At least the saints did not go marching out

I got up before the alarm went off and went out to water the flowers and vegetables. When I came in, I took a shower and got dressed. I ran through the e-mail quickly. I swallowed my supplements from yesterday and ate a few cranberries. I picked up my trombone and music and took them to the car. I drove to the FFTC and parked there. I walked to the chapel. The pianist was already there. She said she had just called me to ask me to come early, and there I was. I had already put my phone on vibrate so I did not hear it. But I was early. We practiced and parts of it went ok, others were hit and miss. She asked the secretary to do some translating so she could understand what I was wanting. Anyway, I thought we had it all settled. I put my trombone on its makeshift stand in the corner and went home. Chris was not there so I must have just missed him in transit. I read e-mail for a while and did some meditating and tapping for nervousness. I got in the car to go back to church. I passed Chris walking home so I stopped. He got in and dropped me off at church. I was 15 minutes early. I sat by my trombone with my music ready. Connie (the man in charge for the day) came over to explain when my part would take place – right after the passing of the peace. I noticed the two Korean women in front of me had violins. First Connie gave the invocation and Bible reading. Then She-Uk and his singing partner led us in singing praise songs. Then we passed the peace. I took my trombone and music up front. Connie introduced me. I introduced the first song – Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee. We sang three verses. Then I introduced When the Saints Go Marching In. Connie asked everyone to stand It went over well and people sang loudly. They clapped after the third verse. I think the pianist gave me the strong downbeat and I missed it for all the voices. So we got a rocky start to the fourth verse. But there was clapping when it was over. Hmm. At least the saints did not go marching out. Then I introduced the third song – All Hail the Power. It went well, and then my part was over! I thanked them for being a good congregation and sat down. There was another reading and the kids sang: simple songs that went on and on and on for dozens of repetitions. Then we had communion. After that, the choir sang three numbers with violin accompaniment. We sang with them because the lyrics were on ppt. After another reading from the Bible, the young man from the first duet stood up and he sang a solo, then directed two songs. And finally the service was over. I got a few comments as I packed up my trombone. The pianist suggested we do it again sometime. Kathy said I could be song leader some Sunday if the praise team was not there. Ha. Chris stopped by to pick me up and take me home. I changed clothes and then we went to the commissary. On the way back, I used handles to carry the bags. One came from Home Plus and the other one I made. I had to test them out to see if they made a difference. Yes, but not as much as I had hoped. Chris put the food away and I checked e-mail. When I saw him folding laundry, I picked up mine and put it away. Then we spent the afternoon on our laptops. I watched videos on altering men’s pants and coats. I went outside to clear grass from the stepping stones. Then I raked our grass and the public area where most of the cut tufts landed. I pulled weeds from between the bricks of the patio. I picked some dandelion and some lettuce for a salad. I added a tomato and the cucumber picked yesterday. There was half a green pepper from Chris’ supper. I ate it at my computer. We watched two episodes of Bones early so Chris could leave for the airport to pick up a new employee. I watched an episode of The Quilt Show online. I tweaked a Swanson’s order that did not get submitted earlier because the offer expired before I could finish. I did some stretches while listening to a meditation and something in my lower back popped. I did more stretches but could not get it to pop back. Chris called to say he was on his way up the hill and would be home soon. When he got in, he went to bed. I stayed up to finish my blog post.
* I did not take any pics today, so here is one of the menu at the Chinese massage place. *