~ Happenings: Rain, Books and Music ~
It has been raining here for the past week... and heavy rain. My sister and I love rain as much as the next person and just this morning on our way out to the barn we were singing "Singing in the Rain" complete with umbrella trick attempts! All the creeks and streams are rushing and gushing and flooding our field and blocking our friend's driveways! At the moment our newly dug out pond is overflowing and when the deluge finally stops, we have to go rescue our canoe and hunt for the paddles. This is usually done by flipping our tow-able inner tube upside down (so we "don't get wet") and paddling around in circles with the extra paddle to eventually get in the vicinity of the canoe, while the other sister waits pensively on the bank screaming every so often that something moved in the water that could be a snake! Yesterday, my sister Katherine, Mamma (said in an English accent), and myself were driving in our car and, over the hammer of the rain, were attempting to translate a French song into English so we could know what in the world he was saying. Dearest Mamma took French in high school and over the years attempted to teach us children, but she is still our "Dictionary", so we were quizzing her and annoying her with my mispronunciation. I tend to give a harsher ending to the words, more like German or Russian, when French is very light and flowy. Hast thou any thoughts on rain, snakes and French songs in general?
On the subject of books...I love to read. Period and full stop! At the moment I am reading "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens because even though I have read it twice, during a recentish conversation with a friend on the subject, I found I had no idea what she was talking about. I had no idea it was a love story and only remembered the first and last lines, which I proudly quoted to my friend only to have her quote back a passage or two more! So far I am enjoying it immensely. On my shelf I have two other books awaiting readage and we went to the Library yesterday so now there are five and I am still scouring blogs for more book recommendations because you know you can never have too many books waiting for your perusal, so if you have any good recommendations, send them my way! Katherine also enjoys books, though takes her time with each book, savoring it, while I devour them and then am sad it's over. She is in the clutches of "When Joy Came to Stay" by Karen Kingsburry and the three of us ladies have a never ending pile of read-alouds to get to eventually if someone (me) would stop picking out audio books from the Library every time we go. One thing is for certain, we shall never run out so let's hope one of us doesn't get married before the stack has diminished 'cause then we really will never get to them! Which novels grasp you in their merciless clutches never to let you go... till you finish the book that is?
In the house of Green Gables you will pretty much always hear music being played. Last week during our spring cleaning the strains of Tango music accompanied the sight of awkward Tango attempts! As I write, my sister, Mother and I are being serenaded by Italian Opera! For myself, music helps me think; I can concentrate on the melody instead of the chaos of the house and from there my thoughts wander all over. The thoughts vary depending on what the genre is - i.e. when I listen to classical music it makes me feel light and springy and helps me study, when I listen to Celtic music it has an energizing effect that helps me to work hard.... or want to go fight the English... or want to run along in a grassy expanse singing "Star of the County Down"! Dearest Mamma's favorite saying is "Silence is Golden" and many a time when Katherine and I are loudly singing along with Les Miserables or Oklahoma or anything else, she moves down to her laboratory (the down cellar kitchen), or the sewing room and does not emerge for some time. Papa says that the French music we play (to inspire food prep), makes him anxious! His tastes lie more in the range of John Denver, *all pause as Puccini Sings the last line of Nesum Dorma*, and the Jersey Boys. I have fond memories of Papa "Swing dancing" across the living room singing "Cheri" in a high pitched voice! Though he doesn't like Elvis, when we went to visit Richard of The Bobby Dazzler last year, we had an-in-the-car mini Elvis concert complete with impressions from Richard and Papa! Who soothes your soul, stirs up your inner opera, or simply inspires you?
In the house of Green Gables you will pretty much always hear music being played. Last week during our spring cleaning the strains of Tango music accompanied the sight of awkward Tango attempts! As I write, my sister, Mother and I are being serenaded by Italian Opera! For myself, music helps me think; I can concentrate on the melody instead of the chaos of the house and from there my thoughts wander all over. The thoughts vary depending on what the genre is - i.e. when I listen to classical music it makes me feel light and springy and helps me study, when I listen to Celtic music it has an energizing effect that helps me to work hard.... or want to go fight the English... or want to run along in a grassy expanse singing "Star of the County Down"! Dearest Mamma's favorite saying is "Silence is Golden" and many a time when Katherine and I are loudly singing along with Les Miserables or Oklahoma or anything else, she moves down to her laboratory (the down cellar kitchen), or the sewing room and does not emerge for some time. Papa says that the French music we play (to inspire food prep), makes him anxious! His tastes lie more in the range of John Denver, *all pause as Puccini Sings the last line of Nesum Dorma*, and the Jersey Boys. I have fond memories of Papa "Swing dancing" across the living room singing "Cheri" in a high pitched voice! Though he doesn't like Elvis, when we went to visit Richard of The Bobby Dazzler last year, we had an-in-the-car mini Elvis concert complete with impressions from Richard and Papa! Who soothes your soul, stirs up your inner opera, or simply inspires you?
So long, farewell...
Grace
