December 22, 2014 Advent with SusieJ

Off key

Unfortunately for him, I married a musical man. Jorj was first violin in his high school orchestra, until he gave it up for the bass guitar and long hair. Before we started dating, he flirted with me by playing a few riffs on his bass, until the RA in the room next door threatened to shove the bass where the sun didn't shine if Jorj didn't stop. Jorj has a lovely radio announcer's voice, and his singing is a beautiful baritone.

I, however, cannot carry a tune if it has handles. Jorj tells me I start on-key, but quickly wander off. Neither of my parents could hold a tune, although my father was an enthusiastic whistler and Mom sang loudly and proudly at church every Sunday.

Jorj has avidly watched our son for signs of musical talent since the kid could talk. Fortunately, Jake just started learning the violin this year, likes it, likes making songs, and is progressing well.

[Copyright Susan J. Talbutt, all rights reserved.]

The recipe: Hefekranz

Hefekranz is like a brioche or challah bread, and baked for many holidays.

The craft: Shape filters for camera lenses

Cut a simple shape into a piece of paper (tree, star, heart), tape paper over your camera lens. The cutout should be small relative to the size of the lens. I suspect this is not the originator of the idea, but I can't find an original.