An Old-Fashioned Hymn Sing!!

This Sunday morning I was so excited to head to church to hear my friend, Gloria Jesperson, at the piano. Now some of my quilting friends know Gloria because she was the pianist at the church I attended in Prior Lake and where I hosted my quilting group, Hearthside Quilters. I haven't seen Gloria since we moved almost five years ago. I realized one Sunday before Christmas that I just really missed hearing her talented hands at the piano keys. I was wishing I could hear her play again when I thought..."why not invite her out here to play in my new church?" Why didn't I think of this before? The church council thought it was a good idea and so Pastor Brigit and Gloria set a date. All was looking good and then...............the weatherfolk started talking about a big storm. First there was a Winter Storm Advisory. Then there was a Winter Storm Warning and then it was a Blizzard Warning! I thought "oh, my, Gloria won't be able to get here and if she does, what if no one else can get to church to join the singing?" Ah, but the weatherfolk were just a wee bit off in their predictions. The snow arrived later than they anticipated and didn't begin to fall until just as we all gathered to begin worship. It was gorgeous, big flakes and at least three inches fell while we enjoyed the Old-Fashioned Hymn sing (and a baptism, too....love new babies!) but nobody cared. We enjoyed listening to Gloria's fingers roll along those keys and singing all the hymns that we all enjoy. In addition to talented fingers at the piano, Gloria also plays the accordion!

And her husband, Jim, plays rhythm with spoons! In addition, to sharing her gifts as a pianist at her home church, Gloria also takes her talents to area nursing homes. And yes, Jim the Rhythm Player accompanies her! I'm hoping she can return again so that those who could not make it because of the weather can hear her on a future date.

There was coffee hour after service and Gloria shared some fun tunes like "You are my Sunshine", "Take me out to the Ballgame" and other songs so many of us know. It was such an enjoyable morning! I came home and could not stop singing. My husband had to ask me to "hold it down" so he could hear the opening of the Daytona 500. LOL!

So, no real quilty news in this post but it did my quilter's heart a world of good to hear the music of my dear friend, Gloria. And a bonus.......she gave me a gift of one of her CD's so I don't have to miss her music anymore!

The rest of the day was very quiet as the snow continued to fall ...... and fall! There was almost no traffic by the house. In fact, I think the only traffic was the snowplow that has gone by a couple times. It's been a good day to read and enjoy the day. Oh, and finish up my taxes. Thank goodness. Our son got his done before us this year. Now that's a first! LOL!
I have something really sweet to share in my next post. See you then!
Sandi

You can find a little bit of video of Gloria and some more photos........here