cherry trees

Even though there is still snow on the ground, spring will be here eventually. Tigers home opener is Monday (though it will most likely rain, according to the forecasts). And today Dan and I bought two baby Bing cherry trees to plant in the yard. Steven, ever the practical one, immediately wanted to know whether or not they will bear fruit this year! LOL! Let's just hope they live first, kiddo!

Steven has been really into reading lately. Fist when he saw me rereading Harry Potter, he did as well. Then he decided to take to road to Steven King's Dark Tower, and he is in the midst of the last book. I have him set up to read Jim Butcher's Dresden Files next - I greatly enjoy those and I think a fifteen year old boy who loves fantasy stories will love tales of a wizard living in Chicago and having duels to the death with vampire lords at Wrigley Field and bringing Sue the dinosaur back to pseudo-life with necromatic powers.

Tags: cherry trees, harry potter, steven king's dark tower, jim butcher's dresden files

and yet more snow!

This winter has been unbelievable. We had already had more snow than ever recorded in Ann Arbor since they started keeping records in the 1800's but we got yet more snow last night (about three inches worth). Monday is opening day for the Tigers, and the ground is covered with snow! Today, thankfully, is sunny and in the forties, so hopefully this latest dump of white crap will melt by Monday!

And hopefully last night will be my last bad weather drive home until next winter.

I woke up this morning with diarrhea. First time in a week, and means I have to cut back to blander foods again. I had had curried couscous for lunch yesterday, and apparently my body is not ready for curry. Damn, I am sick of bland boring food.

Steven had a half day of school today, and will be off for spring break all of next week. he is pretty geeked up about it!

Tags: spring snow

starting to feel a bit better

Over the last couple of days my stomach has been very grouchy with me and has been demanding real food. As I have not had any more diarrhea since late last week, I tried to expand my diet a bit to Italian style vegetable soup for lunch, with plenty of crackers - and lots of hot tea with sugar to wash it down. My stomach has shrunk quite a bit, and so I could not eat all of it, but goodness it was glorious after eating so much apple sauce and jello. No diarrhea since, so hopefully it agreed with my body and I can gradually go on to eat more foods. And maybe in a few days drink the huge glass of milk I have been craving! It sucks to have bad guts.

Today I watched a dvd a friend lent me - Miss Potter - a charming movie about children's writer Beatrix Potter. It was luminous, just beautiful. I have three more dvd's from friends to watch, and will hopefully find time to watch them by say...Sunday. That way I can try to return them in a decent turn around time.

Friday will be the annual wrestling pig roast dinner fund raiser. Dan and I and Steven will help on Friday night with doing weigh-ins for the weekend's tournaments.

I have been quietly planning my next few reads. I need to read the Hugo nominated novels, something I try to do each year. Then I think I wish to reread Moorcock's Elric stories. Then I think I will read Greg Keye's four book fantasy series that started with The Briar King, as it has now been finished up. All with a few mysteries and general fiction novels sprinkled in for a bit of flavor.

The roads last Friday with the big storm were terrible. One of the respiratory therapists who works at the same hospital that I do was killed in an accident on her way to work. She was a hero, who died for her patients. It is still tragic and depressing, though, and I feel really bad for her friends and her family.

We fianlly got the 2008 holiday and vacation schedule at work. Now I have to try to figure out what I want to do, especially considering the elderly feeble dog. We cannot leave him for more than an hour or two or with a pet sitter, cannot take him,and cannot board him...

Tags: Miss Potter

Merry White Easter!!!!!!!!!!! (great big Good Friday snow)

Wow, did we ever have a nasty snow storm yesterday for Good Friday. We have about eight inches here at the house, with some areas getting six inches, some areas getting a foot.

We had tickets to go to a concert where the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and some choirs were going to perform Bach's St. Matthew's Passion last night. We did not make it, as the roads were pretty much impassable. I called Dan around 1730 to see how he was, and he was at a grocery store about seven miles away. It took him until about 2130 to make it home. He said there were people off the road and in fender benders everywhere, and that the roads were covered with both ice and snow. He could only go at about 10-20 miles per hour in his big Dodge pickup truck.

It is very snowy out there today. I am glad I filled the bird feeders yesterday before the storm moved in.

I did get time to finish my Harry Potter series reread, though, in what was a pretty unpleasant week.

