Today, today was a big day.
Today, I made up a song for one of my students. I helped another one write down a song he was making up on his violin. I helped another one begin a piece by Bach which she has always loved.
I went to lunch with two friends.
I walked to work, and back; I walked all the way down Park Avenue, and back.
I saw a few fireflies, some dusky clouds, and lights in people's windows.
I met a baby goat named Justina. I had just enough money in my wallet to buy what I needed at the market.
And I started a bandcamp page.
I am happy.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
a night in july
Now, with all this free time on Wednesday evenings, I can dedicate myself wholly to one of my favorite things:
walking.
It is a nice cool breezy night, a relief after the hot and humid days we've been having.
Strolling past lantern-lit porches and sidewalk tables, listening to the wind in the trees, making sure not to trip on rough bits of sidewalk (I insisted on wearing flip-flops, ones that are peeling at the bottom and get caught on things), I had time to ponder the imponderables:
Where are fireflies on cold, non-summer nights?
When will I sing next, and where?
Why do I hate one movie, and love another? (Especially when I can see how the making of one necessitates the making of the other…)
What's next?
Who knows. But it is a lovely mid-summer night, and I for one needed this lull.
Wishing you all peace and goodwill, wherever this may find you,
Margaret
walking.
It is a nice cool breezy night, a relief after the hot and humid days we've been having.
Strolling past lantern-lit porches and sidewalk tables, listening to the wind in the trees, making sure not to trip on rough bits of sidewalk (I insisted on wearing flip-flops, ones that are peeling at the bottom and get caught on things), I had time to ponder the imponderables:
Where are fireflies on cold, non-summer nights?
When will I sing next, and where?
Why do I hate one movie, and love another? (Especially when I can see how the making of one necessitates the making of the other…)
What's next?
Who knows. But it is a lovely mid-summer night, and I for one needed this lull.
Wishing you all peace and goodwill, wherever this may find you,
Margaret
Thursday, July 17, 2014
from the brandywine to the genesee
I missed a Wednesday again! But with good reason this time, for I was ON THE ROAD.
And wouldn't you know it, mayhem was there too!
I have a message for everyone out there on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Northeast Extension, etc etc: let's all SLOW THE HECK DOWN!
I mean, WHAT is the HURRY? And as long as we are all packed in tighter than sardines in work zones on those narrow little lanes between cement barriers, why go 70? Why not follow the advice of those good traffic signs and slow down to 45?
All right, enough.
I have seen the waters of Skaneateles. I have seen the mountains of the Poconos. I have seen the dells of the Brandywine. It sometimes gets a bad rap, but the state of Delaware was looking pretty beautiful today, with its rolling hills and forests and little creeks.
I returned with a new plant, and a cape. Because every hero should have a cape. Actually, it's not really a superhero kind of cape, it's more of an old-lady kind of cape, but, as my two aunts said to me, it's all in how you wear it. I'm planning some kind of Grace Kelly-Audrey Hepburn sortie. Perhaps I will wear it only on late-night walks, when only the wild bunnies can see me, but I'll wear it, I guarantee...
And wouldn't you know it, mayhem was there too!
I have a message for everyone out there on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Northeast Extension, etc etc: let's all SLOW THE HECK DOWN!
I mean, WHAT is the HURRY? And as long as we are all packed in tighter than sardines in work zones on those narrow little lanes between cement barriers, why go 70? Why not follow the advice of those good traffic signs and slow down to 45?
All right, enough.
I have seen the waters of Skaneateles. I have seen the mountains of the Poconos. I have seen the dells of the Brandywine. It sometimes gets a bad rap, but the state of Delaware was looking pretty beautiful today, with its rolling hills and forests and little creeks.
I returned with a new plant, and a cape. Because every hero should have a cape. Actually, it's not really a superhero kind of cape, it's more of an old-lady kind of cape, but, as my two aunts said to me, it's all in how you wear it. I'm planning some kind of Grace Kelly-Audrey Hepburn sortie. Perhaps I will wear it only on late-night walks, when only the wild bunnies can see me, but I'll wear it, I guarantee...
