My blog?!

To-do lists and resulting activities

2010-02-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

Why is it that the most appealing thing to do in an afternoon is the one item not on your to-do list? I even have my to-do list prioritized so I can be most efficient in my time, and does that help me? Not a bit. Because when I have the urge to throw everything out of the back of my truck and organize it, that's what I'm going to do, by jingo!

This cleaning project turned out to be time-urgent task, actually, because some rainwater had gotten through the truck shell and were damaging some of Mom's books that were being stored there. I guess that's one way to make the decision making easy. But most of the books were fine, and Mom and I were able to distribute them in admirable fashion.

Then after the sorting, we went on a string of errands and deliveries, so that after the used-book store, Mom's work place, the plant nursery, the thrift store, the bank, and the library, I can tell you with pride that the back of the truck is as clean as a whistle!

So it wasn't on my to-do list. I can deal with that. It was a very fun, satisfying little project. Now if only I could check off items off my actual list!

Sweaters away!

2010-02-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

Santa Barbara winter is so bizarre! Or perhaps we should say non-existent. Today I decided to pack away my 2 thick sweaters. I wasn't wearing them, so why have them taking room in my dresser?

At noon I had a picnic lunch with my friend Ruth on the beach. The wind off the sea was somewhat crisp, but nothing a good sweatshirt couldn't handle.

Of course we did have 'weather' last week: almost 5 days straight of rain. Now the sunshine and moist soil create the perfect conditions to work in the garden!

Welcome, Keara and Sierra!

2009-06-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today we welcomed back Keara and Sierra into the Santa Barbara Rodkey/Rodarte fellowship. They had spent the year away in Colorado, where they had endured both the 'real winter' and the absence of their cousins. Now, however, their waiting was over and they are back among us, recieving both hugs and exclamations of 'how you've grown!'

As with last summer, Silvia will be heading up the care for these dear girls, with Mom as her exuberant scheuling coordinater. We'll be seeing a lot of them, I think...

One-year anniversary

2009-03-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 365 days ago, I was performing my senior recital. Now I am teaching music 3 days a week.

To celebrate, I decided to create a wacky music teaching costume using my senior recital dress. You can see the results below.

Fun with flash cards!

Ski trip

2009-03-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend I spent two complete days in 'June Lake' (that's in the Sierras, between Yosemite and the Nevada border). I went with 40 others from the 'Post-College, No-Kids' (abbreviated PCNK) group at my church. Overall, I was successful in my three goals: 1) meet new people, 2) deepen half-formed friendships, 3) spend the minimum amount of money.

Goal #2 and #3 happily collided on Friday when 5 others felt equally disgusted with the $60 ski lift fee and opted for cross-country skiing instead. I enjoyed the skiing (first time!), although it was hard to stop my habits from rollerblading. Most of my rollerblading techniques resulted in crossing my skis - ack! At one point, another girl and I went exploring off the main path, following a track from some previous ski-er. It started by paralleling the main path, but then it took a bend and before we knew it, we were going up the side of the mountain with a very steep slope to one side and rocks on the other side! We were already so committed by the time we realized it was no longer following the path, we just decided to stick it out and reach the top. It took us quite a while, but we finally made it. And then getting back was a trick, too! You can imagine our sense of accomplishment, though.

On the second day, I tried snow-shoeing with a group of 12 (as pictured above). This was an interesting experience, but overall I enjoyed the ski-ing better, although it was more difficult. Both on Friday and Saturday, we had amazing weather: it would be below freezing at night and then warm up into the 40's. The beautiful blue skies made for a wonderful contrast between the green of the evergreens and white of the snow.

I did get to experience the ski lift on Saturday night, as the final large group gathering took place in the ski lodge. Being the heights-lover that I am, I enjoyed being lifted up the mountainside about 20 feet above the ground. The ski-lift was a little chilly on the return trip, though. At both evening gatherings, we looked at the passage in II Cor 5, exploring the theme of 'courage'.

A good and worthwhile weekend. Hopefully yours was equally enjoyable!

A MacBeth Moment

2009-02-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

In the fourth act of Macbeth, the Witches tell Macbeth that "Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him" before he loses his throne. Macbeth, in his false confidence, believes means his reign is secure, since he cannot conceive of a way that a tree could "unfix his earth-bound roots."

Well, I'm all equipped to bring Birnam Wood to Dunsinane hill, or at least to supply a large theatrical production of MacBeth with all the bushes they need! The time has finally come for overgrown hedge in our front yard to be 'taken care of'. I've been clipping it down to its very stumps (don't worry, it will grow back the healthier for it). But some of the 'branches' I trim off are big enough to be trees themselves! This one, for example. Would you believe it, I clipped it at my head level, and even so the branch is taller than me!

The hedge is high enough to make it climbable, as you can see. The stumps in the foreground show my progress: I'm almost all the way done! The project, starting back in the beginning of January, should be finished within the next week!

Meanwhile... Birnam Wood, anybody?

