Caleigh O'Shea's Blog, page 38

Veni, Vedi, Vici*

Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it. ~Author Unknown

We did it!

Our symphonic band concert was earlier this week, and I’m still floating high on a puffy cloud of success.

When you put together a “motley” group of hopeful-musicians — high school students, college students who aren’t music majors, music majors playing secondary instruments, and community members playing instruments often not played for as long as some of these young’uns have been alive — you probably shouldn’t expect much.

But with hard work at rehearsals and encouraging, enthusiastic directors, we managed to pull it off.

We started all our concert pieces together. Kept mostly together throughout. And ended together.

Amazing!

Best of all, we enjoyed the experience, and I suspect many will be back for more next year.

As my flute teacher tells me, you can learn important things from playing in a group that you can’t learn from a one-on-one lesson. Like how to play in tune, how to blend with other sections, how not to overshadow the melody line, how to play in time to the conductor’s beat.

Things real musicians need to know.

You also learn how to deal with butterflies in the stomach before a performance and how to get along with others who might have had a rough day or little sleep and seem prone to taking out their grumpiness on the rest of their section.

Part of me is glad it’s over. I’m relieved the concert went well and glad to have my time back. But a BIG part of me is sad it’s come to an end. We had a special energy, this ragtag group of thirty-three, and I’m going to feel at loose ends without the commitment.

Gee, perhaps I need to join community band this summer and see how that goes?

*Note: “Veni, Vidi, Vici” is Latin and translated “I came; I saw; I conquered.” The words are attributed to Julius Caesar after a quick victory in a long-ago war. Every Latin student knows this phrase — my high school teacher quoted it often.

Towering Lines

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The Theodore C. Butz Memorial Carillon was installed at the Chicago Botanic Garden in 1986 and quickly became a popular landmark. According to the informational sign placed nearby (yes, I took a photo of it so I’d remember the details!), it was crafted in Holland and is one of the few hand-played carillons in the U.S.

Carillon musicians come from around the world to play evening concerts here during the summer months. The carillon’s bronze-cast bells have a range of four octaves and are activated via a large keyboard. The smallest of the 48 bells weighs 24 pounds; the largest, 2.5 tons!

Note: This is my interpretation of Lines, the WordPress Photo Challenge for the week. We’re tasked with depicting lines, whether straight or curved, natural or man-made. It’s not too late to get in on the fun. Here’s how.

End of an Era

Shopping is a woman thing.  It’s a contact sport like football.  Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase.  ~Erma Bombeck, American humorist and writer

Last week we learned one of our mall’s major department stores was closing its doors for good.

In retrospect, we should have seen this coming. After all, for at least the last five years, this store has been riding the Struggle Bus:

“Fashionable” clothing isn’t too popular in staid Central Illinois
Animal prints and dull colors don’t go over well here either
Buyers don’t understand “petite” also includes tiny great-grandmas
Overseas seamstresses can’t seem to cut clothing for Midwest bodies
Materials have become flimsy and “cheap”
Prices are high in a challenged economy

I don’t work in retail. Never have, actually. But I like to shop — don’t most women? — and there are certain stores I find myself patronizing regularly.

This was one of them.

When you work for yourself … in a tech field, no less … you pretty much get to choose your favorite look.

Mine is casual. Classic.

No frills, ruffles, high heels. No dresses either.

Still, occasions demand I have some “fancy” clothes in my closet, just in case.

And this store was a good place to find everything from business suits and dresses to Polo shirts and jeans.

I’ll miss it.

I spent Saturday trying to score a Going-Out-Of-Business bargain, but I came away sorely disappointed.

Gauging by the scarcity of shopping bags exiting the store, others felt the same.

Items that were 40 percent off last week were now only 10 percent off.

Wow.

And the liquidators have some hard and fast rules — no store cards, only cash or bank cards, and all sales are final.

Gee, it seems like they’re still riding that Struggle Bus!

Abundant Gratitude

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.” — Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, writer, and visual artist

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Tiny grains of sand

Circling this ocean basin

Prolific beauty.

