dianesbrain

Opera Fun

2011-09-01T20:10:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/lyricalmezzo#p/a/u/1/PXG3GYaqty4

http://www.youtube.com/user/lyricalmezzo#p/a/u/0/RlT-PvTaj7k

Invisibility Cloak

2011-05-07T15:19:00.003-04:00

in·vis·i·ble /ɪnˈvɪzəbəl/ Show Spelled
[in-viz-uh-buhl] Show IPA

–adjective
1. not visible; not perceptible by the eye: invisible fluid.
2. withdrawn from or out of sight; hidden: an invisible seam.
3. not perceptible or discernible by the mind: invisible differences.
4. not ordinarily found in financial statements or reflected in statistics or a listing: Goodwill is an invisible asset to a business.
5. concealed from public knowledge.
–noun
6. an invisible thing or being.
7. the invisible, the unseen or spiritual world.
Use invisibility in a Sentence
See images of invisibility
Search invisibility on the Web

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Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Latin invīsibilis. See in-3 , visible

—Related forms
in·vis·i·bil·i·ty, in·vis·i·ble·ness, noun
in·vis·i·bly, adverb
qua·si-in·vis·i·ble, adjective
qua·si-in·vis·i·b·ly, adverb

—Synonyms
2. veiled, obscure.

Why am I posting the definition of this word? There are times when I don an invisibility cloak. This is usually not conscious nor is it related to any specific time of year, month, day or season. It is a random donning that even I don't know about. Now, friends will back me up on my social invisibility...I can not tell you the number of times I have met someone for the "first" time. It is the first time for them (so they think) but the umpteenth time for me. And if someone does remember meeting me they inevitably call me by the wrong name. Usually Donna, Dana, Debbie, even once a Michelle and a Linda. Few get so daringly close as Diana and even fewer get Diane. I am accustomed to this type of invisibility.

The more unusual type of invisibility, and much more troublesome, is public invisibility. I get this randomly in such places as the grocery store, Target and occasionally at Home Depot. The worst case was a recent trip to Davis Produce, which I love. I was in line with my produce and the cashier waited on everyone behind me in line and never noticed that I was there - I have a witness to this. I don't know why I didn't just leave with my bounty of produce...I finally got her attention and she obviously had never seen me standing directly in front of her.

Here is what is frustrating about the whole invisibility issue. I have no control over it. I can't sneak into a meeting unseen, I can't hide and get the numbers for a safe full of money and I can't commit and get away with any crime. So what I really need is not sympathy for my apparent lack of memorability. What I need is tips on controlling this "power" so I can benefit from it. Are there any other invisibles out there with the secret to this odd gift from the universe. Are you watching me now? I sense your presence...make yourself known...teach me the secrets of this life style.

New Years 2011

2011-01-11T11:51:00.001-05:00

This may be my new favorite picture

Time Delay

2011-01-11T10:19:00.002-05:00

What do you do with an unexpected day off? You make waffles is what! We have had some unusual winter weather for Savannah as of late which caused my school to go on a 2 hour delay meaning my 8:00 class was canceled and today all I had on the books was an 8:00 class. Ah the joy of winter. Of course I will be grumbling mightily when we have to make up the day later, but for now I am happy.

Ringing in 2011

2011-01-02T14:42:00.002-05:00

The new year is well underway. We kicked it off in style with what is becoming an annual oyster roast. Steamed oysters for about 30 people - lots of adult beverages flowing, two fire pits roaring - lots of laughter, reverie and all around good times. This is how the new year should be!

Reflections on 2010

2010-12-15T10:55:00.000-05:00

2010 has been a year of ups and downs as I guess is any year. There were times of great joy, disappointment, stress, pain, fun, sadness, celebration and all that goes into your typical year. It has felt like a tougher year than typical for me so I thought instead of reflecting on a somewhat disappointing year for me, I would reflect on the people in my life who amaze me every day; people I am more than proud and greatly honored to call friends.
Here is a breakdown of some of the amazing things I get to witness:
Despite a year of great personal stress, one friend of mine has completed 3 half marathons, managed to have more grace than just about anyone could expect and is planning to do a full marathon next year. I know I can’t quite keep up that pace, but I am so looking forward to another year of knowing her and watching what comes next.
I have another friend who is a few months into a yearlong trip around the world! She and a friend of hers started in South America and are currently finding magic and wonder and much of themselves in Africa. Later in the trip they will be in parts of Asia!! WOW. It has been so inspiring to watch their progress and read about their journeys, both physical and spiritual. You can follow them too on http://www.girlventures.net/
I have spent this year getting to know my neighbor whom I am now glad to count among my friends. She too is amazing. She is a gifted artist albeit a very humble one. She loves tradition – so much so, she cuts down her own Christmas tree every year. In addition to being artistically gifted – she is one hell of a sports fan and totally devoted to those Baltimore teams as well as a very special attachment to the Savannah Sand Gnats. OH and she happens to make, hands down, the BEST margarita!
Two great friends are raising a wonderful young man, composting with worms and now raising chickens?!? They are also accomplishing knocking off camping at GA State parks one by one and tackling new feats in running. Congrats on your first 10K – we will definitely do the next one together!
Losing both parents within a month, another friend has shown great strength and courage and as always, a delightful sense of humor. It has been a great privilege to count myself among her friends.
My academic genius friend is on book number three and continues to travel the globe with a trip to Egypt looming on the horizon. Her husband – a documentarian – is making sure we all know of and appreciate our troops in Iraq. This wonderful pair is also working on adopting who will be a very, very lucky child.
A son away at college, a husband with a hip replacement, a brilliant second son with a few special needs – this woman can put the energizer bunny to the test. I am so impressed.
A precocious grandchild of this friend wrote to an author about a liking a book…that author responded in a hand written letter and is inviting us all to meet her in February. This friend is also an AWESOME baker and a pleasure to know.
My best friend continues to share half of my brain and though she insists on living way too far away I always take comfort in the fact that she is ever present in my life and my heart. I don’t know how I would survive without her.
My family continues to be a source of love and support and I really couldn’t ask for more from them.
I continue to be amazed at the people in my life. I am so lucky to have them as examples of strength, love, support, and wisdom and many other adjectives I am sure I am missing. I look forward to 2011 with these and many other friends I am sure I forgot to mention here. I look forward to seeing the success my students find and hope that in some small way I am a part of that success. I wish all of my friends and family continued success and I will continue to be amazed by you all. I hope for a year of health and happiness and new adventures.

Summer 2010 - can kiss it!

2010-08-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

Where have I been and what happened to summer?

My summer started out with a bang with the previously blogged performances with long lost friends and locals I don’t see nearly often enough. Then August came and there were no blogs of summer adventure, no tales of travel, no pictures of me in exotic places. Oh there were plans for summer 2010, yes, there were plans. So, what happened? Well the universe intervened. First up, the a/c in the car went out. Not a big deal unless you live in South Georgia and your summer plan includes travel in a said car. So, I put my beloved Mrs. Ticklefeather in the shop and $804.00 later, I can store meat in my car. The $804.00 put quite a kink in my travels. Now I couldn’t afford my plane ticket to Colorado or even hotels and gas to drive to New York even though once I got there lodging would be gratis. I accepted my fate and decided to stay close to home. I had just endured the expense of a move and a summer to unpack closets and organize a house wouldn’t be too bad right? Ah, the universe is not done with me yet. I jumped in my car to meet Julian – the newest addition to the family of very close friends. He was adorable – worth the trip and it meant too, that I could stop at IKEA and Trader Joes on the way home. The topper of the trip was to see the Braves in action against Milwaukee. Car packed and headed toward the stadium, the clouds open up and drop much needed rain on the city of Atlanta. Hmmm, no baseball. Spirit dampened, but not broken, I head the car towards home and decide to shop along the way or pull over and hike at a state park. Safely out of the Atlanta traffic, I stop for gas. Ready to hit the road I turn the key and hear the sickening sound of a car that is not going to start. I grab my jumper cables and immediately – in true Southern hospitality – several people offer a jump. I accept one offer and the car starts right away. I drive away trying to keep my spirit of adventure, but with the thought of stopping is the nagging feeling that if I do – the car won’t start. So…I head toward home and don’t stop the whole way. I get home, tired and annoyed, but hoping to salvage the summer in some way. The next morning I drive to the battery store and get the battery tested. Yup – it’s a dud. I buy a new battery - $100. Okay – new a/c, new battery, car is ready for the rest of summer even if all I do is drive to the park to run. I have a nice dinner, bemoan my summer for a few minutes and don’t give it another thought. I arise the next morning to face whatever adventures I may find and I see that my car has a flat tire. I finish my coffee and gird my loins and set out to put on the spare. An hour later I have the tire off – thanks to some final internet advice to just kick the tire – uhm – ok. I am skeptical but it works and the getting the spare on takes no time at all. It is still early and not a hot day by Savannah standards so I load the flat tire in the car and head to the tire store with the plan to run home and await the call that the car is fixed. I get to tire store and am apparently the billionth person in line waiting to leave my car. An hour later my paper work is complete and I am set to run. Of course NOW it is 11:30 and officially hot. I decide to ignore this and run home anyway. 50 minutes later I am home, hotter than I thought possible and then the call comes from the tire store. There is hole in the sidewall of my tire – I need a new one. Another $100 down the drain. Definitely the universe is telling me to stick close to home. FINE. I accept my fate begrudgingly. Now $1000 out of pocket I am too poor to even enjoy the city. I decide that I will just run every day and make the best of it. The summer whiles away and I get emails and pictures from friends who are traveling the globe and having untold adventures. Hmmpff. Now I am feeling sorry for myself. I stress eat and undo the good the running was doing. Now I am back where I started at the beginning of summer – showing no signs of all the physical work I did the past few months. I decide to get back to the running –more rigorous this time. I am doing well. I clock further and faster times every day. I am getting ready to start the new school year. The only thing left to do is go to the dentist. I have my cleaning and am told I am an excellent flosser – I beam with pride. My gums are in excellent condition, very little receding for my age, hmm, I guess that is a compliment. I am thinking I am going to get off scot free at the dentist. Then the dentist asks if I grind my teeth. I say, no. You look athletic (nice) do you lift weights – some small weights - not serious lifting. (now I wondering what the questions are for). The dentist then says “hmmm, interesting.” I think “interesting?” really, this is about the most boring conversation ever. Then he says well – it could be the age of these fillings, but you have severe cracks in your molars. I think okay, what does that mean? Before I can ask – he informs me that he recommends capping them. This is the best option. If I wait for them to break it would mean root canals or worse, pulling the teeth and then needing false teeth? ACKK! I have good teeth! I am a good flosser! These fillings all came when I got my braces off and had 8 cavities. I haven’t had one since and that was way back in high school. I take a deep breath. I pay for my cleaning. I get the print out of the estimate for the 8 crowns he wants to do – 10 if you count in the two that aren’t necessary, but cosmetic – to replace crowns from a fall I took as a pre-teen and busted my front teeth. So now I sit working on syllabi, preparing for school to start again. I have a summer vacation of car repairs and now I face a school year, with no dental insurance, wondering how I am going come up with $10,000.00 for dental work. Let this be a lesson to all of you who are jealous of teachers for having summers off. Am I better off for having had 6 weeks off? I can’t wait to get off this crazy roller coaster summer of 2010!!!! Bring on the exhaustion and overwork of the school year…at least I know how to handle that. And universe – GO PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE!

