I love fall!

These are some pictures from my trip to Michigan last month. As you can see, the foliage was already spectacular, which is how it's looking around here. We have more evergreens than anything, so we don't have quite the display the east does. I just love this time of year with its crisp sunshine, smoky scents, falling leaves, bright trees, pumpkin everything, cozy evenings, and of course, the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas! November and December are looking quite full, making me appreciate this quiet weekend.

Inconvenient Convenience

My goodness, I haven't posted in ages! The past week or two has been super busy. This past Friday and Saturday I drove with some friends over to Spokane and then Coeur d'Alene, ID to play at a Christian homeschooler's mother/daughter tea. I got home around 2:15 on Sunday morning! That was an adventure.

My title has to do with all the express technology we have these days. It's starting to really annoy me. They either make you do it yourself, like self-checkouts in stores and libraries, or you can't do it yourself, like bathroom faucets and toilets! Everything's so automated, that pretty soon half the world will be unemployed! Fortunately, my library branch is still tiny enough where the librarians can check out customers. Everything's getting very impersonal. Bathroom faucets either don't come on, or they stay on, or they always have warm water, which is rather unpleasant for brushing your teeth (a frequent event for me). Toilets never flush at the right time, which is all I have to say about that!

Is anybody else annoyed or troubled by this technology take-over? Is it good or bad?

Bumper Stickers and Fishes

Up to yesterday, my van was devoid of any outward signs or indications of the driver's beliefs and opinions. For some reason I've always had this reluctance to put anything on my car like a fish or a political or religious bumper sticker. I did have a Bush/Cheney sticker a few years ago because I felt strongly enough about the election to risk the possible abuse I might garner here in liberal Western Washington (the Left Coast, as I heard recently). And ten years ago, when Jill and I worked on a gubernatorial campaign, we had a huge cartop sign on our car (actually all our cars), and it made me feel extremely conspicuous, like I was actually driving around the would-be governor (she lost, alas).

I guess my reasoning is that my driving is going to reflect on whoever or whatever I'm "advertising" on my bumper. I mean, if I do something stupid in traffic or make somebody mad by driving too fast or too slow, they could look at a little fish and say, "Fine Christian she is!" I know it irritates me when I see someone with a fish or religious bumper sticker driving like a jerk. Some might say it should motivate you to drive right. My van does get more attention when I'm unloading or loading my harp, so that's been another deterrant, because I meet all kinds of people!

Well, I just put on a bumper sticker after several weeks procrastination (and a car wash). It says God bless JerUSAlem, and includes Israeli and American flags. Now this isn't too scary or controversial, but it has crossed my mind that some Muslim or anti-Israel person might get ticked at me and do something dastardly, or one more person is going to ask if I'm Jewish (my name and all)!

So my question is, are these kind of feelings regarding significant car decorations just cowardly, or is there some merit? How do you view the effect or consequences of posting your views for the world to see?

Weekend Adventures

On Saturday evening I played the harp for a local symphony gala event. This is where people come all gussied up in their finest and eat and drink and bid and spend money and all that jazz. Quite an elegant affair. I sat near the entrance in my flowing black formal and played away. Right near me the photographers would have couples pose for pictures. At one point a photographer didn't have anything to do, so he started snapping away at me. It's so disconcerting to try to play naturally while someone has a camera in your face, so to speak! Click, click, click. He discovered that shooting me through the strings would be a cool angle, so he snapped away there. Everyone thinks they're SO original and artsy when they do that! I suddenly had to fight the urge to laugh or make a silly face or something. But anyway, as I wrapped up an hour and a half of playing, there was hardly anyone around because they'd all moved off to another room for dinner. I decided to finish with "As Time Goes By." This man who had just complimented me suddenly stopped, came back, and listened intently as I played. When I was done, he came up and thanked me for playing his favorite song so beautifully, handing me a $10 bill! I've never been tipped before, so it was quite a pleasant surprise! Maybe I should put out a hat or something when I play. :-)

Yesterday was my symphony concert. The dress rehearsal was in the afternoon, and this was only my second and final chance to play the bells right in the 1812 Overture. The harp part in the other pieces was no sweat, but tackling a new, very loud instrument was jacking my blood pressure up! I had gotten a recording and listened to it a number of times, so I was pretty sure of my entrances and exits. One of the percussion players gave me a brief lesson on Wednesday, pointing out which bells to hit (Eb arpeggio, basically), where to hit them, and then to "hit the
h--- out of them." Ah. That's nothing I ever heard in harp lessons! If you've never seen them, these bells look like huge wind chimes, arranged like a keyboard in sets of 2's and 3's, and standing about 6 feet tall. You press down a pedal for a sustained sound, then strike the bell at the top with a mallet.

