Music, Music, Music!

 Much of my time lately has been taken up with musical endeavors. When COVID first arrived all my music groups stopped. Without places to play, there is much less motivation to practice. I did a lot of listening instead of playing. And like any physical activity, if you stop, you get out of shape.

Before COVID I played in a band, an orchestra, and a (French) horn choir. Now everything is starting up again. My three regular groups are all rehearsing. In addition, my son's father-in-law asked if I would fill in in the band he conducts. In the interest of family harmony I said yes to helping out in one concert in November. And, I'm playing in a klezmer band for an upcoming holiday. Then I got asked if I would play in three operas! I turned it down - too much, including too much driving! 

Just recently a horn player friend invited me and a few others over to his house to play quartets. It was fun, both the playing and the interacting with friends. Now this friend has asked if we want to become an ongoing quartet, rehearsing regularly, playing concerts, and having a cool name. This was so tempting. I said yes. The quartet won't get together as often - maybe twice a month. And it looks like we'll have a break for wine and munchies. Who says classical musicians are straight-laced?

I feel both blessed by all these opportunities to play with good musicians and a little overwhelmed after sheltering in place for a long time. I wonder if others feel somewhat overwhelmed now as we all become more social and break out of our isolation.

The Kindness of Jump Ropers

 Jump roping was a popular recess activity with girls when I was in elementary school. However, I didn't learn to jump rope until 5th grade. Thinking back, at the elementary school I attended in a small Wisconsin town from 2nd grade through 4th grade, I didn't play with the girls at recess. I had two friends who were boys. They didn't play with the other boys, who were generally playing football or kickball, or some other semi-organized ball game. The three of us played games of our imagination. I don't remember much at all except for running up and down the heaps of snow the plows left in the winter while making up our own adventures.

In 5th grade a new elementary school opened up and my siblings and I were among the children who were sent there. My two friends were not. We didn't keep in touch. It was the 1960s and we had no other connection except for school.

At my new school the boys still played organized ball games at recess and the girls jumped rope. So I joined the girls. I did not have the hang of it. In case you have never experienced jump rope, two people are the twirlers (of the rope) and everyone else waiting in a line for a turn. When it's your turn, you run into the twirling rope and start to jump over it while the rest of the girls recite a jump rope chant. I don't remember any of the chants, but I googled jump rope chants of the 1960s. I think this is one we did:

Cinderalla Dressed in Yella

Cinderella dressed in yella,
Went downstairs to kiss a fella,
Made a mistake and kissed a snake.
How many doctors did it take
1, 2, 3, . . . .

Cinderella dressed in yellow
Went downstairs to kiss her fellow.
How many kisses did she give?
One, two, three, four, five . . .

Every time it was my turn, I ran in and tripped over the rope and became a twirler. The girls decided that wasn't fair to me and gave me permanent jumper status. Until one day I ran in and started jumping to my and everyone else's surprise. I guess I caught on to the rhythm of the rope. I did miss, after a respectable amount of jumping as well as astonishment! I became an equal and took my turn twirling.

When I remembered that experience today I was struck by the kindness of the girls. It was a collective decision, with no discussion or dissent, that I should get special treatment. Without that, I would probably never have learned to jump rope. I have only vague memories of the individual girls - my family moved out of state after 6th grade - but I do remember their sense of fairness and kindness.

The Growth Marble

 I was very fortunate during my teaching career to have many wonderful teacher partners. My first year in 4th grade I learned many things from my partner, Shannon. One of those was the growth marble. 

I'm pretty sure this was her own invention. What a growth marble is, is a recognition of anytime someone makes a leap - learns something new, makes a connection, comes to a realization. The student or the adult could recognize and name the event. And, in her class when someone, student or adult, earned a marble, she had them put a real marble in a real jar. 

Away from the classroom, we can still earn growth marbles. "That's a growth marble for me," Shannon has said numerous times. So this is my recent growth marble.

I play (French) horn in a number of community music groups. One of them is a horn choir -- just French horns. We have players of many levels of abilities. And, to quote Monty Python, we are an autonomous collective, with members stepping up to take on responsibilities such as music library, securing rehearsal space, and conducting. 

