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Random music in random places

I just got around to watching last Friday night's episode of "The Jay Leno Show". Hugh Laurie was the guest. First of all, no matter how many times I hear him speak, I can never get over hearing him with his British accent, I always forget he has one!

Jay makes his guests "earn their plug". Sometimes this is a trivia quiz, but this episode had Hugh singing a song while playing piano (with the backup of the Primetime Band). In the first few notes on the piano, I was psyched to know that he was going to be singing "Saint James Infirmary"! WOOHOO! I know it is a very depressing song, but the melody is so beautifully haunting, I can't help but love it. He had the band's trombone player up there with him.

The volume is a little low, so you might need to turn it up.

haha

I love it!!

I hate cleaning

I just spent 3 hours and 15 minutes in my classroom today cleaning.

UGH!!

I brought Piper along - I'm not sure if she had fun (she spent most of the time wandering around the room) but everyone who saw her thought she was well-behaved and beautiful :)

She didn't want to leave the principal's office (it was air-conditioned) she lay on the floor and was perfectly content to stay there.

I got a lot done, however, I am going to need to go back tomorrow to finish up. UGH!!!

I have to start packing today for the TX road trip - I haven't started yet and I leave Thurs. morning.

Tomorrow is a busy day - I am going to have to go back into school and clean. I want to make an appearance at the calling hours for a coworker's father. I also have a concert in downtown Ayer.

Doggy's first walk

I didn't take any pictures (I didn't think of it!).

We just got back from our first real walk. I bought a "gentle leader" for Piper yesterday, and was eager to try it out. It is a harness that goes around her head, so that she can't pull on the leash. It really works - she is not used to it and every once in a while will freak out trying to get it off - but it really works!

I am no longer being dragged around or fear that she'll pull us both into the street! We walked for a mile up and down some side streets. There was a dog in a pen at the end of Ice House Ln that freaked out when we walked by and Piper's hair stood on end and she let out one bark but was easily able to be led away. It was amazing.

I even had two separate people remark on what a well-behaved dog she is!! That NEVER would have happened with the regular leash & collar!!

I'm hoping that by using this collar for a while, she will get better at walking on the regular leash and not pull and we won't have to use the harness.

With the harness she walks right next to me, not pulling ahead (like she is supposed to). It's wonderful!! I can finally feel comfortable taking her on a walk!

We got home and I jumped into the pool with my clothes on - boy is it hot! I tried to see if she wanted to come swimming, but I think she is afraid of the pool.

Always next time...

Did you know....

Shirley Jones is David Cassidy's step mother?

I didn't till today

Random thought.

Just call me Al Borlin

Because you know that he was the only one that ever did anything. Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor just blew things up. Heidi just brought them tools in short shorts and hiking boots. Bob Vila is a big geek. Al Borlin is kinda cool, right? Right?

Anyways,

Today I did a LOT of stuff around the house!

I bought hardware for the hinges to the chain link fence gate. I took all of the old hardware off, and put the new hardware on - I hung the gate all by myself. It even opens! :-)

In the ongoing efforts to Piper-proof the house, I tackled the basement music room door next. It never shut tightly, if you pushed on it, it would open. Here's where I have to admit I don't know ANY door lingo. So, bear with me.... I marked where lock-thingy that comes out of the door knob and goes into the door jam lines up with the door jam. I then opened the door to see that the little metal plate with the hole into the door jam was at least 1/2-3/4" above that mark. So I took the little plate off the door jam and had to hollow out more of a hole. We apparently don't have a chisel (Christmas idea right there folks!!) so I had to use this funky-looking crow bar thing meant for removing screws (which my mom calls a goat's foot or something, which it does somewhat resemble) and a camping multi-tool which had a small axe and knife. I finally make the hole bigger - only to find out it STILL doesn't shut. After playing around with the door some more, I find out that because of the width of the door vs. the width of the door jam, the little lock-thingy isn't even making it into the hole. Now I have to move the hole over a 1/4" or so and hollow it out some more. At least by this point I have gotten it down to a science: place the little axe onto the wood and whack it with the crowbar. Place the crowbar into the groove the axe made and whack that with the back of the axe and pry it out. Use the little knife to get out the little chunks. (don't ask me why I didn't get a hammer to hit things with - I don't know, this was just more fun I guess) So finally....SUCCESS! The door now shuts and stays shut!!