I also got appointed to play a little triangle part -- fun! Basically I just had to pretend I was ringing the dinner bell. So during the rehearsal I stood there for a good nervous ten minutes, counting away. The music crescendoed, the other percussionists were banging and crashing away, and finally it's my turn! I took those mallets and banged those bells as if my life depended on it. I couldn't watch the music, which is why I had to listen to recordings to know when to stop. And guess what? I nailed it! Woohoo! You'd never know it was my first time! Other orchestra members said nice things about me being the best bell ringer ever, which was silly of course, but made up for the headache I had developed. There was a terrific amount of noise back there, especially with the cymbals right next to me, so I feared for my hearing. For the evening concert, I was sure to put an ear plug in one ear, which helped, though the other ear was ringing from the clanging bells! The concert went well, too, and one percussionist said something like I should put this on my resume so orchestras will know I can play! Ha ha! I've always admired the percussionists, but never actually pictured myself one of them. Not sure it will happen again, but it was fun while it lasted!

Home Again

I got back yesterday from a great week in the Michigan upper peninsula. The foliage was gorgeous, even if the weather left something to be desired. I was at a retreat for young 'uns 23 and older. Besides inspiring speakers, there were lots of fun activities and good fellowship. I connected with some people I knew and met some new people. One night was a 1940s theme dinner, for which you've already seen my outfit. The next night was a semi-formal masquerade. My mask was pretty conservative compared to some other feathery wild ones! Here's a picture. During the elegant and tasty dinner, a lady gave a very apropos message about taking off the masks that many try to wear in real life. She encouraged us to be real and honest.

So I'm back again catching up on life again, very tired. Hopefully I can sleep some more tomorrow.

The Lord really blessed my traveling, though the 45 minute line through security in Seattle was annoying. Thank God for Starbucks on the other side! It's times like those at airports when I feel deep anger at the radical group of jerks who changed aviation history forever for the rest of the world. Grrr. Talk about the power of one, or something like that. But meanwhile, I got an exit row seat on the way to Las Vegas, with tons of leg room in front of me. I think they generally make plane seats for people about 5'3." Discrimination, I tell ya. So I did a little gambling in Vegas, then hopped on the plane to Chicago. Ha ha, not really! There were slot machines right there and people using them, but it all looked rather silly, I thought. I had just given my boarding pass to the attendant and was going down the ramp when she called my name and eventually communicated to my astonished mind that I was being promoted to first class! Yes, please! So I got in a nice, cushy seat and was treated with drinks, good food (no $5 box lunches there!), and friendly service. Man, I should fly that way every time. The only downside was this older, roughish (but pleasant) gentleman next to me who smelled rather unpleasant, drank several alcoholic drinks, and was half blind to boot. But I enjoyed the flight, nonetheless, and finished the Karen Kingsbury book I'd brought along. And I basked in the knowledge of God's incredible love and goodness to me!

Speaking of love and goodness, I figured out that 10 of my local friends have either married or gotten engaged in the past year! Every Christmas I have a big party of friends, which at one time were mostly single, but now, I'm afraid the singles are starting to be the minority, including yours truly! Of course I'm happy for all the little love birds, but it is astonishing how quickly things happen sometimes. For instance, my friend Erika just called to inform me she's engaged. She's been corresponding and talking to this man since January, but he just flew out to meet her last week and that's when he proposed! But God was obviously in it, they were both yielded to Him, so what was there to wait for? She's 31, so I'm absolutely thrilled for this gem of a young lady who has waited patiently for God's best and suffered some very hard things. She and her fiancee both have a heart for Israel (she went with me in '99), so they'll be heading there as missionaries soon after they marry in February.

Here I go rambling on and on and I really need to go to bed!!