St. Paul Cathedral Choir--Wreaths
The St. Paul Cathedral Choir sold large, lush mixed-conifer wreaths with cones & berries and a handmade bow for a fundraiser for our Ireland trip. We sold nearly 300 wreaths, about 14 of which found a home in William and Marissa's garage (at least temporarily). Mom and I sold 25 wreaths between the two of us. It was fun, we had a bow-making party last Sunday, and a blessing/bow-attaching/tagging party this past Friday; which Doug, Judi, Jonathan, Kelly, Maris, and I attended. We went out to eat after, and we were served by one of my students, Jess.
We also met after the Masses on Saturday and Sunday to hand out wreaths. It was a fun project, which required more work as the project progressed, as Doug commented. Thanks to the organizational abilities of Doug, and Judi's database goddess status, the project ran smoothly. Also thanks to all the hearts and hands that handed out wreaths and made bows and tags.
An oral tradition
Fr. Tim Kisicki said the Mass this morning (he and his brother are visiting their parents for Thanksgiving). I had the honor to lector at that 8:15 Mass. After Mass we discussed the fact that the handing of the sacred Scripture to the next generation is an oral tradition, and, thus, it was meant to be proclaimed. What a joy to proclaim the Word!
Labels: lector, read
Happy Thanksgiving 2006
Maligayang araw ng pabo!
Today is Turkey Day. It is a warm day (50F) in Pittsburgh. After I attended the 8:15 Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral, saying hello to Angela, I went home to grade papers and to bake pumpkin pie dessert squares and returned to bring some canned goods for the food pantry. I ran into Laura and her family, as well as Amy and Teddy, Deacon Barry, and Don.
Then it was time for the Thanksgiving Meal. Mom prepared the turkey, and we all brought various dishes to the table. William, Marissa, and Beatrice from North Point Breeze; Kelly from New York City, and I descended on Mom and Dad's place. There were
~Main Course~
Carved turkey
Small lobsters
Mom's homemade dressing and gravy
Green bean casserole
Marissa's praline brulee mashed sweet potatoes
Variations on a theme by Marna Koch--Vegetable rice pilaf
Maggie Mae's cranberry cinnamon sauce
Grace and Amy's apple/winter pear/nectarine squlutch, seasoned with sweet spices
~Intermezzo~
Cathedral bread, Marissa's corn bread, sweet dinner rolls, butter, and Rouge et Noir Camembert
~Dessert~
Marissa's cranberry-oatmeal crisp
paired with
Rose Maitland's pumpkin pie squares
~Beverages~
Filtered water
Sparkling grape juices, red and white
~Postlude~
Coffee
Chocolate
Soda
As usual, we played karaoke, sang songs to Beatrice (some custom-written just for her), played "Fictionary" with books, napped, ate more, went for a walk, and had a great time. We are still enjoying our day.
Most of us reading this web log have a lot for which to be thankful, as last year.
Happy Thanksgiving 2006, all.
Nationality Room Classrooms
Monday I met up with my coworker, with Amy C. M. and with Nancy C. for a tour around the Nationality Room Classrooms at the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. My coworker left to complete some tasks soon after, but those remaining had a grand time touring the third and first floors of the Cathedral of Learning. We went for an Indian buffet after, having a delicious meal on Craig St. We all agreed that the chicken was delicious, as well as the rice pudding and homemade naan. All three of us agreed that we would get together more often.
Do a little dance...
...for Beatrice makes for a calmer infant. The little dance, with a little head-jostling, and a little song or hum on the side makes for a calmer Beatrice as she waits to get fed.
Wawa and Marissa are coming over for dinner tonight; along with King Kong, who arrived from NYC this morning. We will have kare kare, pata, broiled trout in soy sauce and ginger, eggplant, spaghetti, orange juice, etc. etc. I am on my pre-dinner walk---to take a break from grading---I am ~2/3 finished grading reports to be handed back this coming week.
She's discovered....
...her voice! I visited Beatrice and her parents (William and Marissa) on Sunday of this week. The little quiet, sweet baby has discovered her voice and how to use it. She is not shy about being vocal when she wants to be fed (which is very often), when she has a poopie diaper (which was twice the last time I visited), or generally wants attention. When this young lady is hongry, she has a set of signals she sends to us, the big people in her life:
slight hunger: mouth movements
hungrier: the signals from above, with some fussing and vocal comments
"you better feed me soon": all the above with holding her hands to her mouth
REALLY hungry: all the above with crying out---LOUD CRYING OUT!!
