Sitting At The Kitchen Table

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 02 Aug 09 - 04:48 PM

Now, Jerry,

I have two pairs of trousers. Exactly the same except that one has turn-ups and one has not. (Cuffs are for shirts, not trousers!). Turn-ups are useful. At the end of a hard day you can look in your turn-ups and find enough evidence to keep a forensic scientist busy for a week, apart from small the small coins and fluff! No cigarette ash. I think that's amazing! Gives a new meaning to Smokey Robinson - or "the boy stood on the burning deck"........

Now jeans are a different matter. When jeans first came in my Mum insisted I wear real trousers underneath as she didn't think they were warm enough! Once was enough!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 02 Aug 09 - 09:01 AM

I'm getting ready to head off to church, wearing a brand new pair of pants/trousers. (Does anyone call pants "trousers" anymore?) I don't know abut the UK, but cuffs disappeared from pants over here some time in the 60's. Now, they're the latest thing, apparently. My new pants have cuffs on them... the first I've worn in close to fifty years (with cuffs, I mean... not pants.) I smile, remembering when they were the only way pants came (other than jeans> Back then, if you were a man, you smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. The cuffs were portable ash trays. I never smoked cigarettes, but I'd see the men my father's age tipping their cigarette ashes into the cuffs of their trousers. Occasionally there'd be plumes of smoke coming out of their cuffs if they got a spark down in there with the ashes.

Those were the days?

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: BusyBee Paul
Date: 01 Aug 09 - 03:44 PM

Talking of dynamic, I've put up a new shelf in the cupboard under the stairs and a glass shelf in the en-suite bathroom. And cleared up the mess. Also taken some items to the local charity shop and spent a few hours with friends doing sacred harp / shape note singing and made a new friend.

Lots of nice food after the singing but no icecream, Pete!.

If I was REALLY dynamic, I'd be doing the heap of ironing, not sat in front of a DVD and browsing the 'Cat!.

And it's finally stopped raining here now too.

:-)

Deirdre

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 01 Aug 09 - 03:28 PM

It's wet......raining.....has anyone got any gossip?

.....or pearls of wisdom?

......or ice cream?


As you can guess, there is not much happening here. I've nearly nailed a couple of new songs, turned out some clutter that should have been cleared out a long time ago and found some long lost treasures into the bargain!

Hope your Saturday is more dynamic!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: BusyBee Paul
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 04:30 PM

Hello everyone,

My, life has been hectic these last few weeks so it's great to stop by and partake of the cake, icecream and berries!.

Think I'll put my feet up for a while.

Deirdre

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: billybob
Date: 29 Jul 09 - 08:58 AM

Happy anniversary Jerry, made you and Ruth a celebration cake.
I have been away from the table for a while, but made myself a big mug of coffee and spent some catch up time to see what everyone has been doing.
Seems sad times and happy ones,but shared round the table.
Coffee on , help yourself to cake
wendy

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Rapparee
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 05:25 PM

And fifty or more more, at least.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: maeve
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 05:16 PM

Happy Anniversary, Jerry and Ruth.

m

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 04:39 PM

You just got to have the magic touch, Jerry!

11th anniversary! Have a great time!

Congratulations etc. (cue Cliff Richard) (on second thoughts.......   :0)   )

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 04:17 PM

Hey, Pete:L You must have the magic touch. I've tried to get on here all day. I'm about to take Ruth out to dinner to celebrate our 11th Anniversary. Today is pretty typical for us, for a day of celebration. This morning we went to a wak and then I sang in the choir for a funeral service at our church a 45 minute drive away. After the funeral, we went to visit a housebound woman we've been visiting now since I first met Ruth 12 years ago. By the time we got home, we had a half an hour to change clothes before driving up to the U.S.S Chowderpot for dinner. Besides, we don't just celebrate for a day. We officially finished celebrating out 10th Anniversary yesterday.

We're just getting started.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 25 Jul 09 - 03:48 PM

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream? Yum! Please save some for me!

We have now harvested all our peas and nearly all our potatoes. The onions are coming along and there are a few beans beginning to swell on the vine. The courgettes will go into soup sometime soon!

Off to visit some good friends at their sing-around session tomorrow, so life is good!

Thanks for the coffee. I've left you some home-made cherry pie, just like my Dad used to make. Complete with the cut out pastry dog on the crust!

Enjoy,


Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 10:47 AM

Phot: And we can make some Cherry Garcia ice cream.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Phot
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 09:04 AM

Jerry, I could really go for some rasberry ice cream! Fiona and I had a good crop of cherries this year, I'll have to bring some over!