Tags: snow storm, Good Friday, Detroit Symphony Orchestra

An Evening in the Emergency Room

So, after a wonderful and stress free week of vacation, I went back to work last Sunday. And immediately got sick with stress diarrhea. I had promised myself the last time I had bloody diarrhea that I would go in the next time, so I ended up in the emergency room at UM hospital. They drew a bunch of blood for labs, and also urine. they gave me normal saline intravenously for fluids, as I was dehydrated. They thought I probably have something called diverticulitis, and said I had a choice of spending he night there so they could run me through a CT scan and schedule a butt scoping, or I could go home after getting my fluids, and follow up with my doctor. I chose the latter, needless to say.

So the last week has really sucked. I did go to the doctor, and they are going to try to treat the stress diarrhea mainly through diet. So I have to eat only nasty bland crap like plain white rice and applesauce and plain toast until my guts get somewhat normal. This is almost like a form of torture for a foodie. And ever I have tried to advance my diet through something still bland but with a bit more fiber like plain mashed potatoes, I get the runs again. But i am two days diarrhea free right now, and last night I ate some soup made of broth and plain noodles. And that went OK. Maybe in a week or so I can eat salad and drink milk again - two things I have been super craving.

Tags: emergency room, diverticulitis

an evening with the San Franciso Symphony Orchestra

Two Friday nights ago, Dan and I went out on a wonderful date in Ann Arbor.

 

We began with skillet queso and fajitas at Chili's. Dan had chicken and steak. I had a little bit of  steak, but mostly grilled vegetables, yum!!

then we went to Hill Auditorium and attended a concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. They first played a short symphony by Jean Sibellius. The maestro explained the piece before they played it, which is always something I welcome. He said that the piece was all about choosing whether to be sad or happy, and that like in life, the choice is not always easy. They then played a wonderful rendition of Beethoven's Third Symphony, Eroica. They got a standing ovation, so played two more unscheduled pieces. The first of these was a quiet and lovely piece that I know I have heard before - but cannot place with name or composer. This is driving me nuts. For the second extra piece, they had some members of the UM marching band drum lien come out, and they all played a rousing rendition of Hail to the Victors , with the conductor turning around and conducting the crowd rather than the orchestra. What fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That night was a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tags: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Chili's

an evening with the SFJazz Collective

Two Thursday nights ago Dan and I went to the SFJazz Collective concert at Hill Auditorium. As you would expect with such a talented ensemble, they were superb! They were playing a tribute to Wayne Shorter, as well as playing many of their original compositions. the concert lasted about an hour and a half, with no intermission. It was lovely - and it is always good to hear a great marimba player in a jazz group.

After the concert, we went to a quick soup/salad dinner at the Cosi deli around the corner on State Street. The restaurant was about to close, so the service sucked big time. But the food was tasty, and healthy.

Great and enjoyable evening!

Tags: SFJazz Collective, Cosi

upcoming fun!

Have three great (or should be great ) concerts coming up in the next two weeks:

Quote:

A Tribute to Wayne Shorter SFJAZZ Collective Joe Lovano, artistic director and saxophones Dave Douglas, trumpet Stefon Harris, vibraphone and marimba Miguel Zenón, alto sax and flute Robin Eubanks, trombone Renee Rosnes, piano Matt Penman, bass Eric Harland, drums Thursday, March 13, 8 pm Hill Auditorium Main Floor $44 · $38 · $32 · $20 Mezzanine $34 · $30 · $10 Balcony $26 · $20 · $16 · $10 Heralded by the Los Angeles Times for its "sheer, out-of-the-box musicality," the SFJAZZ Collective explores the last 50 years of jazz repertoire through new compositions written by band members and new arrangements of seminal works from modern jazz history. Led by Joe Lovano, the Collective’s 2008 concert pays tribute to the genius of saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, with performances of his works juxtaposed against new pieces composed by each of the eight individual Collective members. Through this innovative approach — simultaneously honoring jazz’s recent history while championing the music’s up-to-the-minute directions — the Collective shows that jazz is a living, ever-changing, and ever-relevant art form.

That will be tonight.

Tomorrow:

Quote:

San Francisco Symphony Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor Friday, March 14, 8 pm Hill Auditorium Main Floor $75 · $68 · $60 · $36 Mezzanine $60 · $50 · $10 Balcony $40 · $36 · $20 · $10 Jean Sibelius remarked to his close friends, “If I cannot write a better symphony than my Seventh, then it shall be my last.” Indeed, the composer's one-movement work was not only his last complete symphony, but one of his final compositions. The work is programmed alongside Beethoven’s first fate-defying statement of musical revolution, the “Eroica” symphony, performed here with full orchestra under the baton of one of today’s most exciting conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas. The San Francisco Symphony is widely regarded as a major, innovative classical powerhouse. Please note: There will be no late seating for this concert until intermission. Program · Sibelius : Symphony No. 7 (1924) · Beethoven : Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 ("Eroica") (1805)

Looking forward to that. My Beethoven Symphony Quest will then have led to hearing his Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth live. (Had tickets to go hear hisSixth last year, but that concert fell into the gap in my life when I was so sick and my knee was blown out, so I was not able to go. ).

