Thinking, thinking, thinking...

This is a time of introspection for me.  Today Dr. Spud went back to work for real after having the beloved 6 weeks between semesters.  He has spent lots of time at his office over these 6 weeks, but he he has also spent a lot of time at home and that has been wonderful.  Both of my spudlets are now in school all day.  So, what am I doing?  Thinking.  Lots and lots of thinking.

It has been a pretty crazy 6 week break.  Just before finals for my husband's lucky students, I got the shock of a lifetime.  After a visit to my doctor, I learned that I needed to have a visit with a gynecologic oncologist.  There were some masses and some elevated blood test numbers.  Everyone was very careful to let me know that those factors did not mean I had cancer and indeed, I felt pretty good about things and felt some spiritual assurances that I was ok(-ish).  I met with the oncologist (who was amazing and I feel so so grateful for his reassuring manner and willingness to take the time to talk and then perform an amazing surgery) who also felt like we were not looking at cancer, but that we needed to remove the masses the old fashioned way with a make-a-big-cut-through-your-stomach incision because that is the safest when there is a possibility of cancer and he also needed to be able to really get things cleaned out and functioning better.  I have had a few surgeries in my day, but I have been lucky enough to have had all of them done through small incisions, including a major surgery last summer.  This time, I knew I was going to be down for a while and that recovery was not going to be easy and that the timing was going to be ok, but tricky since my scheduled surgery was just a day more than a week from the time my spudlets were to start school.

My doctor told me I would be in the hospital for at least 4 days and possibly up to 10 days following my surgery.  As it turned out, leaving out the day of surgery, I left the hospital 5 days after my surgery, which was the day before school started.  I didn't get to do all of the normal things I do before school starts.  I didn't get to take my kids to registration and help them find their classes, but am very grateful for my mother-in-law who did.  I didn't get to work into a good schedule that last week before school started.  I didn't get to walk my kids to school on the first day and give them a final hug and kiss goodbye for the day and assure them that they would be awesome!  I didn't get to make their first day of school lunch or bake cookies to have them ready when they got home from school.  Luckily for me, I have an amazing husband who did all the things I couldn't do.

Friends and neighbors have made us dinners and stepped in to help my kids when they needed a little extra help.  It has been amazing to witness and very humbling to experience.  I am so emotional about all of this even now as I am writing.  Thank you to all of you who have been so quick to help, willing to jump in and so mindful of what my family is experiencing right now.

So, here I am.  The first day really on my own since the surgery.  I am doing alright.  I don't have lots of energy.  Folding a load of laundry is a pretty aerobic exercise for me right now and I have to spend most of my day sitting.  I would normally love all this extra time.  I would read and blog and organize and run errands and do some deep cleaning, etc., etc.  But I really can't do most of it.  I can't concentrate well enough to read and don't feel interested in reading anyway (this is a major crazy for me - I always love to read). I can't work on organizing because I can't bend down very well and I am not sure where things would work anyway.  I can't drive so there go all those errands and deep cleaning is not possible right now...I don't have the stamina nor the mobility.  I guess I am doing the blogging bit, but we'll see how successful the outcome of that is...

Before any of my friends and family start freaking out and running over here to do something for me, let me just say that I am doing fine.  We are doing great on our own, making our own meals and taking care of things.  It really feels good and important to me right now to be able to do these simple and basic things.  It just takes all I've got to do that right now and that is OK.  I don't even need visitors right now because I'm feeling a little anti-social and just needing my own time to heal and rest and do what I can do.  What I really need is just an outlet to say that this has been hard.   I have been so, so, so, so blessed.  Beyond words blessed.  But it has been hard and it is still going to be hard for a little while.  That is OK because we grow the most when we are challenged the most and we are also blessed the most when we are challenged the most.

I don't know how to end this post, so I'll just say...Thanks for letting me find a place to say that this is hard.

For the Love of Books

I love reading.  I love getting lost in a good book.  I love the way a good book can change your perspective and your understanding.  Books are wonderful.