Night of Opera

2010-06-12T19:52:00.002-04:00

I sang with an awesome bunch of friends last night - here are some clips of some of the songs

When I am Laid - from Dido and Aeneas
Ah quel diner - from Perichole
Ah perdona - from Clemenza di Tito
Crudel perche finora - from Marriage of Figaro

Video from Reunion

2010-06-10T16:12:00.002-04:00

This the song that has gotten stuck in my head the most from the weekend reunion

20 years!

2010-06-07T08:51:00.003-04:00

This weekend brought about a 20 year reunion with my college chamber choir. 20 years ago we toured Eastern Europe just after the fall of the iron curtain. It was a life changing event for all of us and though most of us have lost touch over the years, we fell back into our friendships with the ease of a worn pair of jeans. We spent 2 days rehearsing songs we took on tour, some well remembered, others not so much. On Sunday afternoon we put on a concert of the songs we deemed polished enough for public performance. Considering the gap of 20 years the concert was pretty darned good. Many parents and friends were in the audience along with many kids watching their parents sing for maybe the first time ever. It was truly an exhausting and memorable weekend. I sincerely hope it is not another 20 years before I see all of these wonderful friends again.

New Place - it will soon also be filled with boxes!

2010-05-21T20:49:00.006-04:00

Moving

2010-05-21T17:56:00.002-04:00

My sister and I are leaving a house we love, but it is growing too small and the owner wants to sell it. We love our neighbors and hated the idea of moving. We did some detective work on an empty house in our neighbor hood - literally three doors down from our current place - and we discovered that the owner was very interested - excited even - to rent to us. Awesome. We get to stay in our neighborhood and we don't need to rent a moving van. We also have about a month to get stuff moved over. All of these things are great. We have just started the packing process and I am already HATING the sight of the boxes. Unfortunately, we don't have a room in which to store the boxes so the walls are literally closing in on us. Eventually, it will all be worth it, but at the moment I am feeling anxious...I think it is my claustrophobia kicking in. Will post some pics when things begin to get moving. I am going to try to talk my sister into letting me get some stuff moved over this weekend. I could definitely get some bookshelves moved over and the dining room would be an easy move. The rest of the weekend plan includes a 5K - weather permitting - to support the robotics camp at Georgia Tech - good times.

Racing a Plenty

2010-04-10T12:03:00.001-04:00

Racing a Plenty
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I ran another 5K this morning - one benefiting the local Ronald McDonald house. It was a nice course mostly flat with two passes over an overpass so a bit of a challenge with two uphill climbs - the second of which was about 1/2 mile from the finish line. I felt good about my time - 29:29 and when I got home I went to put my number with the other pile of numbers I have. I thought it was an impressive pile and I know there are at least 3 missing...so I took a shot of them. Unfortunately I haven't kept great track of my times, but last week I started posting the times on the back of the numbers - maybe this will keep me motivated to get faster and faster. Next week I will run my 3rd race of the month and it is a flat course, so I am hoping for a good finish. Hopefully the pollen count will be down by then. It was very high this morning - I had pollen on my clothes when I got home from the race!
Since finishing the race this morning I have planted my basil for the season, and am going to try growing leaks in a big container - we shall see how that goes. Last year my tomatoes did terribly so I don't know if I am going to try again. I had beautiful leafy plants, but no fruit...I may just stick with the herbs this year.
I am thinking of going out and enjoying even more of this beautiful weather today - sunny and high of 73...just about perfect!
Happy Spring everyone!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-03T17:13:00.002-04:00

I had a great day on Friday. I ran at Forsyth Park and enjoyed all the beautiful blooms. After my run I strolled around the park and took pictures. Friday evening I sang at a Tenebrae service. Saturday morning started early with a 5K race on the beach at Tybee Island. It was a nice morning, but harder to run in the sand than I thought - the last 1000 yards were in the deep sand and I felt like I was trying to cross country ski in flippers, but I managed to make it through with a respectable time albeit not my best. After the race I went downtown to pick up some honey. We have the terrific local honey store and I was almost out of Tupelo Honey - my absolute favorite. I walked down to city market and saw the mascot for our local baseball team, the Savannah Sand Gnats. I ended up shooting a scene with Gnate - the mascot - in which he tries to make friends with me by offering me a praline and I take some Off out of my purse and try to spray him. Probably I will get booed at every home game for trying to kill Gnate the Gnat, but it was fun nonetheless. I finally got home and had lunch and then joined my neighbor on the lawn for an afternoon beverage. We watched the birds frolic for a while and then both decided it was nap time. I came in and watch some baseball and collapsed on the couch. Tomorrow it is Easter and I have to sing the sunrise service at the Isle of Hope Marina and then the 11:00 service before finally getting to enjoy some time with family and friends for Easter dinner. It has been a fun weekend, but I feel as if it won't be as restorative as I would hope to get me ready for the busy week ahead!

Blue Crab

2010-03-21T14:12:00.001-04:00

Blue Crab
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

These beautiful blue crab met their end in a steam pot. This is the before shot of the meal...it was the culmination of a short but sweet spring break. We gorged ourselves on the sweet meat of the blue crab as we sat in the backyard enjoying a fire, cold beer, and good company! Awww - it was delicious!

Awesome Moon

2010-02-28T18:10:00.001-05:00

Awesome Moon
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

February ends with a beautiful moon....a short but eventful month full of singing, eating, fellowship and even a bit of snow here in the deep south! Looking forward to warmer temps in March and more of all that February brought.

Bridge Run Part Deaux

2010-02-20T19:34:00.003-05:00

Today I went with friend and neighbor Terri and several other fine folks down to Brunswick to run their Bridge Run. It differs from the one in Savannah in that it has a longer span and the entire race occurs on the bridge - you run the entire span of the bridge (up and over) and then turn around do it again. It was indeed a challenge, but it was a nice day - one of the first nice days we have had this year. We all enjoyed the run and then a nice breakfast in St. Simons before heading back home to recover from the run. Race times haven't been posted yet - I know I didn't break any speed records but I will be curious to see how it compares.

2010-02-14T10:20:00.002-05:00

Yeah - 80's Party - need I say more?

Many fun memories remembered; ring pops, pop rocks, tater tots, and hair bands - what a weird decade! As the fashion of the 80's continues to find its way into 2010, we can all hope that, at the very least, the music will be better.

Where did January go?

2010-02-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

So…it is Groundhog Day. Seriously? Seriously?? What happened to the first month of 2010? Let me try to recount – New Years….uhm….dinner at Heidi’s with lots of friends and a fabulous food and fire…both schools started – OH yeah…that is where January went. Let’s see – I have, best that I can manage, kept up with the running and the work outs. I have tried new recipes and have made new friends. Most of my leisure time has been spent hanging around the house around a fire pit – or making oysters for a crowd of friends…so all in all – the year is off to a good start. But really…where did January go? I have loads of things to accomplish, music to memorize, and a life to lead…the clock needs to slow down!

2010 - is it a decade already?

2010-01-01T16:26:00.002-05:00

Another year gone - the time does indeed fly quickly; more quickly than I ever imagined it would. What did the last decade bring? Well for me it brought a masters degree and a doctoral degree - both in music - it didn't, however, bring a full time job to go with it. Perhaps this decade will provide the much needed full time job. I will put out in the universe the wish for that to happen also putting out in the universe meeting a wonderful man - even more elusive than a good job it seems. I rang out the old decade with friends and family, lots of food and festivity though missing family and friends are always missed at these times. I spent the first day of 2010 at home doing the loathsome tasks of life but not unhappy. I wish for you all a fabulous new year in which your dreams come true.

Deck the Halls

2009-12-24T16:51:00.002-05:00

The halls are decked, the presents wrapped. Two pans of potatoes prepared and ready to cook in the morning; turkey is in the brine and will be cooked in the morning as well. One more hour and then off to sing at the Candlelight service. I can't believe that Christmas arrived so quickly! Looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with Heidi, Adam and Carlos (if Carlos is still awake) then tomorrow will be all about food, family, fun and festivities (ooh and presents, I think I did okay this year with the buying. Hope you all have the most joyous holiday ever! Peace.

December starts with a bang

2009-12-06T16:36:00.006-05:00

December got here rather quickly don't you think? The first weekend was certainly a busy one. Saturday morning in 40 degree temps and a light rain I ran my first 10K.

It was over the Talmadge bridge twice (a 5.5%) grade 1.4 miles span; the race went through downtown Savannah and over the bridge - down the off ramp, under the bridge - back over the bridge and ended in front of the civic center. I was happy to have finished without stopping and I was just over my average mile per hour on flat land, so it was a pretty successful first 10K. After grabbing my towel and a couple of oranges I was in a hurry to get out of the cold. I came home and changed into warmer clothes before heading out for dirt and mulch to fill in some big puddles in the yard as I was also hosting an oyster roast for about 30 people that evening and the yard was a swamp. I got that taken care of, finally took a shower and then got everything set up for the party. We were celebrating two birthdays.

