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| | From:  _Xer | Sent: 12/23/2008 5:29 PM |
Thanks, darlin,' I'll try and remember to keep it that way. Note to self: The olympics is for bed, not grocery stores. 
I'm so jealous you've got five whole acres of your own! |
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Thanks everyone...we've had a great day so far, and she's out and about with her Pop at the moment. Pikes...she's only here 4 days, so she didn't bother making arrangements for a bass this time. When she does, we rent. NO WAY do we want to ship hers unnecessarily...expense expense expense... She's got compositions she's working on...heard of Sibaleus? (sp?) What a great program! When I was studying music, it was all hand copied parts, etc, but she's got it made. The playback on the computer isn't overly lovely; however, it certainly makes composition a lot easier. She played me 2 of 3 songs she wrote from Rumi poems, and one from Yeats, and wow...what a joy to hear. If she gets the Rumi ones published, she'll have to have Coleman Barks's permission...his translation...but lovely. I wish all of you the most wonderful Christmas...xxx...tons of love, J |
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Jen -I know basses are expensive to ship, and there is a risk with the way handling goes on. Oh yes I know Sibelius well. Finale and Encore too. In old days, when I hand copied parts, I HATED that. If God wanted to punish me in the afterlife, He's reincarnate me as a copyist. |
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When we shipped her bass from MI, it wound up being a HUGE expense, even with insurance. The difference in climate contributed quite a lot to it, for the instrument must acclimatize to the humidity/lack thereof, etc. The bridge is always broken down, strings off, etc. to prevent warping in shipping; however, the fingerboard separated from the neck, so there had to be some replaning, etc. Not fun or cheap. She's learned that large symphonies ship their instruments in what is basically a large humidor! basses and cellos on one side, cigars on the other...rofl...makes sense though. Her bags arrived. Now, we can pretend like it's anormal holiday .. .hehehe I hear you about copying parts...that's one of the things that did me in as a music major...that and piano proficiency. You're a pianist, so you probably know this...but to read piano music, you must conceive of music differently than a 'line-by-line' reader. I first learned solfeg (yes, my dad made us learn shape notes!) at church...singing 4 parts out of old hymnals...so chords...I just hear them. But I learned to read lines and spaces playing clarinet. Just follow the line...lol...when it came time to learn piano music, man my brain did somersaults. Not lying...I actually felt myself beginning to think differently. I decided the world has enough 'adequate' musicians...so I play in my living room these days...hehe |
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AHA! Prayer does work. And I didn't even have to hold my breath. Glad your girl and her belongings arrived safely, Jen. Xer, what are we gonna do with you? All that for a peppermint mocha! Please take care, my friend.  Merry Christmas to All  KC |
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/24/2008 7:31 PM |
Ah, but what a peppermint mocha it was!   |
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/24/2008 7:34 PM |
Hey, Jen, I am surprised and delighted Liv, made it home so quickly. And, I am even more surprised and delighted her suitcase was not permently misplaced by the airline!
Y'all have a marvelous Christmas Eve, dear. |
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/24/2008 7:37 PM |
| Believe it or not, it is still snowing here, but.... We got another 4+ inches last night, but the entire sheet of snow on the car's hood only now slid off at once. It is just above freezing. Now if the sky can just figure that out! |
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Jen, you had good training, that I believe the vast majority of Amurcan kids nowdays DON'T get. Piano, along with guitar and harp, is different because of the ability to command SATB voicings together. They teach numbers, letters, everything BUT solfege, and make it vastly more complex than it has to be, probably because many of them don't really "get" it either. Instrument humidors and cases for The Juilliard Orchestra, outside Bruno Walter studio, unpacking following the tour of China last year. Maybe we could do an un-snow dance for xer? |
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/24/2008 9:34 PM |
Hey Sir Pikes, it couldn't hurt? We just had about an hour of great big fat snowflakes cascading out of the sky. As I write, they have shrunk to about the size of marbles again. Wierd daze. Simply wierd I tells ya.'
My sis is on the way down from Seattle. She will spend the night here and go back tomorrow night or Friday. We'll see. Right now, I'm just hoping the has no problems on the highway. <crossed-fingers icon> Think I'll go see if I can get the car back out to the street with all the new snow. I certainly can't afford a repeat of day before yesterday's excavating! Hum, flakes seem to be putting on weight again, and increasing in frequency. 'Wierder and wierder,' cried Alice.
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/26/2008 1:12 AM |
| Warmed up and got slushy today. Still looks like a White Christmas though. Many's the time in India over the holidays I've dreamt of days like this. I am so very happy to have had one more Christmas with my wife and family! |
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| | (1 recommendation so far) | Message 98 of 101 in Discussion |
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Dear Diary <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> December 8: 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!
December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!
December 12: The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man I'm glad he's our neighbor.
December 14: Snow, lovely snow! 8"last night. The temperature dropped to 20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so.
December 15: 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove In case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:State>, after all.
December 16: Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.
December 17: Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. I hate it when she's right. I can’t believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.
December 20: Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. Damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying.
December 21: Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.
December 22: Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white shit fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to pee.. By the time I got undressed, peed, and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the jerk is lying.
December 23: Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts?!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.
December 24: 6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, I broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a Bitch! who drives that snow plow, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for the damn snowplow.
December 25: Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the f....ing slop tonight. Snowed in!!! The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to kill her.
December 26: Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.
December 27: Temperature dropped below zero and the pipes froze.
December 28: Warmed up to 20. STILL SNOWED IN! The BITCH is driving me CRAZY!!!
December 29: 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?
December 30: Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a million dollars. The wife went home to her mother. Nine more inches of Snow predicted.
December 31: Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.
January 8: I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?<o:p></o:p> <o:p>  </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> 
... Bob (Grateful Diver) |
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Bob! Very funny story, and FABULOUS pictures! I can barely swim, so there's no diving for me - snowy or not, but I did enjoy sitting in a hot tub one January in Crested Butte, CO, one year...., snowflakes falling.....  Hope your Christmas was Merry and warm. Good to see you posting.  |
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/30/2008 7:06 PM |
Some cold looking pictures there, Flipper. Congratulations, Bobb! Didn't know you were married again. Same bride, or a newer version? Man, that was a LOT of snow! Loved the journal, buddy. Where was it y'all moved again?
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| | | From: _Xer | Sent: 12/30/2008 7:12 PM |
Most all the streets here have been cleared by snoplows now, though on streets like ours they only seem willing to do one half of the street. Loved Bob's snow account, and fully agree about snowplow drivers. It was icy out there this AM. Hope it is warmer when I start running errands about lunchtime. We're getting short on time.
10 to 1 odds there isn't a hint of snow in sight when we get back? Just rain, rain, and more rain I'd wager. |
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