I have been looking through lots of lists lately, making lists of my own of books I want to explore with Spudette and Jr. Spud, lists that I want to explore on my own. The list is much longer than we will ever have time to read.  I always hope that summer will be a time of reading and loving books.  I even get excited when it's time for a family trip so I can go find the "perfect" audio book to listen to as we travel, or just the right title to read while sitting next to a lovely pool or lounging on a pristine beach.

Books I bought at the book fair this week...

This week is the final book fair for the year at the kids' school.  It is a buy one get one free event.  They certainly know how to hook a book lover!!!  I love buying books almost as much as I love reading them.  I love to be surrounded by books.  I love going to the book case and finding something I have been meaning to read for a long time tucked among the titles of books that are like old friends.  I like the library, but I LOVE the book store!!!

The books on my nightstand

Even if I buy a book, read it and hate it, I'd almost always rather buy a book than get it from the library.  If there's a chance that I'm going to love it, or even like it...I want it on my bookshelf.  If I do buy a book that I don't like, I can always give it away or sell it or use it for some craft project that requires book pages.  I also feel severe guilt borrowing a book from the library if the author is living.  I mean, this is how they make their living and even though there are a few authors out there making lots and lots of money, most of them don't make enough to make up for the hours spent honing their craft and bringing joy and happiness to my life.  I make an exception when it comes to what I call "hyper-popular" books, because I almost always don't like them so I'd feel justified in borrowing because the likelihood of my keeping the book and the fact that those authors seem to be doing just fine release me from my guilt.  Let's not even get into how high my library fines get because I am so bad at remembering to return books.  All of you library lovers can thank me for buying lots of new books for you.  I also make an exception when I have spent way too much money on buying books recently or when a friend offers to lend me their copy of a book I have been wanting to read. But...in general...I am a book buyer.

 Maybe I am just crazy to even ask...but I always love to learn of books I need to add to my list! I'd love to hear your recommendations for me, for my young spuds or just whatever!  Yay for books!!!

Spud Family Spring Break

Spring Break is always somewhat of an oxymoron for the Spud Family.  We usually don't really take a break and it never feels like spring!  The local school board laughs itself silly by having the district spring break the weekend before the semester break for the University.  This means that if you 'or someone you love' works at the University and has kids in school the likelihood of your being able to go away and do something fun is less feasible.

I am kind of a stickler for my kids going to school when school is in session, but this year I took a look at their last report cards.  Both Spudette and Jr. Spud had 3s in everything.  If you are wondering why they are given numbers rather than a letter grade, join the club.  I have no idea why they do this, but a 3 means "At or above standard" their test scores were also very high and I realized...they are in grade school!!!  Give the spudlets a break!!!  So, we decided to do just that.

We stayed at home for most of their Spring Break as Dr. Spud was giving finals, grading papers, emailing students to let them know that he cannot change their grades even though he likes them very much, attending graduation and all those other things professors do.  We enjoyed a lovely Easter at home, then bright and early on Monday morning we headed out of town.

We stopped for a bite to eat with family in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake and then proceeded as far south in Utah as you can go and still have a bed in which to sleep.

Yes, folks we went to lovely, sunny, wonderful St. George, Utah.  Ah...the red rocks, the cacti, the palm trees, the sagebrush, the temps in the 80s!...oh how homey it feels to this sun-loving soul!  We spent the next day and a half (which went by way too quickly) swimming, playing racquetball, tennis and mini-golf (all at the condo where we stayed), visiting the Dinosaur Discovery Center (saw some awesome dino tracks and more), hiking in Snow Canyon, shopping (yes, there is some lovely shopping in St. George), and just generally enjoying recharging our batteries. (Do you enjoy all my parenthetical expressions and my run-on sentences???) A night at Grandma and Grandpa's in Salt Lake on the way home rounded out our quick vay-cay.

