Silent Films & Shel Silverstein

Last night, Chris and I were invited to attend a concert by Tom Trenney, an organist from Lincoln, Nebraska. He is very accomplished at improvisation, and the highlight of the program was the showing of two silent movies, accompanied by organ improvisation! The acting and music were truly funny, and the whole audience laughed through both films.

The other special part of the evening was an improvisation of Shel Silverstein poems. He is one of my all-time favorite poets, and I was so sad to hear that he had died a few years ago. Tom Trenney read three poems: Magic Carpet, Forgotten Language, and Dancing Pants, and did a short improvisation on each. As he said at the performance, his goal was to convey them like Silverstein would have if he were a musician instead of a poet. His creativity was fun and exciting, and I hope that he will publish and record a whole set of miniatures based on Silverstein's work!

Overall the concert was completely enjoyable in every way (except for some rude concert-goers), and I was thrilled to be able to witness such a large amount of integration of art forms. When music, film, and poetry are combined, each art form enhances the beauty and creativity of the other, creating a truly unique and wholesome experience. This is how art should always be!

PS-I highly recommend watching the silent movie, One Week, starring Buster Keaton. It is the story of a couple during their first week of marriage - and yes, it was a LONG week!

Adults Don't Eat Veggies

This is an interesting article from The Tennessean (and USA Today) about some statistics of adults who don't eat enough veggies. Startling!

Article on Canning

Thank you, Wall Street Journal, for putting a spotlight on canning and preserving with this article from October 15th.

Indoor S'more Toasting

Chris and I house sit a lot. On one hand, this is an awesome, cushy job. We move in to huge house, cook in the fabulous kitchen with granite countertops, a gas range, stainless steel appliances, enjoy the big flat-screen TV with 100s (literally, several hundred) channels, play every gaming system known to man, log on to the wireless network, and run around with their two dogs. But don't be fooled, house sitting has it's unfortunate side, too. That is, you have to pack EVERYTHING you might need, even if your stay is only for a couple of days. That means not only your clothes, shoes, and toiletries galore—it also means dry food, cold food, milk, produce, sharp knives, and our dog and her many accessories (read: toys, food, food dish, treats and rawhides, leash, etc.). She has a ridiculous amount of accessories.After all of this, the car looks like one that is about to take a cross-country expedition for a whole month. And after packing and unpacking it all, we look like ruffians. At least they have comfortable chairs to fall into!

The highlight of the weekend was roasting marshmallows over an open fire pit - yum! Last night I recreated the magic in the comfort of our own living room (no joke). I spread out a huge towel with all the fixin's and lit 4 tea-lights! The outdoorsy smell was missing, but without a backyard, we had to improvise. At least we didn't smell like smoke afterward!

I can't say that Lucy enjoyed the indoor version as much as the real thing, but after a weekend with two other dogs in the house, she was exhausted! She slept through the afternoon and evening, and then all through the night!

Things I Love About Fall

Autumn is my favorite season, and in celebration of the arrival of cool, crisp days, I am gracing you with a list of things that bring me smiles on days like today.

Hot Chocolate

Candles

Fuzzy Sweatpants

Slippers

Leaves crunching under my feet

Cool air through open windows

Cider and grog

Snuggling

Falling leaves

The smell of cold air

Thanksgiving - My favorite holiday!

Pumpkins