Thursday, July 10, 2014
we are here to help each other out
Friends, I like continuity as much as the next person (ok, maybe more), so I was loving the fact that I had managed to post every Wednesday for the last few months. But yesterday… yesterday I tried to make myself post, I really did. I kept myself up, meanwhile slumping down more and more into the couch, until I was practically horizontal, and had to admit to myself that I was not going to post, that it was time to GO. TO. BED.
And so there was no Wednesday post. I awoke this morning to the garbage trucks roaring down the street and knew that it was no longer Wednesday, it was most definitely Thursday, and there was no going back.
But does this mean that the posts have to stop? Does one just throw in the towel because of one break in continuity? No, friends, one does not. Because: THE SHOW MUST GO ON.
The truth is, the mayhem yesterday was a bit much for me. There will be a time at which 6 young ones will realize that Mendelssohn's Nocturne from A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most beautiful things you could ever listen to or play, but sadly that time is not now. No, right now I think they are ready to throw it out the window. And perhaps me.
But there have been moments of beauty! And wonder! One of our students is very good at drawing, and as she sat, making "coloring pages" for all the other kids (pencil drawings to color in with crayons, paints, etc), one of them said, "How can you DRAW SO GOOD??" I think a certain strain of envy running through the class right then was expressed in that question, and it felt like it needed to be expressed. What did our student do? She took another sheet of paper and started to explain. "Well, you draw the head, and then the shoulders, and then here's one arm, and it bends like this, and the other one, you can't see it, you just see the hand, like this…" and the entire class was rapt.
It's moments like these.
And so there was no Wednesday post. I awoke this morning to the garbage trucks roaring down the street and knew that it was no longer Wednesday, it was most definitely Thursday, and there was no going back.
But does this mean that the posts have to stop? Does one just throw in the towel because of one break in continuity? No, friends, one does not. Because: THE SHOW MUST GO ON.
The truth is, the mayhem yesterday was a bit much for me. There will be a time at which 6 young ones will realize that Mendelssohn's Nocturne from A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most beautiful things you could ever listen to or play, but sadly that time is not now. No, right now I think they are ready to throw it out the window. And perhaps me.
But there have been moments of beauty! And wonder! One of our students is very good at drawing, and as she sat, making "coloring pages" for all the other kids (pencil drawings to color in with crayons, paints, etc), one of them said, "How can you DRAW SO GOOD??" I think a certain strain of envy running through the class right then was expressed in that question, and it felt like it needed to be expressed. What did our student do? She took another sheet of paper and started to explain. "Well, you draw the head, and then the shoulders, and then here's one arm, and it bends like this, and the other one, you can't see it, you just see the hand, like this…" and the entire class was rapt.
It's moments like these.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
la mayhème
It's Wednesday night. The farmer's market at the end of the street moved in, and moved back out…the library stayed open late…people are putting out their trash cans…everything is normal…except…
Where is the mayhem?
After our triumphant performance on Saturday, we are done for the year. So here I am on a Wednesday night, all by myself…
OK, not completely.
In fact, I was back at the school again, immersed in mayhem, this time of the French kind. We were putting together a string quartet.
"@!* what a bastard!"
"Who?"
"Ravel of course!"
Ah yes. The eternal struggle between composer and performer… but he is dead, and we are on stage, so I guess you could say we have the upper hand in this one. Tomorrow night. 7 pm. We hope to stir you, inspire you, move you…
We'd love to have you. Clap on any beat you want.
Where is the mayhem?
After our triumphant performance on Saturday, we are done for the year. So here I am on a Wednesday night, all by myself…
OK, not completely.
In fact, I was back at the school again, immersed in mayhem, this time of the French kind. We were putting together a string quartet.