I have now made some rather important decisions.  #1 - I will be far less reluctant to take the kids out of school for a few days for a great family vacation.  It was educational, physical and really good for us.  #2 - Red rock deserts are really my thing! Not to mention warm weather.  My flip flops have missed me and I have missed them.  I am now wearing them again daily! #3 - I really need to work on my golf game so that when Dr. Spud retires and we can live wherever we want, we can move to St. George.  Yes, there is a lot to do there that does not include golf, but that would just be an added benefit.

We got home on Thursday and have been playing catch up a bit.  Today life gets back to normal.  The new semester starts tomorrow.  The Spudlets are back in school and Dr. Spud is back on campus.  For now, I get to look forward to my tulips blooming, budding trees, allergy headaches (ok, not so much fun, but it means the weather is getting nicer!), weeding, starting seeds, registering the kids for summer lessons, spring cleaning, painted toenails, afternoon and evening walks and bike rides.  Yay!!!!

Green Things

Spring is like breathing again after holding your breath for a really, really, really long time. At least that is how I always feel.

Today it is raining (yay! not snow!), but the other day I went outside and looked around and saw something incredible!  Green things and redish purple things were poking their heads out of the dirt, reaching for the sunshine and bringing a smile to my face!  I love, love, love to see the signs of Spring!

 

 

This moment is why I plant bulbs in the fall.  It's a good thing I learned the benefits of delayed gratification when I was younger, eh?  This year I was afraid that I may have waited too long, but thanks to the fool-proofish-ness of blubs...I have been vindicated!  

There were some other green things in my garden 

Why do weeds grow so quickly?  Oh well...they give me a good reason to get out and start working with the dirt. 

A Guide to Getting the Most From Your Classical Concert Experience for the Classically Confused

Photo from the Facebook page for the Utah Symphony, find links at the bottom of the post

So, the title of my post today may seem pretty convoluted.  But here is what I want to discuss today:  How can someone who doesn't know, understand or (even) like classical music have a positive experience at a concert full of classical music.  How about if you kind of like classical music but find yourself bored at an orchestra concert or a symphony performance?  Yes, this post will be for you too.  How about if you love orchestral/classical music?  I think even you may find that you will like this post and you may even want to leave a comment to offer other tips for your cyber friends who may be struggling.

I remember well when I was a young girl.  I hated, let me emphasize, HATED, what I called classical music (pretty much anything without lyrics), opera and anything that sounded old.  I dreaded riding in my grandparents' car mainly because my grandpa loved to listen to classical music.  I loved pop music, classic rock, etc.  My parents had season tickets to the symphony and I dreaded being roped into going on the rare occasion my parents had a free ticket.  I found the symphony boring and spent a good deal of time napping and wishing I was somewhere else, anywhere else!

The turning point came when I was in high school.  During my Senior year, I took a humanities class. We studied art, literature, architecture and music through history.  I had to memorize the names, composers and even know stylistic traits of "classical" music.  I had no clue how this would work since I thought it all sounded the same and I hated all of it.  I learned a couple of important things:  #1 - Not all "classical" music sounded the same, #2 - Classical music specifically describes the music written during the classical era, #3 - When I studied the music, I found I LOVED what I had called classical music (which I now called - and will call for the rest of this post - orchestral music) and even loved opera!  I was shocked!!!  Learning that I could love orchestral music turned out to be a pretty significant thing in my life, since I went on to marry a violinist.  He spends his life playing, teaching and enjoying this kind of music.

Orchestral music (and for the sake of brevity I will just assume that you know I now include Opera in this) is to music what a painting by the masters is to visual art.  Before you think this is getting too hoity toity and want to jump ship, let me explain.  In order to really love and understand a fine painting, whether it is a Van Gogh, Monet, DaVinci, Rembrandt, or anyone else, you must be able to study the painting.  You have to look at it - for a long time.  You have to understand what makes it remarkable (is it the subject? the masterful representation of the scenery? the technique or how the artist applied the paint?), then you have to step back and just enjoy it.  You don't have to understand everything about it, but you have to take the time to understand something about that painting.  It is the same with music.  You need to know something about it to appreciate it and then just sit back and enjoy.  In both cases you are actively participating in the experience.  Otherwise, you are just waiting for something to knock you out.  It can happen, but it probably won't.

