So glad I didn't miss it!

Last night was Daniel's fall band concert at Hume-Fogg. He played snare drum in three or four of the songs done by the concert band, and then there were other ensembles and bands on the program. After a typically busy Friday, and rushing to get downtown to the concert, and sitting in a darkened auditorium, I could have been easily convinced to go home after the portion of the concert that Daniel played in (except that I was his ride home and he had to stay). Just saying what my "druthers" would have been if the circumstances would have allowed.

But, oh what I would have missed if I had left early! As part of the concert, HFA hosted the symphonic band from the Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences, in a reciprocal program. They played four songs, the final one being an arrangement of "Amazing Grace". The selection of that song in the repertoire was awesome enough, being in a public school concert, but right before the last stanza, the back doors of the auditorium opened and in marched a bagpipe player (who happened to be the arranger of the piece, a Nashvillian named Jay Dawson) adding a spectacular, standing ovation-inspiring ending to that part of the concert.

I was still tired and ready for bed when we got home after 10:00 last night, but I am so glad I didn't miss all that the concert had to offer!!

Amazing bug phenomenon or mystery

This is going to be one of the more mundane posts I've ever written, but I've got a sort of phenomenon/mystery going on at my house. For some unknown reason, we keep finding these ugly, black, beetle-looking bugs in the den. The den is a converted garage (way before our ownership of the house), so it sits at ground level and right now I need new weather-stripping on the outside door because you can see the light coming in (that's a post for another day). That's probably where these bugs (or bug) are getting in.

Anyway, last week, I was sitting on the couch and noticed one of these bugs crawling across the floor. I squished it good and threw it away. Later that same night, I saw another one, so I ran and got a snack-size baggie to put it in to save as evidence for the exterminator. I sealed that bug up in that baggie and put the baggie up on top of the entertainment center and resumed my exciting evening of Facebooking and watching TV. I kept hearing a scratching noise and finally realized the bug was moving around in the baggie, so I ignored it.

A couple of nights later, Daniel was home with me and we saw another black beetle-bug, so I jumped up to get the baggie to let the new guy hang out with his "friend". To my shock and amazement, the baggie was empty! Nada. No bug to be seen. I checked to make sure that the baggie was zipped up and had no other holes in it and neither was the case. I had a few "freak out" moments, in which I told Daniel I thought that we had a nest of bugs under the couch (wrong thing to say), and we ended up checking under the cushions and under the couch and found no more bugs.

Fast-forward to tonight. I happened to see another bug friend crawling across the floor, so I went for the trusty baggie again to capture it. Guess what? THE BAGGIE WAS EMPTY AGAIN!!! I don't know what's happening to these captured bugs, but they must be of the "Houdini" species, because they can escape zipped up baggies! I have now "double bagged" this latest visitor, so stay tuned . . .

(And if you're really that bored that you've read this far or would really stay tuned, maybe we need to look into finding you a hobby!)

In a NY state of mind

Lately I've been having a desire to go to NYC. There are a few factors that have contributed to this and I can't seem to get it out of my mind.

First, just in case someone reading this doesn't know that I spent most of my growing up years living 15 miles from Manhattan, it's not that I'm wanting to go visit someplace I've never been before. I recently had the realization that it has been four years since I was there, and I miss it.

Secondly, with the Yankees being in (and now having WON) the World Series, New York kept getting into my radar. I'm not one who watches baseball all season long, mainly because I have a lot of other things taking up my time, but when the play-offs start and then it's time for the World Series, I just get in a baseball mood. It doesn't hurt when one of the NY teams is playing . . . makes it more interesting for me. And for a random fact: my high school marching band had the honor of playing the National Anthem for at least one Yankees game and so I, as a distinguished member of the color guard, got to twirl my flag in the outfield, as well as stand at attention during the song.

The third factor that is making me want to go to NYC is the upcoming holiday season. Christmas in NY is just plain fun. From the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center to the decked out department store windows to the Empire State Building lit up in red and green lights, I love experiencing Christmastime in the City. When I was a little girl, our family used to go see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and for many years had a tradition of going into NYC on "Christmas Eve Eve" to see the sights.



I don't know if I'll get up there this year, but if anyone wants to get a group trip together, I'll be the tour guide!