February 2013 – Dramatic Lyric

Requiem

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.

So begins the Verdi Requiem. Over 200 musicians have banded together at my university to perform this beautiful work.

A requiem is about death. Many people have written them, many more have enjoyed them, wept through them, and come out more whole. Death is a universal phenomenon. We cannot escape it. And so there will always be mourning on this earth. Several years ago my father and brother were killed in a 4-wheeling accident. As you may imagine, it has not been an easy time for my family as we have struggled to continue with our lives. But with God’s help we are moving on. I have come to realize that the pain never really goes away. You learn to live with it just like you learn to live with back pain or chronic headaches. But there is something healing about acknowledging that the pain is there and praying for it to be relieved. That is what the Verdi Requiem is to me. I am so grateful for a chance to sing this for my loved ones.

And the best part is that I know they are in heaven and that when my turn comes to die I will see them again.

Unicorn

There are 2 kinds of people in this world: those unnatural people who wake up in the morning with a smile on their faces. Without coffee. And then there’s the rest of us.

The thing is, those who term themselves “Morning People” take particular delight in tormenting the rest of us zombies by greeting us cheerily with a hearty, “Good morning!!!” All this at some ungodly hour when no normal person should be out of bed. This is not only insulting, but also nonsensical. I contend that the phrase, “Good Morning,” is an oxymoron. Wishing for someone to have a good morning is just about as useful as wishing for them to have a Unicorn. And, thusly (yes, I did just make up a word), I propose that we highlight this cultural faux pas and stage a coup. When someone greets you with the hated phrase, reply with, “Unicorn.” You will probably have to explain it several times, but at least it will make you smile.

Masquerade

You know, I don’t think I ever showed you all pictures of the beautiful tatted mask I made this past summer. It was a present for a friend for her 16th birthday. She was having a masquerade party. Sadly, I couldn’t go because I was away at school at the time, but I wanted to make her a present anyway.

Tatted with a lace-weight alpaca/silk blend (note to self: never tat with fuzzy yarn again!!!)

Pattern by Totusmel

In the mean time…

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted regularly. In fact, there was a stretch in there where I didn’t post at all. You have my apologies. I would argue that my life is busy, but I had time over Christmas break….

BUT! Even though I was so rude as to ignore you means in no way that I did not stay busy with fun things! My most recent (finished) project was a pair of knitted finger-less gloves/wrist warmers. My wonderful mother had sent me a package of lovely things (such as chocolate!) and she also stashed a skein of vibrant polyester plush yarn. You see, she was paying attention when I was oohing and aahing over the yarn while I was at home. I love my mom. 🙂 Well, naturally with such lovely material I had to make something! We were enduring a cold spell here at the time, and out came these lovely wrist warmers. They are very warm and happy (if a little big).

Obsession

By Calvin Klein. Incidentally, I love this scent. However, that is not what I am here to blog about. No, no. My obsession is in a completely different area of life, namely, knitting. Yes, my dear friends, I am becoming a Knitter. Now don’t worry. I won’t spend quite all of my time knitting. I will include you in my life (you know, in all that extra free time that I have lying around).

A very dear friend of mine gave me new knitting needles and yarn for Christmas (Ok, ok, I asked her for them. But still. It was a good gift!). I am using said needles and yarn to make my roommate a scarf. Yes, Spring is coming. No, I am not crazy. Well, at least not in that sense. My roommate happens to be from a country south of the equator, so when she goes home it will be Winter and she will be able to use my scarf. See the logic?

In this project I am learning ribbing, cabling, and I availed myself of an unexpected opportunity to learn an increase. 🙂

Yarn: some kind of acrylic, I’m guessing

Guage: knitted on size US 8 (5mm) needles