Next week:

Quote:

Bach's St. Matthew Passion Detroit Symphony Orchestra UMS Choral Union MSU Children's Choir Jerry Blackstone, conductor featuring Karina Gauvin, soprano Susan Platts, alto Steven Tharp, tenor Marek Rzepka, bass Nikolay Borchev, Jesus Rufus Müller, Evangelist Friday, March 21, 7:30 pm [NOTE TIME] Hill Auditorium Main Floor $56 · $50 · $44 · $26 Mezzanine $44 · $36 · $10 Balcony $30 · $26 · $20 · $10 Were it not for the composer Felix Mendelssohn, who rediscovered Bach’s St. Matthew Passion more than 75 years after the composer’s death, the world might never have been introduced to the music of this incredible composer and organist who revolutionized church music in the 18th century. Using the Biblical text of the Passion according to the evangelist Matthew, traditionally read on Palm Sunday, Bach’s work is a musical and dramatic interpretation of the events of Holy week. It is indisputably one of the highest achievements of Western art, written to be performed each year at Easter. This Good Friday performance features the UMS Choral Union and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in their only performance of the work. This concert will last approximately three hours.

That should be so good I am sure it will raise up the hairs on the back of my neck.

Tags: SF Jazz Collective, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven's Third, Bach's St. Matthew's Passion

things are going well...

I am nearly completely recovered from the cold; Bill got it, too, but he is also on the mend.

 

I think all of the rest I have been getting has greatly contributed to getting better, rather than having the thing drag out for weeks, as it normally would.

I am enjoying having the house to myself for a bit; Steven is still at school, Dan is at work, and Bill is at a meeting for transfer students at eastern Michigan University.

Later tonight Dan and I will be going out to dinner, and then a jazz concert at Hill Auditorium from the SF Jazz Collective. Should be great!

I have been catching up a little bit with my huge TBR stack, and have been watching some movies this week. I caught an old Marilyn Monroe movie last night, and, as usual, I am always caught off guard by what a good comedic actress she was. She is such an icon, but she actually had some talent, too.

Tags: vacation

vacation!!!

Well, here is the vacation thus far:

Friday: had a sinus headache, so spent the day curled up in bed with hot tea and a cozy mystery

Saturday: felt better, but still spent most of the day resting

Sunday: better yet; went to the wrestling banquet to see Steven get his varsity letter; hosted a bunch of teen aged kids who wanted to play the newly released Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the wii

Monday: spent the day with Bill; went to Eastern Michigan University, lunch, and shopping

Tuesday: feeling much better; took Steven to Saline to order his varsity jacket; went grocery shopping

It has been wonderful to get to spend time with the kids. Today was warm enough I could even take the old dog out for a walk.

 

 

Tags: vacation

nearly there

Only a bit over an hour and a half to go, and I will be on vacation!

I think I will be able to make it!

I've been meaning to make a post about this for a couple of days now, and keep forgetting.

I have been having these really vivid dreams lately, which is very unusual for me, as I very rarely remember any dreams, other than nightmares.

In these dreams I am alone (but not lonely) in various places I have visited in the past. In one of them I was sitting next to the Virgin River in Zion Canyon, dipping my toes in the cold water. It was evening, and birds were flying about, and the shadows from the canyon walls were spreading. In another dream it was just after dawn, and I was walking north along the rim trail at Bryce Canyon, enjoying the clean clear air and the vanilla scent of the ponderosa pines, as well as the ravishing view. In another I was at the top of that tower at Desert View at the Grand Canyon, watching a storm in the Canyon. In yet another I was watching snow clouds boiling around the peaks of the San Juans in Colorado. And in another I was sitting on the hood of my Jeep, watching pronghorn and mule deer grazing somewhere in the Black Hills.

Have no idea what, if anything, the dreams meant. Maybe it is just my mind wishing for a real vacation, to someplace glorious like the ones in the dreams.

Tags: strange dreams

one more night...

I caught Steven's cold (though thankfully he is getting better) and feel stuffed up and tired. All  I want to do is to curl up in bed with a good cozy mystery and a big cup of tea. But only one more night of work, and then I will be on vacation! That thought is keeping me going...

