Snow Day!!

We had our first SNOW DAY of the school year today and it was awesome!  We didn't go anywhere.  We just stayed home and enjoyed a day of doing fun things that we often don't have enough time to do.  We were outside a few times shoveling snow, sledding and playing, there was lots of Lego building, lots of reading time, lots of drawing and coloring time, rest time and time to make some yummy treats.  We made these sugar cookies today and I ate way too many of them!  Plus our wonderful neighbors brought us more cookies tonight as a thank you to Mark for blowing the snow out of their driveway.  I have a pretty great husband and sweet kids, too! I love snow days!!

Grandpa Makes Music

So, I think the last time I heard my dad play the piano was the day that the piano arrived at our house when I was little.  On the night of the piano's arrival at our house, my parents came to inspect the restored piano.  My dad sat down to pluck out a melody to test it out.  The kids were pretty impressed, as was I.  I'm hoping his next little concert will be sooner than twenty-five years from now! 

Let There be Music.... Again!

before

When I was young, I learned to play piano on an old upright.  The piano was beautiful...a true oldie but goodie.  A few years ago, Mark and I started talking about getting a piano and we both agreed that we would own a piano some day.  Over the past couple of years we did a little piano browsing here and there and we looked at some shiny new pianos and modern used pianos, but my heart kept remembering this beautiful old piano gathering dust in my parents' basement.  After showing Mark the piano, he agreed that one day the piano could come to live at our house.  While the piano appeared to just need a little cleaning and polishing on the outside, the inside was a different story.  Being over 100 years old, the piano was definitely showing its age on the inside.  After a consultation with a piano tuner and restorer, we learned that the piano would never hold a tuning to the correct pitch unless it had major restoration done on its pins, strings, actions and dampers. None of which would be cheap, but a new piano isn't cheap either.  After waiting, discussing, budgeting and waiting some more, we finally made the call for restoration to begin.  On a beautiful October morning, the piano left its home at the farm and began its journey to our house. 

keyboard before

The restoration took about two and a half months.  Every part of the piano was restored piece by piece. The keytops were replaced and the case was polished and received a little TLC. 

old and new dampers

 restored action

This is the piano as we saw it when we visited it during the restoration process.  Here the piano is disassembled and resting on its back.  The soundboard and shiny new strings are visible and since all the decorative and function pieces have been removed, it doesn't look much like our piano at all! 

In mid December we received a call that our piano was ready.  The kids were very excited and I was very anxious to see the end result.  Here Claranna is watching out the window as the movers wheel the piano to our house.  
 

On its way in!

The big reveal.  It looks beautiful and sounds like a brand new piano.

Everyone that was home had to check the piano out right away.  Even our kitty, Thorn, gave it a good inspection.

We've had the piano just over a month and it has added a whole new layer of beautiful sound to our busy home.  There hasn't been a day that has gone by when it hasn't been played by someone big or small.  After years of wishing and months of waiting and fretting over the restoration, I am so thankful to have this beautiful piano revived.  It is glorious to hear the kids plunk out a melody when I am working in the kitchen.  It makes my heart happy!

Wacky Hair

Right before Christmas Ella had wacky hair day at school.  We came up with this very high ponytail by putting a plastic cup on her head and forming the ponytail around it.  Amazingly, it stayed put all day!

So it has been quite awhile since my last post.  This seems to happen every January.  With the rush and business of the holidays, I always think that January is going to be so calm and uneventful.  In reality, all the things that get put on the back burner as Christmas approaches need their attention in January and then there are the new things that begin with the start of the year.  James is now in a Lego club which Mark is helping to lead.  They are meeting on Tuesday nights when Claranna and I are at Claranna's dance class.  Now Tuesdays are just as full as Wednesdays and Mondays with multiple activities for the kids which we juggle with our own meetings and activities.  Each week just seems to fly by as we move from one activity to the next. I'm afraid summer will be knocking on our door before I am ready!

Just a few days before Christmas we went downtown to see the the giant gingerbread house that was built in one of the locally owned hotels.  The house was constructed of real gingerbread bricks and tons of candy.  It was pretty amazing and the lobby of the hotel smelled just as Christmas should, all cinnamony and sweet. We can't wait to see next year's creation!