zippybeta

A few weeks ago, they reswizzled our security situation at the front door. They moved the office and the sign in post and also moved the whole thing to new software. Today was the first time I saw it in action. The old stuff was slow and clunky and slow and clunky. The new stuff is swift. And it remembers. The shade guy was here once before - I gather a year or two ago - but it remembered him which made the already fast process faster.

I got both a text and an email with his photo the minute he signed in and he got a visitor badge. One process slick as a whistle.

He's a really nice guy and understood what I wanted and what I didn't want immediately. He's got the goods. Roller shades, wifi enabled to an app and to Google Home or Echo. Rechargeable batteries with a dongle I can reach easily. (My ohsoexpensive shades in the condo required AA batteries. 84 of them - about every 9 months and a royal PIA to change out.)

3 to 5 weeks but, he allowed as how it will probably be closer to the 3 week part of that since apparently, people aren't buying big right now... snerk snerk.

He had way too many options but I picked a color close to the window trim and a texture that I hope Julio will have no interest in. I asked for one shade for the three paneled window and one for the door. He was not sure whether they would do a single for the window because it's so wide. Fingers crossed.

He's going to send me a quote. I can sign electronically and pay up and he'll get it going.

He was a very nice guy and I'm happy to be doing biz with him.

Oh, his measuring tool was a laser and he said he had learned how to be very careful using it in cat households. Julio and Biggie were way too busy investigating his cases to see it but he was doing all of his measuring with a cat toy. He said that early on, he was measuring in a house full of cats and inadvertently had them crashing into China and knocking over a book case while he was trying to get measurements.

susandennis

I got home from errands and there were no cats to be seen. Biggie has taken to hanging in the bathroom these days. There's a very large towel that hangs in there and often he pulls it down. I finally got a clue as to why just now when I went in to pee. He doesn't mean to pull it down, just down enough for a cat tent!

Julio has yet to be seen but he has lots of hiding places and he'll be out in a min. Biggie will stay in his hidey hole for hours on end. Julio stays 5 mins or less.

Errands all done. Lunch ordered for pickup. Dinner ordered for pickup. I'll toe soak again after lunch.

So far, the day is ok dokey.

bill_schubert

Meet Axel:

Axel is a fairly new to the ranch dog. Not sure about the back story but he is blind and VERY sweet. And has a long snout:

And this Shadow in December of 2021:

She was maybe the first dog I walked at the Ranch and one of the originals.

This is Shadow today:

She's not moving as fast but still looks good. She has a full time foster so we seldom see her. When her foster family goes on trips or something similar they bring her by for a few days. I was fortunate to get to walk her.

susandennis

Last Wednesday, my big toe started bleeding from a split on the side of it. I don't remember hitting it nor did it hurt. I put a bandaid on it and all was good. Yesterday the bandaid was tired of being on it so I took it off and everything looked fine. This morning I woke up and that toe was one pissed off toe. It's not mad at the joint so I don't think it's gout. The only visual change is that it's red. But only a little. It does hurt when you press on it and it's not too happy about walking. Crocs help.

Dr. Google says soak in Epsom salt for 15 minutes 3 times a day. soak 1 is now halfway done. Dr. Google also recommends anti fungal cream which I actually have on hand. So. hopefully, I can nip this in the bud. I do not want toe issues.

Playing volleyball was fine because my swim shoes have lots of toe room.

I do think I'm going out this morning. Amazon returns and a couple of things at Safeway. Mainly tortillas. The shades guy comes at 2.

I have two small ottomans in the bedroom both of which have storage. They have held stuff I rarely need. The top shelf of my closet holds blankets and quilts. Yesterday I swapped everything so that my blankets and quilts are now far more easy to get to as is my iron. I've now lived here a year and a half. Maybe in another year and a half, I'll have it organized right!

bill_schubert

Turns out Dana fractured her Greater trochanter:

right next to the hip joint. It is a combination of osteoporosis and a bad luck kind of slow motion fall. She never even hit anything but there is a muscle that I'm guessing just pulled the bone apart a bit.

