Mozart's Bassoon Concerto

At lunch today, a couple of residents who sat down at my table started talking about their favorite music, sort of singing a bit of a song they liked.  But they both looked rather blank when I said my favorite is Mozart's Bassoon Concerto.  (Click on the labels below, if you want to hear a version of it that I have shared before about bassoons and Mozart.)  I'm not sure my two friends even know what a bassoon is, but it's what I used to play years ago  When I came back to my apartment, I called my friend Ginny in Tallahassee.  We played together in high school, and she now plays clarinet in the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.

Mozart's Bassoon Concerto ~ my favorite music

For those of you who don't already know, I used to play the bassoon,

though I was never THIS good and never got to play this particular piece.

M is for Monday, so choose the right words

It's Monday, and most folks are mindlessly going through their mundane lives.  When I saw this illustration, I smiled and saved it to use here.  So today, look for something meaningful in your day, maybe even something so marvelous that it becomes memorable.  Magical seems a bit extreme, but who knows?  Maybe this will be your best Monday ever.  Try to do something you'll enjoy.  I have plans, which include both lunch with a friend and reading a good book.

"Music" is another word that starts with a W, so here's my favorite music for you (and me) to enjoy this morning.  My favorite piece of music is Mozart's Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, so HERE is Aligi Voltan playing the bassoon.  You can also hear it on YouTube.

Four favorites ~ meditating on a Monday

1.  My favorite view is either from Signal Mountain looking south across the Tennessee River and Chattanooga (above) or from Lookout Mountain looking north across the Tennessee River and Chattanooga (below).  Do you see a pattern here?  I first posted the photo below in 2013.

2.  My favorite comfort food is extra crispy fried okra.  Jeff at Shuford's BBQ knows I like it extra crispy and makes it perfectly.  When I visited Chattanooga in April, Sandra asked where I wanted to eat lunch on my birthday.  Not only did I get extra crispy okra, but Jeff also took me out to his van and gave me a Shuford's shirt like the one he was wearing.  If you are in Chattanooga, I highly recommend Shuford's BBQ, now located in the old Southern Restaurant building in Red Bank.


3.  My favorite genre of music is classical music, but my VERY favorite piece is Mozart's Bassoon Concerto.  I've posted it several times on this blog, and this is a good short version.  If the video doesn't work, here's the YouTube link.

4.  My favorite theological writer is Marcus Borg, especially his The Heart of Christianity, published in 2003.  I reviewed this book ten years ago (click on the title for that blog post).  Borg, who died in 2015, often wrote with John Dominic Crossan, most of whose books are also on my shelves.  I still need to read The Search for Jesus: Modern Scholarship Looks at the Gospels (1994) by Borg, Crossan, and Stephen Patterson, that was edited by Hershel Shanks.  When I bought this book, years ago, I'd never heard of Patterson.  But now his 2018 book The Forgotten Creed: Christianity's Original Struggle against Bigotry, Slavery, and Sexism is on top of the stack beside my chair, waiting to be read.  Now both books are on the stack.

Friday Five ~ a wee pool of loveliness

Friday Five @ RevGalBlogPals is from Julie:

"In this week of the world spinning off into melt down; and fear and mistrust being the dominant emotions, let us create a wee pool of loveliness.  On Tuesday on the Facebook page a thread of fluffy kittens and heartwarming YouTube clips was started to bring a little light into the darkness, this has brought laughter and feel good goose bumps to many.  On Wednesday this week, many Scottish Gals gathered in Edinburgh for a festive lunch and a time to catch up. We were celebrating a new call and a new job and an imminent wedding amongst other things, and it was a lovely, fun, noisy time!  For Friday Five this week, let’s keep the light, love, and laughter going with a random selection of things to make your heart sing."

1.  Music:  a song or orchestral piece that stirs your soul.

My favorite piece of music is Mozart's Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, so I've posted it a couple of times before on this blog.  Here's Aligi Voltan playing the bassoon.  If the video quits working, hear it on YouTube.

2.  Indoor Place:  Have you got an oasis at home that you can hide away in?

Since I live alone in a very active retirement center, my oasis is my apartment.  When I've had enough of socializing and talking to others, I retreat into my own space.

3.  Outdoor Space:  Is it water, hills, woodland?  Is it the fresh country air or the bustling city?

It's also here at the Crown Center for Senior Living.  If I want to sit outside, I can do it on the patio or in the gazebo.  The photo at the top shows the irises around the gazebo in the spring of 2015.

4.  Picture:  this may be a piece of art, something you created, something someone gave you.

The glazed tile showing T.C. the cat, on the wall behind the man, was painted by Jane Yelliott (on the right).  It is now in my bedroom, given to me by Jane when she was dying in December 2013.  It isn't the only piece of her artwork I have, but this one especially brings Jane back to me every time I look at it because she apologized for not being able to paint MY cat before she died.  I miss her smile and visiting together.  By the way, "T.C." stands for "Top Cat," according to Jane's daughter.

5.  Person:  Do you have a go to person, for when the world is crowding in?

Donna has been my best friend for nearly 20 years, and I can definitely say she's one of the "cool people" who care and make the world better.  This was taken when we attended a program in the culinary kitchen here at the Crown Center.  Behind us is part of the library, where Donna and I volunteer to re-shelve books returned by the residents.