You Can Change Any Time You Want

There’s a lot of pressure at this time of year to make sweeping and drastic changes to your life because of the ringing in of the new year. 

I’m here to tell you that not only do you not need to do that but also that you can change any time you want to. Just because a New Year is approaching doesn't mean you have to have everything suddenly figured out or accomplish everything on your to-do list for 2023.  

You don’t need to do it January 1st 2024 either. You can do it today. You can do it Jan 15 or July 15 for that matter. 

Here's something else that might blow your mind.  If you do decide to start, you can re-start too.

And you can do that as many times as you want or need.

You can make and re-make the to-do list.  We change and our priorities change and it can all happen in a split second.

In a blog post I wrote last year, called Diet is NOT a Christmas Word, I talked about letting go of diet hang ups and enjoying all the season has to offer, within reason of course.  I'm not going to preach about healthy eating habits or joining gyms instead I think these words sum it up well.  "It's all right letting yourself go as long as you can let yourself back."  Mick Jagger said that.  I have no idea what it's in reference to but I'm fine not knowing because it serves me well just thinking about it.  I even have it as a quote in the sidebar of this blog page.

You have to give yourself permission to let yourself back.

We've all indulged over the holiday.  Sugar cookies, fudge, extra handfuls of M&M's while baking etc etc.....  I made the personal choice to just not worry over the holidays.  Do I want to be the miserable one wishing I could have the Nanaimo bar?  No.  However, just like I made that decision to not worry, I've also given myself the timeline to stop too.  Because in the same way that I don't want to be unhappy by having to decline Christmas goodies, I also don't want the feeling of how snug my pants feel.  The day I'm stopping?  That's the day my Christmas vacation is over and I go back to work.

We know that memories and food are tied together.  I remember one Christmas Eve we had a large family meal at my In-Laws and then went to the Christmas Eve church service.  We were so full!  We had to stand and sing and I recall looking over to my Father in Law because he too was struggling to sing and breath just like I was!  We decided to not do that again - the service not the food. Ha!

I also recall another Christmas where I had gotten pants as a gift and they didn't fit.  I went to the store in January and the size bigger didn't fit either.  Nor did the size bigger than that.  I felt so awful.  I was also unaware of how retailers are sneaky with their sizing.  Since then and working a stint in women's clothing retail I've realized the letters and numbers on the tag don't really mean a lot from store to store or within the same building!

Another friend, no not Mick Jagger, but Denny said to me many times ago, but I paraphrase... Christmas is 1 day out of 365 and not 365 itself.

Trying is the important part.  Will it be easy to have one snack instead of two?  Stop having the cream in my coffee or tea? Making sure I eat a fruit and a vegetable everyday?  You better believe I'm going to try though and try and try again.

In the autumn of 2020 I made the choice to try and be healthier.  T R Y.  I've made a lot of lifestyle changes since then which I'm very pleased with.  Times change and our bodies change and I am deciding to once again make health a priority.  I know that I have to exercise for my mental health as well as bodily health.  I know I need to keep track of my sugar, fat and fibre intake.  These are the things that have gotten me to 2023.

You can bet that I will restart many times.  It's fine if you do too. Starting or re-starting doesn't mean you've failed.  It means that you care enough to keep going.  Remember, failure is how the diet industry wants to make you feel and it's how they make money.  Words like "on track" or

"cheating" are words that fit into that category too.  Don't let them have power over your feelings.  Give yourself the power instead.

Fuel your body and mind. Nourish your soul. Make memories.  

Here's to all of us in 2024 and the changes we want to make or don't want to make.  We are all pretty amazing the way we are but I know, for my own self, that I can be an even better version and that's what I want to strive to be.

Don’t Buy Me Anything

My husband and I agreed to not exchange gifts this year.  It's one of the best decisions we've ever made.  It took the stress away of shopping when neither of us had the time to shop or find gift ideas.  As a result, we both enjoyed the lead up to Christmas so much more.

This idea isn’t for everyone likely. We just figured we buy whatever we want anyway so let’s do away with the secrets and subliminal hints and chances of disappointment. 

I remember one Christmas when my parents were supposed to do the same thing. 

Mom said, “Don’t buy me anything.”  But Dad knew he should and always wanted to treat my Mom to some kind of extravagant gift. 

In the 1980’s there was a local business that was advertising these new amazing coats from Norway or Sweden. LUDA coats. They were warm and very nice looking. Every evening after the news that store would do a fashion show on tv. It was a precursor to the infomercial. Dad had been into the store and arranged to have them model the couple of coats that he thought Mom would like. He watched for her reaction and then decided which one to give her for Christmas. 

Unbeknownst to Dad, the owner of the store knew that Dad liked a coat too. So he contacted mom and she bought dad a coat. 

I knew Dad bought Mom a coat. I knew Mom bought Dad a coat. No one else knew. 

Come Christmas morning there were two identically wrapped boxes underneath the tree. 

“What the heck is going on here” I’m sure my dad said. 

Well, they each got their coats and I was glad to not have to keep that secret any more. They wore those fancy coats for years and years.

Neither my husband nor I caved and we stuck to the agreement of not buying gifts. Now, if only we could agree to stay away from the leftover Christmas baking!

A Recipe & Midnight Madness

In what feels like another lifetime, I worked for one year as Assistant Manager of Warehouse One, which is a Canadian clothing retailer.  The shopping mall was a destination back than and big box retailers weren't yet where we all demanded to shop and we definitely weren't choosing online shopping either.  It was the mid 2000's and at Christmas time the mall was a fun and festive place even though I'd not wish working retail at that time of year or any really on anyone.  One big event leading up to Christmas was Midnight Madness.

Midnight Madness happened on a few weekend evenings in the month of December leading up to Christmas.  Each store would stay open well passed the regular 9pm...until 1am instead and many would have special deals for that time period.  It was nowhere near as hectic as Boxing Day was but still a stressful time for anyone having to work in a store.

At the far end of the mall was a Starbucks.  Myself and a coworker were working this late night shift and we were both concerned for staying awake and alert.  For some oddball reason we both thought it would be a good idea to buy chocolate covered coffee beans.

