On The Road

Sue and I just got back from visiting Sean, Sasha and their Little People in So. California. The trip was fun and we got to use our TSA Pre-check status for the first time, it went smooth. The grand kids had lots of sporting events last Saturday, each one of them had a soccer game plus Bria had a softball game. Devan and Bria have been attending a soccer skills program and I observed the two girls using their skills in each of their respective games, not bad for 7 and 6 years old respectively. On Sunday Sean took us all bowling but the arcade area was more interesting to the kids. The visit to LA was fun, the food was great and the hugs and snuggles with the grand kids more than worth the travel time.

Coming up, I have a few Masonic activities - my Official Visit to three Lodges, the Outdoor Fellowcraft Degree in Roche Harbor in May and the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Washington in June. Also this Summer Sue and I will visit Ireland. This is SOOoooo exciting: I've not been out of the country since my 1983 trip to Japan.

More on Music

Sue and I are listening to a new singing group, a family actually, The Willis Clan. OK, OK - I'll tell you how it happened. After getting hooked on watching music videos on YouTube (see a recent POST on the subject) I looked to see what talent was on for the Fall of 2014. I noted The Willis Clan was competing and so I clicked on the link. I saw their first audition and was hooked. So I looked for more videos and was rewarded with several. That led me to 'Google' their Web page and a purchase two T-shirts. The shirts are pretty cool with a Celtic Cross on the back.

The Willis Clan is a family of very talented musicians, dancers, athletes and just fine people. There are 12 children, though in truth nearly half could not be called children, being in their early 20's and late-mid teens. The youngest is about 4, see photo at right. Each of the older youngsters, I think I can call them that since I'm 66, plays several instruments very well. Their music tends toward traditional Irish and Bluegrass, but they can play most any genre. All of the older kids and many of the younger ones dance multiple styles, Irish Step Dancing for sure, but also swing and ballroom. A few have won Championships - there are some YouTube videos if you'd care to see them in action.

I do hope you'll check this family's music out, they have two albums for sale and you can view a number of videos of them singing on YouTube. 

Good Things about April and music. April is the month that our Grandson Conor Patrick Moriarty turned 5 years old. He is growing so fast, but he needs to in order to keep up with this two older sisters. April is also the birthday month for my favorite classical crossover singer, Jackie Evancho, whose latest album, Awakening, is really good in my opinion. I especially like her renditions of U2's With or Without You and The Rains of Castamere. Jackie turned 15 a few days ago. My pleasure listening playlist features Jackie along with Anna Graceman and the Willis Clan. For purely instrumental music I like The Willis Clan,  The Piano Guys, violinists Taylor Davis and Lindsey Stirling, and, pianists Michael Allison, Rhonda Mackert and Joe Yamada. Eugene Ormandy (Philadelphia Orchestra) is my favorite conductor-though he is no longer with us. For composers I like James Horner, Rachael Portman, Howard Shore and Hanz Zimmer and John Williams to name a few.

My newest Facebook friend is Anna Graceman who performed on AGT in the Fall of 2011. She posted a wonderful photo of herself (center) with her brother and sister. Anna has lots of fun YouTube videos and of course, like most of the other artists noted above you can purchase her music at iTunes and her website AnnaGraceman.com

I hope everyone has a great Spring. I'll try to get to my Blog more regularly - I should have some building projects to report on in the weeks ahead. ~ John

Where Was Winter

It's Spring now, so the calendar says but it feels like Winter was here for only a long week and then left. That was too bad because the local Ski Area had to close down early. Sue and I not too bummed out about this lack of Winter because we were able to get much needed brush cleared. I've restarted one building project and begun another. My little work-out hut is getting a wooden floor and I'm going to put up a car port. March is nearly gone and my grandson Conor turns 5 year old on April Fools Day. Sue and I will be down in LA area to see him, his tow older sisters and their parents of course.

Actually Sue and I did already make a family trip this year. Back in late January we went down to Astoria Oregon to welcome a new granddaughter, Flora, into the world. Momma and baby girl are doing well and I'll do some needed bragging in a future post.

I did write a post in October but my time to write went south when I agreed to finish the remaining term of a fellow Mason who was our local Deputy of the Grand Master for Dist. Ten. They picked me because I've been the Deputy before and I wasn't bright enough to say NO. Well, that's not actually true, it was a job needing to be done and I knew the ropes so it was better to bring in experience (me) than  to throw someone new into the deep end of the pool.
Anyway I've been pretty busy but tonight I found some time.

