Well, as usual it has bee ages since I updated my blog. In this instance it was partially because I was too busy to do so!

Well, last week was a bit rough. Things with my church choir have bee rough for quite some time now. We'd been shrinking the last couple of years. Then last summer our accompanist retired and the board decided not to look for another one. Which meant that everything we did had to either be a capella or use cds for accompaniment--which for the Christmas cantata we usually did anyway (as our accompanist couldn't play for such long periods of time due to shoulder problems.)

I had decided in July that we'd go ahead and give it a try and re-evaluate after the Christmas cantata. Well, the cantata got postponed due to snow and then my being out of town for Christmas. Then last Sunday two of my choir members told me that they were leaving the choir. This wasn't really unexpected--at least by me. But it did rather leave us in a predicament and needing to make a decision quickly. I spoke with all the remaining choir members (all 6 of them) and did a lot of praying, thinking, and crying. I finally decided to resign.

It was a hard decision that was a long time in coming. I probably put it off too long, but...
It was hard because I've enjoyed doing it. I've been there nearly 6 years now--6 in February. I've become friends with them. So it was hard, and it hurt.

However, once I made the decision I felt much more at peace with the situation than I have in a long time.

Now there will likely be a few weeks of some awkwardness and then... Who knows? A new chapter... Maybe, after a break, a new position? Maybe not. I don't know yet, and Jared and I haven't made any decisions in that respect yet. So more prayer and thinking will be forthcoming.

Apparently it's arrived early this year! :-)

Robb, Jared, and I went to Asheville on Friday afternoon/evening. We spent the afternoon wandering around the downtown area (window shopping and exploring), and then that evening we went to the Decemberists' concert. We had a really good time. I didn't really know many of the songs in the first half of the concert (their latest album--which I've only heard a few times), but the second half was full of songs that were more familiar to me.

This was a pretty exciting event for me. I hadn't been to a concert like that since...Jr. High I think! And it was good to do something unusual and different.

In other December-y type news:
I got the choir started on the Christmas cantata before I left for AR. I gave them a 'homework assignment' before I left. They were to practice the two sections we'd started on that evening.

So yesterday evening we had choir practice. I was all prepared to go through and review what we'd done before only to discover that they didn't really need it. So I had Jared turn on the CD and off we went! I was quite impressed. It wasn't note/rhythm perfect, but it was much further along than they've done before! There is even a rhythm in that song that they have always had trouble with that I was sure I'd have to go over repeatedly, as usual, to fix. But to my astonished delight, they did it perfectly every time!!!

It was great. If learning the rest of the cantata goes so well, we'll be in excellent shape!

...Now I just have to figure out how to do the narration...

~The Bunny

Well, Jared and I got home last night from a trip to AR. The trip was at a time almost exact to the trip we took last year for my sister's wedding. This trip was for my brother's wedding.

The wedding was Saturday and was, I think, the shortest wedding I've ever attended. The ceremony consisted of only the vows. The lady who did the wedding was very (VERY) nervous. It was her first wedding. In her nervousness (I assume) she spoke very quickly, and very obviously mispronounced several words, including my brother's name. After the ceremony there was a dinner/reception. There was tons of food. We sat and chatted and such for a while before going back to the motel.

Mom was exhausted by the time we got back t the motel. In addition to that she was bitten all over her foot by some ants--not fire ants, but ones that were very aggressive if disturbed. Her foot was all swollen within just a few minutes of being bitten. I think she was doing better the next morning though.

Sunday we drove back to Mom and Dads and basically just vegetated for what was left of the evening. We did play a game of Shanghai Rummy--which I lost rather spectacularly!

On Monday Mom, Papaw, Jared, and I went to a nearby state park. We attended a "Heron Watch" next to the White River. We saw 3 herons, but they were all up in the trees. They refused to come down so we could get a better look as they fed in the river! Stubborn birds! The one did give us a pretty good look at himself up in the tree though. And at least we saw some! After that we went up to the visitor's center and Jared took pictures in the gardens there--he got some good ones of some butterflies. We looked around at the museum-type exhibits and the gift store inside the center. Then we went out on the deck to see the view. While there we got a chance to hear the horn that signals that the generators are coming on (the horn warns fishermen/women further down river to get out of the water before it rises), we stood and watched as the generators came on and the water level rose. We watched a small island in the river disappear in the rising water in about 15-20 minutes. It was interesting to watch. Our 'outing' ended with a picnic. That evening we played another game of Shanghai Rummy. I think I came in second that time--Jared won, and he was rather excited because he "never wins" that game!