You probably see where I'm going with this.

Starbucks used to have little boxes of these coffee beans right by the cash register along with mints and biscotti.  I don't think they have this anymore and if they do I haven't noticed.  These were obviously nice little add ons if you were purchasing a latte or cranberry bliss bar.

The chocolate covered coffee beans did indeed keep us awake and alert...not only for the Midnight Madness but for the entire night.  We both vowed to never do THAT again and told the legend to all our others coworkers.  It's a story I found myself telling a few students last week which they all found highly amusing.

Even though I will likely never have chocolate covered coffee beans again, I did love those cranberry bliss bars and still do.  Starbucks has changed the recipe so a few years ago I scoured the interweb for a copycat recipe.  What you'll find below has become a staple in my holiday baking every year.  I've tweaked it several times but decided to finally write it out instead of deciphering my cryptic notes in my home made family cookbook binder.

I'm sharing it all with you.  Feel free to click on the recipe photo and save it to your devices.  Let me know if you make it as well!

* If * you do try it make certain to not skip 2 important steps.

1) Make absolutely sure you coat the baking pan with cooking spray and coat with flour.  If you don't you wont ever get it out of the pan.

2) You most definitely will need to coat your hands with cooking spray to pat it down and stretch it into the pan.  The batter is EXTREMELY sticky so if you don't you'll be covered in it.

The original recipe was in an 11X17 baking pan but I don't have one that size and I'm pretty sure it's not a standard size either.  My recipe is 9X13 which is a size we all own.  This makes the bars a little thicker and the Starbucks version.

My oven runs hot so regardless of what I think they get removed at 20 minutes.  I'm going to caution you as well...they may not look cooked but trust that they are.  If they are over baked they become very crumbly.

Enjoy and happy baking!

Kick Off Weekend

We always made sure to decorate our home for Christmas the last weekend in November.  That weekend also just usually happened to be CFL Grey Cup weekend.  It became a tradition that we still hold fast to.

For several years in a row we'd host my husband's parents for the first weekend of December, the weekend following Grey Cup and what we eventually coined "Kick Off Weekend".  

It had nothing to do with football.

What it was, was a festive filled weekend of shopping, sight seeing and other festivities to rev us up for the month of December.  

D & D would arrive Friday evening for visiting and catching up.  Sometimes they'd arrive early as to beat the rush to the city.  I remember one time they did that exact thing and we'd decided to go to the mall downtown.  All was fine until I remembered that school was out that day for an in-service and we came to a fast realization that going to the mall was not going to be for us.  The above ground parking was filled and so was the underground parking.  Folks were driving in and turning around and driving out.  We didn't really need to go to the mall anyway...  

Our meals during the weekend would include a mixture of homemade, Starbucks coffee, Venice House pizza or Montana's for ribs but it was breakfast we enjoyed most.  We'd get up early on the Saturday and hit up the breakfast buffet at the the Flying J.  They had the best breakfast buffet.  There was anything you'd ever want, but my favourite was the strawberry stuffed French toast.  Sadly, this buffet is no longer offered and it's now a Denny's.  I still remember how special those morning meals were.

After we were adequately nourished and caffeinated, we'd go to the Sundog Craft Faire.  This was a juried craft sale on two levels of an entertainment complex.  One level would be all the wares that people made and the second level was all the food stuffs complete with many free samples.  My Father In Law loved a free sample.

Conveniently, next door, was Costco.  That was always another stop on Kick Off Weekend.  Costco always puts out the best things at Christmastime and has unique goodies in their bakery as well as gift items.  It's a huge bonus if they hand out Lindt truffles!

Sometimes we were lucky enough that The Festival of Trees landed during that same weekend and we'd get to take that in as well.  Hubby and I went last year and wandered the streets of historical Boomtown gazing at the trees and the historical memorabilia.  The Christmas trees are so different from how we decorate our own.  They all have themes.  Some would make us ooh and ahh while we'd agree others were not for us.  There were gingerbread houses on display too that had been in a contest and we'd marvel at how intricate they were.  

One thing that we always made sure to do was drive through the Enchanted Forest.  This is an event at the Forestry Farm aka Zoo.  Different sponsors decorate a meandering drive through trees and displays of everything Christmas.  Every couple of years a new attraction is added which keeps it all fresh.  Sometimes, we'd have hot cocoa from Tim Hortons as we drove and sometimes they'd hand out candy canes.  The radio would be tuned in to a special station to narrate the tour.  One memorable time was when my Father In Law decided he wanted to see more (one trip through was all they'd allow) but he swerved/drove around a barricade in determination to see it all again!

Things have changed a lot in the last few years.  The Sundog Faire was cancelled last year and isn't offered anymore.  A local greenhouse did a similar event one year but so far I haven't seen anything advertised.  My Father in Law passed last year and my Mother in Law has moved.  The kick off weekend is a thing of the past but the first weekend of December will always hold wonderful fond memories and no matter what our house will be ready for company on Grey Cup weekend.

1980 - Something

Picture it.

The Christmas mixed tape is playing on the home stereo with the same songs I enjoy to this day; Jim Reeves, Buck Owens and The Chipmunks. Dad is bringing all the decoration boxes from the basement. In the box there’d be some miscellaneous newspapers from Christmases past which always mystified me. We assemble the Christmas tree and Dad strings the full size string of lights carefully on each branch.  The sky is a rose gold in the setting sun, the snow outside is light and sparkly and there’s the faint smell of the heat from the lights touching the plastic branches.  They don’t make candles to recreate that festive smell do they.

It’s nineteen-eighty-something and completely magical.

There were some Christmases that we had two Christmas trees.  We had the artificial one in the basement and a real tree upstairs.  Dad’s brilliant trick to filling in the bare spots on the real tree was to take a branch from the bottom, drill a hole where the bare spot was and attach the branch.  It’s a trick I think he got from my Grandpa.