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 06:39 AM

Hey, Phot:

Sure, we're always open for business. Last year, I asked several people for advice on trimming my small corner of black raspberry bushes. My natural approach to bushes is to trim the Hell out of them (graciously, of course.) Nothing is more assured than that bushes will grow back. Last fall, I cut my little stand of raspberry bushes back (partly out of self-protection as they were invading our little deck.) This spring, the bushes sprung to life and were in such heavy bloom that it looked like it had snowed. Now I am withing a week of harvesting a major crop of raspberries. I may need some assistance in eating them. I'll have them on cereal for breakfast, and make ice cream sundaes with the rest.

Hey, Will Fly: Thanks for stopping by the table. Grief is funny (I know, that sounds stupid.) Maybe I should say it can be puzzling and seemingly unrelated to how closely we knew someone. A year ago, I was walking up the steps into the Post Office and did a double take. Walking towaward me was someone I hadn't seen in close to thirty years, Marty Passaro. The last time I'd seen him was when he worked for me teaching little kids at the Museum where I was Director. Marty was taking a year off of college before going into Optometry because he didn't have the money. Ht was working in the museum's maintenance department, but there was something special about him that caught my eye. He was a real aw shucks,bashful, enthusiastic kid and we had an opening in our nature department teaching little kids. Marty had never taught before but he had enough of a biology background that I thought he could do a good job. He was a real natural. The kid's loved his enthusiasm and childish innocence. He just taught classes that summer and then went back to college. I didn't see him again until I saw him bouncing down the steps that day. His crew cut had gone gray but he hadn't lost any of his exuberance, and even though it took him a moment to know who I was, he was very excited to see me. We promised to have lunch together, but it never worked out. Marty had kids the age he was when I'd last seen him, but there as an immediate connection as if he'd just stepped out of the room for a minute, twenty five years ago.

Two or three months later, I tried again to set up a lunch together and his daughter answered the phone. Marty had died in his sleep a couple of nights earlier. He was in his early 50's and seemingly in fine health. He went to the gymn to work out regularly and appeared to be the same kid he was that summer when he taught at the museum.
I was in a state of shock, talking with his daughter. I'd never met her or any of Marty's kids, but I talked for awhile about what a gifted teacher he was. It still hurts that he's gone and on one level you could say, Marty, I hardly knew ye. I just knew him that one summer, and not as a close friend. Some people touch you so deeply that you miss them far beyond the small amount of time you knew them. I still feel a pang in my heart walking up the steps to the Post Office.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Will Fly
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 06:33 AM

Delicious! Many thanks.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 06:23 AM

Thanks for stopping by and sharing with us, Will. The kitchen table is for all occasions. Your piece reminds me of that poem by John Donne. You know the one, "No man is an island....." I think John's ideas are spot on. That is why we Mudcatters are always there for each other, even though, maybe, we have never met each other face to face.

Take time to relax while you are here. Have a cup of Jerry's excellent coffee and one of those muffins with the chocolate sprinkles!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Phot
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 05:53 AM

Could I come over to your place Jerry? Seems you have all coffee, pie, fruit, and pretty good neighbours! I'm stuck in the office again!

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Will Fly
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 05:08 AM

I wonder if I might sit down for a moment and say "Hi". I won't take up too much room.

Reading about family loss reminded me about something that sits very quietly in the back of my consciousness, and which happened a couple of years ago.

I have a younger sister who has lived in the US since her marriage in 1971, and who currently lives in Arizona. She's been back to the UK three or four times since then to meet up with family, but I've never been over to the States (might get there one day). Her son (my nephew) was about a year younger than my own son, who's now in his mid-30s and, though he came over to the UK on a visit, I never met him.

My nephew was, from an early age, what we now call bi-polar. He never worked after school, just stayed at home and got through his life with the aid of whatever drugs he could get via the internet which, he knew, would help his condition. He was his own physician. It was a difficult life for my sister. The boy would keep odd hours, tinker with technology, at which he was very skilled, be unable to meet people. He attempted suicide once or twice, and they would joke about it afterwards - while clearing out as many means of committing suicide (really sharp knives, pills, etc.) from the house together. The unpredictability of his condition made life for my syster a very wearing experience - not helped by an alcoholic (and now ex-) husband. My wife was in Arizona on a holiday with friends around three years ago and, though she met up with my sister and had a good time, it had to be in a coffee shop in town - and not at my sister's house. The occasion would have freaked the boy out.

Anyway, I had a telephone call about two years ago. The (I suppose) inevitable had happened. My sister came back from work one evening and went into his room to find that he had shot himself with a rifle which had been kept in the closet for many years, untouched. The room was wrecked - water, beer, mess everywhere - with him in the middle of it.

