Sunday, September 4, 2011
Cleaning Out
It is scary how absolutely filthy a house can be. I cleaned behind the butcher's block today and it was so gross. One more chip off of the filth layers in the house. More junk has been put in the Goodwill box. It's like peeling away layers of crap in my life.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Recording countdown
First recording session is June 1. Today I practiced and recorded myself. Quite revealing. Some good some bad. My suite 6 gavottes were way too slow! It was weird that when I practiced them faster they seemed so fast! Then when I rerecorded and listened again, they sounded just right and not at all fast. Tonight I will tackle the prelude. Recording myself really saves so much time. Why don't I do it more often??
Friday, May 21, 2010
Blog change
Hey everybody. I've changed my blog's name, in case you didn't notice. The old one was a little pretentious. I haven't posted in a LONG time. It was a LONG year. But a good one. We survived year 2 of post-flood at my job. My new office is pretty nice and the students have been great about everything. The new building site has been found, and if the land deals go smoothly maybe I'll have a new office and concert hall before I retire!!
I finally applied for a promotion to full professor, and got it. The entire process was way too difficult than it should have been. Some people are just poopy heads. Luckily these people do not include my department chair, my dean, the provost, and the board of regents. I won't say more than that... Gotcha' suckers!
Had a great year getting lots of grant money, too. I'm able to purchase 3 new baroque bows for the school's collection (one for me!) and travel and have an undergrad research assistant. And I will hopefully be able to have the sequel to last year's Bach Festival next spring: the Iowa Festival of Baroque Music and Dance. It will be a week of dance and performance masterclasses, lectures, and performances. April 4-8, 2011. Be there!
In 2 weeks I'll start recording the Bach cello suites on baroque viola. This is something I've been fantasizing about for a long time and finally feel like I kind of know what I doing with the baroque instrument. So I jump into the deep end now. I'll finish up the recording in the fall.
This summer Jake and I head up to Michigan for 8 weeks at the Bay View Festival. We've only gone for 4 weeks for the past 2 summers, but my colleagues in the faculty quartet and I decided last summer that we'd like to stay all summer. That kind of commitment is not easy at my stage in life! But I love the place and I really enjoy the festival and my colleagues a lot. Mark is being "forced" to spend at least one week up there with us. We are prying him away from his homebody existence. I think he'll love it, though. He was up for a few days last summer and told me that he understood why I liked it so much up there.
Sad news that my folks are putting the Highlands on the market. It is a place I have loved for over 20 years and have so many memories of. The saddest part is that they will not have a place in Leland at all. So when I go there it will be as an ordinary tourist. Just kind of weird. I understand why they want to sell the place, but it's a bummer.
I will try to blog more this summer. I act like anyone cares about this!
I finally applied for a promotion to full professor, and got it. The entire process was way too difficult than it should have been. Some people are just poopy heads. Luckily these people do not include my department chair, my dean, the provost, and the board of regents. I won't say more than that... Gotcha' suckers!
Had a great year getting lots of grant money, too. I'm able to purchase 3 new baroque bows for the school's collection (one for me!) and travel and have an undergrad research assistant. And I will hopefully be able to have the sequel to last year's Bach Festival next spring: the Iowa Festival of Baroque Music and Dance. It will be a week of dance and performance masterclasses, lectures, and performances. April 4-8, 2011. Be there!
In 2 weeks I'll start recording the Bach cello suites on baroque viola. This is something I've been fantasizing about for a long time and finally feel like I kind of know what I doing with the baroque instrument. So I jump into the deep end now. I'll finish up the recording in the fall.
This summer Jake and I head up to Michigan for 8 weeks at the Bay View Festival. We've only gone for 4 weeks for the past 2 summers, but my colleagues in the faculty quartet and I decided last summer that we'd like to stay all summer. That kind of commitment is not easy at my stage in life! But I love the place and I really enjoy the festival and my colleagues a lot. Mark is being "forced" to spend at least one week up there with us. We are prying him away from his homebody existence. I think he'll love it, though. He was up for a few days last summer and told me that he understood why I liked it so much up there.