The upshot is they are moving her to an inpatient rehab facility connected to a hospital in Georgetown. Not far and a place we've spent time in during the years we've lived here so not at all an intimidating place or a too big one.

But it is another step into the morrass of senior living, one of those things that happens to old people.

The really bright side is she will get lots of information and encouragement. She really needs to have a personal trainer, someone to push her like a physical therapist would but one that is paid by us directly and has long term interaction. Of course, so do I.

I went bed shopping yesterday and figured out what we're going to do. Our bed needs to be lower so I'll replace the box bottom of the bed with an adjustable platform. Keep our mattress for now but the platforms can be adjusted to the height you want so it will make her life much easier. Our head and foot and frame of the bed stays the same. It is actually a minimal change for a huge gain. I'd have done it long ago but it seemed like a huge and expensive change neither of which is true.

The store I got this info from was the same one we got our current mattress from and they were and are wonderful. Both times we got a non commissioned sales guy who had all the info and was happy to have us buy what WE wanted, not what he wanted us to get. So nice.

I'm going to get osme lunch and maybe rest a bit then go to see her. Now she's not coming home right now, things are all different. Adjustments will be made.

I only wish I could explain it to Toby who sits on his chair looking for his mom.

mallorys_camera

It was a very grey day yesterday, so I was in a very grey mood.

Either I have become so susceptible to meteorologically induced mood changes that they've jumped the calendar, and depression is no longer just seasonal. Or my body is no longer capable of being a battery that stores up sunshine for cloudy days. Or the world right now is such an awful place that it is nearly impossible to revel in the joy of being alive. Take your pick!

###

Near the beginning of yesterday's TaxBwana debriefing, the head honchos announced that we are no longer being funded for new Chromebooks.

Which means that we can no longer give out equipment to new volunteer TaxBwanas. Not that there are very many of those.

The ranks of existing TaxBwanas are constantly thinning as TaxBwanas move to independent living communities in South Carolina, or undergo joint replacements that leave them immobile, or throw up their hands & say, Fuck this shit. (For whatever reason, there are no youthful TaxBwanas.)

But I don't think attrition is gonna shut down the program.

No, I think Trump's goons are gonna shut off the funding faucet.

We tax preparers all work for free-eee-eeee, but those Chromebooks cost money, and our modems & printers cost money, & in some places where no community agency will donate space to set up shop, we rent space. And all this money comes from a grant from the IRS. My guess is that the grant will be one of the "unnecessary" expenses the goons decide to toss.

Which is a pity. One of the New Paltz team leaders did the math, and assuming the clients we tax-prepared for free-eee-eeee this season had gone to paid tax preparers, we saved our clients about $250,000.

###

I carpooled with the extremely pleasant Steve W whose Parkinson's has gotten noticeably worse since January, the last time I carpooled with him.

For someone I barely know, I'm privy to a lot of details about Steve W's life. The professional trajectory that defied parental expectations. The problematic first marriage. The son who committed suicide. The son's children—Steve's grandchildren—now living abject, impoverished lives in the afore-mentioned South Carolina and other Red states.

"But that's awful!" I said when he finished describing one granddaughter's life. "Can't you bring her up here?"

"No," Steve said. "No. Even if I wanted to. She's got so many problems, and she's so..." He left the sentence unfinished. "My wife couldn't handle it. Jane's almost 80, you know."

Since I'm in the middle of that Larry McMurtry reading binge, Steve's family members reminded me a bit of the Greenway diaspora post-Aurora, which is a modern take on the old Tess of the D'Urbervilles scenario: a downward trajectory. Over the course of a century, very few families stay in the same economic/cultural stratum, but it's only in fiction or The Daily Mail that you get to view the contrails in living color.

