Orchestra Recital

 The Gulf Coast Youth Symphony had a concert today.  It was outdoors, and the weather cooperated--a little chilly and only 65 or so, but it wasn't windy, which was critically important.  Before the concert, I tried to get Bode to pose for a picture with Ashley, but he's really being a pain when it comes to picture taking; it must be the teenager in him.

Even though the concert was outdoors, the symphony administrative team wanted the students to wear masks due to the rise in Covid numbers.  Bode wasn't thrilled by this decision, but he didn't complain.  I was a little disappointed that he wouldn't wear a red Christmas hat, but that's just more of that lovely teenager obstinance shining through.

They played a total is six songs.  I recorded most of them, but first, here's a picture of Bode in mid-stroke.

Below are the videos of some of the songs.  I don't know the name of this first song, but it's a pretty catchy tune.  It reminds me of a Harry-Potter song--I don't think it is from that soundtrack, but it sounds like something that was played during a scene at Hogwarts.

The next song was probably the hardest song in the repertoire.  They performed Waltz of the Flowers, and they did amazingly well.  

They finished with Ukrainian Bells, and I think they sounded great.

After the concert, they got everyone together for a picture.

Nana and Papa came out for the concert, and it was great to see them.

We also took a picture with the three of us; per the theme of this post, Bode was less-than-helpful with regards to the picture taking.

We don't have much going on tonight.  Ashley is making chicken and dumplings, so we'll be eating well.  Joey is acting like he's starving, but the two dogs can't be hungry because I fed them early this morning, and then Ashley didn't realize I had fed them, so the dogs got second breakfast.

Such an innocent face...but I'm sure the wheels are turning in his head while he schemes his next caper.  Pleasant week to all.

Extra Stuff

Here are some odds and ends that should have been posted before along with a couple of new items.

I was able to get the videos of me wakeboarding from Ashley's phone.  I don't look near as smooth as Ashley does when she's boarding, but at least there's no evidence of me falling :-)  First, a nice picture of Ashley and me; I don't think Ashley had her phone set up correctly because the wording on my shirt is reversed.

Next we have a short movie of me getting started.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, our newspaper published a huge crossword puzzle--700+ across and down clues.  Ashley and I did it...in pen!  Of course, that just means we had to mark out a lot of our errors, but we were very pleased with how much we did--we didn't even cheat and use the internet!

Bode's orchestra will be giving two performances this month.  To prepare, Bode had to submit a virtual edition of him playing parts of Waltz of the Flowers.  Here's Bode playing--I don't think he likes one part because his fingers are not quite dexterous enough.  We tell him he needs to practice more :-)

It's freezing here!  Literally--the temperature on my car dash said 29 degrees this morning--Fahrenheit!  We might have to consider moving further south :-)  Pleasant week to all.

A Teenager!

 Bode is now an official teenager--no more of this tween crap.  He's a full-fledged adolescent, but despite the new age, he's still a pleasant person to be around. We started the day with the opening of the presents.  Bode was thrilled when he received an Oculus 2.

Ashley spent a good portion of the day making a three-layer Neapolitan cake.  She didn't do ice-cream this year, which was great because that meant I got to eat some.  She made all three layers from scratch and even made the icing.  Here is a look at the finished product.

I managed to get Bode to pose for a picture with me.  This was far from easy, as Bode seems adverse to having his picture taken now that he's a teenager.

We then got the cake set up for the singing of the birthday song.

As always, Ashley and I carry a perfect tune.

Bode's wish, sadly, was not granted as Auburn lost a close one to Alabama 42 - 13.  We did sample the cake and gave our critique similar to Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith from The British Baking Show.

Note the well-defined layers--chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.  The texture is moist and fluffy.  Well done, and if I were Paul, I would have shaken Ashley's hand, which is the highest compliment he gives).

It's a bit rainy today, so we'll spend it indoors.  Perhaps we'll get the Christmas decorations out of mothballs or maybe we'll do some cyber shopping.  Pleasant week to all.