Sad news that my folks are putting the Highlands on the market. It is a place I have loved for over 20 years and have so many memories of. The saddest part is that they will not have a place in Leland at all. So when I go there it will be as an ordinary tourist. Just kind of weird. I understand why they want to sell the place, but it's a bummer.
I will try to blog more this summer. I act like anyone cares about this!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Back to school again. What a week! I have moved into my new office in the mall. Still can't believe I work in a mall. But the office is nice and spacious and will do the job. I bought a nice rug and am moving in colorful pictures and comfy things to make it feel like home. The most difficult part of this new set-up will be the commuting back and forth between downtown and the West campus, where I teach 3 classes. But today I got a dual parking pass for both lots which will make it much easier.
Jake's first week of school went really well. He likes 5th grade and seems in much better spirits now that school has started. He loves learning, thank goodness.
Jake's first week of school went really well. He likes 5th grade and seems in much better spirits now that school has started. He loves learning, thank goodness.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Back in the US again. South Africa was really a wonderful place to be for 2 weeks. The trip started out with a very, very long journey. First a plane trip to London Heathrow from Detroit. Then a 13 hour layover -- but smart me pre-booked a hotel room and I hung out there and slept and watched TV. Then the 6022 mile journey from London to Cape Town. That is a long flight. Might not have been the best idea to take an Ambien and drink 3 wines, but I did sleep most of the way!
The next smart thing I did, was decide not to rent a car. I am a pretty seasoned and gutsy driver, but Cape Town is a nutty place to drive and I would've freaked out! First, you have to drive on the left side of the road, and second the construction there is crazy with the World Cup coming there in 2010. I was met at the airport by my very nice driver (so cool to have someone waiting for you with the little sign with your name on it!) who took me to my apartment in City Center. What a luxury pad! It was a very modern 1-bedroom apartment with all of the trimmings. I had a kitchen, full bath, nice bed, washer & dryer, TV, great view of Table Mountain, the works. It was a nice place to hang out and convenient.
Cape Town, being a big city and not safe after dark, was not my favorite part of the trip. But it was a place you should see when you've gone that far. The first day I walked around a bit and did some grocery shopping, and bought a cheap cell phone. Good move -- it came in handy. And took a nap. I started to get hooked on the South African soaps on TV. They are hysterical and so different than their US counterparts. The thing that fascinated me the most was the slipping in and out of languages, sometimes from word to word. There are 11 officially recognized languages there, but the 3 most common are English, Afrikans, and Zulu.
The next day I woke up early and met the Baz Bus for a day-long tour of the Cape Peninsula. The Baz Bus caters to backpackers, so the trip was cheap and no-frills, which was fine with me. We drove to a town where there is a preserve for African penguins (aka "Jack Ass" penguins). I walked out on the boardwalk paths down to the beach, and you can see the little guys all around. Very cute. Unfortunately, even while holding the rail, I managed to take a really bad fall on the slippery boards and whammed my left elbow. I thought I had broken it, but didn't. It hurt like a bitch for a long time and I had a nice bruise in a few days. It still hurts after 3 weeks!
We then stopped at a place where we took a boat trip out to Seal Island, a small, rocky island where hundreds of Cape Fur seals congregate. The boat ride was beautiful, and the seals were beautiful as well.
OK, here comes the "what was I thinking?" moment of the trip. We stopped at a national park area, where we were given the opportunity to take a 6 km bike ride to commune with nature, see wildlife, die! Being significantly older than the other 6 people on the bus (all were in college) I couldn't shame myself and just ride with the bus to the ending spot. No, I hopped on a rickety old bike and did the ride. I thought I was gonna die! I made it, but every muscle and sinew in my body screamed in agony for 3 days.
We then visited a lighthouse point (I rode the tram up the mountain, thank you very much), then the Cape of Good Hope, which was beautiful. It is the southernmost point of Africa. And then back to Cape Town, where I proceeded to collapse in my bed and suffer in agony. Thank god for the soaps on TV and nice bottle of South African wine. Did I mentioned that there was a wine and liquor store next to my apartment building?
