I'm so spoiled

[treeskin]

This one-day weekend thing is for the birds.

I'm at work today, with plans to spend the day either hiding or pretending to work. I was hoping by working today and tomorrow I'd only have to spend one day with the boss, who's supposed to be on the Tues-Wed schedule. But he came in anyway. Bother.

Performance yesterday went okay. Only one or two embarassing moments, when Bob wasn't paying attention and starting playing the wrong song, and we had to start over. Sight-read most of it, thought, which vexes me. What's the point in setting who's playing which part on various songs, when you don't stick to those in the performance? Gah. No point in complaining, since I'm not going to do it again.

I've decided that, since I'm leaving the recorder group, and I still want to do something musical, I'm going to focus on learnign to play some of my other instruments better. I'd half planned to do guitar lessons through the college, but that costs money, and I can pull beginning music for my other flutes off the net for free. Found lots of beginning stuff for the Native American flute, and ocarina, and my bamboo sax can play those or the simpler recorder music. We've got a beginning pennywhistle book, that we purchased years ago for By, I can work out of that for a while. On those, I really need to just play them often enough to get used to the differences between the whistle and my recorders.

Had a very short attention span yesterday, so I spent the afternoon and evening editing stuff out of my herb notebook. Someday, that'll be in a (relatively) compact, easy-to-access format. And then hell will freeze over, I'm sure :)

By spent yesterday making a chainmail-handled flogger that's to be delivered today. He also stayed up late finishing a feather teaser to replace the display one that sold.

Started pulling together Xmas gifts for family: some quilting books for Mom and Sis, plus an old book of Vietnamese fairy tales for Mom. I need to pick a bracelet out of my pile of nearly-finished beadwork and put a clasp on it for Sis. Sis's hubby and kids get clothes, Grandma gets groceries. By's family will get knitted things and some of my blank books, probably late, since they're not even boxed and wrapped yet, let alone in the mail.

The Sock Report: Got a little knitting done Sat at work--the aran sandal sock again. I'm about halfway through the gusset on the second sock. On the very tall socks, I've finished the gusset decreases on the first one, and am past the knee on the second. Smart me, I wrote down all my changes to the shaping for the ankle on those. I like them well enough I'm contemplating a set in wool.

Have an addition, but quick project in the works. The gal who helped Robyn organize the show mentioned a while back she'd like to have me knit her some sockish things to cover her stump, because it gets cold. Something stight enough to stay on, something soft, something colorful. Since I had a chance to measure her Friday night, this becomes possible. I was thinking one in the leftover orange alpaca, it's oh-so-nice, maybe one in a mohair blend, I've got some running around the house. Must dig through stash.

Comments

Ensemble blues?

[florilegia.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that you are leaving your musical group. I only recently read that you had been playing your recorders and was delighted to hear it! I still have to visit you and By, could we jam sometime? Glad to hear that he had a show of his own. I was even in Lawrence on Friday, but had a prior obligation, so I couldn't get to the show.

Re: Ensemble blues?

[treeskin.livejournal.com]

It's an all-volunteer, anyone-in-the-cmmunity-can-play sort of group. 'Nuff said.

One member of the emsemble, who's been with the group about 3 years...well..."plays like a white man" is the best I can describe it. Over-60 academic, self-taught, absolutely no prior musical experience or training, and no sense of rhythm. Can't count to "2" by eighth notes, let alone anythign with syncopation. And he doesn't practice. The first weekend we played at RenFest was beyond embarassing. The second weekend he and another person were sick, and the three of us left were sight-reading trios, and sounded much better. Tried to talking Betty, the leader of the group, about it, but she's given up trying to deal with him, and just tries to stick him where he'll do the least damage.

I'd love to play with you, recorders or whistles, as long as you promise not to laugh at my whistle playing. I still try to play those like I'm playing a recorder, and forget they don't have the chromatic range, or a thumb hole.

Re: Ensemble blues?

[florilegia.livejournal.com]

I would never laugh at someone who plays the recorder like Michaela Petrie. Whistles are, after all, whistles. They are a different style of playing that flautists (or recorder players) often have difficulty adjusting to, mainly the difference in breath patterns, but also the fingering.