(Tonight's Picture Sunday also contains way too many pictures, but it was a way too many pictured week. Enjoy them, you'll have no more for a while. Also, many thanks to DeepFatFriar and Kellie with an ie for their kind contributions. They took a majority of these.)

Picture Sunday

Hello, end of weekenders, and welcome to another "look till you can't take it anymore" round of Picture Sunday.

Yes, Hell Week is over. My week of events all behind me, I can rest a little. Well, no I can't, I now have all those things to do I put off during Hell Week. But it's all good.

After I blogged on Thursday morning, I sprang into action for the events later in the day. I got all gussied up, or at least as gussied up as I get, and headed to B'burg for the first event of the day, Mr M's recital.

























Oh, friends. That smile was after the recital. There was no smiling before. The man was nervous, and recommended swath around him was approximately three feet.

And he deserved to be nervous. The scope of music he had on the agenda was a Herculean task. Amazing number of songs, with incredible difficulty. And he pulled it off beautifully. I was so proud of him. His playing was top-notch, he was funny, charming, and the surprisingly large turnout all had a great time. (It was great to see so many people from Community Band there.)

Of course, Jude the Corruptor was there, ready to play his tuba/clarinet duet with Mr M. Their piece was long. And when I say long....




















And that was only one movement! Actually a very funny moment happened during that piece. There was simply so much music that at one point Mr M looked from one page to the next, only to find himself - playing a different piece of music! They had to stop, reshuffle, and try again, but it was handled with such humor, no one thought a thing about it.

Oh, yeah. And somewhere in all that fun and frivolity came little ol' me.




















In my bag glasses. I was so nervous, as Mr M was introducing me, he kept asking me things, and I couldn't answer! I was breathless, but it went, very quickly, and though I did nothing technically wrong, I felt I really could have nailed it hard except for one thing. I was so nervous, about three measures ended with no notes because I had to stop and take in more air.

But I was happy with it all, and those who were there were very kind in what they said afterwards.

Here's one of us "in action," as action-packed as a clarinet duet can get. Come to think of it, when the players are Mr M and myself, they can get very action-packed indeed.




















Some of The Boys made the trip over to see the recital, and were most impressed. In fact, as it was winding down, Huckleberry Hound became so emotional over the music he had to grab a tissue and wipe away a welling tear.




















Anyway, I'm glad it's over, except for the small fact that Mr M has decided now he wants to do another recital, so I have to put up with all this one more time. Unless I break his hand, which is a distinct possibility if I can think up a way to make it look like an accident.

Here are the four of us who participated. Mr M, Kay (the accompanist), me, and Mr Corruptor.




















As Mr M was still accepting massive applause and compliments, however, I was ducking to the back of the church to change, because I had more rollicking times ahead. I was going to see the Hackensaw Boys! Yes, there I was, in the little room behind the altar, in varying stages of undress while people stuck their heads in the door to give me well-dones.

Believe it or not, my long-lost cousin Jacob showed up at the recital, and joined Kellie (with an ie) and me for the trip to R'noke to see the Hackensaws. It was a hurried trip, as the recital Mr M promised me would only be 90 minutes (pressing time to a minimum as it was) became a two-hour recital. But the three of us girded our loins and pressed on.

When we got there, we saw the stage was empty, and I got so excited. "They haven't started yet?" I asked the club people, and was told, "No, they just finished their first set." Oh, well. It was OK, because we still got to see them play for a very long time.




















The club where they played was this trendy downtown spot that I'm sure the Hackensaw Boys would not be allowed into had they not been the entertainment for the evening. It was neon and brick walls, filled with yuppies, and generally everything I hate. (Ferd later remarked it looked "like a show on the FX Network.") But Our Boys got the crowd rocking soon enough, and the concert had the added bonus of - advance copies of the new album! Yep, it doesn't officially come out till the 19th, but I got a copy on Thursday. When I discovered they had the album, the girl told me there was only one left. Ever the trusty and valiant friend, Kellie (with an ie) reserved that copy for me while I went to get my cash.

























(Turns out later they found more copies, but hey, it was still trusty and valiant.)

Kellie (with an ie) and Jacob really seemed to enjoy themselves, and afterwards I got to introduce them to Ferd, and they all made friends very quickly. But in what turned into the surprise of the night, I found myself summoning over the very Baby J Hackensaw, who up till now I'd been afraid to even wave at. He came over, and we found ourselves talking to him for about a half-hour. He is just a doll-baby, and the nicest guy in the world.

Kellie (with an ie) snapped this one, and yes, folks, this is what I look like after a nervous clarinet recital and a night of Hackensawing. Tired, washed out, a hair-don't - and on top of the world.


















I got back home at 3 am, but didn't go to bed till about 4. Then it was work Friday, and, oh yes, the moment I've been waiting 18 years for (and that you've all suffered through with me), my very own Taytie's graduation.

A cried nary a tear at the ceremonies, though I did a bit before I left, when I was writing Tay a little letter to go in one of his cards.

Here's a very Paint Shopped recieving of the diploma. (Hey, it was in a school gym, what do you want?)

























But afterwards, it was cap, gown, and diploma picture time in earnest. Actually, I'm sure it's colored pencils....

























And finally, since it was in doubt for a little while, we decided to take one last photo we call "Oh, God - It's Blank!" That's the brother-in-law, not quite playing along with the game.

























I stayed up all Friday night, drinking martinis and playing records, and had a massive Friday Chill. Then did my collapse Saturday. Hell Week's over!

Hey, you know what? Summer is right upon us! It's been near 90 here most of the week. And what does summer say to you? Why, a parade, of course. Who doesn't like standing outside waiting for a big summer parade to come by?

Well, that's where this week's recipe du jour comes in. From the "Forward - March!" file at cardland, please give a flag-waving hello to The Zesta Saltine Marching Band!





















Yes, this 45-piece marching ensemble is from Keebler High School in Battle Creek, Michigan. They do parades and field drills, often topped with cheese and peanut butter. They're accompanied by the Crouton Flag Corps, and led by no less an entity than the Cinnamon Graham Drum Major, wielding his lollipop baton. They're available for all special occasions, and have garnered such accolades as, "Light and crunchy!" from Popular Music and Snacks magazine.

Happy week.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* There is still one story to tell and one picture to view. Those will come later in the week.