Anyway, I was seized with an intense sadness for Steve W. Fundamentally, such a smart, decent guy. Drives people without cars to their medical appointments. Teaches drivers' safety for free-eee-eeee! TaxBwanas! Heavily involved in liberal politics (in the liberal enclave of Gardiner!)

And his personal life is just one long heartache.

This is ridiculous, I thought to myself as he dropped me off at my car. My eyes were actually filled with tears.

So I got in my car and I drove to the ganja store!

I had thought of putting myself on Saint John's Wort, but it turns out Saint John's Wort interferes with Synthroid metabolism.

But I gotta do something.

I'm sick of feeling other people's pain.

Ganja's great! I pop one gummy at night, and not only do I sleep like a hibernating bear, I wake up feeling jolly & utterly impervious!

asakiyume

Maybe you've seen the trailer for this wordless animated film about a black cat in a post-human world. (If not, here's a link.) The visuals were so evocative and beautiful--and the cat so like my own cat--that I was very excited to see it.

Yesterday I did see it, and it was indeed beautiful to look at ...

( but... )

rebeccmeister

I definitely need to develop some self-reflection tools to use along with future writing assignments.

I'm thinking:

1. Rate how confident you feel right now about having met the standards and expectations for this assignment (5-point ranking scale from "not at all confident" to "very confident").

2. Did any specific issues come up for you while working on this assignment? (e.g ran out of time, confused about expectations, struggled with concepts, didn't have certain specific pieces of information needed, other life factors got in the way, had a hard time getting motivated to work on the assignment, etc)

3. Is there anything you might do differently when approaching a future assignment of this type?

4. Is there anything else you'd like me to know while I'm reading and evaluating your work?

What else might I include? This might be enough. If nothing else, it would help me with exercising compassion while reading student work.

nanila

Who was your first crush?

Real person: It was a boy named Colin, in the fifth grade. I would have been ten years old. I can't remember anything about him except he had blue eyes and I could make him laugh until he cried.

Fictional TV character: Jean-Luc Picard.

Fictional literary character: Sherlock Holmes.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I have extrovert energy, but I'm an introvert and I very much need my alone time.
What is your favorite non-sexual thing you like to do with the love of your life?

I can't think of a particular favourite. I just enjoy his company.
What is one quirky habit your partner does that either annoys you or makes you grin?

This does both: throwing his pants at the laundry basket and missing. Like, every single day.
Do you believe in monogamous relationships?

It works for me. I do understand they're not for everyone.

rebeccmeister

I had really hoped to go rowing this morning. But when I work late into the evening, my brain rebels, and so I woke at 2 am with insomnia, and then needed to get enough sleep to be able to get back to hunching over my desk, ~~grading~~grinding through lab reports.

So, the pope situation. I am among those who admired many of the stands the late Pope Francis took. It's hard to imagine the next pope following directly in Francis's footsteps. But who knows.

My next potential chance to row will be Thursday morning.

As of right now, I have 8 reports left to grade, out of 27 total. So, that's the halfway point for today.

It is difficult to deal with the psychic pain inflicted by grading written work. But when I get too despairing, sometimes my hope is restored by a chance encounter with an eloquent, excellent report. The excellent reports are so easy to grade, and also reinforce the point that I do not have unrealistic expectations for what students can accomplish in my course. In contrast, when a report does not meet my expectations, the tailspin can go in so many different directions. Is the issue an inability on the part of the author to think clearly about the subject? Is it an uncertainty about conventions for scientific writing? Did the author simply run out of time? Does the author simply not care? Some combination of the above?

I can't always know, and shouldn't pretend to know. But that does make it harder to decide just how much effort, and of what sort, to put into providing feedback. (yes, I mutter "Brutally efficient!" at myself periodically while I grind through!)

One of the things that tends to sting is when I hand back a weekly lab data summary (note, not a report), only to discover it in one of the trash cans in the lab a few minutes later. At least recycle, please.

I do need to revisit the mechanics for this course; can I get students to actually read the useful things I've written just for them? Sometimes they do at least watch the videos I make just for them.

