I Love the Piano

This is my piano.

I bought it a few years ago at the local hospice thrift store.  I grew up with a piano, but I hadn't had one in more than 25 years.  This is an old piano manufactured in 1910 and probably not cared for very well.  Nevertheless, I was so happy to get it.  It was only $350, but I spent more than that to get it home and tuned.

When I was a child I took piano lessons at different ages with different teachers and different styles.  I learned to read music and I learned the chord method.

Playing the piano was and still is a favorite past time for me.  I love music, listening to it, singing along with it and making it.  I want to let anyone who might be reading this blog know that I am not very accomplished at my chosen instrument.  This is not false modesty.

But the truth is, I love to play anyway even though I get frustrated by my mistakes.

Some of my favorite pianists are:

Liberace

Boogie Woogie Live

Vince Guaraldi

Ginza Samba by Vince



Lori Line

Hymne

(I can play this, but not like Lori. It is one of my favorite melodies)



Roger Williams

Autumn Leaves



Thelonious Monk

"Round Midnight



Brian Crain 

Italian Summer
Composed and played by Brian.
 (I can play this one too)


Dear friends, I cannot even begin to name all of the pianists, piano players that I love. So I won't try. However, if you think of one and I've heard of them, I more than likely love to hear them play.

So today and everyday, I am thankful to God for music and the piano.

P.S.  All the photos are from the internet and all the links are from YouTube.

Three positive things

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest, Elizabeth, decided to post (on Facebook) 3 positive things that happened each day for a week.  I did not participate in that although my other daughter, Alex, did.  About a week ago, Elizabeth explained how hard that was as she was having very challenging days.  She also said that being thankful for positive 'things' was not quite as difficult as pinpointing positive happenings each day.  After thinking about that,  I decided I would try it starting with yesterday.

1. My wandering cat, Zeke, came home again.
2. When I watered the very droopy plant (I'm not sure what it is), it perked up considerably.
3. I lost a pound.  This was on purpose, not an accident.  I would prefer to never find that one again.

A few years ago I read an short article about the good effects of being thankful has on our minds and spirits.  The article suggested writing down five things you're thankful for each day.  Try not to say the same thing every time.  I remember one suggestion was "I'm thankful for pepperoni pizza."  This idea has not been hard for me as I am thankful to God for so many things every day.

So with a promise to post some sewing and/or art photos soon,  I close with this one.

I am thankful for my piano.