It was sad and strange to hear of the death of a nephew whom I'd heard so much about and yet never seen. Family, and yet almost not family. I left the house and walked around for an hour or so down the country lanes, just getting a handle on the event, so to speak. The worst bit was telephoning my father - who had met my nephew several times - and coping with sorrow and tears from a man who'd rarely cried in his life to my knowledge.

Anyway, as I said above, all this has sat quietly somewhere in the mind since then, and comes out occasionally - like now. And it's still an odd feeling - not grieving, if you like, but a sort of sad curiosity that such things should happen.

I look at my own son with renewed love and simple thanks that he's just there.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 19 Jul 09 - 09:02 PM

It looks like all of us are busy these days. It's been hard to find the time to sit at the table and shoot the breeze. (what did the breeze ever do to me?)
Last weekend I was the Master of Ceremonies for the Men's Chorus concert on Friday and went to painful memorial services on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday, Ruth went to a Sisters are doin' it brunch organized by our daughter and no sooner did we get home than we headed off to a picnic and a gospel concert by a wonderful black couple from Boston. This morning, I did almost the whole church service at the church pictured on the cover of my book. During last week my son Pasha and I redid the split rail fence on our proerty (where is Abe Lincoln when you need him) and I drained our above-ground swimming pool which we're planning to take down in the next couple of weeks along with three trees. No kitchen table time in sight.

When I type it out, I realize that I've been through an emotional wringer these last two weeks... some very painful, draining experiences, and some very spirituall uplifting ones, too. In the meantime I've started a couple of chapters which I'm anxious to get back to.

The church service went very well... an unfamiliar experience for me. I did all the music, and the sermon. I found it touching that even though the church is magnificent, there was just a scattering of people. Most of them were older than me, which is going some. Clinging to the life raft, it appears. There were less than 30 people there and no more than three people in any pew, with most pews empty. I ended up doing 8 songs and read from four chapters in my book as part of my "sermon." I've been asked to come back and provide music for their service again, and look forward to it.

I also had a very humorous experience a couple of days ago that I may have to explain for my UK friends. The most intense rivalry in baseballs is begtween the New York Yankess and the Boston Red Sox. I've never liked the Yankees, so I've always rooted for the Red Sox.
These last couple of weeks, they've been tearing up the street next to ours, laying new water lines and I walked over to see how they were coming along. I was wearing a Boston Red Sox t-shirt and when one of the workmen saw me he asked if I was a Red Sox fan. I told him I was and he said, "There's a guy sitting in a gray truck on the other side of this truck who loves the Red Sox. Why don't you go over and talk to him?" When I walked around the large truck, there was a large man sitting in the cab of a small pick up truck. He had his window rolled down and was talking to another workman. When he saw my t-shirt he said, "Are you a Red Sox fan?" And I said, "yeah, the Yankees SUCK!" Turns out, both of the guys are rabid Yankee fans! I had been set up. When the man who'd set me up came around the corner laughing his head off, I said, "Hey, thanks for setting me up! I'm lucky the guy didn't flatten me!" "Naw, he wouldn't do that. He hasn't gotten out of that truck in a week and I was just trying to get a rise out of him." We all had a good laugh...

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 18 Jul 09 - 04:43 PM

After a few days of heavy rain and thunder storms we've been spending more time under the kitchen table rather than sitting at it!

However, it has been a good week and Susan's sentiments are heartily re-echoed!

We had a session where, although there were less people than normal, everyone seemed to be 'on song' . I had the chance to try out a couple of new (to me) songs and they were graciously received (and I didn't forget the words!

I once notoriously forgot the words to a favourite song and now one our local singers has rewritten the whole song. He is feeding it to me in snatches and threatens to sing it next time I strike up the opening chords! With friends like these who could be glum? (Isn't that a lovely word!)

Have a great week folks.


Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 11:54 PM

Amen to that, Susan!

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Susan A-R
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 11:16 PM

Just spent about six hours at my friend Pam's kitchen table, playing, singing, drinking her husband David's good home brewed beer, eating a nice summer supper and loving the music making friendship that has been going on for 20 years. Pam and I have sung and played, camped at Old Songs, traveled a lot to rehearse with a mutual friend, having rich conversations along the way. I guess that's one of the glorious sides of growing older, those relationships that are deeper and longer. I couldn't have that when I was a lot younger. Just hadn't put in the time and patience and work.

May there be more christenings and weddings and reunions this year than funerals, and may we all celebrate each other heartily while we are alive.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 10:54 AM

I posted this message on the memorial thread, but thought I'd include it here in case people miss it.