Next, more in the Piper-proofing saga. I had originally bought a baby gate for the top of the basement stairs (since we have no door). I had gotten one of the small wood and plastic ones. It was too short. If we put it on the ground, she could jump over it. If we put it up high enough that she couldn't jump it, she went under it. Lose-lose situation. So I bought a new gate (much more expensive, but hopefully it does the trick) This gate is metal and 3 feet tall. It stays permanently pressure-mounted to the wall and has a gate to walk through in the middle. No more risking life and limb to climb over, or the hassle of taking it down. (honestly, we haven't done either of those in a while since the gate was pointless) Anyways, I had to install little cups on the sides of the doorway, which was a hassle - one side went in very easy, but the other side must be made from a solid wood and I had to drill the holes. I stripped one screw and had to use pliers to get it back out, but I found a new one to replace it with. Then you have to put the gate into place and turn the pressure-mounted ends so that they are all even and the gate lines up. I somewhat ignored the directions in that I let the door be able to open in both directions at the top of a set of stairs - only so that sometime tomorrow I am going to rig it so I can have the door open over the stairs and hook into a hook and eye sort of contraption to stay open when we want it to. Otherwise, if it is opened into the kitchen, it will automatically shut behind you. If it is opened over the stairs it will not latch shut, but will close.

So that is my handiwork for today. Now off to figure out what's for dinner.

Oh yeah, and PS:

The whole reason we have to work extra hard to Piper-proof the house is because she decided to try and eat the boy's trumpet mutes. I had to buy him a replacement, but I think he lucked out in the deal - one mute that works as both straight and cup. (supposedly harmon as well, but I have yet to figure out how)

where has the summer gone?

Is it really August 1st? When did this happen? Where's the sun? Where's the endless days spent by the pool?

My first ER trip in a VERY long time...

Apparently in my family there is a tradition of injuring yourself when you get a new dog. I don't remember what happened with Katy, but Stephen got 7 stitches in his big toe when we got Kylee. Now with Piper, it was my turn.

I was playing with her by the pond yesterday when she pulled on the leash to chase a frog trying to drag me with her. As I put my hand out to steady myself, I sliced it on a rock, and had to get two stitches.

I stood up with blood just pouring down my arm. I washed it off in the pond so I could see how bad it was. The cut was only about 1 1/2 inches long, but was deep. It was on the palm, just below the first and second fingers, therefore, whenever I moved those fingers, it opened back up again.

I chained up Piper to her run, and went inside. Not being able to get ahold of my husband, I called Rock, who confirmed that I really should go to the ER to get some stitches. I had to drive myself (with my left hand wrapped in paper towels sticking out the window - this kept it elevated as well as the blood OUTSIDE of the car).

Two hours, two stitches and a tetanus shot later I was home. I had enough time to shower (keeping my left hand out of the water-showering with one hand is difficult) and change to head off to Greg & Angela's party. Seeing as how my hand was wrapped up in bandages I had to tell this story at least 20 times last night.

I still had fun at the party. Good people, good drinks, good fun!

I have to get the stitches removed in a week and a half or so, so the next few days should be very interesting (obviously clarinet playing is out of the picture for a while)

song mash up

this is pretty good - makes me laugh!

smells like childhood

While cooking an onion bagel and brewing some coffee this morning, I definitely had a flashback to childhood, more specifically, waking up in my grandparents house on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately for me, it is NOT Saturday, and I must eat my breakfast, walk the dog, and go to work.

yumminess

Tonight's dinner:

Chicken Cordon Blue (don't be too impressed - it was frozen)
Mac & cheese
Green bean casserole (I need to remember to buy two containers of french fried onions, one for me and one for the top of the casserole)

I even got the boy to try a bite! He said he liked the sauce - little does he know it's cream of mushroom soup! haha :-P

Updated Shutterfly photos!

I don't know why it's taken so long, but here are some updated photos on my shutterfly account. I even added photos from Amy's wedding & bachelorette party....it's been a while!! There are also photos from Mia's baby shower and my trips to DC. There are some photos of work around the house and some of Piper. (there are only a few there now, I will be adding more in the next few days, I'm sure!)

Piper seems to be getting used to our place, and us as well. She is definitely learning sit & stay (sort of). She comes when we call her in the house, but not so much outside. She escaped my grasp yesterday, and she thought we were playing as I chased her through the neighbor's yard, and even on the edge of the street - talk about a heart attack!!

She had an accident or two the first night, but has been fine since then. She has no problem being penned in the basement at night, and doesn't whine. We haven't heard her bark yet either!

She is very curious, and likes to check everything out. You have to have a firm grasp on her leash, or she'll take you for a ride! I stopped her from going into the pond after a frog yesterday.

spooky sounds

As we were walking Piper tonight, we heard a scary scary sound.

