I finally finished my last test this morning, and am now officially done with school for the summer! It is rather an odd feeling, to be able to spend a day doing exactly what one wants, after having been so busy for so long. I actually found myself wandering aimlessly around the house a little while ago –I think I’m still in shock. : )
I have only a very brief time of freedom, however, because the summer is only three short months long, and before I know it, I will be back in school again. I have determined that I shall endeavor to spend my time so well that I will be so tired of “freedom” by the end of the summer, I shall be glad of schoolwork again. : )
My first order of business has been to reacquaint myself with our kitchen. I have been sadly very remiss in my helpfulness to Mommy since I started school, and since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, I decided to bake a cake.
Of course, after I finished putting the cake together, I had to clean the kitchen, since I had made such a mess, and by the time I had finished that, I was exhausted. –I really need to do more housework, so that I can build up my strength again!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
A Light at the End of the Tunnel
Next week is my last week of school. It’s strange that time can go so fast, and yet feel so slow. I am greatly looking forward to the summer and have but to survive next week with its two seven-page research papers and three finals, and then I shall be free to do whatever…well, whatever my family wants me to! (I guess I won’t have that much more freedom, but it’s worth it anyway.) : )
One of the first things I will need to start working on right away is setting up the organizational/business end of my piano studio, while my brother finishes putting the final touches on the sheetrock in my studio. (Yes, we finally have everything ready to rock!) Then, once I have actual, tangible walls in my studio, I will don my grubbies and become a painter for a while. (Not my favorite job, but hey, it is my studio, after all.) : ) Once the paint dries, my next task will be to find two pianos to put in the studio, (hooray for Craigslist!) have my two strong men move my organ out of the garage and into the house, (no more practicing with stiff, cold fingers!) and set up for business. Teaching from home will be more complicated, but it will definitely be worth it!
And then there’s the garden. One of the things I look forward to the most this summer is working on our still non-existent garden. We have to get rid of the grass in order to put in the raised beds, which means lots of difficult digging, but I actually kind of enjoyed myself last year when Daddy and I re-did the garden beds at our old house. I love being outside, and this will be the perfect excuse! : )
Well, I suppose I should stop dreaming and come back to the prosaic reality of looming homework…
One of the first things I will need to start working on right away is setting up the organizational/business end of my piano studio, while my brother finishes putting the final touches on the sheetrock in my studio. (Yes, we finally have everything ready to rock!) Then, once I have actual, tangible walls in my studio, I will don my grubbies and become a painter for a while. (Not my favorite job, but hey, it is my studio, after all.) : ) Once the paint dries, my next task will be to find two pianos to put in the studio, (hooray for Craigslist!) have my two strong men move my organ out of the garage and into the house, (no more practicing with stiff, cold fingers!) and set up for business. Teaching from home will be more complicated, but it will definitely be worth it!
And then there’s the garden. One of the things I look forward to the most this summer is working on our still non-existent garden. We have to get rid of the grass in order to put in the raised beds, which means lots of difficult digging, but I actually kind of enjoyed myself last year when Daddy and I re-did the garden beds at our old house. I love being outside, and this will be the perfect excuse! : )
Well, I suppose I should stop dreaming and come back to the prosaic reality of looming homework…
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sneezes and Sniffles
Here I sit, bundled in blankets and tethered to my box of tissues. I have a cold. But I can’t complain too much, because this is the first time in over a year that I’ve actually been sick. I’m done with my homework for the week, and hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time doing things I actually want to do for a change. : )
I was just thinking as I sat here sniffling that being sick can actually be a good thing for me. It will force me to get the rest I need, and give me a chance to unbend my mind a bit before the next week of schoolwork. It will also help me to appreciate all the things I can do when I’m well. (It seems I need to have my ability to function taken away to make me appreciate it.) Once I am over this cold, my immune system will be stronger and I will be better able to sympathize with others who are ill. I will also be eager to get to work again, after watching everyone else working and being unable to help. I can also use this time to be a blessing to my family, by being as patient as possible and trying to cheer everyone up, even though I am making extra work for them. (Hopefully that won’t be as counter-productive as it sounds.) : )
I am reminded of Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:20, where we are commanded to give thanks to God “always for all things.” –Even sickness.
