Really Random Thursday, 2/9/23

 Several people, after seeing the snow sculpture from last week, wondered if the dragon won third place, what did first and second place look like? So here you go. I'm not sure which is first and which is second--they are both really good. However, I still think the dragon should have come in first. 

A few weeks ago, Mark saw that the St. Olaf College Band was performing in town. St. Olaf College, as in St. Olaf, MN. (When you are married to a native of Minnesota, you embrace all things from that state.) We had heard them here before and, knowing what a stellar music department St. Olaf has, we bought tickets. And then Mark realized he had to run the clock at a college basketball game. Hmmm. What to do with that extra ticket...

Gabe started playing the trumpet last fall. I thought he might enjoy hearing a college band and asked if he wanted to be my date. The concert was at the Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall, a world-class venue on a local high school campus. 

We took our seats and right before the concert began, Gabe thought he heard a familiar voice behind us. We turned around and it was his band teacher! Both of them were surprised to see each other. His teacher, Mr. Gunn, was interested in knowing how he heard about the concert, and Gabe kept saying, "What are the chances you would sit right behind me?!" I think his teacher was impressed that he was there. 

My favorite was a song that featured a bass clarinet, an instrument that I had never seen before.

We only stayed for the first half (school night...) but it was a good concert and we both enjoyed it.

Haha. We all know it will be much more than 6 more weeks of quilt making...

On Saturday night, we attended a fundraising dinner for Central Valley Justice Coalition, a nonprofit committed to preventing human trafficking through education. Christa is executive director. It's a big responsibility and a lot of work. We sponsored a table and invited our friends to join us.

The meal was excellent. Christa did a great job (as always) of opening the evening.

The two speakers were open and engaging--one with a daughter living on the streets of Portland and the other a former victim of trafficking herself, who now runs a nonprofit providing trauma-informed services to survivors of trafficking.

Ella wandered around taking photos, Charlotte worked at the table selling t-shirts, and the boys did everything from welcoming guests in the parking lot to serving the food to cleaning up. Aaron ran the sound.

Christa's sister-in-law, Tracy, did all the centerpieces. There was a good turnout and I hope everyone left with more awareness of the very real problem of trafficking here in the central valley.

So many questions surrounding that Chinese balloon. I'm not sure what to think, but this was pretty funny. If only this was all there was to it...

And that's about it for another week...