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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Pachelbel's Canon: the Gateway Piece

When getting to know someone and the discussion of music arises, whether they are a fellow musician or not, the conversation is always steered (by yours truly) to classical music.  A fellow musician and I will normally completely geek out and get into debates of which Beethoven Symphony is our favorite (in case you forgot, mine's Number 7).  Non-musician friends sometimes surprise me with how much they know and enjoy classical music.  However, more often I'm met with the answer, "Classical?  Like Canon in D?  Sure!  I like classical!" which is immediately followed by a faint groan of cellist heard the world-round.

What's so wrong with liking Pachelbel's Cannon, you say?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I can remember hearing it for the first time: my best friend's childhood quartet was playing it... I was probably 12 and happened to be around for a rehearsal.  I immediately fell in love with the cello's melancholic bass line.

I continued listening to classical music throughout my middle school/high school years and especially loved Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet.  I noticed a trend in that anytime I found a piece that I especially loved, it would lead me to discover even more great music.  For example, while on a college music conference trip, I purchased a Tchaikovsky CD that featured pieces I knew I already loved as well as ones I did not yet know.  One of the new pieces was a piece written for solo piano, June: Barcarolle from his collection called The Seasons.  I completely fell in love with the piece and ended up learning several from the collection for various recitals.

So back to Cannon.  Pachelbel's Cannon has a recognizable melody and clean harmonies which help make it an easy-listening piece.  After once again having the conversation with a friend that they didn't really care for classical music (but still liked Canon), I thought to myself, "Well... maybe it's because they haven't been exposed to the right pieces.  Maybe they need someone to help guide them to discover more great classical music."  So, I decided I would do a blog series on beautiful classical pieces that even those who don't love classical music would enjoy.  My hope is that through this series more people will develop a deeper love and appreciation of classical music.

The first piece in this series is a piece that was originally a song, meaning it had words that were sung.  Franz Schubert's beautiful song, Serenade has a melody is so beautifully written that over the years artists have transcribed it for piano and orchestra.   Below are recordings of both the song version and the piano version, transcribed by Franz Liszt.

Ständchen by Franz Schubert (translated from German)
Through the leaves the night-winds moving,
Mumur low and sweet,
To thy chambers window roving
Love hath led my feet.
Silent pray'rs of blissful feeling,
Link us though apart,
Link us though apart, 
On the breath of music stealing,
To thy dreaming heart,
To thy dreaming heart.
Moonlight on the earth is sleeping,
Winds are rustling low,
Where the darkling streams are creeping,
Dearest let us go.
All the stars keep watch in heaven
While I sing to thee,
While I sing to thee,
And the night for love was given,
Dearest come to me,
Dearest come to me. 
Sadly in the forest mourning,
Wails the whipporwill
And the heart for thee is yearning
Bid it love be still
Bid it love be still
Bid it love be still.







Monday, September 25, 2017

Bee's Wrap Reusable Food Wrap

Have you seen these yet?  I've had my eyes on them since seeing them on a Facebook add and decided to try them out once they became available on Grove Collaborative, a company that ships natural products directly to your home.


I purchased an assorted 3 pack of small, medium, and large wraps as well as a sandwich wrap.  These reusable wraps are made of beeswax, organic cotton, jojoba oil, and tree resin.  You can use them to actually wrap up food items or use them as a cover for a dish.  The heat from your hands causes the wax (and resin, I would assume) to create a seal.  Once soiled, you simply wash them in cool water with dish soap, hang to dry, and reuse.  

The first use of the medium-sized wrap was to cover a dish of chicken salad.  It is not recommended that you use these wraps for meat, but since the chicken was cooked and the wrap would not be touching the salad, I decided to live life on the wild side.  At first, it seemed like the wax did not want to seal.  The dish was a bit cool as it came from the fridge.  After a little coaxing, the wrap did create a seal that lasted until I removed it.  The chicken salad was still fresh, so that's a win!

Washing the wrap was a bit odd... I used my hands to run cool water over it and it left a bit of slightly sticky residue on my hands.  I laid it out to dry flat on the counter, smoothing it out as much as possible.  It did not smooth out completely to its original freshly packaged self.  This did not bother me much, but I imagine for some it might.