Wintertime flowers

2009-01-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

As a consequence of Santa Barbara's combined winter/spring planting season, our front yard received it's new spring garb over the Christmas break. Elissa and I planted 24 medium-sized flowers in the front flower box, and scattered seeds in hopes that some would fall on good soil. In the following weeks, I have tended the flowers, and am pleased to report that they have adjusted well to their new home.

My devotion to the flower box stands in stark contrast to my neglect of the vegetable garden. Elissa, during her post-college living-at-home days, established a delightful herb and vegetable garden on the side of the house. However, neither my parents or I share her vision or dedication, and so the garden has fallen into disrepair since Elissa left for grad school.

Knowing my love for the practical, it may seem odd at my choice of attention. Are not vegetables more practical than flowers? Can flowers claim any usefulness at all?

I think I can indeed make a case for the importance of flowers. When my sisters and I take walks together (as we are wont to do), frequently we discuss the appearance of the houses where we are walking. The front yards are praised or scorned, but in either case, I feel like we are examining a speck while lugging around a two-by-four! If we, mere strangers, judge people by the appearance of their yards, how must others regard our own neglected, out-of-hand yard! For me, the evaluation of other yards must translates into practical action to our yard. Hence, for me, flowers in the flowerbed are a practical application of a long-cherished vision: a respectable, maybe even classy, yard in front our home.

To that end, I am starting a new 10-minute campaign. I will attempt to spend 10 minutes a day on some outdoor chore. Even if I can't complete the task in 10 minutes, I will have gotten more accomplished than if I save all gardening to some non-existent free weekend. And you'd be surprised what you can do in ten minutes! Today I trimmed the overgrown bush near the mailbox. Slowly but surely I will make progress and will see the fruits, or more appropriately, the flowers of my labor!

Page-turning and other musical duties

2008-12-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend was full of musical events for me. That's fairly atypical since I've been back from college, although it probably can be explained by the season we are entering.

1. Friday evening: Page-turning for Camerada Pacifica
Camerada Pacifica is a top-notch performing group based in LA. From what I've picked up, chamber music seems to be their specialty. I was to page-turn for the pianist, and it was a bit nerve-wrecking: I'd never heard or seen the music before, it was high-level music, and some of the movements went lickty-split! I managed to get all the way through without causing much havoc, but I almost forgot a 1st ending/2nd ending, almost turned the page too early twice. But I'll give myself grace, as it was rather difficult.

Watching the interactions backstage was an interesting experience, as I got a peek into the life of a professional performing musician. I witnessed the familiarity (and slight boredom) with the performance progress, the opinions voiced on this or that piece of music, the amazing technique with the ease of Hot Cross Buns. But I also saw the slight nervousness before performance and the exhilaration afterward, and I could hear true excitement when discussing certain musical pieces. I was glad to see this genuine love of music, despite all the practices and performances that might drain the joy of music dry.

2. Saturday afternoon: Accompanying at a memorial service
I had my first paid accompaniment gig! I was accompanying an elderly singer with two pieces, a Schubert Lieder and a Scarlatti piece. They were just the right level of difficulty for me to master with still a bit of challenge... Unfortunately, the rehearsal we had Friday afternoon went better than actual performance, but the singer was still pleased with my playing. I know I've learned from this experience, and am improving on my accompanying skills!

3. Saturday evening: Westmont's Christmas Festival
Mom, Dad and I attended the Christmas concert, which was amazing! All the choirs and the orchestra did splendidly. Erik was especially busy, being a part of both College Choir and Chamber Singers. He even had a substantial solo, in which he made his family proud. The concert was themed 'Lo, how a Rose', and had different arrangements of the pieces, tying the concert together into a unified whole. The concert made me very happy because of the great music, but a little sad for Wheaton's Christmas Festival. Was that this weekend, as well?

4. Sunday evening: Performing for the MCC Christmas pageant
This shouldn't even count; it was such a come-down musically from the Christmas Festival. But it is true: I played 'I wonder as I wander' (unaccompanied oboe) as the opening for the Christmas pageant. I also accompanied the children on the carols during the morning rehearsal, and I discovered that I really must work on reading off of lead sheets. Bah! And then, for all the practicing, you still couldn't hear the children singing, even when mic-ed, because the worship team and the congregation was singing at the same time. So what was the point, I ask you?

I have now picked out 10 lovely choral pieces for my choirs, and am working on learning them!

That's the musical report from your friendly correspondent!
From the Archives: Dec. 8th, 2008

Gangsters and Flappers and Murders - oh my!

2008-12-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

This Friday, Halloween to be exact, I attended a Mystery Murder dinner, set in the 1920's.

The party was hosted by Philip Vegdahl and Mary Patterson, some post-college kids that I've gotten to know at church. (Mary, who is a fabulous pianist, has started working on the Poulenc Sonata with me - hurray!). They used a kit with pre-made characters, plot twists, and pieces of 'evidence'. Each of the party-goers (there were 22 total) got a booklet in advance that told about their character.

I was a young flapper who'd recently married the lead Chicago gangster, thereby affending his ex-wife, my mother, and my mother-in-law. I was also secretly seeing (get this) Al Capone. I find dangerous men so attractive! I recently got a black eye from slipping when coming down from the stage.

