Snow anyone?

So I've decided I just can't take anymore if these sunny days and ocean breezes, so I'm coming to Utah to freeze my patootey off! Anyone want to go skiing near the end of February?

A Night for Nostalgia

This last Thursday I got to have the most wonderful evening. I had the privilege of going to see violinist Pinchas Zukerman in concert with the San Diego Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (from London). I had been looking forward to the evening since I bought tickets in October. Zukerman has been my most favorite violinist since I first started playing. There is just something special in the way he plays. The sweetness he can coax out of a violin is incomparable and he makes it look effortless to boot. He is so much fun to watch! The last time I saw him in concert was when I was nine. Mom and Dad had given me tickets on my ninth birthday to see him play with the Utah Symphony. So to put it simply, this was a really big deal to me! It made me really excited and nostalgic all at once, and I have to thank my sweet husband for going with me and patiently smiling at all the right times when a little flick of the hand or bow made me especially excited. We got all dressed up and to add to the nostalgic theme, I pulled out my Mom's beautiful Pendleton coat I hadn't brought myself to wear since her passing, and we headed to symphony hall. We had great seats where I could easily see everything he was doing and the balance was perfect. The concert was just amazing. Pinchas played and conducted Beethoven's violin concerto and the two combined orchestras played Beethoven's Fifth, conducted by Pinchas Zukerman. His musicianship is incredible (he barely looked at the score for the symphony), and he seems to be very humble. He seems almost shy when accepting the applause. I do feel the need to mention the nice gentlemen sitting beside me for the concert. Picture a Santa-looking fellow, with beard and all, dressed very casually in black pants and a grey sweatshirt. He was also wearing a Jamaica style beanie cap with a large button pinned on it that read "Hot Chicks Dig Obama." As the concert began I unfortunately also happened to notice this man's feet. He was wearing those Indian-looking flip-flop sandals that have the jewels all over them (definitely feminine-looking I might add) and his toe nails were painted turquoise! What's more, he's apparently an authority on Beethoven, or so he led me to believe with his few comments during intermission. I think I said something like, "Huh" when he dazzled us with his Beethoven trivia. He also kept grunting during the concert. I considered looking his way during the concerto to see if he was breathing okay, but decided against it. He made it through the whole thing, so I guess he was okay. All in all though, it was an absolutely wonderful evening and I'm so so glad that I got to go and that I was able to spend it with Ian. Good music is good for the soul!

A little side note, I finally bought myself a new violin case after years of complaining about my old one! Yea! It's so pretty and you can even turn it into a backpack if you want. I feel so cool, now I just need somewhere to go!

(Do you like the crooked pictures in the background? That's my idea of decorating.)

Finally

Ok, so I finally read Twilight this week. I always come at these "must-read" types very late because I like to pretend that I came upon them myself, not that I'm jumping on the band wagon (doesn't make much sense I know, but whatever). I know I'm among fans, so I must tread carefully, but I have to say I was kind of over it by the middle of the book. I mean, yeah, of course I was hooked and all and couldn't put it down, yada, yada, but I found it all just a little over the top for my taste. I mean, did we really need to be reminded that often how gorgeous Edward was? It was almost like the book was saying, "Are you imagining Edward now? Well you're not imagining him good enough!" And I also have to admit that I just didn't find Bella's character to be unusual or complex enough to have been the love interest of Edward after almost a hundred years. (By the way, we named our new kitten Bella a while back, having no idea that was Stephenie Meyer's heroine. I'm a bit bitter by that!). Anyway, yes, I enjoyed it, but I was fine when it was over too. Are the next two worth it? What do ya think?

Blah.

Do you ever feel that way? Just blah? I can't really describe it much better than that. It's that plugging along bit of life that just really gets to you sometimes, you know? At times I feel like I'm trudging through this mud pit from which one just can't escape. Then sometimes you feel a little lighter and think maybe you're coming out of the mud, then you look back and find you've left your shoe behind you back in the quagmire somewhere. Is there a grassy meadow ahead? Perhaps I'm just tired; perhaps I'm just up way too late--perhaps I just need a slobbery kiss from one of my nieces or nephews and hugs from my brothers and sister? Anyhoo, just felt I needed to make my presence known again in blogging land. Still here, feeling blah, but still here. In any case, I will trudge on, nay, I will triumph!

Life is...normal

Well I'm back finally. I feel I have been out of the blog-o-sphere forever. I've just been catching up on some blogs and figured mine needed some updating. So the firestorm is over I suppose and life for us is pretty much back to normal. I do say that with some guilt, however, because I know there are so many people in our area who won't be able to say that for a very long time. Other than a long work week, a little less sleep than normal (which isn't much anyway), and realizing that we really need to clean out our closets so we can find our most valued treasures, our lives were pitifully little changed by the firestorm. I can only be grateful that we are safe and don't have to deal with the headache of property loss. Now we are starting to hear all the sad and touching stories related to all of the fires. I liked one story I heard this morning. Apparently a policeman who was getting ready to head up to the fire area was stopped on the street by a homeless man. The man asked if the policeman was going to the fires. When the policeman replied that he was, the homeless man handed the policeman his tent. A very meaningful gesture I thought. The closest effect of the fires that we felt personally was that the property of Ian's former boss was severly damaged and some of his animals were killed. It was very sad. It will definitely be a long recovery for many in our area.

