Strike a Chord

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..Do you play an instrument? Is there a musical instrument whose sound you find particularly pleasing? Tell us a story about your experience or relationship with an instrument of your choice.

My parents wanted me to play an instrument but they couldn’t afford to buy a piano. I remember someone coming to the house with an accordion when I was about 8 years old and trying to get me to manipulate this big, heavy and awkward music box. I’m sure that the cost was too prohibitive, never mind that I had no interest in being an accordion player. In the end my Dad bought me a Hohner melodica.

Oh, how I disliked this thing. Image courtesy of https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6014/5927778569_5a0e7458c5_z.jpg

I didn’t like this instrument either.

When I was in grade 7, our school had a school band and everyone was welcome to participate but you had to rent your instruments. Again my parents couldn’t afford the cost of the rental. Instead I took part in the class where we learned how to play the recorder. That instrument my parents could afford. In fact I was pretty good at it. Years later, when I started teaching grade 5, I took a refresher course and started teaching my students how to play. It’s not my favourite instrument but I did take some pride in knowing I could play an instrument and pass on my limited talent to my students.

In high school I was very limited as to what elective courses I could take. As much as I loved the arts I couldn’t fit any arts programs into my curriculum. I think this is one of the reasons why I was so happy that my own children had the opportunity to attend the arts high school and they all studied a musical instrument. When our son was 10 years old he expressed an interest in the piano and we started with an old clunker and then quickly moved on to a beautiful baby grand when we realized that he had a natural gift.

Once our children reached middle school they all played instruments in the school orchestra and band. Two of them played the cello and one the saxophone and they continued to play in high school.

I think one of my favourite instruments is the guitar. I can’t play it but my husband can and over the years, off and on, he had fine tuned his skills. He started playing when he was 14 and even gave lessons at this early age. I never heard him play until he was well into his 30s and in his 40s he played with our daughter at a school recital. He’s pretty much self taught but for a couple of years he did take lessons. He’s added a couple of guitars to his collection over the years and I bought him a strum stick several years ago.

Image courtesy of: http://www.baconworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/strumstick2.jpg

Recently he’s added a mandolin to his collection and every day I hear the sweet sounds of his new acquisition wafting up from his office in the basement.

I’ve tried to learn how to play a musical instrument on my own. I tried to play the piano and I started to feel somewhat comfortable with it but then the piano needed tuning and I stopped. I know it’s a pretty dumb reason to stop but our children also no longer played, mostly because they had all moved out or were away at school and I guess I felt I wasn’t worthy of spending the money to have it tuned. Hmmm? Money seems to be a reoccurring theme in this post.

An instrument that I have taken an interest in lately is the ukulele. I bought my first uke some years ago when we were considering teaching it to our students. I think the one thing that put us off was that we would spend most of our time tuning it, leaving us very little time to actually play.

My love for the ukulele, however, continues and for Mother’s Day this year my husband bought me a new concert ukulele. It’s a little bit bigger and the tone is so mellow. I love it and I keep plunking away. I bought my friend, who is also the music teacher at my school, a ukulele last Christmas. We’re hoping to spend some time this summer honing our skills together.

Maybe some day we’ll form our own ukulele orchestra. LOL!

For more ‘Strike a Chord’ entries check out

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/strike-a-chord/

Share Your World 2014 – Week 23

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….a lot of questions involving tight spaces

Would your rather be stuck in a small plane with mild turbulence for 2 hours or be a passenger in a car racing the Daytona 500?

This is a difficult question because I dislike any kind of turbulence on a plane and I suspect a small plane would be worse but I also would not be a good passenger in a racing car. I would constantly be stepping on the imaginary brake, hanging on to the overhead strap for dear life and covering my eyes for most of the race. If I had to choose I think I would take the small plane. At least I might enjoy the aerial views of the landscape below.

Would you rather be alone with nobody in the vicinity for one month or never be alone not even for a minute for one month?

Again another difficult question. I enjoy moments of solitude but I also like being around people. If I was well stocked and had plans to be very productive for one month I might enjoy that more than never having a moment to myself. At the very least I’d need a phone so that I could talk to loved ones and friends once in awhile just to make sure everyone is well.