I spent a good chunk of time Friday afternoon watching Youtube clips on how to Charleston. But I didn't get much of a chance to use my newly-acquired knowledge, because at the beginning of the evening my role turned tragic as my husband was shot dead! How could a grieving widow possible dance the Charleston? But my widow-status didn't keep me from being pursued by Al Capone, who wanted to know who had really given me that black eye!

All-in-all, it was an excellent evening, with magnificent costumes, dramatic moments, and good practice at imaginative play. You could tell that some of the guests hadn't played dress-up in a very long time... imaginative play takes work and should be maintained by frequent use. I challenge you all to do at least one imaginative thing this week!
From the Archives: Nov. 2, 2008

News flash

2008-12-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

I have some rather large news to report. It is sad, exciting, and scary all at the same time.

Jean Kawiecki (director of Artios Academies, the homeschooler fine arts program) called today and told me that yesterday the board of the Santa Barbara Children's Chorus decided that it was no longer possible to run the Chorus. Oh sorrow! Oh sadness! My first experience into top-notch music! The beginning of my love for choral music! Three years of wonderful memories and great musical growth! (Only three? It seems much more.)

Then Jean continued. Foreseeing this collapse, she had been planning to purchase the sheet music and uniforms from the Chorus for use in the Artios' choir. But she also grieved the loss of a classically-based choral program for the youth of Santa Barbara. Combining these desires, she came up with this plan: not only to take over the Chorus' music and uniforms but to take its name, philosophy, and role in the community. This newly re-formed SB Children's Chorus would be loosely connected to Artios Academies – the same location, the same day – but would be open to the community, not just home-schoolers. She would take any of the former SBCC choristers into the new one at no additional cost.

And at last Jean came to my involvement. This new program would need an Artistic Director to guide and direct the artistic goals of the choir; would I be interested?

I should mention here that earlier in the week, I had received my mid-semester teacher evaluation from Jean. In it, she expressed her high satisfaction with my teaching, including choir. On my choir rehearsals, she had received feedback from my accompanist, who had said that he was impressed with my methodology – that I had a good way of breaking things done to fix problems. I was especially happy to hear this from him, as he has sung and rehearsed under Mrs. Hodson. I do feel more hopeful about my choir than the first dismal weeks of rehearsal, which gives me the confidence to say yes!

That is, I told her that I loved the Chorus and believed in its vision, and I would do anything to support Jean in keeping that vision alive. If she choose to put me in a position of leadership, fully knowing that I have just barely gotten my feet wet in conducting, then I would do my best to deserve such a position.

I'm rather on pins and needles to see what will happen. I'm sure you can see how this potential position would be both exciting and scary.

Oh, that this good news were not so strongly linked to the bad news, that I might fully rejoice!

From the Archives: Oct. 28, 2008

Happy day

2008-12-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those rare days: happy, productive, well-balanced, nicely paced - that is to say, practically perfect. And as it often happens that no-good, very-bad days are reported, I see no reason why an all-good, very-nice day shouldn't be equally represented.

What made this day so good? Here's a brief sketch:
- 'getting stuff done', even before going off to work at Starbucks at 8am
- Starbucks was busy, but not stressful
- back home for a quiet lunch (enjoyed together with my friend, Jane Austin)
- an hour of yardwork and house clean-up, with good progress made
- a piano lesson with my happy-go-lucky eight-year-old
- working on and completing (!) a project that had been hanging over my head
- going for a pleasant run
- all this in addition to some piano practice, oboe practice, and reed-making!

The only down-er was that my second piano student for the day didn't show up, due to a misunderstanding on his mother's part. But now that it's been cleared up, I have hope for next week.

And two cheerful pieces of oboe-related news: I've been invited to be a part of a woodwind quintet! From what I understand, the other members are well-experienced, though not professional, musicians. The man in charge has had 20+ years of playing woodwind quintets, and already owns a plethora of music. Also, I've either been having a streak of good luck, or I seem to be improving with my reed-making abilities! (Perhaps a little of both.) It makes me hopeful that I will indeed become 'reed independent' in the near(ish) future.

I wonder if it's too much to hope that my day will be as beautiful tomorrow...
From the Archives: Oct. 15, 2008

First day of teaching

2008-12-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

Grand summary: I was pleased with my music classes, drama club was exciting but a bit hectic at times, and I was least satisfied with choir but it was ok.

Now, a paragraph on each:
In my music classes, I gave a grand overview of the entire period by putting up things on the time line and listening to little music samples. The kids were very excited to participate with putting things on the time line, and they were also good listeners to the music. It was especially fun to see their reaction to my madrigal sample! They thought the 'fa la la's were hilarious! The first class I had was rather challenging - 17 kids, with a high percentage of boys. But the other classes were more manageable - one of 9 kids and one with 11.

