Thanks Lincoln Southeast Band Staff

Last night Dave and I invited the LSE band staff to our home for supper.  RJ, Megan and Zach were able to join us.  We wanted to thank them and celebrate all the hard work that went in to bringing this year's marching band show to the field. Dave grilled a couple of his famous roasts that had marinated for several hours in Adolph's Meat Tenderizer and vinegar.  I fixed Kristi's famous potato casserole and tried a new recipe for green beans.  We started the evening with our favorite hors d'oeavres - Cream Cheese with Raspberry Jalapeno Ambrosia on club crackers.  (Also some beer and wine.)

Tomorrow will be the final marching band competition of the season sponsored by the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association (NSBA).  There will be two sites - one at Seacrest Field in Lincoln and the other at Burke High School in Omaha.  The Lincoln Southeast band parents will be hosting the Lincoln site, so Dave will be busy all day helping out.  He is also in charge of picking up all the trophies today.  The tricky part is that the Lincoln Southeast Band will perform at the Burke High site in Omaha at 9:00 pm. I don't think that Dave will be able to attend, since he'll be needed here in Lincoln. Thank goodness for video tape, even though it is not the same as being there in person. All in all, it has been a very busy fall and a truly successful one.

For those of you who might be interested, here are last night's recipes:

Kristi's Potato Casserole
2 lbs frozen hash brown potatoes
1 pint sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
10 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 diced onion (optional)
Mix all together and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Couldn't be simpler and always gets rave reviews.

Sauteed Green Beans & Peppers
(from Better Homes & Gardens Shortcut Holiday Cooking magazine)
12 oz fresh green beans
1 medium yellow or red sweet pepper, but into thin strips
4 tsp olive oil or butter
2 tbs copped hazelnuts (filberts) or almonds, toasted
Cook beans in large covered saucepan in a small amount of boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a very large skillet, cook sweet pepper in hot oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add beans, cook for 3 to 5 minutes more or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Add nuts and toss gently to mix.  Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
Easy to do while chatting with your guests and watching your spouse traipse in and out of the kitchen to the balcony to check the roasts.

Great food, great fun and great friends.

Jeannette

Milwaukee was great!

Here's a little recap of my trip to the MKMEA (Midwest Kodály Music Educators Association) Conference in Milwaukee Oct 15 - 18.

Here are my traveling companions:

Emily Hammiel, Linda Hulsey & Jayne Frederickon

We all flew together on a nonstop Midwest flight from Omaha to Milwaukee.  Liz Arcaro did not attend MKMEA this year because she and Rodney ran the Columbus, Ohio marathon.  They both had great times.  Rodney qualified for the Boston Marathon and signed up right away.  I also learned that Tom Michalek did not attend MKMEA because he also ran a marathon, but I don't know which one.  Hey, Tom, "friend" me on FaceBook so I can find out which marathon you ran yesterday.

Jo and Ken Kirk were there, and Jo gave a great session on "Brewing the Best Through Singing Games."  (You have to understand the tie between having a conference in Milwaukee and using the word brewing in the title of your session.)  The actual theme of the conference was "Brewing Up Kodály in Milwaukee."  Anyhow . . . It was great to have a nice long chat with Jo.

 

Ken & Jo Kirk

Alaina, Dan and Dayna Wilson drove to Milwaukee.  Dayna loved dancing at the Brat and Polka Band session Thursday night, and she also joined in the games during the sessions that Alaina attended.  Alaina is President of the Plains States Kodály Organization. She was also the seamstress for our new banner.

Alaina Wilson, President of PSKOR

Dan and Dayna Wilson

Dayna Wilson, future Husker cheerleader

I also got to visit with Crystal Schlieker, who introduces me to her friends as "my old high school band director's wife."  She got the old part right.  =)  Crystal and her colleague, Cathy Janovjak, gave a great demonstration lesson on "Kodály and Recorders" with their 4th grade students from the University of Chicago Laboratory School.

