Our grandson, Dustin Paul McKinney went to be with Jesus on March 22.
The flowers were beautiful and potted plants will continually remind us of your supportaive love, empathy, and sympathy. We appreciate food prepared, offers of help, cards, hugs, and prayers. Words cannot express the extent of our gratitude. From our hearts, we sincerely thank you.
. . . of mice and men often go awry. Robert Burns, 1786  This is embarrassing and frustrating:
I had Guitars & Folk Songs: An Anthology ready to upload the book into Amazon and the eBook into Kindle. When I began the process, my Microsoft xlsx files for the Table of Contents and Indexes would not convert. So I took all the information out of xlsx and put them directly into my docx files. Guess what. The spacing for text and photos were all wrong. What a mess! All that really means is that I will not have the book or ebook available for awhile yet. I'll keep working on them, and I'll let you know when I successfully have them ready for you.  Launch Day for Hearts of Three Kings is April 12. Mark your calendars! Even thouth the Kindle eBook will not be released before April 12, you may order it NOW. On Launch Day, the eBook will be delivered to your device automatically. Isn't technology great! The paperback will be ready for purchase that same day. I'm extremely excited, . . . . . . but That's Not All The Revised and Improved Second Edition of Guitars & Folk Songs: An Anthology is finished. Inside the Kindle eBook, I am presently adding links from the Table of Contents to marked text and pages. Doing this will make navigation within the book much easier for my readers /guitar enthusiasts. I will have both the new eBook and new paperback ready for you at Amazon on Tuesday. May God bless you and yours,   The newest book in The Story of Glops series is written and edited. Photos are formatted and added. The book itself is formatted. Now, I move on to the next stages of publishing the book. Have a look at the covers. Front Cover: Back Cover (But it might change some):  On February 7, when I had a doctor's appoint in fifteen minutes, I went into the garage wih my arms loaded, and the car was locked. Why wouldn't the car door unlock? Because my key was not in my purse. Where was my car key? I didn't know. By the way, a replacement car key would cost $300, so I really did not want to lose my car key. It had to be somewhere in the townhouse because I drove the car there and went inside the townhouse. I called Glenn, but he couldn't help me from Borger. Of course not! He did say he could drive to Amarillo and bring the spare car key, but I didn't want him to do that unless absolutely neccessary. I cancelled my doctor appointment and begged for a new appointment. Got it. Then, I looked everywhere for my key. I looked in places and in rooms I had not even been near for a week or longer. I thought back to the last time I used the key. Where could I have possibly put it? Still, I could not remember. Forty-five minutes later, I thought, "Wait a minute ..." and I found the car key right where I left it, in a pocket of my robe. Why was it there? Because I was in the closet getting ready for bed and the key fell out of the back pocket of my jeans where I had put the key the last time I used it to get into the car. I put the key in my robe. Well, it made sense to me at the time. Moving on ...
So for Valentine's Day, Glenn lovingly gave me the Tile. In fact, he gave me two of them. Do you know about Tile? It's a tracker for what I anticipate I will lose. The little rectangular Tile can be attached to just about anything. Then, with my iPhone I can find it. Or when I lose my iPhone, I can go to the unlost item that has a Tile attached to it, press on the Tile button twice, and it tries to locate my phone. That means, if the tile is on my CPAP, I will need to carry my CPAP around the house until the Tile on the CPAP is close enough to my phone to detect its location so it can make my phone play a tune. By the time the Tile locates my iPhone I may be close enough to it to see it myself.
We had a wonderful Christmas! On Christmas Eve, sixteen family members were in our home for an evening meal of pot roast and lots of candies, snack items, and desserts. When we were fed and full, we exchanged gifts. My favorite part of this gathering was that the gifts were reasonable and appropriate. Everyone was smiling and seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves and each other. Of course, we missed family members who could not be with us. But we know they are well and doing what they seem to love doing. We are blessed to have such a large, lovely family. Earlier in the year on Mother's Day, I lost a diamond pendant and necklace. I was devastated. We looked everywhere we could think of to look. We let the church office know about it. We checked with the restaurant. I retraced all my steps for the entire day. Glenn detailed the inside of the car. Nothing! Later, in the church office, I said, "I hope that if someone found it, they knew it was real and not something to be thrown away." The receptionist said, "Oh, they knew, or it would have been turned in to the office." Maybe. I don't know.
