My kind of lemonade

It's been a lemon of a year, right? Have I made lemonade? Sometimes. Some days I feel like I was refereeing a lemon fight with my family (or just joining in), so by the end we were all cranky and covered with bruises and lemon juice. Not to mention--we had a huge mess to clean up. Other days, we remembered to add sugar and ice cubes, so things were sweet and chill. 

I will say this about this past year: life gives me quarantine, I make string players. Pretty dorky, I know. But fairly accurate. When everything shut down last April, I used a lot of the homebound time to double down on Ramona and Mika's string playing skills. I'm certain their hands were on their instruments more than they would have been if school and activities had all been in full swing. Instruction was far from perfect--sequencing of technique was not really a consideration, and we didn't weave much music theory in, either. The goal was just to keep them playing and find music that interested them. 

The result: 

1) I prevented them from quitting. That alone is sometimes a huge feat, especially when kids tell you they want to quit every week.

2) They found their sound. Bowing stringed instruments is hard, and there is no substitution for repetition. They played often enough that sound production was no longer a struggle. Their bows weren't constantly bumping into other strings and they could consistently avoid most extraneous screeches and squeaks. 

3) By playing familiar songs, they trained themselves to listen and adjust for intonation errors. Sometimes they are lazy and don't self-correct as they should. But when they are actually trying, the left hand fingers land in place pretty well, and usually slide to the right spot when the initial target is missed.

All that because we didn't leave the house much for a few months.

Now I am finding myself in another partial quarantine. Yesterday I got an email from the County Health Department with a specific quarantine order for Paula because a classmate of hers tested positive for COVID. She isn't allowed to leave the house for the next week as we monitor for symptoms, and we aren't permitted to have visitors in the house, so I have had to contact all my music students to make accommodations for that. Paula switched to remote school beginning yesterday, and this morning all the kids are at school except for her. It's just the two of us at home. 

So I taught her how to the play the violin.

I had an extra half-size violin sitting in the basement. It had previously been strung like a viola while Mika had been learning on it, and I tucked it away after I got her an actual 13-inch viola. Before that, it was Ramona's first violin. Paula watched me excitedly as I restrung the instrument, turning it back into a violin and teaching her the string names. I had her look at the first few pages of a beginner violin book to learn the parts of the instrument as I tuned it. Then we plucked a few strings before she had to start her class on the computer. 

While she did that, I dug up an old "Resonance" shoulder rest that had been replaced by some better "Kun" accessories. It had been fitted for a 3/4 size violin, so I tried taking it out to the garage and smacking it with a hammer until the grips were the right distance apart for a Paula's half-size violin. Next problem: curvature. "Kun" shoulder rests have a much more defined curve that, in my opinion, fits better on the shoulder and collar bone. "Resonance" rests are rather flat in comparison, and don't provide enough lift. I needed some material--something firm, but not too hard. I found an old shoe insole that I had ripped out of a brand new pair of shoes to make room for my orthotics. It was made out of foam and fabric and was never worn in a shoe so it didn't smell like foot. I grabbed some scissors and cut it up to see if I could create an attachment for that flat shoulder rest.

Is this really how I spent my free time today? Appalling, I know. But I wasn't planning to teach Paula the violin today, it just kind of happened. My actual long-term goal is to teach her how to play the cello, because I am pretty sure she is more of a cellist than I violinist, but I don't have an extra quarter-size cello sitting around my house, and her fingers are still so little . . .

Anyway . . . voila! A semi-suitable shoulder rest!

When Paula came down for her break from remote school, she told me she had a full hour until she needed to be back. So I taught her how to hold the violin, how to pluck the strings while it was up on her shoulder, and even how to play a couple of fingered notes on the D string. 

You can tell she is concentrating more on those fingered notes! It was a lot for just one "lesson," so we stopped and she read a book until it was time to go back to class. 

This is my kind of lemonade. 

Real Time Post--An Almost Perfect Relatively Uneventful Thursday

I keep slipping with this blogging business. Eventually I will write an entry about my 6-year old's 5th birthday, but I'd like to pause with one real-time post to say that today has been an almost perfect Thursday.

Wylie is such a big boy now--potty trained and proudly wearing his PJ Masks or Paw Patrol underwear during the day. But small enough that I still get to keep him with me while his sisters are at school.