So, let's say you are going to a concert tomorrow night.  How are you going to make it a good experience for yourself?  Let me make a few suggestions:

* Know something about the music you are going to hear.
You can look at a wealth of sources, but one of the easiest is to go to good old Wikipedia.   Find that nifty search box at the top and type in the name of the composer, or the name of the piece you will be hearing (warning: many titles in music are very similar and you might not be able to find exactly what you are looking for).  Maybe you only know that it is going to be music from the Baroque period?  Great! Type in Baroque music and you will learn what makes something Baroque. What if you don't have time to do internet (or other research)?  Often, you will find that when you get to the concert/performance, you will be handed a program.  Most of the time, you will find something on the program or inserted somewhere called "program notes." Someone, usually the conductor, has put together some information that will be helpful for you to know.  I love reading program notes and even if they are sparse they at least give you something to look for.  Do yourself a favor and read them before the performance begins and then you can refer to them again during the performance to remind yourself what you are hearing. Or if your mind likes to wander (like mine does) you can re-engage it by reading the notes again.  If you are super duper lucky, the conductor will take the time to make some comments to the audience and will tell you something s/he likes about the work they are going to be playing and s/he may even tell you something to listen for - all you have to do is really listen for it! I love it when this happens, but it doesn't always happen.

* Understand something about concert ettiquette.
If you don't understand why the person next to you isn't clapping at the "end" of something, the conductor doesn't turn around and some severe looking person is giving you the evil eye when you clap, you may be clapping at the wrong time.  How is that possible?  Many great works in the orchestral world are separated into movements.  This is indicated in the program.  The movements are usually indented and listed under the title of the piece.  They have funky Italian names like: Allegro, Andante, Scherzo and the like and sometimes they are lettered (A,B,C, etc.).  Most of the time the orchestra stops playing for a minute between movements and that is an easy way to keep track.  There are occasions when there is no stop between movements, but that is pretty rare.  A good conductor will make it very obvious that the entire work is done with his/her body.  My favorite cues are a sharp breath out and slumping shoulders, indicating that s/he has worked very hard and is now ready for a rest. Another great cue is when the conductor turns around beaming and looking like s/he wants to bow.  If you are still not sure, just wait for everyone else to start clapping.  If you are wondering why you don't just clap for everything, I will just say this.  I have asked my musician husband and he has told me that #1 - that's just the way it is and #2 - musicians like to have their work appreciated all at once and not in bits and pieces.

Other helpful concert etiquette items include:  refraining from whispering to whoever happens to be sitting next to you during the concert (yes, it is actually distracting to the musicians and it's just rude anyway), refraining from rubbing your partner's back (that is distracting to everyone sitting around you), turning off your cell phone and whatever you do - do not respond to a text!  If you get an emergency call from your babysitter or an SOS from your best friend, slip out (wait until there is applause if possible) before calling or texting back.  These silly things may seem like basic decency, but I see all of these things at concerts on a pretty regular basis.

One last item, and it is just for your own comfort.  Find out about appropriate dress for the venue and concert you will be attending.  It may be a dressy affair (it usually is if it is a Symphony experience), or it may be dressy casual or just plain casual, but you will want to dress the right way so that you don't spend the whole time feeling like you stick out like a sore thumb.


*Sit back and enjoy the music
Ok, so now you have learned something about the music you are going to be hearing.  At last,  you get to sit back and enjoy.  Notice I didn't say, "relax."  In order for you to have the best experience you need to be actively engaged in the music and trying to connect with the performance in some way.  If you've done some research you may be listening for a recurring theme, you may be trying to figure out how the composer was depicting a bird's song in nature and which instrument is portraying that image.  If you are listening to some 20th century music, you may have to just focus on the emotions the composer was feeling when he wrote the piece.  You could also try connecting the music you are hearing to your own emotions.  When have you felt like what you are hearing?  What was that time like in your life?  Was there any resolution? and does the music resolve those emotions in any way? Another way to connect to the music is just by connecting with your inner child and using your imagination.  Imagine a story that goes along with what is happening in the music.  It doesn't have to be the story the composer was trying to tell, it can just be what you imagine is happening.  Kids are really good at doing this.  It can be a little harder for adults, but if you just practice a bit, I'm sure you can do it too!


