Viva La Musica!!

Central Station in Antwerp, Belgium...If this doesn't put a smile on your face, musical fan or not, then we need to talk. Enjoy!

Drawing a Blank

I've been intending to update this for quite awhile now, but every time I sit down to do so, I am stumped as to what to say. The sun is shining today and it's actually supposed to be warm this weekend...can't wait for that! In hopeful, warm-weather anticipation I have plans to get pedicures with a girlfriend on Saturday. So girly!

Hopefully this bloggers block will pass soon and I'll get back in the habit of writing on a regular basis!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope yours was fun.

No, I didn't get another dog

Yesterday I spent the bulk of my afternoon volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society. The first half hour was spent in orientation, learning how to interact with the animals and keep oneself from getting bit. I could see the eyes of others in the volunteer group widen, wondering what they'd gotten themselves into. As the owner of a large dog, though, I wasn't too concerned. In fact, later when playing with some of the dogs, the volunteer coordinator kept giving me the large ones as she knew I'd be comfortable with them. After orientation, we went outside to several enclosed dog play areas. Then, Sasha, the coordinator, brought a dog to each yard. First, I had a German Shepherd named Lucille who very much loved retrieving a squeaky toy I'd toss for her (She could teach Abby a thing or two!). After Lucille, I was visited by a setter named Tanner. He was pretty aloof and too old to really want to play. But in the interest of making him as adoptable as possible I just worked on getting him to acknowledge me and let me pet him. The more he's willing to interact with a human, the greater his chances of connecting with someone looking to adopt. My third, and last, dog was an adorable little guy named Cheerio (picture). He was new, so Sasha couldn't tell me what sort of play he was interest in. He was only eight months and I quickly found out he was most interested in crawling in my lap and letting me scratch him all over! Which was fine with me. I love dogs that like to snuggle. It really made me wonder why he was surrendered for adoption...it could've been anything. Perhaps his owners couldn't afford him any longer and knew it would only get harder the older he got.

After playing with the dogs, we moved to the cattery where we each sat in one of the community cat rooms and interacted with them. I joined forces with a regular volunteer named Brenda. So she and I sat and visited for a half hour or so with purring cats in our laps. I talked to her a lot about volunteering as I really think it's something I'd enjoy doing on a regular basis. They have volunteers that exercise the dogs. That would be fun right up my alley!

The best part of the whole experience, though? Looking at the website just now and seeing that Cheerio and about four of the cats I played with were all adopted yesterday!

Book Talk

I used to buy all my books. But to save money and to avoid the frustration of investing money in a terrible book, I've become an avid library-user. In fact, I've been told I have an addiction. But there are much worse things to be addicted to, right? I realized last night that there is no way I can keep up with my current pace and it's unlikely I'll be able to conquer my pile before they're due back at the library. Policy is one can't renew a book if someone else has submitted a request for it. Which means that oftentimes I only have three weeks to finish a book. Three weeks you ask? Surely that is enough time to finish a book. And you're right...it is. Except when there are 10+ to be read. With great reluctance I got online this morning and rescheduled my request list so I won't be inundated with books as I am now.

Tonight, my friend, Kim, and I are going to a literary arts event at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Two authors we both enjoy - Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto - are speaking on how they became writers and the creative writing process in general. I'm hoping it will be interesting. If not the tickets were cheap! My handbag is full of books (theirs) in case they do a pre-lecture signing. Best to be prepared, I think. It's fun to have something to look forward to. I'll take pictures if I'm able.

Niece's Band Concert

I went to my niece, Jarae’s, sixth grade band concert last night. She plays the flute and seems to really enjoy being involved with band. I don’t expect anyone beyond my parents to really be interested in these clips but even those not interested in the music will find the last one entertaining!

And this was how Keaton was entertaining himself...

Yowza!

There's a fantastic weekly radio program on the local jazz station called Divaville. The program focuses on jazz vocalists from the 20s through the 60s - think Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Betty Hutton and the like. It is a wonderful program and it would be rare to be in my home on a Wednesday and not hear it on the hi-fi. Anyway, Tuesday night I went to a Divaville listener party at a throwback dinner-lounge called Tony Starlight's. It was a lot of fun! Tony did a sit-down interview of sorts with the host, Christa, and then the two of them played some songs and gave prizes for being able to identify the singers and songwriters. I am nothing but a novice so was no sort of contender but enjoyed hearing the music. Brett and I were among the younger attendees. It was fun getting dressed up and doing something completely out of the usual routine. The program is streamed live each week at divaville.org so if you have any interest, you should check it out. Music can be so wonderful and this is nothing like avant-garde jazz music you may be thinking of. To me, that's generally just noise. But hearing Bobby Darin sing about That Funny Feeling and listening to a Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong duet is nothing short of fabulous.

Trouble Blogging?

Is anyone else having problems uploading pictures? I've been trying to post something for 24 hours now and the pictures just won't load. It's very frustrating. Know what else is frustrating? Trying to contact blogger support. It's impossible to locate a simple contact customer support feature. Argh!

Changing of the Guard

This is a very exciting day! I'm energized thinking of a new president in the White House. Our country has not been in a good place for quite some time. And I thought the weeks between election day and inauguration day would never pass. It is no secret that my political views are different than most of my family and I generally don't talk politics with my friends. Today, though, I can't not address the magnitude of this day. I have never been a person who cares about another's color, race, or religion and think it shows remarkable growth to have an African-American in the highest ranking office of the United States. I realize he has yet to prove himself, but for the first time in years, I feel hopeful and my approval rating is very high! Others have said it in a much more articulate manner, but simply stated, today I feel proud to be an American.

From The Wall Street Journal, I thought this was a fun, good-spirited letter from Jenna and Barbara Bush to Malia and Sasha Obama. Could you imagine being a child living in the White House?

Christmas Pics 2008