I promise NO flies in this post…only good memories and pretty music. I visited with my sisters and their hubby’s late each night and spent every moment I could with this them the last 3 days. We didn’t go anywhere except out to eat, and spent much of our time with momma, or in the room they stayed in. So no adventures this time, just talking, stories, memories, etc…
My sister, Deb, brought her stage piano with her this trip and had a little concert for the residents where my mom is living now. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was and Cindy and I were a wreck… crying as we listened to Deb play. She has such a gift and is so talented and anointed as she makes music with her fingers. She had a list of songs that she thought the people would enjoy but I think it was us, family, who enjoyed her the most. We don’t get to hear her like we used to. We’ve missed it!
She played Summertime, Polka Dots and Moonbeans, Maple Leaf Rag, Take me out to the Ballgame, The Sting, Climb Every Mountain, Wayfaring Stranger, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and a zillion other songs… I think she played for about 45 minutes; most everyone clapping after each song. I think there were about 20 there watching her play.
My mom teared up when she heard Deb playing a song she and daddy used to sing with him playing the guitar. It was called Life is like a Mountain Railway. Then momma said she loved to watch Deb’s hands… I agree!
I know this isn’t a terribly interesting post to those of you who don’t know my sister or my family, but I did it as a moment in time that I didn’t want to forget… kind of a marker for this very day that we’ve been blessed with.
Here are a few pictures and hopefully I can figure out how to add a few short videos in here.
That’s Cindy with my mom, and Tom, Cindy’s hubby is in the blue plaid shirt in the back…
Deb’s hubby, Mike is in the back chair in this next picture… He’s SO proud of her!
I can’t get any video’s to load except these few excerpts… so they will have to do…
On my computer it takes just a few seconds after you click the arrow in the middle for the video to come on… Don’t forget to turn up your sound… And IF you click on that little icon with the 4 triangles in a square at the right side of the bar, the video will enlarge and you can see it much better.
Tom was standing up there by Deb, because he LOVES to hear her play and can’t get enough of it… :o)
I think my favorite was this next one… Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but my phone or the program I use for uploading videos on my blog would only let me upload about 45 seconds of each song… It was beautiful and sorry you couldn’t hear the ending…
I need to work on how to get a longer video to work… I think Kristoffer might need to help me…
Well, I need to get to bed…It’s been a long 3 days… and I’m bushed…
Thanks everyone,
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a lovely weekend you all had! At first I thought you were outdoors, listening to Deb, and then I realized I was looking at a chandelier! And, of course, subsequent pictures showed things like carpeting, etc. Anyway, it looks like a lovely place for things such as Deb’s beautiful music.
I’m curious, though, about her “stage piano”…..I would call it a keyboard, but it has a good piano sound, so I suppose it’s more an electric piano? We’ve thought a little about getting me one of those, as we really don’t have room for a regular piano, and there are times I do miss having an instrument to play!
Thanks Charlotte,
Everyone just left and I’m sitting here in a puddle of tears listening over and over again to Deb playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
I miss them already…
Deb’s piano IS electric but it’s a very high end one and it’s amazing the sound that comes from it. She just finished playing for some convention down at Bass Pro. She loves to play dinner music at fancy restaurants and likes getting requests. She truly has a gift and has been sharing it since she was 4.
Thanks so much!
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful family – all of you. It’s very nice to see the pictures. I wasn’t able to hear Deb’s piano playing but I’ll keep trying to figure out why that is.
It was also nice to see your momma’s picture. She looks well and I’m sure she enjoyed Deb’s concert as other residents did.
Glad you enjoyed your family’s visit. We draw our strength from family, don’t we?
Thank you Psula,
I hope you configure out how to get Deb’s videos to play… just to hear a sample of her music is wonderful.
We sure do draw our strength from family…I’m so blessed for who’s in mine!!
Blessings, Jeanne
Lovely post today, Jeanne! It’s so heartwarming to see how your family comes together in good times and not so good times. It’s an amazing thing too, to see how each of you has a talent and does it so well! That looks like a lovely place where your mother is staying, and I love how they fixed that room up to look like it was under pretty blue skies!
What I can’t figure out Is how you can tell your sisters apart! You all look so alike! Your momma looks good too, and I’m sure she was bursting with pride!
I had a bit of trouble getting the videos to play, but finally got Over the Rainbow, and it was just beautiful! That was always a favorite of mine too!
Hi Linda,
Isn’t it pretty where momma is? We were so blessed to find such a lovely place for her. It’s connected to the building where her apartment was when she lived there independently. …just at the other end.
Momma thinks that is the sky and sometimes wonders why shes not getting wet when it rains. :o)
I can’t tell you how many times I ave listened to Somewhere Over the Rainbow this morning. I wonder how many miles her fingers have traveled over the keys in her lifetime of playing?