So...what if you still can't stand orchestral music and Opera?  Well, you've made a valiant effort and can now give yourself a break.  But don't leave the genre aside forever.  Try again in a few months.  Try a different orchestra, or just a different kind of concert.  Remember this is mind engaging stuff, not mind-numbing like some other options may be.  Beyond that Classical, or Orchestral Music is life enriching.  You may not like every piece, genre, time period or instrument, but you will like something and it will add something beautiful and wonderful to your life.  So, go find it and enjoy it!!!!!

***********************************
The closest major Symphony Orchestra to me is the Utah Symphony and they are wonderful!  They even have awesome concerts in the mountains in the summer.  Find their homepage by following this link and find out about upcoming events.  You can find their Facebook page here.

In my little corner of Southeast Idaho we are super lucky to have a University with an amazing music program.  There are always a multitude of music events at BYU-Idaho for everyone to enjoy and all too often the audience attendance is sparse.  I always feel bad for everyone who misses out on such awesome opportunities to hear first rate musicians playing first rate music.  There are many performances which are free and they are amazing!  From Student Senior Recitals to Faculty Recitals (generally free) to the Center Stage performances and Orchestra Concerts, there are several events every week.  This is a link to the BYU-Idaho Department of Music, on the lower right hand area of the page there is a scrolling list of upcoming events, click on an event and it will give you details.  Or you can go to the Ticket Office website and see and order tickets by following links on that page.

Winter?

While it has been pretty typically cold here in Southeast Idaho, we don't have any snow. That is very, very not normal for this little town. Right now everyone seems to be getting slammed with snow and yet, we have nothing. The weather people say we might get some tomorrow. Honestly, I'm not complaining about the lack of snow. However, it does seem like if it is going to be so cold we may as well get something out of it. The kids really want to go sledding and make a snow man with the awesome new snow paints they got from Santa for Christmas. Right now all we get out of the weather system that is bringing snow to places like Seattle, is wind, wind and more wind. I don't know whether to hope for snow or not.

Snow or not, we've all got the January blues. It happens every year. I get sick of gray, short days and start to get itchy to move. My kids get sick of the dull weather too (which is probably why they are hoping for snow). Mr. Spud suffers too. He is always too busy, stretched too thin and he also starts thinking of looking for a different job. Somehow I've got to find a way for us to take vacations in January. We need to get a timeshare in Arizona or something. We need the break!!!

Idaho Halloween

When we lived in Arizona, Halloween was the time of year when people finally started getting back outside and seeing their neighbors again.  By October 31st, the weather was starting to get more bearable and everyone was outside on Halloween night talking, laughing, etc.

In Southeast Idaho Halloween is a little different, some years it is so bitterly cold that you can hardly stand to take the kids out for 5 minutes (I'm reminded of the Jr. Spud's first Halloween, his cheeks were bright red but Spudette had to get some trick or treating in - I think it actually lasted less then  minutes that time).  We usually try to do most of the trick or treating before the sun goes down.  The kids generally wear a coat over their costumes so you have to guess at what their costume is from their legs.  This year, Halloween wasn't so bad, it was a bit windy and after the sun dipped below the horizon, it got a bit nippy.  However...my spudlets were happy to run around the neighborhood filling their pumpkin buckets sans coats and there were lots of people out, talking, laughing and having fun.  Don't get me wrong, it was not warm!  I had on a sweatshirt and a wool coat, but hanging with the kids, talking to the neighbors, handing out treats and getting our hands on some awesome hand-pressed, fresh apple cider, and still getting the kiddos to bed on time made for a fun, memorable and - yes, I admit it - great Idaho Halloween.