The next day I walked down to the V & A seaport, which was harrowing! Trying to cross traffic amidst construction and a strangely convoluted idea of directions was dangerous. It was a gigantic tourist attraction, thus my disappointment. But the sun was out and it was a nice walk. I managed to finagle a ticket to Robben Island that day on the 3 PM boat. Now this was worth the trip! RI is where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment, as did many other political prisoners before the abolition of apartheid. But only black, asiatic, and "coloured" male prisoners. ("Coloured" referred to the people of mixed-race that haved lived in the Cape area for hundreds of years.) The tour started by a drive around the island, which is pretty barren and scrubby. We saw the outprison where other prisoners where held; the limestone quarry where prisoners served their hard labor; the town on the island where the guards and their families lived and now is populated by some of them who remained on the island as well as former prisoners who chose to stay; the cemetery where the lepers were buried (the island once served as a leper colony); and a tour of the prison facility that was built for political prisoners.
The tour of the prison was conducted by a former inmate, which made it especially interesting and moving. We saw the cell where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment and the yard where he spent a lot of time.
Then I had dinner at "Mama Africa," this cool restaurant in a funky part of town.
OK, signing off for now. I'll continue posting my vacation highlights tomorrow!
The next smart thing I did, was decide not to rent a car. I am a pretty seasoned and gutsy driver, but Cape Town is a nutty place to drive and I would've freaked out! First, you have to drive on the left side of the road, and second the construction there is crazy with the World Cup coming there in 2010. I was met at the airport by my very nice driver (so cool to have someone waiting for you with the little sign with your name on it!) who took me to my apartment in City Center. What a luxury pad! It was a very modern 1-bedroom apartment with all of the trimmings. I had a kitchen, full bath, nice bed, washer & dryer, TV, great view of Table Mountain, the works. It was a nice place to hang out and convenient.
Cape Town, being a big city and not safe after dark, was not my favorite part of the trip. But it was a place you should see when you've gone that far. The first day I walked around a bit and did some grocery shopping, and bought a cheap cell phone. Good move -- it came in handy. And took a nap. I started to get hooked on the South African soaps on TV. They are hysterical and so different than their US counterparts. The thing that fascinated me the most was the slipping in and out of languages, sometimes from word to word. There are 11 officially recognized languages there, but the 3 most common are English, Afrikans, and Zulu.
The next day I woke up early and met the Baz Bus for a day-long tour of the Cape Peninsula. The Baz Bus caters to backpackers, so the trip was cheap and no-frills, which was fine with me. We drove to a town where there is a preserve for African penguins (aka "Jack Ass" penguins). I walked out on the boardwalk paths down to the beach, and you can see the little guys all around. Very cute. Unfortunately, even while holding the rail, I managed to take a really bad fall on the slippery boards and whammed my left elbow. I thought I had broken it, but didn't. It hurt like a bitch for a long time and I had a nice bruise in a few days. It still hurts after 3 weeks!
We then stopped at a place where we took a boat trip out to Seal Island, a small, rocky island where hundreds of Cape Fur seals congregate. The boat ride was beautiful, and the seals were beautiful as well.
OK, here comes the "what was I thinking?" moment of the trip. We stopped at a national park area, where we were given the opportunity to take a 6 km bike ride to commune with nature, see wildlife, die! Being significantly older than the other 6 people on the bus (all were in college) I couldn't shame myself and just ride with the bus to the ending spot. No, I hopped on a rickety old bike and did the ride. I thought I was gonna die! I made it, but every muscle and sinew in my body screamed in agony for 3 days.
We then visited a lighthouse point (I rode the tram up the mountain, thank you very much), then the Cape of Good Hope, which was beautiful. It is the southernmost point of Africa. And then back to Cape Town, where I proceeded to collapse in my bed and suffer in agony. Thank god for the soaps on TV and nice bottle of South African wine. Did I mentioned that there was a wine and liquor store next to my apartment building?