We do believe we have a pack of coyotes somewhere in Leominster. (or werewolves??)

we're the proud parents....

....of a furball!

Her name is Piper. She's almost 1 year old and is a shepherd, lab and a lil' rottie mix.

More photos soon :)

hilarious...

Win a Date with Jon Gosselin

Shared via AddThis

Mary had a little lamb

I had no idea that Sterling, MA is the home of Mary and her lamb! Did you?

Visiting Virginia

This is a picture of me and the newest member of the family, Leah. She's my cousin's daughter, born on May 30th. Isn't she adorable?

I got to hold the baby

Me and baby Leah!

I love IMDB

While watching "Impact" the tv miniseries, I was going crazy trying to figure out where I knew the actor James Cromwell from. Now I know - "Babe".

HA

another year done!

Year number 4 is done. I am looking forward to year number 5, it certainly can't be worse. (I hope) Year number 4 was certainly an interesting one.

I have to go back on Monday to wrap up some loose ends, but I am DONE! WOohoO! Until I start up the summer job anyways!

head banging cellos??

I love my car dealership part 2

AND I had enough reward points to get the oil change for FREE!

WOOT!

I love my car dealership

As I am waiting for my 40,000 mile oil change & service, I got a coupon for a complimentary breakfast. I'm thinking this would be bagels & muffins or something. I was wrong! There were a bunch of choices - I chose the made-to-order veggie omelet that came with toast, hashbrowns, and bacon.

YUM!!

Birthday present for the boy

The new chiminea I bought for the boy's birthday. I put it together all by myself! (let's hope it doesn't explode the first time we use it!)


This would be the old chiminea that came with our house. You can see our obvious need for a new one. You can't tell from this picture, but there's a rusted-out hole in the bottom.



The side-by-side comparison tells the whole story.




So pretty.

This was definitely a task! I bought it this morning while the boy was at work. I had to fit it into the car (big boxes+Corolla=brain teaser type puzzle). I had gone grocery shopping, and decided to put the groceries in the back seat, thinking that I would put the chiminea in the trunk. The chiminea had other plans. I had to remove all the groceries from the back and place them in the trunk in the Lowes parking lot. After trying unsuccessfully to fit the box behind the driver's seat, I lugged the box around the other side of the car (did I mention that the chiminea is CAST IRON?). I had to collapse the front passenger seat forward and slide it all the way up to be able to maneuver the box into the back. I finally get the box into the back, and slide the seat back and upright so that it won't move around as much.

Then I bring it home. Thinking that it will rain at ANY moment (the skies were VERY ominous!) I decided to assemble it in the garage. When I took the giant top part out of the box, it landed on my ankle-skinned and sore, thank you very much! I grabbed the necessary tools - phillips screwdriver and a robo-grip and set out to work. The directions stated it was a 20 minute job - woohoo!

I follow the directions, and the very first thing it says - recommended that 2 people assemble. Aw crap. While holding part F & G together, put the screw through both parts, and attach the leg, then place a washer and a lock-tight washer and a nut on the end. Sounds simple, until you realize you have to do this while balancing it all on top of your lap - did I mention it was CAST IRON?? Four legs later, I've got that part done. After flipping the blasted thing over and over, bending my arms in strange positions to get to the screws, I finish. 20 minutes my @(#*&$!!!!!!

Now the boy is 10 minutes away, and I want it in place (which is the BACK of the house). Brilliantly, I realize I have to move it, again...CAST IRON! I get out the wheelbarrow and somehow manage to place it inside and hold it (since it doesn't really fit in) down the hill and around the house.

SUCCESS! I think he liked it - we haven't used it yet.

We went out to Christina's restaurant in Leominster, which was a pretty nice Italian restaurant. We had bread & oil, salads, pasta, and split a canolli for dessert. I had vegetable risotto, and the boy had garlic & olive oil penne with meatballs on the side.

Now we're heading off to bed, with the boy waiting for his birthday gift from Mother Nature - he's hoping for a thunderstorm.

So proud of my sister!

My sister is an engineering rockstar!

I'm such a geek

I have the Spock and Kirk glasses from Burger King.

Today

I found tadpoles in the pond. Note to self: turtles eat tadpoles. That was NOT a very good experiment...(well for the tadpoles anyway - Gilligan seemed to like it)


Tadpole in the pond.



Another turtle in the pond - he's a baby too.




He's swimming away.

See, I told you he was small.

He may look big - but don't let him fool you.

