Friday we went to a free movie at the library in Fort Pierce, the county seat. They were showing "A Beautiful Mind." I loved the movie. John had seen it before, but I had never seen it. It is the story of John Nash, who was a brilliant mathematician, but also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
The library is on the waterfront on the Indian River, but it is not really a river. It is part of the intercoastal waterway and salt water. We strolled along the waterfront and watched the pelicans and sea gulls. I bought a book with a pictoral history of St. Lucie County in a souvenir shop. The first settlers came here in the 1500's, after the first U.S. settlement in St. Augustine, which is north of here.
After the movie they were setting up lots of booths, selling things for their first Friday event. We had an early dinner at a Tiki Bar by the marina that was very nice. I had a shrimp basket and John had a clam basket. Then we walked a little further and found and Italian shop where we bought gelato for dessert. John said it was as good as the gelato in Italy, although I can't remember that far back. (We went to Italy in 2001.) There was a little art gallery near the Italian shop, but it wasn't open. If you went in the afternoon, you could visit the art gallery and the Italian shop had nice lunch specials with nice tables to sit at.
I have to keep reminding myself that I am not on vacation, that I live here. When you come out of Walmart and hear the birds singing in the palm trees, it is very nice.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Leaving Collegeville
The house is half packed. The moving company comes back in the morning to finish packing and then Thursday they load everything on the truck for the trip to Florida. We will spend Thursday night with Ruth & Jimmi in Norristown. Friday we have to stick around till afternoon to close on our house. Then we head to Maryland to spend the night with John D. and Sara.
The family buying our house has to close on their townhouse in the morning before closing on our house. They are a young couple with 2 young children that will fit in well in this neighborhood. It is sad to leave our home of 14 years, but I am looking forward to a ranch style home with everything on one level in a warm climate. It will suit me well for this time of my life.
My recital went very well on Friday. Everyone did a great job and the acoustics in the CMS auditorium are wonderful. The grand finale was Pachelbel's Canon played by 12 guitars. It was a great ending.
Sunday at mass we played my setting of the communion antiphon and it went well. After communion they played the Irish Blessing in my honor and the whole congregation sang. My last mass at St. Eleanor's was Tuesday for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. I played Schubert's Ave Maria with Danielle singing and it too went well.
The past week has been filled with meals with friends. Last Monday I had dinner with Beth from college. She has just returned from Ghana, Africa and is now beginning a new assignment in Roanoke, VA with Madonna House Apostolate. Saturday was a party in my honor given by the music group at church. As a gift they gave me a photo of the group in a beautiful frame and a recording they made of a song written by Joe M. in my honor! Monday I had lunch with Cindy who played flute with me in our flute/guitar duo, Amarylis. Tuesday I had dinner with Terry from college. We had not seen each other in almost 25 years and had a lot of catching up to do. Wednesday I will have lunch with Sara, a fellow guitarist and Suzuki teacher who teaches flute and piano.
In between these events, I have been playing our new theme song on my mandolin, "Rollin' Through the Sunshine." I found that a mandolin is a great way to occupy myself on a long car ride. It fits easily in my lap in the front seat and I can strum along with the country music John listens to. I am ready for the drive to the Sunshine State.
The family buying our house has to close on their townhouse in the morning before closing on our house. They are a young couple with 2 young children that will fit in well in this neighborhood. It is sad to leave our home of 14 years, but I am looking forward to a ranch style home with everything on one level in a warm climate. It will suit me well for this time of my life.
My recital went very well on Friday. Everyone did a great job and the acoustics in the CMS auditorium are wonderful. The grand finale was Pachelbel's Canon played by 12 guitars. It was a great ending.
Sunday at mass we played my setting of the communion antiphon and it went well. After communion they played the Irish Blessing in my honor and the whole congregation sang. My last mass at St. Eleanor's was Tuesday for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. I played Schubert's Ave Maria with Danielle singing and it too went well.
The past week has been filled with meals with friends. Last Monday I had dinner with Beth from college. She has just returned from Ghana, Africa and is now beginning a new assignment in Roanoke, VA with Madonna House Apostolate. Saturday was a party in my honor given by the music group at church. As a gift they gave me a photo of the group in a beautiful frame and a recording they made of a song written by Joe M. in my honor! Monday I had lunch with Cindy who played flute with me in our flute/guitar duo, Amarylis. Tuesday I had dinner with Terry from college. We had not seen each other in almost 25 years and had a lot of catching up to do. Wednesday I will have lunch with Sara, a fellow guitarist and Suzuki teacher who teaches flute and piano.
In between these events, I have been playing our new theme song on my mandolin, "Rollin' Through the Sunshine." I found that a mandolin is a great way to occupy myself on a long car ride. It fits easily in my lap in the front seat and I can strum along with the country music John listens to. I am ready for the drive to the Sunshine State.
Suzuki Guitar Is Coming to Port St. Lucie, Florida
After 14 years in Collegeville, PA, my successful guitar studio is moving to sunny Florida. I teach guitar to children age 4 and up with the Suzuki method. With the Suzuki method, the parent helps the child practice. It is called the mother-tongue method because Dr. Suzuki thought that children could learn music in the same way that they learn to talk from their mothers. Children will learn to play guitar before they learn to read music. Dr. Suzuki was a violinist who taught children as young as 3 years old to play violin. Now his method has been adapted for many instruments, including classical guitar. It is a great way to introduce children to the world of music and a great parent/child activity. Children are naturally attracted to the guitar because of its role in pop music. With Suzuki Guitar, they learn to play classical guitar, which gives them a great foundation for all styles of guitar playing. Students have a weekly half hour lesson and a biweekly group class for an hour.
In addition to teaching children with the Suzuki method, I teach classical and acoustic guitar to teens and adults. If you have always wanted to learn guitar, or if you have played guitar chords for years and would like to learn more, my music studio is for you. There is a wealth of music written for guitar from the 1500’s up to the present time. Also, I have been involved in music ministry at church for over 35 years and teach music from all Christian traditions.
You can learn more about my music studio from my website, http://www.jmgmusicstudio.com/ . Fill out the form on the “Contact Us” page if you live in the Port St. Lucie area and are interested in lessons for your child or yourself. It is important that children have the correct size classical guitar. If you are considering guitar lessons for your child, please meet with me before purchasing a guitar.
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