The decorations were a mixture of shiny baubles, felt ornaments and things we made. One decoration was always a small bell with a blue ribbon that I think had something to do with my brother (his birthday is Christmas Day) but I don’t know what.  There was silver garland and not tinsel because that was too messy.  The tree topper was a multi coloured star.  At the bottom of the tree rested a small plastic manger scene.

Some years Dad would want to hang streamers and foil stars from the ceiling. Mom would protest…”what are you doing that for?”…but often let him get his way.  There’d be a wreath that hung on the back door window that made the curtain puff out kind of funny.

My fuzzy Christmas stocking would rest on the arm of the couch. We didn’t have a fireplace or chimney. I hoped Santa had a key.  

It was probably a Sunday evening in December and when we were done we’d sit in the dark with just the retro glow of the Christmas tree and soft music playing. The next morning, getting ready to go to school, the tree would be lit up in its comforting glow in the coolness of winter. 

Everything would be ready and waiting for Mr Claus’ annual visit.

Music Teachers | Teaching in a Time of Covid

I contemplated writing a blog about the Blizzard of '07 but honestly there wasn't a lot to tell.  It was a huge blizzard which shut down the city.  We canceled our music students for the day (it might have been two days) and we did make up lessons later on.  It's an event a lot of people recall.  I think it was a Wednesday.  That's really all there is to that story.

Tuesday March 17th will always be a date I remember. Not because it was St Patrick’s Day, but because it was the first time ever that I had to teach piano lessons virtually and boy, was it a steep learning curve. 

The previous week the first case of Covid19 was announced within the city.  That evening I stopped at the Shoppers Drug Mart on the way home to pick up some milk.  There was a sign on the door that said they were already sold out of hand sanitizer, masks and toilet paper.  It was surreal inside the store.  There was a man with a shopping cart looking for the sold out items and kept badgering staff because it seemed like he didn't believe they were actually sold out.  I got my milk and continued on home.

The next day at work, parents were already concerned and students were cancelling lessons.  Rumours were circulating that the schools were going to be shut down the following week.  It was a very odd time.  Us teachers stood distanced from each other in the showroom talking about what was going on.  Over the weekend, there was a discussion about the Academy closing its doors or how this was all going to be handled.  At the time we believed it might only be a couple of weeks but minute to minute and hour to hour things changed.  I suggested we attempt to teach via Skype as I'd heard others were doing it.  Sunday night it was decided that Monday the 16th would be the last day we'd teach in person and we'd begin notifying our students that Tuesday lessons would be moved online.

Over the course of 3 days over 600 students were notified by phone call and set up with skype accounts.

I had gotten an iPad for Christmas and had subsequently purchased a tripod which would hold it.  My digital Technics piano was in our home office, also known as the Star Wars room.  What complicated everything was that Hubby was also sent home to work for the first time on the same day.  We couldn't work in the same space as our hours overlapped.  We moved his computer to the basement and purchased all the necessary equipment he required.

It took me a week to bring home all the materials I needed from my classroom.  That first week, I took a ton of notes and transcribed them all onto my laptop.  What became very apparent was that I had taken for granted the ease of phrases like "play that part again" "look for bar 10" or just being able to count along with students playing.  I couldn't just point at something.  Students had to become so much more self sufficient and be ready with pencils and markers and highlighters to make corrections for themselves.  They also had to take the homework notes.  Some students did very very well but it was also really hard for others.  Sometimes calls would drop or they wouldn't be online on time.  It was crazy but then wasn't everything.

School had been cancelled so I saw students suddenly practicing who hadn't worked very hard before.  I heard from parents how grateful they were that we had online lessons to look forward to because as wild as the times were the piano lessons gave a sense of normalcy.  The feeling was mutual.

We taught virtually from March 2020 through the summer until the end of August 2020.  In the summer because my schedule was reduced we moved my piano to the basement and Hubby moved his office to the Star Wars room, where he still works to this day.  At the end of my work days, I'd come upstairs and holler "I'm home!" and we'd laugh.

Miraculously, I myself only lost a handful of students.  In September, donned in mandatory masks and with cleaning protocol in place, we returned to in person teaching while some students and teachers chose to remain online.  I was so thankful to not have to deal with technology anymore.  

On one particular day my mask was snug and I complained to my student how it was flattening my nose.  I said "what will you say when we don't have to wear masks anymore?"

He replied, "my, you have a flat nose".

Spoiler.  He didn't.

We adapted so quickly and now working virtually is a way of life.  We jump online through Skype or Zoom with ease.  We held festivals and concerts online and while that's fading away working virtually will always be an option now.  Those few months changed everything.

Music Teachers | The Time I Broke A Piano

 

All was fine until I went to work. Over that weekend, the piano that was in my classroom was loaned out for an event, an accountant’s convention apparently. I didn’t have an issue with that, after all I didn't OWN the Technics PR54 which happily resided in my classroom, but I felt like it was mine. I used it every day.  I no longer teach anyone who would remember that music rest Christmas paper wrapped piano, but if you do, you must be very special.

What I am about to relate to you will no doubt surprise you as much as it did me!

With that in mind, here is what happened on that Monday when I arrived at work to my classroom. My piano was not in its correct location.  There were two windows separated by a length of wall. I simply preferred the piano to be centered on that wall. I don’t think that’s a crazy demand. Things should be symmetric, that’s all. I barely needed to move it a foot.

This had happened before and even now isn't unheard of. When the piano wasn't in the rightful symmetric-wall-centered position I'd simply push or pull it back into place. It wasn't a heavy piano since it’s an electric/digital piano. I’ve helped move pianos in concerts and festivals for years! I am not new to moving things to and fro. 

Another tidbit of information which you need to know is that I am not a very strong person. I can lift some things. Move some furniture about in my house. But I don’t have what you could call brute strength. I am not Bam Bam. Nor Paul Bunion. 

So I grabbed onto the end and tugged. I did not turn into the Incredible Hulk when I pulled on the piano. But do you want to know what happened? Maybe I shouldn’t tell you….  The end of the casing of the piano came off in my hands! 

AHHHHH! I am so fired, I thought. 

