Friday, September 30, 2011
My New Blog
If you are following this blog and wonder why there are no recent posts, it is because I have a new blog. I changed my e-mail address to joettestrings@gmail.com. Now my e-mail matches my website and is easy to remember, but this blog is attached to an old gmail account and that can't change. So go to www.joettestrings.blogspot.com and see what I have been writing about lately!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Music
I finally got my new ronroco from Bolivia. I call it my guitaroco because I changed the strings so that I can play it like a guitar.
When I was 15, I bought a guitar and began teaching myself to play it. I thought of my guitar as a friend and took it with me everywhere I could. When I went to college, I took lessons in classical guitar. I also began playing guitar at church and became very involved in music ministry. Through the years, I carried my guitar with me so much, people asked if it was an appendage. Now advance 40 years. I have PD and my shoulders hurt reaching around a full size guitar. My left pinky finger sometimes curls up and doesn’t reach as far as it used to. My guitar feels so heavy to carry. I start looking at smaller stringed instruments and that is how I came to play my guitaroco. I still play my guitar, but it is nice to have a smaller instrument that is easily carried and that I can play for longer periods of time than my guitar.
I am very happy with my ronroco, but it was trial and error finding the perfect small instrument. First I bought a renaissance guitar. I thought it would be more unique to play a replica of a guitar from the 16th century than to just play a small guitar. My renaissance guitar is very nice, but it is very fragile, hard to tune, and hard to amplify loud enough for an audience. I next tried a mandolin, but I did not like the steel strings on a mandolin. Then I found a South American instrument called a charango. It had nylon strings like my classical guitar, but it was smaller than a mandolin and a little too small to play everything I wanted to play. The ronroco is a larger version of the charango. The first ronroco I bought was of a poor quality and some of the notes were out of tune. I ordered a new ronroco from South America and waited 4 months for it. I think it is the perfect small instrument. My ronroco is different than a guitar in that it has pairs of strings. This produces a harp like sound and I have found that Irish harp music sounds very nice on ronroco. Here is a piece by an Irish harper who lived in the 1600’s named Turlough O’Carolan. This is called Carolan’s Concerto.
In Memoriam
John Giorgis, Jr.
May 15, 1925 - May 15, 2011
John Giorgis, John Paul Giorgis, John Dominic Giorgis
spring funeral-
great grandbabies
lift our spirits
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Visiting Space View Park
My son, John D., was visiting this week, with his wife, Sara, and baby, John Paul. When we realized there was to be a shuttle launch this week, John D. really wanted to go. We decided to drive up to Titusville, which was supposed to be one of the best places to view the launch. An article in the newspaper recommended getting there 6-8 hours before launch time, so we planned to leave at 7 am for the 2 hour drive up to Titusville. The launch was scheduled for 3:49 pm. My daughter, Marie, who lives nearby, would come also with her 2 children, Hallie & Aiden.
Unfortunately, we didn't leave until 8 am. Marie was not very happy. We had told her we would pick her up at 7 am and no one remembered to call her at 7 am and tell her we were running late. We couldn't all fit in one car, so John and Sara started up I-95 ahead of us while we stopped at Marie's house. Marie was worried we wouldn't be able to find them when we got to Titusville, but that didn't turn out to be a problem. We found them OK while we were driving through the traffic jam deciding if there was another choice to paying $20 to park. Now Space View Park boasts no admission fee and no parking fee, but the free parking was long gone. We decided to get in the line for the $20 parking. John and Sara got into the parking lot, but they closed the lot and put up a "Full" sign 3 cars ahead of us. They told us to go to another parking area that was far away and would have made it very hard to find John and Sara again. We found a place nearby to park for $30 though. Marie agreed to pay the extra $10 and it turned out to be a good choice. This parking was at the Mason's Lodge and the parking included free use of their restroom! Not only that, there was a shorter line at their restroom than the one at the porta-potty near where John and Sara parked. So we decided it was worth the extra $10.
The newspaper article on going to the shuttle launch had said to bring all kinds of things- chairs, food, sun screen, and activities to occupy your children. What it didn't say was to pack them so that you could carry them a long ways. I was expecting a park with picnic tables, and we hadn't seen any of those. We decided to leave our lunch in the car and just take snacks and chairs and the bag of stuff for the kids, since we couldn't carry everything. I had my charango to play during the long wait, but it is not hard to carry.
