The Larsen House

There are Christmas displays and then there are CHRISTMAS DISPLAYS!

One of our Christmas traditions that we have carried out since the children were quite tiny is one of going out in the car on Christmas Eve (yes Eve) and riding around looking at the Christmas lights while enjoying some home-made delicious hot chocolate and hot baked bread. Every year, my sweet and loving wife prepares both items for the annual outing on Christmas Eve.

This tradition is loosely based upon one that my family (as a child) enjoyed back in Memphis. We would drive by Harts Bakery (a bread company no longer in business as best I can tell) and for 25 cents, the attendant working the conveyer system would take a hot baked unsliced loaf of bread off the conveyer and hand it through a small window to you. My favorite part - the CRUST! It was wonderful to eat that bread and ride around looking at Christmas lights! What a great childhood memory. So, pretty much without exception, we have observed a similar tradition with our kids since they were young and now that nearly all of them are in their early twenties - we still do it!!! LOL

Well, just to show you that the wonder and joy of Christmas is still alive at any age, we did it again this year and we found a wonderful Christmas display to see as tipped off to us by my sweet niece Brooke. The house belongs to a family named Larsen and it is by any standards, a mansion. I would estimate it to be 6500+ square feet in size! Apparently they own a landscaping company and business is good! It sits on a large plot of land near the city of Elburn, IL, and looks somewhat like a castle.

Here's a picture of it by day - beautiful! Note: the driveway has embedded lights in it that provide a means to see the driveway at night (like a run-way!)

What makes this house and its Christmas display so neat though is that the house is practically festooned with lights all over the house and yard and the lights are well choreographed to music. In fact, a large sign in the yard tells you to tune your FM radio in your car to a specific channel so you can enjoy the music in full stereo sound. Then you sit in your car and watch the spectacle. That is truly the right word for it too - it is a spectacle.

I recorded the video on my little Nikon hand-held camera (not a video camera) so please pardon the camera motion and the poor sound quality but you will get the idea from the video. You can also find other videos of the Larsen home on YouTube by looking for the keyword: larsenlights

So, now without further delay, I share with you here one of the videos I captured when we visited their home on Christmas Eve, 2008. It shows the amazing and very enjoyable display the Larsen family have put together and you can hear my family expressing the joy of Christmas and incredulity that someone would go to this much trouble to make Christmas a bit more special. Very cool by any standard... Enjoy.....

Douglas Fir - sings for you

Here's a bit of silliness for you... This is our faithful Christmas mascot Douglas Fir singing one of his songs for you... I threw it up here cause I thought you would get a kick out of it. Douglas is one of our perenial Christmas decorations (he appears every year) and is beloved by the entire family except for Mark who manages to tolerate Douglas as long as his switch remains in the OFF position!
:O) HAR HAR

Douglas is motion activated so if he is ON and you walk by him, he will greet you and burst into song.

I bought this silly thing many years ago as a Christmas (joke) present for Sheila but he's become something of a traditional decoration for our house now!

Enjoy...

My Wonderful Wife

I just wanted to speak a few words of tribute about my wife. She is such a wonderful person and loving partner. With this being Christmas Day, she was up late last night wrapping gifts and has been up since early morning attending to her family. Yesterday she baked two loaves of fresh bread and made hot chocolate for us to take on our traditional trip out in the van to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. This morning very early, she cleaned up the kitchen from last night and she served up eggs, bacon and a German waffle for breakfast and we had silver turtles for dinner. In between, she made a cheese ball and salsa for me to enjoy with chips. She was Santa's right hand helper in the days leading up to Christmas - so many things she did I can't even list for you here but it makes all the difference in the world in terms of providing a happy and satisfying Christmas for our kids. I feel personally that she spoiled me rotten this year in all the many extensions of her love for me. My kids too demonstrated their love toward me in so many ways this holiday.

I have been richly blessed. I have wonderful children and I married a woman who follows the example of a Biblical scriptural wife and truly has the heart of Jesus in her service to her family. She labors tirelessly for us when her own back is aching and tired and in need of a rest. I don't know how many minutes she actually sat down today but it was most certainly not the majority of her day - rather that was spent in service to her family - on her feet!

To Sheila I say a simple - thank you Honey and I love and appreciate you so much for the woman, mother and wife that you are to my children and to me. You fill our lives with much joy and give of yourself in a selfless and tireless manner that demonstrates your love vividly to us every day. I love you and I thank you for loving me.