Today my wife Ruth and I are swinging into what passes for a normal day around here. But, it's not just another day. Yesterday we drov e up to Sharon for Kealan's memorial service. Over the years, I've become somewhat of an unintended funeral attender. I sing with the Men's Chorus in my church and as often as possible, I go to funerals at our church and sing with the choir. When my gospel quartet was still active, we often sang a home-going ceremonies, Christian and even Jewish. My two son-in-laws are Muslim and we've attended their funeral services as well. All that said, I thought the memorial service for Kaelan was the most beautiful I've ever attended. Even though the service was held in a school auditorium and many of the people in attendance aren't church-goers, we had church yesterday. At least my definition of church. There was great crying at times and great joy, as well. When a wonderful black woman sang I'll Fly Away and people locked arms and swayed to the music as they sang along, it felt like they could leviate the building. The testimonies were extremely moving, and filled with warm humor. Caroline sang a musical setting for the familiar reading that St. Paul wrote in 1st Corinthinas, her voice quavering with emotion, but strong, and the whole service was moving blend of testimony, poetry and song. Letters were read from Sandy to his grandson, and David to his son, as well as from several other family members.

After the service, we gathered in the cafeteria for a vegetarian buffet with a dangerous, long, long table of deserts. It was a time for me to see many friends I've not seen for years including Ed Trickett, Sally Rogers, Dalas Cline, Bill and Andy Spence, George Ward, Patricia Campbell, Karen Kobela, Priscilla Herdman and countless others.

We must be getting old. We get together at funerals.

Sunday was a beautiful bookend to a very spiritual weekend.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 05:03 PM

Jerry, I tried stepping confidently into the future and fund a wasp's nest! Ouch!

Seriously tho' that's good advice. Just don't throw the baby out with the bath water!

I guess all of us around the kitchen table are thinking of the Paton Family at the moment. For those of us too far away, I know that you, Jerry, will convey our deep condolences, sympathy and most of all, strength to them all.

Best as ever,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 07 Jul 09 - 08:02 PM

Here's the rest of the chapter titled Letting Go, in first draft.

It ain't me, it ain't me
I'm no millionaire's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one
                                                                                                Fortunate Son – John Fogerty


So who is rich? When I looked up the definition in my Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, I had to laugh. The first definition given is "Having abundant possessions." Translated into everyday language that means, "Having a lot of stuff." Consider me rich. I know I am a fortunate one.
People hang on to things for many different reasons. Sorting through my things, I come across objects that make me smile when I pick them up. They are awash in wonderful memories. That's especially true if it is something that belonged to a person I loved. In themselves, the objects may have no monetary value, but they are a connection to a loved one, long gone. It's the love that remains that gives them value. When my grandfather Rasmussen had to go into a nursing home with his wife and their house had to be sold, the family sorted through all the furniture and other possessions that they couldn't take along with them. There were marble-topped wash stands, old cherry furniture, an old wind-up Victrola and many other treasured items that were quickly claimed. Sorting through what was left over, I chose my grandfather's old railroad pocket watch and his hammer. The watch didn't work, and the hammer was so badly worn that it was nearly useless. But they were my grandfather's. They meant enough to him to keep them all those years, so they mean a lot to me. My mother kept the bible her mother bought for her as a Christmas present when my mother was eleven years old. They never shared that last Christmas. Shortly before Christmas my grandmother died on the operating table. It was a tearful Christmas and the bible was the last thing my mother received from her mother to remember her by. She treasured that bible even though it was falling apart. I felt blessed when my mother finally gave it to me.
        "All that I have is my grandfather's hammer                                                                                          
        And his old railroad watch with the casing all worn
       And the bible my grandmother bought her last Christmas
         That she gave to my mother, now she's passed it on."                                                                     
                                                                                             Handful of Songs by Jerry Rasmussen
        Some things we keep are a reminder of hard-learned lessons. Not all memories are good, but even those that aren't have their value. They remind us of where we've come from and what we've gone through.

        Perhaps the commonest reason why we keep so much is because it is such an unpleasant job sorting through the mountains of accumulated possessions. When people see my old toys, or old tins they say, "I didn't know you were a collector." I usually answer, "I'm not a collector. Collectors build collections and try to make them complete. I'm an accumulator." The older you get the more you've accumulated, and it's just too much work trying to sort it out. That's the kind of job that we're always going to get to tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.
                                
        There's another insidious reason why we resist throwing things away. We don't like to deal with change. Especially when we get older, getting rid of things feels like we are getting rid of a part of our lives. Someone who hasn't read a book in years is likely to say, "I've always been a reader. I might want to read those books again." Old records and cassettes languish on the shelves that haven't been played in years. I know these things because I have books lining shelves that I know I'll never read again. Life slips by without our noticing it and suddenly we realize that we haven't looked at books that lie there gathering dust or listened to cassettes whose cases are glazed over with years of accumulated dust. There's a comfort in being surrounded by old stuff.

