May Photo A Day 2014 - Day 23, 25, and 26

[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

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

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

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).

Comments

[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!

[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!!