Anyway, I have procrastinated for long enough. Back to work.

Few people reach their deathbed and think, "Gee, I sure wish I had worked more."

I do hope Pope Francis rests in peace. As they say, may his memory be a blessing.

bill_schubert

I just bought a wheelchair from Amazon. Watching Dana walk across the house to get to the car was not as painful for me as it was for her but nearly so. We intend to live here as long as we can and some equipment to facilitate that is just part of the bargain.

I'll find a place to hang it in the garage where it is readily available.

So we now have a wheelchair, a walker, a rolling walker (NOT something I would ever have again or recommend), crutches and half a dozen canes. We are a well equipped army of two.

BTW, there is nothing better than a SmartCar if you are marginally mobile. The walker fits in the back and the seats are the perfect height. Damn kruats are good. I only wish they had kept making them. An electric one would totally kick ass.

susandennis

I love raw pie crust. Yeah, I know, weird. They sell them all rolled up into log shapes at the grocery. I take a long and chop it up into one inch pieces and put it in a plastic container in the fridge and, when I need a snack, I grab one. I'm sure I'm not the only one. But maybe I am.

I went down to get brunch from the buffet line yesterday and the line was way way way too long and not moving fast so no thanks. I had a lovely day up here. Knitting and watching TV.

I was not overly sleepy when I went to bed but had no problem drifting off. A little after 9. I did not wake up again until 5:30 and then, after a pee, went back to sleep for another hour and a half. 95 on my bed's sleep scale.

John, who is 88, says everyone dies at 88. Clearly not everyone but he sure nailed the pope. John turns 89 in a few weeks so he feels like he'll be in the clear.

I have another Amazon return but also a week to return it so probably won't be going today. Tomorrow the shades guy comes. He's a recommendation from my designer friend and has done shades here at Timber Ridge but weirdly, I cannot find any details about his shades. Good yelp,etc reviews on his service but nothing on the shades. I want wifi connected shades. And I'm really not interested in shades that aren't. I could call him and get more details but I think I'll just let him come out and 'sell' me. Wednesday I think I might go to Goodwill. I might go to the one in Bellevue as opposed to my old stomping grounds in Seattle.

Back when air fryers were a brand spanking new thing, I got one. It was gynormous and loud and had fiddly parts. And fun to play with but soon it broke. The plastic bit that held the basket in broke off. But, by then, they had toaster ovens that also did air frying. Ok. So I got one of those and have had variations of those ever since. Til now. My latest is small because my needs are small and my space is small. But it's honestly too small to really keep clean and has other issues. So I put it away. And bought a straight forward, simple air fryer. And I love it. This one is way smaller overall than my first one with a larger basket! And it is so simple to just toss the basket into the dishwasher. At some point I may get the toaster oven out again but maybe not.

Yesterday was mini monsters day but today it's back to dolls.

bill_schubert

The direction of my day today changed yesterday morning but it too a while to develop. While getting on the bed she stepped weirdly on the step to get up and kind of twisted while her good leg collapsed under her. I was there but only saw the aftermath. She was in a lot of pain that only got worse during the day until she could not even walk at all but had to kind of drag her right leg while walking.

We called the on call nurse who called the on call doctor who sent us to the hospital. We went back to where she had the surgery and went in through a fortunately fairly quiet emergency room. Leaving the house took nearly an hour mostly watching Dana struggle to walk across the house to the car. We don't have a wheelchair and I'm now considering the utility in having one. They don't cost too much. Storage is an issue but we'll deal with it. Sure would have been good to have it last night.

The short version is she got a room and a radiologist took a picture and the on call orthopedist said it looked like she had a minor fracture. We were kind of hoping her hip joint was just unseated and needed to be put back. Bad as that sounds it is a quick process. It looks like her osteoporosis is catching up with her and has either cracked or chipped bone around her hip.

I had already cancelled everything for today and cancelled the chick pick up for tomorrow. We got her on the good pain meds and I finally left around 2:30 getting back here and finally in bed about 4AM.