We got out of the car and it was windy and cool! We weren't expecting cool weather. It had been 90' in Port St. Lucie the day before. We were expecting to be hot waiting for the launch and had dressed appropriately. Hallie had on a halter top and said, "Mommy, I thought you said it was going to be hot!" John and Sara were lucky to have their suitcases with them, because they planned to continue driving north after the launch to head back to Maryland, so they had warm clothes. There was a big CVS within view of where we parked, so I decided to take Hallie to the CVS and see if I could buy some sweat shirts. CVS was packed with shuttle viewers buying all kinds of things. Some people had not brought chairs and were buying lawn chairs. There were no sweat shirts, but I found 2 kids' long sleeve shirts that would fit Hallie & Aiden and they had shuttle t-shirts. I found a nice t-shirt with a picture of the shuttle that said "God Bless America" and bought 3 of them. When I put the t-shirt on over my sleeveless top, I was actually warm enough and Hallie's long sleeve top was perfect for her over her halter top.
Hallie and I made our way to where the others had already set up a place to view the launch. We had 5 lawn chairs and a beach blanket spread out. John and Sara were going to walk to where they could get their national park books stamped and Hallie went with them. When they returned, Hallie quickly made friends with the kids on the next blanket, even though they were a little shy at first. There were little monuments to honor astronauts, but I was too tired to go look at them, after the walking I had done with all my things. I sat for a while just sitting and taking everything in. Then I got out my charango and decided it was appropriate to play patriotic songs. I hadn't played my charango in a while, so it took a little practicing to get used to it again, but it was quiet and only the people on the next blanket could hear it.
Around noon, Marie needed to take Aiden to the bathroom and said she would stop at the car and get our lunch on her way back. While we were waiting for Marie to come back, we suddenly saw people start walking away from the launch viewing area carrying all their things. John D. used his Blackberry to find out the news- the launch was being postponed for 48 hours because of a problem with the heater. We tried calling Marie, but she didn't answer her cell phone, so we had to wait. I wanted to have lunch before we packed up anyway. While waiting for Marie to come back, we found out that the hot dogs that were previously selling for $3 were now only $1. When we finally got a hold of Marie, we told her not to bring the lunch from the car because we decided to buy hot dogs. I had brought things to make sandwiches, but they weren't made yet and we didn't have a picnic table, so $1 hot dogs looked real good.
Now we had to decide what to do next. There were other things to do in Titusville besides view the launch, so we decided not to drive back right away. We headed to the National Park Visitor Center on Merritt Island. John D. got there first and it was closed. Traffic was a mess. Marie was ready to head back to Port St. Lucie so that Hallie wouldn't have to miss her dance class at 5:15. However, I hadn't said my goodbyes to baby John Paul, whom I wouldn't see for a few months. We looked for a nearby park and found one with a playground- perfect for Hallie and Aiden to use up their energy before the long car ride and a good place to give John Paul his good-bye hugs. At 2:30 we headed home and got there in time for Hallie to go to dance.
Even though we didn't get to see the shuttle launch, John and I agreed that it was a worthwhile trip up to Titusville. We had a nice day with our family and got to see another part of Florida.
One last picture of John D., Sara, and John Paul before they head back to Maryland:
Unfortunately, we didn't leave until 8 am. Marie was not very happy. We had told her we would pick her up at 7 am and no one remembered to call her at 7 am and tell her we were running late. We couldn't all fit in one car, so John and Sara started up I-95 ahead of us while we stopped at Marie's house. Marie was worried we wouldn't be able to find them when we got to Titusville, but that didn't turn out to be a problem. We found them OK while we were driving through the traffic jam deciding if there was another choice to paying $20 to park. Now Space View Park boasts no admission fee and no parking fee, but the free parking was long gone. We decided to get in the line for the $20 parking. John and Sara got into the parking lot, but they closed the lot and put up a "Full" sign 3 cars ahead of us. They told us to go to another parking area that was far away and would have made it very hard to find John and Sara again. We found a place nearby to park for $30 though. Marie agreed to pay the extra $10 and it turned out to be a good choice. This parking was at the Mason's Lodge and the parking included free use of their restroom! Not only that, there was a shorter line at their restroom than the one at the porta-potty near where John and Sara parked. So we decided it was worth the extra $10.
The newspaper article on going to the shuttle launch had said to bring all kinds of things- chairs, food, sun screen, and activities to occupy your children. What it didn't say was to pack them so that you could carry them a long ways. I was expecting a park with picnic tables, and we hadn't seen any of those. We decided to leave our lunch in the car and just take snacks and chairs and the bag of stuff for the kids, since we couldn't carry everything. I had my charango to play during the long wait, but it is not hard to carry.
