Sunday, April 25

We slept til nearly 8 a.m. this morning, and after breakfast I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Once I was ready for the day, I did my usual Sunday morning things of programming the DVR, washing clothes, etc.

Mother came mid-morning to read the Sunday newspaper and start lunch. Today, we had steak strips sauteed with onions and bell peppers, plus baked potatoes and steamed mixed veggies.

Later this afternoon, we went to a flute concert at the college. We attend this every year, but today it was especially entertaining. A soloist performed two songs from "The Pied Piper of Hamlin." She played, "The Spell," on the flute, and "March to the River," on the piccolo. It was easy to imagine rats falling under the Pied Piper's spell and then scampering to their death.

Following the solo performance, two narrators, a Japanese woman and a student related stories that the next four songs were based on. The Japanese woman told the story in her native tongue, and the young man interpreted.

The songs included, "Kuroda Bushi," a form of drinking song, sung by warriors at drinking parties, and "The Gino of Shonai," about two lovers. The girl accidentally falls to her death from a cliff, and her lover, in a fit of despair, commits suicide by also pitching himself off the cliff.

After an intermission, one of the students at the college performed two Irish dances, while another student played the jigs on a piccolo. Another student soloist sang two songs, including, "Cockles and Mussels," also known as "Sweet Molly Malone," and "In Dublin's Fair City."

The student who danced the Irish Jigs then performed "Carrickfergus" on the flute. I recognized this tune, but don't think I ever knew what it was called.

Finally, the whole flute choir performed the closing numbers, including "Londonderry Air," better know as "Danny Boy."

The concert ended about 5 p.m., and we were quite surprised when we left at how much the temperature had dropped. A brisk wind made the evening even more uncomfortable.

At home, I heated the leftover bagel pizzas for Hubbie's and my supper. We had these with salad and cottage cheese. Afterward, we settled in front of the TV. We saw the movie, "Daybreak," a 1993, R-rated feature starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Armed officers round up "positives" in a plague-ridden city. The movie never tells us that the "plague" is AIDS, but it is obvious.

The second movie we saw was, "The Skeptic," a 2008, unrated feaature, starring Bruce Altman, Tom Arnold, and Tim Daly. A man inherits a house after his aunt dies, and experiences paranormal activities.