In the drama club, I told them the story of the Light Princess, then, to get the idea of weightlessness, I had them play with balloons, and then we read a portion of the script aloud. A couple problems I came across: I had the idea of carefully observing the balloons and then trying to imitate that as a 'light' princess, but the combination of kids with balloons was anything but 'careful' and 'observing'. I dunno, maybe they absorbed somethings unconsciously, but on the surface it looked like mass chaos, even when I tried to impose some order. Hm. Another problem I encountered with reading the script: three of the kids needed the lines read aloud to them because of low reading abilities. So a practice recording will be really necessary, I think. But the biggest 'problem' is that I got two extra kids! This isn't a problem per se, but it means I need to a) readjust the script for 8 parts, or b) double-cast it, or c) some combination of the two. Sigh.

I also got one other kids in choir, which brings the total to 5. I really had hoped to do more singing and less talking, but alas, I'm not skilled enough to explain what I want in few words. When introducing a piece, where's the balance between learning by rote (unhealthy) and learning through modeling (healthy)? I wish I knew. Also, I don''t think it helps to have it at the end of a teaching day: the youngest little boy started complaining of tiredness during drama club, and so was draggy through all of choir.

So there you have it! One highlight before I go: at lunch, a little eight-year-old ran up to me and said, "Don't tell any of the other teachers, but," whispering in my ear, "you're my favorite teacher at Artios!"

From the Archives: Sept. 7th, 2008

One Misty, Moisty Morning...

2008-11-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

As I peeked out my window at 3:55 am, I was instantly reminded of the nursery rhyme:
"One misty, moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man, dressed all in leather."
Thick fog blanketed my backyard, bestowing it with a new mysterious look. I wouldn't have been at all surprised to meet an old man in leather; in this weather, anything could happen.

When I stepped out the door, I found that the fog wasn't just moist, it was wet! Usually the ground is damp after a fog, but today it was soaking. I got my bike from the shed and began to bike, but before I'd gone a block, my glasses were so wet that I couldn't see through them. I perched them at the tip of my nose, librarian-style, and looked over them for the rest of the ride. (Probably this was illegal, since I have to wear corrective lenses to drive; I assume this would apply to bike-riding as well. Thankfully there was no-one on the road to run into.)

In addition to the wetness, the density of the fog took me by surprise. Hollister Avenue, the main road in my commute, is straight with high visibility; on a normal sunshiny day, you can see down the road at least a mile. This morning, the visibility was down to about 1/16th of a mile: once I had passed one streetlight, I could barely see the fuzzy glow for the next one. It was as if I was riding through a misty tunnel with all the residences and businesses temporarily removed.

However, Starbucks was still there. Throughout my early morning shift, I watched the fog thin gradually and disperse. When I rode home, the sky was blue again, and the shrubs and cement had started to dry. However, I continued to hear the foghorns over the ocean through the rest of the day.

From the Archives: Sept. 26th

Rodkey trivia, #9

2008-11-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

What is the significance of the number nine? That, my dear friends and relations, is the number of pencils that Michael Sloan found in our piano today!

Yes, he came over today to give our piano the badly needed overhaul and tuning. At one point, the entire playing mechanism was out of the piano. I've never seen that before!

The funny thing is that I actually recognize some of the pencils from practicing days in the deep, dark past. Their erasers and designs were a bit worse for wear, but all of them still had working tips. Bizarre.

From the Archives: Sept 1st, 2008

Wheaton-themed Clue

2008-03-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Liz's party with a transformed version of 'Clue', using all Wheaton places, people, and "weapons". The party was held in a conference room in the Blanchard tower - in 'the heart of Wheaton'.

The initial thrill

Examining the board

Playing a delightful round of 'Clue'

Sarah artfully decorated the cake with the Wheaton logo

A wonderful evening of food, fellowship, and fun!

Senior Recital

2008-03-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

Against the fear that I might be singing my own praises, I thought my recital went very well. I felt that I was able communicate musical ideas and that it was a fair representation of my musical growth over the past four years. Here are some snapshots from that very special evening:

Playing the Bach Double Concerto with two friends.

Program:
Bach Double Concerto BWV 1060
Schumann Romance No. 1
Gordon Jacob Seven Bagatelles for Solo Oboe
Saint-Saens Sonata for Oboe

The audience was very enthusiastic, and
had Laura and I come back on stage twice!

(Laura, my recital partner)

Over Spring Break (the week before), I had made 13 loaves of bread, 8 lbs. of fudge, and 150 Ginger Snaps for my reception. My family did a great job of arranging the food.

It was wonderful to have my entire family here to support me.

Literal Dress Rehearsal

2008-02-25T10:57:00.001-08:00

Generally in music circles, 'dress rehearsal' doesn't refer to the musicians' outfits but to a run-through of the up-coming program. However, when it comes to Senior Recitals, exceptions can be made. The shoes and dress can affect your playing, and so it's a good idea to give at least one 'trial run'.

Liz's recital is this week; Wednesday to be exact. So this Sunday we conducted a 'dress and shoes run-through'. (My recital is in three weeks, but that doesn't keep me from thinking and working ahead!) We used our church's sanctuary, since the Conserv is closed on Sundays. We had a good time.