I had never volunteered to conduct a piece with the group. I have two music degrees and had taken a required conducting class in college, but conducting -- getting up in front of the group and leading them -- terrified me. But I could see that first, the group was in need of more conductors, because everyone wants to play, and second, it would be a personal challenge. A growth marble, in fact. So I mentioned to one of my friends in the group that I was thinking about it and the next thing I knew, I was signed up to conduct a piece at a summer concert on the lake. (Crystal Lake for anyone who lives in the Chicago area.) 

It was a very straightforward piece - no changes of tempo (speed) or meter (how many beats in a measure, which means the conductor needs to pay attention and change the beat pattern or the whole group gets thrown off). A good piece for a novice! I looked the music over and after the first rehearsal asked for feedback from my friend (she has significant conducting experience and expertise), which was very helpful. It continued to be a nerve-wracking experience, however. But on a damp and overcast Sunday afternoon by the lake, I conducted the final piece of our concert. We started and ended together and if things in the middle were sometimes a little shaky, we hung in there. I earned my growth marble!

Will I do it again? Yes. Will I get better? I hope so!

Musical Birthday - Hoffnung

 In searching for something to write about today, I googled musical birthdays. I found quite a list of obscure musicians for March 22, but this list also included Gerard Hoffnung. Okay, he's pretty obscure, too, but he is a favorite of mine.

Gerard Hoffnung was a British humorist, musician (including tuba player), artist, and storyteller. His concerts, which took place in England in the 1940s and 1950s, included works for orchestra and vacuum cleaners, hoses played like French horns, and many musical jokes. The humor is both very silly and quite British. If you'd like to see and hear a brief taste, here is a video of a piece for 3 vacuum cleaners, floor polisher, and orchestra: https://youtu.be/TxaEIizTNTU. His musical work looks and sounds dated today, but at the time it was funny and it inspired others who came after him, including PDQ Bach (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._D._Q._Bach).

Hoffnung's cartoons are also entertaining. They are copyright protected so I was unable to paste any here, but you can see some at https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/05/26/gerard-hoffnung/. He drew many musical cartoons, but he also captured nonmusical humor.

So, not exactly a Slice of my Life today. I really need to brainstorm.

Reading labels

 My husband is a fervent label reader. Actually, he is also a passionate researcher - about almost anything. So when I shop for things for him to eat, this is what happens:

Texting him: "How about this [fill in the blank - spaghetti, mashed potatoes, cupcake, etc.]? 

"Sounds good. Get that."

Later at home. "Did you see how bad this [fill in the blank] is? The [sodium/cholesterol/fat] is [90 zillion] percent of your daily recommended amount! Don't ever get this again!"

I'm glad he is health conscious. But he doesn't really like any of the prepared food that is "better" for you. He does love fruits and veggies, but you need a main course, too. Sometimes he shops for himself, but often ends up with things he doesn't like. 

I have started taking photos of the nutrition information on packages and sending it to him while I'm shopping. It helps. For example, I did not buy the tiramisu ice cream, as delicious as it looked. And we do often have dinner leftovers that work well for lunch (and don't have labels!). 

Not a serious problem in my life by any means, but it does pop up frequently.

Insomnia

 I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know why. When I was teaching I sometimes had insomnia as I thought over my day, tried to plan ahead, and brainstormed solutions to problems. Of course I forgot all my solutions and decisions by the time I woke up in the morning.

I though for sure that I would sleep better once I retired. Unfortunately, that was not been true. And so I am tired today. My Fitbit says I got 3 hours and 24 minutes of sleep. Ugh.

And so that is why my post today is short. I wrote an entertaining (if I say so myself) post yesterday reminiscing about the visits of the tooth fairy - maybe you'd like to read that.

The Tooth Fairy

 When I was a child, the tooth fairy came whenever my sister, brother, or I lost a tooth. The tooth fairy left a quarter under our pillow and made off with the tooth. It seemed like a fair deal to us.

When my own two children started losing their teeth, I decided to take the fairy idea a little further. The fairy left not only the cash (I truly can't remember how much!) but a letter. Each of my two children had their own fairy. My daughter's fairy was named Evangeline and my son's was Esmerelda. They both wrote letters to the fairies, asking a LOT of questions. Mostly questions were of the "where do you live?", "what do you do with the teeth?" type of questions. 

