The Violin

When I was a child our family had an old friend named Mabel. One of my cousins was even named after her. Mabel seemed to be a little bit cranky to me, yet she had earned a place in the heart of my grandparents and aunt. She had a cute little cottage on tenth street in Coronado and my dad did a little bit of work for her over the years.

I remember that one time when I was quite young Mabel gave me a pet goose. This goose was mean as geese can sometimes be. I was the only one brave enough to get close to it. One time my goose disappeared and was found on the next block. He was having a grand old time in the beautiful fish pond at the apartments on that block.

When I was in sixth grade Mabel gave me a beautiful antique violin. I enjoyed violin lessons given by the music teacher at school. My parents also got a little violin for my youngest sister Betty so she took lessons at school that same year. The problem is that we moved before the school year was over and did not get to continue our lessons. We never got past "Baa Baa Black Sheep." I continued to be proud of my violin though.

When I was a young adult I loaned my violin to the son of one of my friends so he could learn to play. He did quite well and even got to be in the young peoples orchestra. I think it was the San Diego Junior Orchestra. Or maybe it was the Youth Orchestra. Anyway he was quite skilled and really benefited from using my violin. He went into theater and became a teacher in that area.

I eventually got my violin back. The last time I talked to Mabel she thought that I got rid of my violin. I assured her that it was still mine.

My children never got the opportunity to use the violin. Kathy wanted to learn an instrument and was able to borrow an instrument from what was available at school. It was a woodwind instrument that she could never get the hang of. I"m sure she would have done a lot better on my violin, but I did not have it at the time. All of the children would have benefited from music lessons. They enjoyed trying to teach themselves the piano that we had. Laura is a natural at the piano. Griff eventually picked up the guitar and enjoys playing it. Bill may have picked up the guitar at one time too.

Fast forward to the next generation. Our granddaughter Melissa started violin lessons before she was big enough for my violin. She continued private lessons and eventually grew into my old violin. Her parents had to have the violin repaired to get it in working condition. It had been on display at times and that can dry out an instrument. Besides some helpful young hands had handled it and the strings were shot.

Melissa has benefited from her many years of lessons. She played in her school orchestra for a couple of years. I was able to get to Colorado one time when she was playing in a concert at school. She doesn't always use the old violin as she keeps it for special times. She has another violin for using more often. I got to see her play at her church one time too. She is in a group at her church that routinely plays for services. I have yet to see her in this group.

It seems that children who play an instrument do better in school. Melissa had some struggles at the beginning of her school years. She did one grade twice which is not unusual in our family. At least one or two children in each generation going back to my father have had to repeat first or second grade. It appears to me that Melissa started doing great in school as she got into her music lessons. I'm all for schools keeping their music programs. I enjoyed what little violin lessons I had. I especially enjoyed the singing we did in school. I chose to be in girls chorus as many years as possible in high school. Music is good for the soul. I love singing in church.

Paul took many years of piano lessons and it was very beneficial to him. He ended up being the church organist for many years even though he never had a lesson at the organ. He had an opportunity to play for chapel in Korea and that was the beginning of his organ playing. He is out of practice now and he has a bad eye so he is not playing at this time. But he had a long time at the organ and piano which I enjoyed. I'm sure he enjoyed it too. It was really neat when he played duets with whoever was playing the piano at the time. Friendships were also formed by doing this.

Photos are of Melissa Joy Golden with The Violin

Challenges

We are challenged daily and maybe that is good as we at least know we are among the living. Our kitties are a real challenge. This morning as we were heading out the door to go to church two of the cats wanted out and we were determined to keep them in. Paul was struggling with Midnight while Laura and I were trying to go out the door without any cats. Spotty flew past me across my sandals and snagged my stockings on the way. So much for those stockings, but I had no choice except to wear them one last time. I sealed the runs with clear polish and headed out again. By then two cats had gotten outside. That is the way it is at our house.

We want to be good neighbors and not have our cats bother other people. Some of the kitties used to be able to go in and out as they please, but we have tried to change that. After Cassandra got hit and died on Palm Avenue we pretty much made our cats indoor cats, though not always successful. This wasn't the first tragedy with our kitties, but we hope it is the last. This was at least five years ago. Actually Cassandra really belonged to our neighbor. We loved her and took part ownership of her. Laura took beautiful pictures of her.

When we got Spotty he was an indoor kitty. It didn't take long for him to discover our yard. I don't think he wanders though. I certainly hope not.

I spend more time cleaning up after pets than I ever remember doing for our children. It is like having more than one two year old at a time. I won't go into details about the cleaning challenges as they are many. Thankfully Paul cleans the litter boxes. And now we have the flea season upon us and need to get rid of them. I will be visiting Pet Smart soon.

