My Happy Diversion

All over the world today, there is trouble. Every news headline, every post on Facebook, every Tweet serves to remind us what a dangerous place our planet has become. Donald Trump, who is spewing neo-Nazi rhetoric and scaring the crap out of everyone (even the GOP), the recent terrorist attacks by Daesh, Syrian refugees trying to escape the violence and turmoil in their country only to be met with hatred, prejudice, and lack of hospitality from the one nation in the world that is best equipped to take them in, and Russia threatening both Syrian and Turkish borders pushing us dangerously near the brink of WWIII, are all events that serve to make us feel powerless, fearful, edgy, and hopeless.

But today I am in my kitchen, for tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Today my eyes are on my laptop screen where I've pulled up all the recipes online that I'm using for my family's feast. Today my head is into

checking to make sure I've gathered all the ingredients I need to make the brine for our turkey, and checking to make sure that we have enough heavy cream to use in my creamed confetti corn dish, and making sure I don't over-bake the pumpkin pies so they won't crack. Today my heart is overwhelmed with love and gratitude for my family, and I'm pouring all of it into every dish I prepare for them. When I do this, I shut out the world and all its troubles. I shut out fear, confusion, anger, hatred, and hopelessness. Today is about love and about the people I love most.

So here's to happy diversions. Here's to turkey and all the trimmings. Here's to family. Here's to world peace. Here's to gratitude for what we've been given.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Marriage: Our Day Arrives

It was around 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 6, 2014 when I saw the announcement on my Facebook timeline, that the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of the State of Oklahoma in the 10th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals case that challenged Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage. Earlier in the summer, the 10th Circuit Court had agreed with a federal judge that the ban was unconstitutional. Knowing that SCOTUS's refusal to hear the appeal meant that same-sex marriage was suddenly legal in Oklahoma, I sat at my desk in a state of shock for about five minutes while the news sunk in. After nearly fifteen years together, Steph and I would be able to marry.

We set the date for Friday October 24th, 2014. We had two-and-a-half weeks to plan our wedding, which we decided would take place in our home in the presence of the warmth and love of our friends and family. Our dear friend, Allen Scott, who had been with us from the beginning of our relationship, agreed to register as an officiant so that he could perform the ceremony.

So here we are, a week later, still grinning from ear-to-ear and still pinching ourselves. Every once in a while, we look over at one another as we sit in the living room writing on our computers or watching a movie on Netflix and remind one another that we're really married.

At last, our dream has come true.

My Special Place

I think perhaps there is a place and time for all of us that caresses our spirit more than any other place and time in our lives. A memory, a hope, a dream...it's real or imagined - or both. ~Philip Erwin

Announcing Alla Breve Books

Steph's and my new publishing company. Follow this link to our site!

Yes, Mr. Vice President, this is a f**king big deal.

Here's to new beginnings

It's not perfect, but it's a good start. Thank you, President Obama, for your steadfast commitment to the American People. 

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhit

Happy Talk

A couple of days ago, Steph posted a meme on her blog that simply listed 10 things that made her happy, so I'm grabbing that meme and posting it on mine today. Feel free to grab it from me and use it for yourself if you're so inclined! My happy things are in no particular order.

1. Fresh, clean, bedsheets.
2. A basket-full of scented bath soaps.
3. Sitting at the piano and singing through my Twenty-four Italian Songs & Arias.
4. Listening to my CD of Mozart piano & violin sonatas.
5. Sitting in bed with Steph with both of us working on our laptops.
6. Waking up early in the morning to find Steph still awake and spending an hour with her cuddling, talking, and laughing before I have to get up and get dressed for the day.
7. When my kitty gets up in my face and kisses my nose.
8. When my daughter calls me all excited to tell me that she made a 100% on a really tough exam.
9. When I look in the mirror and realize that I don't look too bad for being almost 50.
10. Napping on the couch with my warm nothing (we call our soft micro-fiber blankets our "warm nothings").

New Year's 2009/10

Last night we had our annual New Year's Eve party, and it didn't disappoint. At first we were afraid that the attendance was going to be down, but between Jacey and her boyfriend Kyle (he's a keeper, Jacey!), Heather and her boyfriend, Bryan (he's a keeper, too!), and of course, Allen, Ville (who showed up despite the fact that she felt like crap), and all the rest of us, we had one of the best attended parties in recent years and definitely one of the most fun! The following pictures are of some of the highlights!

Nettl gets down.

Micah & Steph do the bump.

Joel guards the food.

Ville is ready for her close-up.

Micah as Stevie as Keiff.

 

Allen gets down and dirty.

Happy New Year, 2010!

Wishing you love, joy, success & prosperity in 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our White Christmas, 2009

Our little cottage in Christmas Eve snow!

