In Memory of Grandma JD

My Grandma loved organ and she was an organist in Jamaica.
She always wanted to have an organ at home.

Every day I play my organ at home and I think of her. I am sure she is in heaven smiling down at me.

Here is Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Minor. (I've played and uploaded the prelude before, but this is the full piece which includes the fugue.)

This is Trumpet Air by Bert Van der Hoek

Our Puppy

We got a little puppy!
She is a cocker spaniel/poodle mix and she is 3 months old.

And she is adorable!

Our other pets are learning to get along with her, and she is learning how to get along with all of us.

Thankfully she likes music.
And she really likes Mom.

She is keeping us busy though. 

She likes to chew!

She is still learning that she is not to chew our arms.

We have had her for about a week and she has already learnt to go outside to use the bathroom. But, we have to be on the ball when she is tells us she needs to go. 

I have found that it's easiest to take pictures of her when she is sleeping.

Sewing at The Make Den

Today was the last day of my class at The Make Den.

I did Sewing FUNdamentals 1.

It is my very first time doing a sewing class but I liked it.  

I did 3 small projects:

A cushion cover, a small pouch and a draw string bag. 

My cat likes the pouch a lot.

Here are some pictures from today's class.

I finished up the cushion cover.

And then I worked on the pouch.

The projects didn't take long at all.
We did all of the sewing in class.

I am going to try practicing some of my new skills at home.
I really like sewing. :-)

Mochi-tsuki!

Mom and I were invited to help out with Mochi-tsuki at the Toronto Buddhist Church.
Mochi is a small sticky rice cake. The rice is glutinous and so, it has a very chewy texture. It is really hard to describe, but we love it. It is a traditional Japanese food for New Year.

First, we got a short tour of the church.
The church is beautiful. It is bright and airy - even in the basement.

These first two pictures were taken in the worship area.

After the tour, we got to work.

We helped to cool the mochi using hand-held fans.

It turns out that the hand-held fans are the best way to cool them. If they use mechanical fans it blows up too much of the rice flour in the air.

We moved from table to table, making sure that all of the mochi  was cool enough for packaging.

There were lots of us, working to cool the mochi.
We cooled lots and lots of mochi, but we didn't even notice how fast the time was going.
Being around friendly people made the job easier.

Of course, we ate some of the mochi already, and we shared some with Dad and our neighbours.

If you'd like to see a video of mochi making at the Toronto Buddhist Church from 2012, you can find a video online at:
https://youtu.be/_9zt_bc767E


Thank you Angela for inviting us to the Mochi-tsuki!
We hope you invite us again next year!!

Merry Christmas!

Just sharing my favourite Christmas memory.....
Here is a video of me and my Grandma JD playing Jingle Bells together when I was 5 years old.

Merry Christmas!
Hope you have a peaceful holiday season!

Bach's Prelude in G Minor on the Organ!

I started doing organ lessons about 6 weeks ago.

Here is the first video of me playing a piece on the organ taken at All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church. :-)

I am playing J.S. Bach's Prelude in G minor from "Eight Little Preludes and Fugues for Organ".
The edition I have is edited by C.M. Widor.

The Venezuelan Cuatro and other things

Mom and I are taking the day off today, so it is the perfect time to catch up on my blog. We had a very busy weekend. On Friday, I had my Harmony (Theory) exam in the morning, and an orchestra performance in the evening. On Saturday, I had rehearsal in the morning, my very first sewing lesson in the afternoon, and a 'get-together' in the evening. Sunday was slower, but yesterday we were all over Toronto - the whole day, even though it snowed.

The highlight of my weekend was the 'get-together' on Saturday.
My friends from St. Thomas More Catholic Church invited me. It was the get-together/performance of the students, friends and family of Isidro Martinez. He teaches guitar and accordion.

They played lots of wonderful music from Cuba, Venezuela, Columbia and Mexico.

Fernando played the Cuban Tres.
It's super cool. It's tuned A, D, F#.
Here is a video of Fernando and Isidro.

And here is a close up picture of the Tres.

I got to try out a Venezuelan Cuatro. It looks like a guitar but it has four strings and it is tuned differently (A, D, F#, B).... I loved it!