Friday, May 21, 2010.

Happy Birthday, Cindy!

I'm getting ready to join Dennis downtown after he gets off work. I spent today reading and surfing the web. I read a lot, nothing really new there except that I usually don't read on my only day off alone. I like to clean. I dust, I wipe down the mirrors, do the laundry, sweep...I like to put things in order.

Today, while waiting for D to leave, I cleaned the birdcage, changed the catbox, took out the recycling, yard waste, and garbage, loaded the dishwasher (yay, for the dishwasher), pulled some weeds, shredded old papers and bills. And then, after he was gone, I read. Hours later, and after a short nap, I'd finished one book (Ascendant, by Diana Peterfreund, and it was good) and started another (Extraordinary, by Nancy Werlin). And yes, sometimes two books may get confused in my head. Not often, but sometimes.

I don't surf the web mostly because I never know what to look for, but today I had to find out more about the music I heard last night.

D and I joined his family at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre to watch The HusKEYS, an a cappella music group that our niece, Brittney, is a part of (Congratulations, Britt, on getting the lead in Hansel and Gretel!). What a great event this is! This was our second time and I am sorry we have ever missed a performance.

I can only compare it to Glee, a tv show I am sorry to have only seen a few times. It looks like they have so much fun working with each other coming up with choreography and rearrangements for their songs. They sing and dance to everything from old classics reworked into a modern twist to some wordless doodling to old soundtracks to Lady Gaga.

And the audience, which seems to be made up of friends and family, maybe a few people who have an arts credit to fill, is fully engaged- clapping, singing along when they should be, supportive when a lyric is forgotten, on their feet with applause as things go along. They are really a great group, and the music is pretty much always good. There are a few "really?" moments but nothing that stays with you for long. So MUCH fun, so much talent.

So I had to check out the originals of some of the music, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson, Ingrid Michaelson, and get educated in the ways of youth music. It is easy to find yourself, hours later, achy and itchy-eyed, wondering what just happened to the day when you spend it on the internet.