Anything but Ordinary

This weekend, by the numbers

12 - Number of times I crossed the state line in

5 - days

1 - accidental state line crossing followed by

1 - course correction state line crossing

90 - minutes we were lost

7 - instruments played during the course of the Hosanna

2 - instruments played simultaneously

2 - traditional meals planned and cooked for friends in part by me

1 -meal that went as planned

It was a crazy fun weekend. Let's recap.

Concerts

Hosanna went really well. I was at the DC temple visitors center every evening from Wednesday to Saturday, which accounts for 8 of the state line crossings. Considering that some of us got the music two weeks ago and that all three groups (instrumentalists, visiting vocalists, and resident choir) didn't actually get together for the first time until Thursday, it wasn't bad. I actually had a lot of fun playing, and grew increasingly confident in my percussion skills as the week went on. I only knocked down the mark tree once! So what if I played the gong at forte instead of piano once, or that I played an E flat instead of an E natural on the chimes? It wasn't so terribly noticeable. The seven instruments I played:

1 - Bass drum

2 - Gong

3 - Chimes

4 - Triangle

5 - Finger cymbals

6 - Crash cymbals

7 - Tom-toms

I had several compliments from people I don't know, usually impressed with my concentration or the fact that I could play the bass drum and gong at the same time in parts. Also, a group of people from the visiting choir thought I was an exact doppelganger of their friend, April, and it was great fun to tease them about it all weekend. The other two "percussionistas", as we called ourselves, were wonderful to work with.

Regardless of the quality of the music, I'm glad that I was part of it. I'm still counting tempos in my head and probably will be for a few more days. The only movement I was able to listen to (since I wasn't playing) was the Allegro for Violin. It gave me a chance to reflect on the music, and I realized that music is on testament to me that Heavenly Father exists. Its beautiful possibilities could not be completely random. Of course, it holds a power for evil, and one must be conscious of those possibilities.

Getting Lost

Friday night, after the concert, I went out to dinner with friends and then we split up into two cars to go to a birthday party, supposedly with the same directions. Princess and I were just talking and enjoying the drive when we crossed the state line a second time and found ourselves in Maryland again. We turned around, called for directions several times, and finally made it to the party an hour and a half after we left. It was 11:30 PM. Oops! I was rather stressed about it, and Princess wasn't helping with his critiques of my driving. (Not bad, necessarily, but critical nonetheless.) Of course, the party was also out of the ordinary as the birthday boy and I were not making eye contact, on purpose, because of an inside joke. We went to extremes to not look directly at each other. Luckily, my drive home was much less eventful.

Easter Meals

My family always makes creamed eggs over toast for Easter breakfast (usually on Saturday), and I decided to recreate this tradition for the "nephew's" parents. First, I had to find my basket (under the baby bath tub), which was incredibly sweet of them. The actual meal went perfectly. I don't think I've ever made a white sauce that good.

Dinner didn't go as well. The plan was to eat at Smash's house at 5:30, and I was providing the ham. Since I didn't want to make it at my house and then drive the 30 minutes to Maryland, I went over to the home of Princess and The Universe to cook it, which is 5 minutes from Casa Crothers. The boys trusted me enough to leave whilst I napped and the ham baked.

5:45 - Ham is done (according to my timer). The oven is locked and won't open. To my surprise, Princess is still home but doesn't know anymore than I do.

6:10ish - The oven latch will move, but the lock won't unlock.

6:50 - Princess finally unhooks the lock and the ham is set free!

7:00 - Ham juice spills all over Princess' legs when I turn a corner.

7:20 - We finally arrive at Casa Crothers, where everyone has already eaten and all the other food is cold.

Oh well. Next year will be better, but I don't know how soon the boys will let me cook at their house again. Maybe if I don't use the oven?

Princess remarked (as we were on our way to dinner for real): Life is a lot less ordinary when you're around.

I like it that way. He must too, as he suggested later that we get together next week and get carjacked. It will certainly keep us all on our toes.

Happy Easter!