Beatrice's Dance Class
After lunch and before picking up Mom's medicine in Shadyside Dad, Mom, and I joined William's family (upon an invitationn from Marissa) at Beatrice's dance class. As per usual, she was absent for the photo (taken usually around Thanksgiving), but she is a good imitator and her teacher, her assistant, and the accompanist are all greatly talented at engaging all of the students. Beatrice's mirror dance partner was Sonora. They have learned the two first ballet positions, chassee moves, and basics of modern dance.
We all went to Vanilla for cupcakes afterwards. Our selections ranged from Fudge Chocolate, Chocolate Buttercream, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Red Velvet, to Cinnamon Scone and Pistachio Almond Nougat!! Solomon finally got his wish for a red cupcake like Beatrice's. I swung around to pick up Mom and Dad after our cupcake interlude.
Labels: Beatrice, Calorie, chocolate, dance, dining, family
Thanksgiving Days 2010-III
Today is Saturday, the last day of the liturgical year.
Yesterday, I awoke at ~ 4am and sent some email correspondence to friends far and near, as well as to my classes of students. After tying bows on wreaths with Judi, Jess, Don, Rocco, and Regina,
I exchanged an organizer near William and Marissa's home. Also I got a pair of shoes and lip gloss. I took two naps yesterday (~45" and 1'15"), between which was sandwiched a visit to a craft store across the river in McKees Rocks. After dinner with Mom and Dad, we went for a visit at William and Marissa's home, to return some items at a store near their home, and to return to play a Sea game with Beatrice that Lolo and Lola gave them. Solomon enjoyed playing a game with Marissa and Lola, whilst Beatrice won the Sea game she played with the rest of us by a close margin.
Upon returning home, we had a snack, and I forwarded a file from Rosie T. to some of mom's other friends. Had a long, 19+ hour day and was tired after it, as well.
Labels: Beatrice, email, games, jewelry, niece and nephew, seasons, shoes, shopping, sleep, Spain
"Hail, Our Alma Mater..."
Wednesday late afternoon (after our Jeopardy! class for Introduction to Arts and Sciences) Jenny CD and Linda I arrived from the airport and from Cleveland, respectively. After dropping off Jenny's luggage, we headed to Victor's new restaurant, where we enjoyed 2 lamb dishes, a shrimp dish, a salmon dish, and a vegetarian dish with Amanda MS and Charles. It was great to see everyone again, and to have a photo....
We all stood outside, Jenny and I in thin sweaters as the temperatures had dipped from the 60s Fahrenheit to the 40s to 50s as the sun went down. Jenny drove Linda and I back to my parking lot, where we bid Linda a fond goodbye and safe trip. Jenny and I tucked into our respective beds by 23.30, and I awoke about 6.30 Thursday.
Thursday Jenny and I visited St. Paul Cathedral and my workplace. We walked to get eggs over easy, Lyonnaise potatoes, bacon, and wheat toast as well as croissant French toast (and coffee for Jenny). We then headed to the Cathedral of Learning, touring the higher floors before the lower floors of Nationality Rooms first. We then toured the Frick Arts Building (the library, the Jello courtyard exhibit, and the U Pitt Museum Studies Class's exhibit SLAG: What's left after industry?), and the Carnegie Library and Institute. As we left the Carnegie, we opened the door for Marissa and Solomon, and Beatrice and Les.
After loading Jenny's bag into the car, we departed; I for work and she for lunch with her husband's former intern.
Labels: art, Beatrice, biology, Carnegie, dining, international culture, library, Marietta, mountains, organ, organizing, painting, photos, Pittsburgh, reunion, school, sleep, St. Paul Cathedral, work
Beatrice's Birthday
Today is Beata's birthday. We were planning on a scavenger hunt at the art museum, but she is feeling sick with a cold.
Labels: Beatrice, Birthday, Carnegie, health, museum, niece and nephew
Truth on Tap, October 2010; Lunch with Beata & Solomon
Karina (exhausted) invited me to Truth on Tap, then took a long nap (she didn't wake up, my tired friend).
We talked about Conscience with Frs. Steven and Joshua. I brought up the "Jiminy Cricket" conscience model. "And always let your conscience be your guide."
~~~
Today after singing at noon Mass with the choir, I went to have lunch, cookies and milk, popcorn, and fun with Beata, Solomon, and Marissa. A Sunday afternoon nap ensued. Nana and Papa will arrive late tonight. Maureen and I met for a snack ~16.30 at Whole Foods.
