Clanging Pots

Last night was a High Priest event for our Stake. I was asked to play the organ at the Mormon Center. Other organists used to complain about the organ there and I turned a deaf ear because it was 'my' organ. Now that I've been playing another organ for a couple of years, I understand their complaints!
Back to last night: I was on the organ bench and had just finished prelude. The Stake President was making announcements and I decided to adjust my bench a bit. I put my legs forward so I could push against the organ and my knee brushed the metal cover on the light for the pedals. It's usually pushed firmly onto the flourescent bulb but last night it was loose. It clanged onto the pedals, sounding like pots falling on tile floors.
I was mortified, but I tried to pick it up so it wouldn't be in my way for the opening song. I just made more noise! Then the cover settled under the pedals. It probably would have been okay, but I was worried about it hitting one of the pedals and not being able to play the note, so I got down on my hands and knees and gently pulled it out of the way.
While I was in that position (prone), I heard the Stake President thank the chorister and me (individually). I wanted to stay on the floor until attention was called away from us, but he announced the opening song and I had to get up to play.
One more 'organ adventure'! (Yes, there have been many.)

...And it lightly touched down!

I had just come home from dropping off some friends at the airport and was putting the trash cans behind the fence...thinking "This is not my job."...when I realized that the buzz I was hearing in my head was actually the rotors of a helicoptor flying very close to the earth!
It was hovering over the electric towers that run down the length of Oak Avenue Parkway a couple of blocks from our house. I caught a glimpse of it and paused to watch it, wondering what it was doing. As I pondered, it approached the tower that I could see beyond the houses across the street and it 'lightly touched down' on the top of the tower!
After I gazed on the spectacle for a few seconds, I pulled out my phone to take a picture. (Good thinking, huh?) Then the chopper lifted off again.
It's still buzzing around the neighborhood and I'll bet I could get a picture if I really tried, but I think you could imagine the spectacle pretty well without the picture. It wouldn't be spontaneous at this point anymore, would it?
...'Mr. Bojangles! Mr. Bojangles! Dance....'

Labor Day Really IS!

(A day for Labor, that is!)
Because we don't have family that lives close to us, we've been in the habit of inviting other people to share holidays and such with us. We usually end up having at least two pool parties during the summer. They are so much work, but the end result is getting to know a bunch of people on an informal basis (that is, other than a church setting.)
Today we had our first pool party of the year...pretty sad that we waited until September!
John worked like a dog on Saturday hauling trimmed limbs and garbage away, and bringing in two truckloads of bark. The yard looks great!
I made a general announcement in Relief Society yesterday, and then spent the day wondering if anyone was going to show up! I knew two families were coming for sure, but after everyone left, I sat down and counted: 42 people and about 10 families. Woo Hoo!
My feet are very tired after the shopping, cleaning and food prep. John is asleep on the couch after the running of errands for me and helping Ben buy a truck. (Yup, you read that right: Ben bought a truck today. He's got his bug up for sale on Craig's List and has had a few bites, but no buyers yet. John and he found a deal that they thought was too good to pass up...) He's always so good about cooking the meat and helping to clean up after the party is over.
Roxy is a lump. She spent the evening begging food off of everyone who fell for her 'poor puppy' routine. (That would be everyone but our family!) She can hardly move, she's so full of food.
These events always leave me thinking we should do them more often, but during the preparation, I wonder what in the world I've gotten myself into! Obviously, I've gotten myself into a lot of work and then fun! Wish I had pictures, but nope. I was too busy to take any. You'll have to take my word for it: a great time was had by all.

Moth Wars!

Six! Yells the voice in my head as I kill yet another one. Last night the tally was 32, the night before that it was 30.
I hate moths! Now that we've cleared that up...
The best way to get the little buggers is with the hose on my vacuum cleaner. There's no flailing around the room as you try to either swipe the elusive creatures out of the air with one hand (which I can do, by the way!), or slap you hands together in an attempt to smash the thing while it flutters unaware. You merely point and suck.
This war began about three years ago, and I learned that moth traps called 'Pantry Pest' are great at attracting and trapping moths. However, I've begun to wonder if they aren't too good at attracting them. Am I inviting a larger number of them indoors?
In the past few weeks, I've noticed a huge increase in the amount of them weaving through the air in my house. Not just in the kitchen anymore, but in the whole house including the garage!
The cupboards have been cleaned one at a time, but I can't get all of the little eggs that are laid in the nooks and crannies. So when evening rolls around, the war is on! I think the moths are hitchiking in bulk foods from WinCo. I hate to even say it because I love shopping there, but that seems to be how they are arriving in our house.
So, the options are: continue the war, which will definitely happen regardless; discontinue shopping at WinCo, which I cannot bring myself to do; or freeze everything from the bulk foods section after I bring it home. Hmmm. I vote option three at the moment.
Meanwhile, I'm back on duty!

Pears in pairs....

Our Relief Society President had a contact to buy pears from Oregon this year. They were $19 for 42 pounds. I don't know if that is a good price or a bad one, but I bought a box, figuring that it was high time I tried my hand at bottling fruit again.
Well, the pears came...from Marysville CA about 40 miles to the North of us. Apparently the Oregon grower ran into rain or cold problems, so the pear crop was not a bumper one. No problem! They'll still be delicious, right?
I had to wait for them to ripen. After a week, I decided I'd better get them preserved. Dehydrated pears sounded really good, so I went looking for a dehydrator. My friend has one, but had loaned it to someone else. No one else that I asked had one, so plan 'B' was to dehydrate them on cookie sheets at 120 degrees in my oven. Okay, I can do that!
The cookie sheets only held two pears per sheet. They stuck to the pans, but they sure were delicious! I finally went looking to buy a dehydrator for myself, but nothing I saw was what I wanted. Kohl's let me order one in the store and will ship it to me, but I won't get it until next Wednesday. All the pears would be rotten by then...
On to plan 'C': bottling them! This plan was fabulous except for a small problem; I couldn't find either my cold pack canner or my pressure cooker. Ho-boy! Now I'm on the phone looking for a dehydrator and a canner. Bingo on both counts.
The dehydrator works so much easier than the oven! The first batch of pears in the steamer I over-cooked, and broke two bottles. (What a waste!) The second batch I actually pulled off. Overall, 11 bottles sealed. A couple of them look like they leaked quite a bit before they sealed, but hey, who's being picky at this point?
I also made some fabulous pear butter with orange peel and nutmeg flavoring, and some fruit leather. I'm not sure how the leather is going to turn out yet. It's in the dehydrator as I type this.
I feel accomplished with my little pear bottles sitting on the island. Now the question is, will anyone eat them?!?