Piano Dreams

     

                As a child, I remember a lot of my friends complaining about having to practice piano. They hated it. They didn’t like taking lessons. There were so many  better things to be doing than playing the piano. I was so lucky that I didn’t have to do any of those things.

                I was so jealous.
                I even tried a couple time to talk one of my friends into teaching me piano, even though we didn’t have one.

                When I was about 15, my parents had a sudden fit and bought a piano. All my siblings, having music training that included marimba( which is basically a piano that you hit with mallets), all can play the piano. My sister can play pretty much anything you put in front of her. And my little brother, Bruth, is brilliant. He plays the most beautiful music, and all he does is sit down and start playing. He doesn’t even need the music.

                I would think about that piano, and if no one was home and there was no chance they would walk in on me, I would see what noises I could make on it.

                As I’ve gotten older (and let’s face it, I’m still pretty young) I’ve decided that I can’t sit around and pine about things. I can’t say “oh I’ll do that when I have time”. I either do it, or I leave it. And I’ve had some awesome experiences since I’ve started living my life that way.

                So, about three months ago, I decided it was time. I have a steady enough income, and time. I know how to set reasonable expectations and goals. I came up with a goal, and started to look for a piano teacher. I found one who said these magic words:

                “Jaq, it’s not too late for you to become a Great Piano Player.”

                I love her.

                 I have already mastered several hymns from the simplified hymn book and quite enjoy sight reading new ones. My first recital is in 2 days. I love playing. I just love it.

                And I will never complain about having to practice piano.

Psych!

I received my Black Friday Buy in the mail yesterday. Seasons 3 and 4 of the tv show Psych. For those of you who don’t know, I am a huge fan of the tv show Psych. I told my dad I wouldn’t get an iPhone unless I could get a Psych cover for it. (My mum was very concerned the other day when I pulled out my phone and the Psych cover wasn't on it.)

There is a very specific reason I started watching Psych, had this incident never happened, I may have never watched Psych.

 One afternoon, several years ago, I was working on a show. So I had stuff spread around and needed something to keep me from going absolutely insane. I turned on the tv and started flipping through the channels, hoping for a movie or something intriguing. I paused for a moment on USA because they sometimes have movies and such on.

 It was the Nanny episode. Henry and Shawn were standing in the road looking at the houses and Henry says: “Why this house? This house was chosen for a reason.”
To which Shawn replies: “There can be only one!” after a pause he turns to Henry and goes “What, I thought we were quoting Highlander.”
As a person who grew up watching Highlander, I busted up laughing, and didn’t change the channel. I had to know what the show was, and if the rest of it was as good as those ten seconds.

 Thanks to the invention of Netflix, I’ve been able to see every episode. Among my favorites, well they’re all favorites and each one has great quotes in it…. But, the Twin Peaks episode is a family favorite. It was cause for me to (yet again) wonder if I would end up having to call the paramedics to revive my mum. The Jaws episode. The Despereaux episodes. Heeeere’s Lassie. Ugh, too many to name.

Let’s just say, I love the show.

Play

As an early childhood educator, we always are hearing that play is learning. While this video addresses an older age group than I currently work with, I find it is a great way of looking at how play is learning.
Play allows children to experiment, fail, learn, and try again. While this is a little skewed toward science, I liked it.


(I also plan to talk a bit more about play being a necessary part of the learning process in future posts. If you have questions or concerns that you would like me to address, just let me know!)

Tee Shirts- Cheap

So, I happen to have a large amount of plain tee shirts as part of my inventory. Since I am trying to move most of my inventory out before heading to grad school, I decided to try to get these shirts some homes. 

For $0.50 Each I have:

 2 Adult L Hanes  Comfort Soft Undershirt style Tees

For $1.00 Each I have:

Adult Small:

·         3 White

·         3 Heather Gray

·         3 Dark Red

·         1 Solid Gray       

·         1 Navy Blue

Adult Medium:

·         2 White

·         1 Ladies Pink

·         1 Red Baseball Style

Adult Large

·         1 Ladies Black

·         2 Dark Red

·         3 Medium Blue

Adult x-Large

·         2 White

·         0 Turquoise (Sold out)

And for $5.00 each I have some Downeast Basics Tees:

·         3 Dusty Rose Short Sleeve Crew: 1 XS, 2 XS

·         1 Cream Short Sleeve Crew: XL

·         1 Navy Half Sleeve Tee: M

     

      

    You can view photos of them here:

   http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.456064317770781.97724.389647511079129&type=3

    You can contact me through the message function on Facebook or Etsy:

    www.facebook.com/auntjaq

      www.etsy.com/auntjaq


     Also, if you live outside of my area, I ask that you pay shipping for your order.
Thanks Everyone!

A Dialogue

My Dad (to the dog): Oh look, your Aunt Jaq is wearing some socks that she made!

Me: I just finished them and was too lazy to take them down....

My Dad: Are you going to make me some socks for Christmas?

Me: It depends. Will you wear them?

My Dad: Well... I don't know are they comfortable?

Me: I think they are.

My Dad: Would they match my work clothes?

Me: Yeah.

My Dad (wanders off.)


So, Should I knit him a pair of socks for Christmas?

p.s. He is the most difficult person to get a Christmas present for on my list. I've got pretty much everyone else covered except for him. Any suggestions besides the socks would be most appreciated.

September 30

 Martha and I went on a hike today at the lake property.

FYI: Fall is my favorite season. The colors, the smell, and the light are all wonderful. Plus, I get to start wearing long-sleeves, layers, and sweaters. (And not have others think I'm a little crazy for being cold.)

I Still Have a Pulse

For those of you who actually read this blog, I apologize for not being here. At all. For awhile. Suffice it to say that 'real' classes started up. I had some chaos happen, and now all is well.

Big news: I received a scholarship that pays for my registration fee and hotel costs to attend the NAEYC's annual conference. It's kind of a big deal, especially since I'm still a student. When a lovely person found out I got the scholarship, they put up the money for my travel expenses. SO I basically have an 'all expenses paid' trip to Atlanta to learn really cool stuff and hang out with other people who devote their time to children under the age of 8.

It's gonna be awesome.
 But before that, I have to get a killer score on my GRE next week so I can get into grad school.