Morning glory

Tons o' pictures from 20.Mar.2010 but only time to process this one for posting today (reduce file size).

Spent about 4 hours last night entering string ensemble requests into the DB & readying it for transfer to my boss. Fingers crossed I didn't screw up. No time to check until Sunday.

Heading out soon for a teeth cleaning, a bit of tootling beforehand, then off to the HU music library to check out (probably literally) more scores. Then back for some more tootling & maybe begin work on the aforementioned gansey before heading out for the final rehearsal of this season in Melrose. Concert tomorrow.

Little Iris

This from 17.Mar.2010.

Wow, didn't realize it's been a couple days since the last posting. Unscrambling the jigsaw puzzle that is Wellesley groups has taken ALL my free time. Heading out soon for a toddle. Then tootling, a HUGE laundry pile & beginning stitching on another sweater - this one from a mohair/silk/wool blend that I absolutely love - a hot pink. I plan to make a very traditional gansey pattern & think the nontraditional color will make an interesting contrast.

Early blossoms

These from 16/Mar/2010. 50F "feels like 41F. Heading all the way up to 51F with showers so the widget warns.

Heading out soon to the P.O. & toddle (between the raindrops?). Then some tootling & stitching & heading up to Melrose for the penultimate rehearsal of the season. Friend/colleague/student will be joining us as 2nd flute (last minute fill-in). Should be fun.

Snoozing

This from the Ides of March. Musta been a cold day since they'll never sleep together otherwise.

Got to neither toddling or laundry yesterday & barely some tootling: sat down @ 11AM to begin sorting groups for the Composers Conference, short break 4 lunch then before I knew it it was 5PM & I'm still only a little short of 1/2 done. Whew. Now, fingers crossed that nothing happens to unsort those groups already sorted.

Krista Tippet's Speaking of Faith show today was about Alzheimer's & Being & (among other things) how the disease affects identity. Reminded me of how it bothered me when medical caregivers, etc., would call Dad "John" and sometimes I would say "He's called Bob." He never corrected them, & it probably didn't bother him. It was me who couldn't accept that things were changing & who wanted to hold onto the guy who was "Bob" to those who knew him. Funny how these things occur to you. The show focused on a writing workshop that Alan Dienstag ran for several years for people with beginning Alzheimer's. One of the things they would do is to write down their memories and then hand them over to Dr. Dienstag for safekeeping. Part of the show I didn't catch was "Intimations of the Great Unlearning: Interreligious Spirituality and the Demise of Consciousness Which Is Alzheimer's by Gisela Webb. Perhaps I'll take a look @ the transcript.

Heading out now for a little toddle. 60F right now. Perfect.

Early crocus

From 10.Mar.2010. Tootling, toddling & laundry (how is it that that never ends? - or end up like the guy who sat down near me on the bus yesterday on the way to acupuncture who smelled so bad I had to move. There but for the grace of God . . . ).

I've discovered, in my piccolo practice of the Nutcracker, the value of playing tricky licks in all the keys. Now I just have to familiarize myself with Finale again to get them and some of the knuckle busters in the Prokofiev sonata & Classical Symphony into computer format. Can I scan the parts? Hmm.

Almost finished with the lovely pink cardi - though I hope that in trying to account for future stretching that I haven't made it too small. Stay tuned.

First blossoms

These from 09.Mar.2010

A quick post before heading out to acupuncture then back home for tootling, stitching & laundry.
Lunch with Penny Kemler yesterday was lots of fun. But I stupidly made her walk blocks in heels to get to the restaurant - I hope I didn't cripple her.

On the lookout

These from 07.Mar.2010. Heading out in only a few minutes to Alexander lesson & lunch with a flutist friend from out of town.

Happy to say the performance last night could have been worse. Thank goodness for whistle tones - at least my sound was OK even if the fingers tended to have a mind of their own. I'd been kicking around the idea of approaching the New School, where the concert was, to teach there again - after having done so for a few years when I moved here. Initially the head of the place asked me to send her my resume (after ascertaining that I was OK with teaching kids, which the flutist on the faculty now apparently refuses to do). After putting my bio in the program & hearing the concert she said "just send me your availability." So it looks like I might have some new "Ranck beginners" in my future. Not to mention a place to give recitals again.