 Jeannette and Crystal Schlieker

However, my favorite session was the Keynote Address by my Kodály mentor Sr Lorna Zemke.  Sr. Lorna gave a brief history of MKMEA reflecting on the influence of Zoltán and Sarolta Kodály, as well as the importance of the work by Jeno Adam.  The overarching precept of the Kodály philosophy is that "Music is for all" and the work of music educators is to teach children musical skills and knowledge based first on the folk music of their mother tongue and then proceding in a sequential manner to the music of the masters.  Sr. Lorna is one of the pioneers of the Kodály movement in the United States and she continues to inspire those of us who have been fortunate enough to have taken our Kodály training with her at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  Sr. Lorna is the person who inspired me to take the job at Nebraska Wesleyan and direct the Kodály Certification Program there.  She is also the reason that I have worked so hard to ensure the smooth transition of the Wesleyan program to the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Sr. Lorna Zemke

Linda, Emily, Jayne and I did have time to visit the Milwaukee Public Museum on Thursday.  Here are a few of my favorite attractions:

Butterflies

Native American dancers (Don't they look real?)

 Native American hunters (life size).  This is NOT a painting.

 Native American masks

The swastika seen in this Navajo whirling log has a stunning history.  It represents the tale of a man outcast from his tribe who rolls down river in a hollowed-out log.  With the help of sacred deities he finds a place of friendship and abundance.  The Navajo swastika differs from the emblem used by Hitler in that it swirls in the opposite direction.  In response to the Hitler regime and the changed meaning of the swastika, the Navajo, Apache, Hopi and Papago people signed a whirling log proclamation in 1940.  It read:

"Because the above ornament, which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries, has been desecrated recently by another nation of people, therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika . . . on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sand painting, and clothing."

 

T-Rex

 Can you believe this is a Ming Vase?

(Ming Dynasty 1368-1644)

It was a great conference - educational, inspirational and just plain fun.

I have a short video clip to share which sums up the reason that Kodály teachers love to teach.  Dayna may have her own version of relative solmization (I call it the movable mi system), but the tune she is singing is authentic and in tune.  With proper training even four-year olds can sing beautifully.

Dayna

There's no way to top that. . . . except . . . . maybe . . . this sign at the Milwaukee Airport, which greets you right after you go through screening.

Jeannette

Angie's cabinet is home.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow . . . . . can keep the team of Paul, Dave, Jeannette and Angie from their appointed duties.  We delivered Angie's new cabinet last night.  There was a little light rain, but not too bad, really.

So here is the slab of marble that started the whole thing.

Angie found this slab of marble next to her dumpster over a year ago.

Paul used our two-wheel truck to cart the cabinet up three flights of stairs (about 35 steps).  Then he installed the back, shelves and finally the marble top (which is removable).

Paul installing shelves. Notice the open spot on top of the cabinet waiting for the marble slab.

Here is the finished product.

That new Rockler rail coping jig I gave Dave for his birthday came in handy constructing these doors.  Now that Dave is back working in his shop, I recommend that you all buy stock in Rockler.

Angie and Paul posed for a celebratory photo.

A work of art well worth the wait.

Notice how well the cabinet matches the wood of Angie's apartment floor.

Perfect match.  We had no idea.

If you look under the marble slab or on the back of the cabinet, you will find the artist's stamp.

Well done, David R. Young!

Then we had one last chore to complete.  Again Paul did most of the heavy lifting.  We moved Angie's old desk/pull-out table to her friend Michelle's apartment.  I didn't take a photo, but it is a wonderful old blond desk that can be expanded into a table with four leaves.  My parents bought it 50 years ago.  I inherited it from them, and then I gave it to Angie.  Now we are glad that that lovely old desk has found a nice new home.

Now it's time to finish packing and catch a plane from Omaha to Milwaukee for the MKMEA (Midwest Kodaly Music Educators) Conference. Dave and Pita will be home on their own for three nights.  By that same token, Linda and I will be on our own in Milwaukee.  I suspect that we will all do fine, and maybe have some stories to tell next week.

To all you Wesleyanites . . . Enjoy Fall Break!

Jeannette

The cabinet is done!

Angie's cabinet is finally finished.  I put the last two coats of varnish on Sunday and yesterday.  Dave installed the door hinges and shelf supports today.  Dave doesn't just drill holes for the shelf supports.  He drills the holes, lines them with steel sleeves, and then adds the metal supports.  Angie will be able to store bowling balls in her cabinet, if she so desires.  We will deliver it to Angie tomorrow night with a lot of help from Paul.  I'll publish photos on Thursday.