We got out of the car and it was windy and cool! We weren't expecting cool weather. It had been 90' in Port St. Lucie the day before. We were expecting to be hot waiting for the launch and had dressed appropriately. Hallie had on a halter top and said, "Mommy, I thought you said it was going to be hot!" John and Sara were lucky to have their suitcases with them, because they planned to continue driving north after the launch to head back to Maryland, so they had warm clothes. There was a big CVS within view of where we parked, so I decided to take Hallie to the CVS and see if I could buy some sweat shirts. CVS was packed with shuttle viewers buying all kinds of things. Some people had not brought chairs and were buying lawn chairs. There were no sweat shirts, but I found 2 kids' long sleeve shirts that would fit Hallie & Aiden and they had shuttle t-shirts. I found a nice t-shirt with a picture of the shuttle that said "God Bless America" and bought 3 of them. When I put the t-shirt on over my sleeveless top, I was actually warm enough and Hallie's long sleeve top was perfect for her over her halter top.
Hallie and I made our way to where the others had already set up a place to view the launch. We had 5 lawn chairs and a beach blanket spread out. John and Sara were going to walk to where they could get their national park books stamped and Hallie went with them. When they returned, Hallie quickly made friends with the kids on the next blanket, even though they were a little shy at first. There were little monuments to honor astronauts, but I was too tired to go look at them, after the walking I had done with all my things. I sat for a while just sitting and taking everything in. Then I got out my charango and decided it was appropriate to play patriotic songs. I hadn't played my charango in a while, so it took a little practicing to get used to it again, but it was quiet and only the people on the next blanket could hear it.
Around noon, Marie needed to take Aiden to the bathroom and said she would stop at the car and get our lunch on her way back. While we were waiting for Marie to come back, we suddenly saw people start walking away from the launch viewing area carrying all their things. John D. used his Blackberry to find out the news- the launch was being postponed for 48 hours because of a problem with the heater. We tried calling Marie, but she didn't answer her cell phone, so we had to wait. I wanted to have lunch before we packed up anyway. While waiting for Marie to come back, we found out that the hot dogs that were previously selling for $3 were now only $1. When we finally got a hold of Marie, we told her not to bring the lunch from the car because we decided to buy hot dogs. I had brought things to make sandwiches, but they weren't made yet and we didn't have a picnic table, so $1 hot dogs looked real good.
Now we had to decide what to do next. There were other things to do in Titusville besides view the launch, so we decided not to drive back right away. We headed to the National Park Visitor Center on Merritt Island. John D. got there first and it was closed. Traffic was a mess. Marie was ready to head back to Port St. Lucie so that Hallie wouldn't have to miss her dance class at 5:15. However, I hadn't said my goodbyes to baby John Paul, whom I wouldn't see for a few months. We looked for a nearby park and found one with a playground- perfect for Hallie and Aiden to use up their energy before the long car ride and a good place to give John Paul his good-bye hugs. At 2:30 we headed home and got there in time for Hallie to go to dance.
Even though we didn't get to see the shuttle launch, John and I agreed that it was a worthwhile trip up to Titusville. We had a nice day with our family and got to see another part of Florida.
Marie & Aiden standing behind one of the astronaut monuments in Space View Park.
Hallie like putting her hand in the handprints of the astronauts on the monuments.
Here are some pictures without the crowds from the Space View Park Website.
At the park with 3 of our 4 grandchildren:
.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Spring in Florida
Now that it is April, the snow birds are leaving. I always thought snow birds split their time somewhat equally between their home in the north and their Florida home, but now I find out that a lot of snow birds spend only 3 months in Florida- January, February, and March. It is very disappointing to make a new friend and then find out they only spend 3 months a year in Florida.
I should look at the bright side. Maybe after the snow birds have all left it won't take so long to cross the bridge from Stuart to Palm City. Maybe the afternoon traffic will run more smoothly with less people on the road in Port St. Lucie.
I don't think I would like to be a snow bird, even if I could afford 2 homes. A home is a special place. How can you have two special places? I don't like to be away from home for too long. Three months is too long for a vacation, but too short a time to call a place a home.
