Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Loooooonnnng week...... All State!

First off, let me get any stitchy progress out of the way so those of you who aren't interested in family stuff can be happy.  Not as much progress as I would have liked.  It's been a busy week.  (That's also the reason for a Wednesday posting for a change.)  Anyway, here's Guarding Eden.


I have Siobhan to thank for stitching this before I did.  lol!  I read her description on her blog of how she stitched her grass (in tent) and followed suit.  After all, I had the same problem -- all my shades of yellow are very close and the only way everything would have shown up well was by doing the grass in tent stitch.  Thank you, Siobhan!!!!  :D   I know I would have ended up with more frogging to do if it weren't for you!  (Now I'm looking at my picture and wondering if Siobhan did tent over one.  Did you, Siobhan??  Ugh!)


I haven't decided yet whether to follow Siobhan's lead and not bother to fill in around the verse.  It's very very tempting.  :D

And now for the part that's musical.  Lots and lots of music this week for the boy child.  I took him to the bus for Rochester, NY at 6:30am in the morning Thursday (December 2nd) and he was off to All State!!  With bass shoved into the luggage compartment of the bus.  (The bus was for the kids from our county who were attending All State.)  Sounds like he had a wonderful time there.  He was a member of the symphony orchestra.  (There were around 9 different groups at All State: 2 jazz groups, bands, choruses, a string orchestra and the symphony orchestra.)

The father type and I left for Rochester Saturday morning.  Talk about long drives.  It always amazes me how big the state of New York is!  We stayed in a different hotel that was close to the boy child's and all the All State musicians' hotel.  Here's our view out the window.  (Note the snow.  More on that later.)

 Pretty thrilling, right?  Since we had to rush off to the theater first thing in the morning on Sunday, we splurged and had room service.  Such fun!


The theater that the All State concert was in was really pretty -- the Eastman Theater.  Here's the lobby.

 
Here's the line to get in.  lol!


Here's the proof that it was All State.


Some facts that I got from a very talkative mixed chorus member that sat behind us after his part of the concert was done.  Around 6,000 students from across the state audition for All State.  Only 900 are picked.  Most of them are seniors since it's their last year and preference is given to them over juniors.  The boy child said he was one of the only junior year bassists in the symphony orchestra out of 12 basses.

Blurry pic next, but it's proof he was there.  The boy child was pushed to the back so he's hard to see.  (He wasn't wearing his bow tie.   No one knew how to tie it.  lol!  I've since bought him a pre-tied bow tie.)


More pictures, both of the concert and of the boy child packing up after the concert.  (You can sort of see the boy child there on stage if you look carefully.)




The ride home was dreadful.  By the time we got on the road mid-afternoon, the snow was pretty bad.  Snow 2/3 of the trip home, spin outs and accidents all over, roadways sometimes pretty awful, visibility poor.   I was so glad to have my father type there to drive through it all.  I had the easy part of the drive home -- the tail end with no snow.  lol!
 
No rest for the weary.  We got home late Sunday night and the next day was school and then the last of the boy child's non-school orchestra rehearsals.  Last night (Tuesday) was his orchestra's winter concert.  (Their concerts are usually on a Sunday, but because of All State, it was on a Tuesday.)  More pics.  Better seats this time in the balcony.  (The boy child is 2nd seat.)




It was a good concert as well.  But we all agreed that All State was the best.  :D  We're hoping that the boy child will make it into All State again next year, but there are no guarantees.  So much depends upon the judge that year.  If it's a hard judge, no matter how good you are, you might not make it.  So fingers crossed!  The boy child loved the experience.  He says he's ready for college now.  lol!

Sorry for the long post and many many pics.  Told you it was a long week.  But I'm so glad to have the big concerts of the year over and done with.  Just the school concert left.  And that one should be fun -- not only will the orchestra perform, but it's the boy child's first year with the Jazz Ensemble.  The ensemble is an extracurricular group made up of a small group of kids that has to audition to get in.  The boy child is the bassist for the group.  They always go last -- and they're sooooo good!  I'm looking forward to hearing them!  (The boy child is getting into jazz now too, which is great!)

No Christmas preparations to speak of yet.  It's been hard to get into the Christmas spirit at this point.  Our poor Mia will be going in for her spaying on Friday.  Not looking forward to that.  Poor baby.  :(

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I love hearing from you!  Happy hump day!

44 comments:

Catherine said...

Beautiful stitching on your sampler!!

Loved all the pics of your son and hearing about your adventures. Glad you made it home safely in the snow!

Cari said...

Oh Margaret...I love your stitching and I love hearing all about the boy child and his concerts. How wonderful is that? Congratulations on supporting such a talented child! And give Mia a big hug...she'll be just fine. Hugs to you too!!