I found him in my pool today. I hope there aren't any more, since we added chemicals today.

My peony plants!

My pretty backyard. Here's what the boy has been spending all his time doing.

My project - a rock garden on the hill.

Another pic of the garden.

The boy's project, making a ramp down the hill that is less of an incline to make it easier to walk down. We're going to cover it with grass seed, and the debate still goes on about flagstones.

The ramp from another angle.

Squash!

Lettuce, spinach, broccolli

Climbing hydrangea on my new trellis

Tulips that we didn't know we had!

Iris that my mom gave us.

Happy gnome in the new mulch

New mulch spread fresh today.

Gilligan

This is Gilligan. I found him swimming in my pool last Sunday. I rescued him, and found him a tank to live in. He likes to eat the freeze-dried shrimp and bloodworms. Isn't he cute?

no more vacation

Which means two things:

1). I have to suck it up for the next two months
2). THERE'S ONLY TWO MONTHS LEFT!!

I've been busy these last few days. Here is a taste:

**Gardening - We've planted a climbing hydrangea, two pink flowering bushes, Lily of the valley, an herb garden, an indoor rubber tree, and vegetables (not the boy's favorite). I have asparagus, lettuce, carrots, radishes, peas, beans, tomatoes both large and cherry, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, pumpkins...I think that is everything...

**We uncovered the pool to begin the process of opening it. We filled the pool, and readied the filter with the exception of checking the sand. I hope to do that tomorrow. I fished out a lot of leaves, and the boy fished out a dead something-or-other (I didn't look to closely)

**Cleaning the house - getting it ready for visitors - we're still planning on having that ill-fated house warming party

**Brush burning. We burnt a LOT of sticks and brush two weekends ago. The pile was taller than me! Ask the boy about HIS fire adventures - good thing I was raised in a fire conscientious house - I had my bucket of water ready!

**John Philip Sousa Honors Band - I brought four students to attend the three day festival (which of course was during vacation). The students had a blast - which made it all worth-while. I ended up teaching a clarinet masterclass (two, actually) and had fun.

**Shopping in downtown Nashua with Jenn (sort of, everything closed at 4, so we didn't get to go into too many shops). We went out to dinner and out for ice cream. YUM!

**Planning my annual band field trip to Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT for the Trills & Thrills Festival

**Bought a new vacuum - the boy killed the old one. It's sad that I think that's cool....

And I am sure I am leaving something out, but I can't think anymore...I need sleep.

stupid American Idol

American Idol keeps running over time, which causes me to miss the last 5 minutes (at least) of Fringe on the DVR. At least I'll be able to find it online tomorrow. I guess only two judges talking for each contestant was STILL not short enough. Maybe they should cut down on the stupid crap in between. They're obviously not timing this correctly. They need a run-through or to re-examine their time allotments for their montages and what not.

I'm missing Fringe DARN IT!

So close yet so far

Vacation is next week, so why does it feel like a month away?

I feel cheated

Back from VA

Pictures to come soon....


Friday - drove with my aunt from Leominster to Manassas, only took us 11 hours! We stopped in Stamford, CT at Houlihan's (great restaurant chain that is nowhere near my house!) I drove the entire time, but I don't mind. I like driving. Got in to my uncle's at 2 am.

Saturday - slept in till 9:30. Met up with cousins for lunch at a sushi bar - yum!! I got to see my cousin and his gf's condo in DC, and the sushi bar was right around the corner. We then walked around DC and saw the cherry blossoms in bloom and went to a Nationals game. Beautiful park!

Sunday - babyshower for my cousin's wife! (still new to me to say that!!) She looked like she had fun, and boy did she make out with the gifts! That little girl (whatever they decide to name her) will never be wanting for some cute outfit to wear! Then there was a cookout back at the uncle's house.

Monday - long drive home. Not as long as the ride to VA, however. Only 10 hours, LOL.

Tomorrow - plugging in WAY too many comments into the system at school, because apparently no one can log in from home (or VA)

ugh

GREAT opening night!

Some VERY minor glitches aside, and WHAT a great show!!!

Seriously minor - for example:

Grandpa Joe is supposed to give Charlie a chocolate bar, yet had nothing to give

Radio was supposed to turn be turned on, but there was no radio

Candy man kid without a lollipop

Spotlight left on after blackout

Spotlight turned off when supposed to get larger

Other than those very minor things...

WOOHOO!!!!

I'm a good Irish wife

Corned beef with cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onion.

Homemade grape ketchup

Irish soda bread

Hot cross buns

YUM!

stupid dance moves!

