Here's what's happening in Anitaville

It’s been a while since I posted. I'll try to do better in the future.

I kinda-sorta gave up on the Goddess Mystery KAL. Just too busy to concentrate. I did begin a Forest Canopy Shawl but I can’t seem to concentrate well enough on it either to get going smooth. It’s knit a few rows, tink a few rows, knit a few more rows, tink a couple and so on!! I’m also crocheting a pink ruffled baby bonnet for a co-worker. She has two boys and I thought pink and ruffles were just what she needed for this baby girl. As soon as it’s finished I’ll post a picture. A friend is getting married and I thought a knitted washcloth (one of the Fiber Trends patterns) would be nice along with a hand-made bar of soap for her personal shower, but that isn’t happening!! One shower is Friday, the other Saturday and I just don’t have time—work does so interfere with one’s social life….. Crocheting really makes my hands hurt a lot more than knitting does. I guess that’s why I don’t crochet much anymore.
Last Friday I taught autoharp, limberjack, spoons, yodeling and juice harp to music teachers getting the Kodaly Certification at OU. (see picture of my class) It was so much fun! This is the 5th. class I’ve taught for OU. They rotate several of us each year and this was my year. I’ve basically got my hand-outs prepared and in the computer so it’s just a matter of tweaking them a bit and all the printing. Also, OU has this rather famous trombonist who also plays the spoons, and he’s always so gracious to come down and give my class a demonstration. He’s played for the Pope, 4 presidents, and who knows how many other dignitaries. He’s travelled all over the world. I’m including a You-Tube of him for your viewing pleasure. Also a web address detailing his accomplishments. You’ve got to watch him it is just too cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSwI9Off-iI

http://www.ita-web.org/about/iwagner.asp

On the Alz. front, we’re doing the best we can. The oddest thing: a few months ago ALL my finger picks disappeared. I searched high and low, (being short I usually forget the high part) up and down, in and out, absolutely everywhere and then some! No fingerpicks anywhere, so I bought some more. Then I spent about $40 on picks for my class for the students. When I got home Friday evening after teaching all day, Rich says (in his fashion after I interpreted) “you’ll never believe what I found today”. I ask what, he said I’ll show you and I followed him to the bedroom where he gets a small cardboard box down from his closet shelf (where I’d already looked at least several times) opens it and there are all the missing fingerpicks. I gasped, where did you find these? With a big smile he says I don’t know and hands me the box. It was like he ransacked the house, found all the picks and put them away. He had to get into my autoharp cases-all 3 of them-to find some of these. Beats me how he does these things. So now I have 40-11 finger picks and probably can’t use them all in this lifetime! But he was so happy to have found them for me…. forget the fact that he's the one who hid them!!

I’m currently reading Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry. It’s the newest in her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. I just finished Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton. I don’t think the writing is great. She overdoes the “sly smile” phrase and the lead character is a little too much smarter than anybody else in the town including the police. And really, it’s kind of dangerous to be her friend-they keep getting killed! But I do like the descriptions of knitting, spinning, dying etc. I’ve read all of hers and will continue to read them as long as she writes them! I’m listening to 1st. to Die in the Women’s Mystery Club series by James Patterson. It’s good I just don’t spend enough time in the car to get much listened to at a time! I’m getting ready to start a non-mystery non-fiction called The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel. I’ve also got at home Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs who wrote The Friday Night Knitting Club.
Well I guess that’s enough for now. Toodles…..Anita