Still dealing with last-minute additions to the roster @ Wellesley. I hope I can get the OK from my boss soon to begin the arduous task of getting them all into groups!

Wish me luck/limned in white

This from 27.Feb.2010. Heading off to tootle a bit this AM before going to Cambridge for grocery run. Heading back there this PM for a recital I got a last-minute call (Monday 3PM) to play the Debussy Sonate for flute, viola & harp. One 2.5 hour rehearsal yesterday & we're throwing it on the boards tonight. I love working with the harpist - the violist is new to me but a very strong player. Wish me luck (or break a lip, whatever).

Peace

Snitch guarding my first mohair top-down raglan on 26.Feb.2010.

Just figured out Boston Public Library's electronic pass - woo hoo! Downloaded a copy of Daniel Galouye's Simulacron-3 (apparently the file expires in 2 weeks - downside: have to read it on my computer). The book was the basis of Fassbinder's World on a WIre to be shown @ MOMA 14-19/April.

I wanna go to London to see this show on Grace Kelly @ the V&A, but no.

Heading out soon for today's toddle - sunny 46F heading up so they say to 59F. Marathon day here in Beantown so no heading out anywhere for moi (other than on foot, that is). Patriots' Day - first shot of the Revolutionary War apparently fired somewhere around Lexington & Concord. We have a painting of the event in our foyer that Frank Merrill, who built our house, did at some point. Kinda fun to live in/near a place with so much history (at least in this country's point of view), even if some of it is violent.

Golden boughs

Two slightly different takes on the same image. Interesting reflection in the second one - don't quite know how that got in there. Goolies & ghosties?

Feeling very low-energy today - not sure why - up during the night to power the old nez & dozing only fitfully thereafter? I imagine I'll head out @ some point for a toddle & get out the whip & chair & make myself practice @ some point. Almost finished with the back of the cardi I'm making from a silk/cotton blend. A pepto-bismol pink that I'm sure will be the talk of the town. I'm counting on it stretching when I wash & block it otherwise it'll be more like those ridiculous shirts some wear that expose their navels (well, almost).

Nature's diamonds and Reflections

From 17.Feb.2010.

Heading out soon to swing by Windsor Button, then the acupuncture clinic and thereupon Harvard to check out percussion scores if any of them suit. Andy didn't get the job - he got an email the next morning, so they certainly didn't confab long.

Once I return from my trek I'll tootle (if I have the energy), and count my running around as the toddling for the day. Here's hoping I can dodge the rain drops.

Mists of time

Well, to be more accurate: 12.Feb.2010. I decided to blur it a bit to get rid of the screen interference.

Staying home today to toodle, toddle & stitch (and tackle a large load of laundry) before the rain hits tomorrow. Will most likely give the BSO concert a miss, despite an interesting mix of Ligeti (Concert Românesc), Shostakovich (Piano Concerto No. 1) & Tchaikovsky (Symphony No. 2 - which I think we even did in Melrose awhile ago), because I have to go back to Harvard after acupuncture & look at more scores since all the ones I saw yesterday included mallet instruments (marimba & vibraphone) & our attendee-wannabe doesn't want to deal with those. Will also stop by Windsor Button for a couple more buttons for a vest that's in the queue & to take advantage of the Red Line Yarn Crawl 15% off coupon before it expires. No rehearsal Monday. Yipee! :)

More moire

The sunset from 11.Feb .2010 with the dreaded moire effect (or something similar) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moiré_pattern.

Heading out soon to meet with TIAA-CREF rep re retirement accounts chez eux. Thence to lunch with a dear friend whom I see entirely too seldom. We've been planning this with delays since before Christmas! Also have to pick up some scores from Harvard's music library to peruse for possible use @ Wellesley. Debating whether to do that beforehand & schlep them with me the rest of the time or at the end & risk running into school-let-out rush hour on the T (never a pleasant experience).

51F and sunny, heading up, so they say to 67F today.

Potter waits for her human

Potter waiting for her human on 8.Feb.2010.

A blissful day ahead of only toddling, clothes washing & stitching - oh, and practicing. Rehearsal last night went OK, though we winds are still struggling to find the beat for our entrance in the Oberon overture (at least moi is). Heading out now for today's toddle. Andy said he thought the interview didn't go badly but couldn't get a read on whether it went well so we wait for a response.

Ghostly glow

This from 7.Feb.2010.

