MMEA

I spent most of last week at Tan-Ta-Ra Resort at Lake of the Ozarks for the Missouri Music Educator’s Conference.  Three of my Rock Bridge High School Chamber orchestra students made it into the All State Orchestra 

me, Arnold Chen (violin), Joanna Yu(viola), Alice Yu (violin)

 (the girls are not related)

and that is truly the only reason I attended.  Margaret Lawless, the Hickman orchestra director (and the violist in Prairie Strings) also had three students in the orchestra so she and I shared a room again – this was our third year. 

 

 First year, she didn’t make reservations early enough to get into Tan-Ta-Ra so we had to room in an off-site hotel that was sort of a dump.  So, for 2014, she called in time for a room on site but we were put at the top of four flights of stairs (no elevator) and, if we wanted to stay out of the bitter cold (which was the weather a year ago) we had to hike about a quarter mile of connecting walkways to get to the main events.  So, for this year, as soon as reservations could be made, Margaret called and booked us a room. AND, she pulled the “old lady” card stating that we could not handle stairs (my sprained Achilles tendon – which I had last September/October and is still swollen – came into play) so we got a perfect room – literally 100 steps and an elevator ride away from all the main events.

Since this is my last year of teaching orchestra, I really had no interest in the small number of orchestra workshops that were offered.  I did attend one for bass playing but came away unsatisfied because the presenter had opposing views on bass bows and on sitting vs. standing while playing.  I attended all the orchestra performances that were offered.  I am not sure if I mentioned that last spring, I submitted a CD of Rock Bridge Chamber Orchestra to be considered for a performance slot this year at MMEA.  After the performances I heard this year, I am not sure if RBHS could EVER be invited.  I heard amazing concerts – and all the schools were from St. Louis – a virtual juggernaut when it comes to string players.  In fact, I did some calculations and over 80% of the All State Orchestra members were from St. Louis schools.  And, I am actually relieved we did not get accepted because the RBHS Wind Ensemble did get invited and Steve Mathews, their director, has been going nuts ever since.  I know he is glad this past week is over. 

I used most of my time at Tan-Ta-Ra to relax and rejuvenate – I took a walk every morning.  

 

  I watched movies I brought (Hotel Transylvania – really cute; The Lunchbox – an Indian film that was beautifully done but had a less-than-satisfying ending.  UGH!;  and a documentary called The Fog of War that was very interesting).  I lost some brain cells when Margaret watched episodes of Dr. Phil and Love, Lust, or Run.  I read.  I knitted.  I napped.  And, by Saturday, I was REALLY ready to be done with music education stuff.  Because it was my 40^th wedding anniversary!  When I got home around 5:30, Steve and I went to dinner at Applebees (thanks to a gift card), dessert at Coldstone (thanks Kirsti and Ryan), and we bought ourselves a soup toureen for our anniversary gift. 

We woke up to a smattering of snow this morning although parts of Missouri got quite a bit more.  And, I will end with a photo of Sadie during naptime this afternoon.

 

What a week!

Steve has joined the 4G smart phone world with a Samsung S4.   He kept saying he was fine with his old Sarah hand-me-down semi-smart-phone but I accidentally knocked it off the dresser as it was charging and it was never the same so a new phone became a necessity.  I think he likes is new device…

It is so strange that a four-day work week can seem so LONG but that is how this week has been.  It feels like it was ages ago that we had Monday off for Martin Luther King’s birthday.  By then, Steve was feeling better (from flu, per last blog) and so we were able to go to Steven and Tamara's house for dinner – grilled pork chops and salad and baked potatoes and I brought a banana cream pie.  Mmmm.

I think what made the week feel so long was that I had two Instrument Exploration Nights (IENs) to work; one Tuesday and one Thursday.  These typically last almost three hours starting at 6:30.  Three hours of a seemingly never-ending line of 5^th grade kids and their parents waiting to try out the string bass, which I demonstrate.  This is what I said and did a MILLION times both nights....