Tuesday we took it easy. Mom gave me a crocheting lesson and I worked on that. Mom did a bit herself and then smashed gnomes. We played some more cards that evening while watching some TV.

And that was basically this year's 'vacation.'

It is good to be home, but rather sad as well. I miss my mom. We have a good time together and our visits never seem long enough. It's especially hard when she, as she did yesterday, cries during the good-byes. She's very lonely right now and still struggling to get a semblance of 'normalcy' back in her life. Things will get better; I'm sure of it, but the getting there is hard.

~The Bunny

I've decided that I'm a terrible blogger. I'm so far behind that it would be more trouble than it's worth to try to catch up! Here's the short synopsis (and if you want more detail you'll have to talk to me!!):

Since I blogged last: 1) My grandmother passed away. We miss her, but are glad that she's not in pain anymore. 2) Mom started and completed her chemotherapy, and was in and out of the hospital for about 6 weeks after the last treatment. She's doing better now, but is still not back to being herself. 3) I found out that I have an extra bone in my foot... And ended up with tendonitis wearing a brace on my ankle/foot and doing physical therapy. 4) Had the GITP meet-up. 5) Had our 5th wedding anniversary. 6) Went to IN for my grandma's memorial service. I managed to sing the song she'd requested I sing. That was good. It was great to see my family, many of whom I hadn't seen in ages. Jared and I ended up having a several hour long conversation with one of my dad's brothers--I never would have expected that! And spent some time with Papaw. Not enough, but it never is.

Other than that it's just been work as usual. At church Nancy retired leaving the choir without an accompanist (as the board decided not to look for a new one). The church choir had a month long vacation in July. We started back up recently. For now the decision is to go ahead with the Christmas cantata and then 're-evaluate' after that... That was my decision, since I'm still not sure what should be done. Its rough though.

Well, that should mostly cover it.

So now summer is gone. The school year has started. And Jared and I still haven't had a real vacation. Don't get me wrong--I enjoy visiting our families very much. We miss them a lot, and not being near enough to seem them as often as we would like. But it just seems that all our vacation time is spent traveling to visit family. We haven't had a vacation purely for something fun to do (going camping, or to the beach, anything) since our honeymoon 5 years ago. Isn't that sad?

Jared and I tried to go camping last summer, but it didn't happen. This year we had a whole list of things we wanted to do, and didn't do most of it. We did do a bit of hiking, but then my foot put an end to that. We rode our new bikes a few times, but not as much as we'd have liked. We didn't go anywhere (aside from the memorial service), or do anything interesting. We both still have some vacation time, but we'll need it to go to my brother's wedding and then for visiting family at Christmas. So there's no vacation for us in sight. Maybe next year? Who knows, but I'm feeling rather pessimistic right now so I'm going to say I'm not counting on it.

I guess I should be done complaining. It'd just be nice to do something different, new, and fun--just the two of us. At least we got to go see family--that was good. It is better than what some have been/are able to do. So Sheri, knock it off! -- Okay, will do!

On that note I'll close...until next time.

I don't like it when I feel 'ho hum.' For instance right now...I'm kind of bored. I really would like to do something different, interesting, fun, and exciting, but can't think of a single thing that fits any of those descriptors.
We even went to Mr. K's (used bookstore) this evening and I came out just as 'ho hum' as I was when I went in--if not more so. They didn't have either of the two specific books I was looking for, nor did I even see anything that struck my fancy. And THAT, my friends, is a sad sad thing.

There are several things I should do--laundry and stuff like that, but who wants to do any of that on a Friday night?!

So here I sit. At home. Doing nothing. Again...
Wishing for something to do or for something to go on (a good something that is...please let me specify that!)
But if it's like things have been nothing will happen and I'll continue to be bored.