Grandma JD

I have some sad news....
My Grandma JD passed away yesterday. :-(

There was no one else in the world like her.

I already miss her so much!

For the Beauty of the Earth

This was the last time my Grandma played piano for me. That day she played songs like "Amazing Grace,""All Things Bright and Beautiful" as well as this song, "For the Beauty of the Earth".
My Mom was singing.

I only caught the end:

For the joy of human love,

   Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above;

   For all gentle thoughts and mild:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This our Sacrifice of Praise.

Amen

My Vintage Pump Organ

My Music School was giving away an old pump organ. They think it is a Leipzig-built model from around the 1920s. And it works!

I am so happy that they gave it to me.
My very first organ!

Here is a picture from their advertisement on Kijiji

When you use the organ you have to pedal so that it will make sound.
Pumping operates the bellows.

It's like riding a bicycle and playing the piano at the same time.
To make it louder you have to pump faster.

Here is a video of me playing around on the pump organ.
I was playing Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.

Thank you so much to Sharon, Carolyn and Peter!
And a huge thank you Peter for all your help with moving it!
I love this organ! We're going to fix it up, and make it all pretty again.

Tree Planted in Memory of Uncle Chris

On Thursday we went to find the commemorative tree that we had planted by the City of Toronto in memory of my Uncle Chris.

It is in Thomson Park (in Scarborough) close to the Baseball Diamond along Brimley Road.

We chose a Freeman Maple which will have bright orange leaves in the fall.
We all miss Uncle Chris.

The staff at Mattamy Athletic Centre also dedicated a room to my Uncle Chris:
http://joshdlee.blogspot.ca/2016/05/room-dedicated-to-my-uncle-chris-at_4.html

So, if you are ever wondering who Chris Lee was, he was the kindest, quietest, most gentle person you could ever meet, and he was my Uncle.

Update about my Grandma JD

My Grandma is still in the hospital.

She's not able to get up or walk to the piano anymore.

It is really hard seeing Grandma in pain but we try to do things that will make her happy.

When we visit her I play music for her on a tiny keyboard.

She also likes to listen to the videos that I posted online.

She isn't eating much now. 

One thing she did enjoy was having a tiny taste of 'Star Apple' (Mangosteen). 

We got these miniature star apples from China Town.

She also enjoyed a little taste of Egg Custard which we made using her recipe.

Grandma JD's Egg Custard Recipe

4 eggs

1 tin evaporated milk

1/2 tin condensed milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Grated Nutmeg 

Beat eggs moderately. 

Stir in evaporated and condensed milk.  

Add vanilla and nutmeg. 

Stir. 

Add a little more nutmeg on top.

Place in double boiler until cooked.

Garden & Wildlife

We have been spending a lot of time in the garden. 

And we have noticed a lot of wildlife like to spend time in our yard.

We got some really good pictures of the robin that seems to follow us around.

And the groundhog really likes our berries.

He took a bite out of this strawberry.

The bees love our borage.

And gold finches like to eat the beet webworms.
I'm glad we didn't use any pesticide... The birds have been doing a good job controlling the moths.

Our snow peas are pretty much done now, but I was still able to get enough for a nice snack along with some blueberries and strawberries.

But we have lots of sugar snap peas ready to go.