Days to go: 888 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 112;

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Oh yeah!

(Robert Thiele, George David)

Days to go:889 -- Pieces to go:10

Day 111: No practicing, but a lot of playing. "What a Wonderful World" and the Toccata in d minor both sound good. They are ready to play at the 11:00 Mass. Have a happy retirement, Janice and Dave.

Days to go: 890 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 110: Very, very tired right now, but I AM ready for the weekend! I'm playing for two Masses (5:00 and 11:00) and parishioners will hear both "What a Wonderful World" and the Toccata.Thanks once again to my old friend and my two other newer friends (about eleven years now, but who's counting?) for sending me all the scores.

Hmmm, I know what the problem is (why I am so tired): NO COFFEE!! I'm trying to cut down -- not so easy when you live across the street from Tim Hortons'. And too much work on the guidance course today. We had to write a virtual role play with a partner and the computer challenges alone were staggering. But we finished, and guess what? The university portal, where we submit our assignments, is down for maintenance. Sigh.

All best and envious wishes to Susan A., who is in Hawaii at this very moment. A whole week in the sun at Waikiki! Hope you are having a great time, Susan!

Days to go: 891 -- Pieces to go:10

Day 109: Well, my mysterious old friend was at it again today! The administrator at the church called to say that another piece of music had been sent to the office: "What A Wonderful World"! So now I have both pieces ready to be played this Sunday.

Thank you, old friend. I must admit that I listened and listened to your phone message but I cannot place your voice. It really is a mystery!

But thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for finding and sending the music to me. How very kind of you!

Also interesting is the fact that I now have four other copies of "WAWW": 3 different versions from Bill and 1 copy that Suz actually went to a music store to purchase. So that is FIVE in all.

What wonderful friends I have. Oh, YEAH!!!

Days to go: 892 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 108: I returned to St. Leo's after lunch today to find a very welcome surprise in the church office. It was a fax -- the complete Bach Toccata and fugue in d minor. Yes, THAT one. Very clean copy. Someone went through a great deal of trouble to fax the whole piece -- many pages, reduced in size, I think, to fit standard paper. The cover page was signed, "From an old friend."

And why? Because I had complained, on this blog yesterday, of termites eating my copy of the T & F. I didn't recognise the email address, although, come to think of it, I guess I could send a message of thanks back that way. Hmmm.

So anyway, I had a great time playing the Toccata over and over on our beautifully "rebuilt" organ -- Bryant did a wonderful job! The sound echoes around and around St. Leo's as if in a great cathedral. I am now able to play the Toccata up to tempo, but only part of the fugue so far. Hey, I'm NOT Brennan Szafron!

Thank you, mysterious old friend, for your thoughtful, generous gift. Peace and joy to you.

Days to go: 893 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 107: Got home from choir practice last night still wearing my organ shoes and wondering where my music was -- I had left it behind at St. Leo's. So: no practicing today.

This Sunday being Hallowe'en I want to play THE Toccata in d minor as a postlude, but I think termites ate my score -- am still looking for it.

I also want to play "What a Wonderful World" because it is the choir director's favourite song (he is retiring and Sunday is his last day). You'd think that would be an easy piece of sheet music to buy but nooooooooooo...

He might have to settle for one of those musical cards with a chip that plays the song when you open the card. I would just have to white-out "have a happy birthday" and change it to "have a happy retirement" instead. I saw the card at the mall today.

I had gone to get my watch fixed and guess what -- a Yogen-Fruz was there instead. What could I do? I had one. It was delicious!

Days to go: 894 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 106: I think I have finally achieved some insight into my ongoing problem with work, and it is inspired by a Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales: "Don't lose any opportunity, however small, of being gentle toward everyone...for your part, work diligently, but gently. I say 'gently' because a tense diligence is harmful both to our heart and to our task and is not really diligence, but overeagerness and anxiety."

It is the overeagerness and anxiety I hate, not the work itself. Lightbulb!

The rehab counsellor from OTIP came over and we worked on my return-to-work plan. Donna is in favour of a gradual building-up of -- ooh, she used a really good word that I can't remember, but meaning "strength" -- which would mean 1/3 work starting in February, then full-time work in September.

In the meantime, I am going to do volunteer work, like driving for the Canadian Cancer Society starting on Fridays. (It will cost a bundle getting the car up to snuff, but my birthday is coming soon -- send $$$! I'm not proud!) This is in addition to the volunteer work I do now with St. Leo's and a few other things, like preparing for the LLC Concert in May.

I wonder what my work life will be like now that I am becoming aware of the benefits of "gentle diligence?" Has to be better than "agitated avoidance." God bless us every one!

Days to go: 895 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 105:

PORTIA

The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.
It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

(William Shakespeare)

Days to go: 896 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 104: Some very good news from the University of Western Ontario! The Dean has approved our request to hold a Memorial Concert for Dr. Larry Cortner. It will be held on Sunday, May 1, 2011, at 3:00 in Studio 18 at the Faculty of Music. Anyone who wants can perform, especially former students!

