Family Mellmann

Spring weather has finally arrived. That means practice can be outside now!

The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and I can hear the river running full of melting snow in the background. This is recuperating (and getting a little work done) in style.

The view out my office window today looks more like a snow globe than a front yard. Perhaps this would be a good evening for a fire in the fireplace and a good book...right after I plow the driveway and shovel the sidewalk.

Katherine has been taking drum lessons for awhile now, but she hasn't been practicing at home. At first, her teacher told her her to just practice on her knees, but then it was time to actually practice on drums, but we didn't have any. We fixed that this Christmas with a nice set of drums for her. See? Check out this great music room.  We got a new keyboard...complete with stand AND seat (no more playing on your knees...some of us can't do that anymore), drums, amp, lots of guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, recorders, nice music stand, there's a double bass around the corner, trumpets, autoharp...theres probably more, but I can't think of everything.  It's all in there.  Oh, and I organized all my music.  All that work...and she still won't play at home. So, at her lesson this week, I went into the shop to take care of some business, and while I was there I got to hear her play.  I decided to capture some video, but I got greedy and rounded the corner to see...

Things have changed a little since I was a teenager, but one thing hasn't changed - at least in this family.  The right of passage called 'getting your driver's license'.  When I was a teen, once you turned fifteen, the countdown was on until you could get your license.  Driver's education was incorporated into the school day, and most kids took it during their 10th-grade year, at the end of which was usually a sixteenth birthday, and the much-anticipated trip to the DMV. Now, there are additional rules and restrictions.  And driver's training, while available at many public schools, is not guaranteed for all 10th graders.  Most schools run a lottery system and you get to take the class when your number comes up.  In larger schools, this could happen right away, or it could happen in your senior (12th grade) year! Trinity doesn't offer driver's ed as part of their curriculum, but they partner with a local private driving school who will come into the...

Despite a little illness trying to make its way through the family, we managed to keep it together for a Christmas Eve celebration. Although Patrick did not get to sing with the choir at church (a sore throat took him out), he did manage to provide some bass sounds for our family singing with the help of his string bass.  If you notice an unfamiliar creature in our pictures, that's our Christmas guest, Cloudy.  He will stay with us until New Year's Day. The kids enjoyed opening their presents, and they got everything that they wanted. ;) After presents, we moved on to our fondue dinner where we ate so much food that no one had room for my raspberry cheesecake dessert!! Our lovely Christmas Eve was followed by a completely relaxed, do-nothing (except cook supper), sleep-and-video-game-the-day-away, Christmas Day.  Maybe tomorrow we'll accomplish something. :)

Celebrating with old friends, as we do every year.

It is our first day off of school for the Thanksgiving holiday; A wonderful day of doing almost nothing.

It has been such a beautiful day.  Patrick got to ride his motorcycle, Joerg got to service one of his, and we wrapped up some yard work before the more winter-like weather makes its permanent appearance on River Cove Road.  By the afternoon, everyone had found their own way to enjoy the wonderful weather. Katherine read on the deck, even as the sun began to set. Joerg worked on his motorcycle, repairing the damage that resulted from his fall in October. I sat in my favorite chair and researched how to rid my yard and garden of moles. :( Patrick and fellow musician and ballroom dancer, Jennifer, did music stuff in the music room.  Later they will go to ballroom dance class. And Katherine is still sitting on the deck reading.  She needed some light, and a blanket, but she still hasn't come in.  (It's interesting to see what she does when you force her out of her room and take away her screen time.)