Author: admin (Page 28 of 89)

After tonight’s performance, I’ll have 7 trips to the Red Barn done and 7 to go. Last night, the 6th time through the music, I finally felt I had it all down. It is really a challenge for me to be playing off a part that has no vocals written in, because I’m so used to playing off a conductor’s score. But I’m getting all the entrances and where they are in my music figured out. I still have no idea what most of the soloists are singing about, since the band is so loud, but if I really cared, I could listen to the c.d. It is really rock and roll-y, and isn’t something I’d listen to for enjoyment, so I haven’t listened to it more than once and I’m not sure I made it all the way through then. Another good thing about this show is that we’re done and on the way home by just a few minutes past 10:00!

I probably mentioned that I agreed to play Keyboard 2 for Footloose up at the Red Barn. Well, tonight is opening night. It is a very, very solid show. Isaiah Jensen and Scott Jensen both have lead roles (remind you of Smoke on the Mountain, Erica?) They are both phenomenal. Emma Martin also absolutely shines in her role. You probably remember her as a very little girl, but she has turned out to be quite the singer, actress and dancer.

We have a rather big pit band, with three keyboards – John Dutmer on main piano, me on the backup sounds, like organ, string, brass, etc. and a revolving door of people on the bass part on the other one. Actually I guess we have an actual bass player one or two nights. Then we have an amazing guitar player and an equally amazing reed player, who plays flute, clarinet, tenor sax and bari sax, depending on what is called for. Then we have Jim Hurst on percussion, and he is the best money can buy. So, yeah. We have a good pit. Unfortunately we are mostly told we are too loud! I’m enjoying knowing that I can miss a note here or there and no one on stage will be the wiser. It was such pressure being the main pianist, because they count on you always playing it the same as you have before and being there for all the entrances and following if you get on the wrong verse. On Keyboard 2 I can just do my best and go home! And still get paid the same amount.

here is the link: http://youtu.be/u8il-FNCVrc

We sold out of food by 12:05 today at our brat and hot dog fund raiser. First we ran out of brats, then hot dogs, then hamburgers. We had cheese and buns left. Anyway, that meant that we could clean up a lot before the parade was even over, so we were home by 2:00. Amazing! And the weather was perfect.

I’m thinking of getting some large prints made of some of my flower photos for decorating my fitness studio and I was wondering if any of you had a suggestion of a website that has fairly decent prices on large enlargements, or even enlargements on canvas like the one Luke and Krista gave us of the family.

Here are some of my latest for your flower viewing enjoyment:

Aren’t flowers grand??

I’ll create a you tube account later, but for now, some photos.

This is walking in the front door into the entryway, looking into the dining room, past which is the living room.

This is the kitchen, taken from just inside the door of the previous picture, and looking to the right.

Another of the kitchen

This is the bedroom straight ahead from the kitchen. Notice how nice the hardwood floors in the bedrooms cleaned up.

This is the other bedroom, just south of this one.

This is the bathroom.

This is the upstairs room. This was taken before the trim was put down, so it looks even better now!

Back downstairs, here is the living room, on the south side of the house.

Here is a slightly different angle of the living room. The dining room is through the window. It was still quite messy with tools and such when I took the pictures.

Here are some interesting pictures of things that turned out well, in my opinion:

The old window that we cleaned up and put between the main rooms.

The steps between the dining room and living room:

The little box that hides a heat run to the living room:

I’m very glad we are done and we are pleased as punch with the family that is living in it. They appreciate it SO MUCH! They even invited us to dinner last night as we were finishing up – grilled burgers, salads, etc. Very nice. We hardly ever get invited to dinner!

And I’ll finish with a “before picture” of the kitchen!

The robin’s eggs hatched. There seem to be four baby birds. Is that how many eggs there were? I thought there were more. Anyway, a couple of pictures for you.  (For everyone else – the nest was on the upper level of the play set in the back yard of 117)

We worked like fiends today and got quite a lot accomplished. Everything seems to take so long when you are trying to hurry, though. We got most of the trim in. There is still one side of two different doors that needs to be trimmed and a couple of pieces of mop board to put in. Then we need to do some more trim upstairs in the big room. I have the three biggest pieces cut and in place, but the end of the room with the door needs to be finished. We also need to finish the ugly stairway and put the replacement door at the bottom of the stairs. And the toe boards in the kitchen. And that is about it.

The renters – their names are Josh and Amber – moved a few pieces of furniture and all the stuff for the kitchen cupboards today. Tomorrow they have help, so they are moving the big furniture. It looks like we will be out of their way just in time!

They are excited to be moving in and we are equally excited to be almost finished.

Pictures tomorrow. I also took a video walking through, but I’m not sure how to post it on you tube.  Any advice, anyone?

The Rug Doctor, that is. The renters are moving in beginning Sunday, so I thought I’d better do the carpets today so they’d be dry by Sunday. That probably is confusing, since we are redoing everything. But Gary gave us a carpet he pulled out of somewhere and we used it for the upstairs room that is not a bedroom. When we finally unrolled it, we were disappointed how dirty it was. Plus, there was a big stained area. Anyway, it really needed cleaning, so I did that, then the little bit of carpet between the kitchen and bedrooms that we put there because of the discrepancy in floor heights. It had taken quite a beating during the remodeling, so I did that, too.

Then I brought it up to Chetek and began work on the carpets in the new building. It is a big place, so I didn’t do them all. But I did the office, the main exercise studio, the waiting room, the music studio and the main living area. Basically I did every room that isn’t going to have any work done on it, so I skipped the bedroom and the room that will be connected to it and the recording studio and the room we are going to use for storage, because what is the point of cleaning that?

Now I’m off to measure all the used cabinets we’ve collected and see if I can fashion a kitchen that will fit our space and the appliances we have. Fun!

Here’s a flash from the past – remember the black tub surround that was in there? We sold the black monstrosity on Craig’s List! Of course the bathroom is reconfigured, too, with the door on the opposite side.The interesting thing is that the toilet and cabinet behind it are still in the same place.  The tub is now where the sink was. And the sink is kind of where the tub was, except there is a door into the bathroom beyond where the tub was because we put the entrance through what was the closet in the bedroom beyond it. And where the photographer was standing is now a wall with the hallway on the other side of it.