The Bible spoke well of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. That is the kind of wife I have and I am so thankful and grateful to God for her!

Proverbs 31:10-31 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Sheila my beloved, your works do indeed praise you in the gates! Your price is far above rubies!

Love always, Jerry

Things are different in California

Ok, so I always knew things were different in California but I didn't realize that you would see something like this in an elevator......

So.... I didn't push it...... I didn't want to cause an earthquake.

Hey speaking of different, they are running around with coats on here during the day with the temp in the wonderful mid 60s! LOL. I was just wearing my shirt. I thought it was great.

Of course back home there is 30F and 4" of snow!!!

Ok, I admit, at night it gets chilly here as it drops into the 40s - that's enough to make me put my jacket I brought back on - but not during the day! LOL

So you think your job is bad?

Ok, so I was thinking recently about what an incredibly nice place I have to work. We have a very modern, very large building with a cafeteria, convenience store, coffee shop (that sells Starbucks!) and a full and rather well-equipped gym.

Then one morning I was coming to work and I saw these guys (click on the picture for a larger view)....!



Sorry for the quality of the picture as it was taken with my cell phone but if you squint at the picture closely, about 3/4 of the way up the building, you can see two guys washing windows! They are each hanging by two ropes and swinging back and forth and up and down washing windows. It was about 42 degrees (F) that morning! Yes, the day was bright and beautiful but it was cold, they were slinging water and suspended about 70 feet up in the air by two slender ropes (not my idea of a fun time).

So, I am thankful for my job. I am very grateful that when the weather is storming lightning and raining cats and dogs or pouring down snow in minus 20F degree weather, that I am sitting in my lil warm cubicle looking at my little glowing computer screens and enjoying a Starbucks white chocolate moca.

I think it is at times like this that we should remember to thank God for the things he has placed into our lives. There are many people not quite so fortunate as the majority of us and it would be a good thing to remember those window washers and other such folks in our prayers daily!

Hope you have an excellent day!

Love, Jerry

A Real Hair-Club for Men "Test Day"

(Sunday, 26Oct08) People some times ask me about this area being called the "Windy City" and it's really true we almost never have the absence of wind in our area. However, if you want to REALLY see what it's like, watch the web cam today (Sunday) and see!! We have wind gusts to 50 mph today and I already have one recorded to 21.2 mph at my backyard weather station!! So, it's a windy day! Watch our neighbor's Bears flag(oops - he just took it down but I captured it on video so watch my blog for this soon) and trees across the street blow in the wind. Also, watch the debris go down the street ! Wow!

Yup - it is really a windy day today! They forecast gusts to as much as 50 mph today so when we got out of the car to go into the restaurant after Church this morning, it didn't suprise us that we almost blew sideways! Also, it didn't surprise us when we got out of the car at home that we had to lean into the wind to make it to the garage. This is a fairly typical fall day and one of the reasons the "colors" do not last long around here. No sooner have the trees started to change to their beautiful colors when a wind front like this one comes through and strips all those delicate colorful blooms off the trees and sends them flying down the street toward some unknown destination on the east side of town. Some guy must really have a colorful yard (and a lot of work ahead of him)! Well, here's a short video of my neighbor's yard during today's gusts. Just look at the trees in his yard blow like crazy. You can also see a few things go by at high speed down the street. If you watch closely, you'll see that as he had just finished mowing his yard, he gave up on keeping his Bears flag sailing in the wind and took it down. That was a smart move since this kind of wind can go all day and frequently loosens the anchor bolts in your mortar attaching your flag holder to your house! Let' watch....



If you watched closely, you saw my neighbor come out of his garage and take down his Bears flag to prevent it from removing itself!

One of my more amusing co-workers years ago when we were headed out to lunch from work and the wind was blowing us horizontal like today commented - "man, it's a real Hair Club for Men test day today!" I thought that was really funny. It brought up images of what kind of wind a person with such a hair piece could reasonably expect to survive and what mph rating might prove catastrophic to their coiffure and the fact that today's wind would serve as an excellent "test day". Funny stuff.

Anyway, this is Chicagoland at its finest - winds that practically take your breath away, dishevel your clothing and make a mockery of your hair by re-arranging it constantly. So, in case you ever wondered if it was true - YES - Chicago is truly the windy city! (They aren't kidding)

Living in fear

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. The primary reason of course is because once again my employer is doing a layoff of employees where no position is guaranteed to be safe and to the tune of almost 300 people this time. When you work in telecom you (I guess) get used to this constant cycle of life in which people with 10+ years of service are thrown out the door for no other reason than their salaries (after such time) are costing the company more than the amount for which a "fresh-out" of college from India could be had.