Ben, though, wanted to know what kind of car the fairy drove and if she flew "Tooth Airlines." He became unhappy with Esmerelda for some reason, I don't remember what, and asked for a new fairy. So he got Edgar, who wrote:

"Hey Dude!
Where's the tooth?
Esmerelda is sik.
I am taking her place for today.
Love, 

Edgar"

After another such note from "Edgar,"  Ben decided Esmerelda was not such a lame fairy after all and appealed to get her back.

We had a fun time with the tooth fairies, but eventually all the baby teeth had fallen out. My daughter's last letter to her tooth fairy is bittersweet in retrospect:

Dear Toothfairy,

I have forgoten your name, could you please 

tell me it? I have lost my last tooth! 

So I don't think I will hear 

from you again. [sad face] .... 

Please write back to me. Goodbye!

Love,

Jamie [smiley face]

 

Time Change: Yes or No?

I read an editorial this morning in the Chicago Tribune arguing against the semi-annual time change we have in this country. The U.S. Senate has passed a bill declaring the we have daylight savings time all year round. The arguments, put forth in the editorial, for year-round daylight savings time are that we have light longer into the evening, making it safer to be outside and easier to drive and conserving energy, too. On the flip side, standard time aligns better with our natural circadian rhythms and so is better for our overall health. 

Darker evenings or darker mornings? I guess it depends on whether you are a morning or night person. 

Living in Chicago, right next to Indiana, I know first hand how confusing time changes can be. The part of Indiana that is closest to Chicago stays on Central Time, while the rest of Indiana is on Eastern Time. That makes sense, though I think those Hoosiers on Central Time are technically breaking the law. Illinoisans need to remember that there is a time change when going into Indiana; members of my family have forgotten that a few times and missed appointments.

I was fortunate to visit China in 2005 as part of a teacher group. We visited Beijing, Xi'An, and Kunming in the Yunnan province. All of China, as large as it is, is on the same time. People just adjust the time at which they do things. School starts later in the western part of the country. The time when the sum is directly overhead, noon in most places in the world, can be as late as 3:00 in western China. I wasn't in China long enough to see how this effects people. 

Clock time is a social construct, one which we obviously need in order to function in the modern world, whatever we decide about what time it actually is. 

Getting back to U.S. time changes, I dislike the change, whether leaping forward or falling backward. It takes me several days to adjust; meanwhile I feel out of sync. I'd like a year-round time, whichever time the government might choose. 

The Eyes Have It

 Back in late December-early January I had cataract surgery. Modern cataract surgery is amazing -- there are choices! And compromises. I chose to correct my distance vision, which is, after surgery, 20/20 or better. However, I now have to wear glasses for reading and close work. 

I have worn glasses since I was 9 years old and in the 4th grade. (My mother always said I would ruin my eyes by reading in the semi-darkness.) It has taken some time to adjust to not reaching for the glasses first thing in the morning. 

Another adjustment has been the reading glasses. They work great for reading, but remembering where they are and to take them with me when I go out -- that's the challenge. I now see why people wear them on a chain around their neck. And why people own multiple pairs of reading glasses. I have two already, but that's partly because the first pair broke a little. I can still wear them but they don't fit perfectly now.

In spite of my complaints about reading glasses, I am amazed and grateful for the cataract surgery. Driving at night is so much less stressful and knowing that I will continue to have good vision is a blessing.

Star Trek

Any Star Trek fans here? I count myself as a fan, though I haven't watched all of the assorted series. The original series, of course. I watched that when it was first on television. And the Next Generation, probably the best of the series, though I'm not really qualified to judge, not having watched all of the series. I have seen all the the movies. And my husband and I are currently watching Picard. We watched some of Deep Space Nine but found it somewhat static, taking place entirely on a space station. Though it may have matured in later seasons and be worth another look. We also watched some of Voyager. We haven't seen Discovery, Lower Decks, or the animated series. Are there any more? I'm sure there will be sometime, if not now.