Florida is a great place to live year round. The time you spend indoors with the air conditioning on in the summer is still less than you spend indoors in the winter up north. Being on the east coast of Florida, we have beautiful sunrises, and the morning is a great time to be outside observing all the wildlife we have. It is best to go home by noon though. I found out last summer that you can get very hot having a picnic lunch. If you go indoors for lunch and an afternoon nap, you can go back outdoors in the late afternoon and evening. The beach is really nice at 3 pm, and less crowded too. A bike ride after dinner is a great way to spend the evening.
Most of us in Florida have come here from somewhere else. When you meet someone new, one of the first questions you ask each other is, "Where are you from?" That means we all have family and friends in other places, but Florida is a great place for our families and friends to visit. Come on down and visit beautiful Florida!
I should look at the bright side. Maybe after the snow birds have all left it won't take so long to cross the bridge from Stuart to Palm City. Maybe the afternoon traffic will run more smoothly with less people on the road in Port St. Lucie.
I don't think I would like to be a snow bird, even if I could afford 2 homes. A home is a special place. How can you have two special places? I don't like to be away from home for too long. Three months is too long for a vacation, but too short a time to call a place a home.
Florida is a great place to live year round. The time you spend indoors with the air conditioning on in the summer is still less than you spend indoors in the winter up north. Being on the east coast of Florida, we have beautiful sunrises, and the morning is a great time to be outside observing all the wildlife we have. It is best to go home by noon though. I found out last summer that you can get very hot having a picnic lunch. If you go indoors for lunch and an afternoon nap, you can go back outdoors in the late afternoon and evening. The beach is really nice at 3 pm, and less crowded too. A bike ride after dinner is a great way to spend the evening.
Most of us in Florida have come here from somewhere else. When you meet someone new, one of the first questions you ask each other is, "Where are you from?" That means we all have family and friends in other places, but Florida is a great place for our families and friends to visit. Come on down and visit beautiful Florida!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Life's Journey
Life’s Journey
Life’s a journey
A road traveled by all
From birth until
Called home by the Lord,
Life’s a journey.
Everyone’s road
Has bumps along the way.
Bumps in the road
Make it twist and turn,
Life’s a journey.
Sometimes I wonder
Why me? Why must I
Walk with this cane
And this stiffness
On life’s journey?
PD wants to take over,
I won’t stop and stand still,
I keep working hard
Keeping it at bay,
I continue life’s journey.
I walk a little slower
And rest a little more,
I won’t stop and stand still.
With poems and songs,
I continue life’s journey.
physical therapy room-
through the window
antics of a squirrel
rainy day
the foot that drags
squeaks
good news bad news-
after years of doctor's visits
a name for my illness
walking in step-
music in my earphones
pushes me along
slowly but surely
I give my answer
A Busy Month
March 1- My husband John had 2 stents put it after he had a mild heart attack 4 days earlier. Now he takes a walk or a bike ride every day. Aiden likes to go with Grandpa to see the turtles in the canal down the street.
We get pictures of Lorelei in her tutu on Facebook.
March 4- The Treasure Coast Classical Guitar Society presents its first concert, Seth Himmelhoch.
March 5- Hallie and I go to Fort Lauderdale with Seth for a Suzuki Guitar Workshop. My student Tailyn, also attends and everyone learns a lot and has a great time.
And it's John's Birthday! Aiden loves to help blow out candles.
March 10- My tap class dances at a health fair in Jensen Beach.
March 14- I take Aiden to "Music and Motion at the Library."
March 17- Hallie's Birthday- I deliver the doll house I have been working on fixing up for her along with gift boxes from her aunts and uncles with furniture.
Facebook lets us see what John Paul and Lorelei are doing on St. Patrick's Day.
March 20- Hallie has her birthday party with her friends. Highlights of the party are a bounce house and a clown that paints their faces.
March 21- The first day of spring and we get to visit the beach with Sue & Gordon who are visiting from Atlanta, Georgia.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
My Husband In the Movies
I get e-mails on a regular basis from "Explore Talent." I was hoping I might get a gig playing guitar from them, but they mostly send me info. about electric guitar gigs and movie auditions, neither of which have interested me. However, one day I was reading through their e-mail and saw there was an audition for a movie role for a man about 60 years old who could play the part of an announcer in a movie about boxing. I immediately thought of my husband, who as many people know, has a wonderful speaking voice. Everyone loves to hear John do the readings at church. The surprising thing was that when I clicked on the link about the audition, all the info. was there- day, time, and address of a gym in Fort Pierce where the auditions would be held. Usually you have to give your credit card number to get that much information. I convinced John that it wouldn't hurt to check it out. I still wasn't sure they would even let him audition if he just showed up, but it couldn't hurt to try.
