At this point, I think you know that life happens between posts, I get busy and neglect to write for awhile. While I apologize for sometimes being scarce, I just don’t want to bore you.  When nothing extraordinary happens and inspiration hasn’t struck, I don’t write for the sake of writing.  As a writer, that’s probably very wrong of me.  But as a blogger, I hope it’s more in line with thoughtful.

In an earlier blog, I mentioned my new Oticon hearing aids and how much better I’ve been doing with them.  While I still have to rely on lip reading and nothing will ever give me the hearing I’m missing, they make life much more comfortable, enjoyable, and richer.  I’ve actually picked up sounds I hadn’t heard in so long, I had to ask DHH if I actually heard that.  Nothing earth shattering, but sounds that make life less hollow.  Some of it is music, which I enjoy beyond what words can describe.

I particularly enjoy using the accessories that let me watch TV.  I’ve had other hearing aids that connected to the TV, but I have never had such good, clear, reliable, continuous sound with the Oticon system.  Though I can’t understand the words, when it’s combined with captions, it feels like I can.  I’m not just reading TV now.. I’m having a much more satisfying experience.

And now, I’ve been able to have that at the theater!  I mentioned in an earlier post that there was an on demand caption system coming to the theaters through the Shubert Theater Organization and a company called Galapro.  Last night, I had the privilege of trying it out.

The Shubert Theater (New York City) and others, have done two things.  First, they looped the entire theater so I can just put my hearing aids on Telecoil and connect to their sound system.  No extra devices necessary, no headphones, ear buds, etc.  I just sit down and turn it on.  Exquisite!  Second, they’re offering the on demand captions from Galapro.  All I had to do was use their app on my iPhone and voila!  Captions for the entire show, perfectly timed, easy to see, didn’t disturb anyone around me, and I almost forgot I’m deaf.

“They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway!”  So is the technology!   Thank you to everyone involved – it’s been a very long time since  I had such a wonderful time at the theater!  Well Hello Dolly!  It’s so nice that I  really enjoyed the show!  It’s been swell, Dolly!  And I think Oticon and Galapro should know!

Until next time…

The other night as I was falling asleep, a thought hit me and I said to DHH, “Honey, I don’t think I can dive into a swimming pool anymore!” He told me not to worry about since a) we don’t have a pool, and b) it’s been years since I’ve done it anyway. That left me with some thoughts because lately, I’ve been realizing I can’t do everything I used to. So, being stubborn and someone who won’t just quit, I’ve decided that instead of focusing on what I can no longer do, I’m going to focus on what I can do. I’m going to try new things, go back to some old things, and maybe even forget about what I can’t do. Or find a way to do it differently. (Do pony rides take people over 6 years old?)

Between being unable to hear and having some physical challenges from arthritis and injuries, I had to think about what would give me the most pleasure and the least pain and frustration.  I have a beautiful fully equipped drawing table, but since I hurt my hands, it’s very hard for me to hold the pencils, pastels, or charcoals for very long.  And my control is less than stellar.  But wait, I thought.  I can still hold a brush.  Epiphany time.  Why not go back to painting?

For DHH’s birthday, I took him, Darling Son, and Wonderful Daughter-in-law  to a place where you paint and they have coffee, etc.  It’s a social artsy activity and we had a blast. They used acrylic paint which really did make sense, especially so the paintings would be dry enough to take home.

But I’d never used acrylic paint before.  When I was young, I only painted in oils.  All the classes I took were for oils and the only paints I have are oils.  But you know what? It was really fun.  So when I had my epiphany about going back to painting, I thought well maybe I’ll try acrylics.  They’re definitely easier to clean up, which makes things much easier for me.

I’ve been painting with the acrylic paints for a week now and I’m having so much fun with it so today DHH and I went to an art store to buy some larger sized tubes of paints and some paraphernalia to go with the acrylic.  I’m now properly equipped.

The nice guy in the store who was helping us was surprised that I’d go from oils to acrylic. He said, “That’s a step backwards, you know.”  I smiled at him and said, “I know.  But it’s still a step.”

I wonder what else I’ll do and how I’ll twist it a bit to accommodate my needs.  Life is exciting!

What a miserable winter this has been.  I’m told I’m lucky I can’t hear because the wind was so powerful yesterday, it haunted the hearing.   I may not have been able to hear it, but I sure felt it and today I can see the debris it left in its wake.  There are some sounds I just don’t miss.

One sound I do miss is the sound of my piano. My first real memory of being exposed to a piano in someone’s home is when I was ten years old.  I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world to actually have a piano, and I would beg my friends to let me play theirs while I was at their houses.

My love for the instrument grew deeper and deeper and I finally convinced my parents to buy a piano for me when I was 12.  I took lessons every Saturday morning and practiced diligently.  I even had an opportunity to study with a real Maestro  who was astounded by my over an octave key reach and passion for playing at such a young age.  But tell a young girl about to enter her teens that life would be mostly school and practice and watch the fear become bigger than the passion.

Still, I took lessons, practiced, and enjoyed every minute at the piano. I even enjoyed the music theory homework my teacher gave me.  Most of all, I loved how my grandmother would sit and listen to me play my grade 3 or 4 songs and tell me it was the best concert she’d ever been to.  The look on her face made my fingers fly. You would think I wrote Fur Elise or Moonlight Sonata myself.  In her heart, maybe I did.

I’ve had that piano with me almost all my life since I got it at 12.  When I first got married, I didn’t have room for it so it stayed in my parents’ home.  But as soon as I had a house, the piano was moved to my house and eventually my own children took their lessons on it.  Then it was my turn to listen to the best concerts I ever heard when I heard them play.

I stopped being able to hear that piano in the mid 1980s but I still liked to sit down on that bench and play.  I would imagine the music in my head, and it didn’t matter if the piano was even tuned.  To me it was my childhood and my grandmother’s smile again.

As the years went on, arthritis started to develop and I lost the ability to make my fingers fly.  I could usually hit the notes if I played slowly, but it wasn’t the same.  The last few years, I haven’t been able to play much at all, but I could look at that piano and remember it all as if it was yesterday.

Now that time has come to an end and I’m heartbroken.  Lousy things sometimes happen and my beloved piano has been damaged beyond repair.  DHH wants to get me a new piano, but a new piano won’t play in my head the way MY piano does.  The memories won’t be in a new piano and all the images of the last several decades won’t be embedded in its key bed. They’ll just have to remain in my head.  Thankfully, memories don’t shed with tears.

Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata –  Thank you Beethoven and Ricki F, my wonderful piano teacher, for blessing my ears when they worked.  And thank you my piano, for all the beauty and happiness you gave me.

*NOTE* These are NOT me playing.  Thank you also to whomever is playing them.