Not to detract from the previous subject at all, but I must mention one little incident to end on a lighter note. There is actually one casualty of the last couple of weeks that I must report. Sadly, our trusted friend, the good old "Hoover Soft & Light" has sucked her last suck.

(By the way, being the traditonalist that I am, the fact that it is called a "soft & light" makes it female in my book. You may argue amongst yourselves if you disagree.) She was a good little vacuum that served us well. Hailing from the Logan Walmart, she cost us just $45 in the first year of our marriage. Now 8 years later she has sucked faithfully from Logan all the way to San Diego. Her last effort was in vacuuming almost the entire apartment, giving out just before she could get to the last corners of the kitchen. But alas, she did not go quietly. I was just vacuuming along, when the stench of burning rubber became decidely more pronounced. I put my face right down close to take a look into her depths, and yes, I saw sparks. That's when she exploded. Fearing for the safety of my scarless visage, I nearly jumped out of my skin and not wanting to touch the moaning vacuum I ran to the outlet and unplugged the vacuum, and then stood rooted to the spot with my eyes bulging and my heart racing. This is when Ian came running from the office.

"What was that?"

"The vacuum."

"What did you vacuum up?"

"Nothing. It exploded."

"Huh. It smells in here."

So guess what we bought at Walmart last weekend?

Still here...

Just wanted to put a quick note out there if any one was checking. This is a picture of one of the three very large fires burning in our area. We are located in the small triangle just below the 56 freeway on the east of I-5 (lower left corner). As of yet our area is only voluntary evacuation. We are packed and ready to go, but hanging out at home. We don't expect to have to evacuate. We are situated in between the two largest fires. I think if we do have to evacuate it will only be if the worst should happen and the two fires meet. I'm helping out at my hospital during the day and Ian's camped out at home keeping tabs on things. Right now we are safe and comfy. Of course we will let family know if anything changes. Pray for better weather!

Perspective

I have to mention an interesting couple of patients I saw at the hospital the other day. One particular patient had a diagnosis that profoundly affected his appetite. He had been losing weight and was not eating much in the hospital. I went by his room to see if there was anything I could do to help him find something that he would be able to eat. Our kitchen was his limit. His family in the room promptly told me upon my entering that his appetite was just fine, that it was our substandard food that was the problem and that our turkey sandwiches looked like cat food. (Cat food? Really?). Let me just say here that these sorts of outbursts really don’t faze me anymore. (You don’t like our food? Well I don’t make it and we aren’t a hotel you know!). One of the family members even suggested that perhaps if she helped in the kitchen she could show our cooks a thing or two. I told her that I was sure they would love her help (very graciously of course). So in the end, I was surprisingly little able to help the poor man and encouraged his family to bring in food for him.

Next I went to see another elderly patient a few rooms over. This patient, because of his diagnosis, was only able to have liquids at that point and I went into his room to discuss his medical conditions, his recent weight loss, diet for when he went home, etc. He was a delightful man and soon he was asking where I was from, was I married, etc. He noticed my last name on my name badge, which invariably brings on a conversation about Ireland. He told me about his visits there and encouraged me to visit there with my husband. After a wonderful visit, I was preparing to leave and jokingly lamenting with him about his exciting diet of broth and juice. To this he replied “Hey, I spent 6 years in a prisoner of war camp, its all relative.” Is it ever! I wished he could go tell the other patient down the hall a thing or two!

That got me thinking. Life really is so much about your perspective and how you choose to react to things. The only problem is it takes so dang long to gain that valuable perspective that allows you to see things in their proper place! Take Ian’s grandfather for instance. The man is strong Irish-stock, has gone by ‘Red’ most of his life, and single-handedly beat up 6 teenage boys when he was about 70 (they tried to steal his radio). He’s lived through 3 major wars and been shot three times. At 78 he had the right side of his colon removed and when prior to surgery the physician tried to reassure him, he just told the doctor that this was really no big deal and he already knew he’d be just fine. In recounting this to Ian, he filled Ian in on his big secret. “You just choose to be positive” he said.

So here’s my question. Do you have to be a prisoner of war, be shot three times, or have your colon removed to be able to learn how to have the proper perspective on life? Or do we all need to experience starvation, poverty, or depravity in order to learn how to have a positive attitude at all costs? Of course these are extreme examples, but in reality, if you want perspective, I do believe we have to endure a little suffering now and then. As privileged as I am, I guess I just hope that what little I do endure will be enough. I guess that’s what is meant by the vicissitudes of mortality. With the ups and the downs we learn to discern the bitter from the sweet and learn the difference between grief and joy. Perspective is good, but I prefer the joy.