country house left 04

Here's the left approximately 1/3 of the original picture of the house I've blogged so many times with so many differing colors and styles; this will be my last post on this blog for now, since I think I've sort of proven I can blog something almost every day (though I still need to fill in a couple of days from the past).

old blogger profile

a few minutes ago I updated my blogger profile, so for safekeeping, here's the old one:

Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is nothing on earth I desire beside Thee.
–Psalm 73:25–

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing;
Power and majesty, praise to the King;
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar,
At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands;
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand;
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You!

houses again

for lack of anything else to blog, here are my latest tweaks of one of my previously blogged houses; I'm also thinking I won't continue this blog post-Reign of Christ, but may try to blog daily on one of my other (less active, maybe) blogs during Advent. The 1st has plain gradients; for the 2nd I've duplicated each layer with added layer styles.

Ordinary Miracle

by Sarah McLachlan

It's not that unusual when everything is beautiful
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when its time to snow
You don't need to teach a seed to grow
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

Isn't it remarkable?
Like every time a raindrop falls
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Birds in winter have their fling
And always make it home by spring
It's just another ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday
Please don't throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary miracle
Do you want to see a miracle?

Its seems so exceptional
Things just work out after all
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It's just another ordinary miracle today

It's just another ordinary miracle today

house 1a layer style

house 5a layer style

Dakoda_01

santa ana winds again

back unsettling the land again
making their presence felt
dry heat
fast winds
driving along the beach, free style
wind in the sands, free style
nothing but play, free style
high dry winds
transforming the spaces of paradise

Dakoda_02

Send Your Rain

stanza 1

Send Your rain oh Lord
Send Your rain oh Lord
Send Your rain to Your people
Send Your rain oh Lord
Send Your rain oh Lord
Send Your rain bring Your kingdom

chorus

Soften our hearts and pour out Your Spirit
Fill us anew, let Your rain come (repeat)

stanza 2

May Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
On the earth as it is in heaven
May Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
On the earth, bring Your kingdom

Kelly Carpenter
© 1996 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

october musical musings intro

Like many members of this community, I have a formal background in music and regularly play the piano (sometimes organ) in church and elsewhere around town, so I've linked to scores for some of the music I enjoy playing, and almost for sure you'll be able to find bound or single hard copies or possibly an online PDF at nominal cost for most of the rest.

As I started this month's Musical Musings, I noticed most of the music came from a specific place, so initially I decided to focus on geography rather than genre, and I also opted for a short chronological span--the last half of the last century. Whether as listener or performer, much of the music I resonate with and keep returning to comes from those decades, and I ran with my instincts! Given that we all became increasingly familiar with non-Western expressions in the fine and popular arts that often ran parallel to alternative expressions of the church as the 2oth century aged, my inclusive, multicultural side longed for this Musical Musings to reflect more diversity, but in the end it really doesn't much at all. I've included music many of you likely know and possibly some none of you have heard. For the "albums," I've mentioned my favorite tracks, but you might find another more appealing. For each category I've invented a possible heading without specific comments about the individual tracks, but whatever your previous preferences, set your imagination free!

how does this display?

at least F5

1. I have this gratitude for cities...


2. and for cats;


3. gratefulness for the cat and the city and also for cats in cities.


4. for houses of almost every imaginable kind I'm thankful

and, of course,

5. thank-filled for the days (and nights) of summer.

pizza results

no mater how I changed any of the other answer options, this came out Northeast, making me think the person who invented the quiz had experienced Regina Pizza--the results definitely are about thin crust...

What Your Pizza Reveals

People may tell you that you have a small appetite... but you aren't under eating. You just aren't a pig. You are a very picky pizza eater. Not any pizza will do. You fit in best in the Northeast part of the US. You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods. You are generous, outgoing, and considerate with your choices. You have many conflicting and complementary layers to your personality. You should consider traveling to Australia. The stereotype that best fits you is hippie. You knew it was coming.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

yellow crayon

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

upstream: new book

I found this book yesterday at the Breast Cancer benefit books table at the grocery store—by Melissa Lion, Upstream.