I try to like Megan Corkrey - but I really can't.

I listen with an open mind, and I try to like her. I try to find it. I can't do it. I want to, but I can't.

She moves around strangely, she has a weird sort of accent when she sings, there's a strange nasally sound to her voice and I just can't. I can't.

is it over yet?

ugh...
worst ....
rehearsal...
ever...

Hopefully the old saying is true. Bad rehearsals=great show

It can only get better, right?

random reference

Random reference to Willy Wonka in tonight's episode of How I Met Your Mother!

Marshall wears a night shirt - Barney asks if Marshall is happy to get out of the over-crowded bed to take Charlie to the Chocolate Factory.

Just thought you should know. :-)

shameless promotion

it's almost 90!

Our heat won't shut off in the bedroom-it's almost 90!

After much tinkering, we have disconnected the thermostat from the wall, we'll see if that helps.

We have also found out that our circuit breaker board is not very well labeled, and apparently our bedroom is on three different breakers.

So apparently we are spending at least part of our day tomorrow getting a new thermostat and installing it in the bedroom. (not to mention praying that is actually the problem)

Glossary of Musical Terms

Accent: An unusual manner of pronunciation, e.g. "Y'all sang that real good!"

Accidentals: Wrong notes

Ad Libitum: A premiere.

Agitato: A string player's state of mind when a peg slips in the middle of a piece.

Agnus dei: A famous female church composer.

Allegro: Leg fertilizer.

Altered Chord: A sonority that has been spayed.

Atonality: Disease that many modern composers suffer from. The most prominent symptom is the patient's lacking ability to make decisions.

Augmented fifth: A 36-ounce bottle.

Bar Line: A gathering of people, usually among which may be found a musician or two.

Beat: What music students to do each other with their musical instruments. The down beat is performed on the top of the head, while the up beat is struck under the chin.

Bravo: Literally, "How bold!" or "What nerve!" This is a spontaneous expression of appreciation on the part of the concertgoer after a particularly trying performance.

Breve: The way a sustained note sounds when a violinist runs out of bow.

Broken consort: When somebody in the ensemble has to leave and go to the restroom.

Cadence: When everybody hopes you're going to stop, but you don't.

Cadenza: The heroine in Monteverdi's opera "Frottola".

Cantus firmus: The part you get when you can only play four notes.

Chansons de geste: Dirty songs.

Chord: Usually spelled with an "s" on the end, means a particular type of pants, e.g. "He wears chords."

Chromatic Scale: An instrument for weighing that indicates half-pounds.

Clausula: Mrs. Santa.

Coloratura Soprano: A singer who has great trouble finding the proper note, but who has a wild time hunting for it.

Compound Meter: A place to park your car that requires two dimes.

Con Brio: Done with scouring pads and washboards.

Conductor: A musician who is adept at following many people at the same time.

Conductus: The process of getting Vire into the cloister.

Counterpoint: A favorite device of many Baroque composers, all of whom are dead, though no direct connection between these two facts has been established. Still taught in many schools, as a form of punishment.

Countertenor: A singing waiter.

Crescendo: A reminder to the performer that he has been playing too loudly.

Crotchet: 1) A tritone with a bent prong. 2) It's like knitting, but it's faster. 3) An unpleasant illness that occurs after the Lai, if prolation is not used.

Cut time: When you're going twice as fast as everybody else in the ensemble.

Da capo al fine: I like your hat!

Detache: An indication that the trombones are to play with the slides removed.

Di lasso: Popular with Italian cowboys.

Discord: Not to be confused with Datcord.

Drone: The sound of a single monk during an attack of Crotchet.

Ductia: 1) A lot of mallards. 2) Vire's organum.

Duration: Can be used to describe how long a music teacher can exercise self-control.

Embouchre: The way you look when you've been playing the Krummhorn.

English horn: A woodwind that got its name because it's neither English nor a horn. Not to be confused with French horn, which is German.

Espressivo: Close eyes and play with a wide vibrato.

Estampie: What they put on letters in Quebec

Fermata: A brand of girdle made especially for opera singers.

Fermented fifth: What the percussion players keep behind the tympani, which resolves to a 'distilled fifth', which is what the conductor uses backstage.

Fine: That was great!

Flute: A sophisticated pea shooter with a range of up to 500 yards, blown transversely to confuse the enemy.

Garglefinklein: A tiny recorder played by neums.

Glissando: The musical equivalent of slipping on a banana peel. Also, a technique adopted by string players for difficult runs.

Gregorian chant: A way of singing in unison, invented by monks to hide snoring.