I was just thinking as I sat here sniffling that being sick can actually be a good thing for me. It will force me to get the rest I need, and give me a chance to unbend my mind a bit before the next week of schoolwork. It will also help me to appreciate all the things I can do when I’m well. (It seems I need to have my ability to function taken away to make me appreciate it.) Once I am over this cold, my immune system will be stronger and I will be better able to sympathize with others who are ill. I will also be eager to get to work again, after watching everyone else working and being unable to help. I can also use this time to be a blessing to my family, by being as patient as possible and trying to cheer everyone up, even though I am making extra work for them. (Hopefully that won’t be as counter-productive as it sounds.) : )
I am reminded of Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:20, where we are commanded to give thanks to God “always for all things.” –Even sickness.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Pride and Puddles
It was a typical spring day with its mixture of rainstorms and sunbursts, and Mommy and I were out for a walk. We had gone our usual route and were bound for home when we came to a very large puddle. This puddle had somehow grown larger since we passed it just twenty minutes before, and though we were able to walk around it then, it now covered the whole path. Mommy began to try to find the best way to get across without getting wet or muddy, but I stopped to ponder a more perplexing problem. Unlike Mommy, I was not trying to figure out how to get across the puddle without getting wet and muddy. I was wondering whether or not I was too old to splash through the puddle, instead of going around as Mommy was doing. The ladylike thing would have been to gather up my skirts and tiptoe gingerly through the spongy grass at the puddle’s edge. That would have gotten me past the difficulty in the most dignified manner, but such a lovely large puddle was too good to miss. : ) Either way I risked slipping in the mud and falling face first, like Anne in the cabbage field, getting both wet and muddy.
So there I was, standing at the edge of the puddle trying to discern how deep it was and how waterproof my boots really were. I apparently have not yet gained that kind of pride that supposedly comes with age to keep one from doing childish things like splashing through puddles, but I do have a glimmering of it that at least made me question the propriety of doing such a silly thing. Finally, I made my decision. I walked right through the middle of the puddle –being very careful not to splash.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Driving Test
Yesterday I went in for my driving test to try to get my license. I did pass, (barely) for which I am very thankful, but strangely enough, that wasn't the biggest blessing of the day. --But to explain that I need to give some background.
My driving instructor had taken me to the parking lot at the DMV to practice driving the harder of the two routes they take people on. (It was closed that day) He told me that, of the numbered parking spaces they assign people, the first three were the easiest to pull into. The other three had a planter/traffic island behind them that made pulling in and out very awkward. I had no problem pulling into number 3, so I was praying that I would be assigned that one.
The night before my test, Mommy and I went to practice in the parking lot of the DMV. We spent at least a half an hour just trying to perfect pulling into number 6, (which was the hardest one) just in case I had to. After successfully pulling into it a couple times, another car pulled in and looked like they wanted to practice the same thing, so we left them to it, and drove the test route until we found the next difficulty that needed practice. When we got back to the DMV parking lot, I decided to try pulling into random parking spots so that I could if they told me to at the end of the test. I couldn't seem to park without being extremely crooked, so we gave up and tried number 6 several more times. By that time it was far past my bedtime and I was very discouraged. I came home convinced that I would fail my driving test, and have to re-take the written test to renew my permit, which expired in a couple days, thus wasting both time and money -all because I failed the test the first time.
The morning of my test, I went up to the desk at the DMV for my parking assignment, and was told to pull up in spot number 3! The lady must have thought Mommy and I were very strange to be so happy about a parking assignment. : )
That was so encouraging to me, because it was a reminder that God really does hear and answer prayer. (It also made me feel much better about the test.) : )
~"The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
James 5:17
My driving instructor had taken me to the parking lot at the DMV to practice driving the harder of the two routes they take people on. (It was closed that day) He told me that, of the numbered parking spaces they assign people, the first three were the easiest to pull into. The other three had a planter/traffic island behind them that made pulling in and out very awkward. I had no problem pulling into number 3, so I was praying that I would be assigned that one.
The night before my test, Mommy and I went to practice in the parking lot of the DMV. We spent at least a half an hour just trying to perfect pulling into number 6, (which was the hardest one) just in case I had to. After successfully pulling into it a couple times, another car pulled in and looked like they wanted to practice the same thing, so we left them to it, and drove the test route until we found the next difficulty that needed practice. When we got back to the DMV parking lot, I decided to try pulling into random parking spots so that I could if they told me to at the end of the test. I couldn't seem to park without being extremely crooked, so we gave up and tried number 6 several more times. By that time it was far past my bedtime and I was very discouraged. I came home convinced that I would fail my driving test, and have to re-take the written test to renew my permit, which expired in a couple days, thus wasting both time and money -all because I failed the test the first time.
The morning of my test, I went up to the desk at the DMV for my parking assignment, and was told to pull up in spot number 3! The lady must have thought Mommy and I were very strange to be so happy about a parking assignment. : )
That was so encouraging to me, because it was a reminder that God really does hear and answer prayer. (It also made me feel much better about the test.) : )
~"The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
James 5:17
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Driving Lessons
I had my last driving lesson yesterday, and am going in for my driving test to try and get my license tomorrow (April 1) at 10:00, so if any of you think of it, I would appreciate prayer!
I learned a lot of new things while driving with my instructor. For example:
-The instructor's extra brake pedal can be very helpful
-There are a ridiculous number of school zones in our area
-It’s hard to look over your shoulder without turning the steering wheel, (although I’ve almost got that one down now.)
-Roundabouts are apparently called “traffic circles”
-The white lines that show where the side of the road is are called “fog lines”.