Andy headed off to a 4-hour (!) job interview. Fingers crossed that things go well. He said he felt unprepared & when I suggested he could have looked up company information he said he did "until I got bored." Let's hope his innate charm carries the day.

Have the penultimate Monday rehearsal of the Melrose season tonight. Next week's off for Patriots' Day & then the following is concert week with rehearsals Monday & Friday & the performance Saturday. Then it's goodbye to Hayden's Pops Hoedown that if I never have to play it again will be too soon.

Off soon for today's toddle & to drop the United States of Tara into the mail. A more interesting premise (mother with Dissociative Identity Disorder) than show. Then tootling & stitching & perhaps some housework thrown in for good measure.

Treasure trove

05.Feb.2010. think the reflection in the window looks like a dragon's horde.

The uzhe on tap today - am compiling a list of movies about newspapers in our Netflix list to mirror the Film Forum retrospective currently running in NYC. If you're curious, they include The Front Page (1948), Ace in the Hole (1951), Call Northside 777 (1948), Deadline U.S.A. (1952).

57F heading up to a high of 67F (too warm) & cloudy so far. I swear the temps rose during the night since I had to throw covers off at some point - or am I just having hot flashes? Do men get hot flashes?

Potter practicing

This from 4.Feb.2010. Sorry I didn't get around to this yesterday. Spent the day tracking down chamber pieces that include percussion since we have a percussionist interested in attending a few days of the Wellesley Composers Conference. Other than that, had an acupuncture treatment - the first in 3 weeks due to illness either of me or the practitioner. Today I'm heading out for a Polarity treatment & more tootling, toddling & stitching. I suddenly have several potential projects on the sticks - one a mohair sweater, another a shawl, & a budding pair of socks. On the flute side, I recently received a flute/cello piece by Uebayashi. Do you know how to pronounce that? Looks interesting. Hope to have a performance of it one day.

Misty dawn

These from 01/Feb/2010. Must have been fairly warm or there would have been frost.

Am wearing the mohair raglan I finished last night (it's that much cooler than yesterday - YEAH!) but am realizing that it has a funny vinegary smell (probably from the wash they used to rinse the yarn @ the factory so maybe I'll wait until I can wash it in Eucalan (lavender scent) before donning it again.

Heading out soon for an Alexander lesson. Sunny, 52F supposedly going up to 61F.

Lunar drama

This from the day after my natal day anniversary of 30.Jan.2010.

Heading out soon for today's toddle - already almost 60F & heading up to 85F. Blech. At least it's only for 1 day.

Am now seriously considering a trip to CA in August, despite the hit on the pocket book. Looks likely I'll be able to swing a trip to mom's youngest sister & hubby with cousin in tow (or rather me in tow with her since she'll be driving) while in SF and the prospect of a drive down California's coast to LA (surprisingly, only a 6+ hour affair ) with a dear friend whom I may not see again for awhile (since she mentioned last year in NYC that this would be her last convention for awhile & we only see each other now-a-days at said event) is also attractive (potential traffic, not to mention earth quakes, aside). Communicating re such things is frustrating given the lag in response time & the 3 hour time difference, but plans are inching forward.

What's this I hear about airlines charging for CARRY-ONS now????

Japanese landscape

These from my natal day. Amazing what Mother Nature provides.

Many folks missing from last night's rehearsal due to a conflicting high school performance of The Sound of Music. I'd been asked to participate but declined due to too many services & not enough money (none) on offer.


I don't know what the clown was trying to write on the window. Do you recognize the language?

Heading out soon for the Cambridge grocery run. Not a lot else to say today except I think the 85F we're forecast is _way_ too hot for early April.

64F right now & sunny, forecast to go up to 70F & spotty showers.

Morning frost

This from 29.Jan.2010. Certainly no frost on the window this AM with temps near 50F soon after 7AM. Melrose rehearsal tonight.

I'd been kicking around the idea of going to Anaheim this August for the National Flute Convention there since two former BSO flutists are being given lifetime achievement awards & a concert dedicated to Bob Aiken's music (I studied with him in Banff one summer sometime before God) is on the schedule. I awoke this AM to the news of the earthquakes in the Baja peninsula, CA, so now am glad I didn't go ahead & buy all the reservations yesterday (having decided to "sleep on it" as was dad's wont). Will mostly likely stay home & save the $1K+ the trip would have cost.