        In the last years when my parents were alive when I was able to get home to visit they'd have their lists firmly rooted in their minds. "I'm not driving anymore," Dad would say. Each passing year was marked by the things they had to let go. It about killed my dad when he and mom moved into a retirement complex. Dad kept everything. My nephews were helping him move, and while dad was coming around one corner of the house with a wheelbarrow full of old tools and odds and ends, one on my nephews would be disappearing around the other side of the house, taking the stuff my dad brought in the previous load and putting it back in the basement. Finally, dad was so distraught that he just sat on the curb with his chin resting in his hands.

        The best lesson my parents taught me in their last years was that letting go of old things is making room for new blessings. As Christ pointed out,
"And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled and the bottles shall perish.
But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved." Luke 5:37-38
We limit our blessings by living in the past clinging to old glories, too fearful to confidently step into the future. The more we are liberated from our past, the more we can welcome Jesus into our heart. We certainly don't want him to have to climb over a stack of old boxes in order to get in.
              
Jerry

Want any old 8 tracks?

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Susan A-R
Date: 06 Jul 09 - 12:02 AM

Just spent the early evening sitting out having supper. It's the first time it hasn't been off and on rain in weeks. I think the weather has made us a little more crazy than usual, and not in a good way. Felt like something unclenched this evening. Now for a nice glass of milk, into pjs and dream of tunes to work on or to write in the morning. Sweet dreams.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Susan A-R
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 10:12 PM

Ooh Rapaire,

Good luck with that rotator cuff. Having a wing out of comission is no fun. Wish I could send you the one handed can opener, and my Occupational therapist who is a true jewel.

I broke my right wrist this winter, and became a pretty good one handed typist. I also discovered some things about my circle of friends that I had never had reason to know before. It still makes me misty eyed to think of it. I hope that they also make you food, bring you cds, take you grocery shopping, etc. My big difficulty was in saying "Yes, thank you."

I missed the fiddle badly (couldn't really play for 5 weeks) but what i discovered about my community was truly astounding and humbling.

I also learned that occupational therapy is a good and joyful (if painful) thing. Still doing stretches and such, but I can play and garden.

Well, If Jerry doesn't mind, I think i'll put on a kettle and settle in for a cup of mint tea to relax before bed. Just had dinner with friends, and agreed to go take 20 chickens to their demise on Tuesday along with my friend Katherine. Given what the trip with the ducks was like last fall, I think I'll wear old cloths and prepare for a gross and grubby day. But we'll laugh a lot and that's what friends are for.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Rapparee
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 09:16 PM

And I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. It started raining and hailing here about a half-hour ago.

So much for the fireworks!

I have surgery for a torn rotator cuff (left) on July 22.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 06:55 PM

Just of to bed here but I have plenty of supper left over..... Fresh/warm homemade bread with pear/banana puree and fresh mild red cheddar cheese.... delicious...... hope your tastebuds adapt to it well. Best wishes to all, Mike.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 05:00 PM

Welcome, Susan. Nice to have you join us. We have a family gathering here today so I don't have time to elaborate, but the whole question of how much value we/I place on things is very much on my mind these days. I can tell you one thing. Most of what I've kept all these years that has been tucked away, gathering dust would be much better off in the hands of someone who could enjoy it. Whether I make any money on finding a good home for stuff really isn't the issue. I'm just open to putting stuff up for adoption. All I need is that someone else can enjoy it, and wahtever money might come in could go to help someone else who is far more in need than I am.

Pretty simple.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 05:00 PM

Thanks for the strawberries and the maple goat's cheese, Susan. Very welcome!

I have just returned from a folk session to celebrate a brewery's birthday....good singing, good weather and good beer. (Sadly I was driving!). It was a cracking session as you can imagine!

Jerry....it is all very well relieving yourself of the accumulated junk of years, the accretion of a lifetime...but don't throw away the memories with the "stuff". Some of it isn't junk, but a link with the past. I think the saddest place I went into was a totters emporium full of other people's cast offs. There were some lovely things composting down in there.

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Susan A-R
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 04:25 PM

Just coming into the kitchen for the first time.   Brought some lovely strawberries and maple goat cheese from the farmer's market and my brother's goat dairy.

I have done a lot of my sorting Jerry, and it's a wonderful thing. I still have a little issue with piles of paper, and occaisonally clothing, but not much else. I do have some of a friend's tired furniture. Time to take it down to the curb and see if someone wants to turn these nice, but somewhat disfunctional pieces of wood into useful items.