Hello – (reach for student’s information card and read name, assuming the parent has filled out the card.  Many haven’t because they don’t have a pen!  Who goes through life without a pen?  Do they think they can TEXT their answers on the card???) insert child’s name from insert school.  I see you already play insert instrument OR I see you have never played an instrument before.   For the bass, I want you to put your left foot on here and your right foot here (demonstrate foot placement or ask child to move away from the bass so you can demonstrate foot placement) and you let the bass lean into your body.  (I am keeping one hand at all times on the bass as I talk).  Then you take your left hand and hold the bass up here (on the scroll) and you take your right thumb and place it right here (on the fingerboard) and you pluck with your right index finger. Try making some sounds….

While the student plucks away on the strings, I ask the parent “do you have a vehicle that can transport a bass?” and indicate the answer in the little box marked “bass” on the information card.  After about 30 seconds of plucking, I hand them the bow and show them where to place it on the strings and let them saw away for another 30 seconds.  If a child is really tall, I typically give them and “excellent” rating and if their bow sound is particularly strong, I will write that in the box.  If a child is average height, I usually mark “good +” and if they are tiny, or if they don’t have a car that can transport a bass, I mark “OK” and I tell the parent that their child’s size is not suitable for a bass.  I advise them that students can move over to the bass in a couple years, after they have grown. I explain that the bass is the largest instrument in the orchestra and also the most fragile.  The strings are extremely thick and require special tuning pegs (the gear/cog type rather than the wedge-in type) which puts a lot of tension on the neck.  Hopefully, I give parents the idea that, if their child (or they) are kind of clumsy, that they should NOT be lugging around a bass!  I end by saying thank-you insert child’s name and greet the next one.  Each string instrument station has at least two and usually three demonstrators but not the bass – I am the only one.  I bring a stool to sit on as much as I can but, by the end of the night, I am completely exhausted.  I have one last IEN tomorrow night.

We took a little get-away trip with Steven, Sarah, and the Southerland family to Nauvoo Friday and Saturday.   

Steven drove the Columbia car and we all got to the Nauvoo Villas at about 8:30 Friday night.  We rented a two-bedroom condo that was connected to a one-bedroom condo so we could fit everyone comfortably (well, poor Steven got the living room sofa-bed so his bed was not so comfy).  

 

After Quinn was put to bed, we played  a fun game - Cranium Hoopla.  

 

We fixed pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast and then we drove in to Nauvoo, starting at the Family Living center (Noah made a rope) 

 

and we took a wagon ride.  

 

 

 

Back to the condo for tacos and, while the kids napped (Joe and Sarah stayed behind), Steven, Emily, Steve, and I attended the temple.  

 

The three o'clock session happened to be a Spanish-speaking one so we all got to wear the headphones and receivers.  Throughout the day, the weather was a teeny bit chilly but the sun was bright and it was a lovely winter day.   And, it was great to have some of the family together.

 

 

January thaw

Steve has been down with the flu from Wednesday and since then, time has seemed to slow way down.  I got MY flu shot, we are washing hands and disinfecting like crazy, and we have set Steve up in a quarantine room and so far, I have stayed healthy (knock on wood).  Steve's worst two days were Wednesday and Thursday. Yesterday, he felt well enough to enjoy a Ruby Tuesday's take-out birthday dinner, and we hope today or tomorrow he will be completely over it. The ONE good thing that has come out of this is that Steve says he will get a flu shot from now on (he has been a long-time refrain-er from flu shots).  He said this flu has been worse than his kidney stones.  Wow.

How strange to have a week go by so slowly, even while full of extra events.  Like the second informational meeting for the tri-school trip to Europe on Tuesday night.  A Friends of Rock Bridge Orchestra (booster organization) meeting Wednesday night.  The Rock Bridge show choir premier on Thursday night.  The Fine Arts Extravaganza on Thursday during the day. (This is the annual event where all the 5th graders are bussed in to the Missouri Theater to hear the bands and orchestras to recruit for 6th grade ensembles.  This year, choir, drama and art was added to the day's activities.).  And the Volvo went in the shop for a new CV boot and to replace the rear brakes.   While it was up on the rack, other non-emergent (but expensive) issues were discovered and, at 185,000 miles, we are wondering if it is time to look into a different car.  Stay tuned on that one....

