Harvesting some thoughts

Pity the pumkin. They get bought up in great quantities in October, get cut up, displayed, then totally forgotten about come November 1st... This image is from those days when I would go through the effort of buying pumpkins and carving them with my little boy; a tradition I think he never really related to very well as to WHY it was done! Anyway, I put all of them on the wall in our backyard after Halloween (there was about four of them) and left them there to do what they will. I must say, they became so much more interesting when they acquired wrinkles and started to shrivel. Not a value we would place on ourselves, however! This missive is really a potpourri of different thoughts that had been floating around in my head; nothing terribly insightful or philisophical. Each Tuesday and Thursday I attend my class for Art History 201 (Ancient Civilizations up through the Medeival Ages). The lecture hall is right nex to the Fine Arts library on the second floor of the building. Up and down the halls are faculty offices and music practice rooms for the music majors. Lately on Thursdays after I get out from class, I can hear behind closed doors in the room across from the lecture hall, the swelling music of a string quartet. I would assume that they are rehearsing for their senior recital whcih will need to be performed before the end of the semester. Walk further down and you hear soprano voices working on an operatic peice, an oboe palying something incredilby heavenly...sometimes I hear a choir, sometimes it's a chamber orchestra. It is such a delightful way to fillyour senses while walking through the hallway! I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy these auditory sensations. When I worked at California State University at Northridge, I was able to use the piano practice room (for the music majors) to practice piano; it would be a way for me to pass my time during my lunch hour (I try to look for ways to remove myslef from the office and be involved in an activity that takes my mind completely off of work). Here at UNM, however, you have to be a music major in order to have the privilege of a practice room. Fair enough! With only one more semester of coursework to complete, I find myself feeling rather wistful about not being subjected to this joyful noise on a weekly basis. Oh yes, there's nothing to stop me from walking over on my own, but we get so caught up in day to day life that we easily forget about going out of our way to partake in simple pleasures like this. So, the moral of today's missive is, don't forget about those little things that make you happy!