Not sure what I am doing but I'll likely head over to the hospital after taking the dogs on a walk. Poor Toby doesn't know what is happening, only that his mom isn't here.

Dana did say they took a CT today already so I'm sure the docs are trying to figure out if they can avoid repeat surgery. Fingers crossed. No idea when she's going to come back. I would think tomorrow at the earliest.

andrewducker

In the future all zoo trips will look like this.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

mallorys_camera

Spending time in the garden was lovely. Stayed three hours. Got maybe half the 12' X 12' plot weeded? Will return to complete the task later this week. I may not even need to beg Claude to rototill this year: The earth is quite pliable.

###

Spring is more advanced in Dutchess County than it is in Ulster. Maple trees all sporting that tender green blur that, upon close examination, is not leaves at all but tiny tree flowers, lethal to anyone prone to allergies. The magnolias & weeping cherries are all in bloom, and the daffodils & forsythia seem to have staying power this year, so the roadsides are a riot of yellow & pink & spring green.

###

I drove by L's house where I used to live. It's shabbier than ever though the daffodils I planted are blooming in great clumps.

I was pretty happy for most of the time I lived at L's house, and I wondered—not for the first time—if L would have lost her mind if she hadn't had that knee replacement.

I warned her!

Good little libertarian that I am, I have a pretty hard & fast rule about never offering personal opinions about courses of action when it's clear the other person is bound & determined to see them through—except when I feel an emotional bond with the other person and the course of action runs straight through a disaster zone.

Surgery under general anesthetic is risk enough on its own for anyone over 80, but added to that, I'd seen L's chest X-rays! I knew how badly her lungs were compromised.

So over lunch at one of the Culinary's extravagant restaurants, I told Linda my concerns.

It was one of the few occasions I can remember that I ever saw Linda get angry.

I can't remember exactly what she said—I wrote about it at the time, so it's here somewhere—but the gist was that I was not the boss of her, so why didn't I just STFU.

I felt so badly about the encounter that I ended up paying for the lunch—$100 plus.

But shortly after the knee replacement, Linda began manifesting signs of dementia. I think she may have stroked out on the table. Or thrown a mini-clot. Or something.

###

Linda was never someone with whom I was going to forge a deep connection, but I was fond of her and grateful to her.

I haven't seen her since I moved out, but Belinda, whose grim sense of duty compels her to take Linda out every couple of weeks, tells me she's not doing well. She doesn't appear to bathe, smells faintly of urine. She prattles thoughtlessly. She eats half a dozen rolls at a sitting.

Neither one of her children like her, so they're not looking out for her.

Mrs. Neighbor Ed drops by for tea and takes her out shopping once a week, but Mrs. Neighbor Ed, though a kind person, has definite boundaries.

The house keeps getting shabbier and shabbier.

Sad.

And maybe I'm in complete denial, maybe this is just what happens to people when they get old, but I can't help thinking, It didn't have to be this way...

elainegrey

I probably get to go home tomorrow -- sorry if silence was worrisome. Thank you for all your support and care.

The schedule for med delivery had me with interrupted sleep all Friday night as every hour or so bottles had to be changed and vitals checked until 5 am. Saturday the treatment started earlier and was done by 1 am. I have had to be very careful about the IV port in the crook of my elbow -- partly because it was oozing blood because of the low platelets, partly just to keep it working, and it is a little uncomfortable, typing hasn't been easy. But the last infusion finished in the early evening today ,and i just need one more dose of steroid pushed through and then the port will be removed: yippee. Lemme type.

I have also had family visits. My sister and dad stayed with me once i arrived at Chapel Hill until Christine came in the evening. On Saturday I was so glad i was not tied down with tubes when my sister in law visited. They have now announced that B-- may only have weeks to live, and it was good to hug her and hold her hand. My sister and niece gave me a lovely visit today, in happy Easter vibes. My dad has visited every day, and Christine as well. My nephew W-- was apologizing he couldn't visit and i told him i would listen to his winter concert again. It was lovely and i am loved, but my computer didn't get my attention. (And it if it did i was reading my chart and researching drugs.)