 

Looking through the wreath on the front door.

 

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The first book signings and a sense of accomplishment

Thursday afternoon, while I was at work, I received a very excited email from Steph, announcing that the first big shipment of So Faithful a Heart that was ordered in a group order had arrived!  When I announced it at work, one of my co-workers exclaimed, "Ooooooh! Go home and get them!" Since our little house is only blocks from where I work, I did as she suggested and picked up the books that had been ordered by several of my co-workers and took them back to the office. There I signed them and passed them out to those who had purchased one. Then on Thursday evening, I sat down after dinner and signed the remaining copies.

Last Sunday evening we had our dear friend, Dr. Allen Scott (who was the chair of my graduate committee when I was in graduate school several years back and has since become one of our dearest friends and is like family to us), over for dinner. It was Allen, who when he saw my passion for the subject, suggested that I do my graduate thesis on Nancy Storace and her relationship with Mozart. If it hadn't have been for Allen's insight and observations so many years ago, this book probably would never have happened. When I handed him a copy of the book, he beamed with pride for his former student, and asked, "So how did it feel when you held it in your hands for the first time?" I told him that it was indescribable. "There's a sense of  personal accomplishment that I've never sensed over anything else in my entire life!" He just smiled, and said that he was really proud of me.

First Christmas in our little cottage

We have a real tree this year!

By the front entry.

Bookcase in the corner.

Bowl of goodies!

Holiday coffee table.

In the kitchen.

I can't believe it's real!

So my copy of my first novel, So Faithful a Heart, arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. (And yes, I'm still pinching myself!) When I opened the box and held it in my hands for the first time, I almost cried. I really did it! I really wrote and published a book! There were a few small issues with it (miscalculation on the spine so the wording was off-center and the font on the chapter heading in chapter seven didn't imbed for some reason), but those issues have been corrected so anyone who orders a copy at this point won't see them.

This novel was inspired by my master's research thesis on the life and career of Mozart's original Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Anna "Nancy" Storace. After I wrote my thesis, I realized that this story was so interesting, so exciting, and so beautiful that I couldn't believe that no one had told it. It took me nine additional years of background research on the lives of Mozart and Nancy as well as 18th century Europe, 18th century England and Catholic Europe, the French Revolution, and anything else on the 18th century I could find and read. Finally, on a cold day last January I decided to quit putting it off and I just started writing. I never dreamed that less than a year later I would be holding it as a book in my hands.

Last night I told Steph that I've finally rescued Nancy Storace out of the cobwebs of Mozart history, vindicated her, and given her the rightful place that I feel she deserves in the Mozart story. She had gotten lost, and it was shame because her/their story is incredible and adds an important perspective to Mozart's life that authors and historians have missed througout the last two centuries. (I have my theories as to why they were missed, and I explore that in the Afterword in my book.)

So many thanks go to so many people for this, but none so much as go to my beloved Steph, who without her novel, Night Music, and without her knowledge and expertise in so many areas, as well as her assistance in so many of the technical aspects of this project, this book would never have happened. I kept telling her that her name deserved to be on the cover of this every bit as much as mine, but she refused to accept that place, giving it to me alone. But that's how she is, and is only one of the many reasons why I love her so much.

And so here I am. I've accomplished something that only a few can say that they've accomplished: I'm an author!

A soldier's dog cries when he returns home

Call me an old sap, but this made me cry. Let's end these wars now and bring these people home to the folks (and dogs), who love them!

The Book Cover

Steph made a couple of mock-ups for the cover of my novel last night and this is the one I've chosen.  It's really happening!  I'm about to become an author! 

Click on the image to enlarge.

Our little cottage

We'll be moving on August 1st and we just found out today that we got the house that we wanted! It's DARLING! Here are a few pictures of the outside that we just took this evening.

Western exposure from across the street.

Ivy growing up the porch!

Southern exposure, with large garage in back.

Another view of the front porch.

President Obama Declares June LGBT Pride Month

I don't usually get political on this blog, but since this issue so profoundly affects me, I couldn't help myself. I am so very pleased and proud that we finally have a president who is sensitive to the needs and rights of LGBT persons in this country!

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

They made me a mom

Lauren, September 21, 1988

Heather, July 25, 1990

Nathan, February 18, 1992

No mother could be more proud!

The reunion

My best friend from high school, whom I have not seen in 20 years, came for a visit over the weekend. I can't even describe what a wonderful time we had. We didn't do anything but sit and talk, as we had so much to catch up. I didn't realize, until she came here this weekend, how much I have missed having her in my life. Thank goodness for places like Facebook. It brought Debi and me back together.

I feel pretty