Harwich scrapbook contact sheet

checking to see how this blogs

American Composer Participant-Listener Musical Musings

CDs/Songs: for worship and devotion

Leah Taylor - Faithful Friend

• In Christ Alone, of Newsboys renown
• Beyond the Tears
• Falling Up

Darrell Evans - Trading My Sorrows: The Best of...

• Trading My Sorrows
• Your Love is Extravagant

From Latter-Day Saint Paul Cardall - Songs of Praise - with guests Steele Croswhite and Cheri Magill

• Grateful
• Agnus Dei
• Green Hill

Rich Mullins - The World As Best I remember It, volume 1, 1991

• Calling Out Your Name
• Step by Step

Mercy Me, Spoken For, 2002

• Word of God, Speak

Samuel Barber: Prayers of Kierkegaard

Randall Thompson: The Peaceable Kingdom - excerpts from 1, 2 and 3 Isaiah juxtaposed and intertwined in a glorious cantata-style sequence for a cappella SATB chorus; I love it all, but esp recommend...

• Say ye to the righteous
• The paper reeds by the brook
• Have ye not known? and
• Ye shall have a song

secular vernacular variety assortment

David Benoit - Urban Daydreams, 1989

• Wild Kids - originally for a Charlie Brown Peanuts Special, glory in the sound of Eric Marienthal's sax!
• When the Winter's Past (Song for a Stranger) - with Jennifer Warnes
• Sailing through the City

Jewel Kilcher - Spirit, 1998

• Absence of Fear
• Life Uncommon
• Down so Long
• Innocence Maintained

Tracy Chapman - New Beginning - with wonderful photographs from the UC Santa Cruz Greenhouses

• The Promise
• Give Me One Reason

concert-hall array collection

Samuel Barber: Knoxville, Summer of 1915, 1947 - text taken from a prose poem by James Agee written in 1935, now included as the prologue to Agee's novel, A Death in the Family. If you sing and want to learn the piece to perform it; here's the vocal score with a piano reduction of the orchestral parts.

Roy Harris - Symphony No. 3, 1938 - 18 minutes long, 1 movement in 5 sections: raw, angular and elegant

Christopher Rouse - Phaethon, 1986 - started as a mini-concerto for orchestra to narrate part of the Greek myth, and turned out to be in memory of the Challenger's 7 astronauts

music to play for worship

Mark Hayes: Lord, Be Glorified - Keepsake Edition

• Lamb of God - Twila Paris
• He Is Exalted - Twila Paris
• We Bow Down - Twila Paris
• I Will Call Upon the Lord
• You Are My All in All

Glory to His Name! Charity Book Putnam

• Glory to His Name/Holy Manna Medley
• On Jordan's Stormy Banks--Southern Harmony's "Promised Land"

Stephen Nielson At the Piano

• Fanfare
• O For a Thousand Tongues

music to play mostly outside of worship

For piano scores I've linked to Sheet Music Plus, with its huge selection and fast, cheap shipping, too

Lukas Foss - Fantasy Rondo, 1944: I played this one-movement piece with its ever-changing key signatures, time signatures, textures and dynamics as prelude to worship on one Trinity Sunday; together with Leon Fleisher, Foss was on the piano faculty the summer I spent at Tanglewood; Scott Dunn plays Lukas Foss' Complete Piano works

Vincent Persichetti - 3rd Piano Sonata, Opus 22, 1943: Declaration - Episode - Psalm - amazing! I also love to play Persichetti's relatively austere Organ Sonata, Opus 86, 1960

Paul Creston

• Prelude and Dance, Opus 29, #2
• Prelude and Dance, Opus 29, #1

--Creston wrote a zillion pieces called "Prelude and Dance" for almost every instrument and instrumentation imaginable

...and two more...

Because I won't get to do this very often, in Latin, written by a German
Ernst Pepping - Te deum (1956) for soprano and baritone solos, SATB choir, woodwinds, brass, timpani, drums and strings. I got an ancient Deutsche Grammaphon recording on vinyl on eBay and couldn't find a CD anywhere I looked, but here's a Te Deum details page

from KiwiLand--New Zealander Douglas Lilburn brings us elegance with Aotearoa Overture

Dakoda - new Tucson nephew

Snow Cat

Right after noon today, I won another amazing cat painting on eBay from Dorchester(!) (Massachusetts) artist Carol Springer.

poppies

Not an original by me, but offered by a local freecycler—I love this painting!