Admiring my shoes

Tall Tale (Making of)

2008-02-18T05:41:00.000-08:00

The story below was part of a 'birthday party in a box', which my friends and I created for our friend who is currently overseas. The box also contained rations (slim jims, peanuts and trail mix), a bow and arrow, a edict proclaiming the celebration of Dan's birthday throughout the land, the Robin Hood hat, and a dvd of Disney's Robin Hood.

The authors with their finished masterpiece.

Merry Men Tall Tale

2008-02-17T13:11:00.001-08:00

A long time ago near Nottingham,

The fire crackled cheerily as the famed Merry Men of Sherwood Forest relaxed. They had just finished the feast celebrating the birthday of Daniel Joseph Moore, one of their own. After innumerable toasts to his future good health and preservation from the clutches of the sheriff, they began to relate tales of his prowess in their many merry schemes. The story of greatest daring was that of the most unexpected rescue ever…

The Merry Men save

the Sheriff of Nottingham:

a tale of great comradeship and daring

One evening in their small but homely meeting-room, the Merry Men were preparing their dinner by themselves. In the glow of the warm fire, they chatted and mourned the fact that Friar Tuck (the usual cook) had gone to Nottingham with Robin Hood and Little John to watch the archery contest.

Merry Adelle entered, distraught and hungry enough to eat even the slop cooked by her merry comrades. As she ladled her slop into her bowl, Adelle said, sighing, “Alas, friends, fellow merry men. I’ve got some bad news.”

She continued, “As I was engaging in my usual business of climbing trees, I overheard him…the deputy sheriff. It sounds like he’s frustrated for some reason for never being mentioned in the Robin Hood legends…even as the bad guy. So I heard him discussing with his henchmen his plans to kill the Sheriff, blame Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and take the sheriff’s place as evil tax overlord of Nottingham! This is to take place tomorrow night.”

“Unbelievable,” exclaimed the Merry Men.

Adelle continued, “Well, there’s more. After his preliminary greetings, when the henchman spoke so low that I couldn’t hear him, the deputy congratulated him on infiltrating the castle so cleverly. He then gave him a vial of arsenic and told him that the sheriff’s bedroom was next to his own. The sheriff invariably keeps a glass of water by his bedside, as he is strangely struck with thirst every evening, and in this the arsenic would be very effective. In order to place the blame on ‘that jerk Robin and his band of miscreants’, the henchman was instructed to leave a note scrawled as in haste upon the wall of the sheriff’s bedroom.”

The Merry Men exclaimed, “Shock!” “Dismay!” “Oh what

shall we do?” “Do we really have to save that jerk sheriff? Can’t we just erase the note?” “No, because do you remember how often the current sheriff’s habit of whistling constantly has both warned us of his approach and driven his underlings insane? WE MUST SAVE THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM!”

Weak cheers filled the room.

“Oh, come on,” said Adelle.

Slightly less weak cheers rang through the room.

“So, what’s the plan?” she said.

“Well, we need someone to spy out the land.” She saw Sarah burst forth with excitement, and it was agreed that Sarah would be the spy. Cleverly disguised as an itinerant Sunday School teacher, she set off for the castle right away.

All were sleeping soundly except Liz, who was busy perfecting her erasing machine (originally intended for correcting written musical errors, its use has now become invaluable, for how else to erase the note?) and Brynna, who was looking up arsenic in her chemistry book and concocting a solution that would cause it to precipitate out of the water.

The next morning, Sarah returned, glad that she broke her fast at the castle and escaped having to eat the comrades’ leftover slop. She, too, related a harrowing tale. From her newly-formed friendships with the Cakchiquel-speaking castle staff, she learned that the task was harder than it seemed. Both rooms surrounding the sheriff’s bedroom were occupied by visitors. One was a scholar of languages, while the other was a bishop. Operating under the philosophy that it is always good to know one’s enemies, the Merry Men decided to send forth their resident experts in languages and theology. Dan and Brett sallied forth speedily, hoping to be able to eat breakfast in a village tavern before it was cleared away.

In disguise, the two met with their respective targets in the local village and engaged them in discussion of their proper fields. Dan was quickly convinced that the scholar is genuinely knowledgeable. Brett, however, having asked the bishop’s view on the hypostatic union, received the reply that “they should never have joined in the first place.” Satisfied that the culprit had been located, they rejoined the band, bringing back sandwiches for all.

After the sun had set, the Merry Men stole forth into the woods around the castle and reviewed the plan. They decided that Beckee would distract the guards while the rest would sneak in through the back door. When they were safe outside the castle once more, they would hoot like unto an owl, and Beckee, hearing this signal, would disengage herself from the guards.

Summoning all her courage gained from her long hours spent patiently teaching general music to the local village urchins, Beckee approached the first guard.

“Excuse me, but I am looking for a singing group to demonstrate to my class. You wouldn’t happen to know of any, would you?”

The guard replied, “Well, miss I—"

Beckee spoke up, saying, “No, no false modesty. I can tell by the sound of your voice that you are the perfect bass. And your comrade at the next gate, surely I have heard him singing in the tavern. Tenor, isn’t he—”

“Baritone, ma’am.”

