Coupon Date

Good Thursday morning!

Rain, rain go away! They weren't kidding. Four days of the wet stuff. However, I don't think we're going to have anything worse than some thunderstorms... but in Alabama, you keep the TV on and watch for any sudden changes. I know Sunday is supposed to be beautiful. And even though we have all the drippy rain, I love the colors of the dogwoods and the azaleas and the yellow bushes and white peach trees and the purple trees (what are those???) against the dark gray skies. So pretty. I may have to get my camera out!

Tomorrow I'll have a complete TV Review. Jon & Kate had their season finale this week, so I'll be down to five reviews beginning next week... and then they will all taper off as the seasons all end. And then there will be nine months of NOTHING!

If you get a chance, click on Nitty Gritty under my Blog List, and read Jody's post for today. It will make you think, and perhaps put things in perspective. It helped me. Also, keep checking out the Sweet Celebrations website. She's been adding something almost everyday, and the cakes and cookies look amazing.

Wedding Story - Part 4 - Home Wedding

Of the 32 weddings I was honored to play for, two of them were home weddings. And they could not have been more different. However, I'll be sharing only one of those with you this week.

The first home wedding was a high school friend. It was a small affair in her family's living room, and when I arrived for the rehearsal the night before, everything was decorated beautifully. It was going to be a very pretty wedding. However, to make room for seating upstairs, they had moved the piano downstairs... and around the corner... toward the other side of the house. Hmmm. Interesting.

I'm not really a loud pianist. My main goal as a wedding musician had always been "Do not hit a clunker." My second goal had always been "If you do hit a clunker, don't hit it playing as loudly as you can." Thus, I was kind of a "tinkly" soft piano player. You never had to worry about me drowning out a soloist... EVER! But because of the position of the piano in the house, I was going to have to change some things.

During rehearsal, an aunt stood mid-way down the first set of steps. She could still hear and see the wedding. On the second set of steps stood a cousin who relayed what the aunt told her. She couldn't see or hear anything, but was going to step up a few steps to watch the ceremony after giving me my final cue on the wedding day. Because we were treading uncharted waters, the rehearsal went something like this... "LOUDER!" yelled the aunt... "LOUDER!" yelled the cousin. I played louder. "LOUDER!" yelled the aunt again... "LOUDER!" yelled the cousin again. Flop sweat at the rehearsal. I never had flop sweat at the rehearsal. This did not bode well.

My other problem (other than being yelled at) was apparent because I would not be able to see when the bride arrived at the altar. I knew it was a very short walk from the back bedroom to the living room, but I couldn't judge if she was going to be a "fast walker" or not. Once we got the volume where everyone was pleased, I asked them to let my friend walk down to the aisle while I played the Processional and let me know when she arrived at the final destination. "SHE'S READY!" yelled the aunt... "SHE'S READY!" yelled the cousin. I began banging out the Processional. "STOP! STOP!" yelled the aunt... "STOP! STOP!" yelled the cousin. I wasn't even one-third of the way finished.

"SHE'S JUST GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I GET TO A STOPPING POINT!" I yelled at the cousin, who in turn yelled at the aunt.

"OKAY!" yelled the bride... "OKAY!" yelled the aunt... "OKAY!" yelled the cousin.

I guess I didn't think everything through, because on the day of the wedding, it didn't really occur to me that the aunt and cousin wouldn't be comfortable yelling directions down the stairs. As it turned out, when the 30 or so wedding guests congregated in the upstairs living room, and the cousin stuck her head around the corner and told me I could begin, I still had not thought through the STOP and GO process.

So, as I was banging out the prelude music, I squealed and nearly jumped off the piano bench when the cousin put her hand on my shoulder to tell me I could STOP since all the guests had arrived. Okay. That was different. She went back around the corner only to appear again two seconds later to tell me to start the Processional. I banged that one out, too. When I finished, I sat quietly, alone and isolated, wondering what was happening upstairs. Lost in my own thoughts, I again squealed and jumped as the cousin touched my shoulder and told me to start playing the solo piece so the couple could light the candles. "You're going to have to stop sneaking up on me," I said as nicely as I could.

"And you're going to have stop squealing," she retorted. I was beginning not to care for the cousin.

Solo over, I sat in silence again waiting for my final cue. In the quiet, I came up with the idea of getting up and standing with my back against the wall so when the cousin popped around the corner I could jump out at her... but I WAS a professional. However, the thought made me start chuckling, and I was engrossed in seeing her jump when once more... you guessed it! Shoulder grab, squeal and jump. Yep, I definitely did not like that cousin.

I played the last song as loudly as I had played all the rest, and it was over. Not really knowing anyone but the bride (and not having gotten along very well with the yelling aunt and the sneaky cousin), I didn't want to go upstairs for the reception. My friend came to my rescue by coming downstairs, giving me an envelope and a quick hug, and I was left to slip out the garage door. I really didn't even have to put on pantyhose that day. I could have showed up in shorts and a halter top and no one would have ever known. (I actually never wore halter tops. I was just using a word picture to portray how isolated I was in the basement... Oh, never mind!)

Coupon Date

This date can be between a husband and a spouse OR a dad/mom and a child. Every year, our school sells a Coupons for Classrooms book for $15. We always buy one (sometimes two). The book is full of local restaurant coupons, as well as coupons for bowling, Alabama Adventure (local theme park), Atlanta Braves tickets, McWane Science Center (hands-on children's museum), golf courses, etc.

Mike and I have done this several times. We get in the car with the book, and we begin searching the restaurant section. We usually go to a restaurant with a "free entree with the purchase of an entree of greater or equal value" coupon. We eat there and then look at more restaurant coupons for free desserts. After that, we pick our "activity" (which would usually be bowling). On the way home, we would stop at Krispy Kreme and use a "dozen free doughnuts" coupon for breakfast the next morning (for the kids, of course).

It's a fun date, and we never really knew where we were going to end up. One night, we went to the Summit, ate at Johnny Rockets for a ridiculously low price, had a totally free dessert at Mrs. Field's cookies, and then spent an hour or so browsing at Barnes & Noble and drinking coffee. There was no coupon for coffee at Barnes & Noble. It's just one of our favorite places to go on a date.

If you live in an area that doesn't sell these coupon books, start collecting coupons from the Internet or newspaper of places you and your family enjoy eating and playing. When you have enough for a "selection," plan an evening or Saturday afternoon and have fun going to two or three or four different places (for hardly any cost at all).

I still haven't been able to nail down my final Irish date, but I'm not finished looking YET! Give me one more week. But until then, totally enjoy a coupon date this weekend. I promise... you'll love it!

Have a wonderful Thursday. I'll be back tomorrow with Weekend Happenings, the TV Review, Book of the Week and the final installment of the Wedding Stories.

Talk to you then!