I think you get what you pay for. An experienced employee is worth a lot more than what they see on their spreadsheets. American is in a crisis of its own making - inability or more likely unwilligness to protect it's own assets; its products and its workers. In the end, all this unbridled lust for profits that American companies are grasping for without thought to their workers or the long term good of the country will result in a collapse of our economic system and those very companies who sought to satisfy their greed. America needs to wake up and smell the exports and realize that we are bleeding to death over the goals and desires of some nebulous group of people that are collectively referred to as "the street". Who cares what "the street" wants?!!! Who cares what their "expectations" are?!!! A profitable company is a profitable company whether or not "the street" agrees or not! Let's stop living in fear of what "the street" expects!

As I said, you would think that after a while you would get used to it but we never do... I have watched so many good, talented and devoted people get shown the door that it is nauseating and yet it continues as apparently the only mechanism for creating better profitability. Well, with that logic, why not lay off everyone and experience the ultimate in cost conservation and profit glut?!!! Oh yeah, without the workers, you can't continue... hmmm......

So, living in this constant state of layoff fear causes a lot of people to have health problems due to stress and anxiety. I was thinking about that this week as we went through yet another "down-turn", "right-sizing" and/or "reduction in force". No matter, the term, it's not very palatable in any form of expression. Anyway, it occurred to me that the American worker is living in much the same state as the young Damocles who learned a valuable lesson from a wise king.

The story goes that poor young Damocles, an excessively flattering courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, decided that his king was most fortunate because he was a man of power. The king overhearing this young man's ill informed opinion decided to teach Damocles a lesson; he offered to switch places with Damocles for a day so that Damocles could experience this good "fortune". The deal was struck and Damocles enjoyed a great day culminating in a great feast. It was only at nearly the end of the feast that he noticed that hanging right above his head was a sharpened sword suspended by only a single horse hair!!! (see the picture?)



Suddenly the young man lost his appetite and begged the king to swap places with him again. Dionysius had successfully conveyed to the young man the perpetual sense of fear in which the king lived.

I think some people would say the king's intention was to convey the meaning - "man it's tough at the top" or something similar about how great power carries a great burden with it. Oh sure - pitiful them. I suppose there is _some_ truth to that. However, I think Cicero found the true meaning in this story and here is what he said:

"Does not Dionysius seem to have made it sufficiently clear that there can be nothing happy for the person over whom some fear always looms?"

I think that's the real "nut" of the story..... that a person who has fear over their head all the time simply cannot be happy. Whether we allow that fear to be hanging over our heads all the time (regardless of the the reality of the danger) is up to us. It was in thinking about this story that I decided the proper response to the times in which we live is not to fear them constantly and thus hurt ourselves but to put our trust in a higher authority and trust Him to help us through this life. Surely that is the basis of the Christian faith in trusting God to help us through tough times. I think there can be great peace of mind to be had in that approach and way of thinking. I intend to work on living that belief in better fashion. I hope you can too.

In short, our happiness cannot be real unless we learn to overcome our fears. God can help us do that.

Then, if the layoffs come, at least I leave an employer behind who didn't care for me as I walk out the door with someone who loves me very much and will continue to watch over me all the days of my life!! I'd rather put my trust in Him than some earthly and fickle employer.

Love to all,

Jerry

A Tribute to Snow

This is just a little tribute to SNOW!
(one of my most favorite of things).

It is accompanied by yet another JPR musical adaptation of a song
called "Walking in the Air" from the movie "The Snowman"
- arranged on my FL Studio.
I hope you enjoy it! (Leah, the doggies are for you!) :O)

Something Fruity!

Ok, so last Christmas, my kids banded together and bought me this great program called FL Studio (the "FL" stands for Fruity Loops - weird huh?). Anyway, this program lets you edit music digitally. It's really complex and has many features and I have only learned a few of them but lately I've been working with it a bit and this is my result...

I suspect the tune in instantly recognizable to most of you. I can't say it's my classiest effort but it is my FIRST effort so I decided to do something completely for fun.

So, here you go, the famous "you-know-who" song and I hope you enjoy it!

CLICK ME

Thank you to my kids for the really cool software!