"@!* what a bastard!"
"Who?"
"Ravel of course!"
Ah yes. The eternal struggle between composer and performer… but he is dead, and we are on stage, so I guess you could say we have the upper hand in this one. Tomorrow night. 7 pm. We hope to stir you, inspire you, move you…
We'd love to have you. Clap on any beat you want.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
we have lift-off!
Friends, I have been living in a delusion. I thought I wrote this every week in a vacuum, in a sort of blissfully alternate, satellite blogoverse, and no one ever read it, so I could say and write and draw anything I wanted and no one would be the wiser…NOT SO!
Friends, I HAVE A READER!
Our Choreographer strode into class this evening, kicked off her flip-flops, and announced that she was ready to re-teach us the dance.
"Because clearly you forgot all of it."
"!"
"?"
"We did not!"
"Yes you did! I know you did! I read your blog!"
Well! If I had known that what I wrote here was going to be read and believed, then I would have written about something I actually know something about. Climbing trees. Navigating European cities. Cooking little pellets of biscuits out of nothing but flour, water, sugar, salt, baking powder and maybe a little cream (by the way, I was almost late to class because I'd bought cookies from this bakery at the farmers' market and I HAD to stop by on my way to tell the woman who sold them to me that they were some of the best I'd had in my life…)
Of course, I jest. All that I say here is true, true, did happen, though it may be exaggerated a bit. But that is my wont.
We began class with a little giggle because one of us had invited this charming creature to join us. Actually, it was more of a scream of laughter, and we had the distinct feeling that he was making fun of us when he imitated all of us laughing. Did we really sound like that?
"Say something."
"Hi."
"HI?? That's the most boring thing you could say!"
"OK, fine, hallo, du möchtest, ich sage der Katze etwas?"
To my surprise, the little cat repeated this perfectly.
"It speaks German?"
"It's not an it, it's a HE!"
"Do you think we could get it to speak Czech?"
*******
Performance time is finally upon us. We grace the stage this weekend. And after that -
What will I do with this space? With what topics will I fill this now weekly column? Interviews with the geese that overrun the school (and sully the parking lot - ew, ew) every July? Cooking tips? Suggestions are welcome, though there's no guarantee they will be regarded.
So long for now, y'all. It's been real.
Friends, I HAVE A READER!
Our Choreographer strode into class this evening, kicked off her flip-flops, and announced that she was ready to re-teach us the dance.
"Because clearly you forgot all of it."
"!"
"?"
"We did not!"
"Yes you did! I know you did! I read your blog!"
Well! If I had known that what I wrote here was going to be read and believed, then I would have written about something I actually know something about. Climbing trees. Navigating European cities. Cooking little pellets of biscuits out of nothing but flour, water, sugar, salt, baking powder and maybe a little cream (by the way, I was almost late to class because I'd bought cookies from this bakery at the farmers' market and I HAD to stop by on my way to tell the woman who sold them to me that they were some of the best I'd had in my life…)
Of course, I jest. All that I say here is true, true, did happen, though it may be exaggerated a bit. But that is my wont.
We began class with a little giggle because one of us had invited this charming creature to join us. Actually, it was more of a scream of laughter, and we had the distinct feeling that he was making fun of us when he imitated all of us laughing. Did we really sound like that?
"Say something."
"Hi."
"HI?? That's the most boring thing you could say!"
"OK, fine, hallo, du möchtest, ich sage der Katze etwas?"
To my surprise, the little cat repeated this perfectly.
"It speaks German?"
"It's not an it, it's a HE!"
"Do you think we could get it to speak Czech?"
*******
Performance time is finally upon us. We grace the stage this weekend. And after that -
What will I do with this space? With what topics will I fill this now weekly column? Interviews with the geese that overrun the school (and sully the parking lot - ew, ew) every July? Cooking tips? Suggestions are welcome, though there's no guarantee they will be regarded.
So long for now, y'all. It's been real.
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