Band Concert

The band concert last night was incredible. Those kids played so well. I remember going to band concerts when I was in jr high, and it was not much more than a cacophony of noise. However, these kids were playing recognizable tunes, and playing them well, after only 7 weeks of having their instruments. (I think it took my sister that long just to get a real tone out of her coronet.) This is Cody with his practice instrument. They got their instruments October 4th, and I took this a week later. He would kill me if he knew I posted this picture because, as he says, that old dented up horn is embarrassing. That's why it took me a week just to get a picture! He's got a better instrument at school, but they gave the small bass players older horns to keep at home because these are too big and heavy to haul back and forth on the bus.

The Grenada band program has got to be about the best school band program I've ever seen. The high school band has won just about every award they have come up with, and has marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade twice, and the Rosebowl parade once. They were even featured in the September issue of Southern Living Magazine. Just to illustrate how good the band is, I'd been here in Grenada a while before I ever heard them play. I'd been working the 3-11 shift and missed out on just about everything social. After 4 years, I made it to day shift and finally got to go to the Christmas parade. (This silly town has the Christmas parade at 4:00 pm on a Tuesday. What's up with that?) Anyway, I'd heard about the band and how good it was and all, so I was looking forward to hearing them for the first time. I was watching the parade, and the band marched by playing, and I thought they were pretty good, but didn't see what all the fuss was about. They weren't any better than my old high school band....Then my cousin leaned over and said, "That's the jr high band." I was floored. "That' s the JUNIOR HIGH band!?!?!" They were as good as most HIGH SCHOOL bands. And then the Grenada High band did finally march by, I was blown away.

James did call me before the concert, wanting to know where I was. I guess he forgot that I wasn't going to be in karate, even though I'd told him so Tuesday night. "Oh, no!" he said, "You're not going to leave me alone with them!" I told him he'd live through it. He he he...I drove by the dojo after the concert, but didn't stop. Sure enough, it was just James, Brian and them. I'll have to rag him about it Tuesday.

Most of today has been spent baking for tonight's Ladies Christmas Party. I made snickerdoodles and touchdown cookie bars. Here is today's Holiday Recipe:

Touchdown Cookie Bars:

1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup cold butter
1 egg, beaten
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350'. Combine flour, sugar, and cocoa. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg and mix until well blended. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of mixture. Press the rest evenly in the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13" baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. In a sauce pan or microwave safe bowl, combine the milk and 1 cup chocolate chips. Stir over low heat until smooth, or every 30 seconds if microwaving. Spread chocolate evenly over prepared crust. Add 1 cup chocolate chips to reserved crumb mixture. You may also add 1 cup chopped nuts if desires, but we don't. Mix well, and sprinkle evenly over chocolate. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Do not overcook. Cool and cut into bars. Try not to eat too many at once.