Maybe if I put away all the Christmas songs, winter will give us, in Christmas Valley, snow.
***
We had a snow a couple of weeks ago. It’s been cold enough that the snow on the north side of our house (teens) is still there. I’m tired of useless cold.
By the way, I’m still working on some of the harder songs and putting notes on the disabled as to when to pull them out (Halloween or later)
One book may stay out. It is a violin/piano duet book. So I’m getting out the violin again. Don’t know how to fit the time and frustration within my every day.
Most of my life, at least since I was 5, I’ve played piano. I must admit to a love/hate relationship with that instrument.
Mrs. Skinner made piano not only tolerable, but actually fun. She used everything in her power to bring joy to my musical soul. She introduced me to accordion, ukulele, and vocal fun.
Being adventurous I would seek out any keyboard,or music maker. I still feel her love when I play.
So when my family decided to take the hour drive to visit my aunt and uncle, I sought out my cousin’s chord organ. I found it such fun playing the flat accordion. It looked a lot like this one.
I learned to play Sukiyaki. I’m now inspired to learn the words and play on piano or my electric Yamaha keyboard.
When my brother died in a car crash, my parents donated money for the pipe organ at our church. He was 21, I was 23.
I always wanted to learn to play all those buttons and foot pedals.
When I finally started back to school after my fourth baby turned 3, I got new types of pianos to enjoy. Electric pianos, and the glorious baby grand on stage in my voice/piano accompaniment classes.
During those years I was given the piano I have now and a foot pedal organ. (We couldn’t bring the organ when we moved.) So I got lessons on the organ. I loved it! But I understand now why organ benches develop a butt-groove. Organs can be quite the work-out!
If my parents had not taught me self-censorship, I could use the prompt two more times here.
Yesterday I shared one of the reasons I prefer acoustic piano, or voice, as we can control volume according to emotional intensity within the artist and directed by composition.
Rhythm and how fast or slow a piece of a portion of it can affect or reflect our emotions.
A piece can hold many speeds from grave to presto. Like conversations. We don’t speak one or the other. Well, except certain chemistry teachers in my past during the first period. Hence a C… But that’s another stream.
Music reflects life which is both fast (is it already the third of January?) and slow (why does Christmas take so long when we’re kids?)
First of all, I want to lead you to Barbara’s take on ‘Magnify’ as it reflects my own journey with screens and reading and tools that can help those issues. Click here.
The reason I love the acoustic piano more than my electronic keyboard is that you can express emotions on it. With signs, you can guess how hard or soft a touch you need to bring out the depth of a song.
See the less-than sign?
It means to gradually
minimize your
touch.
The greater-than sign <
<
It means
You play quietly and
Magnify your touch
I have not found the ability to do that on my electric keyboard with feeling. Nor can I do that on my recorder. I know you can with a violin. But it is most satisfying when singing with a choir, and the director and music ask you to unify as you and your fellow singers magnify the sound.
The voice magnifies so well. Sometimes you need to whisper. But there are times for an actual
Today is the day I reflect on possibilities. I don’t resolve. I have never found change in pure willfulness. Instead, I think globally, universally, and down to cellular possibilities. The things I want to delve into with thought, prayer, and desire. Some say cellular is universal. Reflecting on how the atom looks like a solar system keeps my thoughts meandering. When we think of the word ‘enthusiasm,’ we learn that it breaks down to ‘God in you.’ And that is when I draw the conclusion that if I feel excited, and if I spend the time being mindful about it, I can breathe a spark into a flame. Writing about the ideas helps me to decide if it’s worth it for me. We can’t be everything; we can’t be perfect. But we can grow in areas we feel drawn to.
Last year, in October 2024, on the advice of a friend (thanks, Yve), I found an old financial journal and turned I into a piano journal. In a few days, I will have filled all the pages. I started by sitting at the piano just long enough to enjoy the feeling. Sometimes that was to play a scale or diddy, as long as I could feel the joy. The minute it felt like work, or was in any way painful, I got up and walked away to do something else I might enjoy. But I wrote the bits I did, how long, feelings about the piece, and a bit of a grade of how well I did. Not to judge myself, but to watch for improvement and have a recording of what worked for me.
I have gained confidence and skill, going from five-minute gigs to over an hour. I even did a couple two-hours stints. I loved being deeply into the music, filling my heart with beauty. Not of my skill, but how it all works. I will be looking for a new music journal. It doesn’t need to be much, and I am sure I have an empty something with lines around here.
What I won’t use is my everything journal. My husband gave it to me for Christmas. Isn’t it gorgeous? It came with its own pen (I may replace it with an erasable, as a perfect journal will hurt me if I have a bunch of scratch-outs).
Now I need to write my first entry. Shh! No peeking! Possibilities are popping. And I must meet them with mindfulness to cultivate enthusiasm. New habits await.
The newest development here: Sammie and Milo on my chair together, like they were last night in my bed.
Sammie and Milo sleep together.
The knitting doesn’t have much progress to show.
Linus and Lucy, page one is improving. It looks so easy! Not if you have no rhythm.🥴
Oh Holy Night is coming along, as is When Christmas Comes to Town. I’m enjoying sight reading all my Christmas songs.
I’m a little concerned as my husband just tested positive for COVID two days ago. He wasn’t doing too badly until this evening. Now there’s a bit of a cough and he’s tired. This means the rest of us are taking precautions.
We finished all of Orphan Black and the sequel. It was fun. Now we are deeply into Stranger Things.
It’s been raining, now it’s so cold! But still no snow. We may still have a white Christmas.
I think I already shared this. But glad to move on.✅Started a dragon.These will be frogged so I can even up the stripes.These were as big as those above, but the stripe was so far off I couldn’t deal with it. The balls on the tips of the needles are the froggy bits.
The other socks are sitting quietly until I can get back in the groove.
With NaNo over I’ve made up my mind to write at least 800 words a day to keep the writing muscle activated.🤞
With lots of sight reading of Christmas songs, I ran across this fun ditty. It’s being added to Lucy and Linus, and When Christmas Comes to Town songs to learn this season.
I’m finding myself at loose ends. Yet editing happened in the morning. One hour of Christmas pianoing happened. I finished the balloon diamond painting. Duolingo gave me ad-free time so I spent a lot of time on French, Spanish, and German.
Did NaNo drive me so hard? maybe knitting will settle me down.
Or should I aim to keep writing like a mad person?
Only three more days of NaNo. I need 1,200 words tonight to be on track. It has been such an ordeal this time. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I’ll be glad to see December!
Managing to keep on track–i hope.
I’m trying to learn a couple Christmas songs. I’ve always wanted to play Lucy and Linus and now I’m also challenged by the song in Polar Express
I pulled out all the Christmas songs to play with.
Nearly finished with the Balloon diamond painting.
Duolingo is still fun for me.
The only knitting making progress are my experimental slipper socks.
No finishing here. Just cuties.
Milo keeps watch inside and out.Shiloh is always nearby.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
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