I have to write quickly because it’s almost time to sit down to dinner with the family.
- We started with a relatively restful morning, with Paul working on some cleaning in the back yard (in preparation for the construction crew who will begin work on the new shed on Monday morning) while I worked on learning how to make a watermark on photos. It is absolutely stunning how dumb I can be sometimes, and how much time I can waste trying to reinvent wheels left, right and center, when if I could remember, I would save vast quantities of both DHEA and the few precious hairs left on my head, by simply heading to YouTube every time I need to learn something new. I finally did, and I learned the trick. Well, halfway, because I was interrupted when….
- Around 10 we had to zoom over to the fix-it shop to pick up my lovely green van, without which I have been muddling along all week. They “stuck a band-aid” on the problem – a cracked bell housing (the casing of the transmission), and I’ll just have to keep driving it until it breaks for good. I have no idea how long that will be, but I’ll enjoy it while I can.
- Upon my return, we loaded up all four kids plus grandma Oma, and headed over to Jeff’s apartment, where our mission was to do as much cleaning and throwing-away-of-junk and packing-away-for-storage as we could. When we arrived Jeff and his friend were already elbow deep, and we jumped right in. Jeff provided N.Y.P.D. pizza for lunch, and after several boxes had been packed full of his CDs, we loaded them in the van and Megan, Jeff and I trekked back across town to stow them away in his storage unit, which happens to be just blocks from our house.
- Our drive was enlivened by the Enigma Variations, and we were particularly entertained by Jeff’s recounting of the time he was at the Aspen School of Music, and one of the student conductors was told to direct Variation IV (Allegro di molto) “W.M.B.” — using only her head. When she was finished, the whole orchestra erupted in mad applause!! Here’s a vid that includes this very short movement, which begins at the 2:15 mark – only a 30 second piece of music, but Elgar certainly crammed a lot into those 30 seconds!
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Enigma Variations (from Wikipedia):
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra (“Enigma”), Op. 36, commonly referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a set of a theme and its fourteen variations written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–1899. It is Elgar’s best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the enigmas behind it. Elgar dedicated the piece to “my friends pictured within”, each variation being an affectionate portrayal of one of his circle of close acquaintances. See: musical cryptogram.
After its 1899 London premiere, the piece achieved popularity and was given international performances. The people portrayed in the variations include his wife Alice, Augustus J. Jaeger and Elgar himself. It has been arranged for various instruments. The enigma is not the identity of the persons portrayed, as those are known, but rather a hidden theme that is, in Elgar’s words, “not played”. This hidden theme has been the subject of much speculation, and various musicians have proposed theories for what melody it could be, although Elgar did not say that it was a melody. The enigma could be something else, such as a symbol or a literary theme. Elgar accepted none of the solutions that were put forward in his lifetime, and, pleased with his little joke, took the secret with him to the grave. The Enigma Variations has been given over sixty recordings since 1924.
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- After two invigorating trips back and forth across town to the storage unit and back, we finally came back to the apartment to retrieve the rest of the kids and Oma. The apartment was thoroughly sanitized, bleached, mopped, swept, fridge cleaned, dishes washed, cleared of a great deal of unnecessary schtuff, and looked ready-to-rent. When he moves over to our place at the end of the month there will be but a little left to do there. All in all, a thoroughly satisfying day of work!
- When we walked in the front door at home we were greeted with the most sumptuous and savory smells, thanks to my husband’s particular brand of gastronomical genius. His favorite sort of thing to cook, when he isn’t doing BBQ, is his famous stew that he whimsically named “Kohlfurtz” (German for Cabbage Farts). When he cooks up a batch of this stew, it looks like this:
- Here’s what he puts in each 22-quart roasting pan:
- 5 onions
2 heads green cabbage
1 head red cabbage
5 lbs. potatoes
2 bunches cilantro
2 bunches of celery
3.5 quarts sliced carrots
3 lbs. sausage
2 cups flour
water – enough to cover all the other ingredients- To Taste:
chicken boullion
garlic powder
Italian Herbs
Smoked Paprika
Let me just say: It’s AWESOME. Might be even better if he put in some beer. I’ll recommend that for next time.
