Life is short, Opera is Long

Recently, Mom's brother, Ted, was part of a New York Times Magazine piece that featured students in a Metropolitan Opera contest.  This is a nice glimpse into the competitive world of Opera and one of the many roles that Ted plays in this amazing industry.

June 17th, marked the 30-year anniversary of our Daddy and Gramps graduation to Heaven.  He was the same age as Vernon and only two years older than I am.  We knew he was young, but know it even more as we continue to grow older ourselves!

Today, I was reading “HealthSmart: Advice from The Doctors,” and I quote: 

“Cuts and Scrapes.  No need to dig out the hydrogen peroxide: All you need is clean water (to rinse the wound) and a little soap (to clean the skin around the cut); anything stronger can cause irritation.  Skip the antibiotic ointment, too:  Exposure to fresh air is the quickest way to allow wounds to dry and heal (any creams will keep it moist). If the scrape is in a spot that will easily get dirty (like your hand) or rubbed by clothing (like your knee), cover it with a bandage; otherwise, leave it be.” 

This was Daddy’s Rx all my life (much to our Mama’s dismay!), and thirty years after he is dead, they are discovering that this is the best treatment, as he knew all along.  Of course, he would have added some prayer to it to speed the healing along!

I still miss him...

Glynnda

Heidi's Gone Mobile!

For quite awhile Heidi's been moving about on all fours... and then she switched to a kneeling shuffle.  Last week she officially went "bipedal."  She's walking!  Hoorah!

Cooper's 1st

It's old news, but last month Cooper turned 1.

And I turned 37, much less of a milestone than his, I know.

It may seem odd, but I've never wanted to be the dad who views his child's life thru a lens and not in reality... "Sure, I was there!  See?  Here's 3 hours of video I shot to prove it!"  So, I set up a camera and let it run, kinda in a reality TV sort of theme... and it worked out.  Of course, we had to do some handheld stuff, but I have to resign myself to the idea that some things will only be captured in the giant screen of our memory... and that's good enough.

There's more pix over here and a lot more videos where this one is on the Coopercast.

Mother's Day 2011

Here's some quickie shots from this Mother's Day.  APC hosts an annual Mother/Daughter luncheon and Suzi was this year's speaker.  It was a beautiful day for pictures!

European Adventure

Mom & Dad packed their bags, grabbed a close friend, Charles Alder, and made a mad dash across the Atlantic for two weeks in Europe.  They started in Prague, moved to Vienna for a few days and then back to Prague for the remaining time.  I'm sure Mom wants to tell this story herself, but the pictures are posted so you can start touring with them now!

The McGarvey's in Prague

Vernon & Glynnda are in Prague today!

They got in early on a foggy Wednesday morning and spent the day touring Suzi's family neighborhood and visiting her brothers.  Wednesday night, they attended Bible study with Scott's church.

Thursday is a quick run around Old Town and Charles Bridge, then the afternoon in a tour of the Jewish Quarter, with a concert of Gershwin at the Spanish Synagogue in the evening.

Of course, scattered throughout is plenty of time with Cooper!