 

Note: In this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, we’re to portray “Prolific.” To me, that means large quantities, abundance, even fruitful. Since this time of year around here is hardly lush with spring flowers yet, I’m opting for a photo from a few years back, back when I was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Discouraged, Not Defeated

Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier. ~Author Unknown

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You were meant to stand out,

Blessed with a beauty unbounded.

Destined to sparkle, to astonish,

To share your uniqueness with the world.

Yet here you stand

Buffeted by gale-force winds of change,

Assaulted by frosty words of criticism,

Struggling to find the sun beneath clouds of doubt.

Yet here you stand

Having shed your pearls of wisdom,

Seen them tossed thoughtlessly away

In favor of louder, more confident voices.

Yet here you stand

Still trying to triumph

Still hoping to claim your place

And recapture bits of past magic.

Yet here you stand

Discouraged, but not defeated.

Note: April is National Poetry Month. While poetry as an art form probably should be celebrated every month, perhaps it’s a start to set aside 30 days to recognize poets and their works.

New Life Emerging

Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot little puppies. ~Gene Hill, American writer

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Dallas and his siblings, December 2006

A puppy’s whole life

Wraps around his litter-mates

And his mama, too.

Note: The theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Awakening. Yes, I thought about a nice photo of Mother Nature emerging from her winter’s sleep, but that’s lagging a bit this year. Thus, you get puppies … three of them, to be exact! Dallas and his siblings were just about two and a half weeks old at this point. Hard not to fall in love with a tiny animal, right?!

Smile for the Camera

Happiness is a warm puppy. ~Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist (creator of Peanuts)

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Hugging a best friend

Brings a smile to both faces

Love without limits.

Note: For the WordPress Photo Challenge this week, we’re asked to show something or someone who makes us smile, whether it’s a literal smile (ours or another’s) or something that’s brought joy to our lives. I snapped this shot of my son (who doesn’t want to be identified) and our dog Dallas (who’s a shameless camera hog!) back in 2014. These two make me smile!

Spring Ups and Downs

Nature has many scenes to exhibit…. — Henry David Thoreau, American poet and essayist

Mother Nature pulled an April Fool’s Day joke on Central Illinois Easter Sunday.

Sure, the calendar says ‘Spring,’ and we’ve been hoping for the warm and blossoming season for weeks now. It wasn’t to be, not yesterday anyway.

Take a look:

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It started as sleet when I was driving home from my flute lesson. Even this poor Robin seems to be asking, “How am I supposed to build a nest in this?”

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At one point, I peeked outside and it looked like the angels were having a pillow fight!

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(Not the best of photos, but I kind of liked how the snowflakes seemed to be streaking down like confetti!)

Have you ever seen a Sheltie encrusted with powered sugar? Well, Dallas was too embarrassed to look at the camera, but he said he thinks sugar would have been warmer than these snowballs!

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But it’s hard to deny how beautiful a fresh snowfall is. Check out this bush:

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And this one:

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And look how the snow outlines this maple tree:

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I suppose we can take consolation from the fact that typically, Spring snows don’t linger as long as Winter ones do (and they’re predicting 65 degrees by Tuesday!)

A Blushing Sunrise

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Sunrise Nov. 2, 2016, 7:12 a.m., Central Illinois

Blessed to be alive

Enjoying a spectacular sunrise

Giving thanks to the Creator

In all ways bounteous and wise.

New beginning, new day

New shades of pink and gray

In the heavens a feast

Never tire of the splendor

Glorious gobstoppers of color

Sticking around for mere seconds.

Note: This is my take on Rise/Set, WordPress’s Photo Challenge for the week. We’re supposed to feature either a sunrise or a sunset, trying to show what that time of day means to us. I’ll be taking a few days off to celebrate the upcoming holiday — Happy Easter, my friends!

Now It’s Spring

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. ~Chinese Proverb

Look who decided to bloom!!

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Shamrock (Oxalis) plant

And remember this one?

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Geranium overwintered indoors

Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful. ~Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor and comedian

Maybe we should do more of the same — Happy Spring, everyone!