Deb said...

Wow, you got a lot of stitching done with everything going on this week!!!

It's so nice to see all those pictures of your son. I bet that the music was just wonderful. And thank goodness you didn't have to do the driving in the snow! Glad you made it back safe and sound!!

Isabelle said...

Hi Margaret, you have done al ot on your Eden guardian :-) Thanks for sharing so wonderful pictures of the concert with us : you must be really proud of your child , musn't you ??
Have a quiet day,
Isabelle

Hazel said...

Beautiful sampler and great pics of the concert too. xx

Edgar said...

Great progress on the sampler - and the grass is lovely!! Such a super experience at All State - congrats!!!!!

valerie said...

Great progress on Guarding Eden...you've gotten so much done! Great concert pics too. It sounds so exciting and that Boy Child doing very well with his bass playing to be the only bass junior at All State. Wow! Glad you all made it home safe with all the snow. Hugs to Mia...poor kitty...but she'll be fine! :)

BrendaS said...

Nice progress on Guarding Eden!

All your concert pic's are great. Congratulations to your son. What an honor.

Thanks for sharing

Laurie in Iowa said...

Your A&E looks great Margaret... Siobhan always has good ideas about stitching and the tent stitched grass looks good.
All the music news was wonderful... the drive home from All State... not so good.

KarenV said...

You're making great progress, it's a pretty sampler!

Glad you and the boy had fun at the concerts, even though the journey home was scary!

Bertie said...

This is a familiar one Margaret LOL, it does make sense to stitch large areas with a tent stitch over 1, I learned that from Merry Cox many years ago, it's a great sampler.
The theatre your son played is just breathtaking, I have never been to NY, but is in my plan one day.
Fingers xx that he will be chosen for next year, fantastic that he is very good!!
Now pre-bow tie!!, did you know that Queen E II spots that a mile off and she won't be best pleased ROFLOL (trivia)
Glad to hear you survived your snow ride, it is dire here too.
Have a great weekend.

Sweet Sue said...

Looks and sounds like a great weekend Margaret. The Eastman is always a delight, you were about 1/2 hour from us, sorry for the snow, it's just dreadful here sometimes... If you plan another visit to Rochester, feel free to let me know, would be happy to show you around a bit, when it's warm:) We've 2 nice LNS.

Nicole said...

Great progress on your sampler Margaret! Glad you son did well at All State and glad you all made it home safely in the snow!!

Roberta said...

What a great idea for the grass!!

Always love to hear about and see pictures of other stitchers children. What a wonderful experience to be able to go to all state!!! Also how exciting to be a part of the jazz ensemble.

When my children where in HS I was the part time hall monitor at my son's Performing and Arts HS. Loved watching the kids grown and performing.

Thanks for sharing. Hugs to MIA

Sampler Lover said...

Hi Margaret,
Sorry I haven't commented lately as I haven't been well. Congratulations on finishing the truly beautiful Richmond Sampler. Looking forward to seeing it framed.
Your new sampler is lovely and will look lovely on your A&E wall.
How wonderful for your boy child to have such a wonderful experience at All State. I am sure that it will be something that he never forgets.
You have snow at the moment. I have days and days and days of never ending rain. - Sandra.

Loraine said...

Your sampler is fabulous! So sorry I've missed so many of your posts. It's been fun catching up on your life! LOL
The concert looks amazing. I bet you are soooo proud! Glad you made it home okay. The snow has been dreadful here too.
Hugs.

Susan said...

Congrats to the boy on his accomplishments!

To you - congratulations for raising such a fine young man!

Lovely stitching as always!

Happy Stitching!

Michelle said...

Guarding Eden looks great - good plan with that tent stitch! The boy child is really doing some amazing things these days! Glad you are all home safe.

Cathy B said...

Wow - how wonderful that your son got to participate at the All State performance. You have very talented children!

Enjoyed seeing your stitching progress. It's always hard finding time to stitch at this time of the year!

Carol said...

You must have been so proud of your son, Margaret! I'm glad you arrived home safe and sound--that trip sounds like a nightmare.

Poor Mia--I hope she comes through the surgery without a problem. Give her a cuddle for me :)

Wonderful progress on your latest sampler--you amaze me with how quickly you stitch!!!

Mary said...

Your stitching on Eden is coming along beautfully, although I don't know how on earth you fitted it in.

Congratulations to your Son - you must be very proud of his achievements.
Mary

aprilmecheelesdulllife said...

Beautiful Sampler!!! Love the pictures

aprilmecheelesdulllife said...

Beautiful Sampler!!! Love the pictures

Melissa said...

Oh wow, I love all the concert pics and music talk. Your boy is doing so well. I hope he keeps going on with music. Jazz is wonderful - a whole new language at that!

