Thoughts in response to Harvey and Irma. Creation, Devastation, Restoration By Kris Baker Loving God, In the beginning, You created the heavens and the earth, light to separate the darkness, sky to divide the waters above and below, and dry land to set apart the lower waters. On the dry land You created flowers and trees with seeds to bear life and fruit. In the sky You placed lights to illumine the darkness and to nourish the seeds of the…
Today was a good day! It began with playing for two church services this morning, brunch with our closest friends, yarn shopping for my next Welcome Blanket, and then a little more shopping. The photos of the devastation in the Houston area continue to blanket the news. Many of those who have been displaced have now made their way to one of several shelters here in the Dallas area. And the cars, buses and planes continue to arrive. Those seeking…
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! – Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” (1883), written onThe Statue of Liberty After I wrote earlier about the things I did and didn’t do during my summer freedom, my dear friend Joni reminded me that I did knit a lot over the summer. She…
At the beginning of each new school year, I feel like I need to justify my existence to my students, or perhaps it’s their existence in my classes. I teach the final three semesters of a four semester music theory and ear training sequence. Most musicians, unless you are super nerdy like me, probably would not take music theory if it weren’t required to get any kind of degree in music. I explain to my Theory II class that…
Last Monday marked my fifty-first first day of school. Some of those years were as a student, some have been as a professor, and the years in graduate school were both as a student and a teaching fellow. That is a lot of years of school! Most days I still love it.But, having not taught summer school for the first time in many years and thus having a peek at what retirement might look and feel like, I have to…
“A Slice of Bread” I needed a little whimsy in my world today. Though this loaf of bread has indeed been sliced wide open, the wide open here really refers to aperture.
‘Watching the Trains” For some reason, we are both exhausted and stressed out these days. I can’t put my finger on exactly why that is. All I know is that no matter how much work I do I still have a ton more things that need to be done. It is a terrible feeling. I would just like to experience 48 hours where I don’t feel that no matter what I am doing I should be doing something else, something…
“Do I Look Like I Care About Halloween?
“On the Right Track” I hit the jackpot today as far as photography goes – my favorite subject, wearing his awesome hat, on the railroad tracks and from behind. As I read that last sentence the description starts to sound like an “adult” version of the game Clue. I had a whole lot more fun taking pictures than I would have playing a game of Clue, trust me! And no matter how much Weber may dislike being my subject yet…
“Good for the Sole” My funky striped hand-knit socks are the first things that come to my mind when I think about stripes. I don’t have much of a personal style except for my socks. They are like a smile on my feet. How can you not be happy when you are wearing brightly colored hand-knit socks? I am always surprised by the fact that my students notice my socks and ask about them. Over the years, I have…