--== ∞ ==--

On Saturday morning i got a little more clarity about the initial reading: the number of platelets was under the threshold of 3k platelets per unit -- the limit of the lab equipment's capability to count. Depending on your communication style, apparently, one person said 2k (per some unit, which is under 3k) and the ER doctor at the county hospital was "not detectable." And i've grown more appreciative of the risk of a brain bleed at those numbers, although i think the ER doctor would have had is own anxiety driven aneurysm if he realized how many potholes were in the roads between the Siler City and Chapel Hill. I had a cat scan because i had a slight headache.

It's so weird. I don't feel like a fragile china cup.

"When the count drops below 50,000, bleeding can occur more easily after injuries, and counts below 20,000 can lead to spontaneous bleeding" This morning's read was above 20k, they seem willing to let me go above 30k

--== ∞ ==--

I had a new treatment today, Rituximab, which may help me not have another drop for a longer time. Optimistically, from the doctor, there have been patients who reportedly have gone for five years without a relapse. Stats aren't quite as optimistic, but i am grateful that in the past 15 years it seems this treatment has moved from what they fall back to if the splenectomy fails, to use as soon as the second drop

I probably still have a hard time appreciating the spontaneous bleeding risk.

--== ∞ ==--

It's surely been difficult for Christine to have two absences at home. I have a lifelike stuffed toy cat with me, so nurses and nurses assistants have asked if i have cats and i have finally learned to say "two" and not tear up. But i know i will have more tears to cry. I know i cry about Greycie Loo out of the blue still, because we thought we had so much time to still have with her, and the cancer took her so quickly. Luigi has been so fragile-seeming for the past few years - i suppose i expected him to die in his sleep. To have him loose his legs like Greycie Loo did, to have him so bravely try to drag himself to the bathroom, for him to not be distressed but relatively composed, oh sweet old man cat.

--== ∞ ==--

I understand tomorrow will be hurry up and wait as discharge churns through paperwork. I'll have a last dose of steroids so will have this energy boost to get me home. Then i know i will crash on Tuesday. I am not looking forward to work on Wednesday. I hope i'll have recovered from the steroid crash by then.

taz_39

Thursday was a blessed, much needed day off.

I was supposed to have a lesson with Will but his doctor had told him to take it very easy (he had a cardiac ablation) so I decided for both of us it was best to cancel.

Instead I had breakfast and washed our sheets while Jameson went to the gym.

Had a phone chat with the financial advisor for my meager investment account. It was boring and a waste of both our time but a chat is apparently required once a year or something. He is an elderly white man, and I despise working with him because every time we talk he interrogates me about my income, expresses bafflement that I haven't considered another line of work or marriage as a form of financial stability, and makes it clear that he disapproves of how inconsistent my income is. It, like, stresses him out that I can never tell him how much I make annually, because it varies so wildly from year to year that I don't know until the year is over. Don't ask why I keep this investment account, I've no idea.

This time at least, for once, he didn't interrogate me about my income.

Him: "Anything new you'd like to share? Any questions about your account?"
Me: "No, I generally avoid looking at my account right now because of the way things are going."
Him: "...Not a fan of the current administration, huh?"
Me: "Considering that the current administration has a problem with the arts, as well as the company I keep as an entertainment industry professional, no, I can't realistically be a fan of the current administration."
Him: *5 second silence* "Ok. Well, this has been a good chat."

I can't relate to people like my financial advisor, for whom money is a god to be lifted above all else.
I'm sure he can't relate to me and my incomprehensible fixation with being a musician instead of a breeding sow, either.

After that my day was pretty much done, and I was grateful for it.
Jameson's parents sent us a Kringle, which is a sort of "pride of Wisconsin" dessert that we've enjoyed while staying with them previously. This one is cherry flavored, and I'm excited to cut into it after Easter dinner on Sunday!