At first, like Ralphie trying to get away with icicle broken glasses (oh my gawd, I shot my eye out) in the Christmas Story, I thought I could just push it back on and no one would be the wiser. Nope, it didn’t work. I stood back and surveyed the damage. The end of the piano had been held together with simple doweling.  The wires were hanging out the end.  It looked really bad.  REALLY BAD.

 
I am so fired.

I went and got Sharon from the front desk. Sharon was the receptionist, book keeper, maintenance man, carpet cleaner and all around handy-man, but I have to stress she is a very good friend. 

“Sharon, can I talk to you in my classroom for a minute.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, you really have to come here.”

“Can you just tell me?”

“Um….” Me, trying to spit it out. “I kind of wrecked the piano!”

She walked with me to my classroom. Her assessment of the situation? “OH MY GOD!”

Luckily, I was able to teach in another room that day. Also luckily, the academy director, boss and owner and her husband were away and wouldn’t find out until the next day.  Did they ever find out?  I guess they will when or if they read this! 

But here is just how good of a friend Sharon is. It bothered her so much that she couldn’t get a hold of the piano repair person that she went in on her own time, dismantled my piano, crazy glued it and put it back together again. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men did put the wrecked piano back together again! I didn’t know that she did this until a while afterward. Sharon retired twice, maybe three times and probably didn't get a lot of the glory at the Academy, but she was the glue that held so many things together.

Literally.

Just like the Mom in the Christmas Story when Ralphie got in the big fight and had to wait until the Dad came home. Sharon softened the blow. Ralphie didn’t get killed and I didn’t get fired. By Friday we were all able to laugh about it and now many years later it barely seems like it happened. 

What I know for sure is that I will never ever EVER touch that or any piano to move it again. If it is sitting in the middle of that classroom I will teach in the middle of the classroom. I will not pull, push or tug. Will I cringe?  Oh yes I will!  Because just recently, I went in to work, a Tuesday this time, to find a new Roland digital piano in the middle of my 2023 classroom.  

Was I going to move it?  

Heck no.  Not on your life.

Music Teachers | A Blog Appendix

This is a comprehensive list of links (appendix or table of contents) to all the blogs I've written about my musical journey including teachers, training and experience.

Elementary School Band

My Rockin' Organ Lessons Part 1

My Rockin' Organ Lessons Part 2

Klassical Karen

The One Who Didn't Like Me

Meet Mrs Sandra

The Time I Broke a Piano

Teaching in a Time of Covid

Music Teachers | The One Who Didn't Like Me

In my last blog about Music Teachers I walked about Karen.  I did my Grade 5 & part of Grade 8 with Karen.  If you go back and read, you'll understand the impact she had in such a brief amount of time.  When I completed Grade 6, I did that with Candace Sorenson and while it went fine I can't say it was particularly memorable and the couple memories I have were of when her dog died and when I competed in the festival.  That's no slight against her at all.  It's what it was.  When Karen needed to move after I'd learned three quarters of the Grade 8 material and already registered for the exam, I had to search out a new teacher to help me get the rest of the way.

I had one lesson with a lady who picked apart every single piece I had learned to the extent that I was supposed to work on my hand position and gestures.  Um no.  No time for that whether it was necessary or not.  I found it pretty ironic that she had incredibly long fingernails that prevented her from actually having great hand position and yet here she was commenting on mine!  I have no idea what her name was and I left her house with a determination to find someone else.

I got a list of Registered Music Teachers in the area.  One name stood out because her husband had been the band teacher (remember I quit band after grade 7) at my high school.  Mrs. Gibson.  She had a warmth about her, was small in stature and had short grey hair.  I'd go into the basement of their bungalow where there were some couches to wait and two baby grand pianos amongst shelves and filing cabinets of books.

Mrs. Gibson was a good teacher but she had a very cutting way about her.  My perspective is that she likely had a lot of students who excelled and while I always thought I was average I do realize now I wasn't.  She was the one who made me feel that way.  She told me things like how I needed to practice 4 hours a day.  She said things like "I thought you knew what you were doing." when I'd got 91% on my theory exam and not 100%.  She made me file my nails as short as they could be because they tapped on the keys and encouraged me to remove all rings and watches so 'I could be free'. 

I often describe her as "the one who hated me" even though I chose not to title this blog in those words.  It's possible she did like me or at least tolerate me. I know she didn't like that I was already teaching.  She didn't like that I played on keyboards.  She didn't like a multitude of things about me.  I never got to hear about the things I did well.  The drills on scales I won't ever forget nor will I ever teach them that way.  None of these things I took forward with me in my own teaching.

I received a 75% on my Royal Conservatory Grade 8 exam.  I thanked Mrs. Gibson and never looked back.  

I thought for a long time that 75% was a poor mark.  Many many years later and after putting my own students through multitudes of exams I have gained an understanding that it was actually a pretty good mark and that even the most exceptional of piano students only got marks in the 80's.  You see they mark in a way that means you have to prove your worth and show why you deserve the mark.  I spent a long time thinking less of myself.

But who really cares because I got the certificate and I've spent 30+ years teaching music.

A few years ago, I saw Mrs Gibson at a Royal Conservatory seminar.  I was shocked.  She still looked the same.  I didn't talk to her and she didn't recognize me.

Music Teachers | My Rockin' Organ Lessons Part 2

When I was finished with lessons from Su Ling Lo I went to a new teacher, Claude Rivet. He was a middle aged man with a thick Canadian French accent.  He taught out of the basement of his house and was able to teach me contemporary music, rock and even jazz.

I would play and he would accompany me on his piano or keyboard. He’d dance around and make faces to our playing. He had lots of practical information. He let me arrange and be as creative as I wanted to be. I was always a step ahead or sometimes several steps ahead. I could always go and learn things on my own. I don’t know if this frustrated him or just made his job easier.

At one of these Step Ahead Lessons, he asked if I would start on the next song.

“I can play it already.” I stated. But little did he know that I could not only already play it, but I had been working on if for quite a while. I had made introductions, accompaniment variations, sound and drum choices….everything. (In those days, we'd orchestrate the entire song and instruments were capable of playing back up in the roll of a band.)