The marching band competition last Saturday Oct. 10 ended at 11:15 pm in freezing weather.  Dave went just long enough to watch Lincoln Southeast perform.  They did well, ending up in fourth place (out of 40 bands) behind Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Millard North and Papillion South.  The color guard scored highest of the day.  Southeast performed at 10:00 pm, so kudos to them for doing so well in such bitterly cold weather conditions.  This coming Saturday will be the Lincoln Public Schools competition at Seacrest Field.

Dave will be on his own this week-end, since I will be in Milwaukee at a regional Kodaly conference with Linda Hulsey.  This will be my first "outing" since Dave's injury on May 9.  I'll be gone three nights, but I'm sure he'll be fine on his own.  I still help him with his socks in the morning, but he does have a cool gadget that he can use to put on his own socks.  It just takes a while.

Sock Thingy

 You put your sock on the white frame, then insert your foot, and pull your sock onto your foot with the rope.  Really slick!

Oh, and I have a shameless plug for a new product - The Furminator.  I took Pita to see Dr. Becky today for a tune-up to prepare her for our trip to Branson.  It's an 8-hour drive, so we need a little sedative to help Pita relax during the ride.  This will be the first time that we take Pita to Branson, or anywhere for that matter.  A week is too long for Pita to be left alone, so we thought we'd give it a try.  Anyhow . . . Dr. Becky trimmed Pita's claws, cleaned and medicated her ears, weighed her (9 pounds) and gave her a good brushing with a professional deShedding tool.  The Furminator removes the undercoat and loose hair thus reducing shedding.  (You never see Dave or I without a few white cat hairs clinging to us somewhere on our person.)  This amazing device will be great for the spring shedding season, but for now a weekly brushing can really keep Pita sleek and shiny.  It's a little pricey at $38.00, but it works so much better than the brush I have been using on Pita.

 The Furminator!

Up close

Brass Quintet at Westminster tonight followed by a Lincoln Southeast band parent meeting regarding the band's trip to San Diego in December.

More later.

Jeannette

First Snow Oct 10

What a surprise to find snow on the ground this morning!  We knew it was supposed to be cold and rainy, but I sincerely did not expect snow.

Backyard

 Pond

The koi are no where to be seen.   The temperature is still hovering around 29 degrees.  The bad news is that there is a marching band competition at Lincoln High today.  The worse news is that Lincoln Southeast is scheduled to perform at 10:00 pm.  I won't be going to that one.  Dave has a terrible cold, so I'm not even sure he will be going.  That leaves RJ and Megan with 140 students.  Thank goodness for band parents.

Dave put a layer of varnish on Angie's cabinet in the garage yesterday.  I offered to put on the next two coats, but it is just too cold today.

So for now, we will just stay inside and stay warm.

Jeannette

Angie's Cabinet

Dave finished building Angie's cabinet.  You may recall that this all started with a slab of marble that Angie found by the dumpster next to her apartment (over a year ago).  She asked Dave to make a little table to hold the slab of marble.  Dave is a bit of an over-achiever, so her simple little table turned into a gorgeous oak cabinet with shelves and doors.

Here are a couple of photos of the cabinet and doors before Dave stained them.

The hole in the top will allow Angie to remove the slab of marble by pushing it from the bottom if she ever needs to move the cabinet. The shelves and doors will also be removable. (The cabinet is lying on its side waiting to be stained.)

One of two doors.

Dave will varnish the pieces tomorrow and Friday, so we should be able to deliver the finished product to Angie sometime next week (with a little help from Paul).  Dave and I can load the pieces into Dave's Envoy here in Lincoln, but we'll need help hauling them up the stairs to Angie's apartment in Omaha.  Dave will assemble the cabinet on site.  I'll post a photo of the cabinet once it is in its new home.

Now Dave is trolling the house looking for new projects.  He has offered to build some new cabinets for my office upstairs.  This could be fun!

I guess we could call his next design "Architecture of the Office."

Jeannette

The Architecture of Life

I have uploaded my video of the LSE marching band show on You Tube.  It was a pretty steep learning curve for me, but I finally figured out that I had to cut the show into three sections.  You Tube has a 10 minute time limit. 

