Now, What Am I to DO?

I can not breathe if the radio is not on. Every morning at 7, I get two hours of NPR news on the local station WUOT -- the 60-year of radio of the University of TN. Then I listen to Daniel Berry from 9 until almost noon.

I have to admit that one of the requirements of a community in my mind is a good, consistant radio station with a defined mission. So when we (Husband and I) were considering our move here, I liked WUOT -- granted, just for the snatches of classics we heard in the car.

But when we moved here, I instantly was impressed by Mr. Berry. Educated in vocal music but with encyclopedic command of mucial history, Mr. Berry makes every morning interesting. He also has a Monday evening program dedicated to playing rare recordings of operatic stars of many years ago, pointing out strengths and weaknesses and their historical places in the international world of opera. He has the bearing of a professional performer as much as a teacher--he was a stage actor in opera long before becoming a radio announcer--and nobody else in the mass media that we see or hear ever has as much fun with it as he seems to.

Last night just after the closing number - sung by bass Ezio Pinza, on of my favorites -- Mr. Berry announced that he will be retiring in two months to go in a different direction. Well, I almost cried.

Whatever Mr. Berry is planning, I know he will be a success. But how will the rest of us continue our musical eduations?

PS. Does the playing of Scheherazade signal the convening of a staff meeting?

Ohmigosh! Father's Day!

Yep, it's come around again, that hidden holiday. It always sneaks up on me.

This year, I thought I'd outsmarted the hassle. When we were in Lowe's the other day, I spotted a rosebush Ken had been craving and bought it for him, stupidly thinking I had the Day covered. Silly me.

Yesterday, my daughter Lynnora announced on Facebook that she and her husband Steve were coming Sunday to visit us. Barely a nanosecond later, son Dana William announced he is planning to come tomorrow. I love all these people but -- I've been writing, gardening and sewing for months -- and I have not been cleaning. You may laugh. I am shaking my head.

When a Catagory IV like this happens, Marine-Corps trained DH jumps into action to "police the area." You may know the type. Mister Clean -- with white hair and no earring. So far he's scrubbed the kitchen floor, swept son Stephen's office, the furnace nook and the front hall. I sewed one seam on our granddaughter's graduation quilt (over a month overdue, BTW) and moved enough fabric so that I could get the fabric cupboard in the dining room closed. (Don't even think of opening it!)

I'm on tea break, and so is Ken. Oops, he's moved! He's about to start cleaning again -- and I know I'm just stupid enough to try to keep up with him.

It's going to be a long, hot day. And tomorrow we have to cook!

It's Going to be a Busy Summer!

I was taking things slow. The garden needed serious work -- weeding, transplanting, compost pile maintenance -- and I have sewing to do -- a quilt for my granddaughter to commemerate her graduating from Warren Wilson College, and baby dresses for a crop of newborns among my acquaintences.

Then Donna Wright of Always Keepers (audio books) called to chat and asked me if she could take a look at the file for BLACK TIE AFFAIR, which Zebra published in 1998. Well, there is no file -- so I dug out a copy and started typing it again! If you have a copy of it. . . Personally I think it's a great summer read.

Then there is a matter of irises -- I've got too many. Fourteen different colors of them, spread over several gardens. One neighbor mention admiring them -- he's now a proud owner, as are a couple of sisters who have new houses and lots of land. (They think I know what I'm doing!)

This is all distracting me from the effects of aging on my body. It's hard to get to sleep at night with aches and pains -- but it's a good time to plot, Books and gardens and things the guys who live with me (Dear Husband and Dear Son) don 't need to hear about right now.