I'm afraid we've been kind of AWOL lately. And by "lately," I mean "for the last two months."
To say I'm not winter's biggest fan would, of course, be an understatement. Even as a kid, when my family would get all bundled up for a full day of skiing the slopes at the resorts near our home, I pulled out a good book and asked for what percentage of the day I would be allowed to curl up with hot cocoa at the lodge. I hate being cold.
So let's just say that surviving Saskatchewan's coldest winter in 30 years is a fairly major accomplishment for me. Did I do it gracefully? Not so much.
January and February were so cold that it was physically painful. We woke every morning to windows crusted with ice on the inside, and temperatures so low it's difficult to wrap my brain around them even now. -30? What does that even mean? Although our home is incredibly heat-efficient (it's a priority in homes in this area), no four walls could shut out the creeping, paralyzing cold. Every day we sent the kids out the door bundled up to the teeth, with snowpants, thick mitts, scarves, hats, hoods, and boots. That was just to make it to the schoolbus and back—recesses were cancelled pretty much every day due to frostbite risk. Because no amount of cold shuts down life in this city, the schools didn't close, and even our weekly playgroup soldiered through each and every week. Thank goodness. Those Wednesday mornings huddled around the adult snack table while the kids rode around on tricycles and played ball in an indoor gym kept me somewhat sane—I won't claim full competency.
Then came March. It warmed up a little. And by "a little," I mean "by a degree." March was almost worse than the months before it simply because I expected, wanted, craved some sunshine and warmth so desperately. At the end of the month, deep puddles had accumulated in the middle of our street as evidence of meltage, but that was about all the evidence we got. No flowers, no blossoms, just miles and miles of muddy, grey snow.
Am I making this sound worse that it really was? I’m not sure. Maybe. At the time it felt rather awful, but when I string it all together like that, without our fun Valentine’s Day celebration or the trips to the Science Center with friends on Friday and extra movies on Toonie Tuesday at the theater just down the street, I’m probably being a little unfair. We did make it through, with the cabin fever to show for it, and if you ask the kids, they even enjoyed it part of the time. Too much television was watched, yes, but there were the days when we sledded in the gully next to the bookstore for as long as we could stand the wind, then traipsed inside for the hottest hot cocoa they could legally serve us. I gained a new appreciation for the public library, for indoor shopping malls, and for my gigantic canvas shopping bags that limit the number of trips needed between the car and the house.
I also learned one important lesson. When we moved here, I unfairly judged people as being excessively sad and depressed. “Sucking on a pickle,” I think, is how Aaron once phrased it. Now I’m amazed that they’re able to be as cheerful as they are. I find myself being the Eeyore at every party now (I’m working on that). Seasonal depression is a real thing, I’ve decided, and I think I came down with a case this winter.
Oh, and one more thing I learned: I don’t actually want to stay here for seven to ten years after all. We’re officially looking at other jobs and places to live. Which is sad, because there’s a lot to love here, but yikes—another winter like this one might just pull me under!
So, I should squeeze some good stuff into this entry too. Our Valentine’s Day was the best ever. I finally figured out that “after-Christmas clearance” doesn’t really start until February. So I found each of the kids a cool toy and surprised them with heart-shaped pancakes and surprises on their chairs at breakfast. They were so excited! Aaron and I also finagled a fancy dinner at Skara and a movie. I so adore this valentine of mine. He’s incredibly smart, talented, and best of all, mine! He’s done a far better job than I of weathering this brutal winter . . . and he’s from California. I’m pretty sure I owe him big-time for this, along with a promise to do better next winter. And I will. Really. Cross my heart.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Winter of our Discontent
Our house (which was so maligned last month)
Valentines' Day breakfast
(I have to give myself tons of credit for the perfectness of the presents here: a retractable Indiana Jones sword that makes a clanking noise and has a secret dagger for Emerson, a spy kit with a motion sensor, secret darts, a spy-scope, and a laser flashlight for Theo, boy and girl Camp Rock non-barbies for Addy, and a little puppy toy for Sera . . . for under $10 all together--wooo!)
The Abominable Snowman
Our Yeti
. . . and Sasquatch
Building a snowfort . . . or something
They seriously loved it when it was warm enough to play outside!
Warming up in the tub
Preschool buddies
And can I complain when my daughter takes over my piano-teaching duties? Emerson is such the studious little pianist--I kept procrastinating starting him until he basically begged me to teach him. "Mary had a Little Lamb" is his favorite right now.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Super-duper Cool News!!!