Half Step: The pace used by a cellist when carrying his instrument.

Harmonic Minor: A good music student.

Harmony: A corn-like food eaten by people with accents (see above for definition of accent).

Hemiola: A hereditary blood disease caused by chromatics.

Heroic Tenor: A singer who gets by on sheer nerve and tight clothing.

Hocket: The thing that fits into a crochet to produce a rackett.

Hurdy-gurdy: A truss for medieval percussionists who get Organistrum.

Interval: How long it takes you to find the right note. There are three kinds: Major Interval: a long time; Minor Interval: a few bars; Inverted Interval: when you have to back one bar and try again.

Intonation: Singing through one's nose. Considered highly desirable in the Middle Ages

Isorhythm: The individual process of relief when Vire is out of town.

Isorhythmic motet: When half of the ensemble got a different photocopy than the other half

Lai: What monks give up when they take their vows.

Lamentoso: With handkerchiefs.

Lasso: The 6th and 5th steps of a descending scale.

Lauda: The difference between shawms and krummhorns

Longa: The time between visits with Vire.

Major Triad: The name of the head of the Music Department. (Minor Triad: the name of the wife of the head of the Music Department.)

Mean-Tone Temperament: One's state of mind when everybody's trying to tune at the same time.

Messiah: An oratorio by Handel performed every Christmas by choirs that believe they are good enough, in cooperation with musicians who need the money.

etronome: A dwarf who lives in the city.

Minim: The time you spend with Vire when there is a long line.

Breve: The time you spend when the line is short.

Minnesinger: A boy soprano or Mickey's girlfriend in the opera.

Modulation: "Nothing is bad in modulation."

Motet: Where you meet Vire if the cloister is guraded.

Musica ficta: When you lose your place and have to bluff till you find it again. Also known as 'faking'.

Neums: Renaissance midgets

Opus: A penguin in Kansas.

Orchestral suites: Naughty women who follow touring orchestras.

Ordo: The hero in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".

Organistrum: A job-related hazard for careless medieval percussionists, caused by getting one's tapper caught in the clapper.

Organum: You may not participate in the Lai without one.

Paralell organum: Everybody standing in a double line, waiting for Vire.

Pause: A short period in an individual voice in which there should be relative quiet. Useful when turning to the next page in the score, breathing, emptying the horn of salvia, coughing, etc. Is rarely heard in baroque music. Today, the minimum requirements for pauses in individual pieces are those of the Musicians' Union (usually one per bar, or 15 minutes per hour).

Pneumatic melisma: A bronchial disorder caused by hockets.

Prolation: Precautions taken before the Lai.

Quaver: Beginning viol class.

Rackett: Capped reeds class.

Recitative: A disease that Monteverdi had.

Rhythmic drone: The sound of many monks suffering with Crotchet.

Ritornello: An opera by Verdi.

Rota: An early Italian method of teaching music without score or parts.

Rubato: Expression used to describe irregular behaviour in a performer with sensations of angst in the mating period. Especially common amongst tenors.

Sancta: Clausula's husband.

Score: A pile of all the individual orchestral voices, transposed to C so that nobody else can understand anything. This is what conductors follow when they conduct, and it's assumed that they have studied it carefully. Very few conductors can read a score.

Sine proprietate: Cussing in church.

Solesme: The state of mind after a rough case of Crotchet.

Stops: Something Bach did not have on his organ.

Supertonic: Schweppes.

Tempo: This is where a headache begins.

Tempus imperfectum: Vire had to leave early.

Tempus perfectum: A good time was had by all.

Tone Cluster: A chordal orgy first discovered by a well-endowed woman pianist leaning forward for a page turn.

Transposition: An advanced recorder technique where you change from alto to soprano fingering (or vice-versa) in the middle of a piece.

Trill: The musical equivalent of an epileptic seizure.

Trope: A malevolent Neum.

Trotto: An early Italian form of Montezuma's Revenge.

Tutti: A lot of sackbuts.

Vibrato: The singer's equivalent of an epileptic seizure.

Vibrato: Used by singers to hide the fact that they are on the wrong pitch.

Virelai: A local woman known for her expertise in the Lai.

Virtuoso: A musician with very high morals.

Random playlist

I finally got around to figuring out how to format the micro SD card for my phone. I got one from a friend, and now I have all of his music on my phone--all 200 some-odd songs! (and trust me, some of the songs ARE odd!)

My shuffle went from Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" to "Mood Indigo" by Duke Ellington to Blue Oyster Cult to JP Sousa....

Weird...

Does anyone know...

