arghhhhh!

Today Jim is buying (another ) car - how can this be? Amazingly he has now got about 16 cars but he promised that he will sell this one - it was just such an amazing deal! Anyway, for thrills you can check out the new rig (and all the old ones) here http://tank.windwireless.net/~jimc/

survivor

What a weekend! I am soooo glad it is over, everything went well. Great weather - fireworks were better than ever. Today I had a lesson and brought my former teacher's Laubin. We were able to adjust it pretty well, but some binding on the C# and a couple weird things - so I left it with local repair genius Peter. He is very busy right now, but I figure I wasn't using it anyway, might as well get it in line. I'm also having him replace all the bladder pads (I think there were 5 on the lower keys) with nice cork. Should be a lovely horn when it's done.

Anyone out there have Laubin experience?

tonight,tonight

Wow, I had the greatest reeds of the century for the first act tonight! I felt amazing, it was so great. But in the morning I have not one, but two 2.5 hour rehearsals for the Fireworks concert (all baroque stuff; read: chop-killing) and then another show. Yikes. Because Sunday afternoon is closing for Putting It Together, then the Fireworks. It is the only gig I have ever played with security. That's how I know it's really cool.

In other news, we went to Goodwill today (my favorite store) and I got the cutest little potential reed case - it looks like a tiny briefcase, with little flippers and everything. Inside there is even a partition (I think it is for business cards) that would be great to hold a plaque. But I need to figure out how to make the "guts" of a reed case. I know people used to do this, seems like there should be directions somewhere on the the web!

home decorating

No joy on the floor yet, but we actually discussed giving some of the old furniture away to needy relatives (you know who you are!) and Jim didn't have a heart attack. It would be my dream to get a new couch (which we can totally afford) and maybe a hide-a-bed too, which would even fit if we got rid of some of the obsolete computer equipment (or at least put it in the garage). *sigh*

But I am excited to have my office space - just have to empty one of the many bookcases (full of obsolete computer manuals) and then I'll have room for all my DR journals! (and a few other things)

HP no spoilers

Well, I'm done with Harry - good book! I actually enjoyed all of them, so there.
Of course I should have been practicing the Fireworks music - we are doing the Royal Fireworks Music as always, but also a bit of Mahler's 4th, Beethoven's Turkish March, Nais by Rameau, and Danserye by Susato, along with several marchy things and Fanfare for the Common Man. Of course DD has arranged all these for our instrumentation, which is about 20 oboes, 4 EH, 16 bassoons, 8 horns, 8 picc tpts, and perc. Can't wait!

D has a cold right now, so we have stayed home all day and I actually cleaned! Maybe we'll make progress on the kitchen floor tonight (down to sub floor, has been for months).

break!

Yay! First week of the show is done...time for a much needed break. Today for the first time I had terrible water in the B, Bb and A keys. What a pain, only one really gurglly sounding exposed part - but I worked myself into a frenzy swabbing and papering and blowing (and fretting mostly). Other than that the show went very well, although my beloved was not a huge fan, he only liked the song about sex (Bang!) and the one about the crazy bride (Not Getting Married). These are both from Company, maybe I'll take him to that sometime. D was pretty good, but he said he likes shows with a story better.

Now for 2 days off!

potter

We joined the ranks of millions and purchased a copy of the new Harry Potter book. I figured I might as well since we have all the others even though I won't have time to read it for a while.

Tonight's show went pretty well, things are really starting to gel. I am kind of excited that my family is coming tomorrow for the matinee. D is very suspicious, he wants it to be just like Mame. I think Jim will appreciate the lyrics, Sondheim is much more clever than some other popular musical composers...

review

The review came out in the big city paper today...actually very nice but NO mention of the orchestra (not a huge surprise). Sadly, they mostly just kept pointing out that Putting It Together would never be the "crowd-pleaser" that the Full Monty was (previous show - they do 4 each summer). Of course the Full Monty is a totally different kind of show, and I'm glad everyone liked it, but I am LOVING the Sondheim! Maybe it isn't fun to watch, of course I wouldn't know, but the words are so clever (and I can only hear about 20% of them). Ah well.

I voted online for the theater's 2008 season shows, I checked on Bret Pimental's web site (http://www.geocities.com/bpimentel/articles/shows.htm) and voted for all the ones with oboe/eh parts!
Fun.

I guess the show is settling in; many things were more solid tonight, but if you know the songs...There's Always a Woman seems to be hard for the vocalists to hear, we skipped ahead again tonight. But they are really professional about it, I doubt anyone could tell unless they had actually sung the song - it is sort of a gallumphing thing. In Marry Me A Little there is this offbeat thing that somehow got off the first verse - it was totally awful but again I doubt it was real noticed by anyone who didn't know it well - that's the thing about Sondheim!

opening night

Well, I had typed up all the stuff I was worried about for tonight, and my computer crashed. *sigh* so you just get to hear what happened without all my pre-show concerns! Mostly it was great. The clarinet sub did a good job and he sounded great, although he said clarinet was not his main horn (sax). He plays really in tune and there were only a few places he was lost (not surprising) and they were all places that were covered. Vocals has a few blurps - but all was recovered without heroic measures, we skipped ahead twice but everyone stayed together. So it should be even better tomorrow. I really like this show, it is fun to play without huge blobs of dialog. We really don't have any time to read magazines or anything, which I prefer. AND the show is out in 2 hours!