Which can be stopped temporarily by some techniques that William and Marissa learned from a pediatrician's video. This can be useful if mommy needs to go to the bathroom or needs to be away from Beatrice for a short time while she is hungry. After all, her mommy is NOT a short order cook, as I commented to William while he was gently quieting Beatrice, who was displaying in full force all the signs of a REALLY HUNGRY infant. This drew a breath of laughter from William.
Dinner party at Maggie's place, a.k.a. List II
Saturday Jen, Brian, and I traveled to Canonsburg to Maggie's dinner party. Ken, her fiance, was already there and they had prepared a slow-baked chicken, homemade cinnamon cranberry sauce, and homemade stuffing; and Jen and I pitched in to help with the mashed potatoes. We had also brought grandma's potato salad and Jell-O with gummy candies in it. We discussed quite a number of topics, including sharing the music for Maggie and Ken's wedding and possibly meeting the criteria on my list. (see recent posting)
Most of the suggested, potential ways to meet the criteria on my list have been suggested (all by friends), only to note that one or more of the criteria are not met:
-not interested in a LT relationship ("not available")
-smoker ("not tolerable")
-former p-isoner, guilty of a violent, heinous crime (EEEEEEEEEK!..."uh, I think that classifies as a weirdo")
Other, possible ways to meet my criteria:
--2 nice guys, each into music (one of them into heavy metal)
--through more friends whom I have met recently.
My list is deceptively simple, but it can be difficult to find ways to meet all the criteria...stay posted....
Labels: friends, list
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra--Tchaikovsky's Fourth
I attended the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra last week, and Marin Alsop directed, with Barry Douglas at piano. I was surrounded by CAPA students, which added a dimension to the listening experience. The program opened with MacMillan's The Confession of Isobel Gowdie, a pictoral piece with a woman's weeping audible in the opening bars.
What a delight to hear Beethoven's Piano Concerto #4 with the dramatic Tchaikovsky piece during the week.
Mom's crewel work...
... for Beatrice was framed after Mom, Dad, and I went for a meal at Dynasty Restaurant Sunday. We went to Michael's for the frame, and Phyllis and Gene helped us with the frame and matting. We stopped by Beatrice's home, and Mom gave William and Marissa the framed handmade product, with her name and birth information. It matches her homemade Winnie-the-Pooh by Kelly and Sara! Marissa and I had a chance to chat about our recent web page postings.
I am telling my friends...
...my list
nice, kind
tolerant, tolerable
available (geographic and otherwise)
affinity
circle/slash weirdo
Labels: friends, list, philosophical
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Yesterday was Hallowe'en. I wore orange with orange & black socks (won at Babs's party) to work. After my reading at the Radio Information Service, I delivered scallions to Mom and Dad's home. I helped carry food into William, Marissa, and Atri's home, where Les and Cherie were already there. After a delicious dinner consisting of
Meatloaf
smoked mackerel (hand-carried from the Nederlands)
Rice
Stuffed eggplant
peg white and yellow corn
lemon cake
and after Atri had a chance to eat;
and after we handed out treats to Munch's Scream ghosts, pumpkin, princesses, and other children and teens wrapped in coats and covered by umbrellas;
William, Marissa and I headed to the "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" opening night at Heinz Hall. There was audience participation by individuals who were good spellers who auditioned for a part in that night's production. Some EXcellent spellers were part of the mix! And JESUS made a cameo appearance. We were told the future fates of the contestants; one girl was to become "the Secretary of Education under Pres. Bob Casey"! It was a wonderful evening, and Twinkle even slept the whole time we were away from home.
Miro Quartet with Eliot Fisk, guitarist
I received tickets to the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society performance by the Miro Quartet with Eliot Fisk on guitar. Judi and I walked that balmy night to the Carnegie Music Hall. We arrived early enough to hear the Carnegie Mellon Baroque String group perform in the Great Hall.
Music from Spain was performed by the Miro Quartet by Arriaga; after which Eliot Fisk, performed guitar solos; Caprichos No.1 by Leonardo Balada (who was present that evening) were performed by the quintet; and Boccherini's Quintet in D Major, G. 448 "Fandango" was performed. The quintet played well together, familiar with the music and each other's tempo so that they breathed the music together. Judi and I particularly enjoyed the last movement of the Boccherini piece, during which one could pick out the flamenco dancer's staccato heel strikes in the music.
