My grandfather painted these paintings after he retired.  I remember his palette and tubes of oil paints in his attic.  I remember watching him paint, fascinated.  He was a violinist and a conductor as well as a teacher.  But when he retired he really enjoyed his oil painting.   Because he left many  paintings behind, my brother, my sister, and I were each able to have some.

The top two pictures were of the house my grandfather designed and had built.  It was my father's family home.  He lived all his childhood there and my grandmother lived there until she died.  I love having these paintings in my family room.

I am politically conservative... I think

I know that, based on my comments or lack thereof, that the readers of this blog are not real interested in politics. Or else you just don't feel like commenting on political matters. But... I just have to put in my two cents about Geraldine Ferraro's comments about Barak Obama.

She said “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

Was this a racist comment?!! I'd say!!! My jaw dropped. I disagree with Barak Obama on nearly everything. But I still think he is intelligent (if misguided) articulate, personable, and very likable. He is a formidable presidential candidate and that would be true no matter what color he was. How could Ferraro say that??? In my opinion, it's so obviously not true that it certainly does raise the question of racism. Barak Obama is in the position he is IN SPITE of being black, not because of it. And he is all the more impressive to have achieved what he has because (dare I say it?) there is indeed still racism in this country, although it is no longer respectable to be so openly. Tell that to Ms. Ferrarro.

It disturbs me that I have heard conservatives suggest that she was not really out of line in saying what she did. Makes me wonder if I'm in the right party. But I could never be part of a party that so flagrantly disregards the sanctity of human life as do the democrats.

Silent snowy Retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemane

I had a wonderful retreat this weekend at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky.  My oldest daughter Anne goes with me every year.  The silence is so refreshing.  Getting there though was something of a nightmare.  We had to drive through the entire state of Ohio during their huge snow storm.  The roads were terrible.  But the snowy abbey was so peaceful for the rest of the weekend.

Above was the view from my room.

                                                                                             sweet little angel.... The snow was shifting in the                                                                                     wind like sand.                        




We did manage one hike through the snow....

Snow Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow Day!!!     Woohoooooo!!

Finally, we can just look at this beautiful snow out the window and not risk our lives trying to maneuver through it.  I woke up from a nightmare about trying to drive to school in this weather.  What a relief to wake up to learn that ALL the schools are closed.  Woohooooo.

Jim's heading out to earn some money shoveling driveways.

I will post some pictures later.  Blue sky, brilliant snow. According to Jim, snow is the most reflective surface on Earth.  I believe it.  I heard on the news last night that this is the most snow Michigan has had over the course of a winter since the 1800s.

More snow!!!

I apologize for obsessing about the weather.  I seem to only be writing about the weather.

But tonight we have a traveler's advisory, and 5 to 7 inches of snow predicted!!!!  It should end around 5:00 am.  If we get it all I can't imagine our not having a snow day.  If I have another scary drive to school tomorrow you can bet I'll be ranting about it tomorrow night.

So tired tonight.  I'm just vegging, watching election returns.... Hope I can write some more interesting posts soon. 

In like a lion....

As they say, (I'll repeat it for those of you who don't live in cold climates)  March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.  

Well, here we are in the beginning of March and the lion is still here (no surprise.)  Tonight we have freezing rain, warnings of black ice on the roads, and an inch of snow predicted before morning.  Tomorrow night-- three to six inches more of snow.  The lion is still roaring, but not for much longer......

Snow can be so beautiful....

The sun reflecting on snow is so lovely. I don't know if these photos above capture it, but those of you who live in the North know what I mean. Such a gift from God during long winters. But it's almost March and it could be only weeks before the crocuses start to peak out from the ground, even if bravely through the snow. In the meantime we have the sparkling diamonds of sun on the snow....when we have a sunny day, that is, which this year has been pretty often.

No snow day so I declared my own....

Lo and behold the schools were in session, but my son's high school delayed their start an hour.

So I took the girls in only to find that in spite of there only being a few inches of snow, it was REALLY slippery. The highway was a mess. As I drove down the fairly narrow two lane road I take to the elementary school, I could feel the back of my car repeatedly drift slightly to the right. Then we passed a car that had slid across oncoming traffic and ended up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. I was actually a little scared.

I realized I had to go back home and as the snow was pelting down and wind blowing it all over, I was still going to have to take my son back out on the roads to his school. I called him when I was at a red light and asked how he would feel about not going to school today. It was fine with him. So I called the school, told them I realized these judgements were hard for them to make but that I had decided it was not safe to be on the roads and I was keeping my son home.

I've had kids in school for twelve years or so and I've never done that before. I think it was the right move.

The dreary skies of late February

I have not been posting as often as I used to.  I want to.  I'm just not that interested in anything I think of writing about.  LOL  So why would anyone else be??

I thought of taking a picture of the sky today which is that solid light gray color.  Of course, nothing would come out on the picture.  I thought that might be mildly funny, but not funny enough for me to actually do it.

I think I'm just a little tired of winter, but hey, it's almost the end of February! In March there is hope.  Occasionally we have milder weather in March and milder weather, even ten degrees warmer, says SPRING IS COMING!

But we're not there yet.  Tonight we're getting a big snow storm.  Snow storms actually cheer me up.  They can be so beautiful.  And we're hoping for......you guessed it---- A SNOW DAY!!!  We have our fingers crossed.

I'm proud of my country.

There is much that is wrong with America.  I certainly don't agree with all the actions of my government.  But there is still an awful lot that I am proud of.

I'm proud of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, in particular.  I am proud of our founding fathers and the early settlers- their courage, their determination, and their commitment to freedom.  I am proud of my country's ongoing commitment to freedom-- an essential element of human dignity.  How can anyone read the words. "We the people..." and not feel proud.

