I Almost Forgot

Whilst going about my Saturday tasks, amongst which is the laundry, the time just passes swiftly. I finished praying Evening Prayer and the thought came to me—the blog. It’s Saturday and you write the blog! ¶ Well, here we are writing the blog. I mentioned last Saturday that I was going to be brave and attend the symphony concert. I’m very happy that I did so. Emanuel Ax was fantastic. He played the Emperor Concerto of Beethoven with the symphony and then the famous Chopin Polonaise as an encore. The crowd was ecstatic and it was fun to be with a group of people who were excited about something. One misses that no matter how many opportunities there are to experience performances on the internet. I have a very safe seat on the end of the first mezzanine row, and the others in my row were not present so I did not feel medically threatened. The symphony concluded the evening with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. It was the concluding concert of the season and the beginning of the centennial year.

¶ I am truly amazed at the improvement in the symphony over the past years. It is really a delight to hear them. In my college days, music majors were obligated to attend all concerts, no excuses allowed even for illness. The symphony played in the old Washington High auditorium. That was trashed in order that the new hall could be constructed in the same space. The seats were of the study hall variety, complete with those desk things that could swing up upon which one could write. Needless to say they were not padded. ¶ The conductor of the symphony was shared with the Sioux City orchestra. There were a good number of amateurs who played—some well, some not so well. It was something to be endured to attend a concert. ¶ When a full time executive director was hired, and then a professional string quartet, followed by a wind quintet things improved tremendously. The conductor is shared, still, but now with the New York Philharmonic. He has been with the orchestra 10+ years and shows no signs of diminishing energy. He’s brought a lot of vitality to the ensemble. They like him and he likes them and it shows. I’ve been to symphony concerts in other places where it is very obvious that the orchestra despises the conductor, and it sounds like it.

¶ Along with the project down the street, the replacement of the water main. My neighbor to the immediate west is having a new driveway and sidewalk installed. Sophia reports that she is most unfond of jack hammers. She cannot get her necessary rest when that thing is making all its noise, and it scares away all her personal livestock which she enjoys watching from the living room window. ¶ The landscape architect produced the plan and the cost estimate for the project mentioned last week. It will be a tidy sum but I hope it will be worth it, plus I will have much less grass to mow. I am looking at it as a win/win situation. ¶ This was chemo week and I’m glad to have that over with. I’m tired and I did experience some nausea this time around. I did learn that if I take an anti-nausea med before I go and also receive the anti-nausea med that is part of the infusion, I seem to be fine. I will file that away for future reference. ¶ Other than that it’s been a pretty quiet week. We’ve had several bright days with pleasant temperatures. Today has brought forth rain most of the time but we really need the moisture. ¶ Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers They do keep me afloat. I appreciate them so very much.