Old Friend

I have always worn short nails....always.


I always had a good reason to, since nails got in the way of playing the piano and violin. Now it is a necessity for work too. My patients wouldn't like being stabbed in the gums with long, manicured nails, no matter how beautiful they are. So I keep them very short.


I used to have pretty major callouses on the finger-tips of my left hand too. Metal violin strings will do that to you, and playing about an hour everyday just by being in an orchestra.


I haven't touched my violin for at least two years, probably even longer. So when I was asked to accompany the choir for a Christmas number at church, I was a little hesitant, but also longing to at the same time. I got the music and my stomach dropped. It is a beautiful Celtic arrangement of "Silent Night." But Celtic fiddles sound a lot different from classical violin, which I am used to. Luckily, there is an audio recording available of the song, so I've been listening to it over and over, trying to pick up on the different nuances.


I just practiced for about 45 minutes tonight, and my fingers have that old familiar tingling-burn to them. It has been challenging to remember fingering patterns, and how to get a good tone from my bow and my vibrato. But it is also like saying hello to an old friend. At first my hands felt stiff and awkward, but they are starting to melt back into the fluid and sweeping movements of my violin's language.


If I had been given this piece a decade ago, I'm sure it would have sounded at least ten times better. However, I am still reveling in the process of reawakening my old friend.

Family Portrait

We tried to take a family portrait today....

I'm going to have to do a lot of editing.....

Victorious Vikings

Saturday was Ethan's last soccer game of the season. His team, the Vikings, had a fantastic season! We saw improvement in all the boys and they all seemed to really bond together. His coaches were amazing! I really hope he can be on the same team next year.Ethan played keeper for most of the games. He seems to really like the position and was really fantastic at it. NO FEAR. I know he doesn't get that instinct from me!
Ethan protected his goal and blocked countless strikes. He was a great asset to the team.

During Ethan's last game he wanted to play midfield, so he had a lot more contact with the ball. I couldn't believe how aggressive he was! He went after it!

I'm so proud of my Viking boy!

Happy Halloween!

We have had a fun Halloween season this year!The kids carved some pumpkins....

Ethan was a "modest" Sumo wrestler. He wore his costume to his Cubs Pack meeting, so we looked up the word "scout" in Japanese on the internet, and put that symbol on his T-shirt. The suit has a built-in fan, that when running puffs up the costume to Sumo-size. Pretty ingenius.

He won second place for best costume at the Ward Halloween party on Saturday.

Our creative friends, the Siscos, at the Ward Halloween party.

Eric and I were a throw-back to the Roaring 20's. I was a flapper girl....

and this is my flapper guy!

Erica was Cinderella.

Heidi was a nerd. Here she is with her good friend Brooklyn.

The two princesses! Elise was Snow White.

Heidi painted the girls' faces at the party in the face-painting booth. They all had so much fun!

Weekend on Orcas

We spent the weekend with my parents on Orcas Island to celebrate Eric's birthday. We left the kids at home, and enjoyed some good solid adult time!!Of course, we couldn't help but play! Here Eric came across a dead jellyfish floating in the water. He had to pick it up and investigate a little. I'm not sure where Ethan gets this curiosity from.....

The Birthday Boy!


We went for a hike and explored Moran State Park. It was a beautiful view!


My parents on top of Sunset Rock.



We also visited a fantastic pottery shop. This chess set was amazing!!

I couldn't get enough of these gorgeous bowls! It was hard to pick my favorite.....not that I got any, ha ha! They ran about $80-$100 each.

I contented myself with a tiny finger bowl. I think I will put my rings in it.

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We stayed at the Rosario Resort, which I highly recommend. It was so peaceful and quiet, with beautiful nature surrounding us. The resort's main building is a historic mansion house, complete with a music room housing a one hundred year old Steinway and a pipe organ. It was amazing, and full of history.

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While we were there, we also went to a concert by the group "Asleep at the Wheel." The music was so much fun, and the performers were first class! I had never heard of them before, but I think I will need to start collecting some of their music. They played country swing, with some great old classics and some more modern pieces.

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Overall the trip was so much fun! It was wonderful to get to spend some time with my parents, as well as spend some quality time with Eric for his birthday.

I love you, Eric!

Happy Birthday!

Fire

When we first moved to Washington, we were living in the pretty little town of Mukilteo. It is a beautiful area, about fifteen minutes from where we live now.Early on Saturday morning, the Harbour Point building in Mukilteo, where we attended church, was completely destroyed by fire.

We have a lot of fond memories from that building. It was pretty devastating to see it in the state it is now. Our old Ward is now meeting at one of the buildings in our Stake until their new building can be constructed. The news reports say that officials have collected evidence of arsen, which makes me terribly sad. So much destruction from such a terrible act. And yet, the outpouring of love and support from the community has been amazing. I hope that this very negative and hateful circumstance can give us the opportunity to be positive and perhaps create missionary moments with those not affiliated with our church.

Check out my big girl....

Elise is walking!!!!

Broken

Over the last several years, we have had an issue with car break-ins in our church parking lot during our Sunday meetings. It is such a common problem for the area, that the police can do very little about it. Last year, we had a family who had their car loaded up, ready for a trip following the meetings, which was broken into. It was at Christmas, so there were a lot of presents, along with a few cameras, that were taken and never recovered. Our Ward has members who take turns patrolling the lot to discourage the vandalism and theft.


Unfortunately, the vandals struck again on Sunday. And even more unfortunately, it was Eric's truck they hit.


Eric had stopped at the church for just a few minutes to drop something off at the Stake offices. He probably wasn't even in the building for ten minutes. When he came outside he noticed his passenger side window was shattered. What was taken was his set of scriptures and his church bag which contained church documents, instructions, etc., and a $56 check for a local printing company.


The items taken were not monetarily valuable, but they were significant to Eric. He was devastated to lose his scriptures. They were from his mission, so were well-used and marked up. His patriarchal blessing and his mission tag were also in them.


We spent several hours driving around the neighborhood on Sunday, checking every shrub, ditch, and dumpster we could find, hoping to retrieve the items that surely would just be dumped. Eric talked to several local people about anything they saw, or asking where the kids tended to hang out. He stopped and talked to a homeless man (or nearly homeless, anyway) who had a sign on the side of the street, begging for help. They talked for quite a while, and he gave him some good leads. Finally Eric gave him everything that was in his wallet. It was only nine dollars, but hopefully it helped him some.


After that Eric walked around some questionable areas that are notorious for punks hanging out. He made me nervous, so I sat in the driver's seat, ready to honk the horn if needed, and with cell phone in hand!


Finally, defeated, we went home.


Today Eric replaced the window in his truck. He saved quite a bit of money by doing it himself. But he told me he was up for a lot of the night thinking about what happened.


It wasn't just the glass that was broken.