Love to all - JR

The Annual Coating of the Drive

Well, today is the day! It's the annual seal coating of the driveway! (whoopee!) Another round of parking in the street for an entire day because the black gooey stuff has to dry before you can park/walk on it again. It's a bit like having a portion of the La Brea Tar Pit dumped in the middle of your driveway but hey, they tell me it protects that beautiful black sheen of my driveway for many months to come and gets me through the cold of winter! So, here are "da guys" out there just working away. The "goo" they put down is sticky, black and unforgiving if you get sloppy with it. I suspect they go through a lot of jeans and shoes! I learned a long time ago that if you are blessed with enough income, there are certain things that you should just pay to have done - even if it's easily something you could do...... this is one of those things..... So, we have a working symbiotic relationship - they want the money and are willing to do the work, and I am willing to pay them!... 8O)

Another guitar video

Well, this one doesn't have me in it because I didn't take the time to use the video camera but here are some of my favorite pictures of our children when they were young and me playing a song called "Belle" by Jack Johnson. I make some mistakes so bare with me. It is played on my Ibanez Artcore series semi-acoustic guitar and then edited in my Fruity Loops audio studio (yes, that's the name of the software). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.... - JR

Music - one of God's greatest gifts!

I was thinking today how much music is a part of my life. I guess it has been with me ever since I was born - perhaps even before. My dad is an excellent pianist and no doubt he may have played the piano some in my parents house while my mother was still carrying me. Perhaps that exposure to music may have seeded some inate deeply rooted love that would last a life time. I guess it's hard to know for sure.

Certainly another possible source of the muse within me is most certainly my dear sweet grandmother. She gave her life to the passing on of the gift of music to more piano students than I can even imagine. I know her house was nearly always in use by yet another student. As a kid, I saw her teach school age children who would come over for lessons immediately after school and even adult men and women who decided to learn the piano. She used to tell me that as soon as I was old enough to stand, she placed my play-pen (yes they called it that back then) next to the piano and I would rock back and forth to the music as she and the students played the piano (apparently I wasn't critical - then.....). Of course as soon as she could set me on the piano bench, my grandmother began my education for the pianoforte.

It was probably around age 14 or so that I learned I could play things for myself whether sheet music was involved or not. It was then that I departed from the formal route for piano mastery and proceeded on my own course of self indulgence. It has been a heart-felt love ever since. I love the sound of a piano and the feel of a piano. I like to sit in a completely dark room and just play it with my eyes closed. It is relaxing to the spirit and calming to the soul.

My mother used to tell me that she could tell by the music I played after I came home from school and sat down at the piano in the living room, exactly what type of mood occupied my mind that day. If I played dirges, then I was sad. If I played loud expository and dynamic rifts, then it meant I was angry and working it out. If I played mellow laid back elevator music or light rock, it meant I was happy, content and feeling peaceful.

I was exposed as a child to many diverse forms of music. My parents had old 78 LPs that included Rose Marie Clooney (singing "It Takes a Long Long Train With a Red Caboose to Carry My Blues Away" - no joke) as well as famous conductors of the time like Guy Lombardo, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey. They later added some 33 RPM LPs which included Eddie Arnold, Englebert Humperdink, and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

Of course I grew up with the 50s, 60s, and early 70s bands too. My musical "tastes" as a result are very diverse and that is the way I have tried to raise my kids. Over the years we have shared country, rock, easy listening, and even operata music with them and they have each embraced different musical instruments along the way.

So, today I was just thinking about how important music is to us. I really believe God loves music Himself. After all, He created it and shared it as a great gift to us and He even calls upon us to employ it in our worship to Him. I'm sure He knows how music is able to reach out and touch our very souls. It can project such incredible passion including happiness, sorrow and peace. It can get our motors reving or help us fall asleep after a long hard day. Indeed, even at times when we find it quite impossible to communicate verbally with another human being, we may find expression and relief through music.

So, I would just like to say "thank you Lord for the gift of music. It has been a life long blessing to me and will remain so until the day I pass from this existence to the glorious music of Heaven promised in the Bible. I look forward to that day when I can stand in your presence with the host of heaven and sing your praises. Until that day, I will enjoy doing the same here each time I assemble with the Church and in between, I'll probably knock out a few more tunes on the piano or the guitar."

I hope that you too have found a special place in your heart for music. It can be the healing balm that your soul needs on cloudy days and the outward expression of the inexpressible on days when happiness fills your heart to bursting.

Love to all,

Jerry

I think it must be me.....