I guess this isn't directly related to our family or anything, but I had to post this! We're thrilled that Ryan Murphy, a friend of ours from BYU, was just selected as the Associate Music Director for the Tabernacle Choir! Aside from singing in choirs and studying conducting together, Ryan and his wife Jennifer were in our BYU ward, where Aaron home taught them. We had lots of good times together, some music-related, many not.
When this position was first announced, several months ago, Aaron and I couldn't resist guessing who might be selected. At the very top of our list was . . . RYAN MURPHY! Ryan is a phenomenal musician, conductor and composer, and will be amazing in this position. CONGRATULATIONS RYAN!!!
New Mormon Tabernacle Choir Associate Music Director Appointed
MARCH 27, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon Tabernacle Choir announced today that Ryan T. Murphy has been named associate music director. Murphy will assume the associate music director position formerly occupied by Mack J. Wilberg, who was appointed music director in March 2008. The appointment concludes a world-wide search that began in August of 2008.
Murphy has extensive choral conducting and professional musical theater experience. He currently conducts six choirs in the Boston area, including two choirs at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. He serves as the choral director at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, an internationally recognized secondary school affiliated with the New England Conservatory.
He has served as the music director for the Tuacahn theatre in the St. George, Utah, area and prior to that as the music director for five seasons at the Sundance Institute in Provo, Utah. He has maintained an active performing schedule, including recent collaborations at the Tanglewood Summer Festival outside of Boston.
Speaking about his appointment, Murphy said: “It is a dream come true to work with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and to be associated with the caliber of musicians here serving the Church. It will be an honor to assist Dr. Mack Wilberg, and I look forward to working with him to touch the hearts of a wide variety of people, cultures, ages and beliefs.”
Mack Wilberg, music director of the choir, looks forward to having Murphy join the artistic staff on Temple Square. “We are extremely pleased to have Ryan join us in working with the choir and the orchestra. He is a very talented and well-rounded musician with a breadth of experience. His energy and enthusiasm will contribute to the work we are doing to fulfill the mission of the choir in our concerts, broadcasts and recordings.”
Murphy graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in piano and organ performance and pedagogy. He also has a master’s degree in choral conducting from Brigham Young University and will receive his doctorate in choral conducting from Boston University in May of this year. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children and currently reside in Belmont, Massachusetts. Murphy plans to begin his duties on Temple Square this summer after concluding his responsibilities in Boston. Visit MormonTabernacleChoir.org to learn more.
When this position was first announced, several months ago, Aaron and I couldn't resist guessing who might be selected. At the very top of our list was . . . RYAN MURPHY! Ryan is a phenomenal musician, conductor and composer, and will be amazing in this position. CONGRATULATIONS RYAN!!!
New Mormon Tabernacle Choir Associate Music Director AppointedMARCH 27, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon Tabernacle Choir announced today that Ryan T. Murphy has been named associate music director. Murphy will assume the associate music director position formerly occupied by Mack J. Wilberg, who was appointed music director in March 2008. The appointment concludes a world-wide search that began in August of 2008.
Murphy has extensive choral conducting and professional musical theater experience. He currently conducts six choirs in the Boston area, including two choirs at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. He serves as the choral director at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, an internationally recognized secondary school affiliated with the New England Conservatory.
He has served as the music director for the Tuacahn theatre in the St. George, Utah, area and prior to that as the music director for five seasons at the Sundance Institute in Provo, Utah. He has maintained an active performing schedule, including recent collaborations at the Tanglewood Summer Festival outside of Boston.
Speaking about his appointment, Murphy said: “It is a dream come true to work with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and to be associated with the caliber of musicians here serving the Church. It will be an honor to assist Dr. Mack Wilberg, and I look forward to working with him to touch the hearts of a wide variety of people, cultures, ages and beliefs.”
Mack Wilberg, music director of the choir, looks forward to having Murphy join the artistic staff on Temple Square. “We are extremely pleased to have Ryan join us in working with the choir and the orchestra. He is a very talented and well-rounded musician with a breadth of experience. His energy and enthusiasm will contribute to the work we are doing to fulfill the mission of the choir in our concerts, broadcasts and recordings.”
