Piano

It's big. It's brown. It's out-of-focus. And it's ours.

We knew we wanted a piano, Wood especially, but also we knew it would be awhile before we actually got one. However, where Wood works there is a place where people post items they are selling or giving away. And a family didn't want their piano anymore and were giving it away, so we glady took it off of their hands. Okay, the piano movers took it. There is no way we were getting it up to our second story apartment by ourselves!

It's an old, old Story and Clark. It could use a little fixing-up here and there (like the sustain pedal - though I think we can fix that ourselves, hopefully), but the sound is good and it's fun to be able to play. Wood plays more then I do - my 3 months of piano lessons before I started violin when I was 8 just doesn't cut it -go figure! Both of us have a lot to learn, but now we have something to practice on! And for the price we paid, the people also threw in some beginner piano books, so I'm going to give those a shot.

It's big. I think Wood comments on that every time he comes home from work. Our living-room coffee table is currently occupying our hallway, as seen in the background. But we'll figure it all out. In the mean time, it's exciting to just have some more music in our home!

Washington DC

Wood had another one of his 4-day weekends - one of the definite perks of his strange schedule.

This time we decided to make our way to Washington DC. We decided to take the shorter (though pricey) toll roads that took us through New Jersey and Delaware and on into Maryland. Okay, my real motivation was that I wanted to say I'd at least been through those states. So as night fell I strained my eyes to get any glimpse of the NJ or Delaware landscape. Wood laughed at how excited I was, even at the little I could see in the dark. Some day I'll make it back for a real visit, but until then, this will have to do!

Thursday night we stopped when we (I) got tired and found an Inn that gave us a 40% discount for being in the military - I must remind myself of these perks the next time we're dealing with the red-tape!

Friday morning we headed to the DC temple. I've never been there before and the last time Wood was there it was for Lady and Man's wedding. What a beautiful temple!! We had a wonderful time and neither of us wanted to leave.

Friday evening we drove into DC and checked out the Washington monument and the WWII memorial. One thing I enjoyed about DC was how well-done everything was and how beautiful the mall and that whole area is!

Saturday we went to the Holocaust Museum. That was sobering, but well done. There were only a few images that I had to turn away from, but that was profound in and of itself. The people there at that time could not turn away. And it was not merely photographs - it was life. I cannot comprehend what really took place then, but both Wood and I appreciated the exhibit.
Next we breezed through 2 art museums in record time and headed for the Air and Space museum where we caught a cool planetarium show on collisions. After that it was off to the Vietnam memorial and the Lincoln and Jefferson monuments.

As you can tell from the picture taken from the Lincoln monument the weather was a little cooler then we were hoping for. Good thing we brought our winter gear!

By this time I was tired and cranky and in need of sustenance. Unfortunately, we also discovered that parking near restaurants in that area is nigh-unto impossible. We spent 30+ minutes just driving around and around looking for anywhere to park (within reasonable walking distance due to the tired wife in the passenger seat). We finally gave up and headed farther out of the city and found a little cafe` to eat at.

Sunday morning we woke-up and lo and behold the Easter bunny found our motel room. How does he do that? He even left a cute little outfit for our daughter - wow! Then we headed to PA and joined the PennHens for church and crashed Lady's family's Easter dinner and had a great time with them. Lady's family always makes us feel - like family. We enjoyed visiting with the PennHens and of course see MacGregor's new smile - now he can really sing all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!

We had a great time!

Crafty Companion

I am not crafty.

I have multiple memories of trying to do a craft for school, YW, or RS and while everyone else is on step 5 I'm trying to repair my step 2. Oh, I can be creative. It's just turning those visions into reality - that's the problem. In wood-shop in 8th grade I was making a "Calvin-ball" wicket set for my little brother. But when the teacher finally looked at what I was doing he said "Um, what exactly is that?!" So, that project was scrapped.

I'm not complaining. In my family it's an on-going joke that it's in the blood (lack of craftiness that is). It's a big triumph for both my mom and I if something turns out really well!

My VT companion on the other hand is EXTREMELY crafty. Everything she does just has that special touch. One of the ways she shows love to people is giving gifts - so each month she comes up with something to give our teachies. That's fine with me and many of them have commented on how they've appreciated what they received. I always point a finger to Stella in those moments - give credit where credit is due! However, lately she's decided that we should make the crafts together which is good social time for us but puts me out of my comfort zone. Fortunately she comes up with the ideas and they've been simple enough that I can even help.
Here are a few pictures of our Easter eggs filled with rice krispies and wooden eggs with a beautiful thought attached.
Oh, all of the ideas were hers, but I can't help being a little proud at the finished product.