So here you are . . . the Lincoln Southeast Marching Band Show - The Architecture of Life.  Music by Joe Curiale, Arrangements by Dave Young and Drill Design by Dave Young.

Celebration and Dance

Kindness of Strangers

Deep Roots

I'll upload newer versions as the season progresses.  They have three more competitions this month.

Dave and I went to Brass Quintet rehearsal at Westminster this evening.  We'll be playing in church on Sunday.  Boyd Bacon writes arrangements that make us sound pretty good.  We have a new tuba player this year - Matt Manning.  Bob Person and I play trumpet, Dave plays baritone and Dave Anderson plays French horn.  The church bought a new chair with arm rests for Dave, so he can get up from the chair more easily.  The custodian even added an extra three inches of height with some fancy woodworking on the bottoms of the legs of the chair.  Dave can get up and down the steps to the sanctuary since they have some really nice handrails.  It's nice for Dave and I to have a group like the Westminster Brass Quintet so we can make a little music together each week.

And just when we thought we were out of the woods, Dave told me that he will be having surgery again soon.  Actually two surgeries - one to pull a tooth and another for carpal tunnel.  His doctor said he should have both surgeries a day apart, so he only has to go off Coumadin once.  He'll have to have Lovenox injections a few days before and a few days after the surgeries.  His right hand is numb most of the time, so it's time to have the carpal tunnel surgery.  He's been putting it off for years.  Now he just has to decide when these procedures will happen.

One day at a time . . .

Jeannette

Glenn Miller Sweepstakes Award

The Lincoln Southeast Marching Band won the Glenn Miller Sweepstakes Award at the Clarinda, Iowa competition this past Saturday, Oct. 4.  (Glenn Miller is a Clarinda native.)  The band came in second in the parade, only losing by one point (out of 600 points).  They came in first in the field show, which came as no surprise, since they played and marched so well.  Their performance was especially impressive considering that this was the first competition of the season.  I videotaped the show, so I will put a link to some clips in my next blog.

Here is a photo of Dave riding the golf cart which was provided by the Bellevue East parents.

And here is a photo of the band in the pre-performance area.  I love the farm house in the background.

Dave must have liked the band's performance, since he did not re-write any drill today.  Instead, he finished building the doors to Angie's cabinet.  We should be able to stain it later this week.

The band kids won't know what to do if they don't have new drill to learn tomorrow.

Oh, well . . . They'll just have to polish what they already know.

Jeanentte

Time to Hibernate

The koi are eating less and less each day.  That means that the water is getting colder and they are getting ready to hibernate below the ledge at the bottom of the pond.  One day soon when it gets very cold, they will disappear and we won't see them again until spring.

Koi in the pond

Our next backyard project will be to cut down the water plants and put a net over the pond to keep the leaves from clogging the filter system.  The water pump will run all winter and a crust of ice will form over the top of the pond, but the water will continue to circulate below the ice while the koi sleep away the winter.

Pond plants

I put away all the garden hoses today.  Then I cut a variety of flowers from the garden areas - yellow flowers only - and put them in couple of vases to make a fall floral arrangements for the house.  

Yellow flowers

 More yellow flowers

I finally got my 2.8 Ghz Intel Mac back from the UNL computer hospital. Yay!  My friend, Theresa, loaded all the software and backup files from my old computer, so it was all ready to go. I spent the afternoon playing with the new iPhoto 09 application.  It has a built in GPS function, so you can create a map of the world with pins in all of the locations where you took photos.  My camera does not have a GPS, so I have to manually add the locations, but it's fun to look at the map showing all the places I have been from Hawaii to the Czech Republic.  (I didn't label all of my photos, just a few to test the application.)  iPhoto 09 also has some really cool slide show options and a face recognition device.  You can choose a photo of a person and mark it for identification, and then the computer will find all of the photos of that person in your library.  I'm sure there is more, but that much kept me amused for most of the afternoon.

Dave has refrained from making any more changes to the drill, since the band will be competing in Clarinda, Iowa tomorrow.  He spent most of the afternoon in his shop building the doors for Angie's oak cabinet.

Tonight we are looking forward to a new episode of Medium.

Jeannette