What's happening week 9 at Lakeside

It's hard to believe that we are almost at the end of summer, half way through August. I've seen the sunrise every day--just later and later. Yesterday I watched the 7 a.m. ferry instead of the 6 a.m. I'm also reliving my March 2009 trip to the Holy Land by reading A.D. Wenger's account of 1899-1900, and brushing up on architectural styles of the cottages each day, getting ready to write about Dutch Colonial Revival. This is week 9 in programming, and the seminar topic is "American Writers and Composers." I learned my lesson from Health and Wellness week when I was too worn out to attend the lecture on fatigue, so I'm picking carefully.

The 10:30 seminar time is the most convenient for my body clock. I'm up by 5 a.m., so lunch and a nap are important parts of my day. That gives me time to walk, hit the coffee shop, visit the farmers' market and blog before I head off for the "Green Room" in the Fountain Inn (2 blocks). However, most of those are about musicians, a topic I find not as interesting as writers. So I'll have to also look at 1:30. If I hadn't signed up for drawing again at 3:30, that would be fine. So here's what it looks like for me on paper: Monday, Aaron Copland; Tuesday, Mark Twain; Wednesday, Eudora Welty; Thursday, Emerson. As I've noted before, because I was a foreign language major in college, I didn't have any British or American literature courses, so I walk into these classes as a novice. Friday is contemporary vocal music at 10:30, but the drawing class is moved to 12:30 that day so the Rhein Center can close early, so I may not get to that one. No time for lunch or a nap if I did that.

Last Tuesday I wouldn't have dreamed of a second week of "intensive drawing." But I did fill the entire 70 pages of the sketch book, something I would have never done if I hadn't signed up. After I was in the class, I found out she meant 140 sketches on 70 pages, front and back. But I stayed with my original interpretation. I'll miss today's class because Joan of the Idlewyld B&B is having a paint in/out on her porch and I've been invited.

Week 9 began with the Opera on Saturday night with our terrific Lakeside Symphony. I'm not a huge fan of opera, but it's such fun to see it live, especially with the English words flashed on screen so you can follow the story. Sunday's service on the Lake front with pastor Jennings was wonderful as usual. A friend whispered to me that her granddaughter (Ivy league college) doesn't consider this "real church" and won't attend (I think she's high church Episcopalian). However, God's handiwork, even with an August haze, is far superior to the most glorious cathedral in Germany, and there is a blend of traditional (19th and/or early 20th century) hymns with a beat and some contemporary provided by a guest singer. The sermon was "Shoulda, coulda, woulda," and just the title is food for thought at my age.

In retirement I've been able to do most of the things I could only dream about when I was younger, thanks to penny-pinching, good health, and early retirement, but I do wish (shoulda coulda) I'd done more memorizing when I was young--it's a learned skill, but it's also a solid foundation. Remember, even in the 40's and 50's, memorizing had gone out of style with educators and was thought unneccessary--except maybe for those in drama or literature. I'd love to be able to recall an entire poem or section of scripture instead of just a title or line. Google is a wonderful gift for finding just that right/write item, but it's of little help when viewing a sunrise.