I could talk about repairs we need to do around here as they are another challenge. But I won't bother with that subject for now. At least we have a home and are comfortable enough. We have food in our cupboards and refrigerator. We are blessed.

This morning we had a very nice worship service at Westview Bible Church. Pastor Carey gave a good gospel message. No one in attendance can give the excuse that they did not know they needed the Lord to cover their sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."Romans 3:23. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. Our Savior conquered the grave. We set our hope on Jesus rising from the grave- the greatest truth the world has ever known. Death is a certain reality- we need the hope of knowing Jesus. The free gift of life is in Jesus Christ. He paid the full penalty and we need to believe in Jesus There is only ONE WAY. Beware of false prophets. He is our only hope.

Pastor Carey gave good illustrations to get his point across. I always take notes but not every word. The sermon was good as Paul just said to me. I would like to be able to share the message as clearly as he says it. I'm sure lives are touched by the message each week.

After church we had an Easter brunch in the fellowship hall. Many went outside and found seats there to eat their meal. We sat with our friend Adria during the meal. She had her husband Al with her today. He lives in a nursing home in El Cajon. She wants to get him in a place in Chula Vista so she doesn't have so far to go to spend time with him. She is challenged daily and she stays so positive. She has M.S. and has a lot going on in her life. She is such a dear person.

We had a ride home with our friends Ellen and Dave. We have been blessed to get to know them. I first met Ellen on the bus. Paul and I were heading to Coronado to church every week and she was going to Westview. We are now going with her to church. We already knew Adria and have made new friends there. I am challenged as I still want to be part of my Coronado church family too. We go there sometimes. There will always be challenges in life and many decisions to make as long as we breathe.

The most important decision is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior while we still have breath in us. We know some who have made that decision on their deathbeds. They will receive eternal life just as the ones who have always lived for Christ. But I think the bigger blessing is to know Him and live for Him now. We can spend time serving Him and sharing His love with others. Do not wait till it is too late. After we take our final breath it is too late to make this decision. God loves us and wants what is best for us. But He does not force us to make this decision. God Bless.

Blessings

Today, Saturday April 23rd, Griff was here for part of the day. We invited him for today, the day before Easter, as we will be busy tomorrow. Griff brought a large supply of groceries for our cupboards and refrigerator. He is a most generous son and even remembers our pets.

I planned a brunch for today to enjoy with him. It was a much more relaxed meal than having dinner. We had scrambled eggs with bell pepper and jalapenos mixed in them. I put a small amount of cheese on top. Very good. Griff brought a huge bag of potatoes so I fried some. I had a good coupon for sausages so bought them to go with the meal. Griff brought avocados from his trees and they were a nice addition to the meal. I had made a salad and decided it would be good too, as well as the grapes we had on hand. It was simple and satisfying. By the way this was the first time I had ever added jalapenos to a meal such as this. I got this idea on Facebook last night. Laura and Paul also enjoyed the company and brunch.

While Griff was here Becky called to say Happy Easter to us. It is always a pleasure to have this dear granddaughter call. She keeps me up to date on baby Jacob and whatever else she wants to share. She said that her husband Jay would like me to email his mother because we could be friends. That is so sweet. I am so happy because Becky, Jay (Jason) and Jacob have been going to church with Kathy and John, her parents. Of course Jacob is in the nursery at church. Melissa, Becky's sister, also goes to the same church as she always has. I pray that Jacob will grow up to love the Lord. Raise a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Another blessing is that when I talked to Josie last week she told me that she and John and Joshua are going to church now. Joshua needed this good example of faithfully going to church. He has been in the nursery while they are in the worship service. I hope he gets to go to Sunday School too. I sent him some  Bible story books and color books for Easter. I also sent him some crayons and a small bunny. He was excited to get these gifts from grandma.

We sent little Jacob a nice book also. It has prayers in it for toddlers. We also sent him some froggies that are bath toys. I bought them when we were in Julian with Bill several months ago. Becky likes frogs. She appreciated the gifts for Jacob for his first Easter. They bought him a little suit for Easter. Or maybe Grandma Kathy bought it. That is what grandmas do. I used to love to buy Becky and Missy dresses for Easter when they were little. My children's Grandma Marvin bought them cute outfits when they were little too.

Last week Kathy called me and we had a nice conversation. We don't call each other as often as we should, but we keep tabs on Facebook. I have been blessed to have two wonderful daughters. I guess I don't spend too much time bragging about them. But maybe I have at times. I remember when I was a first time grandma I was the grandma with pictures in purse. Need I say more?