My Mom's 70th and my sister's 45th. It was a fun time! We ate all the oysters, a huge pot of chili, all but about 3 pieces of birthday cake, and a pot of oyster stew. Our friend Jerry brewed a lovely porter for the party and that was a perfect accompaniment to the cool night and the oysters. All had a great time and the evening was topped off seeing Georgia Tech edge past Clemson for the ACC Championship title.

Lots more pictures on Flickr if you want to check them out

Camilleas

2009-11-15T21:28:00.001-05:00

Camilleas
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

These are supposed to bloom in February - or at least that is what is traditional - oh well - some nice November blooms are certainly welcome.

Nearly Perfect Saturday

2009-11-14T15:01:00.005-05:00

The day started with a 6 mile run in perfect November temps. I came home and showered and ate and then hit the grocery store (the ickiest part of the day). I decided to drive out to Skidaway Island and walk along the river at the Oceanography Institute. Wow - what a perfect day. The sky was absolutely cloudless and there was a nice coastal breeze lifting the smell of the marsh into the air...ahhh. To top that off - Georgia Tech beats Duke to book a place in the ACC championship game!!

More pics here.

Working it out

2009-11-05T06:55:00.002-05:00

November has started much like any month this year. I have been quite busy with school and with trying to keep up with running - the real key of which is motivation which I often lack and when I get motivated to run I have to battle the demons in my head. While running my demons will such supportive things as "stop, you can do this tomorrow" (this is when the demons are still being nice). When that fails to work the demons go deeper "you aren't doing yourself any good, you aren't even loosing weight, what is the point" (this starts to work on my psyche, but usually against the demons as I will push a bit harder). Now the demons are really pissed off but I try to run through it. Now they go into reverse psychology mode. "You're doing great...especially for someone like you" (they aren't specific about the "like you" part of this nag). I ignore this voice and push a bit longer. I have really ticked them off now. This is usually the point where the demons work with my nervous system and cause all cooling abilities in my body to completely shut down causing me to get hotter and hotter and turn interesting shades of red and eventually turning to purple. When this fails to stop me the demons conspire with the universe and send the very elderly past me in a whiz of perfect running form...this starts to work as my legs are throbbing and my head is starting to hurt from the impending heat stroke. I find the water fountain. I cool my head and legs and catch my breath - the demons believe they have gotten me to stop and I am thinking the same thing. I start to feel slightly human again and just begin to mentally award myself for pushing through the demons and getting in a work out. This is when the universe sends a series of runners by with 0% body fat and perfect hair and beautiful white toothed smiles. This is the one and only time in the process when my demons and I agree and in a unison chorus of anger and resentment we start the run again. Turning toward home for the remaining 1.8 miles of the run, the battle cry "skinny bitches" echos through my head and co-mingles with the music in my i-pod. I arrive home somewhat satisfied but know that the demons are lurking for the next day when I lace up my shoes again.

zombie pumpkin

2009-10-24T20:45:00.002-04:00

October09 044
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

So - my friend Heidi called me this afternoon to see if I wanted to come over and carve pumpkins and eat dinner. I carved a zombie pumpkin, Carlos drew one of his own and Suz made a goofy faced pumpkin. It was fun to pull all the goo out of the pumpkins and then Heidi roasted the seeds for a tasty snack. I thought the zombie turned out pretty spooky.

Early October - Mixed Bag

2009-10-08T11:13:00.005-04:00

October has come with alarming quickness. It started with a taste of fall temps to come which has been swiftly replaced by the muggy remembrances of summer. Allergies run rampant as usual for me this time of year so eye drops and Kleenex are always at hand. The month began with what I hope is not ominous of things to come. Enjoying the sneak at fall temps, I went for a nice run and came centimeters from putting my foot right through a rotting rat carcass that was on the path. After almost jumping into traffic and getting run over, I resumed my run with the occasional shivering reminder of the creature. I ran inside the next day just to make sure there was no repeat of that activity and then the muggy heat came again and banished me to the indoors for a few more days. Feeling better and almost forgetting the rat, I sat down at the computer to find that I had a special offer to “find my match” on senior singles.com – well, ain’t that a slap in the face! Normally I would laugh this off and in the end that is what I had to do, but since I am an October baby, jokes about age are not always easy to slough off this time of year. And since I am approaching my countless birthday as a single – it was especially unwelcome! But I managed to rise above it an thoroughly enjoy one of Savannah’s best annual events, Picnic in the Park. This year’s theme was Johnny Mercer music.

There were themed picnics, great music (mostly) great food and wine and lots of merriment with 10,000 of my closest friends sans, of course, Mimi who was particularly missed. As the end of the second week of October looms, I have to wonder what treasures, surprises and insults await the later half of the month. I sit and wait for the other shoe to drop humming Van Morrison’s Moondance and hoping for more treats than tricks.

Wake me up when September ends

2009-10-01T17:47:00.006-04:00

Yawn. Thanks, that was not at all restful! It was a fun but busy September. I started school number two, worked on music and fought off a couple of colds. I felt pretty good about the result of some of my hard work. What was I working on? It was Bellini - and it almost kicked my butt. Follow the link to see my first (possibly last) High C.

The forecast calls for broken clouds

2009-09-13T18:12:00.002-04:00

Sunday came with broken clouds...yeah. It sounds like the beginning of a poem and were I someone capable of poetry I might have been able to turn that into something free verse and beautiful, but alas...I lack the skill. The term broken clouds actually came from my local paper today - it was a forecast I had never heard and I thought - man if I could write poetry - that would be my opening line. However, all I can give you is the opening line. I think at some point we all sit and write poetry - at least most of the girls I know have attempted it. Personally I love poetry, its actually one of my favorite things about singing...impressive is opera, and an aria can break your heart, but when you sing poetry, you are breathing and singing life into a soul. It is a privilege and an honor to do so and to do it well is one of the most gratifying things I can think of. I was watching CBS Sunday morning today and there was a poetry recitation competition among high school students. There were fifty competitors - one from each state - and they recited poems they had learned. It was so touching to see these teens not just memorize and recite a poem, but to embody that poem and bring the words to life. I remember as a young eighth grader having to memorize and recite a poem; probably what most eighth graders learned - Robert Frosts' "Two Roads Diverged..." I think for me, that is where it all started. Give me sonnets of Shakespeare, the verse of Swinburne, the beautiful and bewitching words of Burns...don't marry yourself to the rhyme of poetry, but rather the rhythm of its voice, the beauty of its secrets and the song that lies hidden within.

Last Sunday in August

2009-08-30T20:41:00.003-04:00

I can't believe how quickly August went - September right around the corner and the year will then just steamroll away - sigh. At least we are getting somewhat cooler temps as the evenings come around bringing some promise of fall and nicer weather for outdoor activities. The downside of all the rain we have had all summer is that even though it is getting nicer outside, the mosquitoes are taking over the world! School is back in swing although I still have one that will start after labor day so I am not yet in full swing, easing my way back in; working with new students and trying to avoid swine flu (college kids are germy). I've been doing well on the running, trying to extend my distance so I can possibly run a 10k in December. I am up to 5 1/2 miles with a day of recovery in between so I am pretty close, I just need to build up my endurance so it doesn't take so much out of me. I've been doing some singing lately - just completed a recital with the voice faculty at Georgia Southern - we sang the entire 26 Italian Songs and Arias, it was a fun night - now I am preparing a duet from Norma and getting back in the swing/sing of things. Lots of cooking in August - hoping to do even more as September rolls around...I am already looking forward to the traditional "first pot of chili" of fall - its always a the best one.

Festivus 2009

2009-08-16T13:25:00.002-04:00

Festivus Poles in progress
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

We decided it was high time to celebrate Festivus. I had some closet rods to spare and lots of paint and Heidi had loads of glitter...so the celebration began. The evening began with a pitcher of sangria; sauteed eggplant, and black-eyed pea burgers. After dinner we set about decorating the poles. We had four paint colors and we painted our hands and then grabbed the poles. They actually came out looking sort of like abstract flowers. We let them dry a little and then added the glitter. While the poles were drying we came inside for the feats of strength which amounted to a confusing wii boxing match between Suzanne and I and then one between Suzanne and Adam. There was a brief airing of grievances about compost and worms (don't ask) and then the second feat of strength came about this time in the form of wii bowling with Heidi taking first, Adam second, me third and Suzanne fourth. We polished off the sangria and then evening wound down. We headed home - each with a piece of the festivus pole. I will display mine in my office starting tomorrow. A festivus pole should certainly ease the transition from summer to the school year...here's hoping anyway. There are a few more pics of the celebration here.

Deep Dish Pizza

2009-08-11T21:12:00.003-04:00

I had a crazy allergy headache today from too much yard work. I trimmed all the azaleas and could smell the mold on them as I was cutting them - so - as I was healing with a few hours on the couch today, I was flipping channels and landed on Mystic Pizza. Naturally a pizza craving was not too far behind. I decided to mix up my typical pizza making and go deep dish. I used my regular crust recipe - as I was making the crust I preheated the oven to 400 and set the cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat as well. When the crust was ready I formed it and then set it inside the cast iron skillet and pressed it on the sides of the pan - it started to sizzle as soon as it hit the pan - yum. I put the crust in the oven for about 6 minutes while I prepared the toppings. I removed the pan - added the sauce, toppings of spinach and feta, and topped the whole thing with cheese - then back it went into the oven for another 17 minutes. The crust was crispy on the bottom and done all the way through - it was quite tasty! I will definitely do this one again. Normally I go for the thin crust but this was just what the doctor ordered.

10K

2009-08-07T17:41:00.002-04:00

No, no. I haven't made it up to a 10K yet, but am contemplating one in December. I have done the Savannah Bridge run for a couple of years now and I have really enjoyed it. I have accomplished the 5k many times now and at best can hope to best my time. I was thinking about trying the 10K this year and when a book club buddy decided to register for the 10K I went into full gear (full gear for one day now) trying to increase my run from 3 miles to 6. Today I accomplished 4 and had energy for more (slowing down the mph really helps in this regard) but am trying to stick to the training schedule I found online that helps you avoid injury and since I have hips susceptible to injury - I am not gonna go crazy with the training. So...tomorrow I will try to do some strength training and then Sunday will be my maintenance run. No idea if I can actually pull this one off, but it gives me something to accomplish other than trying to memorize Italian songs.

