Reflective thoughts and poems

palides2021 said:
I am sharing one of the musical pieces we will be playing at our upcoming concert - Grand Canyon Suite

It really feels as if I am at the Grand Canyon.


I like to listen to pieces we will play for a concert (over and over again) to familiarize myself with the music and various sounds and timings of the instruments. Sometimes I play along. Today, I was busily jotting down the fingerings for the notes provided by the first chair. Fingerings and bow markings (up or down bow markings) allow for the orchestra to be synchronized in the movements of their bows. Otherwise, it would look chaotic. That's it for now.
Hope you all have a great evening! Enjoy the music!
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Beautiful orchestral suite Palides.... which instrument are you playing?
 
So much has happened since I wrote here last time! I got some kind of stomach flu that had me knocked out for awhile, and am slowly regaining health (had to teach during this time). Today, my son visited and we went to the city park. It felt good being out in the sun and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. I looked pale in this picture, but this is after my illness.SpringCityPark2023.jpg
Glimpses of spring was seen peeking through some tree branches. Sharing some photos of that visit here:IMG_1031.JPGIMG_1029.JPG

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Well, it's been several weeks since I last wrote here, and I am doing much better!
I started wearing my 10th anniversary wedding ring again. It has 10 tiny diamonds on it and is a reminder that it has been 10 years since my late husband's passing. It feels good to wear it. I typically do not wear rings, and this one still fit after all these years. Love never dies, that's for sure!
 
I hope you all are doing well!

Whenever my novels become free on Amazon, I like to let friends know about it.

As of today, my novel The Lion and the Nurse is available for free as an ebook. https://www.amazon.com/Lion-Nurse-Patty-Apostolides-ebook/dp/B00ISKPZXQ

The free book will be available for five days. You can download it on your kindle and read any time. The story is
about a nurse who travels to a Greek island to take care of her mother and finds love in the process. It is a comedy, a love story, and a cultural "taste" of Kos, a Greek island, rolled into one story. Music also plays a major part in the story.

In the coming days, please watch for my other books becoming free on Amazon during the holiday! These free promotions last five days for each book. I would appreciate any feedback for those who get a chance to read the book(s)! Thanks!
 
palides2021 said:
I hope you all are doing well!

Whenever my novels become free on Amazon, I like to let friends know about it.

As of today, my novel The Lion and the Nurse is available for free as an ebook. https://www.amazon.com/Lion-Nurse-Patty-Apostolides-ebook/dp/B00ISKPZXQ

The free book will be available for five days. You can download it on your kindle and read any time. The story is
about a nurse who travels to a Greek island to take care of her mother and finds love in the process. It is a comedy, a love story, and a cultural "taste" of Kos, a Greek island, rolled into one story. Music also plays a major part in the story.

In the coming days, please watch for my other books becoming free on Amazon during the holiday! These free promotions last five days for each book. I would appreciate any feedback for those who get a chance to read the book(s)! Thanks!
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The idea of music incorporated into the story really intrigues me as does the storyline. I shall check this out. Thank you for letting us know.
 
palides2021 said:
So many things are happening through my work teaching, and yet there are moments of silence and rest that allow me to reflect. I discovered this poem I wrote a few years back and would like to share it with you. At that time, I had high hopes of writing books (although I have published 5, and have another one unpublished) but somehow the urge to write novels has slowed down considerably. It's a very time consuming endeavor, not only to fabricate whole characters, their dialogue, settings, plot, climax and resolution, but also to revise extensively. And even after the revisions, getting it published and marketing/promoting it are also time consumers. I don't know how these people can write dozens of books. Anyway, enjoy the poem!

A Toast to Life

Is to gather
Soft, willowy wisps of “thank you’s”
And blow them into the air until
A smile returns my way.

To hand out with large doses
Random acts of kindness
To people who suffer so much, they cannot see,
Except my outstretched hand.

To wish with sincerity
A journey, filled with loyal friends,
Who cheer and support each other
Through good and difficult times.

To sit still enough
So that peace may find me,
And fill the chambers of my heart with serenity,
Thus brightening even my darkest hours.

And let us toast to love,
For even when we are alone,
Our poor and ailing hearts
Still can feel its powerful joy.

Strive always for
Patience, wisdom, and foresight
So they could stand faithfully by our sides
And guide us all to righteousness.

Surely we must also read, and learn
Through books and classes
Of the universe’s secrets -
This knowledge must be gleaned.

I plan to write about life -
Stories so powerful and uplifting
They bring tears of joy to others,
One page at a time.

And when I depart
This beautiful earth one day,
Will I have accomplished my purpose -
To leave a part of me behind?

So let us lift our glasses
To make a Toast to Life,
And let us write our own story -
One chapter at a time.

P.A. 2014
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This poem is so beautiful 💕
 
These past few days, I tackled mowing the lawn. I have a one-acre property, and I use a lawnmower that is battery-operated. I have two batteries, so while I mow the lawn, one battery is always being charged. A battery lasts around 40 minutes in the mower. To cut the right side of my front lawn took me 90 minutes (I use a bag to collect the clippings, then dump the clippings in areas to form mulch). So it is good exercise for me. The weather was comfortable and sunny, and the yellow and white daffodils were in bloom and I have a large weeping cherry tree on the property that was in bloom. This is such a pretty time of the year. I walk about 40 minutes at a time, take a water break, and then do more. If I get tired, I leave it for the next day. Today, I did some more, but got up early because it was going to be a hot day. This is the first time I used air conditioning in the house, and it felt good after the mowing.

