Month: December 2014

The piano at the Center was acting up when I played my Christmas program a couple weeks ago, so I called Dale Skerhutt about it. He left a message recommending something I could try, but when I went to try it, the piano was absolutely fine. Both keys played.

Fast forward to today, getting ready for the recital. I thought I’d check them again, just to be sure. Neither would play. We are talking about a and c above middle c, so they are used a lot. Scott Jensen showed up with Joseph for the recital and he looked at  it, but there wasn’t anything he could do. So he helped me go home and haul my keyboard over, while the audience just sat and waited. We actually only started 5 minutes late, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. And most of the songs were very short, so we were done with all 10 students in less than a half hour.

But what good is a beautiful grand piano when it won’t play when you need it???? Grrrrrrr!!!

I think I have the flu. I didn’t get a flu shot, but the person I caught this from did get the shot and she said it is the type the shot didn’t cover. At any rate, I was feeling pretty poorly on Saturday, but decided to go to Waukesha anyway. Plenty of time for rest, actually. Grandma Fritz was sick, too – passing a kidney stone. So she was doped up on meds the whole time. Not the greatest visit we’ve ever had! And I didn’t go in to visit with my mom, but Dad took her gifts in and visited with her for a while, so that was good. We were expecting snow on the way home, but it didn’t materialize. We could tell it had snowed earlier, but everything was just slush by the time we got here. So that was good.

I went in to work today just to open  up and man the phones until my volunteer got in. I do have group lessons to do today, as well as practicing with the high school choir and playing for their concert tonight. But my fever is gone now and I don’t feel too bad. Kind of fuzzy-brained is all. And a very bad cough.

I worked 27 hours, plus all the music things on Monday and a funeral on Tuesday and all the regular piano lessons throughout the week. I actually missed two yesterday. They had rescheduled and called when the door was locked and I, unfortunately, was shopping with Dad in Rice Lake  – I’d completely forgotten about it. Oh, well…

Let me share what happened today. The gal that has been stirring up most of the trouble came in with a couple other ladies and undecorated the Center. She had apparently donated a lot of stuff for decorating and came and took back all her stuff. Instead of taking her strings of lights off the tree, she just cut them all and left them on the tree. So I had to take them all off, so I can put new ones on. But it was just appalling. I was so angry I was literally shaking. All I actually said to her was that she wasn’t hurting Tina (the head of the nutrition program who, fortunately, is on vacation), but all the people who come to the Center. Didn’t matter. I did make a comment to the people in my class that it reminded me of the Grinch. Well, it did.  She even pulled little yarn bows off the little trees on the tables. I’m sure she just threw the yarn away, but she couldn’t possibly have just left them on the trees. AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!  Things are really bad there. Keep praying for us.

I’m really glad it is Friday.

The monthly potluck was today and the turnout was really low. At first I thought it was some sort of silent protest, but then I realized that it was because the funeral for a very long-time community resident and regular at the senior center was at the same time. So we were actually lucky to have anyone!  Those of us there (about 16 or so) had good food, and a time to sit and chat, then listen to me play a few songs, then sing a few Christmas songs. All-in-all it went well and I enjoyed being back.

Everywhere I go, people tell me how very glad they are that I am back, which sure does make me feel good!

I liked to get the newsletter out at the potluck and that is this coming Thursday, since next Thursday is Christmas. So today I decided I’d get it done by Thursday, because I want people to know in advance about the New Year’s Eve party that was not previously scheduled. Not only did I have to come up with content, but I had to learn to use a new publisher program, totally come up with the layout, rather than just filling in spaces, and type in all the things that are usually just left from month to month – bus schedules, etc. I went back tonight and finished it, including the activity calendar for January. Oh, and I also had a funeral to play for in the middle of the day and a tai chi class I teach at 9:00 on Tuesdays and quite a few fires to put out regarding the whole director situation.

I would call that a pretty productive day! Tomorrow I have to figure out how to print the newsletter. They have a new printer and it supposedly will do big paper like newsletters are printed on. We’ll see!