August begins

2009-08-04T13:35:00.004-04:00

August surprisingly began. The summer is slipping away and I have done very little that I said I was going to do. So, that is pretty much normal for the season. Here begins a made dash of procrastination before I absolutely have to get to work again. Yesterday I painted the computer room a color I mixed from other leftover colors so I am not sold on it 100%, but at least I know the bookcases, baseboards, and floors are clean.

Heidi and Adam have returned which means the keeping of the worms is passed back over to them; guess I will have to find another way to compost my veggie scraps!

It will be good to have them back even though we all have to go back to our crazy schedules all too soon. At least some order will return and we'll hopefully have some fun along the way!

The End of July

2009-08-04T13:13:00.008-04:00

Okay, yes I realize that it is August and yes I am writing about July, but I am playing catch up today - yet another task which allows me to procrastinate doing the things I should be doing to get ready for school. Yesterday I painted - more on that in the August blog to come later. July was highlighted by Mimi and Devin's visit and a dash to Atlanta for some shopping some comedy and a playing taxi driver to my friend Carolyn who I picked up at the airport.

I blogged a bit earlier about the Cavalcade of Fun. I should have kept better track of what all we did, but rest assured it was mostly eating...that's how we roll and how we keep ourselves rolly. We had a couple of cooking adventures after the flounder tacos. We had a the requisite fried shrimp feast (with a yummy salad, corn bread and mashed sweet potatoes) and later in the visit we had my parents over and had an evening of tapas. For the tapas we ate very well. Mimi brought some yummy chipotle cheddar cheese and crackers, Mom and Dad brought a delicious variety of fruit and I made a caprese salad, some seared tuna, black bean cakes, buffalo shrimp, roasted red and yellow peppers and some fresh bread (oh and of course some wine).

Outside of the kitchen, we also spent a day at the beach. We headed to Tybee on a Tuesday morning and basked in the sunshine for a couple of hours and then we headed over to the crab shack for the best boiled seafood around. We sat on the back river enjoying the breeze and our yummy lunches. I had the crab legs - delicious!

Sadly the cavalcade of fun once again is put on hold as Devin and Mimi headed back to pack up and move from Alamosa over to Rifle CO where Devin is starting a job teaching fifth grade!

At the end of the cavalcade of fun, I turned Mrs. Ticklefeather north and drove to Atlanta to stay with friends Jerry and April and to pick up Carolyn on the way home. Mostly this trip was about hanging with friends and shopping. There was an added bonus of getting to go to an improve show. It was a blast and we were treated to the best seats in the house courtesy artistic director and former high school chum Chip. It was a great time and we laughed a lot.

I got to shop at Trader Joe's (twice) and IKEA before turning south again and scooping up a very tired and still sick Carolyn and take her back to Statesboro to recuperate before school begins.

Blueberry Waffles

2009-07-20T10:40:00.002-04:00

Need I say more??

Resumption of the Cavalcade of Fun

2009-07-19T09:40:00.004-04:00

Mimi and Devin arrived in town last week and we have had fun bumming around town together. We made dinner the other night and then went to The Distillery for dinner:

Our kitchen fun began with a meal of fried flounder tacos and crab quesadillas - YUM! Hopefully we'll get more chances to cook together before their all too brief visit comes to a close.

Vocational Test

2009-07-13T13:35:00.002-04:00

I am evaluating my position in life. If I am doomed to be single forever I need to be able to live on my own, buy a house, and the other things one does as an adult usually with someone else, but if that's not to be the case then so be it. I love what I do. Teaching music to college students is satisfying and rewarding work and I love to see their progress as well as their love for what they do grow as they attain better skills in and more knowledge about music. The biggest problem I have with what I do is that I have yet to find a full time position. I am going on my fifth year since getting my doctorate and have not had the good fortune of a full-time job. I have been working part-time teaching jobs, eeking by and rolling the dice that next year will be the year. I think I am running out of next years. SO, I took some time today to take a vocational test to see what other things I may be suited for and would enjoy doing. My match came back with the over whelming result being - drum roll please......post secondary teacher in the creative arts. Damn. I guess I am doing what I am supposed to be doing - now what?

Virginia is for Hikers

2009-07-01T10:41:00.006-04:00

I just returned from my second vacation of June as well as my second wedding of June. My friends Andy and Mary were married on Saturday and my sister and I very much enjoyed the reception on Saturday evening. I am convinced the band is unemployed masters students from Shenandoah – they were awesome. But I digress – or actually I jump ahead. We arrived Thursday evening. Driving under the bossy influence of the GPS we arrived in Dulles around 7:00, checked into the hotel, put on clean shirts, and immediately went to Sweetwater Tavern for dinner and drinks (first visit of 3). We got our growler filled (sad story to come later) with one of their specialty brews called Wits End. Friday started off well. I got up early, no idea how, and went for a run in the hotel workout room. I got to watch Wimbledon while running so that made it a bit less horrible than usual. It was a bit overcast so we went shopping at Leesburg Outlets and drove around the old neighborhood. We had dinner in Clarendon (found courtesy of the bossy GPS) with Suzanne’s former work mate Kro and her boyfriend Felix. Clarendon is one of the many small towns now part of the DC commuter area. There is lots of good shopping and good eating in Clarendon if you should be in the area but are nervous about driving into the city. We managed to get back to the hotel and hit the sack after a long first day.

The weather turned beautiful on Saturday so we headed to Harpers Ferry to do a bit of hiking and sightseeing.

You can pick up the AT in Harpers Ferry and follow it into the historic town. It is a nice old civil war town. There is an active railroad station there and many interesting historical treasures. We hiked the mile or so to town, shopped around and then found a balcony on which to have lunch and watch the tourists walk the streets. After lunch we retraced out steps on the AT and drove back to Sterling to get ready for the evening wedding festivities. The reception was held at Clyde’s at Willow Creek in Ashburn Virginia. The have a covered patio and a nice bar. It was a lovely reception, great food, an open bar, and one of the best wedding bands I have ever heard. Also the tables were labeled with characters from Monty Pythons Holy Grail. This would have been funny by itself but it got better when the cake arrived and it was a replica of the castle in the Holy Grail complete with cow catapult and the Trojan rabbit….very funny. We ate, drank and danced the night away before heading back to the hotel to rest for another fun filled day.

Sunday was intended for another hike, but it was slightly rainy so we headed into Tyson’s Corner for more shopping. We hit the Trader Joes and got non-perishables then made our way to Tyson’s Mall – this is a big mall, but still just a mall really. We hit up the H&M (one of our favs), the L.L. Bean and Teavanna (a great tea store) before heading to Coastal Flats for lunch. Coastal Flats is one of the chain restaurants in the Great American chain. It is good, but we agree that Sweetwater is the best of the chain. We shopped as long as we could stand and then headed back to the hotel. We made plans to meet Linn at the Sweetwater in Centerville. We arrived a few minutes late and Linn was waiting at the bar. We didn’t have to wait very long for a table so we were happy about that. Our waitress had a funny voice – it was just under the pitch of a dog whistle, barely audible to human ears. I am sure this would have been a muppet character voice had she not been merely 12 years old. We enjoyed a great dinner – as usual, and good conversation. Linn gave me a bottle of Dennis’ last batch of wine which I am looking very forward to drinking and we headed back to the hotel. By this point in the trip we are pretty weary, but undaunted. We pre-pack since we have breakfast plans in the morning and hit the sack.

Monday morning came early! We rushed around getting ready to drive to Winchester to meet friends for breakfast. In our haste to pack and get out the door we left in the refrigerator a half full growler of Sweetwater beer. So not only did we leave beer behind, we left the growler – very sad indeed. I hope whoever cleaned the room makes good use of it! We made our way to Winchester to meet Janette (my former voice teacher from Shenandoah) and Grace (former classmate at Shenandoah for breakfast. We visited with them until almost lunchtime and then we had to get going. Before getting on the road we hit up the new bookstore on campus so I could replace my broken Shenandoah Conservatory mug. On the way out I ran into one of my theory teachers and had brief reunion. About 1:30 we got on I81 south and made our way to the Luray exit so we could enter the Shenandoah National Park at about the mid point. We found our trail at 3:20 and got in another beautiful hike. It was about 74 degrees in the park with very low humidity. Early on the hike we heard noises in the woods and managed to catch a couple of deer hiding in the brush – pretty cool – and oh, so glad it wasn’t a bear! We continued along the Rose River Trail as it descended over tree roots and rocks to a 67 foot cascade of waterfalls. Not ready to quit the hike we continued along to Doyle River Falls, but the lateness of the afternoon made us think better and we began to retrace our steps. This trail is deeply wooded so I didn’t want to get stuck trying to hike out in darkness or at feeding time for the animals since we were so close to the stream and had already seen deer and raccoons – I mean, how far behind could the bears really be? We pushed through and got back to the car a little after 6:00. We drove the 15 miles out of the park and then hooked back up with I81 South and turned toward Staunton to find a hotel and have dinner. We checked into the Days Inn and immediately headed to Baja Bean for margaritas and food. Much satisfied we headed back to the hotel to rest for the evening and prepare for the long drive home.

Tuesday morning we drove through Staunton to get some pics for Sandra before heading toward home. It was sad to leave the beauty of the mountains, but more sad to be driving in increasing heat. We got up to 96 degrees on the drive home and boy was it hot driving. Pulled into the driveway about 6:00 unpacked, greeted my sister’s cats and then I headed to the store to supplement dinner since the fridge was pretty barren. We tiredly watched the Braves pull out an extra inning win over the Phillies and then crawled to our own beds for a nice long rest. It was a good vacation, but I am happy to have some time at home since I only had one day between this trip and the previous one in Colorado. This is a small sampling of pics - if you want more, go here. There are lots more, but I am feeling lazy after these two fun trips.

Colorado Vacation/Wedding/Brief resumption of the Cavalcade of Fun

2009-06-24T16:46:00.011-04:00

Day one began early. I arrived at the Savannah Airport about 6:45am, checked in, paid the stupid $15 to check a bag and then I was on my way. I am thinking that next time I travel I will wear all my clothes since I can weigh whatever with no extra charge, but my bag has to be a certain weight and size – that will save me the $30 (checking bags each way). Boarded the plane about 7:30 and I heard a familiar voice…it was one of my students from SCAD going home to Dallas for the summer…it is such a small world!