“Okay, play it for me.” I think he didn’t believe me. The song was ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’. I probably liked the song so much because Corey Hart was singing it on the radio then. Gosh, that dates me doesn’t it? At any rate, when I was done playing the last note, I turned to look at Claude. “WOW!” He exclaimed and somewhat shocked. He praised me up and down for what I did and then we moved on to the next song.

I don't think he gave stickers.  Actually, I don't think any of my teachers gave stickers for rewards.

I ventured to his house every week for about 2 years and then he moved to teach in the Gordie Brandt’s Music Academy which had opened in a run down creaky ex movie theatre. It was during one of these lessons in this spooky old place that Claude informed me that he was getting out of teaching. I don’t remember what he was going to do, just that he was moving on. He explained that he had taught me everything he knew and he really didn’t feel that he could take me any farther. What he did need though, was someone to teach a couple beginner keyboard students of his on Saturday mornings. He asked me if I would want to try my hand at teaching and reassured me by saying that he would be around to keep an eye on me. I agreed.

So in the spring of the year I was turning 17 I began teaching. Claude did keep his eye on me. I taught for the Prince Albert Academy of Music as the old Gordie Brandt’s had gone bankrupt and changed hands.  One day he contacted me. He offered me the job of school director as they were trying to reopen Gordie Brandt’s. I declined. Not because I couldn’t do the job, but because I just didn’t trust that a new business would fly. I was right to go with my gut feelings. Since then, there's been many incarnations of that same music school.

Many years after this and just when I was beginning to feel burnt out from teaching we crossed paths again. I was working in Cotton Ginny in the mall and I happened to cut through the furniture store where he was working as a salesman. I told him how I was feeling and that I just needed to prove to myself that I could do other things. He said he understood, but that it was a shame because I was a natural. Claude told me that he even was getting back into teaching after all those years.

After Friending each other on Facebook, I did see Claude another time in recent years.  I was in Costco and I heard, "well look who it is?" and I wondered, who is it?  It was me.  I gave him a big hug right there in front of the rye bread and we did a little catch up.

I often think of his bopping around to music while we were practicing together and all his funny faces.  Sometimes I catch myself making faces when I listen to my own students play or perform.  I wonder if they notice. 

Music Teachers | My Rockin' Organ Lessons Part 1

By the end of grade seven I was finishing my clarinet career and trading up into the keyboard world.  Originally, I wanted to be in a band.  Be a rock star.  My parents bought me an inexpensive keyboard/synthesizer.  I could already read treble clef notes and I was trying to play a little by ear.  I would put the rhythms on and play away and dream.

One day, my Dad came home to say that if I was no longer going to play in the school band then I would have to take some other activity.  I was given the choice...piano or organ lessons.  

Let me take you back. This was about 1984-ish. Piano's were not digital. Piano's were the standard upright or baby grand vintage. Keyboards were just coming out. The organ on the other hand was awesome. They had drums and all kinds of sounds. Organs were cool. I chose Organ lessons. I know what you're thinking...not many organ rock groups out there. I didn't care.  

I should probably explain a huge difference between the piano and organ. The piano has one keyboard of 88 keys. The organ has two keyboards, foot pedals [much like a keyboard to be played with the left foot] and the expression pedal, for the right foot. The organ is more complicated to play because of the needed coordination of both hands and both feet.  

My teacher was a lady named Su Ling Lo. I was signed up for the 8 Week Introductory Course for $99. I would go into the basement which housed the music school and wait patiently every week. When the eight weeks were over I continued. She said I had promise. I learned quickly. had fun and I was good at it.  

The most vivid memory of her that I have and probably something that become one of my own vices was her pens and pencils. She had different colors laying about all over the organ. Su Ling would want to make a correction. Look about bewildered, and grab another pen or pencil from her desk. Which, no doubt would be lost in the jumble of other discarded pens and pencils littering the organs surface.  It wasn't just the organ.  They would litter the pianos and other keyboards in the room too.

For one of the competitions I entered I chose a Beatles tune. P.S. I Love You.  I was always a Beatles fan. I don't remember being nervous. I would win second place....always a point behind Caroline Haugen. Yes, I remember.  For three years, every festival we would play in we would be against each other. She would place first and I....second. One time we had to play a duet. When it came to our performance, she messed up and I got blamed.  

Another festival, I learned and performed As Long As He Loves Me.  Instead of performing live, we recorded my performance onto a cassette tape and the tape was sent to be adjudicated.  I remember doing it and Su Ling asking me "is that how you want to do it?".  Weeks later when the results came in she expressed her displeasure at how I didn't win.  She wasn't upset with me but was upset with the judging.  She made comment about the person who did win.  Looking back, as a teacher now, I completely understand those feelings.  We know how hard the students work and we always want it to pay off.  

My parents were always supportive of my efforts. There was always music in the house.  Many a weekend morning would include pancakes on the griddle and country tunes on the stereo.  Dad would come home from a long day at work and plop down in his favorite chair in the living room.  

"Play that song for me," he'd say.  

"What song."  

"The one that relaxes me."  

I'd flip pages to Endless Love and play away. Pretty soon Dad would not only be relaxed, but asleep. I'm still not sure if it's a good thing that my playing put him to sleep!  

The third year that Su Ling Lo was my teacher, she decided to combine students into groups. There was four of us in a group all playing organ. The problem was that two of us practiced and two of us didn't and sometimes one wouldn't show up at all. I was one that practiced. In fact, I would often be called up to the front of a class to demonstrate songs.  

I was probably about 14 to 15 years of age then. I was so far ahead of the other people in the organ group that I was hindered from progressing. We asked if I could again have private lessons. When we got the notice of the new schedule I couldn't believe what she had done to me. I was booked for Friday nights at 8 o'clock. Friday night to a 15 year old is totally unreasonable. Unthinkable. Friday was movie night.  

Dad and I took off for the music store and inquired about changing teachers. Not a problem, we were told. This was the end of my organ lessons with Su Ling Lo and her pen and pencil fetish.

