Maltby Piano Studio Group Lesson

Twice each year, I host a group lesson for all of my piano students.  In March, we had a Composition 101 class with several musicians/composers showing us how to write our own musical pieces.  Yesterday, we had Heather Fandrich from Fandrich and Sons piano builders in Stanwood, WA come to the studio and show us how a piano works.

I had 10 students in attendance, and Heather took apart my Fandrich piano and showed us what happens every time we press down on a piano key.  It was a fun presentation, and the students were encouraged to ask questions and learn what was of most interest to them about the piano.

Heather tuning my piano before the class

Adult Q & A time

Demonstrating the piano action models

Time for the children to ask questions!

Late Summer Baskets

Since the very hot weather has finally ended, my flower baskets are recovering and putting on quite a show of color.  Here is my begonia basket and my mixed fuschia/sweet potato vine basket.  They might have another three to four weeks to bloom if we don't have a hard frost.

A Boston Piano

Holly Anderson has a beautiful Boston baby grand with a room of its own.  I had to post a picture of it here.

One Last Evening for Alfresco Dining

We had a rare, hot and sunny day last weekend, and we showed up at our favorite Woodinville restaurant for one last evening of outdoor dining.  I savored each moment of the warm breeze, the blue skies, and the aroma of food enjoyed outdoors!

Ross' Edmonds Garden

Ross was from Duluth, Minnesota, and he was an avid gardener.  We had many great discussions that centered around our Finance careers and our gardening.

Ross' wife Holly has hired professional gardeners to maintain Ross' beautiful garden.  It's truly a place to meditate and remember all that Ross did to bring light to other people's lives.

We Thank God for the Life of Ross Edward Anderson

Last year, in April of 2014, the VP of Finance at Starbucks was diagnosed with brain cancer.  Even though Ross knew his diagnosis was terminal, he spent the next 15 months living life to the fullest and working to be a mentor to others in the finance arena.  He was responsible for hiring me over 10 years ago, and he was a great friend and mentor, and changed the course of my professional career.

We stayed in touch this last year, and I became acquainted with his wife Holly.  We spent the day together several weeks ago, which was the week before Ross' memorial service.  She was preparing for two large services, and for out-of-state family to stay with her in  their lovely Edmonds home.

Here is Ross' memorial service at the Edmonds Pastoral Center.  He was a caring and gentle man, and he will be missed.  

More Dahlias

I am still so excited about my decision last year to dispense with growing vegetables and instead raise dahlias!!  I always wanted a 'cutting' garden, and this year, my plan has come to fruition.

I have over 20 dahlia plants, and I have been filling the house with bouquets since late July.  They are such complex and colorful flowers.

Peach Cobbler

The peaches from Yakima keep making their way into our kitchen this summer!  They are an unusually sweet crop this year, and we are taking advantage of it.  We are freezing as much as we can so we can enjoy this wonderful fruit through the Fall and Winter. Imagine a peach pie at Christmas!  Yum.

Homemade Salsa

In all the years we have lived here in Maltby growing tomatoes, I have never made salsa.  This year, with the extremely hot weather and extended growing season, I had a large crop of tomatoes (five different varieties).  I made salsa this week, and we will be sampling it to see how it turned out.

The aroma of the fresh tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, and lemon juice was wonderful as the mixture came out of the Cuisinart!

Liberty Apples

Ten years ago, I bought Don a Liberty Apple tree from Flower World.  The woman who helped us pick it out told us that this tree would produce the most beautiful and flawless apples we had ever seen.  And she was correct.

Here is the first picking of this season.  We are busy peeling and freezing them for pies, crisps and applesauce.

Alex Is Almost 17!

Alex and I had lunch in Mill Creek last week, and her life is progressing well in spite of some large challenges.  She always has a positive attitude, however, and is good at grasping the positive in any situation and running with it.

She is in the Running Start Program at Cascadia College in Bothell, trading this program for being a Junior at Glacier High School in Snohomish.  She will graduate in less than two years, and will have earned credits toward her Associates Degree also.  She is hoping to go to medical school one day at the University of Washington (she has already been gifted with a four-year college education from the State of Washington).

She has grown into a beautiful young woman.

Kaila's Piano Progress

Kaila finished her first year piano method book last week!  She completed this one-year course in 9 months, and she will now begin her second year book.  She is doing well, having learned to read all of the musical notes this year, performing in her first recital, and composing three pieces of music.

Late Summer Flowers

Here is a bouquet of all of the flowers currently blooming on our property.  Nice colors!  There are Adobe Sunrise roses, blue hydrangeas, several varieties of orange and yellow dahlias, and several pink dahlias.

Tomatoes!

The long, hot growing season this year truly favored my tomatoes!  Last year, I barely harvested a handful of them.  This year, I had over six varieties, and they all were beautiful examples of each type.

I'll be making fresh salsa tomorrow, and some spaghetti sauce.

Fresh Peach Pie

Here's our first peach pie of the season, fresh from the Maltby Pie Company!  Yum!

Peach and Blueberry Coffee Cake

With fresh peaches from Yakima in season, we drove over to the Yakima Market in Bothell and bought a whole box of beautiful peaches.  We are preparing pie fillings to put in the freezer so we can have peach pies all winter long!

Here is a new recipe this year using both fresh peaches and blueberries.  It was the best coffee cake I've ever made, and my morning cup of Cardamom tea made the breakfast complete.

Bob's Corn and Country Store

We stopped by Bob's Corn in Snohomish last weekend, and picked up some pickles and syrup, and generally checked out what they had to offer.  The corn maze had not yet opened, so there weren't many shoppers.  It's still a fun place to go before Fall officially arrives.

Chai Tea Latte

My favorite Starbucks drink is a Soy Chai Tea Latte.  My new Verismo coffee machine makes this drink perfectly.  Here's my drink made early one day last week before my 9 a.m. student arrived.  It's a perfect way to start my day!