I seem to have a problem attending sporting events in which "my" team actually wins. This has been a long standing problem for me. Apparently when I attend the event (as predisposed by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) I in some way cause my team to lose. Heisenberg basically said that "the act of observing a process changes the result". I'm not quite sure how this works but it simply must be the case because it happens every time I attend - they lose.

Last Thursday I went to see my favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox, play a game against the Toronto Blue Jays (and just how did a Canadian baseball team get into the American baseball leages exactly?). The Sox had been experiencing some difficulty with the Jays early in this series but on Wed night, the Sox found the winning formula and put the game away with 1 run to spare.

So, I was hopeful that on Thur when a group of my friends from work and I went to the game, that the Sox might hang onto that winning secret and redeem the evening for me (which included a very painful and long drive to downtown Chicago to get to the game and a very long drive home too). However, such was not to be the case.

I'd have to say the relatively new Sox stadium (called Cellular Field - formerly Comiskey Park) was very nice indeed. It is a lot cleaner and neater than Wrigley and much better arranged. I've been to both stadiums to watch both the Sox and Cubs play (I'm not a hater) but I'd have to say the Sox stadium is much nicer.

Upon arrival, the anthem had been sung already because I was running a bit late but I found my friends and joined them for a hopeful Sox victory. After 7 innings in which neither team had really done much of anything apart from putting some guys on base and then getting thrown out, the Jays managed in the top of the 8th inning to put 6 runs on the board - ARGH! Well, we were a bit worried and thinking all was lost when suddenly the Sox got their bats wrapped around some balls too and the score closed to a 6 to 4 lead by the Jays. That was good because it kept "us" in the game. Then in the 9th inning, the Sox did a great job of pitching the Jays some no-hitters and that brought the Sox to bat in the bottom of the ninth with just a 2 run deficit. The Sox created some additional excitement when they put two guys on base and with 2 outs already, it was up to the last batter (I'll leave him nameless) to either hit a home-run (and win the game by 1 run) or at least knock in the other two guys for a tie and overtime. Unfortunately the Jays pitcher had another idea (strike him out) and that's exactly what happened. So, that was the end of the evening.

I'd have to say it is very nice to get to see the game in person but the drive and cost (On top of my $28 ticket and $22 parking, I paid $8 for a 12 oz coke and a 24 oz bag of peanuts) will probably keep me from doing it more frequently than a couple of times a year. Still it was great fun and I really enjoyed the game but I would enjoy it a lot more if I could figure out how to break the Jonah curse that I seem to carry and thus get to see my team win one sometime. Oh well, I seem to be better able to watch my favorite sports teams by television where I do no harm so tomorrow I will be watching the Packers hopefully win another game.

Go Sox and I hope you can close out your season as still the divison champs!

Love to all,
- JR -

Here's a video (courtesy of a request from my youngest daughter Leah) of me playing my new Taylor guitar. Leah - I am adding photos to my Flickr account too so you can see my new guitar there as well. I will later add photos of my other two guitars too. I hope you enjoy the video. It's the first time I have tried this. I apologize for the mistakes - I'm far from perfect yet but I am learning and very much enjoying the guitar. I now have a Frederico Garcia classical guitar, an Ibanez semi-acoustic electric guitar and a Taylor acoustic guitar. Each one is just excellent in its own right. My stable is complete! Enjoy the video and drop me some comments. Remember - I'm still learning! 8O)

The piece I am playing is entitled "Valze in First Position". It was written by Ferdinando Carulli and the version I play was arranged and edited by Myrna Sislen.



The "wave" is for my lil daughter in Florida! Hi Leah! Love you - Dad

Parenting - the ongoing saga....

You know, this afternoon I was changing the oil and filter in my son's car and rotating the tires and I was thinking about how much I love my son and how important it is to me to be sure his car is operating safely. The same is true of my daughter's car. I try to keep up with them all but with 4 cars in the family, it can get challenging.

Still, I was thinking about how when he was little, I used to do a lot of things for my son. Now he can do most anything on his own. However, there are still some things I can help him with such as maintenance on his car. Yeah, he's working and yeah, he could take it to an oil change place but I know those guys work fast and sometimes too fast. On the other hand, I'm slow and careful. I can't help him avoid all the pitfalls (or potholes) in life but I do what I can and although our dynamic has changed since he was 5 years old, I still care about him the same and it's important to me to be able to "let go" gracefully for his sake but also continue to add value where I can.