Would you like to sleep in a human size nest in a tree or be snuggled in a burrowed spot underground?

Definitely in a human size nest in a tree. I remember watching the movie Swiss Family Robinson as a kid and I thought it would be really neat to live in the trees. I like the thought of being able to see who’s approaching the nest, the openness and fresh air and the breeze that would waft through the branches. Underground would be too claustrophobic and the air would be stale and damp.

In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?

It depends on the situation and who’s driving. I like driving but on long trips I enjoy being able to sit back and take in the scenery. My husband very much dislikes driving in the city now so there are times when I would rather drive than listen to his complaints about the traffic.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful that I’ve finished writing my comments for the report cards. This is probably one of my least favourite things in the world to do. I’m also grateful for time spent with old friends last week.

I’m looking forward to this week’s soccer game where the girls are competing for the city championships. I’ve been there a few times but we’ve never managed to secure the title. I’m also looking forward to catching up on the painting assignments that I’ve had to put on the back burner because of report card writing and numerous social engagements that took place last week.

Here are a few things I would enjoy if I had a month alone.

Reading the collection of books that I bid on at the silent auction.

Puttering around in the garden and enjoying the fruits of my labour.

Painting, painting, painting. These are the first two assignments out of 4 from lesson one. Lesson four arrived today. I have a lot of catching up to do.

For those of you who read my post from Saturday you might be interested in knowing that we went back the next day to the yard sale and bought the mandolin. It’s a beauty and we got it for a good price.

For more answers to this week’s Share Your World check out Cee’s blog http://ceenphotography.com/2014/06/09/share-your-world-2014-week-23/

25k on the Bike Today

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….and I can barely keep my eyes open

It’s been a long and productive day today but now that I’m ready to work on my report cards I find myself falling asleep over the computer.

Early this morning my husband and I set off for the Junction Farmer’s Market. It’s about twice the distance to get to this market compared to the one we went to last weekend. We were able to get there largely on bike trails and the city streets that we had to use were mostly through quiet neighbourhoods. It was a beautiful day again today so there were a lot of people out on their bikes, rollerblades and on foot. The one big mistake we made today was not bringing water with us. When we got to our destination the first thing I did was buy a bottle of water.

The Junction Farmers’ Market was crazy busy. We bought some bread and squares from a fantastic baker, dips and sauces from a woman who was into ‘good food for good’ and wine from one of our favourite wineries, Tawes. Before getting back on our bikes to visit our daughter a little further east we stopped for coffee and water at Full Stop.

We rode for another 2k to get to A and J’s place. We sat out in the backyard and enjoyed some light refreshments and great conversation with our daughters and two of their friends who just happened to be visiting at the time. After an hour or so we hopped back on our bikes and started on the long ride back home. It was a little easier going back because there were more declines than inclines but I was really starting to feel it in my upper thighs and knees as we got closer to home.

http://www.strava.com/activities/150644364

Once we were home we made a lunch and then I got in the car and drove around to buy things I needed for my next art project. When I got back we both worked in the garden for a bit and then we got changed and walked up the street to our favourite Indian restaurant, Bombay by the Lake. It’s been awhile since we’ve treated ourselves to a restaurant meal and being able to walk there was a bonus.

After dinner when we were walking home we noticed a sign for a garage sale that is taking place tomorrow morning. The thing that caught our eye was the list of items that are going to be sold and in particular the mandolin. My husband has wanted a mandolin for some time now. When we passed the house where the sale is being held we saw the owner outside working on his porch so we walked up to him and asked him about the musical instrument that they were advertising. He told us that the mandolin is his wife’s and he had no idea how much she wanted for it but he did go into the house and brought it out for us to look at. It’s a beauty. When we got home K got on the internet and researched the value of that particular model. I think he’ll be heading back there tomorrow morning to make a deal.

Well I’m amazed that I’ve been able to write this much without falling asleep. I am really physically tired. Maybe I’ll try entering my marks tonight and get up early to finish writing my comments. Here’s to a great day.

Cheers!