Joshua Bell and my trip to Colorado

For those of you who have never heard the name Joshua Bell, I have to enlighten you.

 Joshua Bell is an amazing violinist and I had the great opportunity to hear him play in Ft. Collins, CO last week. I was not disappointed.  Mr. Bell is considered a "classical music superstar."  He was recently named the Music Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and has earned numerous awards and debuted when he was just 14.



 Here's a little example of his amazing artistry on the violin - which by the way is a 1713 Huberman Stradivarius.

 


I heard about Joshua Bell about 20 years ago and since then have wanted very much to see him in concert, but he was never in a place close enough for me to drop what I was doing and go.

This time he was and my friend and I were able to heard him play. Here we are dressed up for the occasion.  Okay - we were really just playing around in a thrift store.

 I wish everyone could attend one of his concerts as the man is pure poetry in motion.






Now I have to also give high praise for the pianist who accompanied Mr. Bell. Sam Haywood is a British pianist who has won many of his own accolades.

One of the most amazing things I read about him was that to celebrate Chopin's bicentennial year, he made the world premiere recording on Chopin's own Pleyel piano which is part of the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands.





 It was amazing the way these two performed together and it brought tears to my eyes and all I could do was praise God was giving such talent. Thankfully I have a few CDs and continue to enjoy the music now that I'm back home. But, there was nothing quite so grand as hearing him play in person. Yes, that was a heavy sigh you just heard from a very contented heart.

Blue Jeans Friday

I don't know about you, but I love blue jeans.  This was probably born out of my being a teenager in the 70's when jeans were the standard of living for most of us teens.

But, since I write historical novels, I thought it would be fun to share some of the history of blue jeans on this Friday - which for many offices is a casual dress day.

Levi Strauss is credited with the actual creation of what would become blue jeans.

His creation started in 1853 and by the 1870's Levi's were common fashion for men.

So why were jeans created? Strauss saw men, particular hardworking miners who were in need of heavy-duty work pants, Strauss took brown canvas tent material to make the first pairs of what he called "waist overalls".  These were simple pants without belt loops or pockets.  So how did the men keep them up?  There was a cinch strap in the back.

Here are a couple of fellows sporting their jeans.

Using duck canvas material was gradually shifted to denim.  Denim got its name from the French region where it was created - Nimes, France.  Serge de' Nimes was a heavy twill cloth that Strauss dyed indigo for his workpants.  Some sources say that calling this material "denim" goes all the way back to 1577.

Keep in mind also, that long before this, Genoa, Italy had sailors who wore blue pants and the French called these, "bleu de' Genes" with Genes being a version of Genoa.

Another interesting side note is that in the British colony of India there were similar pants called dungarees. These were a casual pants made from a heavy cloth the Hindi's called dungri.  It was used for sales and tents, but when transformed into pants, it was often blue in color.

So while some called them denims, dungarees and bleu de' Genes, most sources say that the term of jeans in America wasn't really coined until about 1901.  Other sources even stretch that to say that blue jeans is a term that was born out of the 1950's.  No matter, they were popular pants that served workmen well.

Levi Strauss is definitely created with birthing this new fashion in America.  As the father of "Levi's" this Bavarian immigrant continues to be highly regarded for his ingenious creation.  For years he sold these pants in brown duck canvas or denim and after a time came to realize that the denim was far more popular.

Denim changed with age, making it softer and more conformed to the frame of the wearer and thus became the preferred material.  As for the color, indigo was one of those dyes that was good for hiding stains and dirt.  However, it was also a dye that didn't permeate the threads of the fabric like other dyes, so in time molecules chipped away and the jeans faded with use.

It's estimated today that over 450 million - yes million -  pairs of jeans are sold each and every year and the average American owns seven pairs in a variety of styles and colors.

Prices range all over the board with designer jeans going for as much as $1.3 million due to having diamonds sewn onto them for decoration.

This page of antique Levi's sold for $60,000.00

Maybe the most amazing thing is that Levi Strauss created a fashion that has lasted over 150 years and has no indication of ending any time soon.  Now, if you'll excuse me - I'm off to go count my jeans and see if I really have 7 pairs.