It's an interesting thing raising kids. If you are fortunate enough that all your children are living while you are, I strongly suspect you never really outgrow the parenting bizz. Even after your kids are old enough to have their own kids, I'm sure you shift your focus to the grandkids and you help your kids learn how to be parents.

What a great and incredible blessing God has given us in providing us with children. They can wear you out and make you spend your last resource on them - and yet, they are such an incredible blessing from the Lord. The give us purpose and meaning to our lives and in as much as we make every effort to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they can be a great blessing and heritage for us.

So, I thank God again for my children and I thank Him for my ability to do a few simple things for them like simple maintenance on their cars when needed and a computer touch-up here and there.

Sheila will be my life-long and loving most close companion and I guess I always thought our children would grow to adult-hood and then move on to their own lives. I guess that could still happen but regardless of where they live, I sense they will still be my children and they will still need me and I will need them so long as the Good Lord graciously grants us both the breath of life.

My wish for you too is to share love in your family. What a great blessing indeed!

Kind wishes,

JR

A new friend has arrived!

Well, not being one to be all sad and poochy faced over the loss of our sweet Sephy, I suggested (whilst being completely certifiable and out-of-my-mind), "let's get another rabbit!"

A more intelligent man would have suppressed that desire. However, I have never been plagued with that particular trait (intelligence) so I just babbled it right out there.

A few calls to some local animal shelters and a weekend visit to one and ...... voila! This the result! (*drum roll*)........
======> Miko!

(ain't that cute!)

{that's her in the picture...... the one with the hair ....... the one with hair all OVER her body...... that's my daughter holding the hare....... I guess we are in for a "hare raising" experience!..... ok - I'll quit now.....)

Anyway, meet our newest (and youngest) family member. Miko (or the bunny formerly known as Kameko) is only about 3 months old, is gray in color, extremely sweet and gentle in disposition, may be a dwarf (aka tiny) Lop rabbit or possibly an Australian Giant who has yet to make her intentions known....

So, we are delighted and working daily at her family integration and socialization. She seems to be adjusting just fine. I did make one mistake yesterday though that I must confess. I left the radio on in the bathroom all afternoon for her (yes she lives during daylight hours in our bathroom! - I told you I'm nuts!!) and when we came home she looked moderately traumatised. I can only assume it is because she is much smarter than I originally thought and an entire afternoon of listening to the horrible news reports for our rather large city must have put her in quite a mental state. I was going to advise her to just listen to the sports reports, call in for the trivia questions (we might win tickets to something cool) and root for the White Sox but I decided due to her delicate age..... I should just turn off the radio.

Well, that's about it for now. We love our new bunny and she is warming to us as well. Don't get a bunny unless you are willing to make a 10 year committment to his/her care. If you do, have the pet properly "adjusted" at the vet. You will enjoy your bunny more as this shelter approved minor alteration tames those wild "hares" and downright aggressive bunny genes and it protects the world from unwanted animals - a problem that the poor rescue societies constantly battle. Pets deserve to be loved and not put in a shelter so let's all do our part.

Best regards and love to all,

Jerry

Loss of a Pet

We recently lost a much loved pet. It was our black bunny named Sephy. She was supposedly a "minature" lop. I say supposedly because to me she seemed like a pretty good size rabbit but since seeing pictures on the internet of truly large rabbits that people keep as pets, I can see that Sephy was on the small size.

We originally obtained Sephy when a family member of someone who worked at Sheila's office had to find a new home for Sephy. It seems the young woman who received her originally as a pet from her boyfriend had not counted on her mother's disapproval of her keeping such a pet in the absence of having asked permission first. So, we ended up receiving Sephy as a very young bunny and we were told she was a dwarf lop.

The name is kind of odd but it is one my kids came up with based upon a character in an anime series. It was a funny name but it stuck.

We had Sephy for about 5 years. Some lops live longer, some shorter. She seemed to have developed a digestive problem (again) and it was too much for her. This had happened on different occassions in the past and we always seemed to manage it but this time it was just too much stress for her. Bunnies it seems have very delicate systems and can actually be frightened to death if you can believe that! It's true! There little hearts race at the least thing.

You might think a bunny is an odd pet since they really don't communicate much in the verbal realm. However, they communicate quite a bit in terms of how they cuddle with you and the attention they show when you come near to them. Of course they are very soft and warm and a very pleasant pet to hold (as long as you are careful not to get scratched by their claws). Of course Sephy would never intentionally bite or scratch you but a scratching could happen if she was startled and you didn't have hold of her quite right. In fact, the only time I know that she nipped at anyone was one time when she was out playing and Joy was busy with something else and ingoring Sephy so she wandered over to Joy and nipped at her (more of a pinch) to say "hey - I'm here - and desiring your attention!". That was pretty funny and one of the first indicators we had that bunnies DO desire attention.