The other night, as I was driving home from church (for the first time) in the dark, I gained a whole new appreciation for the “fog lines”. As the oncoming cars came towards me, their lights made the other markings on the road hard to see, and since I had to concentrate fairly hard to keep inside the lane in the first place, that made driving very difficult. I found, however, that the lights, though they blinded me to some of the markings on the road, made the fog lines easier to see. So as I drove down the road, trying not to crash into anything, I kept my eyes on the fog line, depending on it to keep me from drifting out of my lane.
Sometimes in life, things come at us that would try to blind us to the work God is doing in and through our lives. When that happens, it is so easy to drift off course and begin to believe the lies that Satan would throw our way. It is during those times that we must keep our eyes on the “fog line” --God’s Word, which alone can keep us from being blinded by Satan’s lies. Times of trial are meant to cause us to draw near to God, to let Him do that which needs to be done in our hearts. Too often, though, we are blinded by the trials and discouragements of life, and, losing sight of the “fog line”, drift away before we even realize it. A Sunday school teacher at my church once said, “The Christian life is like going up the down escalator.” The moment we stop moving forward, we begin losing ground. That is why it is so important for us to read God’s Word, and to keep growing closer to God. --We must keep our eyes on the fog line, if we are to stay on course.
~"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
II Timothy 3:16-17~
I learned a lot of new things while driving with my instructor. For example:
-The instructor's extra brake pedal can be very helpful
-There are a ridiculous number of school zones in our area
-It’s hard to look over your shoulder without turning the steering wheel, (although I’ve almost got that one down now.)
-Roundabouts are apparently called “traffic circles”
-The white lines that show where the side of the road is are called “fog lines”.
The other night, as I was driving home from church (for the first time) in the dark, I gained a whole new appreciation for the “fog lines”. As the oncoming cars came towards me, their lights made the other markings on the road hard to see, and since I had to concentrate fairly hard to keep inside the lane in the first place, that made driving very difficult. I found, however, that the lights, though they blinded me to some of the markings on the road, made the fog lines easier to see. So as I drove down the road, trying not to crash into anything, I kept my eyes on the fog line, depending on it to keep me from drifting out of my lane.
Sometimes in life, things come at us that would try to blind us to the work God is doing in and through our lives. When that happens, it is so easy to drift off course and begin to believe the lies that Satan would throw our way. It is during those times that we must keep our eyes on the “fog line” --God’s Word, which alone can keep us from being blinded by Satan’s lies. Times of trial are meant to cause us to draw near to God, to let Him do that which needs to be done in our hearts. Too often, though, we are blinded by the trials and discouragements of life, and, losing sight of the “fog line”, drift away before we even realize it. A Sunday school teacher at my church once said, “The Christian life is like going up the down escalator.” The moment we stop moving forward, we begin losing ground. That is why it is so important for us to read God’s Word, and to keep growing closer to God. --We must keep our eyes on the fog line, if we are to stay on course.
~"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
II Timothy 3:16-17~
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Imperfect Pitch
Ever since I started seriously studying music, I have been fascinated by people who have perfect pitch. It is always amazing to me that they can, just by hearing a note, tell which note it is. I have heard that perfect pitch is something one can develop, and think it would be interesting to try, but I am not sure exactly how to go about something like that.
This week, I cleaned the outside of my electric organ (which is still in the garage) so that I can practice on it. The inside still needs to be cleaned out, but since I needed to practice for church tomorrow, I decided to fire it up anyway. I had not played it since we brought it home, and I had a lot of fun experimenting with the different stops to figure out just the right combination. Once I finished “playing” (no pun intended) with the stops, I played a chord with a bass note, and found that half the pedals on my organ are a half step flat from the notes on the keyboards. ‘~’ The result of this is a discordant cacophony which makes my family very glad that the organ is still in the garage. : )
That’s what got me thinking about perfect pitch. If had gotten my wish and been able to develop perfect pitch, practicing on my organ would have been torturous until my brother figures out how to tune the pedals, and I really needed to practice this week.
Often, when God denies us something we really want, He is actually being merciful. Just as parents sometimes must deny their child something for what seems to the child to be no reason at all, so we often do not know or realize that God really is working for our good.
This week, I cleaned the outside of my electric organ (which is still in the garage) so that I can practice on it. The inside still needs to be cleaned out, but since I needed to practice for church tomorrow, I decided to fire it up anyway. I had not played it since we brought it home, and I had a lot of fun experimenting with the different stops to figure out just the right combination. Once I finished “playing” (no pun intended) with the stops, I played a chord with a bass note, and found that half the pedals on my organ are a half step flat from the notes on the keyboards. ‘~’ The result of this is a discordant cacophony which makes my family very glad that the organ is still in the garage. : )
That’s what got me thinking about perfect pitch. If had gotten my wish and been able to develop perfect pitch, practicing on my organ would have been torturous until my brother figures out how to tune the pedals, and I really needed to practice this week.
Often, when God denies us something we really want, He is actually being merciful. Just as parents sometimes must deny their child something for what seems to the child to be no reason at all, so we often do not know or realize that God really is working for our good.
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