...whattt ttthe ddealll issss withhh kidddddss writtinggg exxxtrraaa lettersss innn allll theirrrr worrdsss? Cann theyyy nottt typee? Orrr dooo theyy nottt knowww howww tooo spellll? Anyybodddyy knowww?

Thanks to Kelly

I have found a fun little interior design quiz.

My results are:
58% Nantucket style (living there must have rubbed off on me)
25% arts & crafts (good, cuz I like doing them!)
17% Wine Country style (woohoo-love wine!)

Now I need a couple of grand to decorate my house with the furniture they suggest...

Long overdue pics

Here are some photos of the ice storm that happened back in December. Ya know - the BIG one - the one where I had to cancel my house warming party (I SWEAR that's still going to happen one of these days!) and most of the area had no power for at least a week?

Yeah - THAT ice storm.

Unfortunately, I only got a few pictures out before my camera battery died, and not having power, I had no way to charge it. (obviously)

So here are a few of the pictures of the crazy ice storm damage in our backyard, which we're still trying to pick up.

spring is losing its battle

I know the pic is pretty small - it was taken with my cell phone - I'll try to get a better pic. If you can't see it, they're crocus sprouts that are coming up from the bulbs I planted in the fall. Now the snow is just going to cover them up! ugh...

American Idol

So far, we have Michael, Danny and Alexis.

HOW THE !@$@# did Michael get through?!?
He shouldn't have even gotten this far. Anoop and Ricky were far better - even that really obnoxious Tatiana was better than Michael.

argh

stupid snow

GO AWAY!

I'm sick of slipping and sliding! I saw flower shoots coming through the snow today and I want them to stay.

blueberries beware...

I want to plant blueberry bushes in the side yard come spring, but the boy is worried that blueberries will roll down the small hill and get caught up in the lawnmower. This is how we know that he doesn't eat much fruit - how big does he think these blueberries are?! He's seriously afraid that the berries will mess up the mower!!

silly boy...

valentine's dinner

We went to the Gondola Restaurant in Leominster - it wasn't too bad. The service was somewhat slow, but the food was pretty good. I had eggplant gondola - it was eggplant wrapped around cheese, kind of like manicotti. The boy obviously had ravioli, what else?

Tonight I made cajun catfish, homemade french fries, and garlic bread. yum!

how did I get that?

Big bruise on the back of my knee. No idea how it got there.

I am a lucky woman

The boy went out at 9:45 tonight and looked for a half hour to find Cool Whip for me. He wasn't successful, but he did it.

Wow.

random "Buffy" info

Did anyone else know that Alyson Hannigan (Willow) married Alexis Denisof (Wesley)? Is this common knowledge, or am I just missing things here?

wow. cool. :-)

A day in the life of a teacher...

TEACHER: George, go to the map and find North America.
STUDENT: Here it is!
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: George!


HAROLD: Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn't do?
TEACHER: Of course not.
HAROLD: Good, because I didn't do my homework.


TEACHER: I hope I didn't see you looking at Don's paper.
JOHN: I hope you didn't either.


TEACHER: In this box, I have a 10-foot snake.
SAMMY: You can't fool me, teacher....snakes don't have feet!


TEACHER: Ellen, give me a sentence starting with "I".
ELLEN: I is....
TEACHER: No, Ellen, Always say "I am."
ELLEN: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet".


TEACHER: Max, use "defeat", "defense", and "detail" in a sentence.
MAX: The rabbit cut across the field, and defeat went over defense before detail.

Speaking of Zombies

We watched "Wicked Little Things" this evening On Demand. It was one of the freebies, but it wasn't too bad. I don't like gorey, and this wasn't too gorey. Creepy little zombie children though...

drip drip drip

A few drips still here and there

argh...

Watch out!

Mother Nature hates us...

I am SO SICK of snow! This was the kind of snow that hurts to shovel. It was thick, heavy, wet, and sloppy. It was NOT an easy clean-up!!

Then there was the whole ice dam situation. I come downstairs this afternoon (I spent most of the day upstairs playing on my computer and grading) and I hear a strange noise. Turns out, it is a practical DELUGE of dripping water in the bowed window in the living room. I move everything out of the way and get towels. LOTS of towels-the dripping went right through most of them. I call husband-no answer. I call mom-no answer. I call stepdad-no answer. I call in-laws-no answer. I call aunt-she tells me to call uncle. I call uncle, and FINALLY get ahold of someone!! He says it's most likely an ice dam, and to wait till the boy gets home because he doesn't want me on a ladder or on the roof when no one else is home (he doesn't want me there even when someone IS home). I look out onto the porch roof from the second story window, and I thought I saw the problem - there's an overhang from the main roof over the porch roof.