Well, she passed away about a week ago and we've given thought to obtaining another bunny. Because lops are so very gentle and sweet, we have been discussing the possibility of finding a lop at a rescue center. They obtain bunnies from people who did not know what they were getting into when they purchased their "Easter Bunny". That's usually a terrible way to start with a new pet. It's much better to do the research and understand their behavior, habits and needs first. That way you can make a better informed decision about whether or not to keep one.

We will really miss Sephy. She was so sweet and good natured. She was a beautiful black color and loved to cuddle and play. I guess it might seem odd to "normal" folks that we would feel a rather profound sense of loss over a rabbit but such is the way with people who love pets. They come into your home and they live with you day in and day out and you come to know them as a personality - not just a critter. They provide comfort and calm when you enjoy time with them and they even lower your blood pressure (a proven fact associated with petting on dogs, cats, and bunnies). So, when one of them passes on, it's a little like losing a member of your family. Such was the case with Sephy. She will be greatly missed.

You know it's an amazing thing that the Good God of Heaven gave us animals that could be pets. It's rather odd when you think about it really. There are so many animals in the animal kingdom that prefer to have nothing to do with us or would just as soon eat us as look at us and then we have those animals that spend their lives as our pets. They fill a need in peoples' lives that is hard to express sometimes. They make no demands (apart from food and water) and all they really want is our love and attention. What a great blessing to have such companions and what a great way to teach your children about compassion and love. It is my firm belief that children who grow up with pets are better able to respond to others as compassionate adults later in life.

So, it is with great personal sadness that I say "goodbye Sephy". We will greatly miss your funny little bunny ways, your greetings every morning as we reloaded your food bowl, your cute attentiveness and sweet disposition. You were a great pet and loved member of our family for these last five years and you will be greatly missed. I would also like to say "thank you Dear Lord for creating pets and for blessing us with our many pets througout the years. They are indeed a great blessing to our family!".

Take care my friends and may God bless you,

Jerry

My First Recital

Well, believe it or not but at my ripe old age and after almost (but not quite) two years of guitar lessons, I went to and participated in my first recital last Sunday (May 18, 2008) at the considerable urging of my teacher. It was, to say the least, an interesting event.

When I arrived with Leah in tow, I found that there were about 40 people or so milling about in the music store. That included students and parents and teachers. One of the other guitar teachers was upon my arrival actively involved in playing some songs with one of his more capable students and so we enjoyed listening to them finish up that guitar teacher's session. The recital was organized such that each guitar teacher would present all of his students participating in the recital before they moved onto the next teacher and his/her pupils.

Well, I would have to admit that while standing there looking at that rather "largish" crowd and watching everyone sitting there so very attentively listening and with all of them focused upon the single student that was performing at the moment, I got a royal case of the "willies"! I could feel the yellow streak creeping down my spine and my chill bumps standing up to greet it! As you probably know, I'm not a real public kind of guy. Yes, I can stand up in front of the entire Church of some 100+ people some times and teach a lesson, preach a sermon or even lead the singing but this is somehow very different and much (MUCH) more intimidating! To say I was nervous would have been understatement because I very briefly gave full thought to fleeing out the door guitar, case, and daughter in hand. I am proud to say however, that I overcame my fright-or-flight reaction and was able to go take my place in the seats for the students once "my" teacher's class was to begin their recitals.

So, I took a seat and watched as about a dozen young kids (less than the age of adolescence) went forward and performed their recital pieces on the guitar seemingly fearlessly! It just didn't seem to bother them at all! Gradually the age of each performing student increased working its way of course inevitably toward me!

I felt rather alone in that I was a bundle of nerves at this point which I reassured myself was completely silly. There was nothing to be afraid of in doing this and so I should buck up and face the music (or perform the music). Well, that pep talk lasted until about the last internal mental syllable and then I was once again looking for a new exit from the building (or plotting to create one as I crashed through the wall when they called my name)!

I guess I took some solace in the fact that I was not alone in my sea of nerves. When some of the older students came forward to do their pieces, it was rather noticeable that they too were feeling the full stress and nerves of performing in so intimate a venue with so many focused eyes upon them; people they didn’t know! I saw several shaky hands and even arms and heard several shaky voices. So, at least I knew I would not be the only one to make a nervous Nelly out of myself.