Murphy graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in piano and organ performance and pedagogy. He also has a master’s degree in choral conducting from Brigham Young University and will receive his doctorate in choral conducting from Boston University in May of this year. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children and currently reside in Belmont, Massachusetts. Murphy plans to begin his duties on Temple Square this summer after concluding his responsibilities in Boston. Visit MormonTabernacleChoir.org to learn more.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Truth
I can't write about February without complaining. It would feel too much like lying. Because that's what I did in February this year: complain. There's the weather, of course, which has been so cold. And my calling change (sunbeams to CTR 7s). And the wrenching feeling I get in my gut everytime I pay $7 a pound for cheese, ($14 for ricotta or feta, which I never buy anymore). But most of all, there's the house.
No pussy-footing around it this time. My house drives me crazy! I know, I know, I'm lucky to have a house and there are lots of people that don't. And I do try to have a good attitude about it. But darn it, it's pretty tough for one bathroom to handle six people--there are baths to be had, teeth to be brushed, and, you know, other stuff. Yes there's the downstairs bathroom too, but a toilet and shower slapped onto either side of a sink, with a few loose laminate tiles below and what looks like wrapping paper on ply-wood walls just doesn't quite qualify as a "bathroom" in my book. The bedrooms are just big enough for the beds, as long as we put them in the one location where they actually fit. Closets? Uh, sort of. See we've had to cram the dressers inside of them, since there's really no extra room. No electrical outlet in the bathroom. Really. Ancient kitchen cabinets with the most grotesque mismatched plastic-brass hardware ever. Also, an uneven basement floor clad in depressing gray carpet and accented with buckling wood paneling on the walls. Did I mention that there are 6 of us squeezing into these 1200 square feet? And that it's way too cold to go much of anywhere else?
But you know what? All of that wouldn't get to me quite as much as it does if we weren't paying so much for this place! See, we moved here at the height of an over-heating real-estate market, where most houses were selling before they even made it onto the lists. We got into this place for $50,000 less than other houses were going in the area, and if internet listings are any sign, we've probably managed to sit out a good 30-40% increase in value. But still. We paid more for this place than for our three-story house in Cincinnati--which paid for itself when we rented out the upstairs. That coupled with all the work we still need to do and that tiny little bathroom sometimes drives me C-R-A-Z-Y!
So if you ever notice that the vast majority of the pictures we take here are shot in the living room (the one room that I like--big fat south facing windows and my piano), well, now you know why. And if I spend a little bit too much time mooning over fancy houses in the midwest that are selling for a song, well, maybe you'll forgive me that too.
No pussy-footing around it this time. My house drives me crazy! I know, I know, I'm lucky to have a house and there are lots of people that don't. And I do try to have a good attitude about it. But darn it, it's pretty tough for one bathroom to handle six people--there are baths to be had, teeth to be brushed, and, you know, other stuff. Yes there's the downstairs bathroom too, but a toilet and shower slapped onto either side of a sink, with a few loose laminate tiles below and what looks like wrapping paper on ply-wood walls just doesn't quite qualify as a "bathroom" in my book. The bedrooms are just big enough for the beds, as long as we put them in the one location where they actually fit. Closets? Uh, sort of. See we've had to cram the dressers inside of them, since there's really no extra room. No electrical outlet in the bathroom. Really. Ancient kitchen cabinets with the most grotesque mismatched plastic-brass hardware ever. Also, an uneven basement floor clad in depressing gray carpet and accented with buckling wood paneling on the walls. Did I mention that there are 6 of us squeezing into these 1200 square feet? And that it's way too cold to go much of anywhere else?
But you know what? All of that wouldn't get to me quite as much as it does if we weren't paying so much for this place! See, we moved here at the height of an over-heating real-estate market, where most houses were selling before they even made it onto the lists. We got into this place for $50,000 less than other houses were going in the area, and if internet listings are any sign, we've probably managed to sit out a good 30-40% increase in value. But still. We paid more for this place than for our three-story house in Cincinnati--which paid for itself when we rented out the upstairs. That coupled with all the work we still need to do and that tiny little bathroom sometimes drives me C-R-A-Z-Y!
So if you ever notice that the vast majority of the pictures we take here are shot in the living room (the one room that I like--big fat south facing windows and my piano), well, now you know why. And if I spend a little bit too much time mooning over fancy houses in the midwest that are selling for a song, well, maybe you'll forgive me that too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)