We started the day out like any Sunday--except that we had forgotten to change our clocks last night. Of course, most of our clocks are smarter than we are and updated themselves in the night, but the little battery operated alarm clock by my bed is still low tech. That alarm goes off at 9:00 a.m. every morning, and that's what woke me up. I was a bit startled, because I expected my Droid alarm to go off at 8:00 a.m. What could have gone wrong? Did I mention the clock by my bed is a few minutes fast? The Droid alarm dutifully went off at 8:00 a.m. CST. We got an extra hour of sleep--Yay!.
For brunch we had Three-Minute Spinach Quiches, one of our favorite recipes. Then we headed over to Ed and Julie's. Cate ran out to tell us that they were going to the circus! The kids were very happy to find out that I had brought the Wii game.
For lunch, Ed grilled salmon with pineapple slices again--always great. Ken made the colorful salad. While we were cooking, Sam was having fun playing with his little brother. Jesse was sitting in the high chair, and Sam bounced up an down in front of him, to Jesse's great delight.
After lunch Ed and Cate and I played Ingenious. I was the first winner, with Cate second and Ed the "first loser"! Ed and Julie took the kids to the circus, which had the kids very excited all day long.
This evening we drove to Denton for a concert at the university, at the newly renovated Paul Voertman Concert Hall. The concert was a faculty recital, with five very diverse performances.
The first piece was a trombone fanfare--Ken's favorite. The second was a piece for amplified flute and percussion, titled "An Idyll for the Misbegotten." Before the piece, these lines by the composer were spoken:
Mankind has become ever more "illegitimate" in the natural world of the plants and animals. The ancient sense of brotherhood with all life forms (so poignantly expressed in the poetry of St. Francis of Assisi) has gradually and relentlessly eroded, and consequently we find ourselves monarchs of a dying world. We share the fervent hope that humankind will embrace anew nature's "moral imperative."
The piece itself was evocative of a dying world and generally discordant and unmelodic. Interesting, but for us, the best part was the percussion, performed by one very large drum center stage and two banks of percussion instruments, one on each side.
Next was a piece called "Gerry Rigged" for clarinet and 8-channel interactive electronics. Very experimental, and not something we were really prepared to enjoy except as a curiosity.
Third was a series of songs in German (translation kindly provided in the program) entitled Liebeslieder Walzer, Opus 52 by Brahms. The singers were a mezzo soprano, a soprano, a tenor, and a baritone. The songs were a series of counterpoints between the women and the men. I enjoyed the performance more than Ken did.
After the intermission, the final piece was Piano Quintet in G minor, Opus 57, by Dmitry Shostakovich. I liked the piano playing, and the musicians were all good, but by this time Ken and I were both ready to head home, so it wasn't our favorite.
I was hoping to have a chance to see Kelley while we were up in Denton, but she had to work late. She'll come over to Ed and Julie's Tuesday evening for supper.
Ed and Julie were sorting through old papers yesterday, trying to clear the paper clutter and find some missing documents. In the process, we found some letters Fran wrote in October 1970 when she was taking care of the kids. They would have been almost three, almost four, and almost five. I'm scanning them to add to my collection of memorabilia. Fran notices and reports on small things, cute sayings and behaviors that really bring the kids to life.
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