My time finally arrived and my teacher called my name (ugh!). I went forward, set up my little portable foot-rest (needed to obtain proper finger positioning on the fret board) and proceeded to make a couple of light-hearted comments about my being the oldest student there and how I am proof that my teacher is very patient. I hoped to break some of the ice off my fingers by mentally taking a short vacation during those comments but to my surprise and horror, as I began my piece, I found that BOTH of my hands were shaking - perhaps not visibly, but certainly enough to annoy me and cause problems with the performance of my solo piece called “Romance”. It is a beautiful song and I can more or less play it well in my home in my own little room but sitting before about 40 people, it was a whole different matter. I had difficulty landing chords due to my shaky hands and even my picking hand (right) betrayed me at times (though it at least is most faithful to me at home – I’m not so sure about that left hand!....).

So, I figured I could live with my nervousness and might actually survive the experience until during the bridge section of the piece I completely mentally spaced a chord. It was one with which I was well acquainted - a difficult stretch but still one I can do and even do well at times. Well, not that afternoon. I completely botched it. Then I did what no performing guitar player is supposed to do - I tried to fix it! A few days later when I showed up for my lesson, I was talking to my friend Paul. He's an older fellow who works in the store - about my age or perhaps a bit older and a guitar wizard! He told me he was there during my recital and I sounded really good and it was the first time he had heard Romance on an electric guitar but he liked it. He said I only made one small mistake overall that he noticed in the bridge section of the piece - I tried to fix it. He said "never try to fix it - just play on and half the people won't even know you had trouble with the chord". Good advice and I knew that but I just couldn't prevent myself from fixing it. To this moment I don't know WHY I chose to fix it - I just did. So, fix it I did and it took about 3-4 tries to "fix" it. I should have abandoned it. I think with some gentle editing I can remove the "fix" from the movie Leah took of my performance! Har har!

Anyway, I did finish the piece and people were polite and clapped. Probably the highlight of my first painful recital was a young fellow about 16 or so who was sitting beside me after I came back to my seat who leaned over and said "very nice tone". That was flattering to me because he is a good guitarist and a student of my teacher as well. So, at least that positive comment came out of the recital and of course my friend Paul's uplifting comments later in the week helped. My own teacher was very encouraging too and said I did well for a first recital.

So, did I do as well as I would have liked - No way! However, do I think I learned something from the experience - sure! So, maybe next time it won't be quite as nervous an ordeal though I fully expect some nerves to be involved of course. I just hope I can stop my shaky hands from messing me up and focus on the task at hand – playing the piece well!

My friend Paul says "for a recital piece, build your confidence by picking something that is _easy_ for you. That way you can breeze through it even if you are nervous and you will have more confidence to take on more difficult pieces in the future". That's good advice. Paul used to teach people guitar as well (perhaps he still does) so I appreciated his advice and of course my own teacher's positive comments later in the week.

Well, I wasn't happy with my performance but I understand now this is just part of the process and I wasn't as affected overall by the nerves as were some other people so I guess I'm ready for the next time! I still love learning the guitar, playing it and enjoying music. So, I'll probably stammer on with it until the next time I find my knees knocking together so loud the audience thinks I have my own percussion section for my recital piece!

Love to all and enjoy the music! - JR

Winter just keeps on coming

Ok, our weather is truly weird. Day before yesterday we had about 24" of snow on the ground and it started pouring the RAIN - yes RAIN! It was pouring! We got almost 1/2 inch of rain in one day. And it was pouring down on the snow yet the snow did not seem inclined to really go away. In fact we still had a coating of white on the ground when the next 6" dump came.

Today we are expecting anywhere from 8 to 12 inches additional. It's supposed to snow until late tonight. Parts of our area north of here are getting pounded to the tune of 12-15" of snow! So, I guess winter is still happily knocking at our doorstep.

I don't mind. I enjoy winter and the snow. It is so peaceful (if you don't have to get out in it and drive). As you can tell from the web cam, this is a NO driving day to say the least and it really just got started. So, we'll see how it looks toward the end of the day.

I guess we'll keep it a while too as it is supposed to get colder over the next few days until Sunday when it is back down in the single digits again - wow.

Anyway, hope your weather is suiting you. Mine is great as long as I have a fire and some hot chocolate or coffee.

Best wishes,

Jerry

p.s. I'll try to post some pictures (higher quality ones) soon.