Labels: Beatrice, Faith, family-Marissa, friends, niece and nephew, sleep, snacks
Carnegie Museum of Art, September 2010
Yesterday before work Marissa, Beatrice, Solomon, and I visited the Carnegie Museum of Art. Marissa had the stack of cards with images/facsimiles of items from the permanent collection (that I had given her about a decade ago. She had us play "treasure hunt" with each of us assigned a separate card. We even asked the security guards for help. There was an art history class from the University of Pittsburgh, and the children engaged with one of the students from the class. We even had time for a second card each. I greeted some the security help whom I know from having worked there.
Labels: art, Beatrice, Carnegie, games, museum, niece and nephew, school
Last Sunday/House Rules
Beatrice visited last Sunday whilst Marissa was teaching Sunday school with Solomon in tow. We visited the bathroom, and after washing hands the "House Rules" counted cross-stitch made by Lola was noted hanging at Beatrice-level. Beatrice indicated to me that she did not get it or understand it.
"Let's see," I said, reading. If you drop it, pick it up.
If you open it, close it. "That's like a door," I said.
If you empty it, fill it up.
If it rings, answer it. "Like the doorbell," "Or a phone," Beatrice and I said, respectively.
If it barks, feed it. "That's a dog," Beatrice said.
If it cries, love it. "That's a child," Beatrice indicated.
She is quite perceptive.
Labels: Beatrice, family, niece and nephew, read
Goin' for a Spin!
I met up with Marissa and Beatrice and Solomon for a bike day yesterday! I went for a short 3-circle ride before they came, then Beata and Marissa biked to the end while Solomon and I "ran to Beebee and Momma."
"We'll tell stories there," Solomon informed me. We did, and while Marissa got the camera they learned about sycamores ("which have spotted dotties of green, yellow, and brown on the branches,...and BIG leaves shaped like [hands]." We also saw a locust tree as we left, which Beata pointed out has "smaller leaves" and the leaves were shaped differently.
A fun-filled day that we all enjoyed.
Labels: Beatrice, bicycle, biology, exercise, family, niece and nephew
Off to Choir, Shortly...and Thus begins a Christmas Season
Dad, Mom, Kelly, and I met up with William's family for lunch at the sushi buffet. Beatrice, Solomon, Marissa, and I enjoyed making eggless sugar cookies with banana slices for Santa this morning. Solomon enjoyed playing the game "Is it Hot?" even though he is in a phase in which he likes to say "No" a lot, too.
I helped mom with their travel insurance before we departed for lunch.
They stopped at a friend's home to deliver a gift, then Kelly and I rested in the car whilst they went to CVS.
It's off to choir, shortly, to begin another Christmas season. I've finished the cards for the choristers, my little tradition.
Labels: Beatrice, celebration, Choir, Christmas, family, games, gift, niece and nephew
Beatrice and Solomon, Pastoral Council meeting
Today I stopped by the physical therapy/orthopedist office, saying "Hi," to Keelan and dropping off Christmas greetings for him and for Dr. Tanya.
I unpacked Mom and Dad's groceries, picked up some fried chicken for lunch, enjoyed lunch with them, then took a three-hour well-deserved nap. I prepared a salad for the pastoral council get-together, we enjoyed munchies by everyone (especially Carmella's pasta!), and enjoyed the company of the other pastoral council members, of Fr. Breier, of and Fr. Bill, our new priest. I headed back to see Beatrice and Solomon, who were tiring of the party at Lolo and Lola's building. We headed to Lolo and Lola's place to sing, dance, play with my bell necklace, read for a short time, and walk/run down the hall. Lolo and Lola soon followed, and their Mom and Dad stopped by within the hour. Dad and I double-checked my addition on the practical exams (for security sake).
Labels: Beatrice, Church, dine, exercise, niece and nephew, pastoral council, sleep, work
The Bus Ride Home, Beatrice's Birthday Celebration
The bus ride home this Wednesday was good---no transfers, two seats to myself all the way to Harrisburg, and I chatted most of the way with a German schoolteacher-to-be who is going cross country to California. We had everyone from Mexicans to Italians to an Amish gentleman in our seating vicinity...there was at the back of the bus even a guy with beads in his beard, too. An uneventful trip, all-in-all.
~ ~ ~ ~
We met William and his family at the new French bistro for lunch...whilst waiting for a table, Lola and the children checked out the pastries in the window. I greatly enjoyed my meal, especially the hot cocoa at the end.
