Thursday - This and That

Just thought I'd do a post about this and that....a few different things going on lately.

It's been a very hot summer here.  So, I've been staying in a lot to avoid the heat.  I haven't accomplished as much as I'd planned due to lack of motivation in this heat and being stuck inside.  But, I have done a few things...

I knitted up a washcloth and scrubbie with some pretty, tan, Sugar N Cream yarn I had.  I love the results of this washcloth pattern.  It's simple but so nice.  It lays very nicely with great edges and corners.  It's the "Copycat Dishcloth" pattern from Ravelry and it's free.  The scrubbie pattern is also free and it's called, "Tribble".  I have a big, glass jar on our master bathroom counter that I have several shades of off-white and beige, hand knit washcloths in along with cotton balls and q-tips.  It's handy and the washcloths look so good in there.  They're very nice to use too.  Soft and pretty!

We bought a long dining room table a while back and I collected some chairs to go with it.  I just finished up some custom cushions for four of them.  I used fabric I got years ago for almost nothing...a whole bolt of it!  I still have lots left.   There are two antique chairs that I need to create cushions for too.  All the chairs will be sanded down and painted black.  I think it's going to look great when it's all done.  We just need cooler weather so we can go out in the garage to work on them.

My dad had a couple doctor appointments yesterday.  One was a bit stressful because he was going to get the results on tests to see if he has lung cancer.  I wanted to be with him for something this big...just in case.  Although, we felt it probably wasn't and we were hoping for the best.  My mom was being her usual, difficult self (Alzheimer's) and wouldn't allow me into the room but we got her to go for letting my daughter in.  I hated for my daughter to be in that position, just in case it was bad news.  But, she wanted to do it to support grandpa and to hear what was going on for my brother and I.  She even recorded it for us.  She's awesome!  Anyway...it was good news...he doesn't have cancer.  He has fluid in his lungs but it's probably due to his heart condition and some of the meds he's on.  Whew!  Afterward, we went out to lunch.  We've been trying to do that about once a week or so.  It's been very nice.

When we got home in the early afternoon, the temp in my car said 113 degrees!  Ugh!  We had a nice surprise shortly after that when it started pouring rain.  It dumped hard and rained for at least half an hour.  It cooled things off and gave the plants nice cool shower that I bet they loved.  My daughter's kitty, Sonora, was a little scared by the rain because it was so loud.  When it calmed down a bit, she enjoyed looking out the window and watching it.  So cute!

I've been meaning to put together a picture-full post to introduce a new (last December) member of our family but I just haven't gotten around to it.  I wanted to put a lot of photos on the post and all my photos are all backed up and I literally have thousands and thousands of photos (not just her) that I'd have to go through to find the greatest ones of her, download them back to my laptop, and then upload to the blog.  A big job!  So, I'll just go ahead and introduce her now.  That way I can continue to post pics and not get further behind on what the intro post would have.  

Here she is...our adorable Siamese named, "Sky".  She's my hubby's kitty and she is awesome!  She's so sweet, loving, fun, funny, playful, and she loves being with us almost constantly.  She's adorable!  We love her so much!  Here she is laying next to me while I crocheted one time this week...

It's been a long and difficult adjustment for Penelope to have another cat but she's finally becoming herself again...almost.  Here she is rolling on a rug this morning.  She's actually playing, roaming around the house more, and being loving again.  It's been tough for her and for me to see her not being her wonderful self.  So, it's wonderful to be getting her back.

Sky came over to see what Penelope was up to.  She's not used to seeing Penelope play and be the cat she was.

Our cats are still separated from my daughter's cat as they get to know one another.  Although, my daughter's cat is a very confident cat who's not afraid of much of anything and can be aggressive. So, we're not sure when or if we'll ever let them be together.  For now, they're just getting to know one another through a screen door we put at the hall near my daughter's room.  We don't love having a door there but it keeps the cats safe.  We switch back and forth with who gets to run around the house.  We either let Sonora out for a while while our cats hang out together in our large master bedroom and bathroom.  Or, our cats come out while Sonora gets to stay in her part of the house where my daughter's room, bathroom, hall, and craft room are.  They're very happy wherever they are.  They're all wonderful cats in their own ways.  We love them all so much!

