Well, it must be the season of the itch.
Yeah, all the allergies are flaring.
Or were you expecting witch? Yes, I did just finish reading All Souls 1-5, A Discovery of Witches series.
And yes, I am wishing for a new forever female canine. Ha! Gotcha!!!!
So try not to fall in the ditch as I write my best pitch. I might have one or more glitch.
But here’s the hitch:
Guess this won’t lead to be ri(t)ch.
I’m so far from finishing anything. And I am proud to say I’m starting something new.
Way back in my 40s I was gifted a violin that a friend found on a wall. It was a planter. She took it to a violin maker and he was able to make it perfect for a first violin.
My daughter and son wanted to join and soon we had a 1/2 for my daughter and a 3/4 violin for my son.
At the time I was teaching keyboard at a couple elementary schools. I was introduced to the violin teacher in the same schools. She kindly allowed my trio to come to her classes to learn.
I got to learn Twinkle, Twinkle before the program ended. My son didn’t seem to like violin at all (though he grew up to be in a band as a guitarist, so maybe he did like strings?). My daughter was probably too young. She would lay the violin on the floor and saw with the bow. Sadly, hers was the best of the three instruments.
Somehow the violins left our lives. I’ve been wanting to try again but never could find one at a price I could afford.
Then I saw this during Amazon’s last sale. Even $46 seemed too much but my husband said I should go ahead.
The set up per the free YouTube tutorials went okay. Then, tuning. I was sad I couldn’t tune a couple strings. More tutorials. I finally found one about loose pegs. The fix was easy.
The book that came with my Mendini by Cecilio violin instructed new students to spend time holding the fiddle, tuning, and rosening the bow every day. So I know this will be a slower learning experience than the Ukulele. But I am excited to learn my first song!
Well, that is, after I learn the holding, tuning and putting rosen on the bow properly. So I’ll just enjoy how pretty it is and the four notes I can play from the properly tuned new baby.
Meanwhile, I’m trying to memorize Imagine, Amazing Grace, Auld Lang Syne, and Edelweiss on my Enya. It might take a while.
See the wrap-around yarn? All tinked and ready to try again.
Piano scheduling had difficulties this week but I started attacking Succession and Dexter measure by measure.
Oh and the sunset beach
Okay. Despite the Olympics, time to do strings!
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has to be my favorite so far. And I can tell there is more to come. We aren’t left on a cliff, so we’re feeling happy and safe for the moment.
And YAY! Jennifer Ikeda is back as our narrator. I love how well she acts out the characters. I am never lost wondering whose point of view we are in.
The twins are growing up, so it is fun to see what traits they have inherited and how they react to the world.
Ah, but now I have to wait for the next book. I love Deborah Harkness’s writing and the research evident in these stories. Historical fiction is so much easier to take than boring fiction taught to us with just guys’ names and dates of wars. The Black Bird Oracles is the best book yet!
If you liked The Discovery of Witches, keep reading.
Kookaburra this was a find shared by a friend on Facebook. Singing a silly song and laughing with a bird.
During these hot days we’ve watched disaster movies like Day After Tomorrow and now since it’s on Netflix
This was fun. And cool.
Well, it’s the same ole story. Yesterday I found a mistake a few rows back and today I’ve been Tinking back. I still haven’t reached the boo-boo. And I find the number of stitches on each needle is so different I’m going to have to get creative to get the number to match. Or tink even farther. Ugh!
When I was a young adult, my grandmothers had Alzheimer’s. Yeah. Both maternal and paternal. So when you all wonder why I work so hard at languages and learning new things and puzzling things like Sudoku, that is a fight I’m on. I’ve not been diagnosed, but at 74 I’m being as vigilant as I can.
And yes, I do repeat stories. I have since I was a child. Most people do. Maybe they don’t realize it. Or maybe they are trying to work something out in this retelling. I remember my grandmothers would tell a story once again and folks would criticize them. But I listened and saw they changed the story a bit each retelling. Sometimes I learned something new about them or others. Sometimes it just was their story. A thing that made them. How I’d love to hear them repeat one of their old tales to me again.
Think about how kids love hearing a book read to them for the umpteenth time. They’re working the story out. The rhythms, the rhymes, how it all works.
I have learned to reread or rewatch things as each time I pick up just a bit more. Not only the story but about writing, directing, acting. Or maybe more about how people differ in their relationships.
Old stories are still packed with nuggets we can learn from. Whether we are telling them or an audience member.
I’m finally getting my piano groove going again. I’m keeping sessions short and as successful as possible.
I finished all but the Dexter movie. Can’t seem to find it. But both series(es) done. I miss the music. Trying to find a good piano copy of the sheet music of the beginning theme and end theme.
My allergies kept me from the recorders. I don’t like playing them with a sore throat or sneezing.
I am finding progress on my Enya Ukulele. Even my B flat seems right every now and then.
Time to play!
The Women by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Julia Whelan narrated this story with gusto. I didn’t use my headset for a part of it, and my husband enjoyed what he heard, so he ordered his own audible version to listen to. He was a Vietnam vet, so he recognized much of the history and geography.
As a teen in the sixties, I was aware of the attitudes and news in the U.S., and I became more aware as an adult in the seventies. So, I felt I was reliving my youth between the musical and trendy mentions and actual historical events. The anger and angst of being young and a woman and not feeling my feelings jumped to mind as the main character went through her own life. Kristin Hannah is good at that kind of fiction, taking the facts and making you feel it personally.
Regardless of your feelings about that war or those times, I highly recommend this book. Jump into someone else’s world and times and feel what you will as you go. It is a beautifully written book.
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 100 books for the 2013 Reading Challenge! 115 of 100 (115%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 225 books for the 2012 Reading Challenge! 225 of 225 (100%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 200 books for the 2011 Reading Challenge! 204 of 200 (102%)
"Words & Wonders - Where thoughts meet art
Justice, Channeling,Spiritual,Astrology,Truth- Seeker.
Education, Information, Motivation
Where Curiosity Meets Creativity
Portuguese-Canadian Writing About This Portuguese Thing of Ours
Inheritance. Narcissism. Turf. Welcome to the family.
Finding the extra in the ordinary
A Blog About Food and Travels
I upload photos & videos Golu lodhi village pairakhedi
Travel,Tourism, Life style "Now in hundreds of languages for you."
twisted yarns, unraveled
The Introvert's Roadmap to Self Discovery and Growth
story telling from history
Where ancient wisdom meets modern technology. Stories that illuminate the wonders of science, culture, and life — crafted with human creativity and a touch of AI magic.
Life is just down the road lesser traveled....
In the Quiet Space of a Benedictine Heart: Seeking God in Every Moment
Darswords 
You must be logged in to post a comment.