“Baritone, of course,” said Beckee.

As the guards began to congregate, called by their flattered comrade, the remaining Merry Men sneaked through the now-unguarded gate. As the dulcet tones of “Lida Rose” swelled into the sky, the Merry Men navigated the twining corridors, following Sarah’s instructions to the sheriff’s room.

Peeking carefully around the corner, they observed the bishop sneaking furtively out of the room known to be that of the sheriff. The dastardly deed was done! As soon as the door to his own room closed behind him, they made their stealthy way into the sheriff’s room alone. Brynna and Liz set to work. Liz fired up her erasing machine and began to remove the incriminating message from the wall. Brynna poured her concoction into the bedside glass and then filtered out the precipitate. Soon, it was as if the bishop had never entered!

Returning to the gate, they saw a distressing sight: the guards were back at their posts! In the interval, Beckee had heard a real owl hoot and had ended the impromptu rehearsal prematurely. So a plan B is swiftly made up. Adelle, with her eternal love of climbing and characteristic foresight, had brought with her a goodly amount of thin rope as well as a bow and arrows. Tying one end of the rope securely to a really strong arrow and the other to a parapet, she shot the arrow into a tree in the woods surrounding the castle.

Still, to be able to use this zipline, the guards must once again be distracted. With his mad ninja skills, Dan silently dropped over the wall and began to make a ruckus on another side of the castle. The guard below, looking away toward the noise, is blissfully unaware of the many dark shapes flying down the zipline and over the wall. When all are safely in the woods, Dan, again displaying his ninja skills, climbed the wall and detached the rope from the parapet.

The group then rejoined Beckee in Sherwood Forest--none too soon, for the sheriff and his party were returning, and Robin Hood in custody after the fiasco of the archery contest. The group was only consoled by the knowledge that they had at least thwarted the deputy’s evil plan. They slept poorly, not helped by their indigestion.

Two days later, Robin Hood and Little John and Friar Tuck

strolled back into camp. Much rejoicing! Good food! While eating some of Friar Tuck’s fare, Robin Hood relates a non-harrowing tale. The deputy sheriff, the only one who has ever been able to stand the sheriff’s whistling, was under arrest and awaiting trial for attempted murder of his immediate superior.

Proclaiming the sheriff’s death, the deputy neglected to confirm that the death had actually occurred. The sheriff’s entrance in the middle of this speech showed rather quickly that he was lying. In the resulting chaos, Little John was able to liberate Robin Hood from the sheriff’s men. The Merry Men then related the part that they had played in the deputy’s defeat, receiving praise from Robin Hood. He did, however, question them on one point.

“Why couldn’t you have just replaced the poisoned water?” asked Robin Hood. “...Ohhh. We never thought of that,” sighed the Merry Men.

Wheaton Winter Wonderland

2008-02-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

This winter has been the coldest and most snowy of my four years here. However, my friends and I decided to make the best of it. You see here the Williston Snowlady, whose life was cut short by an untimely rainstorm the next day. It was actually quite a feat to create her, as the snow was very dry and crumbly. But we were very pleased with the result.

Visual Aids for the last post

2006-12-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures to help you visualize my last post! Unfortunately the snow is three days old now, so it's pretty different, but at least you can see the view from my window! (That's the balcony on the porch roof - so tempting to climb out on to!)

I'm sorry these are not in logical order - I tried, but I don't understand the program, and so the computer kept garbling my attempts at order, so I gave up. You'll just have to work harder to understand my room.

Right below is the 'Adelle Mobile' that my friends gave me on my birthday. And the thing in the box that you'll see later on is what they gave me to represent going to the Nutcracker (see if you can figure out why).

Winter (and Christmas) at last!

2006-12-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season is off to a great start, coinciding perfectly with the beginning of December. Yesterday, I went to Sarah D's house to bake and decorate christmas cookies. The cookies were a fundraiser for Women's Chorale - they're selling them at intermission of Christmas Festival. The decorating party was smallish (two other girls besides Sarah and I) but fun. Another fun aspect was that I was 'the best' at sophisticated decorating. All those years of paint-box cookies paid off! Although I was working with frosting and sprinkles, I was still able to employ alot of our tricks. And, with Krista not there, I was able to be the top! Amazing!

So we listened to Christmas music and discussed things. When I left her apartment, it had began to snow/sleet. Now, we have not had any snow since the little flurry I told you of about over a month ago. But we had been promised (and highly anticipating) a large snowfall for this night. When I arrived back, Sarah and I decided to put up Christmas decorations. So we spent the next hour and four-five minutes finding Christmas-like things in our rooms, making displays, creating things, stringing up things. It was quite jolly. And the end result is quite taking.

In the middle of that time, we were surprised by a loud -SPLAT- on our window. Looking out, we saw Brett and Liz attacking our room with snowballs! Their dorm had a fire drill, so they had come to 'visit' us. But they continued their snowball onslaut throughout the visit.