The three-day weekend has been great, so far.  We are enjoying a January thaw and being outside is delightful.  However, washing muddy dog paws every time they come in the house has not been fun.  Even before Steve got sick, the weekend calendar was pretty clear so I have been able to catch up on mending and other projects.  We watched Les Miserable Friday night.  I am embarrassed to say I watched The Fault in Our Stars last night.  I guess I should have known what it would be like.... Oh, well, I did my mending while it was playing. 

New Year in Indiana

We drove to Greenwood, Indiana on New Year's Eve to spend a few days with Julina and Alex and Imogene.  Shiloh and Stratton were with their mom the whole time so we didn't see them at all. 

Julina had the three of us pose in front of Bob Smith's photo (he passed in 2009) to get a picture of the four of us.  It turned out kind of nice and somewhat realistic, I think (if you don't consider that one of us is in black and white).

We went to see "Into The Woods" on New Year's Day.  Both Steve and I loved it, even though they did some tinkering with the story line.

Julina had to work in southern Indiana on Friday so Steve and I decided to drive to Louisville to attend the temple.  We linked up with Juli early in the afternoon and, after a Culver's snack, she and I sent Steve back to Greenwood to talk trains with Alex while we wandered around the cute town of Columbus (located about 40 miles south of Greenwood).

We visited a couple of yarn shops and I am ready to get back into actual knitting (as opposed to the baby hats of which I have been doing so many).  Next we visited an ice cream parlor that has been around for over a hundred years.  It had lots of antique soda fountains on display as well as mechanical music devices like the one shown below.  In the center is a banjo with a wooden keyboards along the neck.  A drum in the upper left.  For a quarter, you got to hear one of about ten different tunes.  It was really cool.



Then, we went across the street to take a look at their city center.   It has a large indoor atrium-type area which includes a huge kid play area (like the ones at McDonalds, only on steriods) and a place for musical performances.  Behind Julina is a huge statue / Rube Goldberg device (that wasn't working at the time).   What a nice town.

Saturday, we went to the state fairgrounds to a model train show.  Wow!  Steve and Alex were in heaven.  Lots and lots of vendors.  Lots and lots of model train displays.  Every photo I took with a moving train was blurry so I will show you one with out a train but still pretty amazing.  Steve left with supplies and ideas for his own train display.

Aside from the already-mentioned outings, we just visited, ate out a couple of times, played some fun games around the dining room table, and watched some movies (Million Dollar Arm, Cars, Operation Petticoat, Lincoln).  I came down with a cold so sleeping was not so great but, aside from that, we had a great time.

Imogene is doing OK.  Some days, she doesn't feel very well.  Other days she has enough energy to work on her cards.

We attended church Sunday morning and left early afternoon.  We stopped at Emily and Joe's house for dinner and we were back in Columbia by around 8:00 pm.          

 I finished up my many winter baby hats with these little snowmen.  and now, I am taking a small hiatus from baby hats to knit (as mentioned earlier). I have some real wool yarn and I want to try my hand at felting. 

This past week has been bitterly cold - we had two late-start days as a result - and it seemed like all I did was catch up from being gone. 

I had an informational meeting Thursday night for students interested in going to Austria and Germany over spring break 2016.  The trip will include orchestra students from all three high schools and, in spite of the cold, there were 20 interested students. A second meeting will be this coming Tuesday.  Hopefully, out of the two nights, the minimum number of 24 students will be met.  

On Saturday, Steve and I finally saw the last Hobbit movie.  I liked it but more than once, I leaned over to Steve to say "this part is not in the book".  We both agreed that Peter Jackson should now  stop making epic movies  -  that he has reached his pinnacle in that department.   It seems like there is an "one-up-manship" mindset among directors of epic films and the often the results are that the special effects get in the way of the story.  Steve and I both feel a need for more movies like "100 Step Journey".  (but I confess I am looking forward to "Jupiter Ascending")