I arrived at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport without incident, set my watch ahead one hour and awaited my connection to Colorado Springs. I noticed many things in the DFW airport that Savannah is too small to have including a tequila bar (no, I didn’t go, it was 9:45 in the morning), and vending machines selling such items as GPS systems and ipods – with my luck I would buy one and it would get stuck in that spiral thingy. There were also birds in the airport. They seemed oblivious the fact that they weren’t supposed to be there. They chirped along happily and dive-bombed anyone who got too close to their nests. My question is where the heck did they get the twigs and stuff to build those nests…I have no idea.

As I am waiting to board I notice a gaggle of college basketball players waiting to board the same plane as me. The shortest of them was probably a 6’2” point guard – and yes, they sat in coach. I imagine them folded up in those seats – I did hear the flight attendants warn each other to watch out for feet and elbows.

I arrived in Colorado about 12:15 and Mimi and Devin were waiting for me at the top of the escalators – so awesome to see them again – it was a nice little reunion. After retrieving my $15 checked bag we jumped in the truck and headed into Pueblo for lunch before tackling the rest of the drive to Alamosa. Got to Alamosa maybe around 4:00pm and we put together a nutritious dinner of appetizers and I think I went to bed around 9:30 – not, of course, yet adjusted to the time change.

Day Two started with a leisurely breakfast. Mimi made pancakes and we went off to run errands before the wedding this afternoon. Devin’s family got in around 1:30 and we had a lunch of sandwiches before getting dressed and ready to go to the courthouse for the nuptials. Laden with cameras and the marriage license we arrived at the courthouse about 4:40 and took some pictures while waiting for the judge to arrive. She showed up right at the crack of 5:00 in her black robe and keen sandals (gotta love that!). I stood up for Mimi and Dev’s Dad was best man. The service lasted about 15 minutes and had the requisite number of sniffles and tears.

More pictures and then we were off to the brew pub for a celebratory drink and dinner. The photographers/friends brought a cake so we had the traditional cake cutting after dinner. Then for the honeymoon, the newly married Mimi and Devin took back to their apartment, his mother, father and sister and me and we all crowded in for the evening – very romantic beginning to their lives together  We sat around for a while watching television and chatting before we all turned into pumpkins and went to bed. I was especially tired since I was still on Georgia time!

Day Three started with breakfast and Mr. and Mrs. Allen’s apartment. Bill, Eleanor, and Chandra (I claim them as friends now – so first name basis only) left a little after breakfast while Devin, Mimi and I puttered around the apartment packing and getting ready to follow behind to Montrose. We timed it perfectly to get to Crede, CO for a lunch at Kipp’s. If you are ever in Crede – you must go to lunch at Kipp’s – it is awesome. Dev and I got fish tacos and Mimi got pork tacos.

We walked around Crede for a while before getting back in the truck and continuing the trek toward Montrose. I made them stop at North Creek Falls as neither of them had ever seen it and then we tarried on, crossing the Continental Divide. We continued the drive along the Silver Thread highway all the way up to Slumgullion Summit (11, 530 ft), through the Gunnison National Forest and stopping at the Alfred Packer Massacre Site. We continued the journey along Highway 149 through Lake Fork, Blue Mesa Lake/Dam and made our way to Black Canyon. We entered the park from the South Rim. This is a really beautiful park – worthy of a visit if you are in the area. The canyon ranges from 1700 feet deep at Pulpit Rock to 2700 feet deep at Chasm View. I think we stopped at all of the overlooks. The comment of the day came from Mimi who pondered “if all these rivers keep cutting down into the canyons, will they eventually split the earth in two?”

We arrived in Montrose around dinner time. We timed our arrival with the beginning of the hog rally in Montrose so there were 100’s of Harleys in town. It was quite a long day of driving. We got to Devin’s parents house, staked our claim to sleeping spots and then headed out to pick up dinner before settling in for the evening. I think I was, again, the first person to go to bed. Still on Georgia time…very sleepy!

Day Four we arose and had breakfast before heading out to Monument National Park. Saw a funny sign on the highway: “Correctional Facility, do not pick up hitchhikers.” It gave me a good chuckle. Arrived at the Monument and decided to do the Devil’s Kitchen trail. It was a pretty easy trail and we enjoyed the blooming prickly pear cactus plants all around. We saw collared lizards everywhere and some very noisy nesting ravens. About ¾ of the way down the trail we stopped to rest and noticed the rock formation at the top of the hill. We thought it looked like a space ship and Dev and I decided to hike up and explore. We got into the space ship but couldn’t quite scurry all the way up to what would be the cockpit. There were great views of the surrounding mountains. We made our way back down, collected Mimi and continued driving through the park. The road runs right along the rim of the canyon so there were a few white knuckle moments for me as I had never been there and didn’t really know what to expect. We stopped at several of the overlook sites and got pictures before winding our way to the visitors center where we had our picnic lunches and plotted the rest of the day. We decided to go into Palisades and tour some of the wineries. This particular area of Colorado stays a bit warmer than the other parts so there are numerous vineyards and fruit orchards in this area. We visited a couple of them, but the wines at this time of year were all fruit varieties and none of us wanted to try them. After looking over the map we found a distillery that gave tours and tastings as well as a nearby brewery that did the same. We made our way to Peach Street Distillery. We got a brief tour of the facilities and learned about the process. They distill vodka, gin, brandy and grappa. I tasted the gin and it was very good and Devin tasted the peach brandy which he like a good bit. We then headed over to the brewery. It was only about a 2 blocks away so we walked and got there about ½ hour before the tour time. I tried one of their brews while Mimi and Devin had a sarsaparilla. The tables had trivial pursuit cards (young edition) so we read through those while relaxing before the tour. When 4:00 arrived we took a brief tour of the brewery and learned about their brewing process. They (Palisades Brewery) distribute throughout the state and the beer I had was pretty tasty.

We decided that was enough for one day so we headed back to Montrose for the evening. We went to dinner at a Nepalese restaurant. I had some sort of potato, cauliflower dish with a spicy tomato base, Mimi had some vegetarian curry and Devin had a soup with lamb – we were all happy with our choices. The food was quite good and nice after a long day in the car and on the trails. We headed back to Dev’s parents house and visited for a while before turning in for the evening. Again, I think I was the first in bed.

Day Five was party day. We went to the grocery store and got supplies for the low-country boil for the afternoon. Everyone arrived by about 12:30 and Mimi and I were doing our thing – chopping ingredients, boiling the water and getting ready to feed the masses. Devin’s Mom had a tiered cake for the wedding celebration and also some balloons for Father’s day. Of course no party would be complete without silly string and bubbles. We also had the pleasure of watching a humming bird build a nest under the carport. The low-country was, of course, a huge success. Devin’s Mom made some delicious sangria and we had a nice afternoon. After everyone left, we rested around the house and then sort of grazed on leftovers for dinner. Pretty sure I was once again the first one to go to bed.

Day Six we had breakfast with Devin’s parents before packing up for the drive back to Alamosa. We agreed to take the quickest way back so we could go to the Sunday concert in the park. I don’t remember the name of band, but it was a nice evening. Mimi and I deconstructed the low-country boil and made dinner for a picnic. I cut the corn off the cob and mixed it with black beans, green chilies and some fresh cilantro and other spices, we collaborated on the potatoes and came up with a potato salad with a vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, wasabi, worchester sauce, apple cider vinegar and various spices we could reach, we separated out the shrimp and left the sausage for Devin for later in the week. We packed the picnic and a thermos of leftover sangria and headed for the park. The weather was perfect, sunny and a little breezy. The food was awesome (of course) and the sangria had festered nicely. We left the park around 7:30 and headed back the apartment, put on a Rockies game and unwound from days of travel and sightseeing. Pretty sure I was the first in bed again…sheesh!

Day Seven Mimi mad French toast for breakfast and then Devin and I headed out to explore Penitente Canyon. We explored the canyon for a couple of hours, seeing everything as advertised except the rock art, but it was a nice day. We headed back toward town stopping at Kristi’s Mountain Sports store where I got a new skort and then heading next door to the co-op where I got tea for Mom and some roasted red peppers for Dad. We got back and had lunch before heading to the grocery store for the first and only meal Mimi and I would cook together. I made zucchini cakes and Mimi made a focaccia and Devin grilled chicken. We decided to go down the park and walk off dinner. It was again a nice night. We walked along the river (no idea which river it is) and enjoyed the breeze. We checked on the garden at Polston Elementary and then headed back toward the river. We noticed something unusual swimming in the river which at first we thought was maybe fish, but it turned out to be a family of beavers. Of course neither Mimi nor I had our cameras (first time all week) so we didn’t get any pictures. We watched them swim for a while and it was pretty cool until I got stung by a giant ant that crawled into my sandal. It burned BADLY. We headed back to the house and I medicated with Benadryl and Advil and then iced my foot. It helped a little when Devin brought me a bowl of homemade ice cream that Mimi had put together earlier. I got showered and continued to ice my foot until the Benadryl kicked in and I went to bed.

Day Eight I got up and re-packed my suitcase for the trip back home. We ate breakfast and left the house around 8:15. We made our way back through Fort Garland, over the La Veda pass through Pueblo and into Colorado Springs at about 11:15. Devin helped me check in and then we sadly parted ways at the gate before I went to stand in line at security. I made it through undetected and boarded the plane back to Dallas. I had about a 2 hour layover in Dallas. The gate for the Savannah flight changed about four times but I managed to keep track of it and it luckily it never changed concourses. I arrived back in Savannah about 9:20 in the evening and Suzanne was waiting for me. We got home and visited for a while before I was too pooped to hang on any longer and I went to bed.

Today I unpacked and did laundry and ran a few errands because tomorrow I leave again. This time headed for Northern Virginia to see another good friend tie the knot.

You can check out more pictures here

Summer Vacation (s)

2009-06-15T14:49:00.002-04:00

I am almost done packing (I think) for a trip to Colorado which has turned into a trip to a wedding which has turned into a bit more madness than I was probably prepared for, but all in all, I am sure it will be a great week with Mimi and Devin. I am back after that for about a day - enough time to do laundry and then load the car for drive up to Northern Virginia for another wedding! Two weeks, two weddings - whew. My hope in Colorado is that the altitude doesn't prevent me from getting in at least one great hike - I am hoping we have time built in for this. I also want to spend some time in the kitchen with Mimi - no telling what gourmet treasures we will invent or reinvent - but one thing for sure - it will be fun and it will be more than edible!