The screen door we used is one we finished up that we'd started when we lived at our old house and had llamas.  All it needed was some color, stain, varnish, assembly, and screen.  Hubby made a frame for it to fit in the arch and ta-da!...a solution for our cat conundrum.

I finished spinning up a ball of roving this week.  I'm letting it sit for a bit before I Navajo ply it.

I've wanted to play a musical instrument for a very long time.  I tried piano lessons a couple times but didn't stick with it.  It was difficult to memorize all the notes and play different things with each hand from the two different lines on the music.  I've been thinking that something with just one line of music would be more practical to start with.  In my search, the ukulele has been suggested several times.  I finally decided to go for it when I found this great ukulele that not only is cute but has a wonderful sound...not so shoe-box-like as so many are.  It even came with an adorable bag!  So far, it's going well and I'm even enjoying practicing.  There are challenges with learning the many chords and the different rhythms but I'm enjoying it.  I find myself wanting to practice.  Wow!  Maybe, hopefully, I'll have a different answer someday to a question I'm often asked when people see my daughter masterfully play the harp...  "where does she get her talent?...do you or your husband play anything?"  My answer is usually...."um...I play the radio".  My daughter and I have a goal to eventually play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" together (harp and ukulele).  We found a beautiful rendition of it on YouTube that gave me the last push I needed to buy my uke and go for it.

Maybe I should have made this post yesterday and called it "Wordy Wednesday".  lol  Now that it's all put together, I realize I could have made several posts.  Oh well.  It's done now.  I hope you enjoy it.  And, if you stuck it out to the end...thank you! :-)

Have a wonderful day!

Magic!

My daughter is a harpist and will be transferring to a conservatory/university this Fall as a music major.  The excitement about the school she will be attending is already high.  But, then, you add on the opportunities that are already coming her way because of it and....WOW!  It's incredible!  She's thrilled!  We're proud!  Sometimes life can be better and bigger than dreams!

She found out about a month or so ago that she would have the opportunity to perform in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.  She was super excited!  This is a place that she wanted to visit and only dreamt of playing there...maybe...in the far future.  She and some of the university students were asked to perform with a local...and I must add...VERY talented...youth symphony for a music festival.  She received her music, quickly learned it, bought a new gown, attended some rehearsals last week and we were off to LA early yesterday morning for the BIG day.

I thought the concert hall sounded interesting but seeing it in person is amazing!  It's beautiful!  Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera because they aren't allowed inside.  So, I had to settle for taking photos with my cell phone.  Some of them are were taken at an angle in an attempt to get as much into the photo as possible.  They aren't bad but I'm not sure that any photo could truly convey the magic of visiting this place in person.

It was smaller than I had imagined but the lines were so beautiful that I couldn't stop looking at it, taking pictures, and saying..."WOW!"  It's truly a work of art in every way.  Even the accoustics inside were amazing!  They didn't need microphones of any kind.  In fact, we were told that if everyone was quiet and a pin were dropped, everyone would be able to hear it.  We've noticed in other concert halls and theatres that it's often difficult to impossible to hear some of the instruments...especially the harp.   Not here!  We could hear every instrument...beautifully.  During the concert, I kept catching myself in such amazement at the music, the talent and the concert hall that my mouth was open...it was jaw dropping! 

Here it is from across the street...

This is the main entrance on the corner. If you look carefully to the right and just above the top of the stairs,

you can see tiny holes for lights that spell out, "Walt Disney Concert Hall"...

More photos looking above the entrance...

Every where you look is beautiful.  And, with each step you take or tilt of your head, the lines

 and beauty change to create another view that's hard to resist photographing.

Stunning!

I love how the pictures I took in the morning look blue.  So pretty!

The music hall is nestled in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, amongst skyscrapers and freeways.

I honestly did not expect to experience so much magic yesterday! I absolutely want to visit this place again for another concert...maybe the LA Philharmonic! If you ever get a chance to go...don't miss it!

Of course, a lot of the magic was because my daughter was a part of it all.  She looked goreous in her new gown (pictures are still on her camera) and she did a fabulous job. The orchestra and conductor she performed with were amazing as were the pieces they played. We're so proud of her and so excited for her. We're looking forward to what's next and attending more orchestra performances that she will be a part of.