We went to bed somewhat late, but the decorating was worth it. And now this morning, the expected snow has indeed arrived in force: it is still snowing at a furious pace, from my latest source at two inches an hour! I haven't gone out yet, but it is quite exciting. And today is our Christmas Festival (today and tomorrow), so the snow is quite appropriate.

Birthday Celebrations

2006-11-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

Today was my birthday - my Star birthday, in fact, as I turned 20 on the 20th - and I feel very loved.

The majority of the celebrations occured last night: Sarah, Liz, Brett, and Dan (Brynna was sick, and Sarah D had other dinner plans) took me out to dinner. We went at first to 'Adelle's' - it was very beautiful and high-class, but the prices were insanely high. The cheapest entree was 17, and that was an exception to be below 20! Of course, by the time we realized this, we were already committed to buying something, so the boys split an entree and we girls got appetizers. The waiters thought we were crazy to be ordering so little (and when we got our orders, we started to agree - they definitely focused on quality rather than quantity). But I think they were suspicious of us to began with, which accounts for them sitting us in a side room by ourselves.

After we finished the meal, we decided not to stay there for dessert, but to relocate to Baker's Square and buy a whole pie to split. It was very interesting to see the marked difference in the restaurants' atomsphere: even though Adelle's was the 'better' of the two, it was much more relaxing to be at Baker's. I wonder if I would feel differently if I actually was upper-class; would I then feel uncomfortable in middle-class restaurants?....

At Baker's Square, I got to open my presents! One package was book-sized (and turned out to be a very fun-looking kids' book), but the other was most curiously wrapped, with two hangers sticking up over a box. As I unwrapped it and set the hangers aside, I commented 'Ha! This could be a mobil!' I opened up the box and - behold - things to create a mobil! Each of my five friends had decorated a paper plate with pictures of me or things that I enjoy or ways in which I'm unique. Not only does the mobil tell about me, it also captures the character of each of my friends! We have it up in our room already, and I love it. It makes me feel special, and blessed to have such special friends.

Today, Monday, my normal events went normally, but tilted towards 'good normal'. My Suzuki presentation - well, let's not dwell on that too long, but at least it's over and wasn't a complete flop. After Thursday's frustrating conducting experience (at GECC), I worked hard to be prepared for today, and I thought it went extremely well. Band rehearsal was unexpectedly let out an hour early, and during this evenings reed-making session, I felt somewhat encouraged at my progress.

I also received birthday emails from all over - family, friends, neighbors - and that gladdens my heart to no end. So, family, never you fear: my love-bucket is all filled up!

Erik's visit - Hurrah!

2006-11-16T05:37:00.000-08:00

My brother got to visit me for a whole week! We had fun discussing things...

...going to my classes together(here he is in philosophy).

Dressing up for the swing dance!

We celebrated Beckee's birthday on Saturday.

We created new words from the original sign 'Swing Dance.'

It was great fun.

The calm before the coming week

2006-10-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hello!

It is evening now, a peaceful Sunday evening, but it is only the calm before the storm. My week is more full than usual, including two midterms and several written assignments. I also will be leading one of the children's pieces tomorrow in choir - which is a first. All this means that there a number of things I should prepare for/ stress out about.

Yesterday I was studious all day. And it was a long day, in fact, since I decided to get up at 6:30 to begin work on my phil. And then Sarah and I didn't get to bed until 1:15 (that's later than normal). But I got a lot accomplished (I think). And that way I could mostly justify doing no homework today.

Today I started reading Abolition of Man for fun. It is so good (well-written, logical, cool, etc.), and also deals with a lot of issues that I'm trying to think through! Primarily, I am trying to determine if there are objective values (mostly in the area of music), and that is what Lewis is discussing! So it is perfect timing. However, the issue is far from settled, and I'd love to hear from or discuss with any of you about the subject.

Adelle

Several 'First's

2006-10-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hello! I can always tell when it's been a while since I wrote when I have to think back through the entire week to tell you how I am.

This week has been monumental because several different 'first's. And here they are:

First Haircut: A while back, I had (somewhat jokingly) volunteered to cut Sarah's hair if she so desired. Then, Tuesday night, as we were brushing our teeth together preparing for bed, she mumbles through her toothpaste "Ab-dehle, wew ou at ma air?" which turned out to be a request for a fulfilment of said promise. So right then and there, already close to midnight, we gathered all the necessary equipment and I dove in. It wasn't a complete cut; Sarah's hair was layered but she wasn't pleased with the large difference between the top and bottom layer, so my job was to shorten the bottom layer. I fully expected it to be a disaster, but it actually turned out well. It was interesting experience, especially since everyone who came into the bathroom during the cutting had their own comments and bits of advice. Hair cutting: the newest exciting Willington 2 floor-bonding event!