I am proud of the civil rights movement, the strong American commitment to justice.  

I'm proud of our strength and leadership in the world.

I'm proud of our technology and our commitment to education.

I'm proud of the beauty of my country-- purple mountain majesty and amber waves of grain. 

And these are just the things I can think of off the top of my head.  

Are there things I'm ashamed of?  Of course!  This is not heaven.  But there is no other country in the world I would rather be a citizen of.

On any day I could be asked if I was proud of my country and the answer would be "Yes!"  However much there is wrong with it, there is a LOT to be proud of.

I don't know where Michelle Obama is coming from.  I now understand that her comments were not extemporaneous either.  It was a written speech that she has given twice!! 

Michelle Obama-- what is this about?

What do you make of Michelle Obama's comment that for the first time in her adult life she feels proud of the United States.  What?!?

I always feels proud of the United States-- some aspect of it at least.  Aren't you?  (those of you readers who are Americans, that is)I think it was a bizarre thing for an American to say, especially an American who is married to a Presidential candidate.  Who wants a First Lady with so little national pride?  Sounds like an attitude problem to me....or it came out wrong and should apologize and clarify.

Ballroom!

Do you know why, in traditional ballroom dancing, the man typically dresses all in black?  Because it is his responsibility to allow the woman to shine.  Don't you love it?

Next weekend my son will be competing at the highest level he has tried yet.  Could you keep him in your prayers?  He SO loves dancing....

More ballroom pix!

This was the video clip I originally wanted to post. I hope it's working. For those of you haven't read my blog long, this is my oldest son dancing on the Notre Dame ballroom dance team.

Now it looks like all three of my recent posted video clips are not working. I can't play them, anyway. Can anyone else?

Book Meme

Alexis from Love Life has tagged me for this book meme and so I now belatedly get to it.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

OK. The book is A Treasury of Children's Literature.

P. 123 is a picture so I will use p. 122. It is the story of Snow White. The three sentences after the fifth sentence are: "When her work was done, the wicked queen disguised herself as an old farm woman and set out once more for the cottage of the seven dwarves. When she arrived at the cottage, Snow White said to her firmly, 'You had best be on your way, my good woman. the seven dwarves have forbidden me to let anyone in.'" (They should also have told her not to open the window. )

I don't know who has already done this, but for those who have not, or want to do it again, I tag:

Jim at A Catholic Teen's Thoughts

Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii

Salome Ellen

Ruthann at Jabberwocky

Deb at Ukok's Place

I like Huckabee

I'm sitting here watching the primary returns.  I like Huckabee.  I like that he continues to surprise people with the votes he's getting.  I know he's a long shot but if it goes as far as the convention.....I don't know.  Maybe he has a shot.

He just seems like such a decent man.  He is so unabashedly pro-life.  He's articulate.  He's likeable.  He lost over 100 pounds.  You've got to respect a person who can do that.

And I like the fact that he has compassion for the poor and working classes of this counry. What's wrong with that?

Sorry I haven't been posting much.  I haven't been doing much reading either.  Too much going on!!

Ballroom!

My oldest son Mike was here for the U of M Ballroom Dance competition this weekend.  He was in the semi-finals in a number of categories.  I'm trying to post a short video clip and It's supposedly in the process of loading.  What fun it was to watch all these young people who love to dance.  Very entertaining.   It was quite a weekend for the performing arts for  our family.  John played with the EMU symphony on Friday night and Mike danced all day and into the night on Saturday and ten of the members of the dance team spent the night at our house on Friday.  This is why I haven't posted since Tuesday.  Also, my brother and sister were here to work on my Dad's house.  Oh boy.  It's been one busy but fun week.

John on the Steinway

This is a clip of John playing Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G# Minor.  Hope it works.

Liz is home sick.

I didn't get to my one to one coaching at the Apple store because Liz was home, not feeling well.  Thus, I still can't post the little video clip of John playing the new Steinway.  If this is simple enough to do on a Mac that someone can explain it to me in a couple of steps, I'm open to trying.  When I tried by myself, though, I locked up the whole computer somehow.  (What is intuitive to some people is just not intuitive for me.) I'm hoping to make an appointment at the Apple store tomorrow.

But those of you who may be in our area just might want to hear John play live on this Friday, February 8 at Pease Auditorium on EMU's campus with the EMU Symphony.  He will play I think the first movement of Prokofiev's third piano concerto, as the winner of the concerto competition earlier this school year.  Admission is free.  My whole family will be there, as well as my brother and sister.  I know my mom, and especially my dad, will be there in spirit.  My dad's probably crying just thinking about it.  

The arrival of the Steinway

Here was the newspaper template my husband made so we could see how much space the new piano would occupy and figure out where and how we could still have seating in our living room.

Here is the eighty some odd year old piano we have had forever. I learned to play on it when I was a little girl. It had belonged to my Great Aunt Marguerite who was an accomplished pianist and had had it rebuilt maybe 40 years ago? This is the piano John has always played at home. It's now upstairs in his bedroom.

And HERE IT IS!!! The STEINWAY!!! It's 33 years old, in fantastic condition and has hardly been played. Well, that is, until two days ago. Now it's played every time John is in the house. The sound is unbelievable. It's like music from heaven. This photo is John playing minutes after the movers left, Liz having already set up a fort of some sort underneathe. At my next one-on-one coaching at Apple I'm going to ask them to teach me how to post videos so you can hear it.

Here is one happy guy playing his dream piano.  God is so good.

Snow Day!!! Woohoo!!!!!

It's a snow day for both schools! Yea!!!! I needed another day to just be still. Thank you, Lord. I am feeling much better than yesterday. Thank you all for your prayers.