Music Teachers | Elementary School Band

My very first music teacher was Bill Douglas. He was from Scotland. He would wear his shirt sleeves rolled up and had gold wire framed glasses. He was slightly balding and had grey tufts of hair. Mr. Douglas was my band instructor and later my Grade 6 teacher. I idolized Mr. Douglas.

In Grade 4, musicality exams were given. Those who scored high were chosen to participate in the band. I don't remember being on that list, however, there was room for 2 more students to begin. Derek Brunning and myself.  We chose the clarinet. We would stay at lunch time to learn how to read music and catch up to the others. Eventually, we were admitted into the band.

The first concert I remember playing in was one where we performed Moon River. Honestly, I don't remember that much about the experience. We were a small group, standing in a row on the stage at my elementary school belting out Moon River.

We progressed to the main band. We became the Arthur Pechey Elementary School Band. We were good. No. We were awesome. I remember playing the theme song from 'Dallas'. I remember my heart pounding in my chest with excitement at the final crescendo.

We travelled to a few different music festivals and always received good marks. A's and B's, but mostly A's. One lunch hour, Mr. Douglas wanted to record us. The cassette recorder was a high tech instrument back then so he used a spool recorder. I recall it looking somewhat like a movie projector with big spools of tape and knobs to turn on and off. He readied us, inspired us, "play for the Gipper" who ever that was. And we did. 

"That was the best I've ever heard you play," Mr. Douglas said. That really meant a lot coming from him. Then he walked over to the recorder. 

DOH!

It wasn't on. 

Whenever we gave performances, we had to wear a uniform of black pants, white long sleeve top, and the most glorious [hideous] Red Smock. The Red Smock, was made of stiff candy apple red polyester trimmed with black ticking. On the left breast was our school badge in colours of black, white and yellow. What a vision [nightmare] we were in our costumes.
I also had to wear my Lucky Socks. They were white knee high sports socks with a navy stripe and a yellow stripe at the top. My performance would suffer without those Lucky Socks. 

I loved those band days. At the end of Grade 7 I would change schools and band instructors. If I couldn't have Mr. Douglas for a band teacher, I didn't want to be in a band at all. I decided that was the end of my clarinet career. Besides, I had to retire my Lucky Socks....they had holes in them.

Let It In

I had wanted to write a blog about our 30th anniversary and the Christmas that followed our wedding.  Truth be told I don't remember lot's about the Christmas at Fredlund's house and feel like I should because most people in Hubby's family recall that as THE Christmas.  Maybe it was because I was so new to the family and it was just all overwhelming.  I'm not sure but when I think about it I also think about all the family members who aren't with us anymore and that reminds me that even though I've been trying to share all kinds of heartfelt things on this blog, the holidays are not full of happy memories for everyone and some people are living with celebrating a first Christmas without their loved ones.  We are also that family.

It's been a year.  That's all I can say.  2020 was a cakewalk compared to 2022.  Stay at home and bake brownies all the time while working from home?  Sign me up because back then everyone was well in my family and safe.  2022 was a year where I didn't dare ask 'what next' and kept saying over and over God will not give us more than we can bare.  

It's been a test of Faith.  When the pandemic hit, we stopped attending church like most people.  We keep saying we need to go back but haven't.  We've watched like many do on YouTube.  I know attending church is important but I also think praying in the quiet stillness of home is what's helped me endure.  I'm reminded that no matter how messy our life is, God is there to help us pick up the pieces.  And man, 2022 has been messy.

I've had to lean on a lot of people.  Of course my family and friends were there for us but it was my coworkers who probably should get an award for the amount of venting they've endured!  At the same time, wow, what special people they are.  They listened without judgement and it really meant a lot.  The ice cream cake for my 50th birthday, which should have been a fun day, was amazing but happened during a time of grief and misunderstanding.  The Moderators on ABC Rider Fans just took over when things got really tough and they listened and listened and listened some more.  It's because of all of these people that when the holiday sparkle was slightly ignited back in November, I decided to let it all in.

Kicking Up Their Heals

At some point during the Christmas season, my parents would attend my Dad's work Christmas party and I would get to go spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I was young and it was a long long time ago now and I don't remember specifics but I know spending time with them was always special.

We'd sit at the dining room table and play card games.  Grandma and I would play Go Fish and Grandpa would play Solitaire.  We'd drink tea but Grandma would always call it "coffee/tea" and laughed about the time she poured tea into Grandpa's coffee making it real CoffeeTea.  Grandma would also say things like "heavens" when I'd tell a far fetched story and reply with "they're busy kicking up their heals" when I'd inquire as to what my parents might be doing.

I remember cousin Kim being there once and teaching me how to draw Snoopy and I remember Grandpa carefully teaching me how to make an origami bowtie.  It's something I can still remember how to make today.  However, one very special thing stands out first and foremost.  One time Grandpa got out the Consumers Distributing Christmas book and it very well could have been the Sears Wish Book or both.  I was writing my letter to Santa Claus.  Grandpa told me it was very very important to tell Santa all the page numbers, product numbers and prices of everything I wanted.  I wanted a lot.  This was the year the new Barbie-like doll Sindy came out.  She had an elaborate house with incredibly detailed furnishings.  There were tiny dishes and cutlery and just amazing things that tickled my fancy.  I carefully wrote it all down for Santa.

In those days, Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We would exchange gifts with them and have snacks.  This particular time there were many gifts with my name on them.  When I got to open my presents they were all the items I had so carefully listed for Santa Claus making my wildest childhood wishes coming true.

It would take hours to set up that Sindy house and it took up lots of space but it was so special.  It would stay set up forever because it took so much work but as I grew up and was less and less interested it all got packed away.  I'm pretty sure its still in storage at my parents.  I don't know if there's anything like it for kids these days.  I don't know if today's kids would even want to play with such things, but I sure did, and for a while it was the best gift ever.

Christmas Beans to Eat (Swedish Brown Beans Recipe)

At Christmastime 1999, I got the Hanson Snowed In CD.  It's still one of my very favourites to listen to for getting into the holiday spirit.  There's one song titled "Christmas Means to Me (My Love) but my husband has changed the words to be Christmas Beans to Eat.  We had just moved into our new house and had Brother In Law and family as our first house guests.  I remember how hectic it was to get the house finished for their arrival.  When we moved in the kitchen wasn't even finished!  The best memory though, is our Nieces singing and making up dance routines to that Hanson CD.

