Category: chorus

Sparkle Hands

Posted in choreography, chorus, college, concert, friends, high school, holidays, memoir, rehearsal, risers, singing, string quartetLeave a comment

Tonight, at chorus rehearsal, I was surprised to see the risers set up in the country club ballroom where we rehearse. The concerts aren’t for another month, so it seemed too soon for a riser rehearsal. But as the director pointed out, we are taking off the week of Thanksgiving, and that holiday is late… Continue reading Sparkle Hands

The Absurdity of It All

Posted in Bible Belt, Biden/Harris, bumper stickers, chorus, COVID, Florida, gays, Ketanji Jackson, mask, Medicare, memoir, neighborhood, Oakland, pandemic, Prius, Supreme Court, Ted Cruz, Texas, thrift store, UkraineLeave a comment

(re-run) The world is spinning out of control. 2. Senator Ted Cruz asked a federal judge to rate picture books as to whether or not they are racist. 3. Angry local vandals are slapping Fuck Biden bumper stickers on the Priuses of liberal-leaning senior citizens (me). 4.  Medicare is sending checks for twelve cents. 5.… Continue reading The Absurdity of It All

Just Me and the Pups

Posted in 2020, 2021, children, chorus, COVID, dancing, dogs, Facebook, fireworks, grandma, Halloween, January 6th, Jeopardy, memoir, New Year's Eve, party, Paul McCartney, summer, vaccineLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s New Year’s Eve and my adult children just left for a party. My eldest and her hubby flew home this morning. The house is empty except for me and three dogs. They’re calm now, but at midnight, when the fireworks go off, Daisy will dive under the bed. As I scroll on Facebook,… Continue reading Just Me and the Pups

Tone Deaf to Tone Deafness

Posted in chorus, grandma, Iowa, Iowa State University, memoir, music, piano lessons, singing, sororityLeave a comment

I’ve been singing my whole life. I went to school when music programs in elementary schools still existed. My grandma taught me to play the piano. I would sing along as I practiced. I sang in the 6th grade chorus and sang in an octette at the Iowa State Fair. It never occurred to me… Continue reading Tone Deaf to Tone Deafness

Off the Grid

Posted in alcoho, alcohol, Beatles, chorus, dancing, Facebook, Father's Day, GERD, girl friends, memoir, power, power company, power outage, retirement, socializing, stomach issues, widowers, wineryLeave a comment

(re-run) The power went out.  I was in the middle of a movie when everything shut off.  Soon my neighbors were texting me, asking me to report the outage to PG& E. The more the better, they said. A few minutes after that, I received a robocall. The outage was affecting 5000 customers. The power… Continue reading Off the Grid

Off the Power Grid

Posted in Beatles, chorus, dancing, Facebook, Father's Day, girl friends, memoir, power, power company, power outage, retirement, socializing, widowers, wineryLeave a comment

(re-run from 2021) The power is out.  I was in the middle of a movie when everything shut off.  One of my neighbors just texted me, asking me to report the outage to PG& E. The more the better, they said. A few minutes after that, I received a robocall. The outage was affecting 5000… Continue reading Off the Power Grid

Reflections on a Retired Thursday

Posted in childhood, chorus, Costco, COVID, dogs, errands, horse, horseback riding, memoir, memory, OCD, retirement, traffic, Zoom, ZumbaLeave a comment

(RE-RUN) You’d think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe.  There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do its… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday

Reflections on a Retired Thursday

Posted in childhood, chorus, Costco, COVID, dogs, errands, horse, horseback riding, memoir, memory, OCD, retirement, traffic, Zoom, ZumbaLeave a comment

You’d think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe.  There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do its thing,”… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday

Fix Your Past Mistakes, or Get a Million Dollars?

Posted in a million dollars, California, chorus, Facebook, family, friends, memoir, relatives, retirement, The MartianLeave a comment

(re-run) A Facebook post asks if you’d rather go back in time and fix all of your mistakes or don’t do that and get $1,000,000 instead. That’s easy. People will take the money. What if the choice were, go back in time and fix all your mistakes or don’t (no money)?  I’d say no to… Continue reading Fix Your Past Mistakes, or Get a Million Dollars?