Saturday, June 15, 2013

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2007. This photo, not unlike the blog photos from the past two nights, was taken in Lancaster, PA. We stopped at a farm in the middle of no where that had many things to entertain children. As you can see the trampoline that I featured in last night's photo is in the background of this photo. After Mattie jumped around on the trampoline, he then moved onto all the interesting wooden structures they had for children to play with and explore.


Quote of the day: We pass through this world but once. Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within. ~ Stephen Jay Gould

Last night Peter and I went to Wolf Trap. Wolf Trap is basically an outdoor amphitheater in Virginia that features musical arts from concerts (all genres) to ballets! The first and last time we went to Wolf Trap was in the summer of 2009. Mattie was alive and we took him to see a revival band's rendition of ABBA. Mattie had a good time that evening. When we took Mattie, we sat on the grass but not in the crowd you see here. Instead he sat further back on a grassy knoll. Mattie did not like crowds even when he was well, so fortunately we had space that night and he enjoyed going with Ann's children. Now four years later, we decided to venture back to this outdoor concert hall. I usually steer away from Wolf Trap specifically because I do not like crowds, and between the amphitheater seats and lawn space, Wolf Trap can hold around 7000 people. That is TOO many people in one space for my comfort.

With that said, I wanted to see Celtic Woman, and typically like so many performers, they perform in much bigger arenas. When I heard they were coming to Wolf Trap, I figured I would find a way to manage the crowd because it was an outdoor space! For those of you not familiar with Celtic Woman, they are an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance. In 2004, he recruited five Irish female musicians who had not previously performed together and shaped them into the first lineup of the group that he named Celtic Woman. Downes chose a repertoire that ranged from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs. Celtic Woman has been called the "Riverdance for the voice!"

Peter and I sat in the actual amphitheater last night, which was a lovely experience. With the beautiful back drop of trees and a wonderfully warm night, it was ideal to hear music. During intermission, we had this Mattie Moon sighting. I have seen Celtic Woman perform numerous times on PBS, but I would say they were even more enchanting and energetic in person if that is possible. There is a fiddler within this group who is a show unto herself. Her talent with a fiddle is remarkable and she plays while jumping and running around! It was a total musical experience including bagpipes, Irish dancing, and angelic voices. As soon as they open up their mouths it is hard to believe such sounds can come from a human body. A simply beautiful musical experience and people even came up to Peter last night to thank him for screaming.... MORE. If you haven't heard Peter scream, I assure you he does it quite well. Not only did he do it well, the Celtic Woman heard him and kept on performing! They were very generous with their time last night and did about three encore numbers since they could see the crowd was still standing and applauding and not going away any time soon! What was clear to me, is these ladies seem to value and appreciate America, and made their feelings known throughout the show. I found that touching, and considering we just visited Ireland last summer, I feel like I have a better understanding and appreciation for where they grew up and for their cultural heritage.

Peter and I spent a good portion of our day today outside on our deck. Working on our flowers and our space. Peter pulled down one of our perennials, which we always call our "Father's Day Lilies!" These lilies have been blooming for us around Father's Day for over 15 years. In fact, when we first moved to DC, we went to Sears to buy something. While passing through the store, I saw these lilies and bought them. We planted them and each year the bulbs produce an amazing display for Father's Day. Mattie got a kick out of the lilies and together we would point out to Peter that the lilies were our visual appreciation we have for him. I don't have Mattie around to help me celebrate Father's Day, so it is up to me to showcase these beauties to Peter in memory of Mattie!

Here is a close up of our Father's Day lilies!!! To all our readers who are dads, we wish you a very happy day with your family on Sunday.