First Warm-up: Yesterday was the first time that I was up in front of the GECC (Glen Ellyn CC) and totally in charge! I had previously been in front to help lead the one half of the choir in a complicated rhythmic pattern while Dottie led the other half in a conflicting pattern. But other than that, I had only been sitting on the sidelines. So Wednesday I emailed Dottie and said how I wanted to make sure I was using my time effectively, and, in essence, could I get some stage time? She emailed back, saying "why don't you lead warm-ups tomorrow?" I was a little unnerved at the short notice, but was able to pull together something. I thought it went rather well, especially considering I wasn't sure if I'd freeze up and not be able to demonstate vocally at all! (This fear is not totally unbased on reality, since for the last five years or so, whenever I have tried out for solos I have suddenly not been able to produce much sound.) But that didn't happen, and I felt pretty comfortable in front of the kids. The only negative feedback I got from Dotties was that at the end of the warmup, the kids' voices were too tense. (This was because she had told me to do something related to a certain piece, and since it contained lots of dissonces, I was making the kids form and resolve them. So they were thinking about holding their part, rather than producing pure sound.) Still, she thought it went well overall, and told me to plan something for Monday, too.

First Snowfall: We had our first snowfall of the year yesterday! True, it was only for 45 minutes, and none of it lasted, but they were good-sized and very white snowflakes. It has definately been cold enough to warrant a winter coat - the wind is amazing!

First 'End of Quad': Hurrah! Today was the last day of A Quad, and now we're on Fall Break! I have chosen just to stay on campus, since it's not really a huge amount of time (a four-day weekend) and it's sometimes less stressful not to be guest. My plans include practicing, possible some getting-ahead work, hanging out at the Wade Center, and making chocolate truffles at the home of a recent Wheaton grad who goes to my church. Today I had my World Music final, which went moderately well. I'll have two midterms when I get back, so I guess I'll do studying for them, too. Anyway, I'm going to try to balance fun stuff and work. Most of my friends are gone, which makes it less motivating to play: Sarah A is gone to Texas to visit a friend, Sarah D is home in Washington, Liz is home with the mumps, Beckee ditto, Brynna went home, Dan went home, which leaves.. Brett, almost no one! But I don't really mind solitude, mostly.

Adelle

Flood, famine, and pestulance

2006-10-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oct 6, 2006
Well, it has been quite a week for Wheaton campus!

The very first night I got back from Joel's wedding in Seattle, only two hours after I reached campus, the skies opened up and poured! It was the most incredible storm! The power went out pretty early on, and I went out from my safe, dry room to the wet outdoors (just for fun). I was drenched almost instantly - the rain was coming with such a force that I could hardly see. The sidewalks were like rivers, and out in the Quad a lake was formed over a foot deep! The lightening was at a strobe-light frequency, and as I walked east, I saw a blinding streak tear from the top of the heavens all the way to right behind Mac-Evans, one of our central dorms. The intensity of that lightening and the resulting thunder I have never seen the like, and I wonder if I ever will. It turns out that it struck and split on of the trees behind the building. Before that, people were playing in Lake Quad and elsewhere, but after that, everyone yelled to one another "Get out of the water before the lightening strikes again!"

I went walking at the height of the storm, but that 'height' lasted for a good 45 minutes, and the total storm (none too shabby at its low points) lasted over three hours. Our newspaper reported 5 inches in three hours, if that's any indication. Our lower-level floor in Mac-Evans flooded, displacing 30 guys, the Beamer Center (Stupe, Kitchen, CPO, study areas) flooded up to 18 inches in places, a parking lot flooded (totalling my friend Becki's car, among others), and today I learned the Co-op flooded. I included 'famine' in the list of our calamities because the Beamer Center's flooding has affected the food life on campus. The morning after, the food was a bit questionable, and the Stupe's being closed has affected us all - "Hey, let's go get ice cre.., oh never mind" or "We'll meet at the Stupe to study, and .. oh, scratch that." To top it off, this weekend is Homecoming, so there's extra pressure to look beautiful.

So that was Monday. My life in other respects was moving along normally. But today comes another bombshell. The mumps statistics have continued to rise - as of the newspaper this morning, we have 71 confirmed cases. I know for a fact that that number is now outdated, however, for my dear friend Liz has been diagnosised and put in 'the slammer' (that is, isolation in the apartments) this afternoon! It actually should have been done sooner, but the Health Center was being stupid. Wednesday she went in because she was feeling awful and she had all the symptoms but one. But the nurse sent her away, saying the one missing symptom was the critical one. Liz continued to encounter problems, such as abnormal sleeping needs and tiredness, and went in a second time yesterday. Apparently the nurse was short with her, and so Liz had to go about life. She was still in World Music today, sitting next to me, and I can tell you that things were not as they should be. This afternoon, with encouragment from friends and family, she returned to the Health Center and finally has been diaganoised.

So perhaps I'm up next, seeing as I'm best of pals with Liz. Also Beckee, Liz's and my friend, had similar health (and Health Center) problems as Liz. I still haven't heard if she got in isolation this afternoon, but I wouldn't be surprised. And I sit in class, eat with, etc. Beckee. But I really do feel fine right now. I guess we'll just wait and see.

That's the news from Lake Wheat-be-gone, where all the men are flooded, the women are Stupe-less, and all the children have the mumps.

Adelle

What just happened?

2006-09-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

What's this? My own blog? I just wanted to post on Krista's! What great surprises life often holds for us.