If you wish to perform, you can reach me through this blog or email trudeolford@hotmail.com. If you have any more ideas about what we can do, you can let us know, too. Also, please email me with memories and stories about LLC so that I can incorporate them into the Memorial Concert programme.

There will be a reception afterward. I also hope to get into the UWO concert archives and play recordings of LLC's recitals. I also thought it would be nice to find a really good picture of him, enlarge and frame it, and donate it to the Faculty of Music to put on the wall either in the lobby or down in the organ studio.

You can also contact Paul Merritt at First-St. Andrews in London, Ontario. Paul will be the mc and must play, too -- he is such a fantastic performer! I intend to play the Franck Priere, one of Dr. Cortner's signature pieces -- I'm using his own score, too, with all his fingering, pedalling and interpretive markings. It would be really great if we had at least five people to play.

Gabriel Kney will be working on repairs for the Casavant organ in the studio, so it will be in tip-top shape! Everyone I can think of will be invited, and the concert will be open to the public. Please spread the word!

Days to go: 897 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 103: I played through the Franck Priere today and also got some work done on Variation VIII of the Passacaglia. It feels good to be practicing again. Just like dieting, exercising and meditating -- the hardest part is the maintenance. Then again, maybe all I needed was something different to focus on for a while.

There is a wonderfully chromatic passage starting on page 24 of the Durand edition of the Franck. I think this is the most difficult part of the piece, so I will start there. It will involve going back to the stretching exercises I learned from Joachim Segger. I just barely managed to play all of the notes without arpeggiating and it will be quite tricky playing that passage up to tempo.

Tomorrow my nephew and I are headed back to the GTA. It has been a very good trip. Both my sisters are now at home in Kap, and happy to be settled in for the winter after several months away.

Days to go: 898 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 102: Well, I still consider this Thursday, because it is around 3:18 a.m. and I cannot get to sleep. My room here at my sister's has a tv in it, and I usually fall asleep during "Criminal Minds" (!) but not tonight. It was a really creepy episode, too. Or maybe it's all the coffee I've had today.

My course partner and I got an A+ on the lesson we submitted! I think I mentioned that assignment-- I was in the car on HWY 11 scribbling away at my part of the lesson plan. We got to my nephew's, only to find that his internet was down. So he drove me across the Ottawa River into Temiskaming, QC, to the internet cafe there. A wonderful setup! Like a really upscale Tim Horton's.

I spent two hours typing and editing as fast as I could, with large gulps of pumpkin-spiced latte and bites of raspberry white chocolate scone to keep me going. I finished everything within five minutes of the time my nephew came back to pick me up. Over at his place, I phoned my course partner in Toronto to ask if she had received my part of the assignment. Oh, no! She hadn't looked at it all day because her sister had a baby! But she sent it to the instructor before midnight anyway and voila! A+!!!

So with odds like that why am I having such trouble practicing these days?

Days to go: 899 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 101: No practicing today.

Days to go: 900 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 100: No practicing today.

Days to go: 901 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 99: Learned Variation VII today of the Bach on the piano I played as a child. It is pretty out of tune, but still has a nice tone and really quite a good action. I think my sister was a little weirded out to hear the reps but I explained to her that it was just drill. She was watching "Y&R" and I was playing quite softly.

My other triumph today was getting an article I needed for my course from the U of T library without having my student number, library barcode, or pin with me (they are on my desk down south.) Have no idea how I got in. It took an hour and many repetitions of Douglas Adams' mantra from "Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy:" DON'T PANIC!!!

It is cold. Light flurries are expected. Looks way too much like winter up here!

Days to go: 902 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 98:

HIGH SCHOOL SONG

We're from Kapuskasing, Kapuskasing High!
"Quisque pro omnibus!" May she never die!
We're from Kapuskasing, loyal and true;
We will fight to do what's right, and honour you!

The Blue and Gold--
are colours we are proud to hold!
Let's give a cheer--
for all the other schools to hear!

We will her praises sing,
proud as can be to let our voices ring!
So give a shout! for Kapuskasing,
Or folks will never guess...

We're from Kapuskasing High School:
K!
H!
S!

(Composer unknown)

Days to go: 903 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 97: No practice today. Could be, though. I am Home -- up in Kapuskasing at my sister's place. My Mom's piano is downstairs in the basement. Piano hasn't been tuned for years. It'll sound really honky-tonk when I play Bach.

There are no leaves on the trees and snow is expected any second now. A bear walked up my brother's driveway the other night, headed for the crabapple tree in his yard.

A boy I remember from high school, Joey Finley, died last week after a six-year battle with cancer. I can't believe it. Joey was in the high school choir under Dave Wittick the same time I was. After high school he went on in finance, and became interested in fund-raising. When he was in treatment he started a triathlon that raised 3.5 million dollars for Princess Margaret Hospital, the third largest funraiser and the largest third party fundraiser for the hospital. His picture on the website is just how I remember him.

http://www.joesteam.ca

Days to go: 904 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 96: No practice today.