The next day I walked down to the V & A seaport, which was harrowing! Trying to cross traffic amidst construction and a strangely convoluted idea of directions was dangerous. It was a gigantic tourist attraction, thus my disappointment. But the sun was out and it was a nice walk. I managed to finagle a ticket to Robben Island that day on the 3 PM boat. Now this was worth the trip! RI is where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment, as did many other political prisoners before the abolition of apartheid. But only black, asiatic, and "coloured" male prisoners. ("Coloured" referred to the people of mixed-race that haved lived in the Cape area for hundreds of years.) The tour started by a drive around the island, which is pretty barren and scrubby. We saw the outprison where other prisoners where held; the limestone quarry where prisoners served their hard labor; the town on the island where the guards and their families lived and now is populated by some of them who remained on the island as well as former prisoners who chose to stay; the cemetery where the lepers were buried (the island once served as a leper colony); and a tour of the prison facility that was built for political prisoners.
The tour of the prison was conducted by a former inmate, which made it especially interesting and moving. We saw the cell where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment and the yard where he spent a lot of time.
Then I had dinner at "Mama Africa," this cool restaurant in a funky part of town.
OK, signing off for now. I'll continue posting my vacation highlights tomorrow!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Big day today. Mark and the Hondurans started to clear out and clean up the back yard and the gutters. Yeah!!!! I love these guys. I am proud that I limited myself to only a few rows of the lace shawl today. It is looking nice. I love that with lace you have to wait for quite a few rows to really see anything except some random knitting and a what looks like a bunch of knots. But at the magical point you start to see the patterns emerge. Knitting is so zen.
My second batch of Leland Blue came out of the tumbler today. They are AWESOME! I'm not sure what I did differently this time, but this batch came out really shiny. Maybe I left them in longer or putting in more Beanie Baby pellets did the trick. Several of the pieces have big blobs of metal in them that came to the surface. Really cool. Hopefully I will find a more efficient and less expensive way to drill holes in my rocks. Mark says he knows what to get but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe the rock hounds up north will be able to hook me into some cheap drilling places.
I really have to get back to practicing the viola. I have to play the Bach Chaconne in about 2 weeks, so it is imperative that I get off my ass and start practicing like yesterday! I'm just having too much fun being a lump -- call that a "crafting lump."
My second batch of Leland Blue came out of the tumbler today. They are AWESOME! I'm not sure what I did differently this time, but this batch came out really shiny. Maybe I left them in longer or putting in more Beanie Baby pellets did the trick. Several of the pieces have big blobs of metal in them that came to the surface. Really cool. Hopefully I will find a more efficient and less expensive way to drill holes in my rocks. Mark says he knows what to get but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe the rock hounds up north will be able to hook me into some cheap drilling places.
I really have to get back to practicing the viola. I have to play the Bach Chaconne in about 2 weeks, so it is imperative that I get off my ass and start practicing like yesterday! I'm just having too much fun being a lump -- call that a "crafting lump."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Ah, that unique end of the year time slot when my work is over at the university and Jake is still in school. It is a true luxury to have entire days all to myself. It makes me realize the beauty of pre-marriage and pre-child days! I wouldn't trade my life now, but it was so much easier then! I've cleaned out my bedroom and the closets and took bags of cloths and shoes to the resale store and to the charity. The only reasonable way to justify buying anything new! I finished knitting my Aran sweater and it turned out awesome -- just like I wanted it to. It hardly needed any blocking, just a light steaming from on the reverse side. It's big and baggy and comfy. Yeah!! I've started (for the 3rd time) a lace shawl. Lace is frustrating!! Lifelines, lifelines! And I've been buying way too many beading supplies and making way too many earrings. But it is so much fun. Hopefully I get to sell some to reduce the stock and to fund more jewelry making. Everything in Iowa is popping with green. It's amazing how the desolate, barren winter landscape literally bursts with green in just a few days.
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