My two children were introduced to Star Trek at young ages. My daughter referred to Worf, the Klingon member of the Enterprise in TNG, as "that chocolate-headed guy." I sewed a Captain Picard costume for Halloween one year for my son. My daughter wore it a few years later. 

My husband just told me this morning that there is a Star Trek convention coming to Chicago. That would be a new experience. I have a friend, a first grade teacher, who not only went to a convention, but went as a Vulcan. When she became engaged to a lovely man who was not a fan, she decided the Vulcan alternate identity would remain a deep, dark secret. 

Who would I be if I could visit the Star Trek universe?

To go or not to go? Boldly or hesitantly? 

Baby Shower Stuff

My daughter-in-law is pregnant with our first grandchild. It's a boy, due in July. We're excited. Everyone says that being a grandparent is the best thing ever. 

In the meantime, the other grandmother-to-be wants to give a baby shower. We gave a bridal shower together and it was not smooth sailing. However...

This shower will be virtual. Only the parents and grandparents will gather together, everyone else will be on Zoom. My job right now is making up an invitation list of people I want to invite along with their emails and/or phone numbers since the invitations will be electronic. 

I'm really not sure what kind of party this will be. Will people send presents in advance and my daughter-in-law will open them? Will there be games? (I hate party games.) Does everyone sign onto Zoom with their own refreshments? I would hate for people to see this as solely a gift grab, so I will try hard for conversation to be part of the activities.

I'm really not a party pooper, but I am very much an introvert, so parties are often hard for me. I do like people, though. The party isn't until May, so there's time to figure all of this out.

St. Pat's in Chicago

 St. Patrick's Day is a big holiday in Chicago. Part of the Chicago River gets dyed green, there's a parade, and there's lots of drinking. I'm not Irish myself, though strangely enough 23andMe thought I was partly Irish. But they only thought so for a few months; then I went back to being 100% Scandinavian. I miss the Irish part of myself.

At any rate, St. Pat's is a big day in Chicago and it is being celebrated tomorrow, Saturday, March 12. I'm sure that this is because Saturday is a better day to drink a lot and watch a parade than Thursday. 

However, my husband and I are going downtown tomorrow evening to see a Chicago Symphony concert. It should be fine - the parade will be over and I'm guessing most of the drinking will be happening in bars either on the North Side or South Side of the city. And the city of Chicago handles this holiday very well. We have been downtown on St. Pat's n the past. We usually take the train to and from the Loop (the downtown section of Chicago). On St. Pat's there is no alcohol allowed on the train; conductors are checking before you get on. 

Just to be clear, I'm not against celebrating, especially now when we all could use a lift. It's fun to see the green river and if you like parades, it's a good one. I only advocate celebrating responsibly and being considerate of others. Cheers!

Addictive Book Series

 I love to read, I have since I was in grade school. Usually I have at least two books going. And I like actual physical books. I have a Kindle and it's fine, but usually I opt for the physical version.

I've been reading even more during the pandemic, partly because I retired during it and staying home is the thing to do most of the time. 

A few years ago I read an article in the New York Times about Deborah Harkness, author of the trilogy World of All Souls. I was intrigued because she is a historian and uses her background in the books. I started reading and soon was hooked. I read them all more than once. I was very fond of the characters and loved the story.

A few months ago I decided to give the Outlander series a try. I had read the first book or two years ago. It didn't really grab me at that time, but this time I was quickly hooked. I have read the entire series as it exists now (there's one more book to come!) and reread parts of it. There are also related books about some of the minor characters. I'm working through them now. I have become very fond of the characters in this series, too. I have to say, though, if anyone's life was as fraught with danger as Jamie's and Clare's -- I don't even know how to finish that sentence. 

Besides liking the characters, I love the history in these books. And there's a lot of it. When I taught, history was one of my favorite subjects. I loved learning more about the American Revolution, for example, even if I couldn't use all the information in my teaching. And there's romance too! 

Eventually I will have to find another series or at least more books. But for now I spend some quality time with these fictional folks.

P.S. I don't watch the mini-series. It's all on the page and in my head.

Planning and Planners

 I got a planner a few months ago. A beautiful planner with the theme of a hero's journey. It asks you (me) to decide on a "quest," your big goal. I retired in June from teaching and was feeling somewhat adrift since some of the things I had planned to do in retirement were not possible at the moment because of covid restrictions. So my Quest was/is to create an awesome retirement. 

