October 27, 2007

The Eve of the Eve of the Eve...of All Hallows Eve

Mmmm...Baby Ruth candy bars are my favorite. Snickers runs a close second, with the occassional Butterfinger thrown in there as well. Snickers and Butterfingers are wonderful in ice cream. Krista and I are on-call this weekend at Sarah's. We went this morning downtown for trick-or-treating, food samples, hayrides, etc. Two of the young women from Kenya joined us for the outing. About halfway through we decided to duck into Walgreens and get a cheap face-painting kit. We sat on the curb and did a little transforming. I didn't want to scare any little kids, but with our big smiles, I don't think we could have been too scary even if we tried.

Some of the women here aren't too sure what to think about Halloween. I suppose it would seem a bit crazy if you weren't familiar with the tradition. But, we are making candy apples tonight and painting pumpkins, and hopefully having some more fun during our house dinner on Wednesday, so maybe we can spread the appreciation.

After nearly three straight weeks of rain, we've had a brilliant week of sun. I took the bike out for about an hour last weekend. While I did a decent amount of mileage, the ride was broken up with short stops to admire the trees, take pictures, walk along the river, etc. When I go out walking I look down the block at the trees to determine in which direction I want to head. Lots of yellows right now. And lots of squirrells. We have the typical St. Louis brown, but there are also lots of white and black squirrells as well. I wish there was some way I could let the squirrells know I mean them no harm as I walk because they all have to scatter and run up some tree when I get near. How are they ever supposed to find enough food to store for winter with all these humans out disturbing their search?
Last night I went to the orchestra with one of the younger sisters from St. Paul. In St. Louis we have what are called "Entertainment Books," which are books of coupons that you can buy. Well, here they are called "Blue Sky Books." I found a coupon for two orchestra tickets for a total of $5.00. Can't beat that! The performance last night was music of "upcoming" composers--men and women who are new on the scene and had maybe never had a professional orchestra play their pieces. The pieces of seven composers were chosen, six men and one woman. The woman was from somewhere in Asia I would guess. The men all looked as if they had been born here in the States. After the concert was over they had time for the audience to ask these new composers questions. My question would have been about the lack of diverse representation that evening and a curiosity as to if it was fairly representative of upcoming composers and why. It was a great opportunity for the new composers--not to mention us. I paid more for parking than I did for the tickets.

Anyway, it's study hour here at Sarah's. Currently no one is in the activity room to study or get help with anything. But maybe I'll venture out and see who I can find. As I'm at Sarah's, it's only fitting to end with: may peacemaking prevail on earth today.

--Sarah

3 comments:

  1. Baby Ruth and Snickers are the best. It is interesting, about the composers, as a recent psych study I read claims women are generally better at distinguishing a greater range of sound (in the human voice at least). Have a great Halloween!

    GM

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  2. Glad to know you are finally able to see color in the trees. I do hope that you get a real variety of color that is different from St. Louis.

    That concert was a bargain in price, for sure! Hope the music was worth the price of parking!

    Do you have any "artists" at Sarah's? Maybe you need a pumpkin carving (or painting) contest to bring out that talent in some of them! How creative can you get? Instead of a snow person, you could have pumpkin persons! Or they could express all sorts of emotions!

    Enjoy these days, Sarah... We had 34 degrees last night and should have the same tonight! The days are lovely, though.

    Pat M

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  3. Oh you have been so present. I did the Principal's retreat and your principal from SJArc was so excited to share about you. It was great for me to tell her about this blog. This I told her would be a fun project some day to give to your class who must be 5th graders. Wow. I am rooting for the Rockies! Oh what great events are happening in your life. I love your orchestra tickets. That is just marvelous. Don't get spooked out this Halloween! Would you believe that I am doing a Vocation Talk to the seniors at S. Joseph's Academy on Halloween. I think I am going to wear my SARAH outfit! I'll let you know! Take care. Many prayers and lots of love.

    Marianne

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