The Contagiousness of Complaining

Years ago I worked in an office with a lot of other women.  In fact, I worked in several such offices and one thing was always common.  If one woman started complaining about something—everyone else joined in with their complaints.  It was as if the very act of complaining was contagious.

Many was the time I would go to work feeling quite content with the world and all that was in it.  I would go to work determined to be a positive influence and show a contented spirit.  Then break time would roll around and I would share the company of other people and when the complaining started, my positive spirit took damage.  Before I knew it, I was focusing on the negative things of life – the hopeless things I could do nothing about – the terrible and heartbreaking things that threatened all happiness and peace of mind.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn't perfect by any means.  Often, I was the one complaining first.  Often I didn't go to work with a positive attitude or a loving heart.  The same was true for my attitude and spirit at home.  It only took a little of the poison produced by complaining to spread the disease throughout my family.

One person can wield a lot of power and never even know it.  They can set the stage—the atmosphere for their surroundings with the simplest of negative comments and before you realize it, the entire household or office has caught the contagiousness of complaining and you have an epidemic on your hands.

In Exodus you can read about the Israelites being freed from Egyptian slavery.  God did miraculous things in order to get them released from Pharaoh’s control.  He sent incredible plagues yet protected them from the results and parted the Red Sea for them to pass safely.  Yet in spite of this, just days out of Egypt they started complaining. And that complaining spread quickly to make a most unhappy whiny bunch of folks.  They complained about food, water, housing, health, their surroundings and the list goes on and on.  I like to think I would have been one who wouldn't have complained…but I know better.  I would no doubt have been right there with the loudest – voicing my opinion.

One of the worst places I've seen for complaining—a place where it spreads terrible damage—is in the church.  

 The people attending complain about the sermon or the color of the carpet or the fact that pews have been replaced with chairs.  They complain about the lack of classes and community outreach or they complain because there are too many classes and too much focus on outreach. They complain about the music and the translation of the Bible that the pastor uses. The pastor and teachers aren’t immune to this disease either. They complain about the people and their lack of understanding or interest.  They complain about the size of the congregation, the small amount in the offering plate, the size of the building, and the list goes on and on.  Sometimes they complain about the complaining.

The one place where complaining should be absent is the very place where it breeds the most contempt.  And why is that?  Because that’s the very place Satan wants to corrupt.  God’s people, gathering to worship and honor God, and draw closer to Him in praise and prayer. Satan hates it when we do that and longs to tear us apart and destroy that fellowship.  And with complaining—he does just that.

Having caught this sickness more than once, I can say without any doubt that there is only one cure and that is a heart transplant.  We need God to put into us a new heart—a heart that is focused on Him—a heart that seeks to separate us from the world and all its negativity.  Complaining is a part of this life, just like other disease and sickness, but just as we take precautions to avoid other sickness—we need to take precautions against complaining.  So I thought I would share with you, just a few ideas for avoiding this contagion.  

       Avoid contact with the sick.  If you must deal with the sick as we all inevitably must, take precautions.  Cover your ears to shut out those ugly comments. Cover your mouth to keep from absorbing the disease and sharing it with others.  Cover your heart in God’s Word.

      Take in plenty of nutrients to ward off this sickness.  Spend quality time drinking heavily of God’s Word.  Inhale and exhale the praises and wonders of all God has done.  Get plenty of rest in the Lord.  Exercise the fruit of the Spirit.  

      Be aware of your spiritual condition.  If you feel yourself coming down with a complaint, seek immediate help from the Physician.  Confess your ailment and wash your spirit regularly.  Eliminate all pollutants that lend themselves to feeding the sickness.  Set yourself apart.

We have to live in this world where disease runs rampant and complaining isn't the only sickness we should take a stand against.  So the final word of encouragement is…educate yourself.  Educate yourself about the various diseases that can damage, even kill the spirit.  Know what negative influences are out there seeking to destroy you.  You can’t avoid what you don’t know exists.  But once you do understand the dangers then fight against them. 

Remember, your “spiritual” health is at risk, as well as those who are around you, and “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”