The elements that would help me reach my goal included regular exercise (yoga and walking), practicing my French horn so I could play in my groups once they were going again, and writing regularly. Each day you are asked to restate your quest, list things to "seize the day," what you are grateful for and what threats you see, and your allies. Each page has delightful illustrations that you can color in.

I like the planner, but am having trouble making myself use it. It seems like every day is pretty much the same, so why keep filling out the pages? This is not a good or helpful attitude, I know. Though I could keep track of goals in my head, I know that writing them done makes it more likely that I will actually do something about them. 

I have lots of pages left and I still want to reach my goal. 

Menu planning

 My husband and I recently had dinner at the new home of friends. She had emailed us about what she might make, suggesting either eggplant parmesan or chili. I wrote back, my email began: "We are really looking forward to our outing with you! And now I will apologize for how difficult we are to feed."

It's true. I am a lactose intolerant pescatarian - I eat seafood and plants, but almost all milk products give me a terrible stomach ache. My husband cannot eat any hot spices -- jalapeno, serrano, cayenne - doesn't matter where they are on the Scoville scale, mild to hot. Also cumin, and anything else that causes that burning sensation in one's mouth. It's not a taste preference; we have ended up in the emergency room on several occasions. 

Our friend made a delicious salmon dinner for us.

Back at our house, I do weekly menu planning in order to buy groceries and not have to wrack my brain every day deciding what to make for dinner. But I have the same issues of having to avoid dairy and hot spice AND all of our individual likes and dislikes, plus avoiding too much repetition. Thinking back, when I was growing up I believe my mother had an informal rotation of meals that she made. I have lists of recipes that have worked AND we both liked. But somehow it grows a little boring. And I do try new recipes regularly, but there's always the lurking danger of a terrible dinner. Also, I don't want to spend hours cooking EVERY day. 

"Why don't you just ask your husband what he'd like for dinner?" you ask. Because he says, "I don't know. Give me some choices." 

I really do like to cook. 

Subbing in the best class!

 Today I am subbing in 5th grade. I retired this past June after teaching at the same school for 22 years. The school is an independent (private) school for gifted children. Like every school right now, they have a very small sub pool. 

Subbing is always an adventure. Even though I was a full-time teacher less than a year ago, some classes, many in fact, try to take advantage of me as a sub -- "Mrs. S always lets us do such and such." Really? Run through the halls? Look at papers in your desk during a test? Talk constantly?

Today, however, I am with the best class! I taught 4th grade for the past 16 years, so I know most of these kids from last year. They are self-motivated, kind to each other, and know how to run the classroom technology! (I am the sub who has to call for the tech guy multiple times each day.) 

In math, their teacher had left a problem-solving activity titled "Math and Science Will Tell your the Truth." So relevant to today's world! They worked in cooperative groups. Coming up later is women's history research with a persuasive essay. Fun times!

Concert Day!

 I play in three community music groups. Today the band that I play in had a concert. We went for a very long time with no concerts, no rehearsals because of Covid. We rehearse and perform in public schools, so that, along with common sense, dictated that we could not play together.

But now we have returned, at least some of us. The group is smaller now and our concert was shorter, but we played! We had an audience, though it was also small. 

The great thing about community music groups, whether they are bands, orchestras, choirs, or some other type of ensemble, is the community. You make friends there, people who have a common interest with you. Not everyone has come back yet to my groups. I know some are not ready and some have other obligations that the pandemic has created. 

If you used to play an instrument, think about finding a group to play in. You might find your people.

A lovely day in Chicago

 We had a lovely day in Chicago, meeting friends for an interesting combination talk-concert, and visiting a new high-rise. Also eating dinner and talking with our friends. You can see from the photos that it was perfect weather.

Navy Pier, Chicago

A little car trouble

 It gets very cold in Chicago in the winter. And as most things contract in the cold, every winter my tire pressure alert light goes on. I take the car to our local car repair shop where they check the tires, which are always fine, and I go on my way. Except this year, the alert button stayed on after my visit to the air pump.

