The Race Is On, Again!

I find it interesting that the picture that cycled back was of William working on his Pinewood Derby car, since today was the district race that both William and Daniel qualified for during the pack event. This time, Daniel came in third for the Tigers in a series of races that was so close that they had to run the three top cars for an extra race to determine the winner.

William's car was having difficulties from the very start, and we think it was because something happened to the axles. We'll give it another try next year, though. The two cars are being retired to the trophy shelf.

After the Derby, we stopped by Karen's store to show off the participation medals. Danny will also be getting a trophy to add to his collection, but it will be presented at the pack meeting.

When we got home, we turned around almost immediately and went back out to attend a benefit dinner for the pack, held at the local Masonic Temple and sponsored by the Oddfellows, we also did the food. Pork loin, roast potatoes, carrots, and applesauce. Mouthwatering! And a brownie sundae for dessert.

Set all the clocks ahead; the computers should roll over at the official hour of 2:00 a.m. I was just getting to enjoy walking out to my car at 5:45 in the morning in the light. Daylight Savings Time will kill that luxury for several weeks. I can't believe that we set the clocks ahead for more than half the year now. What exactly is the point of that? Ah well.

Tonight I have been downloading some sheet music so that I can start getting my piano skills back up to par. I've found an old favorite from my childhood lessons, a Beethoven sonatina, and a couple of pieces I've always wanted to learn, including Fur Elise (Beethoven again) and George Cobb's Russian Rag, based on Rachmaninoff's  Prelude.

This was all prompted by the purchase of a new, heavy-duty keyboard stand for my 37-pound electronic piano with weighted keys. My old stand was too shaky with the heavier keyboard; the new stand holds the piano and my synth, so I hope to be playing a lot more music than I have for the last several years, and maybe even composing some.

Meanwhile, I'm playing carpenter on the house, a skill that I can't even say is rusty, since I never acquired it in the first place. They say the necessity is the mother of invention, but for me learning carpentry is the mother of all headaches. And backaches. Oh, and shoulder aches.

Just thinking about it makes me want to take some ibuprofen and get to bed.