 But that was not all. A few days before Christmas, I received a new Viking Opal 650 sewing machine. To try out all its "fancy" stitches, Glenn said I should monogram handkerchiefs for him. So, I did. I bought material, made twenty handkerchiefs, and monogramed or put cute borders on each one. It was fun! Now, I'm altering some clothes for both Glenn and me. I even have something in mind to sew for our dog, Kiara. What's next? I don't know, yet. All three of our daughters sew quite a bit. Two of them are members of a quilting club. One sews costumes for SCA, a living history group. I might take sewing classes since my skill as a "sewist" has neared its expiration date. Is that a new term for you? It is for me. The two months before Christmas were busy for me since I participated in nine concerts (singing in eight, accompanying in one) and had seven book signings/shows in Amarillo. I really thought that I would feel a lull of inactivity after Christmas. I have not. With family, puppy, book writing, "music-ing," and sewing, I've been as busy as I want to be.
Life is good, and we are blessed. Praise God for his generosity and love. With my thirteen-month-old, titanium knees, I get around very well. Now, the crooked fingers and hammer toes are something else. I'll do all I can for as long as I can and praise God while I do it! Amen! If you made it to the end of this boastful letter, you are exceptional! May God bless you, now and throughout all your days. Sincerely, Betty I hope to see you there. Healthy food and delightful books! Merry CHRISTmas!   "My Lord Had Come" has one more presentation, tonight, at 7 pm. Some free tickets are still available, I think. Call 806.373.2891 to find out. Participating in this musical ministry is a highlight and a blessing. I am truly grateful to be a part of it.  My next book signing will be Thursday, December 16, from 11 am to 2 pm. (Not this week, but next week) Come to eat lunch, to buy books, or just to visit. I'll be there!  ... Merry Christmas ...This is an exciting week! I have a Book Signing, beginning at noon on Thursday, at Goodin's Jewelry Store, 3701 Olsen Blvd, Suite 1, Amarillo. Book signings are so much fun! This event is:  A performance of Handel's Messiah, Friday at 7:30 pm, will be held in the Globe-News Center. Known to be the most famous oratorio ever written, this masterwork will feature vocal soloists, Amarillo Master Chorale, and Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. This presentation will include movements that depict the coming of the Messiah and Christ’s Nativity, as well as the “Hallelujah Chorus." Tickets are available here: https://amarillosymphony.org/ticketing-subscriptions/upcoming-events/  First Baptist Church of Amarillo will have its annual Christmas program for the Panhandle community. My Lord Has Come, is a wonderful Christmas presentation by the Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra. The presentations are Sunday, 4 pm and 7 pm, and next Monday, 7 pm. Each is about 90 minutes. Free tickets are required. Call: 806.373.2891. Don't you just love Christmas offerings? ! ? !
Getting to be part of the wonderful musical offerings in Amarillo is a huge blessing and amazing fun! It's challenging work, too, but completely worth it. I am blessed to be in three choirs and to play piano for a fourth choir: (1) The Amarillo Master Chorale directed by Nathan Fryml, (2) First Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir directed by Dan Baker, and (3) FBC's First Singers directed by Dan Turner. I play piano for (4) the FBC Third and Fourth Grade Choir under the direction of Kathryn Bowen with Hannah Bandy assisting.
We in Amarillo Master Chorale were joined by talented singers from the local college and by other talented singers as we presented Mozart's Requiem with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra on Friday and Saturday. It was heavenly! ASO Maestro Jacomo Bairos directed his farewell concert on Saturday, and what a wonderful finale it was. Amarillo will miss him, but three candidates for his position are slated to direct concerts in coming months before "the committee" selects a new conductor. Nathan Fryml, the talented and capable Director of Choral Activities at Amarillo College has scheduled these upcoming concerts for us in AMC: December 3 - Handel's Messiah with Amarillo Symphony Orchestra December 18 - Happy Holiday Pops with the Amarillo Opera and Amarillo Symphony Orchestra April 9 - Wings of Light Spring Concert at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church The First Baptist Church music ministry is preparing our annual Christmas program. “My Lord Has Come” will offer beautiful Christmas music telling the timeless story of Jesus Christ our Savior’s birth. Sunday, December 5, at 4 pm and at 7 pm, and Monday, December 6, at 7 pm. Tickets are free, but you must have a ticket to attend. Call the FBC music office at 806.373.2891 for tickets. The FBC Children's Christmas program involves Explorers - Pre-K & K, KidsPraise - First & Second graders; KidSing - Third through Sixth graders, and Youth Choir. Their Christmas program, featuring Christmas carols, will be: Sunday, December 12, at 6 pm See! I am truly blessed! I love God and I love music that glorifies Him! |
Betty M ReevesChristian, Author, 
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