I have a couple of musical instruments out there which are technically mine, but on long term loan to other people. The electric base (what was I thinking?) and it's amp are with a friend who is with a number of working bands in the area and plays everything with strings except fiddle. The viola is with a young man who started in youth orchestras and is playing a neat combination of classical, and some latin jazz with his dad. There's a guitar that went to my friend Mike who was beginning to do instrument repair at the time. He fixed it up and sold it to someone who will actually play it. I still have a second fiddle, I think I'd need to play it some before passing it along, as it's old and stiff (as we get when we get older) and needs to be limbered up abit. then it would make a nice folk fiddle for someone wanting to start out, say one of my friend Katie's old timey students. The bridge is better for double stops, kinda shallow.

I love this Kitchen table. I too have had many musicians around mine, maiinly contra dance band players and callers. It's important for travelling musicians to get a good meal, relax somewhere where there's a cat to pat, conversation, maybe wine, and good coffee in the morning. There have been some interesting conversations about life on the road, choices that involve the joys of making music, and not much security for coming old age, politics and how to structure a good contra dance evening. All good stuff.

Enjoy those berries.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 04:06 PM

My thoughts have been refreshed! I too have too much 'junk' lying around my home and should part with it.... perhaps a car boot sale or table top sale.. and donate the money to some worthy cause ( which sends a large percentage of the money to the cause instead of spending it on wages for their staff). I thank you sincerely for the reminder Jerry... I am truly blessed by your wisdom, as are we all!

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Jul 09 - 12:33 PM

Today is as good a day as any to declare my independence from stuff.

I started writing this this morning and I've got a lot of notes as to where it's going to go. I imagine you could provide your own ending to this one.

When it's finished, I'll post the rest of it...

Letting Go
        I am surrounded by stuff. For the last week, I've spent an hour or two every day trying to clean out our garage. I've barely made a dent in the mess. Everywhere I look I see memories. Most of them are good memories. For a long time, the stuff reminded me of good times in my life. I've kept all of these things because without ever intending it to happen, they became a part of who I am. There's the old accordion I bought in a thrift shop for ten dollars. It's not a squeeze box. It's a wheeze box. The paper bellows and the glue that holds the whole thing together have dried out over the years. When I bought it, I never intended to learn how to play it. I just liked to look at it. Even back then, I don't think anyone could make any music come out of its tired old body. But I liked it. I've never much liked accordion music. Admittedly, there was a time in the 50's when I first discovered jazz where I had a couple of Art Van Damme Quintet albums that I enjoyed, but I mostly associated accordions with polkas… one of the few forms of music I could never warm up to. But when it comes to musical instruments, I've always been fascinated by them. As far back as I can remember, I've adorned my walls with instruments, or posters and photos of them. Somewhere along the line, the accordion was banished to the garage, along with a second, smaller one.
        Sitting on the shelf in the garage next to my accordions is a box labeled, Old Toys. While my walls have been filled with instruments there are shelves throughout our home lined with old toys. Some go back to my childhood, and some are right up to date. Sonic The Hedge Hog sits on the same shelf as tin wind-up toys of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. I always identified with Donald Duck growing up. Mickey was alright, but Donald was my kind of man. Or duck. He was always losing his temper, usually making a fool of himself in the process. I could identify with that. Each old toy sitting on a shelf has a story. That's why I've kept them, and still enjoy looking at them. There's an old pressed sawdust Wimpy, with a stack of hamburgers firmly clutched in his fist. I found that one in a junk shop on Pacific Street in Stamford, Connecticut. The shop made no pretense of being an antique store. The front window was a jumble of discarded stuff, all at a bargain price.
        When I worked at the Stamford Museum, it would break my heart when someone would call, wanting to donate a treasure to the Museum. One man had an enormous model sailing ship he'd built that was three or four feet long. He'd painstakingly hand cut every plank in the deck of the ship and it had taken him many years to build it. When he had to face the reality of moving in to an apartment, he realized that there was no room for the ship. He offered it to his children and grandchildren, but nobody wanted an old ship model. The historical societies he'd approached had no interest because it wasn't a model of a particular ship. The ship came from the man's mind, not from a blueprint. We not only didn't have the space for it, but it didn't fit in with the Museum's purpose, so I had to turn down his request. The best I could offer was to listen at long length to the man telling me how he'd come to build the ship, and how much it meant to him. The ship carried wonderful memories. He was having trouble letting go.

    "And a certain ruler asked him, saying Good Master, what shall
      I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, why
      Why callest though me good? None is good, save one, that is,
      God.                           

    Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not
    kill, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy
    mother.
   
    And he said all these have I kept from my youth.

    Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet
    lackest though one thing; sell all that thou hast, and
    distribute it unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
    heaven, and come, follow me.
   
    And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful; for he was very
    rich."

                                                    Luke:18-23 KJV

When that scripture is read in church, I never think of it as applying to me. As John Fogerty sang:
    It ain't me, it ain't me
    I'm no millionaire's son
    It ain't me, it ain't me
    I ain't no fortunate one
                                        Fortunate Son – John Fogerty

Jerry

Not all of us are Collectors, but we are all Accumulators.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 03:06 PM

One day at a time, Jerry........we can't do it all and so we do what we can, where we can, for who we can. When you are fed up with being a tower of strength, come here and recoup!

I've left some fresh baked rolls and some raspberry jam....help yourself!

Give Ruth, Sandy and Caroline our love,

Best wishes,


Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 07:38 AM

Thanks for stopping by, Mike. It's always good to see you.

Now don't make yourself a stranger, you hear?

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 02:03 AM

It's 7.01 am here in the UK and I am sitting, drinking a coffee with a spoonful of honey in... reading back over this thread and wondering why I have not visited it for so long. Nice to see you all and to eat a lot of the virtual food you have prepared. Glad the book is doing so well Jerry.....
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 01 Jul 09 - 11:16 PM

Thanks, Ron: What better place to sit and talk about things that are pulling you down than the kitchen table? I've been drowning my sorrow in blueberry scones. Last Fall I cut back my black raspberry bushes dramatically, as someone suggested. Now I've got a gazillion berries starting to ripen. Might even have enough for a raspberry pie... certainly enough for raspberry cobbler.

A couple of lines from one of my songs keep going through my head. And I believe them:

"One thing I know, and this for certain
All will be well no matter what the future holds."

Time for a peaceful night's sleep.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Ron Davies
Date: 01 Jul 09 - 10:22 PM

Sorry to hear recent problems are draining you, Jerry. Hope you get a chance to recharge your batteries soon.   We always love hearing from you, no matter what you want to talk about. After all, we are telling you about our problems all the time--it's only fair you get a chance to take a break from being the constant pillar of strength.   That in itself can be draining.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 01 Jul 09 - 09:06 PM

Feeling burned out tonight. I guess it's the cumulative effect of mourning for Sandy & Caroline Paton, David and their family and then getting hit with the death of my wife Ruth's nephew last week. Double barrel. On Friday night, July 10th, I've been asked to MC the Men's Chorus I usually sing with when they do their 32nd anniversary concert. I decided not to sing with them this year because it is extremely demanding and we live an hour's drive away. I just couldn't handle all the practices on top of the commitment I have toward promoting my book and performing songs from it. It will be strange not singing with the guys because I've done it the last eleven years. But, I'm glad I will be a part of it. Saturtday, July 11th is the memorial service for Ruth's nephew and that will be very hard. No need to go into detail, but there was a very different kind of tragedy in his life. Then on Sunday, July 12th, Ruth and I will drive up to go to Kaelan Paton's memorial service. Caroline has asked me to sing Handful of Songs in the sing-around. By then I may be completely empty, emotionally.

In comparison, the following day can't possibly be a Blue Monday. It will be a day of grace-full rest.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Ron Davies
Date: 26 Jun 09 - 10:47 PM

Yes, welcome back, Jerry! It's just great that your book is fitting so well with your blossoming music pursuits.


As for what I've been doing, it's not changed much.   Which is fine with me--it means a lot of music. Choral Arts is off til July (has been off since May) but it's amazing what else is going on.

Jan and I went to see John Prine at Wolf Trap--he was just absolutely wonderful-and the other fans knew a lot more about him than we did. People kept calling for "Happy Enchilada" which turns out to be a "A half an inch of water" ("and you think you're gonna drown") .   Just a great, great show--and we had wonderful seats, since I'd told the ticketsellers that Jan had vision in only one eye and a titanium plate in her neck, so she could not turn just her head.

Anyway, on the way back we stopped to sing some country duets in the Wolf Trap tunnel--fantastic acoustics.   And a woman there stopped to listen-- and said we could get a job at a Stanton VA club--$125/night.   We really couldn't--we sure don't have enough repertoire--and I don't think the woman was really in charge down there. But it sure is nice to hear something like that---admittedly the acoustics are really, REALLY friendly.

Then the next night (Saturday) the Mens' Camerata I was in several years had its 30th anniversary concert.   Invited the alumni back to sing 3 pieces in the concert--a little rehearsal first. A real kick.   There's nothing like a cappella music--especially when you're part of it.

Then on top of that, the next day the madrigal group I was in for 15 years had its 40th--man, these groups sure do pile up the years quick.