hot hot hot

It is finally cooling down, lovely 93 today! And some of the garden even survived. Not that much grows in our rocky soil. But yesterday was the sitzprobe and rehearsal for Putting it Together. Since it is almost chamber music - 5 cast members and 7 musicians; we just played everything together (instead of doing an orch rehearsal first). It was great - everyone is very talented and the cast is amazing. WISH (as always) we could see the stage, but yesterday was as good as it will ever be, with the cast sort of wandering around and marking their parts in the band room. Tuesday we'll be in the pit and we open Thursday. And the show is short - probably 2 hours will do it! That is good news for closing, when I do a 2pm show and then have to be at the sound check for the Fireworks concert at 6. I could do it even if the show were longer, but this will make things easier.

I am excited for Fireworks this year - I understand they are taking photos for the IDRS journal cover! We'll all be famous (at least momentarily among DR players, a huge population)

Filing

My son is sound asleep and it is supposed to be 105 today, so I think we will skip the gym and just hang out at home (unless someone with a/c invites us over!). I want to organize my music and empty one of the MANY overly full bookcases in our house. Both J and I have tons of books, but several bookcases are full of (HIS) ancient computer manuals (like 1980s). We won't get rid of anything (horrors!) but hopefully I can put a lot of it into deep storage. And then maybe I will practice - I have 6 hours of rehearsal on Sunday, I really need to kick it into gear!

If you had been paying attention, you know I got a roll-top desk a few weeks ago, and I was hoping to make an office in a corner of our living room. Well, I did it! Yay. And it looks pretty great, although I still want to move a bookcase (which requires emptying said bookcase). Best of all it is in the basement so it is about 15 degrees cooler than the upstairs (where I used to practice).

It is getting really HOT here - supposed to be over 100 for a couple of days. Also found out today I will be playing Quiet City (big english horn/trumpet duet) with the orchestra in August! It will be outdoors, but that could be fun. We did it in February, but this time they will pay the orchestra :^) It is for a big arts festival, I'm kind of excited that I get to be a soloist (and apparently they won't need me for anything else - nice to only have the eh)

On Sunday we start rehearsals for the Sondheim, I tried to buy a dvd of it but the web page was all messed up and it wouldn't come soon enough, so I'm going to wing it. It doesn't look like it will be super exposed, but I like to be prepared. So now I just need to have reeds, and I guess I should practice too...so hard in the heat! I have moved down to the basement, but it is still getting about 85 down there. I dream of central air. In grad school we used to practice just because of the a/c; we would hide in the bathrooms until security left at night and then sleep in the practice rooms when it was really awful. Fun times!

My neighbor's son is going to organ camp. Suddenly I was all depressed, thinnking about how he will learn all kinds of new things, and get all inspired, and I'll be doing laundry and cleaning the house. Of course it is not really that bad, and I'm starting rehearsals for a show on Sunday, but I'd really love to go to a seminar or something. And what does it say about me that I want this for myself and I haven't even signed D up for swimming lessons? I guess I just miss the days of "doing my own thing" without regard for how long it's been since I've stayed home a night, or if I can get a sitter for a few hours, or if I've cooked enough this week! Probably everyone would be happier if I could get rid of my inner "scorekeeper" and just do the things I really want without waiting to earn enough points to go to the Stacy Seminar (or whatever).

In other news, it is really hot and getting hotter! SO glad we don't live where it is humid.

name quiz

I found this on Prairie Oboe Companion's blog; decided I had to fill it out!
My 9 Names

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Jill (bor-ing - actually used the name Gillian in HS trying to be cool, my HS diploma may not be valid as it has that name!)

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Jilizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)
Tealcat

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on)
Marie Campbell

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 4 letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name)
Cathji

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite drink)
Green Frappachino (sounds nasty)

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad's middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your grandma's first name.)
Itmouch

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names)
Jean Bruce

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Donna

Vacation

Last week we went to my friend's cabin in the Tetons (Wyoming) for kayaking and general visiting. Fun fun fun, beautiful weather - we kayaked twice and even left the boys at home one day and went "shopping" in Jackson
Hole. We got silly pictures where you dress up like old time gals (we both had guns just because). And I found yet another black outfit at the Coldwater Creek outlet, could be a good thing to wear if I do the Bach double (possibly in the works).
Today I actually made ti to the gym and picked up my music for "Putting it Together" a Sondheim review we will do next week. Doesn't look too bad...

Concert

Wow, the concert has been over for more than a week now - but it went pretty well, no rain! And no real wind, but HOT interspersed with clouds. Unfortunately the only EH I played was William Tell, and the first few bars my reed was just not great - kinda spitty sounding! But it is so hard to get it right outdoors when you're doubling - either too wet or not wet enough.

But the solo went well, sadly the flutist did some weird thing and got lost - she is usually really on top of things. Oh well! I managed to find places to breathe; and suddenly another big solo moment is over.