The boy finally gets home and gets stuck in the driveway. I hadn't had the chance to shovel since I found out about the leak. I had been trying to find ways to stop the flood. No luck.
I go out to help the boy, he heads to Home Depot to find a roof rake. Again, no luck.

I shovel the driveway, he shovels the roof. It doesn't seem to stop the waterfall in our living room, because all of a sudden the fire alarms are going off. Turns out the water started flowing through the living room smoke detector and caused it to go off. I unplug it from the ceiling, only to be soaked when the water pours out on my head. Luckily, most of the water came out on my head, and it was just dripping after that.

I finally get ahold of my stepdad, and he thought to have me check the crawlspace to see if there was water up there. BOY was there water up there! The rug in the crawlspace was soaked - we left handprints in the rug as the water seeped up. We cut the rug in half and rolled it up. The boy ran his section through the house because it was so completely soaked that it was dripping. We mopped up the crawlspace to see where the water was coming in from. We pulled a piece of insulation out of the way to discover the ice dam was actually on the main roof.

Back out onto the porch roof again....

The boy tries shoveling off the main roof on the side of the front dormer. Success! The water slows down and eventually stops.

We go back to shoveling the driveway, which was interrupted when the fire alarms started going off.

We have a quick dinner of mac n' cheese - organic, no less! (ann would be proud)

Then we start getting ready for bed. I went into the basement to get the towels out of the dryer to lay out by the window just in case, and I step in a puddle.

ARGH!

There's water on the basement floor. We don't know WHERE it came from. It was in the middle of the floor - not near a door or window. There wasn't any dripping through the ceiling or down the walls we could see. We mopped that up, and will have to check on it tomorrow morning. It's kind of strange that with all of the rain we got this summer, we didn't get ANY water inside of our house.

I replaced the towels in the living room, and noticed that we'll probably have to repair part of the ceiling around the fire alarm. There is a significant bubble in the ceiling plaster. It's empty - there's nothing in it, but it's only going to dry, crack and crumble off. I did manage to pop the bubble on the wall - I removed the water and it seems to have shrunk back up to the wall again. We'll see if it holds.

Oh - and did I mention that a stupid plow nailed our mailbox??

I have great friends

'Nuff said.

I'm happy


:-)

After all...I am my grandfather's granddaughter

In my self-defense, I didn't order the Power Juicer off of the actual infomercial. But I did get it. (from Macy's).

I made my first glass of juice this evening after dinner. It was REALLY good too! Even the boy liked it! I combined 2 oranges, 1 carrot, and a starfruit. (I only added the starfruit because I needed to do something with it before it went bad)

I'm excited - fresh juice!! Yum!

so much snow...

Is it just me, or have there been more snow storms this year than in most recent years? Global warming my butt...

New computer!

I have my new laptop! Yay!

It's a new Dell Inspiron 1318, and it's blue. :-)

It has Windows Vista on it; I'm still trying to figure out how I like it.

Bill told me it sucks...
My tech guy at school told me it sucks...

....my decision hasn't been made yet.

Here we go again!

It's musical time again!! At least this time around I'm not doing it for the first time ever.

This year I am putting on "Willy Wonka Jr". The show is March 27, 28, and 29. Mark your calendars!

Today were the call-backs...I HATE this part. I like it much better when one person comes in and blows away the competition, it makes my job much easier. This year I had a hard time deciding between a BUNCH of characters. I had to call back students for Charlie, Willy Wonka, Veruca, and 3 of the mothers. It's so difficult to decide, but I think I made the right decisions. (I hope).

At least when I announced my decision to the students who had stuck around, they were all happy for each other, and were congratulating each other. It was great to see. No one seemed to go home upset at least. However, we'll see what tomorrow brings when the entire cast finds out.

Super Mario Drummer

This is quite cool.

I suppose you'll have to settle for the link...since I had problems embedding it.

Click here

Dead computer

It is no longer close to dead.

It's dead.

Thank GOD the boy got me that external hard drive and I could back it all up!

Death of a computer

Say goodbye to the Inspiron 6000. It has gotten me pretty far, but is dying. On its way out. Kaputskie.

In a week or two, I will have my new laptop. It's smaller, lighter, has more memory, and is way cheaper than this one. And it's blue!

I am stuck using this piece of junk for a few more days - then you shall see the pics and blogs that I used to make, but haven't been able to for fear of computer explosion...