Virginia promises some visits with old friends and some favorite restaurants left behind. There is also a fair bit of awesome shopping within walking distance of the hotel so that has some promise. Hope too to get some time to spend in DC weather permitting - and a trek through the Shenandoah Mountains. This may be too much to two weeks but I undoubtedly end up wiht lots of good pictures and a few stories to share upon my return. I don't think I am going to try to take my computer with me to Colorado because it sounds like we will be in the car a lot, but I will take good notes so I can recreate my travels when I get home.

Safe travels to all of you as well!

Denim Blues

2009-06-12T15:08:00.003-04:00

Why do jean companies insist on putting lycra and/or spandex in their jeans? I can't find any 100% cotton jeans except in the mens department which is good because they are cheaper, but they look decidedly un-feminine - not I suppose, that any jeans look feminine, but sheesh! Oh and do they all also have to be super low waisted on top of that? The pants keep getting lower but shirts aren't getting any longer so my choice is mens jeans or women's jeans with stretch and my belly showing because my shirt isn't long enough to cover - grrrr.

OK - I am off to one more place to see if I can find something suitable. Wish me luck.

A day at the beach

2009-06-09T21:25:00.002-04:00

A day at the beach
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

Spent today avoiding productivity. I did pretty well - went to the beach, started a new book and bought some terrific fresh shrimp on the way home.

It was a nice day and It brought to mind this stanza - albiet about 3 months too late, but hey, I've been busy - from Swinburne's poem Chorus from 'Atalanta'

"For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remember'd is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins."

With the soaking rains we have of late this seemed to echo in my ears today.

Summer Vacation

2009-06-03T20:20:00.003-04:00

Well, June is here and I finally have some time off. So far its been pretty great. I started the day with coffee and some french toast.

I went for a run on the beach and then relaxed in my chair reading and soaking in the breeze and the sun. I came home and organized files and fun stuff like that which have been sorely neglected. Afterwards I cut the front yard because it is supposed to rain tomorrow and then I came in and I ate a huge salad with all fresh veggies, fresh blueberries and feta. Finally I am relaxing with a margarita with fresh strawberries!

I love vacation - it is really just too bad that the pay stinks!

Gardenia from the yard

2009-05-21T20:42:00.004-04:00

Gardenia from the yard

The rain is good for something I guess. Yes, it has been raining for about 9 days now and except for the beautiful flowers and the abundance of herbs, I am pretty much over the rain. This is a gardenia from the yard - if it weren't raining I would be sitting on the back steps taking in the sweet, sweet smell of these flowers!

The rain has not dampened the love fest in the back yard with the birds, in addition to the cardinals, I caught some thrashers in the same pose, just missed them with the camera.

Chocolate Happiness

2009-05-13T21:02:00.004-04:00

A little over a month ago I got a message from a recently reacquainted high school friend currently living and performing in Berlin. She asked what kind of chocolate I like. Of course I said dark chocolate. Well - a couple of days ago the package from Germany arrived and inside were gradually darker chocolate bars ranging from 50% all the way up to 99% and a special dark chocolate and chili bar I am saving.

Last night after a dinner I had red wine left and these chocolate bars so I did a tasting, starting with the 50% and working all the way up to the 99%. I have to say my favorite was the Cote d'Or 86%...it is hard to describe the different flavors, they of course get a bit more bitter, but really the only truly bitter one for my taste was the 99% which was not only bitter, but make me salivate and sort of made my gums feel like they were tingling. Also it does dye one's mouth.

I am looking forward to enjoying each of these and I will save the chili one until it can be put to good use, I always follow good advice. :)

May is a mixed bag so far

2009-05-10T09:32:00.002-04:00

Good:
May arrived with good weather and a nice weekend with a visit from a good friend. We hung out cooked some dinner and then I made her run a 5K with me – we didn’t set any land speed records, but we finished and had a good time.

Bad:
I then caught some sort of plague from one of my many students. It is still hanging on despite cough medicine with codeine and a course of antibiotics.

Good:
I completed another year at Georgia Southern and my students sang very well at their juries. It was a tough year trying to juggle two schools and private students and I am not sure they didn’t all get shorted in some way. I will try to do better next year and not over extend myself.

Bad:
This could mean that I have to nix the private students.

Also Bad:
I have three weeks left at SCAD including finals and make-up lessons for the time I was out sick with the plague.

Better:
Felt well enough to have dinner with friends last night. It was an early evening, but I made the squash cakes I have become so fond of and they were, again, a bit hit.

Good:
It is another beautiful sunny Sunday. It is Mother’s day and I remembered to get Mom a gift. I have nothing big to accomplish today other than getting prepped for school tomorrow and another long week lay ahead.

I wonder what the rest of the month will bring?

Home-made Pizza

2009-04-21T19:51:00.001-04:00

Home-made Pizza
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

Yeah - this was my Tuesday evening. Hand made and delicious. Spinach, feta and sun dried tomatoes. You can read more about it on the 1700milesofcooking.wordpress.com blog

Painting, cooking, planting, THIS is relaxation people

2009-04-19T17:25:00.003-04:00

I have been busy this weekend - not busy like work, blah, blah busy. I planted my basil which is already about double in size and has me dreaming of pesto in the near future. I have cooked lots of good meals and have another one in the works tonight. I am making crab cakes and zucchini cakes - YUM; also some bread with boursin spread and the wine is chilling as I type. My big project for the weekend was painting my bedroom. The color - according to Behr - is grape leaves. I don't know about that, but its a nice tranquil color so it should help me make it through the remaining days of school.

Sand Gnat and SCAD Bee going at it

2009-04-09T21:50:00.002-04:00

Sand Gnat and SCAD Bee going at it
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

The week is almost done and I managed to finally squeeze in a little fun going to an exhibition game between the Sand Gnats and the SCAD Bees - of course the best part of the game was the mascots going at it; still, its baseball and that means spring so it was great. It also happened to be a full moon and there was an awesome sunset, so that was a nice bonus. On top of that - I had jury duty this week and did not have to serve even though its the lowest number I or any of my friends had ever had, I managed to escape my civic duty this time around.

Friday will be a bit of a long day teaching, but I should be able to enjoy a few hours of perfect Savannah spring weather before I have to get cleaned up for Good Friday services.

Here's to all of you also having a great weekend!

Arts and Crafts

2009-04-05T16:18:00.004-04:00

Just so you know; its not all work and no play around here: I did accomplish one fun task this weekend. I made these lamps - they are hanging candle holders which I converted to electric lamps. I put river rock in the bottom and lined the inside with parchment paper to which I glued sea grass...a pair of these hang beside a mirror over the couch :)

I am not quite finished with lectures, but getting there and this should be the last one I have to do from start to finish for the rest of the quarter. Off now to dinner at the folks house - they have been experimenting with new recipes in their retirement so its sure to be a very yummy dinner!

Wow - okay - so its April already??

2009-04-05T14:33:00.002-04:00

I laughingly went through my photos and there was a nice sized folder for February Fun and an even larger one for March Fun...so, what about April? Good question. I have not taken any pictures this month. Since returning from spring break, my life has been packed just about every hour of the day. I don't know that its necessarily a bad thing, but it is for sure, a tiring thing. On top of my normally busy week of teaching, I also have jury duty next week because apparently the universe thinks I need one more thing to do - also this is holy week and if you're a singer - this means more church services - so...April fun is hiding well. I am not called for jury duty tomorrow so it will mean my "normal" day of teaching from 8am - 7:15 pm - whee! So I sit here on this Sunday of gathering clouds, writing lectures for class next week and wondering how I will make up the day(s) I end up missing if called to serve on a jury.

Making all of this stress seem doable is the promise of a new day - the opening of baseball starts tonight with a Braves v. Phillies match-up and our local single A team, the Sand Gnats, will be underway soon as well so I might just make it to summer after all and hopefully I can find some fun along the way.

Cheers!

The end of Spring Break

2009-03-22T20:12:00.004-04:00

Returned today from a trip to Atlanta to visit Jerry and April and celebrate their second wedding annivesary - aka St. Pattiversary since they were married on St. Patrick's day. We enjoyed Jerry's home brew (Kolsch and Doppleboch) and many many oysters. Shopped at IKEA, H&M, and hit the Trader Joe's on the way home.

Unfortunately the early part of spring break was hampered by a yucky cold I am still not entirely over so the trip to Florida didn't happen. All in all it was good break...went to the parade on St. Patrick's day,

spent one day at the beach,

and ate pretty well. Now I go back to school and I need to get back on my running routine. Since the congestion is almost gone from my ears this may be possible soon.

Spring Break!!!

2009-03-13T19:00:00.003-04:00

Spring break has officially begun. In the grand tradition of time off - I have caught a cold. Wheee!! Hopefully it won't hang around too long and at least gives me an excuse to sit on the couch for a couple of days and not feel too guilty about it. Television is not cooperating with anything cool like a West Wing marathon or anything but I'm finding enough to keep relatively entertained.

As promised - here is the post race picture: I think we look pretty good for having just run 5K

Springing Forward

2009-03-09T20:29:00.005-04:00

We celebrated springing forward by cleaning off the trampoline and piling in the back yard with some food, friends and beverages.

Shamrock Run

2009-03-07T16:22:00.003-05:00

Friday I ran the annual Shamrock Run. It is a 5K run which benefits the March of Dimes. I'd say there were approximately 1400 runners in downtown Savannah Friday evening. Race time was at 6pm and the course wound its way through the squares downtown both starting and ending in City Market. I ran the Bridge Run back in December with minimal training and finished in a fairly respectable 36 minutes considering the first half of the course is uphill. I have been running a few times a week since then and was excited to run again. My goal was 34 minutes. I wanted to shave 2 minutes off my run. I was excited when I crossed the finish line at 32 minutes and even more excited when I checked the race results online and my chip time was actually just under 30 minutes!! I was, needless to say, quite excited with the result. I convinced Heidi to try the 5k - her first and she had a respectable finish as well and Suzanne registered at the last minute since she was off and she did well also. We wanted a before and after picture but so far, we only have the before - the after was taken by the race photographers so that will come later.