John got there early, expecting crowds of people, and there was just one other man there. Finally the movie people showed up and the people at the gym told them John was number 2. Later, a really good looking, tall, young black man showed up. He looked like a movie star and was obviously auditioning for a different part than John was. They asked John if he could go ahead of him, and John said it was no problem. So John had the third audition. More people showed up after him, but mostly women trying out for other roles.
When they called his name, they took his picture from the front and the side in front of a big boxing punch bag. Then they asked if he had something prepared and he told them he had been thinking about a monologue while he was sitting there. John had been on the debate team in college and his specialty was extemporaneous speaking. So he began speaking extemporaneously. The movie people loved his voice and couldn't believe he didn't have anything written down. They asked him if he had any acting experience and he said no, but he worked in sales, which was kind of like acting. One man laughed and said he was right. Another man said that if the movie becomes a TV show like they hoped, John's voice as an announcer would be great at the beginning of each show. The others agreed. They said they would call him back.
It took a couple of weeks to hear back. They were also holding auditions in Miami. John wasn't sure they really would call him back- he had been one of the first to audition. Chances are they would hear another voice they loved. However, he finally got some papers to sign saying he wouldn't tell anyone what is in the script and then he got a script. Everything is moving along very slowly, but it looks like he has a part in the movie! It's called "Heart of a Champion."
In the meantime, Explore Talent was calling and trying to get John to sign up for their services. After thinking about it for a while, the $100 fee for 6 months didn't seem too bad. John has flexible working hours with his 3 day a week job. The part in "Heart of a Champion" is small and won't require a lot of time. He has time to go for other auditions and we seem to be in a good location between Miami and Orlando where a number of auditions are held. The first audition went well- why not try again? He will be going to another audition in Orlando today. It's fun to dream that he might get a big role some day!
John got there early, expecting crowds of people, and there was just one other man there. Finally the movie people showed up and the people at the gym told them John was number 2. Later, a really good looking, tall, young black man showed up. He looked like a movie star and was obviously auditioning for a different part than John was. They asked John if he could go ahead of him, and John said it was no problem. So John had the third audition. More people showed up after him, but mostly women trying out for other roles.
When they called his name, they took his picture from the front and the side in front of a big boxing punch bag. Then they asked if he had something prepared and he told them he had been thinking about a monologue while he was sitting there. John had been on the debate team in college and his specialty was extemporaneous speaking. So he began speaking extemporaneously. The movie people loved his voice and couldn't believe he didn't have anything written down. They asked him if he had any acting experience and he said no, but he worked in sales, which was kind of like acting. One man laughed and said he was right. Another man said that if the movie becomes a TV show like they hoped, John's voice as an announcer would be great at the beginning of each show. The others agreed. They said they would call him back.
It took a couple of weeks to hear back. They were also holding auditions in Miami. John wasn't sure they really would call him back- he had been one of the first to audition. Chances are they would hear another voice they loved. However, he finally got some papers to sign saying he wouldn't tell anyone what is in the script and then he got a script. Everything is moving along very slowly, but it looks like he has a part in the movie! It's called "Heart of a Champion."
In the meantime, Explore Talent was calling and trying to get John to sign up for their services. After thinking about it for a while, the $100 fee for 6 months didn't seem too bad. John has flexible working hours with his 3 day a week job. The part in "Heart of a Champion" is small and won't require a lot of time. He has time to go for other auditions and we seem to be in a good location between Miami and Orlando where a number of auditions are held. The first audition went well- why not try again? He will be going to another audition in Orlando today. It's fun to dream that he might get a big role some day!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Vanishing Turtles
My granddaughter, Hallie, has been dying to see the turtle that lives in the canal near my home, but as soon as she takes a step towards the canal, he vanishes under the water. Aiden was actually with me when I took this picture, but I am not sure if he actually saw the turtle or not. I didn't dare say anything and being only 2, Aiden couldn't tell me afterwards if he had seen the turtle or not.
I have discovered that now there is actually a whole family of turtles living there. On a sunny afternoon, they will all be out sunning themselves, but as soon as they hear your footstep, they vanish all together. It is amazing how synchronized they are. I was able to take this picture by parking my bike further down the road and then tiptoeing back. I got one picture. Then I took one step to see if I could get closer and they were gone.
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