4 kittens

morning in nahant

I probably wrote this during fall or winter 2000-2001. Nahant is a historical town on Boston's North Shore. Long ago I spent a summer working there as an au pair and on this September evening I'm posting this "Image" on this blog, both for lack of anything else and because I want to revisit and revise some of my old stuff soon. However, this is the original version, and it looks as if I mention the city a whole lot!

IMAGES ~ Morning in Nahant

Still I feel it!
Eight A.M., a Nahant summer morn
looking out at the beach
from the porch
Cool air, I'm wrapped in a sweater
Fog has settled over the beach
sand and water
sky and rocks but
It'll clear
Today the sun will sparkle down
On a world of expectation!
Later my sweater'll come off
instead into tank top and shorts
then onto the beach
This world's away from the city
I'll be back in the city, but not today
Tomorrow morning once more
I'll look out at the beach
from the porch

© Leah Chang

Fall's Monday

yesterday was the autumnal equinox; today is the 1st full day of this new season of fall 2007.

Totem

By Tucson poet Richard Shelton,this is one of my all-time favorites.

TOTEM

stars you inquisitive
animals
shall I tell you the same things
again shall I tell you all the places
I went when I had nowhere to go
shall I draw you a map

while it is still night
with morning around the edges
I will take the face of dawn
in my hands and say it

surely if I can tell anyone
I can tell her
that I have found
the gods and discovered
I am not one of them

if I must have
faith in something
it might as well be the desert
as the river it might as well be
today as tomorrow my fingers
as my teeth it might
as well be despair

all I can do for the moth
is light the candle
all I can do for the forgotten
is forget

trees horse

desert floor shirt

Home - Chris Daughtry

I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from,
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.

But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.
The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.

But your love remain true and I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.
So I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.

I'm not running from,
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
I'm going home.

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

Harwich Scrapbook - end

Harwich Scrapbook Cover

I'm planning to upload my 13 Harwich scrapbook pages to one of my domain names, but before doing that I want to check out the appearance of some of the pages. I've been working on the cover this morning.

Harwich 02

This is the original original totally unimproved format of the house...

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dodgerblue georgia 2¯`•.¸(¯`•.¸*¨¨*:•.••.•:*¨¨*:• ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯)

comic sans coral 4¯`•.¸(¯`•.¸*¨¨*:•.••.•:*¨¨*:• ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯)

verdana orange 4¯`•.¸(¯`•.¸*¨¨*:•.••.•:*¨¨*:• ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯)

teal bold arial 3¯`•.¸(¯`•.¸*¨¨*:•.••.•:*¨¨*:• ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯)

tomato times bold 2¯`•.¸(¯`•.¸*¨¨*:•.••.•:*¨¨*:• ¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯)

Harwich 10

FW: Horseback Riding

This is too too funny--wish I knew who to credit for the original.

Subject: FW: Horseback Riding

A blonde decides to try horseback riding, even though she has had no lessons, nor prior experience. She mounts the horse unassisted, and the horse immediately springs into motion. It gallops along at a steady and rhythmic pace, but the blonde begins to slide from the saddle. In terror, she grabs for the horse's mane, but cannot seem to get a firm grip. She tries to throw her arms around the horse's neck, but she slides down the horse's side anyway.The horse gallops along, seemingly impervious to its slipping rider.

Finally, giving up her frail grip, the blonde attempts to leap a way from the horse and throw herself to safety. Unfortunately, her foot has become entangled in the stirrup; she is now at the mercy of the horse's pounding hooves as her head is struck against the ground over and over. As her head is battered against the ground, she is mere moments away from unconsciousness when to her great fortune.....


Frank, the Wal-Mart greeter, sees her dilemma and unplugs the horse.


And you thought all they did was say Hello

full moon

Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls in Paradise

Wellesley Park

veggies

sunday morning psalm

City Blues and Brights - City Lights

Really old one--from about ten years ago, and it looks as if I need to find my original with its unique formatting: that we can be "City Lights!!!"