In the meantime - it is turning to spring here in Savannah. We walked around downtown Savannah today in shorts! whoop. More of that to come for sure. Tomorrow we are breaking in the trampoline and springing forward with a vengeance. More pictures to come!!

Getting ready for spring/summer eating

2009-03-05T07:41:00.006-05:00

It has been a long winter of proteins that aren't from the sea. As spring approaches, that is beginning to come to an end. While this does mean that oysters are going out of season, it also means lots of other treasures: I have been remiss in keeping the food blog updated so I am going to double post this one - forgive. Here are a variety of seafood treats I have had of late.

Talapia - breaded with Parmesan, bread crumbs, and garlic, fresh veggies with feta:

Sauteed shrimp, wilted spinach, roasted new potato:

Crab cakes, baked potato, (cesar salad not picture):

Diane's Day of Love

2009-02-14T15:40:00.002-05:00

On this Valentine's Day I have celebrated the love by running a 5K in just over 30 minutes (its fast for me); completing and filing my taxes; grocery shopping; cleaning out my purse; making my bed; cleaning the bathroom; and using all my tiles in a game of Scrabble. It is not even 4:00 and I really don't know what more I could possibly do to celebrate this most bogus holiday on the calendar! Happy Valentines to all you people snuggled up with your loved ones - you may remind me of my cynism if I ever meet the man of my dreams; in the meantime I think I will find another joyous task to fill my day.

Cheers

Wii night

2009-02-08T08:54:00.002-05:00

Went to the crazy house up the street and had a night in. We made a batch of my famous (famous to about 10 people anyway) fried shrimp; veggies and wine and beer - then settled in for a night of Wii fit. I managed to oust Adam from the ski jump record, which I am sure he has already gotten up an managed to beat this morning - and we all hand our had at bowling - check out the form - its most excellent. Now I get to start the week again - finish up my lectures for next week and start the crazy rat race all over again!

Beignets and Book Club

2009-02-03T18:49:00.002-05:00

Beignets
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Monday night was book club and we read Elegance of the Hedgehog. The book takes place in an upscale condo building in France. The two main characters are the buildings concierge and a twelve year old girl. Both characters are hiding their intelligence from others. It’s a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed every ounce of it; I would place it high on my recommendation list. It also urged me to try something new. In the book the main character Renee is always having pastries with one of the house keepers in the building. Well, I am not a baker, but I did think I could hand beignets so…that’s what I made. Unfortunately, my schedule did not allow me to take them to book club while they were still hot, but they were none-the-less pretty darned tasty for a first attempt. If you are looking for something new to do, make a batch of beignets and hunker down with this book. (Madelines would be much more appropriate, but I don’t have that kind of time or a Madeline pan, so…)

Fried Chicken

2009-02-01T20:38:00.004-05:00

So - this is hard to believe since I am a born and raised southern girl..but this was my first attempt at fried chicken. I don't know why, but I had a craving for it. I soaked the chicken for a few hours in milk and when I was ready to cook it - I put about 1/2 inch of oil in a cast iron skillet. I tossed the chicken with flour, salt, pepper and paparika then fried the chicken for about 10 minutes per side or until done (poultry needs to reach 180 degrees).

I served this along side another first of a sort, though I had no reason to believe it wouldn't work. I made a mixture of russet and sweet potato mash with a bit of chipolte and cheddar cheese - it was pretty yummy. Unfortunately the picture is fuzzy, but it tasted pretty darn good.

Looking Forward to Groudhog Day

2009-01-31T23:11:00.003-05:00

I can't believe January is almost over - its about 45 minutes from being over to be exact. I had sushi this evening. Sushi Zen is one of my favorite places in town for sushi, but I gotta say - I don't love their new digs - the cool thing about the old place was that it was just on the side of being a dive, but it wasn't a dive and there was always bizarre music playing and you just never knew what was going to happen and that made it kind of fun; the new location is kind of stark and the music makes sense, and its way more crowded which I didn't think was possible, so the service was sketchy, but damn - that is still the BEST sushi in town - so...I put up with it.

Oh - I got the most awesome mug today. I need a coffee mug like I need a hole in my head, but I couldn't resist this one!

On the other side of the mug is the back of his head - awesome! Unfortunately because of a scratchy throat I am currently drinking hot tea, but it still makes me smile to use it - even if it is to ward off evil germs.

Settling In

2009-01-27T20:27:00.003-05:00

I am settling into the routine of juggling two schools, private lessons and trying to stay a step ahead of a total collapse into madness...so pretty much life is normal. Updating from the New Years Resolutions - so far I am doing a pretty good job of sticking to them. I have been pretty regular on the treadmill putting in a minimum of 4 days a week and usually more - so I feel good about that...and I have been working on trying to kick myself less and forgive myself for my more than obviously short comings. So as February lurks around the corner, I feel like I have maybe done better than feared with the resolutions.

I am working on school work - trying to stay a week ahead instead of just a day ahead - hoping that will stick too - basically trying to do everything I can to make the stress of life as enjoyable as possible. Its hard to complain about the stress of a job when so many are losing them - so let me just say that it is a struggle to feel rested and happy when stretched so thin, but I am working on finding a way to make it all work - so you can lift a glass for that if you get a chance.

In the meantime - I'll remember those of you - especially Vann - who are being directly affected by this tight economy. Best to you all - hope we all come out on the other side unscathed.

The final Vacation Blog

2009-01-19T21:20:00.015-05:00

Asheville is my second home so visiting was much overdue and well worth the drive, the waterless cabin, my questionable navigation skills and all the other strange roadblocks that seemed to creep into the trip. I think every time we left for somewhere we had to turn around – so there was lots of seeing things twice. We never got irrevocably lost, but it was kind of a pain and made me more than a little aggravated with myself. Anyway, I digress. As you know from the earlier blog, my sister and I had a great little cabin in the woods…it took us an hour to find and since it was only 6 degrees outside, the pipes had frozen so we had no water. Rather than trust that the balmy forecast of 34 the next day would thaw the pipes and make our cabin dream come true, we caved and checked into the Days Inn. The people here were the nicest people I have ever come across in any hotel – they were awesome, but it was hard to love the room given the cabin we had left behind and even harder to love when in the morning we realized the room had one of those stupid pod single cup brews. Now this was a suite so it was pretty likely there would be more than one person in that room so why the single cup brewer? No idea. I tried to make a makeshift filter out of Kleenex in the room, but that failed miserably. We got enough coffee in us to make into Asheville and eat at a delightful little place called Green Sage Café. It was delicious. And the setting was awesome, socially conscious with its own recycling bins and compost bins and the milk choices included soy and rice milk.

Our day of hiking was great. Chilly, about 35 and sunny, but that’s great for hiking; no bugs, no sweating…awesome. The sky was clear blue and it was lovely. We came across vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains that perfectly described their name and stumbled accidently upon a mostly frozen creek on which you could see and hear the water moving below the ice. It was excellent.

We came off the mountain to get lunch and found a delightful little Mexican place called Papas and Beer. We didn’t understand the Papas part, but we knew the beer part would be to our liking. We went in and the place was packed with locals, always a good sign. We were seated and served warm tortilla chips with a warm bean dip – perfect. The place boasted a salsa bar which we tried, but settled on the bean dip happily. I got fish tacos and Suzanne got a quesadilla. Filled to the brim we headed back to the mountains and walked a few more trails before heading into Black Mountain.

We spent most of our summer in this part of the world so it was nice to go back to Black Mountain and shop around – we then drove up the road into Montreat and stopped by a few of our old haunts including a frozen Lake Susan.

We headed back to the Days Inn (sadly, not the cabin, but we’d moved past that at this point) and took our first hot showers of the weekend! AHHH. We found a great little Irish Pub called Jack of the Woods. It was cozy and again full of locals. It took us some time to find a seat and we decided to ask to join a table with two empty seats. Turns out the table joining this one was full of fun women who we chatted with the rest of the evening. I had a great vegan hemp nut burger – don’t ask me what was in it, I have no idea, but it was delicious. We hung out with the ladies for while and then parted ways as then went off to enjoy the wild night life of Asheville we settled for a pub we had passed on the way in called the Thirsty Monk. This place was awesome. Two floor, the first floor was all Belgium beers the second floor was all American micro-brews. We opted for the second floor and enjoyed some new selections. Well satisfied with our day we headed back to the Days Inn (sigh) and called it a night.

In the morning we went to the aforementioned Green Sage coffee shop, and headed back to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Due to inclement weather the road was closed. We headed south and found a short trail and then decided to get on the road and find a few fun stops on the way home. We wound our way home and ordered take out from our nearby Japanese restaurant and happily slept in our own beds while basking in the glow of a satisfying trip away.

As an aside here of some funny things we say along the way:

An ad for baby friend happy hour called Babies and Beer – gotta love the idea of early training!

The cold weather prevented the making of ice??

Cowboy boots are WAY comfortable; I tried some on at a discount shoe place – they were still more than I could pay, but I fell in love as much as I always imagined I would.

I learned about something called tap therapy. More about that can be found at emofree.com

We met lots of fun people and have already added a couple of them to our facebook family.

Some Favorite Shots:

Cabin/Vacation Update

2009-01-18T20:46:00.005-05:00

Okay - so we ended up throwing in the towel on the cabin after much debate and checking into the Days Inn. The crux of the decision being that we could do without showers, but not so much without the toilet. We missed the kitchen since we had only a microwave at the hotel. I made a list of pros and cons about the cabin before we made our decision:

Pros: the crooked house makes our house seem level
its in the mountains
it’s a change of pace
Vicks vapor rub tissues – interesting, kind of delightful – albiet strange
If we have no water in the morning – the cabins free

Con: no water, it took an hour to find, no water
Plumber won’t come tonight – will come first thing? What does that mean?
Shouldn’t the cabin already be free??
The house tilts in various directions but there is a quite a draw to a little corner which makes it feel a bit “blair witch” - spooky
Quite a loud rooster - crowed for at least four hours after sun-up WTF?