The second time I used the same wrap, I used to wrap a half cut orange.  I wanted to completely wrap an item so that the Bee's Wrap was completely touching the item.  In my mind, I thought the beeswax might make it taste a little honey flavored (which might taste yummy on an orange, but maybe not on say, a squash).  I left the orange in the fridge overnight (and then some) and the next day it was completely fresh and citrus tasting, sans honey.  This time I washed the wrap with cool water and dish soap and set it out to dry.  I was curious as to if the Bee's Wrap would now smell of oranges.  Surprisingly, it did not. I will say that it seems as though were was a bit of orange left over on the wrap from the orange skin.  I'm not sure if this will go away the more it is washed, but either way it did not bother me.

So, finally came the real test... a test, I admit, I was a bit afraid to try.  What if they weren't durable enough?  Would my medium sized wrap be ruined??  And then I realized, if I were reading a review on these wraps, I would definitely want to know... CAN THEY STAND UP TO ONIONS?!? (dun dun DUN!).  I mean, I would be perfectly content to only use the wraps on foods that do not have potent odors, but for the sake of a thorough review, I subjected my sweet, honey-smelling wrap to a half-cut purple onion.



The result was a slight purple stain on my medium sized wrap and an initial faint odor.  However, after washing the wrap and drying it, the odor did, in fact, go away!  These things are quite handy and I love how they can be reused.  The company recommended replacing them after about a year's of use.   I really like the idea of having a few on hand to supplement my disposable bag and wrap habit and having a few fewer pieces of plastic to throw away at the end of the day is an added bonus!



FTC: This is not a sponsored link.  All opinions are my own.  Links may be affiliate.  

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

September's Goals

We may be more than half-way through the month, but in no way does that stop me from wanting to post my September goals for the month!  After reading Emily Ley's book Grace, not Perfection last year, I've been immensely focused on simplifying my schedule and focusing more on my family.  By looking back on notes from last year, I can see the progress that has been made in these pursuits.  Not only does recording my monthly goals give me specific aims for the month, it is extremely motivating to me to be able to look back and see actual growth over a period of time.


1. Read and work through
by Gretchen Rubin 


This is the third book of Gretchin's that I've started to read.  I really loved the first two (The Happiness Project and Happier at Home) and with my constant interest in pursuing the best version of myself, I am very intrigued by this topic.  

2. Complete The Daily Connoisseur's "10-Item Wardrobe Online Class"


If you've been around my blog at all, you know one of the writers and bloggers I love to follow is Jennifer L. Scott.  She recently released an online tutorial filled with videos and worksheets dealing with the topic of cultivating a 10-item wardrobe.  While I have used this practice for almost four years, I thought it would be fun to complete this class as we prepare to transition from the hot Georgia summer to the slightly-less-hot Georgia fall.

3. Write for 5 Minutes Everyday


In the past, I've made many commitments (and re-commitments) to write more.  Since I am attempting to once again develop a lasting habit, I want to put Ms. Rubin's suggestion into place by starting with small steps.  Writing for an hour every day can seem daunting, but I'm sure I can find 5 minutes every day in which to sit down and write.

4. Move 4 Times Each Week/ Complete 2 5K's


As much as I loved having my children home this summer, it proved difficult to always get runs in due to lack of a jogging stroller (and in all honesty, lack of wanting to run in Georgia's insane humidity).  Since both of the children are now back in school, I want to commit to running at least 2 times a week and would love to get to the gym for some yoga at least twice a week.  Additionally, I'm signed up for 2 5K's and want to continue to improve my time with those.  As I am writing this post, I just completed the first 5K the previous weekend.  While it was not my best time ever, it was good enough to earn me 1st place in my age group- something I was super stoked about.  

5. Spend Half as Much Time on My Phone

It is so easy.  You go to check one thing and fall down a rabbit hole of "just checking one more thing!"  Next thing you know it, 8 minutes have passed... which of course doesn't seem like a lot of time.  Until you do that a few times an hour.  Those minutes definitely add up.  They add up to way more than I thought was possible.  I discovered this after downloading a tracking app called "Moment."  It tracks your total time usage, when your usage occurred, and even how many times you unlocked your screen.  Additionally, once a week it calculates the apps you're actually spending time perusing.  It's eye-opening to see the minutes add up, and hopefully, with this app I'll be able to better curb my phone dependence.