It's a morning glow - the kitchen at dawn.
City blues. The kitchen at dawn.
Come on, get up, wake up!
It's a brand new morning!

Look out the window, look at the sky...
Watch the stars fade
the night stars
lights of night fade
take some stars into your heart
Quick! Look up in the sky – look quickly.
quietly, softly, look
while still there's time
Circle some stars - circle some stars
to bring them into your heart

You're up, you're awake. You’re ready
You're ready, you're alive
It's a brand new morning!
It's a beautiful morning!
Hold onto the morning, day is breaking
night is over
This is the sunshine place
It's a city bright

Take that heartful of stars you've
borrowed from the sky
there's a basket over there
set some of those stars
into that basket
You'll need them in the darkness of your night.

Day's breaking
Day's broken all over the city
City blues - the city at dawn

Sit and savor the sunrise
savor the day
bask in and savor the kitchen at daybreak
Watch that basket of stars
guard that basketful of stars
Are the stars still in your heart?
Delight in them - Hold them dear
And share them
Share them...

City blues, urban blues that is.
Sun's up - Morning's here

Morning's ready! There's a city out there
A big city out there - A Great City
get on out there and scratch for
life
hold on, hold on
hold on. Don’t let go.
Keep those stars in your heart
and give all of them away.
There’s lots more where those came from.
This city will be a sunshine place.

Day's done, it's end o'day
Watch those stars in your heart,
in that basket
Morning's over, so's afternoon
it's evening now
night's closing in...

It's sundown. Night's right at hand
Watch those stars in that basket,
on that table
Watch them closely
night's...almost...here

What promise will you offer the night?
What answer will you give to the night?
Night has dawned upon all of us
Night's here now
Now is the season of night
sleep

You made a covenant with the day
The stars you show are its sign
Will your covenant enfold the night
as well?

It's night now, darkness time
Stars in the basket on the table
Stars in your heart
In your heart - Sleep quietly
...now...
Morning's on the way

© Leah Chang

Romans 6:4...

...cross-posted from desert spirit's fire


You can see the entire group of four on this far by faith: Romans 6:4 - NEW!!! At least as of now, I'm planning to enter this one in St. Mark UMC's digital graphic competition--now to finish my artist's statement--scanned original freehand drawing, gradients, filters, effects, layer styles....

vallejo pants

New!!!!! In an attempt to be proper and refined in some situations, although in other places I love to wear dresses and skirts.

liberal libertarian?!

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 90%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 50%.
(Please note: Scores falling on the Centrist border are counted as Centrist.)
......................................................................

take this quiz!

wednesday announcement

I've started a bunch of short, not especially formally theological blogs to post *soon* on desert spirit's fire, this far by faith and preservation project.

rose skirt

corduroy jacket

another eBay win--corduroy bomber jacket, really cool, and in time for chillier weather.

rose watering can

Tiger's Table

Hey, I should have blogged this a while ago--another wonderful cat painting I won in early June on eBay; this one is Tiger's Table by Texas artist and teacher Jody Rosas, ruokjody68gf on eBay.

cat with sunflower

On eBay I very recently discovered another fabulous cat artist, Carol Springer, though unlike Katie-Cats, she doesn't paint cats exclusively--check out her listings:

affordable!!art

Here's the painting I won--I'm planning to bid on at least one more.

2 html entities

{ = & # 1 2 3 ;

} = & # 1 2 5 ;

| = & # 1 2 4 ;

in simple terms, opening and closing French brackets/braces; pipe |.

Katie-Cats

Katie St. John is one of my favorite artists; here's her website and here are two of her paintings I've won on eBay:

Meow Mix ® House

This is very cool; hover your mouse to get messages from the cats.

Meow Mix ® | Tastes So Good Cats ask for it by Name! ®

Aaron Neville @ Summer Pops

my blog about Saturday evening's wonderful concert

cute bear mugs

48% girly

You Are 48% Girly

You're a little girly, a little boyish, and probably a whole lot indie. You have your own unique style, and it pretty much defies gender lines.

How Girly Are You?

surrender

Lord, in the quiet of this place,
I am surrounded by Your grace.
I come with heavy heart and soul;
I long for You to take control,
and I surrender, Lord!

wednesday: starsplash

sweater pic

I'm still awaiting the arrival in the snail mail of this sweater I won on ebay on July 6, esp since soon it'll be the right weather for wearing it.

