Strawberries and swans

We've been quite busy here in Texas! Mike recently discovered a pick-your-own strawberry farm down in Arlington. Last Saturday we headed out and had a wonderful time. I had never picked strawberries before but now I'm hooked!! It's a not-too-big farm but very family friendly. There was a light breeze blowing and strawberries EVERYWHERE, plus the house right next to the farm had a charming set of windchimes. We got so excited by the berries that we ended up picking about 18 pounds of red happiness. (They melt in your mouth....yum.....!!!) We quickly consumed about 6 of those pounds and froze the rest, but already the freezer is getting empty. Today we're headed back and will try to show some restraint, but I doubt that's going to happen!!



In other news, teaching is going well, I guess. I'm starting to get a lot of calls for summer lessons, so I should be fairly entertained with that. I'm hoping that if I get my hands on the kids before certain band directors come anywhere near them, the kids might actually stand a chance. I'm encouraged because one of the mothers actually asked for my recommendation on an instrument, so maybe more will follow suit.

This weekend we both have what should be a fun gig. The program is for Peter and the Wolf and a bunch of other random pieces that don't truly go together. Mike will be playing P&W, but I've been called to play second on a Looney Tunes medley. Should be the easiest $250 I've ever made!

In other unrelated news (this blog is seeming like the program we'll be playing this weekend!): Our local library has a nature preserve out back, and since it's spring, all the baby ducklings are in full force.



Once we actually saw a mother duck with 20 babies following behind! I'm not sure if she was running a day care or what, but I was truly impressed. There are also 2 swans with their little ones in tow. There were orginally 6 baby swans, then 5, then 4, and now we seem to have settled at 3, which is how it goes, I suppose. :o( But they're all adorable!!!!!



~Ruth Ann

Medieval fair and my MOM!!

Due to the persistant requests of RA, I'm finally writting a blog! Sorry for the delay. I've been spending all my time making reeds for my students. There are a lot of horrible store bought reeds out there-and they're charging an arm and a leg for them.

We've had some amusing times. A few weekends ago we went up to Norman OK, where I grew up before moving North Dakota, to visit my friend Chris. While there we went to the Norman Medieval Fair, which I have fond memories of from my youth. Unfortunately, things do not stay the same. It was about 10 times bigger and the clientele moved towards the bizzare. There were a lot of people dressed up in medieval costumes. There were also a lot of people dressed as medieval 'skanks' and the Goth look was in, too. A big highlight was the 'Smee and Blog' show. These were two guys well into their 50's dressed as dungeon guards doing a song and dance routine.



All the songs were changed so the words were medieval dungeonish and cheesey. It was entertaining in the scratch-your-head-in-confusion sort of way. But the real reason we went to Norman was a show Chris's Improv group did. It was hilarious! Definitely the highlight of the trip.

Another amusing event happened whist we were clothes shopping. I tend to wear my clothes until all of them wear out at the same time. This means I have to spend a huge chunk of time trying on a whole lotta clothes. Luckily, Ruth Ann agreed(or insisted) she went along. While I was trying on pants in the dressing room, RA was outside waiting with a pile of shirts for me to try on. There was some other guy trying stuff on who was coming in and out. He said to RA "Is that your son?" RA said "Ummmm....No, he's my husband." Weird guy said "Oh gosh, I feel embarassed! He looked so young." RA: "No, he's older than I am." WG: "Oh wow, he looks so young!" RA: "No... he's older than I am." WG: "Oh wow...'Cause he looks so young!" RA managed to finally convinced him that yes, I was her husband and not her son.

We'll pass along more Texas stories as they come.

~Mike

The real question is--does Mike look 12 or do I look 45?!?!
~Ruth Ann