Anyway, first we sang in church (a Handel antiphonal anthem), with the church choir being the other chorus. Then after a great picnic, we stood there and sang a good hour of the great old songs we used to do --lots of madrigals from the "Gray Book" and some others.

We used to sing "In These Delightful Pleasant Groves". But every time we did, it would rain. So our leader said we wouldn't do it this time. But after doing all the other madrigals, in truly delightful pleasant groves, with the sun continuing, I suggested to him that we should do it anyway. And we did--to a perfectly beautiful sky.   So finally, after years, we beat the hex.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 26 Jun 09 - 02:41 PM

Welcome back Jerry,

The floor's swept. There is a fresh pile of logs by the fire. The old range is creaking with the heat and the coffee pot is bubbling. We saved you a couple of Deidre's scones.

Enjoy!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 26 Jun 09 - 12:21 PM

Hey, Hey!!!!!!!! I'm baaaaack! New Computer, new scanner, new modem, new printer (all successfully installed) and 74 year old head. That said, my head works a lot better than all this electronics. I don't have to replace it every two years. Got a nice story about the guy who helped me with the installation titled The Graciousness of Strangers. It's mostly written in long hand. I'll type it up on Word, do a little edditing and post it on here.

Nice to be back...

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: BusyBee Paul
Date: 21 Jun 09 - 04:27 PM

Jerry,

We'll all be glad to see you back soon!.

Coffee is keeping warm on the stove, scones in the oven.

Deirdre

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 20 Jun 09 - 08:33 PM

Just stopping by while I can. My computer is on its last legs and I have no idea whether I'll be able to get back on again once I turn it off. I've had a weird string of crashing electronics that started with Ruth's camera when we were in the Caribbean, followed by my scanner, my printer and my modem all crashing over a period of a few days. Now, my computer is barely working. I can't believe I've been able to get on to post this. I've paid for a new computer which I'll get on Tuesday or at the latest, Wednesday.

Through all of this, the only thing that hasn't crashed is the kitchen table.

Fooey on electronics!

I'll be baaaaaaack....

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 13 Jun 09 - 04:00 PM

Yes Jerry,

It's good to hear you back on the world wide web again. Hope the book signing was good and that everyone bought a copy!

It's good to hear you are singing, even though some of the occasions might be sad. I had a good experience last week-end, which you can read all about on "my" thread. There are cucumber sandwiches as well as strawberries and cream to tempt you!

It always fascinates me the add-on adverts that the Mudcat seems to try and put with this thread. At the moment there is an advert for a Rhubarb Forcer and rhubarb pie! I'm a little puzzled that the advert engine hasn't flagged up Cafe Lena or the Penguin Cafe Orchestra yet!

BTW I've left you some virtual freshly grown peas from the garden.

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: BusyBee Paul
Date: 12 Jun 09 - 05:06 PM

Welcome back Jerry! I'd poked my head round the door a couple of times but no-one was home.

Strange how we get so used to using the internet, cursing it on occasion but we feel so lost without it and our real "virtual" friends.

And it looks like I'll be "exiled" for a few days as I'm off to look after Mum and then have a few days on the south coast. I don't know if I'll have any internet access, so this might prove to be quite liberating. :-)

Enjoy the book signing - will you need to take an umbrella, just in case?.

Deirdre

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 12 Jun 09 - 12:35 PM

NOw I see why they call them Mo' Dumbs. My modem went belly up last week (not that it really had a belly. I went a week without access to the internet, and ended up spending my computer time cleaning the garage. And other stuff. I've had three funerals to attend in the last couple of weeks, and have been singing almost every day this week. After a stretch of intense weeks, I notice that I'm getting very irritable. Will sometime tell that Dmaned cat to stop walking around stomping it's feet! So today, I'm taking it easy. Sometimes this getting old gets old. I have to remember, I'm not seventy any more...

But, life is good and I miss hearing what's going on in all of your lives. No baking this last week, so it'll have to be store-boughts, I'm afraid.

Tomorrow I have another book signing/singing. This time it's outdoors, so I'll see how that goes. I'm just making it up as I go along.

So, what's up, Doc? I miss Elmer Fudd.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 06 Jun 09 - 02:28 PM

Jerry, the things you get up to never cease to amaze me! Did you apply for that volunteer post? I can see the advert now! Wanted, Navigator for Ice Berg.....

Truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction!

Have left you the last of the virtual rhubarb.....enjoy.


Best wishes,



Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: BusyBee Paul
Date: 04 Jun 09 - 02:11 PM

Jerry,

Having read your book, I'm not at all surprised about the book signings and so on.

Just get out there and enjoy it - and collect more material for that sequel!

*BG* Deirdre