Days to go: 905 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 95: No practice today.

Days to go: 906 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 94: no practice today

Days to go: 907 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 93: Some practicing done today. A great visit with Denise, whose daughter just started university. How I envy her -- the adventure for her is just beginning!

Days to go: 908 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 92: Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy Columbus Day!

Days to go: 909 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 91:

[EXAMEN]

Dear Lord,

So far today, Lord, I've done all right.

I haven't gossiped,
haven't lost my temper,
haven't been greedy,
grumpy,
nasty,
selfish,
nor over-indulgent.

And I'm very thankful to You for that.

But -- in a few minutes, Lord,
I'm probably going to need a lot more help
because I'm going to get out of bed!

Amen.

(Anon)

Days to go: 910 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 90: No practicing today, either. Not a good trend.

Days to go: 911 --Pieces to go: 10

Day 89: No practicing yesterday.

Days to go: 912 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 88: No practicing yesterday.

Days to go: 913 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 87: I am on the computer in St. Leo's church office as the organ technician is repairing the organ in the sanctuary. He is going to hook up the speaker now residing temporarily in the confessional (!) and fix all kinds of things. So this weekend (Thanksgiving) I'll be blasting them out -- I mean, making a joyful noise -- with the Karg-Elert Nun danket.

I brought along the Bach and will practice later on before heading back home where many hours will be devoted to my online guidance aq course. It is good to be driving again and eating normal food, too. Mmmmm, broccoli slaw with sesame Asian dressing!

Days to go: 914 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 86: Mostly slept, no practicing done.

Days to go: 915 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 85: I paid for my busy weekend by needing to sleep most of the day. Then out to St. Leo's for choir practice. I brought the Bach with me but did not have time to practice since prep for the choir rehearsal took so long. So, 14 days and counting to finish learning all those variations.

In his message, Bill said, "I always felt the [St. Pat's choir] was a small church within the parish." I thought about that all the way to St. Leo's. You know, it made a big difference in my attitude and behaviour before, during, and after practice.

It helped me to stay calm through the storm (more like a hurricane!) when I quite innocently said that Fr. Charles wanted us not to announce the hymns now that we have two nice new hymn boards. Eventually we will be able do it as he envisions it, of course. He has such faith in the potential of all people to grow and change!

Later in the practice when it would have been so easy to jump in and "fix" things, I just waited quietly and smiled as the conductor and the cantor worked things out. Sometimes it is good not to be so invested in having things totally my way. (Not right away, anyway!)

Felt quite weird (in a good way) on the drive all the way home.

Graced.

Days to go: 916 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 84:

[MY FRIENDS]

My only sketch, profile, of Heaven is a large blue sky...
larger than the biggest I have seen in June --
and in it are my friends -- every one of them.

(Emily Dickensen)

Note from Trude: a few days ago I posted an entry from a non-internet blog I wrote from August 2008 to August 2009. Then I removed it. But not before someone saw it! This morning I read Bill's blog response on email and decided to repost the entry due to his encouragement. I will put it in verse form in keeping with Sunday's blog format. Thank you, Bill, my friend. Here is is:

A YEAR OF ...

I believe in the prayer of the community.

One of the smartest things I ever did
was to return to St. Pat's Choir around Easter.

Members have been an amazing spiritual
and practical support,
especially during that bout of renal failure
that almost sent me to my reward a few weeks ago.

Kay M. actually offered me one of her kidneys!

The teachers at BA have been no slouches either,
that's for sure.

"Surrounded as with a shield...".

I am convinced that the people in my life
really do love me,and --
I thank you for this gift of answered prayer,
Lord.

(July, 2009)

Days to go: 917 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 83: Sleep, cottage roll and cabbage, and a beautiful liturgy at St. Leo's ... thanks, Susans.

What would we do without our friends?

Kay drove me to the hospital yesterday for the last radiation treatment. I am so grateful to all my drivers and look forward to driving again in a few weeks, and perhaps becoming a CCS driver myself.

No practice today.

... chicken soup from Hilda, ecard from Viki, phone call from Marion, ride to church from Rosemary and Susan and Rob, promised visit from Denise, gift certificates from Joan and the choir ...

What, indeed?

... coffee and conversation with Fr. Charles, email from Mary and Hugh and Anne and Peter and Donna, check-in with Norman and Mado, "behind-the-scenes" progress report from Paul, "hi" from Shelly, book club invite from Zonia ...

Days to go: 918 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 82: After much sociological research, Andrew Greeley stated that what most people most want in their priest is a "hopeful, holy man who smiles" (quoted by Archbishop Timothy Dolan).

Today saw the installation of Fr. George Smith as superior general of the Congregation of St. Basil.

I knew him long ago as president of St. Joseph's College in Edmonton, where I was music co-ordinator.

He is hopeful and holy. He smiles, too. I like him.

God bless him!