Piano

After a brief (well, let's be honest - about seven year period) period of time away from the piano, I have rediscovered my first love! I've been playing the guitar off an on for about two years, and I have enjoyed it, but not enough to consistently practice (story of my life). My dream instrument is the hammered dulcimer, which I will eventually obtain and learn to play. But the instrument that has been in my life since I was a child was the piano. I took lessons for many years growing up (8-10...can't remember exactly how many), and I HATED lessons, with a passion. I don't know if it's just the idea of someone telling me I had to practice 30 minutes a day, or if it was the fundamentals - the technique and theory of piano - I detested. Whatever it was, I did not enjoy taking lessons, or playing the piano during those years. So, finally, my mother let me stop taking lessons. And I took a break from the piano for about a year.

When I went back to the piano, it was for love of music, plain and simple. You see, I am a music nut. I own more music than most people will ever hear. One of my heroes is Beethoven. I grew up listening to everything I could get my hands on, from classical, to oldies, to ack...country, to rock-n-roll, to blue grass, to folk, to Enya-type music, etc. My ipod today has an eclectic mix of music on there, including a wide variety of Irish music, classical, pop, rock, oldies, one or two country songs (still ack), easy listening (think Enya, Jim Brickman, etc.), Christian, a small sampling of rap and hip hop (not my favorite type of music), acapella, and so on.

But I digress. My point is, I couldn't stay away from the piano. I need music the same way I need to write and the same way I need to cook and the same way I love to draw. It is my outlet. I have a gazillion things going on inside of me all the time, and expressing myself through music, whether it's singing or playing will always be a part of me. I'm not sure how I made it these last seven years without playing the piano, but sitting back down, running my fingers over the keys, pulling out music that to this day, still makes me cry when I play it, lifts my soul!

Some wonderful pieces I've rediscovered:
Fur Elise by Beethoven
Sonata in C Sharp Minor by Beethoven
Prelude in C Major by Bach
Menuetto in F by Mozart
Sonatina by Mozart
Jurassic Park
Jessica's Theme from the Man from Snowy River
Annie's Song by John Denver (my absolute favorite song to play on the piano)
Ballade Pour Adeline (thank you Becca Burda for introducing this piece into my life!)
Pachelbel's Canon in D (my favorite song of all time)
Memory from Cats
Anne's Theme from Anne of Green Gables (can I tell you what JOY this song brings me???)
Watermark by Enya
You needed me by Anne Murray (that one's for my MOM)

I could go on and on. But I won't.
But thank you Mom, for all the years of piano lessons. Thank you for the years of listening to me tool around on this amazing instrument.

And welcome back piano into my life!

I found this really cool video about a 6-year-old piano prodigy (she was six in 2008 when the video was taken). It's a neat story! EMILY

Air 1 - BarlowGirl "Beautiful Ending" LIVE

Was listening to this early this morning - just love these girls and this song is just a gorgeous reminder that we need to live our lives for God from start to finish!!

Straight No Chaser Concert

Last night, Andy and I were able to go to the Straight No Chaser concert at McCaw Hall in Seattle! I bought these tickets several months ago when they added this tour date to their calendar. I was thrilled to get front row seats for a really reasonable price!

Check out the picture - I am in a light blue sweater on the front row and Andy is in purple next to me.

We had an absolute blast and these guys know how to put on a concert!!!

Rich Mullins

My favorite singer and songwriter of all times is Rich Mullins, and not just because of his awesome music but because of the way he lived his life. I say lived because he passed away in 1997, shortly after I was married, in a car accident. Mullins was constantly striving to know God more and to live a life fully sold out and dedicated to Him. He was absolutely frank in everything he said and did and oftentimes offended Christians (and non-Christians) because he didn't dance around on tip toes trying to please everyone. He said what he believed about the Bible and gave his opinion freely, but was humble to God's guiding. He wrote some of the most popular songs in Christendom, including Awesome God, which is sung in countless churches all over America. But Mullins, a huge fan of St. Francis of Assisi, took a vow of poverty and instead of keeping all the proceeds from his numerous albums and concert sales (many of his concerts were free), he had all his money sent to his church and a board was designated to give him the average American salary for the year (oftentimes, just above the poverty level) and the rest was distributed to various charities and missions.

James Bryan Smith was asked by Mullins' family to write a book after Rich passed away. Reluctantly, he decided to do it. He was reluctant, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't want to make Rich out to be a saint, but wanted the book to draw everyone's attention to God, which was Rich's primary goal. The result, An Arrow Pointing Toward Heaven, is a great telling of Rich's life and his Christian walk, and more importantly challenges you to think about your own walk with the Lord. I cannot recommend it more highly! It is excellent.

I wanted to leave you with a few of Rich's best quotes. (He wrote numerous articles for Release Magazine, while he was alive and was highly articulate and created beautiful word pictures!)

I don't think you read the Bible to know truth. I think you read the Bible to find God, that we encounter him there. Paul says that the Scriptures are God's breath and I kind of go 'Wow, so let's breathe this as deeply as possible.'

The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart--it is a book full of all the greed and glory and violence and tenderness and sex and betrayal that befits mankind. It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes mouthed by pious little church mice--it does not so much nibble at our shoe leather as it cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from the bone. It does not give us answers fitted to our small-minded questions, but truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.

I think that we were given the Scriptures, not so that we could prove that we were right about everything--it was to humble us into realizing that God is right, and the rest of us are just guessing.

I don't want to run from the experience of the pain because I would miss what God is trying to teach me through it.

It never fails. God will put people in your path that irritate you, especially if you're prone to be irritated.

I had a professor one time... He said, 'Class, you will forget almost everything I will teach you in here, so please remember this: that God spoke to Balaam through his ass, and He has been speaking through asses ever since. So, if God should choose to speak through you, you need not think too highly of yourself. And, if on meeting someone, right away you recognize what they are, listen to them anyway'.

I am a Christian, not because someone explained the nuts and bolts of Christianity, but because there were people willing to be nuts and bolts.

Did I forget to tell you that He loved lilies? It is a well-known and much overlooked fact of His life - as known and overlooked as the lilies He loved. And it's a puzzling fact, too. Why lilies? Why especially lilies? Maybe He loved lilies for being white, the way many people love roses for being red. Maybe it was because of the brilliant green of their long, slender stalks or the glorious, darker green of their leaves. Maybe He loved them because their blooms looked like trumpets and their leaves resembled swords. It could have been their simplicity, it might have been their commonness. It may have been because of all of that and it just as easily could have been because of none of that at all. But it seems like He loved them.

Lastly, any of his wonderful albums are winners, but my favorites are Songs, Songs II, This is the World as Best as I Remember it, Part I and Part II and A Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band.

Listen to klarsen22s Playlist

Some of my favorite oldies - the songs I grew up on!!

Random MUSIC post

Ok, so I know this is a cooking/kitchen blog, but I just have to say, that listening to music is always a great motivator in the kitchen and helps me cook longer, better, and makes it more fun!

Today, Straight No Chaser, put out their newest album, With a Twist! If you haven't heard these guys (where have you been?), they are FABULOUS and my absolute #1 favorite group! They started as all male a cappella group at their college (Indiana University) back in the day, and many years down the road joined back up due to the fame of their huge Christmas hit, The 12 days of Christmas, playing all over YouTube (check it out), and has been cranking out fun music ever since, all a cappella, and they are SPOT on!!!

So, do yourself a favor, go to their website, or iTunes, or wherever you buy your music and buy one of their Christmas albums (which have a few non-Christmas songs on them), or their newest, With a Twist. You will NOT regret it! They are amazing!