Sunday Roast Supper

I am not Scandinavian.  Well, unless you count my Grandfathers sister (I think it was) married a 

Norwegian man...but that doesn't have an actual impact on me.  What does have an impact is that apparently when you marry someone who is Norwegian and Swedish you yourself adopt lot's of their traditions.

One of us!  One of us!

My favourite Christmas item on the big festive meal is Swedish Brown Beans.  The odd thing is that those who grew up in the family prefer other items, but for those of us who married in we love and look forward to the brown beans.

My Mother In Law grows Swedish beans in her garden.  She has a fantastic garden and even when she says things haven't turned out you can guarantee they're more prolific there than anywhere else.  A good number of years ago she gave me a cool whip container of beans.  I'm going to say it was at least 5 years ago.  I put them in the back of the pantry with the intention of one day cooking them.

One day finally came last Saturday morning where I awoke with the idea to cook them in the instant pot.  I got out the "Cooking Favorites of Covenant Women" cookbook from my treasure trove of cookbooks and quickly searched for the recipe.  It had been submitted by Mrs. Doris Anderson.  See all good recipes worth making come from this cookbook and I have one which was passed down to us.  The inscription in perfect handwriting says "To Aunt Emma From Evelyn" with my name and Hubby's added below.

The photos and instructions below are my account of cooking these Swedish Brown Beans in my Instant Pot in about an hour.  The original recipe states 4 hours.  You should be able to 'right click and save' if you're so inclined to try it out and please let me know if you do!

 

My Dad Knew Santa

Faint jingling bells could be heard from the other end of the hallway that led to the Bridge Room on the top floor of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.  The room was filled with little kids dressed in their Christmas finery and bursting with excitement.  I was one of those kids and what made it even more special was that my dad actually knew Santa Claus himself.

You see, my dad was the Press Room Foreman at the Daily Herald and co-chaired the Social Club.  He was in charge of organizing the children's Christmas party.  A few days before the big event, Dad would bring presents home, on Mr. Clauses behalf, to hand out to the kids.  They'd be from The Bay and would be wrapped in festive wrapping and bows.  Ice cream cups would be picked up...you know the kind, with those little wooden spoons that even as an adult leave you with a dry taste in your mouth.  The entertainment would be planned, and hamburgers ordered.

There was wild anticipation but there would always be a movie or two.  The movies would be rented from the library and were the real kind of movies using a film projector.  Every year, we'd watch the one about the Maple Leaf hockey sweater.

Then...

"I think I hear Santa coming!" Dad would say and sure enough the Big Man himself would start the jingling and Ho Ho Ho-ing as he entered the room.  Santa would greet the kids and do the customary questions like whether we'd been good or not.  Of course, we'd been good!  Treat bags would be handed out containing bridge mixture, those little foiled bell chocolates and balls and of course candy canes.  The most important would be the gifts because it was always something we really wanted.  One of the last gifts I received was a large plush stuffed pink and white teddy bear.  The kids would rip into their gifts and paper would fly as holiday chaos ensued.  

Santa would make another round of greetings and he'd be gone.

We'd eat our burgers, fries and ice cream.  Families would start leaving and after tidying up the Bridge Room we'd leave for home too.  It was the best afternoon ever.

Hectic Holidays

There's a Christmas mash-up medley that I love to teach called Hectic Holidays.  It's got snippets of every well-known Christmas carol and a few surprises too.  The idea of the song is to mimic what it's like to dash from store to store while Christmas shopping and hearing the songs being played in each store.  It's a great arrangement but not the easiest to pull off.

I was a piano teacher for about 10+ years when we moved and instead of continuing with that career at the time, I chose to work in retail.  If there's anything more fun than shopping for yourself, then its helping other people shop!  I worked for a women's clothing retailer which specialized in sizing from 4-24 and is no long in business.  Before I worked there, I shopped there, and one of the perks was the employee discount and of course you were made to wear the clothing while working.

The holidays were especially crazy and fun to work.  There were lots of specialty items that would be marketed just for season.  The polar fleece sweaters with adorable festive prints were favourites for many.  Wives would come in and set things on hold for their husbands to come do their Christmas shopping later on.  Some poor forlorn husbands would rush in on Christmas Eve expecting to still find the sweater their sweetums saw back in November and we'd have to tell them no, sorry, that's sold out.

The store would hire special staff just for the holiday rush and for the chaos that ensued on Boxing Day.  The change rooms always looked like a bomb went off.  Shauna was our fitting room guru.  I'd never seen someone create such magic in the helping and clearing of the change rooms.  I'm not sure I've even seen it since!  I have some really great memories of that time and sometimes I can still feel what it was like to be in the store at closing time, cleaning and folding in the quiet, and what it sounded like to close the door at the end of the day.

When I'd moved on to management with a different Canadian retailer, the mall held Midnight Madness.  The stores would stay open until midnight, and we'd all have to take turns working a shift once.  I remember one particular time we were lacking energy and maybe for some reason it wasn't that busy at that particular time, so I went down to the Starbucks on break and returned with chocolate covered coffee beans.  Myself and my coworker ate them, and the result was energy alright but also insomnia for the rest of the weekend!

I worked in retail for about 5 years when the fun left and the hours and staff drama started to get to me.  I remember walking into the music school and the director at the time asked, "what's taken you so long?" Teaching was really my calling and I'd gotten several signs that I was indeed meant to return to it.  While that's still true these many years later, I still try to be kind when I'm shopping and even the other day a cashier complimented me for being so patient with her.  I've been on that side of the counter and there's no point getting upset.  It doesn't prove nor solve anything.  If we can't be kind during the holidays then really, when can we be?

I've noticed a real return to non-covid shopping this year.  In my excursions parking lots are once again full and stores are bustling, and the Christmas tunes are flowing.  It's so great to see that maybe Christmas doesn't all come from an Amazon box after all.  If you are out and about doing your holiday shopping, soak in the atmosphere, be kind and thank your frazzled retail workers.

