Last night, I experienced the very epitome of my love/hate relationship with New York City: A paying gig! = Love In Brooklyn = Hate (it's not a bad place, just far away) Three hour set = Love Crawling through traffic at snail pace = HATE! It was an uncharacteristically slow night at this small, Caribbean restaurant where I was invited to play for "Jazz Night." I still gave it everything I had though. And my favorite patrons of the evening were 2 young sisters, whose eyes I felt on me with each song I played. I got the sense that one of the sisters wanted to approach and talk to me. I tried to seem as friendly as possible so that she would have the courage to, but she never did. I was beyond flattered however, when each adorable girl took turns putting a tip into my jar. I gave them the very best smile I could and played my hardest until they left.  Love. ~~ http://www.youtube.com/bethsmusicvideos http://www.youtube.com/elizabethgrimes83

There was an emblem on Google yesterday and still remains today, in honor of Les Paul. He was a musician/songwriter who helped developed the solid-body electric guitar, making the rock-and-roll sound possible. The emblem is an interactive guitar that allows you to strum and pluck using your mouse. I spent a while fiddling with it last night. You can record up to about 30 seconds of music. Here is a link to my composition. I entitled it "Rhythm is Impossible Using a Mouse": http://goo.gl/doodle/z1ieW When I was finished, I looked around my music room where my computer also sits. There is a piano. A guitar. A banjo. A violin. An autoharp. And a keyboard. Two keyboards actually. And still I played the Google guitar for at least a half hour. The Google emblem was a huge success. I even saw its story on the national news. Give people a musical instrument of any kind and they will be drawn to it. Well, just see what happened when this flute like instrument was invente...

Once upon a time, Joy the Shetland Sheepdog went to the beach. Her instinct told her that she should "herd" the waves that lapped up and down the shore. And so she tried. She tried with all her might to round up the waves and satisfy that urge built deep inside her.  She ran to... And fro... And to again. She discovered countless critters. Horseshoe crabs... Ducks.. Crabs (careful where you step!)... Fish... A Red-winged Blackbird (right?)...  And a white crane resting in the marsh. She found a secluded tropical island, all her own! Unfortunately, it was overtaken by the rising tide a few minutes later. And so she doggy-paddled back. And that was enough adventure for Joy the dog.  Until NEXT time! ~The End~

My husband is a  painter . I am not. But I do get bored sometimes. Eddie left for  more  Army Reserve training (seems like we're apart more now than when we were on active duty!), and so I decided to take on a project that I wasn't all that interested in taking on, but it's just what I do when I get restless. Like re-arranging the living room furniture. Or that time I applied to Law School.  So I began the daunting task of painting the bathroom. I had been thinking about putting color on the white walls of our apartment for a while and thought I better start small (we have a shoebox of a bathroom, so I figure it might as well be a  pretty  shoebox). We've all heard it said that if we don't remember history, we are doomed to repeat it. Fortunate for me, I  did  remember my two previous attempts of wall painting.  Un fortunately, it wasn't until  after  I was midway through my current project. The first time was years ag...

I have so many magical moments that I accidentally see from my corner at the piano when I play for the Beginner's Ballet class. Here is another. ~~ The 5 year olds had a substitute teacher, a serious looking, tall Russian man with a thick accent. A bit intimidating compared to their regular, petite ballerina instructor. "How you make  plie ?" He boomed to the little girls. They struggled to understand his words. A few picked up on it though, and they demonstrated a  plie , squatting clumsily in their white tights that sagged on their tiny bodies. They giggled at his funny voice, snickering through their nose behind their hand, as if that would mask their silliness. At this level, the girls were still learning the difference between left and right. It was a 50/50 shot in the dark, and something they weren't too interested in getting it right. "Fiyrst (first), we do combination to za right, zen to other side." He explained. I wanted to tell him ...

This is a short story I wrote years ago. I wrote it in high school, then revised it for a college writing class, then about a year ago sent it into an online magazine where it was published. It's one of my favorites and I hope you enjoy it. "I Knew You'd Come"  By Elizabeth Grimes I have the best granny in the world, or so says the homemade, brightly colored, baked clay  clumsily glued to a safety pin “broach” I made for her in first grade. Constantly levelheaded and always sensible, my grandma can be found in the front row of every Christmas play, piano recital, and cheerleading competition, bursting with pride for her grandchildren. Each of her co-workers know by heart the lives of my sisters and I. “Oh!  You’re  Mary’s granddaughter,” they say when she introduces me. “Boy have I heard a lot about you!” She drags every person she can club over the head to one of my boring jazz band concerts or just to listen to me play the piano at Lee’s Restaurant and sip coffe...

These pictures of Emily the cat pretty much sum up how lazy this Sunday has been. I put a treat right in front of her face, but she couldn't expel the energy to eat it. She wanted it, but she just couldn't muster up the strength. That's about how I felt at 4 in the afternoon when I realized I hadn't eaten anything yet. I was so hungry, but the kitchen was sooo far away. Good thing Eddie offered to take me out tonight. If I can just make it to the bedroom to put on shoes....