Bill will be getting home tonight for his spring break, while I am at work.

We're due for a big snow storm tomorrow; they are saying eight inches of snow or more. If we do get that much, it will make this the snowiest winter ever recorded in this area. It will also break the record foe the most snow ever recorded in March (with most of the month still to go). At least I will not have to drive in it this time.

Tigers hitting and starting pitchers sound they are all doing well down in spring training. The relief pitchers, though, sound like they will be a huge problem this season (again!). Can't win games without good relief pitching, so the Tigers may well be the best team in baseball not to make the playoffs (again!!).And one of my favorite Tigers, Brandon Inge, has become a cry baby over having to become a utility player rather than the regular third baseman...which is a big disappointment. I had thought better of him, as he usually has so much class. he seems to be the biggest story coming out of spring training, in fact, which is strange with all of the all stars on the team.

 

 

Tags: last night before vacation, Tigers spring training

snow day

I had a really hard time getting to sleep last night. I think I got too stressed out driving home in the storm on the awful roads.

But Steven had a snow day today, so I was able to sleep in since there was someone else here to let the poor old dog out. I got up briefly to say hi to my son, and make sure he was OK, and went back to bed.

When I got a bit of sleep, I got up and cooked us both up a nice hot lunch.

It has been a peaceful day at home - I wish I do not have to go to work, as it has been so pleasant, but what can you do?

At least there are only two more nights at work before my break.

It is sunny and cold today, but last I heard we are due for more snow tomorrow.

Long term forecast says next week, when I am off from work, it will finally get above freezing, and we are due for several days of rain (which we will not need with all of the snow melt). It will be major, big time mud season.

Tags: snow day

two more nights; another ugly winter storm

Two more nights and I will be on vacation. I can spend time with Dan and the kids. The very thought makes me very happy!

Another ugly winter storm tonight. Another drive home at 25 MPH in four wheel drive. Another half foot or more of snow, mixed with sleet and freezing rain.

Hopefully this will be the last big snow strom of the winter!

I am ready for little snow crocuses to start blooming! And Tigers baseball, baby! Time for da boys of summer!

Tags: snow storm

down to four days

Down to four days before my vacation starts! I cannot wait, even if I have no plans other than a couple of concerts.

It is raining outside, which is melting the heavy snow cover. But we are due to get more snow tonight, and then freezing rain followed by more snow tomorrow.

When will it be spring??????

the owl

I heard the owl again tonight when letting the dog out, off to the east.

If summer ever comes, I think I will set up in the camper in the trees in the backyard and sleep out there every so often, just so I can fall asleep listening to that owl.

Tags: owl

Harry Potter movie marathon

With all of the snow storms this winter along with Steven's concussion, we have not gotten out of the house much. One snowy Saturday we had a Band of Brothers marathon, and another we had a Lord of the Rings Extended Edition marathon with all three extended edition DVD's. The latter took many hours, with bathroom and meal breaks. LOL!!!

Today Steven was running a fever and was listless, so we watched Harry Potter movies this afternoon and evening. We did not get through all five of them, but we did watch the first three. That relaxed him and made him happy. He always loves to mock Professor Lockhart in particular.

I still think that the third one is the best of the lot.

Tags: Harry Potter movies

the past few days

Last weekend for his birthday Dan had a hellacious backache. Man, was he ever grouchy (as anyone in that much pain would be). Made it hard to have a fun birthday for him, poor fellow. But it was nice having Bill home - and since he has no classes on Friday, and none until the afternoon on Monday, he stayed for a long weekend.

We had a quiet birthday for Dan, but he prefers them that way. We did go out to Calder dairy, and got ice cream, and I baked him his favorite cake, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. We tried to go the the tortilla factory, but it had already closed for the day by the time we got there.

Over the past week we have had two snowstorms. The snow is pretty deep out in the yard, and that makes it very hard for the poor old dog to move around.

Today the Detroit Tigers tickets went on sale. I got online a minute or two before they went and sale and I was shunted into a waiting area for nearly an hour. I did manage to get tickets to three games - one in June, one in July, and one in September. I have a feeling the season will either be completely sold out or nearly sold out before it even begins - even with the addition of all of those seats at Comerica Park this year.

One more  week of work, and I get a week off, the same as Bill's school break. I'm not sure what we will do yet, but Dan and I have a couple of concert dates that week. And Steven will have school.

Tags: Dan's birthday, Calder Dairy, Detroit Tigers tickets