Category: Music

Music this Week

I smile when I think of my violin students. I am just so lucky. They are doing really hard things in their violin study and I am proud of them.
We had another recital and Timothy played a dissonant piece with a rhythm not unlike chopsticks. Paige played the same piece years ago, so we really know it at our house. Only a good pianist can play it, so good job, Tim. A lot of the song is played with one hand on top of the other.
Mark played a couple of sonatinas really well.

Throwback Thursday time: “The Mamas” and me from Fiddler on the Roof. I am accompanying on the violin one of these women as she sings this weekend. Unfortunately, it isn’t a song from Fiddler, but it is a good one. I cannot believe this photo was taken six years ago. Many of these women have become good friends to me.

Some good memories from December

We visited Temple Square on one of the warmest December nights we have known. We were able to listen to the Nativity narration outdoors and noticed for the first time that there is a star mounted on top of the Tabernacle. We had just fed the missionaries dinner before we came, and their message was to “Look up!” Amen.
Timothy and I played a medley of German Christmas carols at church and for family. He is a great pianist and accompanist.
Timothy got his license.
We had a birthday party for Tim and my parents came.
Mark made raspberry jam for his dad’s Christmas present. šŸ˜
I shopped for stuffed animals. The giraffe!
Christmas morning fun

We were able to do a video call with Daniel and we didn’t need all of those questions we planned to ask. He talked non-stop, with enthusiasm, zeal, and happiness pouring forth. I didn’t know how much I needed to just see him and hear him speak. I didn’t take a picture of the screen, but imagine light, clothed in the Christmas tie that I was told he probably wouldn’t receive in the mail, a short haircut, sunburned neck, and speaking a mixture of Spanish and English, really fast. That was Daniel. Nothing sad about that.

Paige is with us, and moves from her room, where she is catching up on some reading, to the piano, every few hours throughout the day. Chopin, Debussy, and Jane Austen scores are now in the mix played on our piano. She is all things lovely.

Less

This week is music week for our family. We didn’t plan it that way, but there are concerts, lessons, and practice every evening. Christmas carols adorn the air, employ our hands, and fill our souls. With this accompaniment, I find I need less to be whole. This particular season has reminded me that my quest for knowledge and excellence is a little misguided. Alone, these things do not fill me. In fact, I require very little to be truly happy. Family, talking with friends, music, private service and devotion, warm meals, and light are simple needs. I make things too complicated sometimes.

Lessons learned this week

Cinnamon oil does burn your nose and throat if you breathe in the steam while making candy.

True friends find a way to bless our lives, whether we are together or not.

I enjoy having Timothy as an accompanist as I play the violin. He is expressive!

Every Hallmark Christmas movie fits into one of three storylines. And I enjoy them better with the volume down so I can focus on the decorations. Sorry.

Brahms makes a great Santa.

I was a witness to a few miracles this week. God is good.


Boulders, a Wedding Crasher, Pimpernel, and White Gloves

A month and a half ago, the mudslide at Spring Lake looked like this. But after more rain, it became clear that this mud was also full of boulders and rocks. My dad is a master with rock walls. The mountain couldn’t have gifted these to a better recipient.

(The family has been trying to dig out trees from the mud to save them.)

 

While the men and boys worked on the dirt and rock project, I organized the library at my parents’ house. The Sanchez family is a family of builders, minus me. I just like to be zen and organize decor.

I crashed a wedding gathering this week so I could see Paige as a bridesmaid at the Salt Lake temple. I sat in the sun on a bench on the south side of the temple, warm and bright, and couldn’t imagine anything I would rather be doing. I didn’t take any photos of the wedding party because I wanted the moment for myself. Plus, I shouldn’t have been there. The less evidence the better.

A friend took me to see this play this week and we ate Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints. Delightful. Except I can’t erase the guillotine scenes from my mind. HOW did they do that?

Mark had a band concert this week and Tim was a guest artist since they needed trombones. Ha! He and his two friends sat at least a head taller than the middle school kids. But he had his own dressing room with pizza. Mark has taken to wearing white gloves when he plays his trumpet. He is pretty dapper sometimes.

Two Weeks of Music


The boys had two very busy weeks of performances, from jazz band to piano recitals and piano concerto performances.Ā  Richard took me to the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera production of Candide becauseĀ he knows I like Opera.

With two children grown and gone, I see the little things such as reading, the arts, and music are part of my most precious memories. I have no regrets for the resources and time spent on lessons and books.

To watch a child do something well is one of the supreme joys in life. 2018 has been full of these moments. Well done, my children. You bring me joy!

Music of the Season

It’s been a solitary six weeks of painting. I am almost finished, so there is hope for posts about something else. To break up the monotony of the work, I listen to music of all kinds. It’s funny how I can look at a room and remember what I listened to when I painted it, even if it was five years ago. It was the Wicked soundtrack for the basement hallway baseboards in 2013; I remember John Denver, Mindy Gledhill, David Archuleta, and the Dixie Chicks for Paige’s walls in 2017; Mark’s room was painted almost entirely to Classical 89. This is my playlist recently:

  • The Sound of Music Soundtrack
  • Coco Soundtrack
  • Some of Hamilton
  • Josh Groban
  • Tabernacle Choir
  • George Ezra (repeat 16 times)
  • Harry Potter audio books
  • A lot of classical music, including all of the piano practice going on when the boys come home

Sometimes I just turn on the TV for company. I chose these shows recently:

  • Lark Rise to Candleford series
  • Jane Eyre (1983)
  • Fixer Upper
  • Love it or List it
  • Boise Boys
  • All Creatures Great and Small BBC series
  • Upstairs Downstairs series (BBC 2012)

I am almost ready for Christmas music, but I am holding back the urge to listen to it. We don’t want to overlook Thanksgiving!

Catching up

Mark was honored as an Eastmont Patriot of the Month for citizenship, leadership, scholarship, and extra-curricular activities. Woot!

I helped make this quilt for a new baby in the neighborhood.

Every conversation at our house includes a status update on my massive painting project and Richard’s apple harvest. I stopped counting gallons of paint, but Richard knows exactly how many pounds of apples were produced.

Court of Honor

Missionary

BYU Homecoming Spectacular 3rd row seats. Awesome!

It’s Inktober for Paige on Instagram.

ONE page of a piece Timothy is working on. Legit!

Did I mention I am painting a lot? It feels like our house is finally becoming our own. I waited a long time to paint because I knew what a big job it would be and I didn’t have the time. So far, I have spent about 17 full days on it. I have not had this kind of time…ever in my life to devote to such a project. Someday I might post “after” pictures, but you could also come and visit.