Labels: Beatrice, Birthday, celebration, home, niece and nephew, photos, transportation
Beatrice's Half
William, Marissa, Beatrice, and Solomon joined Dad, Mom, and I for dinner last night. After dinner, Beatrice and I played with the multicolored 3-dimensional beads-on-wires-on-platform. I introduced the concept of "half" to her with the beads.
Solomon and Beata went to lie down with Lolo and Lola. Solomon slept for a while, until Beata's singing and storytelling was loud enough to awaken him; then he chowed down a snack of crackers and cheese and milk. When I left them to go home, Solomon was sound asleep on Lola's lap in the living room and Beata was telling Lolo a story soon after (another) "lights out."
Labels: Beatrice, dine, games, niece and nephew, singing, sleep
Phipps Conservatory and Bible Study
It was great to meet up with William, Marissa, Beatrice, and Solomon for an afternoon trip to Phipps Conservatory. We even explored
the Discovery Gardens. We saw banana palms,
a maze and
mists in the garden,
the Longfellow glass figurines, Chihuly glass, and the Desert Room (don't touch anything---it's prickly!), and the Victorian Room (where there is a programmable fountain). Solomon treated every encounter with a plant as an interactive adventure. Beatrice insisted on pushing the umbrella stroller to the car by herself.
~~~~~
Went to the last summer Bible Study. We read James, Chapter 5. We also referred to James 5:16-18 when reading I Kings 17:17-24, which I pointed out and read to our group. Christina, Rachel, and I chatted with Beth, whom Christina knew from secondary school.
Went to physical therapy earlier in the day and also ran errands.
Labels: Beatrice, Chihuly, Faith, garden, glass, niece and nephew, Phipps, read, school
FAAP Picnic 2009
I drove to Schenley Park for this year's FAAP picnic with William driving his family, too. I got to take care of some paperwork through the New York Consul General office's Outreach Program. William got all the paperwork he has to fill out for his family. We all enjoyed the food--I especially liked the Shanghai chicken lumpia, adobong manok, sweet corn, brown sticky rice dessert, and we enjoyed halo-halo prepared by Dee Dee and Hector. We sat at a table with Jay, Memie, and Kevin. Charisse and I chatted and headed uphill toward the voting tables...and found out more about an adoption agency located here in the Pittsburgh Area.
I headed downhill to be greeted by Beatrice, who was walking softly and carrying a big stick...a REALLY big stick.
Soon after, we departed, and I went home to take a nap.
Labels: Beatrice, friends, international culture, niece and nephew, outside, Philippines, photos, Pilipino culture, sleep, walking
Hokkaido
Today for lunch Mom, Dad, and I met up with William's family at the new Seafood Hokkaido Buffet on the way to Homestead. Solomon, Marissa, and Mom sat at my end of the table. I'm thankful for Mom's carrying my main and fruit courses and Marissa and William carrying my ice cream courses. Boy, we were all really full at the end. I noted that Solomon enjoys his sweet fruits very much. He is one well-behaved child, and a hearty eater, as is his sister. He really enjoyed having a balloon at his high chair, too.
Labels: Beatrice, dining, ice cream, niece and nephew, Pittsburgh
First Day Out!
This morning at about ten o'clock was my first day out since making my way (to my parents') home after surgery. It is a beautiful 80-degree day with a slight breeze. Margie, my physical therapist, and I took a field trip to my home to run a phone errand and to pick up a pill cutter for Dad. Ida presented me with a package from Nancy C.---somethings for Beatrice and for me from her local public library. Upon returning, I did my exercises on my back, and Margie showed me minimal seepage from the upper portion of my incision site (as visible on my removed dressing). She changed the dressing, and left.
I worked on prescribed items as my project this lunchtime, and I then heated lunch for Dad and the guy helping him install shelves in Mom and Dad's storage unit.
This past half hour, I received my anti-coagulant injection (from Mom), and Mom is on her way to the pharmacy to pick up some pills. Sustaining a post-operative patient is time-consuming and exciting(-?).
Labels: adventure, Beatrice, Choir, dine, exercise, family, friends, gift, library, niece and nephew, surgery, surprise
Furniture, Moved
Last night, after watching Kit Kittredge: American Girl movie, Mom and I gave my legs some breathing room (TED hose off for ~ twenty minutes).
After, Mom and Dad moved some furniture from the guest bedroom: an antique rocking chair, some toy boxes of Beatrice and Solomon, and the cedar? chest and also its contents. Quite the event late last night.
