This Mother's Day weekend was absolutely stunningly beautiful this year. The weather was about as close to perfect as one could hope for in the Orgegon springtime.
M didn't go to ballet because of a sore throat. R is done with Saturday gymnastics for the forseeable future. M's sore throat seems to have been nothing major. So, we did some lightweight yard work and had a quiet day. R joined some of the Boy Scout troop in starting woodworking merit badge Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, we all slept in extra late. The kids each had a little gift for C. Then we prepared the house for an Open House. Once that was ready, C and the kids left to have some afternoon fun while I held the Open House.
There's a noticeable shift in the people attending open houses. The people now are not casual; they're looking. Really looking. It was a good Open House, to be sure.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family hung out at Portland's Saturday Market. Our plan was to rendezvous at the movie house after I wrapped up, so we could all watch the new Star Trek movie. And that's exactly what we did. Except that R showed up at the theater with a surprise...but first I have to digress a bit.
You see, I play a bit of harmonica. C plays a passable amount of piano and some survival guitar. M is quickly becoming quite good at piano. Our Baha'i friends all play some sort of musical instrument. R? Well, R doesn't play an instrument. It seems that no instrument has really spoken to him. And yet, on a Friday night at our house, the place fills with two guitars, violins, a cello, a viola, drums and multiple piano players. That R has no instrument has, apparently, caused him some quiet distress. Well, that seems to have changed today.
R's surprise was a well-crafted and very serious African Thumb Piano, or Kalimba. Tuned to the key of F, and packing a 20 note scale, R's Mbira is one of the largest, most melodious Kalimbas I think I've ever heard. It came with its own tuning wrench, and a messenger-style bag for transport. He loves it, is already playing improvised melodies, and took it to bed with him tonight. We mapped out the tuning, and R has already started plucking out melodies for a Bahai prayer that we've all been learning- "God Sufficeth".
So it's been a peaceful and nice weekend overall.
M didn't go to ballet because of a sore throat. R is done with Saturday gymnastics for the forseeable future. M's sore throat seems to have been nothing major. So, we did some lightweight yard work and had a quiet day. R joined some of the Boy Scout troop in starting woodworking merit badge Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, we all slept in extra late. The kids each had a little gift for C. Then we prepared the house for an Open House. Once that was ready, C and the kids left to have some afternoon fun while I held the Open House.
There's a noticeable shift in the people attending open houses. The people now are not casual; they're looking. Really looking. It was a good Open House, to be sure.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family hung out at Portland's Saturday Market. Our plan was to rendezvous at the movie house after I wrapped up, so we could all watch the new Star Trek movie. And that's exactly what we did. Except that R showed up at the theater with a surprise...but first I have to digress a bit.
You see, I play a bit of harmonica. C plays a passable amount of piano and some survival guitar. M is quickly becoming quite good at piano. Our Baha'i friends all play some sort of musical instrument. R? Well, R doesn't play an instrument. It seems that no instrument has really spoken to him. And yet, on a Friday night at our house, the place fills with two guitars, violins, a cello, a viola, drums and multiple piano players. That R has no instrument has, apparently, caused him some quiet distress. Well, that seems to have changed today.
R's surprise was a well-crafted and very serious African Thumb Piano, or Kalimba. Tuned to the key of F, and packing a 20 note scale, R's Mbira is one of the largest, most melodious Kalimbas I think I've ever heard. It came with its own tuning wrench, and a messenger-style bag for transport. He loves it, is already playing improvised melodies, and took it to bed with him tonight. We mapped out the tuning, and R has already started plucking out melodies for a Bahai prayer that we've all been learning- "God Sufficeth".
So it's been a peaceful and nice weekend overall.
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