We will definitely give this another try in more temperate times:

We settled for this: It had a hot shower and a flushing toilet, crappy coffee, but we found an awesome coffee shop for breakfast (I'll post that to a later blog:

Vacation adventures part 1

2009-01-16T21:13:00.002-05:00

We got to Asheville as expected - the cabin - took us another hour to find. Its cute, just as photographed. Got the oven preheated for the pizzas we brought in our cooler and settled in to eat. I tried to turn on the fireplace - all I managed to do was turn off the pilot light DOH! Figuring I would just take a break, I visited the quaint bathroom - did my business - no flush. No worries, I am industrious. I took the cover off the tank to take care of the problem. No water in the tank, turned on the faucet, no water - walked around outside and realized one of my worst nightmares. Found a crawl space with lots of pipes, bravely went in - found nothing. SO still we sit, no water, left messages with both of the numbers we have for emergency contacts - no call back as of yet. So...looks like no shower, no teeth brushing and worst of all no coffee in the morning - other than that the place is perfect. OH - did I mention the crazy assed dog? The first road we turned down turned out to be what I am sure is some crazy Stephen King inspired road equipped with its own Cujo car chaser - yeah...it may indeed be a long night. There was a Days Inn about 1 mile away - worse comes to worse I guess we can bunk there and get a refund, but that takes away the mountain cabin charm I was hoping for.

More adventures to come - hopefully all good ones! Wish luck!!

p.s. - I did manage to get the pilot light relit, but still can't get the logs to come on!

Call of the Wild

2009-01-13T07:53:00.002-05:00

I am answering the call of the wild, okay, not the wild, but the wilderness, well not the wilderness, but a cabin nestled near enough so I can drive to the wilderness and visit the blue ridge mountains. I will spend MLK weekend outside of Asheville, NC in this lovely little place - hope its as nice as it photographs.

In the meantime, I start Georgia Southern this week, give an exam at SCAD and have a rehearsal to get through before I can hop in the car and enjoy the view, but the promise of the weekend will surely keep me going. If nothing else, I get to pull out all the cold weather gear I have and test out the scarf Mimi knitted me!

Have a great week.

Favorite Lunch

2009-01-12T14:31:00.003-05:00

I was tooling around through old pictures in the artful avoidance of constructive time use and I came across this pic from a place in Savannah called Gallery Espresso. This is my favorite thing there - the cheese and fruit plate, of course I suggest enjoying it with a bottle of wine, which I am certain I did. It is truly one of the most perfect meals on the planet, its beautiful, filling and darn tasty!

Crazy Saturday Nights

2009-01-11T17:34:00.007-05:00

Who says babysitting a five year old can't be a hip way to spend an evening? A full moon, good thai food and light sabers and got yourself a real hootinany!

Willie and G

2009-01-09T18:58:00.003-05:00

Willie and G
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

These hot ladies have been friends for more years than I can count. This was taken this Christmas and its an awesome pic. Both of these ladies are fabulous and I hope I make it to this age and when I do, I hope to have someone like this by my side. Much love to you 'G.' (That's Grandma to you - but its too long for her to write now so she's taken on this gansta inspired signature which I just love!)

week one...sort of

2009-01-09T16:28:00.003-05:00

I completed my first week since holiday break. Next week will be tougher as I will have both schools and my private students so this was a nice way to wade into the pool. I got a few new students this quarter and there are some nice surprises in there - a couple of guys with promise and all of the girls are good instintive singers so I am hoping for a fun quarter. The class looks to be a bit more animated than the previous one, but this is the easy part of the syllabus, so we'll see how they are in a couple of weeks, but if nothing else I am in a better spot than last time since I have one quarter under my belt.

I have no idea what I am doing this weekend. I am will definitely run, not because I love it, but because I feel better when I do and that's a good enough motivator for the moment - if that lasts into the semester I will be thrilled!

I have the travel bug again - perhaps its always there lingering. I think too that I need to get in the hills for some hiking very soon. I miss it terribly and its one of those activities that I am never sorry to have undertaken. I'll be checking into nearby places where I can see something like this:

Must Have

2009-01-06T18:06:00.003-05:00

Ray LaMontagne put out an exclusive to itunes EP of a live session. Its awesome...go and get it.

On a totally seperate note, I have been obnoxiously productive today and am preparing to be the same tomorrow - good news is, it won't last long.

Vacations End

2009-01-04T14:27:00.000-05:00

Today is my last day of vacation. It is bittersweet...I love being off and having time to exercise and read, but I never accomplish what I really want to on break and maybe that's okay. I am sure all the laziness and exercise were as good for my soul and body as being forward thinking would have been, but as I sit facing another quarter at SCAD and the Spring semester looming at Georgia Southern, I can't help but wonder if a little bit of my time could have been spent more constuctively. BUT one of my New Years resolutions was to kick myself less, so I am going to let this go and just hope for the best tomorrow. I will appreciate that even though I am going to GSU tomorrow, it doesn't start for another week so I won't be completely in over my head for another week (hint, expect similar post next Sunday). I have the car loaded, the syllabus copied, the pre test made and a fairly good idea of what I am doing in class tomorrow so all in all it could be worse.

I just read my friend Mimi's latest post about a snowy Sunday and it made me think fondly of snowy days....of course having a lovely 70 degree day in January, while not altogehter seasonal, is still a lovely day. I did accomplish shaving a minute off my last 5k which was good and I have a chicken I plan to roast for dinner. I hope to find something interesting to serve alongside that when I go to the grocery store for school lunches.

As it is still early afternoon and this is my last day of freedom I am going to endeavor to get away from the computer, finish the book for book club and enjoy the sunny day. Good luck to all of you returning to school on Monday - only 5 months until summer vacation!

Brrr

2009-01-02T13:10:00.001-05:00

So - we have started the new year. 2009 is here and soon I will be busy, busy, busy. Last night we rang in the year with an oyster roast which was great fun. As usual, we had the outdoor fire pit blazing to keep us warm and the fire for the oysters - it was all a great success indeed. I was so cold when the party was over I couldn't get warm and I thought I'd get a hot shower to warm up and to get the smell of campfire out of my hair. Alas, there was no hot water since the dishwasher had just run - or so I thought. This morning, hair reaking of campfire and feeling the effects of the celebration, I was looking forward to a hot shower. The universe conspired against it as there is still no hot water and I have flipped all the switches we have - so here I sit - still reaking of campfire even though I did wash my hair over the sink. We have a call in to the landlord, so hopefully, the shower isn't too far away. I trust this is not a sign of things to come for the new year!!

Round Midnight

2009-01-01T10:47:00.001-05:00

Round Midnight
Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

Happy New Year! Hope 2009 is prosperous, healthy and happy. Having an oyster roast today so there are sure to be more pics and news to come.

50 questions for the New Year

2008-12-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

I got this idea from my cousin's blog and thought it was the perfect way to start my own blog. I have been keeping one on myspace, but its awkward and I thought I'd give this one a shot.

50 questions for the New Year

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I made a layer cake for my Dad's birthday...it was delicious.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember making resolutions last year, but I made some for this year. I resolve to take better care of myself inside and out and to forgive myself when I fall short.

3. Did anyone you know give birth?
Yes.

4. Did anyone you know die?
I did - even sang at a couple of funerals.

5. What countries did you visit?
Didn't make it out of the country this year, but I did manage to get out to Colorado to see my friend Mimi and the boy that stole her away.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
a love life!

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Working 3 jobs and surviving through it.

8. What was your biggest failure?
Not keeping up with practicing and not performing nearly enough

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope just the usual hip soreness, but hopefully my treadmill will eliminate that.

10. What was the best thing you bought?
Hmmm - I guess my bed. I finally moved up to a queen and my feet no longer hang off the edge of the bed!

11. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Spending time with friends always does it

12. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Wow - as a musician this is a tough one to answer. I think that I will be reminded of this year with Vampire Weekend's Mansford Roof....its awesome and it was the beginning of me really branching out on I Tunes.

13. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I think about the same
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner and hoping to keep this up
c) richer or poorer? Always poorer -

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Singing

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Kicking myself

16. How will you be spending Christmas?
Christmas is over, but it was a calm day at Grandma’s.

Um, where is question 17?

18. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I fell in like but nothing materialized - hoping for that in 2009

19. What was your favorite TV program?
Grey's Anatomy and Top Chef

20. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I don't think so - I think I improved some relationships that were strained

21. What was the best book you read?
Middlesex, Time Travelers Wife, Water for Elephants

22. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Vampire Weekend, Jesca Hoop

23. What was the best meal you ate?
I cook well, so I eat well, I think the best meal was a new way I tried with Fried Shrimp - it was awesome

24. What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't really keep up with films so I'l give a nod to the one I actually saw in the theater - Mamma Mia - I don't think its fair that Meryl Streep is that talented

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 40. It was awesome - a big party with some other decade birthdays including my Dad's 70th...it was a blast

26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A full time job with benefits.

27. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Haha - I have no fashion concept, but I do enjoy project runway

28. What kept you sane?
Nothing. I gave up on that years ago

29. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Obama

30. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election. I was so moved and proud of us for moving forward into the next phase of America

31. Who did you miss?
Mimi and Scout

32. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Facebook is a giant time suck -

33. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
These boots were made for walking

34. What is the most useless thing you learned this year?
Learning is never useless, but I learned things that I am sure won't improve my quality of life

35. If you were to title this year like a book, what would it be?
Same as it ever was

36. Where were you when 2008 began?
I don't remember, probably at Heidi's drinking egg nog

37. Who were you with?
Suz, Heidi and Adam

38. Where will you be when 2008 ends?

Trying to stay awake

39. Who will you be with when 2008 ends?
Suz and Jamie

40. What was your favourite month of 2008?
Its always October, but summer was great because Mimi was here

41. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2008?
I drank enough

42. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2008?
Never.

43. Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
I am sure I did - nothing springs to mind at the moment, but no doubt!

44. What was the worst lie someone told you in 2008?
I don't know that I told a worst lie....I try to be honest

45. Did you treat somebody badly in 2008?
All the "F"ers I saw littering or not putting up their shopping carts, or cutting me off in traffic or throwing cigarette butts out the window, but no, no one I know personally - if I did then I apologize

And 46?

47. How much money did you spend in 2008?
Who the heck knows.

48. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2008 and change something what would it be?
No idea - I think I forgot sunscreen a couple of times

49. Will 2009 be harder or easier than 2008?

It will have definate challanges, but hopefully I am equiped to handle them all - I guess that remains to be seen

50. What are your plans for 2009?
I plan to sing more, and keep looking for that job that will give me retirement and health benefits - or find a husband so I can keep doing what I am doing which I mostly love.