The young mechanic who checked my tires and said they were just fine also told me it might take a little time before the light went out. Some cars, he said, you would need to drive for 10 miles or so before it would go off. Ok, fine. 

I drove about 18 miles one day and over 50 miles the next day and the light is still on! 

The nice young mechanic had also mentioned that sometimes the sensor gets stuck and needs to be reset. So I now have an appointment on Tuesday to take my car in and get things back to normal.

In the larger scheme of things, it's a small blip. A little Slice of Life.

A little (almost) daily yoga

 A few months ago my husband said, "Why do you do yoga?" I answered, "I makes me feel good."

It does make me feel good in a way that other exercise doesn't. I started going to yoga classes years ago and continued very sporadically at different studios with a variety of teaching styles. Then I injured my spine, or I should say, my spine decided to pop a disk. Friends said, "what were you doing?" as if to determine the cause. What was I doing? Stepping out of the shower. 

It was a long journey back. I was relieved to be able to do most things again, but I can no longer run, jump, or twist my spine without bringing on a painful attack. So now I walk and I do the parts of yoga that I can. 

It's hard to explain what my half hour of yoga does. I bend, stretch, stand on one foot, and bring my feet up in the air. I try to extend myself a little each day. I end with shavasana, lying still with a quiet mind. 

I get up, refreshed, ready to meet the day.

Community Music

 I am a musician. I started piano lessons at age 7, began playing trumpet in 6th grade, and switched to French horn in high school. I went to music school but eventually my life led me to elementary education and I became a community musician. I have gotten to play great music with fine musicians both as a young professional and later as a community player.

At the time the pandemic shut everything down, I was playing with three groups: a band, an orchestra, and a horn choir made up of French horn players. All three of these ceased rehearsals and cancelled performances. Now, though, all three have started back up again, with covid protocols in place. 

My band, the North Suburban Wind Ensemble, based in Libertyville, Illinois, is having its first post-shutdown concert on Sunday. We are reduced in number as some of our members need to take care of other things at this time. We have three horn players instead of the standard 4 (or more). (Note: those of us who play the French horn just call it the horn - it is not actually French and the rest of the world calls it the horn. It can be confusing because other instrumentalists also refer to their trumpets, saxes, etc. as "horns," but we persevere.) 

But it is so wonderful to be together again, to play together. Our conductor has chosen music for this concert that is a mixture of pieces most of us already know and entertaining short pieces that are new to most of us. A medley from West Side Story, Northwestern University's official march, the classic band piece Second Suite in F by Gustav Holst, and several more. (You may know Gustav Holst's most famous composition, The Planets.)

Besides the camaraderie and the pleasure of playing wonderful music, having a group and an upcoming performance create the need to practice! Motivation is suddenly not a problem. 

Onward to Sunday and concert time!

NaNoWriMo

 I retired from teaching in June 2021. Retiring in the midst of a pandemic is a different experience than what I had expected. However, one of the goals I had for retirement was to participate in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. 

I'm sure many of you already know about this challenge, but in brief, the goal is to write a 50,000 word DRAFT of a novel in the month of November. The website, https://nanowrimo.org/, has helpful information, encouragement, and a daily word counter. It's a friendly, supportive online community.

I have written all kinds of things - articles, poems, short stories -- but never anything as huge as a novel. I had an idea, though, that I liked a lot. The NaNoWriMo website had lots of helpful things for planning, developing characters, plotting, etc. I used some of them.

Then November 1 came and I started actually writing. At first things went fairly smoothly. The NaNoWriMo folks stress that this is a DRAFT you're writing, editing will come later, the goal now is to get words down on virtual paper. Don't reread at this point.

It's very hard to stop the internal critic. It's hard to write 1,667 words each day. I stopped. My total for the month was 8,022. I don't consider this a failure. I learned a lot, about various aspects of writing. My novel idea was a time-travel historical fiction about musicians. I realized I needed to do a LOT of research about what life was like in the late 1700s in Europe, and more about the people I wanted to include in the story. I also realized I needed more plot! And more conflict and more development of my characters! 

So, I have been reading historical fiction I am working on strengthening my writing habit. And here I in #SOL22! Best wishes to everyone! I look forward to reading many SOL posts.