aliki: (Default)
[personal profile] aliki
Ah, I had a good momentum going, but then on Day 22 I missed "Free", and on Day 24 I missed "Sunrise". Okay, technically I'm up every morning at sunrise, but it's because a little 2-month old needs to nurse, so I'm not going to grab a camera, go outside, and snap a photo of the sunrise. Not when I need to nurse her while she's still sleepy so she falls back asleep. (If I wait too long, she wakes fully and then it'll be an hour before she sleeps! That's not so fun at 5 AM)

Day 23 - Black and White
23-black and white
This is my grand piano, a gift from my mother-in-law when I was 25 years old.  As I was driving home and listening to a particularly exciting NY Yankees game, I came rushing in the door to tell Brian the news, I think I burst through the front door, shouting "you wont believe the home run that----" and then the words left me, because there in the living room, was a grand piano. What a surprise!!

I started formal piano lessons when I was four years old. I had nine years of formal lessons until I was 15 years old, and during my final year of formal lessons, I had three separate classes (a "regular" piano class, a music theory, and a music composition class) and I think as a 15-year old, spent close to 10 hours a week at the piano. I can't say I loved it at the time, but I look back appreciatively at how my mother pushed me to keep up my classes. She said I could quit when I reached high school, and I did, and it's a big regret of mine.

Day 25 - Neighbourhood
25-neighbourhood
This is the street that we live on. Again, see the beautiful old mature trees? Love, love, love!
So much shade, so quiet, so peaceful.

Day 26 - Pet
26-pet
Taking a photo of Kade, our 10-year old Border Collie, would've been too easy. He follows me (or really, Erika) everywhere, and so I thought I'd showcase another pet we have. This is Erika's 6-inch green anole lizard named Shrek. She purchased him November 2012 and he lives on a diet of live crickets. He lost his tank partner, a long-tailed lizard named Flip-Flop in August 2013, which made Erika incredibly sad. Erika has also requested a turtle, a tarantula, and a snake as pets, but I've said "not right now" (but really mean NO).

Date: 2014-05-27 04:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] belenen.livejournal.com
Shrek is so pretty!

Date: 2014-05-27 12:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
Anoles are great "starter lizard" for kids. Easy to take care of and not shy. You can't hold them, though (which is good for kids, in a way...)

Date: 2014-05-27 04:42 pm (UTC)
calypso72: Default profile icon (Me)
From: [personal profile] calypso72
Sadie also had a green anole as a pet for a while. She caught it at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and kept it happy for 3 years or so. She also had a pair of wild-caught toads.

Then she graduated to her bearded dragon, which did not live anywhere near as long as we thought it was supposed to.

Now, she's got a crested gecko.

Date: 2014-05-27 05:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
A friend offered her 3-year old bearded dragon to Erika, who enthusiastically accepted, but I think it's a little too much for her right now (at 4 years old). Maybe in a few years. I hear they are much more interactive than green anoles.

How's the crested gecko in terms of upkeep?

Date: 2014-05-27 02:00 pm (UTC)
smittenbyu: (Sketch)
From: [personal profile] smittenbyu
I remember those early morning feeds. No matter how much I groaned and moaned about it, that face of the baby/toddler just melted my heart. It's a moment of utter neediness, want, vulnerability. awww.. So much more nicer than a sunrise! :P

Beautiful piano and what a wonderful gift! Isn't that sad how we give up things. I regret giving up the sitar too! :( My parents even lugged it all the way from India to Rome. And apparently I was good at it, one thing I was actually good at! And silly me, brushed off my parents' rare moments of showing pride as embarrassing! Can you imagine Asian parents being proud and actually expressing it to everyone?! I had a wonderful teacher, one of the few who had faith in my ability and taught so well!

Date: 2014-05-27 05:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
Agree completely with the morning feeds! When you hear them start mewing, you think "gah, again!~" as you roll out of bed, but once you reach the crib and see their utter vulnerability and knowing that you are the only one who can't fulfill their needs, it makes you feel like Superwoman!!

Date: 2014-05-27 04:48 pm (UTC)
calypso72: Default profile icon (Me)
From: [personal profile] calypso72
My parents have the baby grand piano that will be mine someday (it has real ebony and ivory keys!) - if I ever have a house large enough to house it again! They got me a digital piano (which I LOVE) after I'd been in grad school for a while so I could keep playing. I took lessons from age 7 through college continuously (so, 14 years?) in addition to playing solo flute and both flute and piano in ensemble. I was the pianist for my college orchestra for about a year. I also didn't always love lessons and wanted to quit many times, but my mom wouldn't let me. When I got to college, it was my choice to keep taking lessons (for credit) and it was a wonderful way to relax and get away from my studies, while still doing something that counted toward my academic program :-)

I really couldn't keep up on the piano after Sadie was born until she started playing violin in kindergarten, and then I accompanied her during practice and in recitals. She quit private lessons a couple years ago, but has played in her school orchestra since 3rd grade. I miss playing and accompanying her, but hope I'll be able to get back to it at some level eventually.....

Having learned an instrument well at an early age is an incredible gift.

Date: 2014-05-27 05:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
I think learning a musical instrument has many great facets for a young child, including discipline, fortitude, focus, and more. I definitely plan to get Erika started too, though Brian asked why I wouldn't teach her myself. (I think the teacher/mother line is tenacious, and just because I'm a good pianist doesn't make me a good piano teacher! I know that much!)

Date: 2014-05-27 07:00 pm (UTC)
calypso72: Default profile icon (Default)
From: [personal profile] calypso72
Oh, no way. Sadie pretty much refuses to learn anything from me. I know not all kids are like that, but I'm a big believer in teachers being different people from parents. My mom was a teacher, but I'm glad I never had her as one!

Date: 2014-05-27 09:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
Me too. I'm a great high school science teacher, but that doesn't make me a good art teacher, piano teacher, etc. I think it undermines the profession that way, too. If Erika ever chooses to attend the school I teach at, I'd request she have the other science teacher.

Date: 2014-05-27 05:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] koyaaniisqatsi.livejournal.com
Erika has excellent taste in pets. xD

Date: 2014-05-31 01:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ellinou.livejournal.com
Aw, I always wanted a turtle when I was a kid too! But somehow every time we went to the pet store supposedly to buy one, we left with a goldfish...

Date: 2014-06-01 01:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aliki.livejournal.com
Yeah, Erika has a goldfish.. hahaah! Is that the parent-move to pawn off a goldfish on the kid instaed of the turtle?

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