One of my major goals lately has been to try to unclutter my office. I actually went through that process this past week. And what a task it was! So many piles of paper, sticky notes, binders of training materials, file folders, receipts, business cards and such. Now I can't say that I have everything in perfect order but it is far better than it was. And there was so much evidence of my work and experiences over the years in so many places. I have accumulated a small pile of notes to act on later. But for now, everything is "filed away," dusted, discarded and much more organized. I even got my newly ordered Keurig coffeemaker set up in the corner so it's closer for me to perk a fresh new cup of coffee when the coffeemaker pot in the kitchen is empty. I must say that I highly recommend a Keurig! So far my favorite coffee is Donut House (purchased at Costco) and Dunkin Donuts (purchased at Dunkin Donuts last week). Let me clarify, I was walking past the donut shop and went in JUST for the coffee pods. (No I don't sweat every morning on the treadmill and waste it on indulging on a donut .... yet! Still working on holiday weight!)
I thought I would share one little relic that I found during my office cleaning. I think this deserves a frame. Taylor autographed this just for me. I still think a lot of this young man. His mom and I go way back and I treasure our friendship. Speaking of that, I will see Linda and so many of my Minor High School (go Class of '74) friends this Saturday night at the Jazz Cat Ball. If you don't have tickets yet, get yours now. I attended this event last year and it was loads 'o fun. Linda is very involved with this organization (Greater Birmingham Humane Society) and I love supporting it/her in these efforts. Also, a shout-out to another MHS '74 classmate, Pete Hill. Pete is running in the Mercedes Half Marathon which benefits the Bell Center. Pete's granddaughter, Karly, is receiving treatment there and he is running to raise money to support that effort. Hats off to Pete for his stamina (in body, heart and soul) in this race! You can contribute to his efforts by clicking here.
More family times this week and so loved it. The surprise gathering for my sister, Catherine, turned out great. George Sarris took good care of us and prepared some wonderful appetizers before our meal. If you ever get a chance to be served dishes prepared just by George, jump on it. And sitting at that big table is a cool experience too. Catherine was very surprised and I think it made her 39th birthday very special. The birthday key lime pie was the perfect ending to a special meal.Thanks Kim and George for your kindness and attention to this idea. See you again soon!
Also had a chance to visit with Matt and Sarah and catch up with them. On Saturday night, I had a nice long visit with my dad's sister (who is also my Godmother), Aunt Libby. I set up a computer for her and she is now back on the WWW. She is so very excited and I'm glad to finally fulfill this promise to her (made long ago). If you want to write her and just say hello and welcome online, her new e-mail address is granlibby@yahoo.com. She's on Facebook too so if you know her, perhaps she will friend you! She is pretty much confined to home so this should re-open up a new world for her. Thanks to Catherine for being a part of this special night. And to make it more special, I got to dine with Catherine afterwards at Stix. It's the first time I've eaten in the "non-hibachi" side of the restaurant. Although I love their hibachi cooks and the experience, it results in SO much food so I was trying to avoid that. I ordered asparagus sushi for the first time. Very good!
I have been working to get my dad's computer back up and running and spent the better part of Sunday on that effort. We finally purchased a new hard drive taking the chance that the error message was indeed caused by a bad hard drive. And thankfully that worked! Now to get the drive re-imaged using Norton's Ghost software. So far, I'm still struggling with that. My theory is if I get his computer up and running, perhaps he will take interest in it again. A girl can hope, right? If you've never visited my dad's website, take a look. He loves to play music and has so many midi files there. Scroll down, click on a title, and take a listen. He even has some original music there! (I suppose I get a little musicality from him?)
The Bradley Family
On Sunday I spent the evening providing piano background music at the visitation of Cecilia Bradley George at Metropolitan Church of God. CiCi was a beautiful person inside and out. And she was such a gifted person musically. She left a directive before her passing that I was to provide music for her visitation. And I was so happy to be able to do that. Although I didn't get to see Cecilia much, we always connected when she and her sisters (Dianne and Teresa) provided a beautiful blend of voices at funerals of close friends or family from St. Patrick's. We lost her younger brother a few years back. So on the two-year anniversary of his death, I invited all these gifted siblings and other musically inclined friends to Moody Manor for an evening of music and sharing. We attended Mass and afterwards we had a "sanging" here just pickin' and grinnin' and laughing. Here's a photo from that evening. I love this family and hope we will come together here again soon to celebrate their lives and legacy. They collected to sing some favorites to honor CiCi. If you want to sample that track, take a listen. Good.Old.Fashioned.Harmony.
Just sharing.....
In closing, I wanted to share a couple of interesting stories with you. I came across this one just today. It really warmed my heart. I have a whole new respect for Mellow Mushroom now. Yes, it was just this one franchise but I suspect some others may just see this and pay it forward. Take a look.
Now this young man below is really something. If this doesn't brighten your day and convince you to make a difference, nothing will. In this video, he states: "We were made to be awesome. ..... Pass this Pep Talk along and let's get the whole world to dance."
He made this for his friend Gabbi who is fighting cancer. I heard that he has some sort of condition which makes all this dancing difficult for him. But what a guy! And what an idea! I thought this was a great way to polish off this week's post.
