to train our kids that when they get candy it all goes into a communal container which is shared for those moments when sweets are appropriate. It has become the norm in the house, so it doesn't matter who gets more, or who gets what because it's all shared. And as I wrote that I felt like a communist. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Other than that, this weekend was well spent running errands, working on my van's brakes, and spending time with the family. We got caught up on laundry and dishes, as always, but I was proud that I was finally able to get the brake pads changed on my van. They've been making me nervous the last little while with the noise they've been making and I finally had a weekend to take the two tires off and see to them. I'm glad I did too. One pad was completely down to the metal break shoe. I was also pleasantly surprised that brakes pads didn't cost as much as I thought they did. The kids went with me as we picked up new pads, stopped by the library and hit the grocery store. I did end up putting the pads and wheels on in a small cloud burst, but otherwise it went really well. I'm glad that I can get some of those basic maintenance done on my vehicles. It save money and it makes me feel like I'm able to "take care"of my family.

The other fun thing I did was make a couple of lime chiffon pies on Sunday. We had the limes and were looking for something to do with them when I found that receipt in the Lion House Lite cook book. The one mistake I made was letting the filling set up in the bowl in the fridge. I was still able to scoop it into the crusts, it just looks a little lumpy. It should taste fine.

The most exciting thing that happened was that my parents got a new piano and offered their old one to us. Muscles had first dibs, but they are looking into getting a new one themselves. Dad popped up on Thursday and we got three guys to come and help move it after Kanga's school program. It's a little compact piano that needs a tune, but I've very happy to have a real piano in the home. Both of the kids like singing and Tigger has a really good ear for music. I played a few bars of the main theme of Star Wars and when I asked if they knew what it was he didn't hesitate and had it spot on. Kanga's school program was good as well. It was fall and Halloween themed and the kids sang a lot of fun songs, most in English, but a couple in Chinese. It was very crowded but it wasn't too uncomfortable. I'm just glad that we now have another reason for music in our house.

All in all, it was a very good weekend. The extra hour of sleep was appreciated as well, although it does mean that I'm up at 4:00 am with Roo. Well, that's just what being a dad is all about.

Old dog, relearning new tricks

When I was with my family last weekend my sister gave me a keyboard that she got from our older sister. M didn't need it anymore since she had gotten a piano free. (It had fallen off of a stake and is now held together by a c-clamp. Holds it's pitch thought). The only problem with the keyboard was that the power cord was missing. This weekend my family was out running errands and one of those errands was to scope of the local thrift store to check out their cords. I've donated weirder stuff to the DI (Deseret Industries). We were in luck! I found a 12v power adapter for 2 dollars. We took it home and plugged it in and it worked great.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I plan on taking piano lessons after I finish my masters. Sadly, I'm not currently taking classes until our house in Price sells. The thought struck me though that if I'm not taking masters classes I can start taking piano lessons again. In fact, when I mentioned my ambition to take lessons to our church choir director her husband said that he taught piano and all he charged was that you practice. If you don't practice, there is no lesson. I was excited and today asked him after choir if I could start soon. My lessons are on Saturdays at 9:30. I'm quite excited.

They say it takes 10 years of doing something consistently to become very proficient at it. I am comfortable with becoming proficient at the piano at the age of 40. I'll be honest, I have a lot more drive to practice now that I did when I was 6 though 12. I'm looking forward to redeveloping skills, learning new ones, and generally being able to learn how to make music that I enjoy.