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The Resolved Church;

here's my blog about it.

summerday

free lunch; paper, etc. samples

For lunch today I went with Judy to the place where her company gets their paper supplies; they were having a Customer Appreciation lunch. The lunch was wonderful: delicious buffet including hot flour tortillas, carne asada, chicken enchiladas, guacamole, green picante salsa, red picante salsa, pico de gallo, rice, refritos. We also got our choice of a cold 16-oz bottle of soda, so I picked diet coke.

They don't do printing, but I got a ton of paper samples from the Neenah rep and others. Besides a whole lot of paper, I came home with an envelope/letter opener, pad of stickies, tablet of unlined paper, high+++ magnifying glass (to inspect the paper and printing I get done), a ruler and other stuff.

thursday evening...

...and I just almost pretty much finished my last furniture painting project, the toy(?) chest from forever ago. I've painted it in the same lavender as the two unmatched (the newer one is two basic shelves and no drawers, the older, other has four legs, a single drawer and bottom shelf) guest BR nightstands plus the arctic blue of two of the guest BR walls--the other two walls are a parallel green.

Tomorrow evening I'm going to Summer Pops on the Embarcadero again--gonna hear some Beatle sound-alikes I've been told have captured the sound and essence but are better musicians than the originals. Yay! Stayed tuned to my blogs.

Walk through the World

by Marc Cohn and John Leventhal,
from The Rainy Season; © 1993 Museum Steps Music, ASCAP.

Walk Through the World

I'm writing you this letter from some old hotel
I can feel the distance between us
From the Spanish Steps to the Liberty Bell
I know the angels have seen us... seen us, baby
They see you down on Seventh Avenue
While you're just hanging by a thread
And I'm sitting in a lonely room without a view
Wishing I was there with you instead

Won't you walk through the world with me
Walk through this world
Over the miles of mystery
Walk through this world with me

I'm staring out across the rooftops
I've seen the writing on the wall
Heard a little bit of thunder at the seventh wonder
But everything is bound to rise and fall, that's all

Walk through this world with me
Walk through the world
Over the mountains and the shining sea
Walk through this world with me...

Let me get this ringing out of my ears
Let me get these stars out of my eyes
'Cause I just want to look back over all the years
With you right there standing by my side. Could you just...

repeat chorus

today's house work, etc.

At the 99¢ Only store I bought California Pears, California Peaches, 1 pint of 1/2 & 1/2, a Chrome Orange folder for papers, etc and a small orange notebook with cats on the covers that matches the cat, star, bear, heart and powerflower folders, pencilcase and notebooks I bought there previously.

At home I washed sheets and mattress pad, the blue stripe nautical boats comforter and two light yellow bedroom rugs that are getting increasingly lighter.

I painted the security door and realized I need to buy more paint; this container is almost gone.

Cleaned both bathrooms.

extra turkey gravy

PAN GRAVY

Ingredients

• Pan drippings from roast turkey
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Chicken broth or water

Directions

1. After transferring roast turkey to a serving platter, pour pan drippings into a large measuring cup. Skim and reserve fat from drippings.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of the fat into a medium saucepan (discard remaining fat).
3. Stir in flour. Add enough broth or water to remaining drippings in the measuring cup to equal 2 cups;
4. Add all at once to flour mixture in saucepan.
5. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
6. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 2 cups - 8 to 10 servings

English Room Salad Dressing

Not my original recipe, but a blast from the past, when I used to love feasting at the incredibly crowded, inexpensive and variety-laden English Room on Newbury Street in Boston. Sounds like another undergrad escapade, right? That's what is was.

Recipe Zaar Recipe #148910

30 min - 30 min prep

2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon onion, grated
1/2 tsp orange rind, grated
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1. Mix together sugar, dry mustard, paprika, celery seed, and salt. Add onion and grated orange peel. Blend in honey.
2. Combine lemon juice, orange juice and red wine vinegar in separate bowl; blending well, then add to mixture.
3. Add salad oil in a slow stream, beating constantly with a hand mixer or whisk.

yellow roses