Bode Playing Beat Saber

 We've posted previous videos of Bode playing Beat Saber.  This video is the same with a twist.  Bode figured out how to stream his Oculus headset to his computer so he is able to rewatch his games.  It's pretty neat, although I think he likes it more than I do.  After about thirty seconds, it all looks the same to me, but Bode is really into it, so I'll watch as many videos as he will make.

He did tell me that in the recording, there is a lag between the video and the audio, so the moves might not match up.  He can tell the difference.  I cannot.  In terms of video games, this one is quite a work-out.  We are going to get a shirt made for Bode that says "Body by Beat Saber" because after he has played for awhile, he complains about how sore his shoulders are :-)

Ashley AARP

 Today was Ashley's FIFTIETH (50) birthday.  She's filled out her AARP application and has her Amazon account to auto-reorder her hair-dye which is shipped in by the crate :-)  To celebrate, we went water-skiing, and everyone agreed Ashley was the hottest-looking 50-year old on the lake.  As always, we took a lot of pictures.  First, here's a nice one of Bode--little man is looking so grown up these days.

We even got him to pose for a picture with his mother.

Bode took the first run of the day.  He didn't do any slaloming; he said he wanted to work on his wake-crossing.  First, some pictures.

Next is a movie of the little man coming by the dock.

Next, we have Ashley starting on one of her runs.

She did quite well and looked awesome zooming around the lake.

We did get a good movie of Ashley drinking some lake water.

Afterwards, I took a picture of me and Ashley on her big day.

I wake-boarded as well, but I think all the pictures are on Ashley's phone.  I'll try to get some and post at a later date.  When we got home, we feasted on more turkey and ham, and then we did the obligatory singing of Happy Birthday after having paid the appropriate royalties to the Jackson estate.  Note the lovely cake that Bode and I baked.

We'll finish this birthday post with a picture of my two favorite people.

Tomorrow, Bode becomes an official teenager.  God help us :-)

Carriage House...Almost

We had the new driveway poured this week for the carriage house.  This means we are so close to being done.  It looks great--still need to do the bricks at the very end by the street, but it's dry enough for us to walk on.  We have to wait until next week to drive on it, but that'll be here before we know it.  First, here's a shot of the carriage house from the main house's front door.

Next is a little closer so you can see the curve in the path.

This is right in front of the carriage house.  Exterior is all done (I think).

This is the main floor.  I didn't take any pictures of the garage, as it is a bit of a mess with a lot of saws and other tools lying around.  This main room just requires some touch-up paint and minor trim pieces.

The bathroom looks great.  The shower is probably nicer than what we have in our house.  Everything is done in the bathroom except some trim pieces on the floor.

Here is another shot of the main room from the other side.

We should be done right after Thanksgiving...which means we need to start furnishing the place :-)  

Bode is doing great in school.  He got all A's and B's on the first quarter report card, and we continue to be thankful that Meigs has been able to stay open since 31 August.  Bode had to do a science project last week--a 3-D model of a plant cell.  

He molded all the parts himself out of clay.  Ashley helped with the main body, and I helped him type up the definitions, but this project (compared to some others) was mostly Bode's work.  He earned a solid A and a treat from Sonic.  

Only a few more work days until a much needed break for all of us.  We are looking forward to some water-skiing and a lot of turkey!  Pleasant day to all.

Mocking Bode

 Bode plays Beat Saber a lot on his Oculus virtual reality headset.  It is a pretty cool game, and if you want to see what Bode is seeing on his headset, go to this link.  His arms are controlling the light-sabers which are slicing into the blocks that are flying at him.  He's really oblivious to what's going on around him, and he doesn't like if I try to make fun of him but he catches.  Fortunately, he didn't realize I was mocking him.

My dancing skills have not improved much since I was a kid.  Maybe that is something I should work on over the holiday break.  Pleasant weekend to all.