My Sister

Two Sisters by Auguste Renoir

I recently went up to visit my parents over a weekend with my kids while my husband stayed home and painted our bedroom! It turned out great. No, I did not even try to find partially used paint on Freecycle. I didn't ask if anyone had an old bucket of paint to give me. I just charged out and bought some green paint and my husband just swished it up on the walls. The Compact be damned in this case.

While I was in Madison, I saw my sister and her husband. We had a good visit.

My sister has had some hard times, and who hasn't, but I would say that she has weathered some tougher storms than a lot of people will ever face. She keeps on keeping on and it is admirable how she reaches out to life. She tries in the face of great pain to find ways to be happy and fulfilled.

One of the recent explorations has been guitar lessons. She has calluses on her finger tips ("I've got blisters on me fingers!!") from practicing so much.

She has also found the uncanny ability to make a song out of anything. Yes, it may sound a bit like Phoebe Buffet (Buffay?) from Friends or Woody's song "Kelly, Kelly, Kelly" from Cheers, but it is also so hilarious when she adds a dischordant chord to express some of the angst of missing the commuter train.

I wish I could record it and share it with you here. Suffice it to say, my sister had me absolutely rolling with laughter as tears squeezed out of my eyes. Don't you love it when you can have that kind of guffaw with your friends or family? I love my sister and loved our recent visit together.

In honor of her new guitar playing abilities, which are extensive for such a short time learning, here's a Phoebe song, just for fun.

That was Phoebe teaching Chrissie Hynde Smelly Cat.

And here's a Chrissie Hynde song for you D.