New Piano Music

I love when someone unexpectedly points you towards something you really like and turns out to also be useful.  I signed up a new piano student this week.  When I asked him what composers he likes, he immediately said Yurima.  This student is Korean, and I had never heard of his favorite composer.

Thank goodness for the internet.  I looked him up and found this:



Dan and the kids walked through the room at the time and all of them stopped to listen.  It is really beautiful.

Even better, I also found a site where you can download and print the sheet music for his pieces.  (see here: http://yiruma4ever.blogspot.ca/).  Very helpful for me because Dan has asked me to be the background music for his Mother's Day Tea and I was fretting about what I might play.  My library is still on the small side and very classical oriented and there is no music store in town.  Now I have found something that will work!

Thanks, my young student!  I teach you, but you teach me too!

Why Didn't You Vote?

Voter turnout yesterday is estimated at 46%.  Wow, way to go Albertans. 

Remember when we were in school?  46% was a fail.  A big one.

We have failed.

We have failed to value a right that incites civil war in other countries.  People die to get it.

We have failed those who have gone before us fighting to ensure that right to vote would not be taken away from us.

We have failed to educate ourselves on the political platforms of those running, and then taking a stand to show them what we think.

We have failed to send an accurate representation of our vision of the future of our province.

We have failed to tell the government that we, the taxpaying citizens of Alberta, are really the ones who run the show.

So if you didn't vote, why not?

Regardless of how you would have voted (that's not what I care about), why didn't you?

The campaign was 4 weeks long.  It was covered in every newscast, every newspaper, twitter, blogs, etc.  Plenty of time and opportunity to get informed.

Or was it?

I have my theories.

I'm pretty sure if they had a voting app the numbers would change dramatically.

By the way, my turn voting took about as long as it takes to play a couple rounds of Angry Birds.

Food for thought.

Interestingly, the other 54% of voters will still feel entitled to whine when decisions are made that they do not like.  I do not feel sympathy.  If you want an opinion, prove it in four years when your chance comes around again.

I am disappointed today, but I know we can do better....

Snow, a Trip and a Future Missionary

Last week we were riding our bikes, playing outside, spring cleaning the house.  Just when we thought spring had arrived for good, winter realized it had really procrastinated this season and took one final stab at it...

We were going to go to Grande Prairie that weekend.  Not so.  This week it is rainy and misty, so here's hoping that winter has gotten that out of it's system and is ready to go on vacation til November.

We did make it to Grande Prairie this past weekend and had a lot of fun.  We went to the new multiplex swimming pool ("better than Wii!" says Malcolm) and it was one of the best pools we've ever been to.  Clayton has been asking for a suit for a while now and there is a Sears in the city.  He and Dan dashed inside at 6, right as they were trying to lock up, but a really nice lady led them to the right area and set him up.  Doesn't he look so great?  He was so excited to go to church.  Who knew that was all it would take?

Easy Family History Work - FROM HOME!

Madison and I have stumbled across family history work that we can do from home - and it's easy! 

We were trying to complete a family history goal in her Faith in God booklet and I asked Sis. Britton a question about it.  In return, she told us to visit familysearch.org/1940census.

It's pretty simple - go to the site, set up your login (this can simply be the same one you use when you visit any church sites to order materials etc. or familysearch), follow the instructions and start indexing names from the census.  If you can read and copy, you can do this!  We have completed 3 batches and we only joined yesterday.  Easy!

They are listing the 1940 census as priority and are trying to complete it as soon as possible.  So this is for you if...

You want to do family history but don't quite know where to start.

You want to work at it from home.

You don't have access or time to go to the family history library.

You have kids involved in the Faith in God program or YW/YM who have applicable goals.

You have kids who want to be on the computer and you want them doing something useful.

Just because it's really interesting (think about it - who were these people?  Their names and histories are cool.  You can't help but wonder about their life stories...)

Thanks Sis. Britton for showing us this option and passing the Family History bug along!

Where have you been all my life?

I am not usually one to salivate over technology, but the latest love in my life is my Samsung Galaxy Tablet.



It entered my life in a casual way and saw at a glance what I needed...

(Sorry for the blatant plagairism there.  But it's true!)  I received it FREE for signing up with Telus for our TV and internet.  I thought I would like it.  Tablets have always intrigued me.  But little did I know that I would fall in love.

Sorry dear, move over.  Tabby is here to stay.

I used it today to teach piano.  So great!  The little girl was enthralled.  It reached her like no method from my stone age lessons ever could.  All because of a little app called My Piano.  It plays like a piano.  At the table.  What a great way to quiz notes and chords!

I listened to my other guilty pleasure, the Rutherford show, all morning on my Corus radio app.

It beeps when I get mail in my Gmail account.  And then I answered my sister right then and there.  Brilliant!

It already downloaded all my pics from my blog so I don't have to.

We already downloaded too many FREE apps.  (Have you played Where's my Water?  Don't go there unless you have time to kill.  I could hardly turn it off to get ready for lessons today.)

I know, I'm way behind the times.  But I have to say - two thumbs up. 

Tabby, how did I ever live without you?

Weekend Trip

This weekend we were able to go to Edmonton to the temple.  Thanks go out to the Morais family who let us invade their home when we do.  We always have such a good time!  Although the temple was the highlight, we were also able to do some shopping we can't do here in the north, so we ended up using most of our Saturday wandering Ikea and Walmart and my new favorite store the Bulk Barn. 

I hated the Bulk Barn in Lethbridge, but that's because I only really looked at the candy which is ridiculously priced.  Inalee turned me onto the spices there.  I was complaining about cream of tartar costing $8 for a little Tblsp size box and she took me there to show me how cheap it is there ($2 for about a cup.  Playdough here we come!).  We chose some good stuff and it was very affordable and Inalee feels it tastes fresher.  We also got  a few treats that brought back good memories of our family trip to South Dakota - GIANT JAWBREAKERS!  I had to buy one for each of the kids and they had to hear the story again, but it was worth it...

And if you ever find yourself in Fort Assinaboine, Alberta, check out the World's Largest Wagon Wheel and Pick (meaning pick axe, not nose-picking).  Pretty impressive.  You know there is actually a map for all of these giant icons on the Travel Alberta Site.  We have seen the Mushroom, the Egg, the Vulcan Spaceship and I think a couple others.  I'll have to start making a photo journal...

Our only trip regret was we didn't get to spend much time with Em and Trevor and Ty-Ty.  We were too rushed having gotten away 5 hours late due to tire issues.  Next time we have big plans...

Garden Update

An update on the indoor garden -

We transplanted the tomato seedlings into plastic cups - 50 cups to be exact.  That's a lotta tomatoes!  Luckily, Inalee took some off our hands this weekend.  I wish all my family lived closer so I could farm them out to you...

Oh, Emily, I should have asked you!  I will keep them and grow them and bring them next time if you want.  Let me know!   I wasn't sure if you really gardened.

Here are our sunflowers and marigolds...

And the zucchini and cucumbers on the ledge in the boys rooms...

And this is the pic of our tomato plants today, the one above is a couple of weeks ago.  Good thing we love em!