Here at Berryridge Farm Sue is also busy. She is just putting the finishing touches to her next novel, again set in Ireland. I'll post a photo of the cover in a few days I hope. In my October 2014 post I told y'all about the cool Fan Tour Sue and I are going on this coming June. We've got our Passports and TSA Pre-check #'s and flights all set. This tour is going to be really fun, I'll take lots of pics and Sue will do research along the way. I'm sure the Willis Clan will be fun to hang with and they're so talented, it's a bit unreal.

Well I'll post this for now but I will likely return to stick in a few pictures. So long for now ~ John

Music, Music and Music

Like many of you, I like music, many styles of music but some not so much. I also became a fan of YouTube but mostly centered around Music and Dance but a few other items as well. One of my most favorite pieces of music is Pachebel's Canon in D. So, I did some searching on iTunes and Youtube and discovered The Piano Guys. They actually have two or three variations of the Cannon. I have now collected thirty or more variations featuring piano, violin, guitar, steel guitar, full orchestra, soulful, pop and jazzy versions.



Jackie Evacho age 10 at AGT 2010

While down in Phoenix caring for my son I spent time browsing YouTube and watching clips when I noticed, in the column of options on the right, a cute little blond girl who stunned the judges of AGT for 2010. The photo reminded me of my two little granddaughters who  are both blonds and if I do say so myself, very cute too. Well my interest was peaked and I clicked on the picture. The YouTube video opened up and the camera showed AGT and began zooming in on the stage and a small girl in a red dress. I almost fell off my chair as she sang O Mia Bambino Caro, in Italian, and in a voice that ought to be coming out of a full-grown woman. The sound and the image were so hard to associate. Since the video was a couple of years old I found more clips of her progress through the AGT competition and I was further amazed and I confess, hooked as a fan. I now own all but one of the CD's and DVD produced by Jackie Evancho - the one I don't own was pulled from the market before I discovered her.

Devan - 1st grade

Bria - Kindergarten

Anna Graceman age 11 at  AGT 2011

In the past two years I have discovered several more artists by watching AGT clips on YouTube: Anna Graceman (big fan), Anna Christine Nichols, Lindsey Sterling, Prince Poppycock, Kenichi Ebina and the list continues to grow. Most recently I discovered the Willis Clan who sing Irish and Blue Grass music (a family of 12 kids, age 23 down to 3 - 6 girls and 4 boys) and they are so fun to watch and so very talented.

In November of 2013 my wife Sue and I and our granddaughter Meghan (aged 12 at the time) went down to Portland OR to see Jackie Evancho (aged 13 at the time) in a live concert. The wife and I thought the concert was great, Meghan would have liked a more POP style singer but she thought Jackie was very pretty. It was fun none-the-less as we spent some time on the town in the Big City of Portland (big for Sue and I who live in the country).

 

Next Summer, 2015, Sue and I are going to Ireland which we think will be so much fun. For one thing, the part of Ireland we'll be going through contains the area, near Galway, where Sue placed her 'Village of Ballydara' in her novels and short stories. I guess for her this is a research trip. Me, I'll have my camera fully charged and ready to go. Oh, and there will be music, music and did I mention music!

It's the Fall Now!

Wow! It's already Fall and it seems I could not find the time to write blog posts since the Spring. But in truth, I could not get back into my blog because my sign-in was based on an old email address. It was just so frustrating. I won't waste time venting cause I'm sure many of you out there in Blog Land have had similar problems.

Back in March, I think it was, I tried to catch up on the trials and tribulations of the Browne Family. I mentioned that my son was the victim of a head-on car crash on December 31 of 2012 and that I spent some 6 weeks helping him get from horizontal to vertical. Thank-the-maker and the fact that he was one tough Marine, he made it and is doing fine, under the circumstances of having been in a bad crash that is.

The family trials did not end there. About the time I was getting ready to head back North from Phoenix, I got a call from my brother who told me my sister Becky's cancer was back and he informed me that she decided not to go through more treatments. Once I was back home in WA State my wife Sue and I visited Becky in the care facility she was in in Yakima WA. My daughter Sasha flew up the LA area and brother Sid's son Luke and family alos joined us for a family goodbye while Becky was still able to converse and enjoy her family one last time. This was about the second week of March, 2013. The visit was good under the circumstances and Becky had prepared herself, better than we had I dare say. A week or so later my brother called to report that Becky had passed on March 21st, 2013.

More recently my Aunt Moyne Browne, the wife of my Uncle Jim Browne, my father's youngest brother, passed away on October 1st, 2014. My Uncle Jim and my two cousins, Cyd Marie Bishop and Barry Browne and their families held a Celebration of Life Service in remembrance of Aunt Moyne. Elizabeth Price, Moyn'es older sister read a wonderful account of elements of  Moyne's life. Cousin Cyd also recounted her thoughts of growing up with her mom, where there were highs and lows but in the end the love never dimmed. Several others of us shared a few brief stories, it was a moving experience for me as I'm sure it was for everyone present.

