A Little (and growing) School in Alaska

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to go to school in Alaska in the winter? With no indoor play area? You'll catch a glimpse of what it's like when you watch this video. You'll also catch a glimpse of Grandpa-in-law, and even though you won't see him, you can picture twin-brother-in-law in his element. (Or THE elements, as the case may be.)

Valentine's Day in the Lunch Room

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For the last couple of days, talk in the lunch room has tentatively circled around the big Valentine's day--who's single, who's not, who hates the day single or not, who spends inordinate amounts of time making Valentine's cards for a sweetheart regardless of hate for the day....

"I've been alone for almost all the Valentine's days in my entire life," one friend lamented.

"Yeah, me too," I said.

Which is a true statement. Before the Valentine's day in 2009, I did spend them all by myself. Counting today, three out of twenty-eight with a sweetheart still leaves almost all of them without one.

I'm glad they laughed. It might have been a bit cheeky to say that with my husband sitting right next to me, committed to being my Valentine for life and celebrating with me come Thursday, but I did mean it to be funny.

And I hope they all--and you all--have a wonderful Valentine's day, even if you have your house to yourself to curl up with a favorite book {oh, wait, I mean Studies in Twentieth Century Music homework} like I do.

I Like Life, Life Likes Me

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You're thinking we must really love pancakes to make that many all at once. Well, we do. But I especially love not wasting food, so when the recipe said 2 tablespoons baking powder when it should have said 2 teaspoons baking powder, I had to take some drastic measures. Especially when I had decided to make a double batch so that there would be leftovers.

The two batches turned into six batches, and you would be amazed at how much better they tasted as six batches instead of two. Yes, I penciled in the correction for next time!

You know what else I love? YouTube. You might not think I'm a YouTube kind of girl, but I have discovered something. I can stay home while the bread bakes (another thing I love, but that I didn't do today) and do my listening/watching music homework on YouTube instead of spending that two hours in the library.

I also love the Naxos Music Library my school subscribes to. Another way to study at home instead of going back to school for a late evening.

But do you know what I don't love? Listening to freely atonal music. Watching ballet. Listening to twelve-tone music.

Will it be totally crazy, then, if I say I love analyzing freely atonal and twelve-tone music? Or the music that goes to the ballet? It's so wonderfully full of math, REALLY creative compositional technique (get out your scissors and glue...literally), and the catchy spark of imagination.

I love reading Henry Cowell, and imagining his new system of notation that would include a new-fangled "two-elevenths" notes. I love to imagine getting good enough to pick out the overtone series expressed rhythmically instead of harmonically through the multiple voices of a piece of music.

Is there anything better?

Well, yes. There's my husband, and the flowers he brought me a few days ago, the dishes he keeps washing when I don't want to, the music he writes, the total thoroughness with which he does all his work.

And of course, there's also my Savior, who forgives my stumblings (including my intentional ones), gives victory over thoughts the devil would love to have me dwell on, and pleads my case before His Father's throne--pleads with His own blood.