I talked to Bill recently too. We got up to date on things for both of us. He had planned to get back to San Diego this year, but it may be next winter before he returns. Whatever is best for him is fine with us. We would love for him to come sooner though.

Paul's brother Charlie just called and verified the plans to get together with us next month. He will be in town with a friend and we are all going to visit one of Paul and Charlie's cousins and his wife in San Diego. This will be one of those special family times. It will also be Charlie's birthday.

Griff brought enough avocados for me to share with my neighbors. They are far from ripe so won't be ready right away. But I was able to use two today. I also took some to two of our special neighbors. They were my Easter gifts to them. I still want to give some more to neighbors. They always like to receive them. I share with other friends when possible.

Tomorrow is Easter and we will be going to church as we do most weeks. Last week we were home as Paul and Laura had colds. I should have gone but didn't. I had the tail end of a cold then. After church tomorrow we will stay for the brunch they have each year at Westview Bible Church. This will be our first Easter with them.

 Last year we went to Coronado as we have always done. We had breakfast with our church family in Coronado before the worship service, during what would be the Sunday School hour, as we have done each Easter for years. Another tradition we had for years was to make a flower cross which was very beautiful. One of our pastors had started this tradition. I don't know if they are doing it this year and we won't be there to see. I'm still torn between two churches as I love the people at each one. We worship our Lord at both churches.

We have been blessed for many years with such wonderful Christian friends. God has been so good to us and so have our Christian brothers and sisters. Our history is long in Coronado, but we have also been touched by the dear people at Westview. May God bless each one.  :)

We Begin the New Year -2011

Happy New Year!! Yesterday, on the first, we were up very early so we could be on our way at five a.m. Actually it was ten minutes after five when we finally left our Court as I had to go back to find my hat. Then I still wondered whether or not we did everything that needs to be done when we are going to be gone for the day. All safety measures taken, all cats cared for, all our things we need with us? This was just for a one day trip. Can you imagine what it is like for a real trip? Actually someone has to stay home when it is for a long trip as we have too many pets to care for.

The sun was rising as we headed east on Interstate 8 over the mountains. We saw a beautiful sunrise as we reached the desert. It was a jacket kind of day for Laura and me. The guys don't seem to get cold very easy so were comfortable with shirt sleeves. Their minds were on birding in the Salton Sea area. We didn't do our usual walk at the waters edge as they were after a certain bird for the day. They finally found the Bean Goose towards the end of the day. This is a goose from Europe so it would have been way off course.

Between Paul and Bill they found over eighty kinds of birds for the day. Paul had 77, possibly more. Laura also did some birding with them. But I mostly enjoyed reading and seeing the scenery for the day. We went on a lot of country roads as we have many times in the past. That is what birders do when they have certain birds in mind. It is called chasing a bird when they are looking for a certain bird. You could hear hunters in certain spots too. But we hunt with binoculars or scopes. If we had the right camera we could get some shots that way, but not with a gun. We have family members that are hunters so I will not be negative about hunters. It is just not our idea of fun.

Paul, Laura, Bill and another birder saw a Bald Eagle kill a Snow Goose. They were watching Snow Geese by the thousands, lots of White Pelicans and numerous other birds when this happened. That is when they were looking for the Bean Goose. It was quite a while later that they found the only Bean Goose to be found. Other birders were looking for him too, including one gentleman from Canada.

In our travels of the day we found ourselves on highway 111 at 1:11 pm on 1-1-11. I'm not big into numbers but this is a fun fact. Some people planned their weddings for this date. And some babies were born on this easy to remember day. The first baby of the year was featured in the local news. He was born ten seconds after midnight. They were aiming for a tax deduction by having the baby in the old year, but babies have their own schedule. We have our own little December baby since we have our first great grandson, born on the 13th.

On the way home yesterday we enjoyed a sunset as we headed west on the Interstate. It was dark when we left home in the morning and it was dark when we arrived home last night around seven pm. It was an enjoyable day with family, a nice way to begin the new year.


This morning in church we enjoyed the singing and the sermon. The message by Pastor Carey was a blessing to me. A good way to begin the year. We learned about God's holiness, our sin, God's grace and our faith. God is Holy. We are sinful, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.  God's grace is what he has done for us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 Our faith is what we must do in response to what God has done for us. We must receive this gift by faith. We need Christ as our Saviour. We don't want to be caught dead without a Saviour. This is so simple, but we want to complicate it and make our own set of rules. Why don't we just believe what is truth? It will save us. Our works don't save us. Only God can save us from our sins. He loves us!!  :)

Image credits: colin brown; Maggiejumps; Maggiejumps; Billy Lindblom