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Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Palliative. When my dad was fighting pancreatic cancer it took me a little while to figure out why we got the big cosy room at the end of the hall with the lovely sofa at the University of Iowa Hospitals. The nurses gently educated us about a new word. Palliative. Dim lights, music. Family. Peace. Angels in the corners.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

During that time, I listened to this hymn over and over. Chris Rice’s “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” Click it to hear the Youtube music. It’s so simple and beautiful. Kris gave me that recording.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

So, now, my friend is hearing this word about her Mother, Karen, in the pink and black suit. In the photo she’s watching her grandchildren release butterflies as a symbol of resurrection on Easter Sunday, 2011.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Kris loves butterflies–so this is about the best I can offer today.

We remember every spoken word. Every laugh. Every hug and kiss. Every I love you. And somehow in that way that passes our understanding–these times are blessed and etched into eternity.

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Collaborative Thoughts

It’s Mary’s first formal ballet class. I had to learn to get a yard of hair into a solid bun. I hope she loves it. The dancing not the hair. I’m pointing my toes vicariously through her. I accompanied ballet classes in college and even traded out some piano playing for a few lessons. It didn’t really work–I needed Suzuki Ballet.
Collaborative Thoughts
I have had three weeks off–planning next year and puttering in the garden. Next week the real deal starts. The routine. Calvin got his lower braces on last night and his eyes dilated at the eye exam afterwards–I might have overdone the whole efficient Mama thing but the offices are on the same side of town. . .

Here is some cool stuff–I’m all about collaboration right now. Our Suzuki Piano Teachers’ Guild has at least three awesome clinicians coming to work with us and our kids–Irina Elkina, Paul Wirth and Kathryn Ananda-Owens. Thanks Suzanne for linking us with these inspirational pianists! It’s going to be a great year.

The next thing–I am starting a blind four year old this Fall and I am super excited–as I am for all the adorable little ones. But, I do want help. I had a lovely phone conference with Debra Hernstrom from Iowa City at the Pruecil School. She is an expert in Braille music and resources. Thanks also J.B. for your insight earlier this summer! The child is planning to go to Deerwood Elementary–so that is another cool possible collaboration–as I’m in love with Mrs. Schoen and all the music and teachers there. Admittedly biased toward the wonderful Deerwood Elementary.

Another new student–equally as adorable at three–has string player parents. Suzuki strings. We are all excited about studio collaborations and chamber music. Our next concerto/chamber music event is May 30, 2015 at Easter Church. Admittedly biased toward Easter Church. And three year olds.

Finally–I had a great text chat today with my friend Chris Liccardo from New York. He’s a sought after Suzuki clinician and both his children have taken the musical road. His son is a concert pianist and his daughter a concert violinist. Surprise, surprise, they love chamber music and have done some workshops. As president elect of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota, I would love to plan a chamber music focussed tenure–I really hope the group will be open to bringing in some folks like this and bringing the pianists and strings and guitars, harps and recorders for that matter–together. Piano is a lonely business.

We have a great Suzuki community. Everyone we meet has something to share. Having never picked up a violin, I’m super unqualified to take the helm of the S.A.M. come Fall 2015. But–I know a lot of people and I’m getting to know more S.A.M. members everyday. My goal is simply to be a conduit between these teachers and students and the folks here in the Twin Cities as well as from around the country, who have already achieved inspirational excellence.

So–if you have ideas about chamber music and collaboration, please let me know. My friend Vickie has a high end chamber music series in little Blanco, TX–there are so many good ideas out there. We will start planning now for the next two years.

Mary’s taking dance with two of her best friends–she will be in good company. Everything, including playing music, is more fun with friends. Here’s to the upcoming collaborations.

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Our New Neighbor

Our New Neighbor

No, Jerry is not moving.
This is our new neighbor at the cabin.

My husband and I have occasional bouts of overdoing it. We did it this weekend with a capital O for ouch. My muscles are very sore and reminding me that at 5’6″ (somewhere over 40. . . ) you can’t do it all. It started with the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday afternoon/night. I’m not going to tell you how many pounds of Fresh French Fries were consumed. Friday we were up at 5:00 and drove up north to FINALLY close on our cabin. Sign the papers, eat in small town cafe with good hash browns and get back on the road. We barely made it home in time to pick up the kids and head to the Target Center in Minneapolis with some friends, to see the Katy Perry show. I’m so tickled to tell you that we ate at Hell’s Kitchen with my pastor. Wink. She called it pure hell. French fried sweet potatoes this time. Much healthier. Then on to the show. I’ve been told Katy Perry doesn’t call it a concert, she calls it a show. I concur. Not the musical highlight of the year, but so fun, and entertaining, and I do think it was totally worth spending our kids’ college fund on the tickets.

Our New Neighbor

Saturday morn? Crack of dawn to clean out the storage unit. Bill and Calvin and I made two trips with the U-haul trailer. We no longer have a storage unit. One small step towards order in the universe. Of course it might be canceled out with the whole cabin thing. . .

There was a piano in the storage unit. Bill and I got the 1906 Kohler and Campbell into the truck, lifting it the 12″ up and over. This is not a spinet. This is an upright grand. Yeah. We bought it from a gal at church for $100 and spent $250 getting it moved to the storage unit back in May. A cabin’s got to have a piano. Hindsight is 20/20 but those pianos movers seem to make really good use of ramps.

Our New Neighbor

We drove the U-haul trailer behind the jeep up to Nisswa. We slept our first night in the cabin. Sunday, getting it off the truck and into the cabin turned out to be even harder, and Two Kotrbas and a Truck probably should have spent another $250 to have real movers on the other end. It actually took about four Kotrbas to budge it, but it was all worth it, to hear the kids sit down and play in the cabin and hear the music ringing out the open windows through the pines. Probably tells you something that we don’t have a boat but we have a piano.

The cabin is old. It was probably built in the 1920’s. This is the first change of owner in a very, very long time and so there has been a lot of hoopla. City. County. DNR. Everybody has something to say. Thank you to Bill’s folks for manning the electric and septic and gas and roofing and plumbing and well-digging contractor appointments. All that stuff had to be up to code before we could close. There were a lot of mysteries to say the least. Bill’s dad loves a good mystery–thanks, Dad K.

So, the cabin adventure begins. Bill spent much of Sunday afternoon rebuilding the toilet. First things first.

At lunch, we met our new neighbor. Sir Eagle gave us quite the show. Bill was able to get his camera while he ate his fish on the dock. The eagle that is.

If you know me, then you know that at the very least, birds are a reminder from God that everything is good. This was a very big bird, so everything must be very good. God bless you Sir Eagle, and God bless our new Little Pines Lodge, and God bless all the cabin mysteries and the future times we will spend there with family and friends.