Glad you enjoyed the short segment you heard…
Blessings, Jeanne
What a delightful place where your mother is now living. That room with the blue sky and outdoor umbrella could have been decorated by Cindy. What a wonderful gift for the residents from Deb. I’m sure they all appreciated hearing such exquisite playing. I would love to hear that Mountain Railway song. I’m sure that spurred lots of memories for your mother. I also noticed her lovely manicure. Fresh nail polish always lifted the spirits of my mother in law.
Thanks for sharing and glad your family was able to be together once again.
Thank yo Joy,
Where momma lives now is an incredibly beautiful place…I’ve never seen anything like it…
I think you might be able to hear Life is Like a Moutain Railway if you googled it. I’ll have to see if I can find a good video. I think I found one before.
They polished momma’s nails there, but she said it wasn’t here, so yesterday Cindy and I took it off :o( and painted them a pale pink…she liked them better… :o)
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Being passionate about music myself, I would have loved to have been there for her concert. She is truly blessed with amazing talent. The second song was “Blue Skies”. We did that for our Chorale concert this spring. We did Classical Broadway and had the opportunity to do some fabulous music. I always love getting our CDs, since it gives me a chance to hear what the audience heard.
Deb does have an amazing keyboard. After a few concerts where our keyboard quit sporadically the Chorale finally bought a new one. Our accompanist is like Deb. She was born to play and has been doing it all her life and she is in her sixties. She deserved to have the best instrument to play.
It’s amazing how all of you sisters have your fields of expertise and all of it’s artistic. And you are so supportive of each other! Your mother is beyond amazing to have fostered this among her children. She has been richly rewarded.
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for your sweet compliments on my sisters and their talents. I think we have so much fun together because we each love what the other does.
Her piano is phenomenal and her playing it is pretty phenomenal too!! They’re a good match.
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Of course I like the doll posts — and the food posts — and the special friends — and the kitchen (when it was nearly done), but this one was really special and definitely one of my favorites. Lovely to start the day with.
I especially liked Barbara’s last paragraph and the picture of your mother facing the camera. You have made a lot of good decisions — you can be very proud of that, but you probably don’t even think of it that way.
Hi Marilyn,
Thank you SO much for reaffirming to us again that we made the right decision. We still had tears this visit wondering if “for certain” we had made the right decision. We really know we did, but it still hurts us.
We talked about how far downhill momma has gone just in the last 6 months. It’s pretty scary, but we know she is getting the care she needs in this place.
Deb is working on getting her music out there and I will be first in line!!! Or “online”…
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful talent! So glad she brought the great keyboard along and played for everyone. You wouldn’t know there wasn’t a piano in the room. My iPad and iPhone wouldn’t play the last song but all played very well on my laptop. You have such a wonderful family, all very talented.
My grandchildren take piano lessons. Krish loves it but Riya is getting a little tired of it. She asked her dad if she could quit and he said, “Sure, . . . when you’re 18.” I don’t think that’s the answer she was looking for but will be very glad she sticks with it. Their mother downloads full numbers from their recitals on Facebook and in Messenger. I can’t get anything over about 10-15 seconds to load on regular email either. Thanks for sharing this with all of us.
Thank you Susette,
Cindy told me Hannah is taking piano lessons and she’s not wanting to practice like she should. I told Cindy she should have Hannah listen to the songs Deb played and tell her you can only get that good with lots of practice.
I was ready to start piano lessons after hearing Deb. I took them when I was younger but stopped because I was afraid to do the recital my teacher had planned.
Deb was so glad she brought her piano…we were too! It truly was wonderful.
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
Somewhere over the Rainbow was my favorite too!
So glad you all can have such a good time together with your Mom.
You will be so glad you did that!
Have some good naps!
,
Hi Kathie,
We ALL were thrilled Deb played and I’m already talking to her about a Christmas concert…
Somewhere over the Rainbow was SO beautifully played. I told Deb, watching her was kind of mesmerizing; sort of like watching a fire… you just get lost in it…
Thanks Kathie
Blessings,Jeanne
I believe I could listen to your sister play all day long…it’s so soothing…you sisters (and no doubt your mom) have very special gifts that you’re passing along to “us” to enjoy and appreciate.
GOD BLESS YOU!
Becky,
I could listen to Deb all day too. She is such a gifted player…her style is very much soothing and easy to listen to. I know why they love it when she plays dinner music at nice restaurants
She is also the pianist at her church. You can just hum a few lines of a song and she can play it. We were shouting out songs at the “concert” and she’d think for about 2 seconds and then play it. ” it was so much fun…
Thanks Becky
Blessings, Jeanne
When I clicked on the barber pole stripes on the Rainbow video and waited a bit, it played! Hurray!