I got an email from the tour I'm supposed to join in June, asking for a headshot.
Wow, communication! The first real official one in about 3 months. I sent a photo and will hope for more info and updates soon.

Before lunch I enjoyed half a Dragon's Milk Crimson Keep (ABV 11% which is why I only drink half a beer at a time, just that small amount gives me a very wonderful buzz) and after lunch I was a lazy a$$, doing nothing but planning dinners and taking photos of stuff I want to sell online.

We watched Top Chef and went to bed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday I was up early, felt restless. Days off are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, but they just make me feel guilty for not being productive "enough," whatever that means.

So while Jameson slept I had breakfast, then
     - Took pictures of some trombone accessories that I'm offloading and listed them for sale
     - Bookmarked recipes for next week
     - Packed food for Epic tomorrow
     - Looked up how to repair the drippy guest bathroom sink

When Jameson got up I
     - Practiced bass
     - Went to the grocery for tonight's dinner and Easter dinner ingredients
     - Bought a sink repair kit and tried to repair the sink but the handle screw is so stripped that neither of us could remove it
     - Researched how to get our sinks and faucets replaced after consulting with Jameson about it
     - Sold two of my trombone accessories and set up payment and shipping for them
     - Prepped clothes and music for Easter Sunday gig
     - Bookmarked things I might need to buy for tour
     - Cleaned out the bathroom overhead light, which was full of ancient dead bugs

It feels like I did nothing at all today regardless of all this.

Eventually made "summer spaghetti" for dinner which is just pancetta, squash, tomatoes, balsamic, and basil on wheat spaghetti and sprinkled with cheese. One of our tasty staple dinners.

And finally sent notice to Epic and Disney that I'll be going on tour in June.
We're two months away from me leaving, and Epic at least will need to replace me. Disney probably won't be much affected.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, up before my alarm for coffee and to work on Foodie Finds because receiving contact from the tour yesterday has re-motivated me. Left earlier than needed to get gas and pick up a Panera sandwich for lunch. Arriving early was good, though, because on Saturday traffic is lighter so for once I got decent parking, and also had time to play bass for 30 minutes.

Our sets were normal. We had one of the subs on trumpet, and…he did great but I really wish we could have a few more rehearsals for all of the subs. We also didn’t have the cart because one of the wheels snapped clean off as soon as it was moved. Yikes! It’ll be out for days if not weeks.

Employee-only previews are over, so now we have actual paying guests in the park (Annual Passholders.) It’s a different vibe but so far not a bad one. We had some good crowds and smiling faces :) I'm embarrassed to say that the only recording I've found of our trio performing today is one where I messed up terribly...and here I am criticizing the sub musicians! How's that for instant karma! Anyway I won't flinch from it. Remembering this performance will keep me humble and remind me to stay focused so I can do a better job next time.

Back home I prepped a light breakfast for Easter service tomorrow, and boiled some eggs for deviled eggs, then hydrated and relaxed.

Random photos from OCRegister, so you can see what's going on in this park right now.
There are more and more people, but it's still not CROWDED.
But oh, it will be.

Astrid/Stormfly meet-and-greet in How to Train Your Dragon / Berk

Frankenstein's Castle, Darkmoor, Dark Universe

The streets of Place Cachee, Wizarding World/Ministry of Magic

------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, up at 4am, UUUUGH.

Before leaving I set out a small Easter basket for Jameson, along with a Japan Series Cubs shirt.

A 90-minute drive to some random Methodist church in the middle of nowhere. I arrived on time and so did the others in the hired brass quartet, we all pulled into the parking lot about the same time. Chatted as we got set up. Met the choir director, who started with a warm up and then ran through "Crown Him with Many Crowns" with us.

We were hired to play prelude music for 15 minutes before the two Easter services, and then play along with any hymns. It was easy. At the first service we were a little timid, and didn't get applause between songs because it was a scant, half-asleep audience. But we did get applause when finished with the set, and after the service many people came up to tell us they'd enjoyed our playing.