Have also been thinking about my religion/marriage rant of a few days ago. If everyone just up & walked to find a denomination that supported marriage equality, there would be no hope of any denomination's ever changing its views. I realize that certain flavors of Christianity at least are run more or less as dictatorships, so there's probably no hope for change there, but with several others, the Episcopal and Quaker among them, I imagine there is some hope of progress. I still think the church has no place in deciding the legitimacy for legal purposes of a couple's relationship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Quakerism

So, off to a day of tootling, toddling & stitching.

EASTER MORN

This morning's sunrise was so beautiful I decided to let the photo jump to the head of the queue. Awoke sometime after 6AM for some reason - probably because this photo was calling me?

Beautiful day here - 54F heading up to 74F (way to warm for April, ask moi). Tootling, toddling & stitching on the docket - as is vacuuming at some point - maybe not today. I just noticed there are a couple episodes of "Dead Like Me" (off-putting title but a charming show http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348913/ so I'll probably catch up on that - and it looks like a movie was made? Hmm. Have to check that out. Off to e-file my state taxes (free, but Andy says you end up paying a little more than Turbo Tax says you should - but since they charge $19.95 for the privilege, perhaps it all comes out in the wash.)

Tree Moon

This of the first full moon of the year (28.Jan.2010).

Sad news - WGBH has suspended broadcast of Closer to Truth. Replaced it with some random news program. Blech. They forwarded to their program manager my query re whether they had future plans to broadcast it. No response yet.

Student showing up in less than 30 minutes so best I get to warming up. Sunny, 55F headed up to 68F. At least that will allow those inundated by the recent rain to dry out. No water damage here, happy to report.

Pink Mountains

This also from 28.Jan.2010

This also from 28.Jan.2010.


Watched an inspiring edition of The American Experience, about the The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which took place mostly during the year of Jan's birth, 1956. It was inspiring and dispiriting at the same time. Inspiring to see what an oppressed community can do if they join forces and non-violently protest their oppression. Dispiriting to know
that even now, some 50+ years later that there are still those who say things like "all blacks do this" or "all blacks are like this" (lazy, dishonest, criminal, take your pick). I often wonder what some my siblings say to their conservative friends when topics come up like gay marriage or gays serving in the military and they hear things like "it'll destroy traditional marriage - whatever the hell that is - or "next you'll have to allow marriage between a man & a cow," or "they'll rape their colleagues"). This is something that I really think there is an "us" and a "them" - those people who realize these issues are questions of basic human rights, the right to be who you are and to love whom you choose, and the "them" thinking that being gay is a choice, not an innate part of one's being.

I have a dog in neither of the the marriage & military fights, BTW. I don't see why we, as gays, should want to ape heteros' relationships. I say have ALL unions be civil ones and if one wants to have a religious ceremony to commemorate the fact in addition, go right ahead, and if your denomination refuses to allow it, find another one. After all, @ the founding of our country (at least with the Pilgrims in MA), marriage was a civil matter, not a religious one. "Marriage was strictly a civil and not an ecclesiastical ceremony for the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay until 1686." http://www.pflagsanjose.org/advocacy/hist.html. And I think anyone serving in the military is part of the problem, not the solution.

So, stepping off my high horse, heading out soon to the P.O. & daily toddle. 51F now, heading up to 59F (cooler along the coast - thank the goddess for the cooling effect of that pond, the Atlantic). Big laundry day today with the monthly (or bi-monthly) sheet change. Is that too much sharing? Tootling, too. Working daily on the picc & struggling to get that [expletive deleted] Stars & Stripes picc solo more smoothly under the fingers.

Misty dawn

From 28.Jan.2010. Sounds like a drag queen's name. Mine's Traverser La Rue - or Bubbles La Touche. Another favorite is Iona Mink. That one isn't listed on this page so what do they know?

Have cancelled tomorrow's acupuncture appt. No fever, apparently, still low-energy but better than yesterday. Heading out for a morning stroll to the P.O. maybe later when the temps more approximate the predicted 58F high than the 49F "feels like" 45F out there now. Maybe will even pick up the floot for a tootle, something I couldn't bring myself to do yesterday - almost no energy to stitch so you _know_ something was up. The forsythia is blooming as are some earlyish daffodils.