An Evening At Eastman

The weekend had a smidgen of warmth--enough for Josh and me to spend some time drawing with chalk on the driveway.

 

 

Susan, for no reason, made chocolate cupcakes over the weekend. Josh's somehow turned into a moustache. 

So much for the old photos. This evening we had a piano lesson. Sam's missed the last two due to illness or feline demise, and this Friday we are out of town, so we shoe-horned a lesson into the middle of the week.

First, you have to know that this old building has some fun quirks, such as little glass-doored closets which I think used to house fire extinguishers. They have no interior door knob, so if you got stuck inside you'd have to break the glass to get out. Josh loves to play in these, so naturally Sam wanted a turn too:

 

This is Josh behind a stairwell railing. Surely does look like he's doing time.

 

This evening we couldn't explore Kodak Hall because of an Eastman Wind Ensemble concert. The concert begun shortly before we left, so on the way out I went in to see if we could catch a snippet. I have always wanted to hear the world-famous EWE (and I think it breaks Stu's heart that I live here and don't go to hear them at least once a year).  Since they were in the middle of a piece we had to go up to the very back of the balcony. Here's the view:

 

 

And here's a bootleg snippet from their performance of movement four, Scherzo, from Jeff Tyzik's Trilogy. Just amazing! The boys were rapt--they really felt the electricity of a live performance, and it didn't hurt that the music happened to be exciting and accessible. The performance previewed pieces which will be on an upcoming CD.

 

 

Half an hour earlier I snuck in the stage entrance to the auditorium and got a very short clip of the ensemble warming up:

 

 



Very exciting!

Oh, and Sam continues to really enjoy piano, and his teacher is happy with what he's doing as well.

Other snippets from Susan:

Josh, riding his balance bike in the driveway: I'm going to Africa! Now I'm in Africa. This is Africa.
Me: Cool. Where are you going next?
Josh: Wegmans.

and

Over breakfast this morning, while I'm walking around the kitchen:

Josh: Say, "Are you okay?"
Me: Um, all right. Are you okay?
Josh: Say, "Oh be careful!"
Me: Oh be careful! What happened anyway, Josh?
Josh, mournfully stroking the edge of the island counter: I bite this.

Oh, and can't forget these:

I brought Mr. Potato Head out for Josh for the first time, but Sam suddenly got into the act...led to some interesting experiences for Mr. Head. Sadly, he sustained a terrible wound at one point and lost his guts. Bounced back nicely.

The morning routine ranges anywhere from peaceful and cheerful to a traumatic sprint--we never know when we get up what to expect. Here are some breakfast anecdotes from Susan:

I buy a lot of breakfast cereal. Not Fruit Loops, but stuff the boys like: Cheerios, Rice Chex, Kix, Frosted Mini-Wheats.

We were out of Kix, a particular favorite, and I tried to buy more but the store just didn't have it. I thought, "Raisin bran. Haven't had that in ages. That sounds nice."

So this morning I say to Sam, "Look, the store was out of Kix, but I picked up some raisin bran. I thought that looked really good. I haven't had it in ages." Sam groused. (Well, hey, it's Monday.) He left the kitchen for a minute. When he came back, he said, reprovingly, "You know, Mom, you have to buy stuff that the family likes too."

Yup. Because I bought raisin bran. Once. One time in like five years.

I am such a selfish person. It's all about me, folks.

And:

A ballad, to be sung to the tune of whatever's stuck in your head at the moment:

Oh don't look under the kitchen chair,
for it's scary what you may find down there.
Today was waffle and syrup day,
and the children dropped aplenty.

Oh the rain boots are wet,
the jammies are flyin',
the elephant's sticky,
his fur is a-dryin'.
Today was waffle and syrup day,
and the children dropped aplenty.

Oh don't look too close at the older boy's head,
for his hair is tangled as if he had bled.
Today was waffle and syrup day
and the children dropped aplenty.

Oh the sneakers are tied,
the bus is a-comin',
the lunchbox is closed,
and Mommy's a-hummin'.
Today was waffle and syrup day,
and the children dropped aplenty.