The last two years have really transformed the landscape of my life. My birth family, which numbered five is now down to two, my brother Sid and me. Yes, we have families of our own but the comfort of parents is gone as is our sister. None the less we'll keep on.

Trials by Life

Finally I'm back at my long ignored blog. My family was hit hard by Father Time's scythe with the passing of my mother Wanda Mae in January of 2012. As I mentioned in the March of 2013 post, my brother Sid, with a bit of help from both me and his son Luke, got the Browne House ready for sale. To our surprise the housing market in Bellevue was on the upswing and the house sold in only a couple of weeks in the Fall of 2012. I thought this is was great, now I can simply grieve for the loss of Mom.

New Year's Eve, December 31st, 2012, Sue and I were getting ready for the evening meal when Sue checked our phone for voice messages. As Sue listened to a message I heard her cry "Oh no" and bend her knees a little as if to collapse. She turned to me to say that my son Collin was in a Phoenix Hospital, the victim of a head-on automobile accident. I listened to the message - they needed permission for surgery. I immediately called, talked to the Nurse and said yes to the surgery. The news was not good, but it could have been so much worse; broken and fractured bones but no head injury and no damage to internal organs. After talking to the nurse I called Collin's mom and his sister Sasha, who resides in the LA area in California. My daughter sort of took charge from the get go and she and her mother met in Phoenix on January1st.

I arrived on January 4th, having cleared my calendar so I could make the long stay in Phoenix to provide in-home care until Collin was able to do most things for himself. Collin's Mom took charge of getting some groceries,  bedding, pillows and other such items a hospital bed, set up at home, would need. Collin was in the hospital a good week and a half. He was restless and tired; one does not get much rest in a hospital. I stayed with Collin from January 4th until February 14th. Collin recovered very quickly considering his damage. Before I left, Collin was able to move about with a walking cast and even drive a car for short distances.

After getting home I tried to update this blog but my mind was just too distracted. My brother Sid had told me, while I was still in Phoenix that my sister Becky's cancer had returned. She had told him she was tired of the fight and would not seek further treatment. Near the middle of March 2013, Sue and I visited my sister Becky at her care facility in Yakima WA. My daughter Sasha flew up from So. Cal. and Sid's son Luke and family joined us for a farewell gathering. Becky passed on March 21st, 2013 at the age of 62. My brother Sid and I are now the only two of our family of five still going. I'm not sure if we'll ever really be a peace with it.

Our wonderful little foothills homestead was rocked this past Spring when a young Mt Lion was able to kill our remaining 4 hens. It's now very quiet around here. After I make a few security upgrades to the coop area we'll get some more hens and start over. Life goes on, even if a bit more somber. The month of June 2013 was spent dealing tent caterpillars and that was not fun. I built more raised garden beds over the summer and this past Fall I started clearing more ground to extend the open space around the homestead. We're now just about one full year since my last post. Outside there is still snow on the ground from a late February/March snow storm which dropped some 30 inches on us in a week's time. The seed catalogs have been arriving so Spring must be coming soon - I can hardly wait.

Gosh, it's been a year since my last posting. So much has taken place. My Brother Sidney took on the responsibility as executor of our Mother's estate. Over the remainder of 2012 I helped him get our old home ready to sell. We had some help form other family members, it was a slow and bitter-sweet process.

Roaring In Like a Lion

Ah, it's March, almost the Ides of March so I'm glad my name is not Julius. Sue and I are so ready for Spring to arrive. There a few tantalizing hints. The Daffodils and Jonquils are up a few inches. The Indian Plum & wild red current shrubs have swollen buds. On the other hand, it's still cold with mixed rain & snow. We lost power this morning about 11:45 a.m. and it was not back on until around 5:30 p.m.  The NOAA forecast is for winds in the early morning hours, lasting maybe until 1 p.m.

Last week we were visited by one of the local Coyotes. Fortunately he/she did not stay around to scope-out our hens. I hung around the coop for awhile just to make sure. My makeshift cover for the coop's safety zone has worked as well as I would like - so, this Spring I'll be putting on a metal roof. The hens will stay a bit dryer and we hope, the eggs stay a bit cleaner. Oh, by the way, the hens finally started laying eggs again, after about 6 weeks of in-action. Several of the "girls" were moulting and we think that was the prime reason for the egg stopage.