Ye Olde Photo Camera

I was watching the Hallmark movie Haul Out the Holly last week and there was a part of the story where the main character had a Polaroid camera.  It was a flashback to when she was young and took photos of the Christmas celebrations in her town.  It got me to thinking that I also have a Polaroid camera.

It was very late and possibly midnight, but in a fit of nostalgia I dug through the cabinet doors of the hallway built in, to find my Polaroid camera.  There it was in its carrying case as pristine as ever.  I knew there was film left in it because a number of years ago I took it to work with me as part of my tourist Halloween costume.  I stood in the corner in my pajamas and lined up my camera in hopes it might still work and snapped a photo of our Christmas tree.

Nope.  It didn't work.  Well, it did take a photo but because the film cartridge has its own battery power it was likely so old that it just didn't want to work to its potential.  So, the two photos which were left didn't want to pop out nor were pictures visible.

Bummer.

A quick perusal of Amazon, London Drugs, and the Polaroid website told me that yes, indeed you can still buy Polaroid film in a vast array...for $29.99 which I suppose isn't that bad for some thing so retro.  But hold the train, that only buys 8, yes, EIGHT, photos.

Yikes.

I have 1000 photos saved on my iPad alone.

The difference is that besides sharing them on Facebook or Instagram, no one really sees them.  Gone are the days we'd take a roll of film to be developed only to find out weeks later how the pictures turned out.  We'd save them into photo albums and haul them out to show family members and guests.  One of the favorite activities at my In-Laws is to look through old photos and hear the stories connected to them.  I don't remember a Christmas as a little kid at my Grandparents where there wasn't at least one or two pictures resting on the coffee table waiting for the images to appear.  Now we post, share, like and maybe comment before moving on and it's all forgotten.

It's not all bad.  If it weren't for social media helping us to see what is going on in each other's lives I wouldn't get to see my friend who lives in Edmonton on the beach in Mexico.  I wouldn't get to see my Nieces share photos of their little one's meeting Santa.  This last year, when we wanted to gather photos of loved one's remembrance, I dove into the photo albums though.

The last time I had photos printed was in 2019 and at Costco.  Now they don't even have a photo department.  I made my Husband a collage shadow box of our trip to Utah and Nevada for Christmas that year.  It now hangs in our living room.

At work, I take photos of my students and print them myself to post on my classroom wall.  They love to see themselves and others who have completed the same music books they have.

Some of you still take special Christmas family photos for the annual Christmas card.  Are you planning on taking pictures this year?  How will you share them?  Maybe this is the year to set them out on the coffee table for the family to enjoy.

Cookies! (Recipe Included)

 

From "Christmas Cookies" by George Strait

I saw a meme last week that says every recipe blog starts off with how the blogger was out for a wintery walk and it reminded them of tobogganing as a child and yadda yadda yadda and the poster just wanted to hurry up and get to the recipe and who cares about the other stuff.  While I do feel the pain of having to navigate all that nonsense to get to the real information, I think we all want to share our warm fuzzy memories of the season with our readers, family and friends.

There's a Roughrider fan in every crowd!

Some of my fondest Christmas memories are of my Mom and me baking cookies. I remember having to kneel on a kitchen chair at the cupboard and watching with wild anticipation as Mom would roll out the dough and then we'd choose just the exactly right cookie cutters.  I was really blessed to have a childhood which contains sweet memories like these.  I was equally fortunate to have a niece and nephew who I was close to, so when I was older and married, I'd invite them to my house to make cookies.  One year in particular, my niece was sick and couldn't come for cookie decorating so my nephew and I did it but put some aside in a special care package to take to her.  She proclaimed that the Christmas cookies held special healing powers because upon eating them she immediately was feeling better.

Jingling Rider Fan Medicine Woman.

Flash forward to when I became a more enthusiastic Saskatchewan Roughrider fan.  I purchased a set of Wilton Football Themed cookie cutters.  The set includes shapes for pennants, footballs, jerseys and helmets.  I only used the jerseys and helmets pictured below, although the recipe, which is coming up soon, makes enough cookies for the whole neighbourhood and then some so you can use your whole array of cookie cutters.  I do have a very extensive collection from all the obvious Christmas shapes to Snoopy and that cute truck with a tree in the back.  Of course, you may already have your own favourite sugar cookie recipe, or you might not have the time to make it and in that case the cookie dough in the cooler section will do just fine.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

Without dragging it out farther... here is the recipe for Mom's Sugar Cookies.  There aren't any special instructions except throw it all in a mixer to combine.  Form it into a roll, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  If you don't refrigerate the dough, it will be pretty much disastrous and frustrating as the dough won't be able to be worked with.  Roll out the dough and cut into shapes, football themed or otherwise and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8 minutes.  I use silicon mats on my baking sheets, so the cookies don't get overly brown and so cleanup is a snap.  One substitution you can make is the butter/shortening.  You can use margarine instead and the recipe still turns out wonderfully.

Once the cookies are completely cooled you can frost them with your favourite method.  Back as a kid we'd just use your regular butter cream homemade frosting with a myriad of sprinkles.  These days because my Hubby calls sprinkles "gravel" I bypass that method.  One year I purchased Cakemate Cookie Icing in various colours and although it didn't turn out to be my favourite product the cookies turned out pretty and tasty.

Go Riders!

Another year, I coated the cookies in white frosting and then used food markers to decorate.  These turned out to be my favourite cookies although the process was very time consuming because the markers had to dry completely, or they'd smudge.  That was also the year, where Hubby didn't know of how I'd toiled over the cookies and a good portion of them had "disappeared" before I'd found out.  

The table display for New Years Eve 2019

Maybe you want to make a batch of these for your favourite Riders fan or just make some sweet memories with some close family members.  I hope this blog was enjoyable to read and if it was, please share it with others on your Christmas list.  Nothing says love like a homemade gift-wrapped stack of sugar cookies shared with your family and friends.

Oh Snap! Looks pretty happy for a guy who just lost a leg!