Labels: adventure, Beatrice, children, health, pain
Friday in the Octave of Easter 2009
Today I administered my last/final practical final examination for the semester. On my walk home Marissa called me and invited me to join her, Solomon, and Beatrice at midway at Carnival at Carnegie Mellon University. After having lunch, I headed to the midway.
I took pictures of Beatrice "driving" in the car (leaning left and right whilst holding the steering wheel), riding with Lauren in the lady bugs/granny bug, and Marissa took a picture of her before/after one pass in the roller coaster (a little too much for her now). Solomon slept peacefully throughout. Lauren and her daddy rode in the ferris wheel while Marissa, Beatrice, and I rode in another cab of the ferris wheel. Lauren returned for another ride (this time with her mom), and Beatrice and I rode on the carousel (she rode on the zebra).
Marissa told me how Beatrice had bumped her head earlier, and the people in the emergency trailer examined her, then told Marissa to watch her for changes. Well, Beatrice was extremely quiet...unusually so.
"Beatrice," Marissa asked her, "can you talk?"
"I can't talk," Beatrice replied.
"Why not?"
"Because everyone is talking So Loud, I can't talk."
["And so we knew she was okay," Marissa stated.]
I scoped out the location of the concert next week in the College of Fine Arts, shopped at the sidewalk sale by the University Center, and walked home to take a nap. Nancy and I spoke about our evening plans tonight, I checked my email, had a snack of pita and butter, Otap and capucchino, and decided to grade a little before heading out for the evening. I will meet up with Nancy, Karina, and Maureen at the Newman Center and then it's off to the symphony for Nancy and me...for some Rachmaninoff.
~~~
21:45 Friday
No Rachmaninoff: Girls Dine Out
Met up with Karina and Nancy at the Newman Center---we went for sushi for dinner on Oakland St. We chatted about job hunting and volunteer work. It was great fun, enlightenment for some of us. We decided feeding our souls is important. I am listening to a piano symphony on WQED currently, Piano Concerto #3 (Finale) by Rachmaninoff, with Denis Matsuev on piano and Leonard Slatkin conducting.
I need to grade, do laundry, clean house, and grocery shop before Monday. I can't believe how I have procrastinated before S.'s arrival!
22:00
Mr. Matsuev is playing an encore---from Hall of the Mountain King(, a Rachmaninov version of the Grieg piece, according to WQED).
Labels: Beatrice, biology, Carnegie, Church, cleaning, excited, Faith, international culture, laundry, music, organizing, Pittsburgh, PSO, Rachmaninoff, school, shopping, student, work
Activities this Week
Monday, I went to Bible study with Fr. Mike at the Oratory. Jennifer from the MPH program was there, and we read and discussed to Galatians 2:11.
Wednesday Dad and I babysat in the evening for Beatrice and Solomon until the intermission of the play William and Marissa went.
Thursday I had physical therapy, and choir practice afterwards. Mom and Dad dropped me off, and picked me up, too.
Today I had an appointment in Monroeville, during which Dad and Mom met the PA and doctor. After, Mom and I got supplies at Michael's Craft store, too. We had homemade lo mein for lunch. I just watched "Leopards take Manhattan," on On Demand cable television, about a youth percussion group from Louisville Kentucky that travels to a jazz educators' conference in NYC.
In a few hours Nancy C. from choir and I will watch Angels in America (Part I) at the Charity Randall theatre on campus.
Labels: Beatrice, children, Choir, exercise, Faith, health, music, niece and nephew, pain, rosary, school, theater, TV
Nifty Gullifty's Friday the 13th of February 2009
Went to Gullifty's last night after Don's concert to enjoy food, fellowship, and jazz. Karina, Maureen, Nancy, and I had a great time. Maureen and I split an order of Pulled Pork nachos. I had a drink which was, to put it mildly, "weak." I explained the problem to the waitress, and she righted the problem. The jazz was played by a different group than our last visit.
Stopped in to Eat N Park for cookies--smiley Valentines cookies for Beata and Solomon. "Ask and you shall receive," Nancy intoned, when I asked about the cookie coupon usage.
Nancy reminded me of my "Lucky Friday the 13th" day so far: My Scrunchi at physical therapy, my pina colada drink, and my current cookie question. And yes, three times were a charm!
Labels: Beatrice, dining, ice cream, music, niece and nephew, organ, St. Paul Cathedral, surprise