The population of this church is 99% blue hairs; I only saw one couple about my age and they looked like they absolutely did not want to be there. This meant that we four in the quartet were the youngest in the room...and also, being from out of town, the most interesting. Thus it was that between services we were invited to enjoy a light breakfast with the choir, and had our ears talked off by these lovely men and women who only had a scant 20 minutes to pelt us with all the questions they could squeeze in, and/or tell us about themselves! :D

It has been a while, and had forgotten what a novelty I am, as a female trombonist, to this generation.
And never before have I had multiple people simultaneously exclaiming over that, as I did today.

Within just a few minutes I got,
"Wow, you're really playing that big ole instrument, huh!"
"My band director wanted me to play the trombone too, but my parents would have been FURIOUS."
"How can a tiny thing like you play a big instrument like that?"
"You must have extra-big lungs to keep up with the boys!"

...and my favorite was,
" *Manly giggle* So tell me, at what age were your arms long enough to reach all the notes?"

Generally, I consider comments like these to be non-offensive, and simply an expression of the fact that very few women play the trombone (and also that it has been a rather frowned-upon thing for young ladies to do, making it novel/more interesting than would be otherwise.) Additionally, most people don't know very much about the trombone and so make assumptions based on pop culture and tropes and whatnot.

It makes me happy that people are interested; to share how I got into playing the trombone, and explain that most anyone of either sex can play trombone, even with little arms :) When it becomes offensive is when a man uses one of the above statements as a segue into a mansplain about trombone technique because he played it back in middle school and is thereby an expert; or continues to describe how women can't or shouldn't play low brass instruments; or turns it into something suggestive. All of which have, of course, happened to me before. But this was a large group of both men and women, and I think people were just plain interested.

The second service was much better attended, and we received enthusiastic applause after each and every prelude song. Adorable! Everything went just fine and we were told many times how our playing had been enjoyed and appreciated.

In all honesty...when it comes to Easter, most of the time I'd absolutely drive 90 minutes at 4am for a few compliments and a muffin.
Money isn't everything.

Here is some of our playing. (Please keep in mind that we've all been up since 4am lol)

Watch on YouTube

Back home I found Jameson standing in our driveway dressed in gym clothes, facing the garage door. I pulled in behind him and he held a hand up, but it was too late...he'd been taking video of a large black racer, but my car scared it away. Drat! He did send me the video, though! They are beautiful and beneficial animals, and I hope this one likes living in our yard.

He went for a walk while I scarfed down lunch, drank the other half of my beer, and whipped up deviled eggs.
When he got back we had a relaxing day, snacking on Easter candy and gaming or watching TV.
Eventually I made a modest Easter dinner of ham, roasted asparagus, crescent rolls, coleslaw, and the cherry Kringle from Wisconsin for dessert. Did you notice what I left out? The stupid deviled eggs! Completely forgot them and left them in the fridge. I felt something was missing and even asked Jameson and he couldn't think of anything. I was SO ANNOYED. Eh, we'll just eat them tomorrow, I only made six.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday: Day off. Shipping the sold trombone accessories, practicing, Something Else Productive.

Tuesday: Day off. Same as above but probably listing more items for sale and cooking dinner too.

Wednesday: Work at Epic.

Profile

zippybeta

May 2023

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

Page Summary

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:53 pm

Reading

Interesting Links for 23-04-2025

Shade guy

Where oh where

Doggies

Toe to toe

The next phase

Other People's Contrails

Interesting Links for 22-04-2025

The movie Flow

So glad that pile of grading is DONE [work]

The Friday Five on a Bank Holiday Monday

Death does eventually come for us all [work]

Buying the tools

Weirdest snack

Wrench in the works

Photo cross-post

The News From Dutchess County

Interesting Links for 21-04-2025

(health, cats)

Easter Weekend 2025

Profile

May 2023

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags