Misc.

Dear all,

  Ethan and I are planning a cotton candy party for August 16th.  I'm looking forward to it.  Thoughts on a bouncy castle?

  None of you use this blog nearly enough.

  I also mentioned to someone the other day that when people become friends with me, they should realize they are joining a book club.  So what are you reading?

The songs we sang

So this started as a comment on Lindsey's postbut be came it's own monster.

Last Thursday I put on Joy to the World at a bar. I was out with Erika, Matt and J.P. (Amanda's brother). Things were on both extremes of bittersweet but even at the toughest of times that song can melt through my sorrow. If you step back just a bit you can hear him singing it. It almost brings a tear to my eye imagining the hapiness that was always so tangible in his voice. I wonder how many times he actually wanted to be singing that to us? It always felt like he wouldn't be anywhere else in the world.

Dang, songs our parents sang.

The only other song I remember Dad singing was fuzzy wuzzy and that mom wasn't sure he should be singing it.

Mom on the other hand has had no qualms with singing anything. It's kind of interesting because i hardly noticed her taking an interest in her own music for listening. Maybe she was more a child of tin pan alley than my father and grew up defining music instead of the other way around.

Looking back it's amusing to think of the stuff she would sing. A good amount, looking back, seems to be only portions of songs and talking to her now and then I've learned that this is all she knows and that really she's just made her version from her father's version or a snippet she heard on the radio once. I once looked up the song that goes "If I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly"... she did it much better (even if only 1/3 of a chorus)

I sometimes wonder how much of the evening time experiences I had were as awesome as I remember or if it's just me placing severe nostalgia on a time that i look back on so happily. My guess is both but either way I'll always be grateful.

Some other songs:
All the pretty little horses
booomda boomda booomda sarah sponda
everywhere he went he did his war hoop
hung from a golden chain

What the people need is a way to make 'em smile

Dear Family,
I recently started making a playlist of songs that I remember from my childhood at the time when Mom and Dad still controlled the music selection in the house. It turns out that most of it is made of intense harmonies like Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, which is somewhat interesting. I was also thinking about the days when we had a rotating system of breakfast music selection. I think my album of choice was always Magical Mystery Tour, mostly because of the album art, which I still dream about.

So here is the list I came up with

Take it easy- Eagles (not until later)
Amie- Pure Prairie League
Loggins and Messina- House at Pooh Corner
Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young - Various songs (anyone know specifically which? I know Dad loves suite: bloody Jew eyes)
Eric Clapton's Unplugged Album
Magical Mystery Tour
Abby Road
Sgt. Pepper's

and some amount of the following artists/Musicals:
Carol King
Bonnie Raitt
James Taylor
CCR
Doobie Brothers
Oklahoma!
Jesus Christ Superstar
Fraggle Rock
Dan Foggleberg

I know that Dad listened to lots of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, but I don't remember being introduced to them until about 5th or 6th grade when we were visiting Uncle Ron and Dad insisted on listening to Kashmir. Anyone remember these bands earlier?

I think more than anything I was influenced by the album art, which I still dream about.

Ethan sent me this picture too...Isn't Dad cute?

Our grandchildren will think we are normal

I am sure that our grandchildren will think we are totally normal grandparents. They will also continually ask our children, their parents, how they got so lucky to have parents as open minded, yet nurturing, as we are. They will also say that they wish they had parents that were that much fun.

On the other hand, I am not sure what makes my children and nieces and nephews think that my parents are wierd. I think it is possible to have the opinion that any grandparents are wierd, especially after you get to know them well, which most grandchildren usually do.

So there you have my opinion.

And now Lindsey can cease chastising me for not contributing to this blog - at least for awhile.

So our Grandparents are pretty weird...

I have several reasons for making this claim. One whenever I put doritos in some lettuce I think I am eating real life mexican food, actually the same is true for almost any kind of chip. ooooohhhh!

Next, I talked to Nick and he pretty much said the same about the Fincham side. periodically he will find himself doing something and think, wow thats like the Finchams.

So what are our children going to say is super strange about our parents?

family theme

I was listening to NPR today and the contributor was quite entertaining. Among other things he talked about was how every family has a theme.
"Our father left us so we are totally dysfunctional"
"We were raised by a gypsy"
"We are filthy rich"
"Although we live in Greenwich Village we were raised like we lived in Kansas City"

What shall our family theme be?

The Mom

Let's all take some time to talk about Lindsey!

I have several points of interest to discuss with those of you who aren't reading this blog anyway. But I feel that if I keep making comments, eventually someone in the family will respond. Where is Elizabeth anyway?

• Remember Thornton Burgess? did you know that Mother Westwind Stories were published in 1909? I learned that recently and was amazed that I didn't find that book boring.
• I am done sugar coating this information. I hate my roommate. outright and blatantly I hope that she literally does drive herself insane to the point that she has to go home. I go out of my way to be nice and to be polite, but I am not afforded the same respect. She wakes me up 3 times a day which is naturally a little frustrating. Plus, as you all know I can't function politely in society if I need a nap...which I can't get because she will start making a ton of noises.
• My midterm today got canceled. It is on Monday now, I guess I already studied for it/didn't think I needed to study for it so I wont have to not study on Sunday. I also took the most ridiculous midterm in Cross Cultural Communication. which is mostly a made up subject anyway...so I don't know that I should expect any better of the professor or the test. My problem really is that the professor has a problem with the fact that I am American and female. Just like the French kid in the class who voted for Sarkozy anyway. blegh. Wednesdays suck!
• So I have several options for my future.
  

1. I might graduate in the spring and do something real with my life
2. I might graduate next spring and have a bachelors and a masters degree at that point.
3. Maybe I'll have a summer internship with the state department. maybe I would really hate to that though
4. If I ever graduate I would like to go to Morocco or Mongolia in the peace corps. That would completely ruin my chances of being in the CIA though. Did you know that? that if you are in the peace corps you can't be in the CIA and vice versa? weird.
5. There is an undergraduate research grant available to me from AU if I apply and they give it to me. it is only 2,500 dollars but that could be awesome. Let me explain this: I have a class called intro to international relations research, where I have to write a research design which outlines how i would like to conduct research about something. I actually have to write three 5 page research designs in different styles and one 12 page research design which i guess is a combination. This research design is going to be about the peace movement in the baltics and the dissolution of the soviet union. because it is about peace movements I can actually write a paper with the information I have and turn it in for my Introduction to Peace and Conflict Resolution class. thusly, I have completed assignments for 2 classes with this one paper. PLUS! I can also use the research design I have written to apply for the undergraduate research grant. I think that if nothing else a free trip to Latvia where I pretend to make Valija my translator is a good idea.

• I feel that you are all lying to me just slightly about my cat. I didn't know he had a drain in until mouse told me. If he dies I would like not to be super surprised. I am going to be sad either way, you know.

Life is going well and I will be excited for the end of October when all my important tests deadlines and tuitions will be done/completed/paid.