The next few days, I plan to mow the back lawn. One thing I did in the fall, was remove three apple trees from the back yard. We had them for several years, and the apples were always diseased or not growing. They looked good while on the branches, and when you went to harvest them, they were not edible, except for a few. Anyway, because of their jutting branches, it was always difficult mowing around them. The other issue that has popped up is that I no longer eat fruit because of my low carb diet, and with those apple trees gone, I have less work. I only have the two pear trees left. They are quite tall and are blossoming right now. They have been heavy producers of pears.

Spring is my favorite
Time of the year
Not only because
Of the weather, but
Because of the splash
of color coming to the area
Through the flowers, bushes, and trees.
Spring is my favorite
Time of the year
Because it brings hope,
Rebirth, and a chance
To enjoy nice weather.


Finally, I know this is Holy Week for many people around the country. So, Happy Easter!
However, for Orthodox Christians, Easter comes a week late this year. So this Sunday will be Palm Sunday.
Now that I no longer eat candy, chocolate, or anything sweet, I will not be buying chocolate Easter eggs or
Easter candies. I will ask my son if he wants any Easter candies (before they are gone from the stores).
 
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Just wanted to let you know, dear friends, that my ebook Lipsi's Daughter is now available for free on Amazon. This week and next, my books will be available for free. I will let you know as they are made available. These are sweet love stories. Lipsi's Daughter was my first novel, and it takes place on the Greek island of Lipsi, where my family is from. I was inspired to write about this island after visiting it during my college years. It is a Cinderella-style story. Based on its popularity when it first was published, it spurred me on to write more books. So if you have a chance, download it and read at your leisure. Some bits and pieces of it are taken from my life. People have come up to me and asked me if this was my story. It is fiction.
Let me know what you think!
https://www.amazon.com/LIPSIS-DAUGHTER-Patty-Apostolides-ebook/dp/B00KRUAL02
 
palides2021 said:
Just wanted to let you know, dear friends, that my ebook Lipsi's Daughter is now available for free on Amazon. This week and next, my books will be available for free. I will let you know as they are made available. These are sweet love stories. Lipsi's Daughter was my first novel, and it takes place on the Greek island of Lipsi, where my family is from. I was inspired to write about this island after visiting it during my college years. It is a Cinderella-style story. Based on its popularity when it first was published, it spurred me on to write more books. So if you have a chance, download it and read at your leisure. Some bits and pieces of it are taken from my life. People have come up to me and asked me if this was my story. It is fiction.
Let me know what you think!
https://www.amazon.com/LIPSIS-DAUGHTER-Patty-Apostolides-ebook/dp/B00KRUAL02
Click to expand...
Thank you! I just downloaded it.
 
This weekend, I am staying at the hotel near my church so I won't have to drive home at night. This is our Orthodox Holy Week. To get down here, I have to drive one hour on the freeway and as you know, the closer you get to the city, the more cars nervously zip around you. It gets frantic sometimes. I used to come down here more often before Covid (weekly for church) and drive back when it was still daylight. But Holy Week has a different time schedule of its own. There are daily morning and evening services. Sometimes there are three services in one day!

Last night, I sang in the church choir (something I used to do weekly in the past) and we sang the lamentations which are a beautiful tradition on Good Friday. I always cry at some point while singing them because they are poetic and describe Jesus's death, etc. Normally, we walk around the church chanting with lit candles and following the Epitaphio which is covered with flowers (the Epitaphio symbolizes the tomb of Christ). But it was raining, so we stayed in.
Here is the music from a recording by a famous Greek singer:
Of course, this is a solo singer, whereas as a choir, we have the sopranos, altos, and basses. I don't have the words in English, so I looked them up so you get an idea what they are singing about:

Good Friday LAMENTATIONS (Eggomia in Greek)

First 3 stanzas:

In a grave they laid Thee,
yet, O Christ Thou art Life,
and the armies of the angels beheld amazed, giving glory that
Thou chose to condescend.

How, O Life, dost Thou die?
How dost Thou dwell entombed,
Who hast slashed through all the bonds in the
realm of death,
and hast raised the dead in Hades from their
graves?

We, O Lord, exalt Thee,
O Christ Jesus, our King,
and we venerate
Thy Passion and burial through which
Thou hast brought redemption
from our sins.

These are the stanzas (12- 15) that always make me cry when I sing them (because I picture the Virgin Mary losing her son):

When Thy mother saw Thee
brought to slaughter, O Lamb,
she was stabbed with painful torment; her
anguished sobs
called the flock to join her bitter cries of grief.

“Woe is me!” the Virgin
mourned through heart-breaking sobs.
“Thou art, Jesus, my most precious, beloved
Son!
Gone is my light, and the Light of all the
world!”

“God and Word eternal,
O my Gladness and Joy!
How shall I endure Thy three days inside the
tomb
when my heart is breaking with a mother’s
grief?”

“Who will give me water,
and a fountain of tears,”
cried the Virgin Bride of God in her deep
despair,
“that in grief for my sweet Jesus I might weep.”

But I wipe my own tears after the singing is done, because I know there is a happy ending.

Tonight, I will be going to the church service around 10 where I will be singing once more in the choir. In Greek, we say
Kali Anastasi! which means a good resurrection. After tonight's service, for several days, we say Christos Anesti! Christ has risen!
 


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