Wonderful progress on your A&E. Your "not much progress" is more than most of us do in weeks!

I'll email you later too.

Jan said...

Before I forget, good thoughts for your little Mia...I promise you she will be a-okay in a few short days.

You must be bursting your buttons in pride for the wonderful accomplishments of your dearest boy child! Kudos to him!! Love the photos!!!

You are going gangbusters on that project, it is so very pretty!!

Barb said...

More stitching miracles! And don't worry, it's not boring hearing about the family...it's fun! So sorry you had to trudge through the snow. There have been many times when we gotten stuck in snowstorms traveling eastward from Ohio and it makes me a nervous wreck. DH just tells me kindly close my mouth and go to sleep.

Deborah said...

Guarding Rden is beautiful. Love the tent stitching. Enjoyed hearing about your son. What a talented boy.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Congratulations to your son! To be selected for All State and to be the only junior - really special!

You've made great progress on GE. You've been so busy I'm surprised at how much you've progressed.

I hope Mia just sails through her surgery!

Alice said...

I think you did get a lot of stitching done Margaret. I have been hopeless. Simply too much happening and things to do before Christmas and the New Year. What a setting and all those beautiful musical instruments together. I am proud with you that your son is doing such a fine job and he sure seems to love music. Is that not what it's all about?
xxx

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Margaret...I LOVE YOUR GUARDING EVE piece...GORGEOUS!!!!!

Now then, I want to tell you how much I enjoy reading of the boy child's walk through all his orchestra and musical endeavors. He is a talented young man. And I'll be honest and say that I'm thrilled that Katie is doing so well with her clarinet...I think of you all the time as I wait for her and HOPE that the things she's trying out for, she'll get in. So far so good.. she's in the Indiana University "Young Winds" program starting in January. She all set up for solo and ensemble in January too...as well as trying out for her middle school Jazz Band. Fingers crossed she'll make it!
So a rousing WELL DONE to your son. I think he's fantastic and his dedication shows that his parent's lead him right along the path :)

Sherry said...

Wow, you have really had a busy week! I can't believe how far along you have gotten on GE. It just looks wonderful and I vote for doing the verse with no fill in. lol.

The boy child must have been thrilled with all the busy stuff going on! I know you were proud.

Giovanna said...

Wow, that's a lot done on the sampler! It's just lovely. You must be very proud of your boy - glad you all got home safely.

Marylin /Poussy said...

Oh the very beautiful picture, I love your stiches,
have a good day,
marylin

Unknown said...

I always enjoy your posts - your love for your children and how proud you are of your son and his accomplishments is evident in every word. Someday you will have to record his playing so that all of us can hear it :-)

Love, love your A&E!

Enjoy your day.

woolwoman said...

gosh you all have been busy - poor Mia but it will be better that she is spayed and it's done and over with. Your sampler is coming along - really fun piece. enjoy your upcoming weekend - maybe it will be quieter - Mel

Brigitte said...

Great pictures of your son and the concerts. He must have loved this experience a lot.
And oh, such pretty progress pictures of your stitching.

Natalia said...

Margaret, I feel I always say the same in all my comments to you, but.... I'll say again: you are the fastest stitcher !!!!! Love your progress and can't wait to see it all finished (probably next week at the rhythm you are going :-).

You must be very proud of your son. Oh if I was born again I would play cello. I've always loved Cello.

Sherry :o) said...

Your sampler looks great - I did see it on Siobhan's too - beautiful! I would be so tempted to not stitch the background of the verse - but once the verse is in, that's very easy stitching.

Congrats on all the music doings this week - where I work has a branch in Rochester, NY and we have sales all over NY - parts really got hit with snow last week. We are supposed to get hit tonight/tomorrow here in MI and possibly freezing rain - I like the snow, but don't like the ice!

Anonymous said...

hello to you my friend and I think you'll post what I told you next weekend ....
friendships

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

hello to you my friend and I think you'll post what I told you next weekend ....
friendships

Susan said...

Isn't watching your child perform just the best thing? Congratulations to your son on his accomplishment!

Robin-Samplerbird said...

Wonderful progress on your sampler! You are just speeding along. You must be very proud of your son...sounds like you had an amazing time!

Lois said...

What great pictures of the boy child and all that he's been doing lately! Glad you made it home safely.

Great progress on Guarding Eden! I definitely like the idea of going for the tent stitch on all that grass.

Hopefully by now Mia is feeling much better!

Anonymous said...

Love your sampler, Guarding Eden....so nicely done!
Your pictures of the Eastman Theater in Rochester, NY took me by surprise.......spent most of my life in Rochester! My son graduated from highschool at the Eastman. All state is a great experience for "boy child"!
Just found & am enjoying your blog.
Cindy