Pea Pickin' Time Again!

Well, it's pea pickin' time again! Some of our friends very graciously invited us to come out to their place again this year and pick black eyed peas. Yesterday was the day, so out we went. Ever watchful for snakes, we picked about 10 gallons of black eyed peas. We were just going to shell them by hand, which is fun but time consuming. Some friends from church called late last night and offered to help us shell them with their electric pea sheller. I had never heard of such a thing, but was very happy for their help. That is one neat contraption! It has small rollers at one end that kind of squish the peas out of the shell without smashing them. Peas go into a bucket under the unit, and shells go in the trash can at the end. Way cool!

Summer is quickly coming to an end. It is a bittersweet time, as I enjoy having Aleisha home, but am also ready for her to go back to school. I can't believe it starts Monday. However, there are many things going on between now and then (and have been all week).

Monday was chorus rehearsal and show run through. Tuesday, we were in Amarillo, helping Newton (my brother) and Laura (his wife) move into their new home. I got to set up her kitchen for her! Then on Wednesday we picked peas. Tonight my quartet, Star Struck, and Richard's quartet, Dynamite, are singing at King's Manor Retirement Home in Hereford, TX. Tomorrow is dress rehearsal for the Prairie Winds (my chorus) annual show, and the show is Saturday night. Sunday is our first Sunday with our new group of AIM (Adventures In Missions) students, and we are having a pot luck lunch. Then we are going with the AIM students back out to Keith and Julie's to pick more peas for the widows from church. The peas will be bagged and delivered by the AIM students. Richard and I are going to prepare all the dry ingredients for a recipe of corn bread to be delivered to each lady with her peas. All she will have to do is add the wet ingredients. Then school starts Monday! Whew!

THEN, next weekend, we get to go to Nashville, see lots of family, and celebrate the marriage of my cousin, Paige, to her fiance', Zack. We are super excited to see everyone and can't wait!

I pray all of you have a wonderful day and enjoy whatever it is that keeps you busy and out of trouble!

Star Struck and Dynamite

Well, as my title implies, we love to sing. Here are some pictures of my quartet, Star Struck, and Richard's quartet, Dynamite. Three weekends ago, the Palo Duro Metro Chorus of Sweet Adelines International, had an annual show in Amarillo. Both of our quartets sang. Then, this last weekend, both of our quartets sang again on a show put on by the Singing Plainsmen of Lubbock and the Golden Spread Chorus of Amarillo (chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society). The show was in Lubbock on Friday night and in Amarillo on Saturday night. Richard sings with the Golden Spread Chorus. We had a wonderful time! It is such a joy to share the gift of music with so many people.

There was another guest quartet on the shows this weekend, the Hum Dingers. These 4 guys are truly amazing. They can sing, they are funny, and they are great guys to be around. Chad, Kevin, Steve, and Drew sing at "the most popular vacation spot in Florida" (aka Disney World. They are part of the Dapper Dans that sing on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.) The instruments they are playing in the pictures are called organ chimes. They play the C scale and cover 3 octaves. The Hum Dingers play these organ chimes WHILE they are singing some of their songs. WOW!

The girls in Star Struck are my very closest friends. Julie, on the far left, sings tenor. She owns and operates the Flower Gallery in Amarillo. She makes some of the most beautiful flower arrangements I have ever seen. Jennifer, 2nd to the left, sings bass. Jennifer is one of the smartest people I have ever known. She is a chemist and works for Celanese. I admire her ability to read the ingredients on a tube of lipstick and not only pronounce them, but actually know what they are and be able to draw the chemical compound for you (while I am happy just selecting my favorite shade! ha!) Kim, on the right, is a dental hygenist and a race car driver. She always laughs when I tell people she drives a race car. She is really very good at it, but doesn't have as much time for it now that she is singing. Kim is also a talented leader and organizer. We laugh that we are twin sisters born a few years apart. These ladies are my therapy group. We laugh together, cry together, lean on each other, and generally love each other. Thank you, Julie, Kim and Jennifer, for all you mean to me and all you are! I love you very much! You know we will ALWAYS have to be friends. You guys know too much!

Dynamite, Richard's quartet, is made up of four really great guys. Roy, left, sings bass. Stephen, 2nd from left, sings tenor. Richard, 3rd from left, sings lead. Mike, right, sings baritone. They have been together with this combination of men since May. They are working hard and sounding wonderful! Way to go, guys!

Well, this is just a small look at our quartets. Hopefully sometime, I will have a chance to send pictures of the choruses we sing in, but enough is enough for one night.