I knew things were going poorly at the senior center since about May. I tried to encourage people to give Jan a chance. But the last time I heard complaints about how bad things were, I decided I would go back if asked. And I let the mayor know as much. (The current mayor is a fellow I worked with quite closely at the Center when I was there – he was the president of the senior citizens for a while, as well as one of the van drivers.)

The director had received a verbal warning back in late summer. This past week, she was receiving a written warning, since things have not approved, and she decided to resign. I was ready to step into the interim position the next day. But, unfortunately, this was my absolute busiest week of the year. Had I been employed, I would have taken last week as vacation, just because I had so many different rehearsals and performances. I managed to squeeze in about 7 hours of work between Wednesday and Saturday, though, including the annual Christmas party that I was not planning on attending. Once the Roselawn program and college music juries are finished up tomorrow, I will have more time to work at the Center. I also turned in my resume for the position when it opens up, so am hoping to be able to go back and clean up the awful mess this director has made.

The biggest problem is that she has split people into two factions – the ones who are on her side and the ones who are not. She didn’t get along with the nutrition director, for some reason. No one else has ever not gotten along with Chris Miller. She is a very nice person and goes out of her way to help people. So that was the start of the problem, but it grew to much more than that, alienating a lot of people and making the Center basically a not very nice place to be. I never stayed longer than necessary to do my classes.

So now I am back and discovering all sorts of interesting things that have gone on in the past 11 months. It was almost as though she set out to do things NOT the way Chris Fritz did them. Which is silly because the way I did things was what got us accredited in 2010, making us one of the few accredited senior centers in northern Wisconsin. Why would she want to change what was working perfectly well? Beats me!

I’ve been praying a lot for the right words to say and the right way to treat everyone, especially the people I know don’t approve of me, because there are those people. And God has sent people my way to say things to me that have been very uplifting and have come from people, and in situations, that could only have been orchestrated by God. So I know I am in the right place at the right time, but I could use all the prayers you could offer on my behalf.

I’m about halfway through the really busy time of the year now. I’ve already played for the two Red Cedar choir concerts, sung twice with the New Auburn choir, and played for the middle school concert.

Today I practice with the kids at the college – three vocalists and two instrumentalist, then play for their recital on Thursday. Thursday is also the Cameron program day, one at 1:00 and one at 7:00, and I practice all afternoon tomorrow with them. The practice is really a dress rehearsal, with an audience, so it is a bit stressful, considering I’ve never gone through the music with them until that point. But it always works out. The Chetek Roselawn concert is this coming Monday, so I’ll be in practicing with them all the rest of my spare time this week. Sunday is also the Methodist church program that I always play for, so that means Wednesday evening and Saturday morning practices. Plus two more New Auburn choir performances over the weekend. (I sing in a trio with Leslie (Madison) Olson and Jennifer Albrecht on one of the numbers.) Next Monday is not only the Roselawn program, but also the 5 student juries, but once that is over, all I have left is the high school concert the following Monday, plus playing for the senior citizens December birthday party on that Thursday.

Whew! Makes me tired just writing it down!

First, some pictures of the replacement of the back door project.

The back room blocked off to keep the rest of the house warmer.

Work in progress

the end of day 1.

End of day 2 – door with window and storm door.

Beautiful window lets more light in.

Just by way of explanation – We had found a door without a frame, which had a plain, boring window and we’d also found a window for a door, that we got for free. But then, we had to buy a whole new, cheap door to get the needed door frame. At the end of day 1, we just had finished putting that frame and door in. On the second day, Dad traded that door with the one we’d bought and replaced the window in. Make sense?

And now for some Christmas decorating pictures:

Small Santa collection

Hutch with usual decoration and two Christmas turtles.

Penny rug runner on counter

Christmas tiles on the perpetual calendar.

Handmade nativity scene

Medium Santas on the organ

Small tree with Grandma McCrea’s handmade ornaments

Whirlygig decoration in waiting room

Old fashioned lamp and Santa

Nativity collection on entryway table

Wreath on decorative door in fitness room

Tree just outside waiting room

Shelf-hanger Santa

And, finally, we couldn’t keep Pippi from jumping over the baby gate, so we put in something  a bit higher, and easier for us to navigate, as well.