This morning we exercised together, then went to a yoga studio to redeem $75 worth of free merchandise with a gift certificate we won at a library event last summer (I know, it only took me a few months to get over there. So happy I didn't lose it before it expired!) After we grabbed some groceries (I got an amazing deal on applesauce and Teddy Grahams), we went to the library for Story Explorers story time where Miss Andrea read us a book about a polar bear. Then Wylie got to play with some fake snow and tiny arctic animals . . .

. . . and squirt warm water on a blue ice cube to simulate a melting iceberg.

We came home for lunch, then cuddled on the couch to read a couple of Curious George books. I love that Wylie will still sit on my lap and let me nuzzle his head.

Next, I sat at the piano to work on this, with Wylie's help (he loves the piano these days):

He also played his own little songs with me before I let him turn on his favorite show--Boss Baby.
While he's watching, I might even have time to practice this:

Beethoven 5. I can't wait for rehearsal tonight!

Stay tuned for documentation on Paula's 5th Birthday . . . it's coming . . .

Sam-Packed Saturday

Aunt Christie had a conference in Denver at the end of April, and brought Uncle Dan and baby June with her. We still had not met baby June, and who knows when was the last time we saw and Dan Christie? So that Saturday, we drove down to meet them for lunch and a stroll around the city.

We went to Sam's No. 3.

A balloon artist handed Mika a flower as we were walking down the sidewalk.

On the way home, we took naps in the car and stopped at Culver's for ice cream.

After that, we had my orchestra's annual potluck/meeting in Loveland. It was my idea to get it partially catered, which turned out to be a good idea, but of course then it fell on Forest to pick up the food (in addition to supervising children during the meeting). Thank you, Love.

It was a little jam-packed, but not a bad Saturday for the Dixons.

Dorkestra

For a little over a year now I have served as the secretary for the Loveland Orchestra, and my dear friend Paige has been the president. The 2017-2018 season was our first season as board members, so we had a lot to learn and a lot of volunteer hours to donate (these are unpaid positions, just like our membership as musicians in the orchestra). Let me just say--I had no idea how many logistical details go into maintaining a community orchestra and putting on seven concerts a year.

Here we are after our first concert of the season back in September--the crowd was a little sparse, perhaps in part because we didn't get the ad in the local newspaper, but we sounded great and there were no disasters.

In February was our fourth annual (and hopefully final) fundraiser gala. Again, I was a little naive about the amount of time required to organize an event like this. It was educational, successful, and completely took over my life. So many things were put on my proverbial back burner during the weeks leading up to February 3, I still shudder at the word "gala."

The crazy look in my eyes has visibly increased in the selfie we took at the gala:

Forest and Ramona came to support me at the fundraiser. They listened to me play music, filled up their plates with food, and won a couple of raffle prizes. During the silent auction, they also let me bid on a student viola, which I ended up taking home.

Ramona's raffle prizes

Our March concert was the highlight of the season for me. We got to play Brahms Symphony No. 4, which I fell in love with at one point, and it still pulls at my heart strings. Our orchestra performed it about five years ago, but this rendition was so much more gratifying to play. The group as a whole sounds much more refined, and the accuracy of my personal playing has also improved, so it was a much more fulfilling experience to present on stage. 

If Louie and I are still here in five years, he promised we could play it again.

Here we are at our final concert, at the end of April. Probably still feeling a little crazy, but so relieved to have that first season behind us with no major catastrophes. 

We presented Louie with an embroidered fleece marking the end of his 15th season as our director. Congrats, Maestro, and congrats Madame President on a fantastic season under your leadership!

We started up our next season a couple of weeks ago, and at the first rehearsal Louie asked everyone to share why they played in the orchestra as they introduced themselves. I have thinking about this a lot, and here are a few reasons why I play:

1) I grew up having a love/hate relationship with orchestra. Love won.

2) Life is better when you find moments to make something beautiful--including beautiful music.

3) Making music is a privilege that elevates my existence in a truly unique way. There is almost something ethereal about the process that makes me wonder if I attempted something similar before this life. 

In the moment, as I stood to introduce myself, this was the reason I gave:

For me and my cello, this is home.

Excuses, Excuses

It's the last day of February and I am realizing that I have not come up with a single blog post all month. Somewhere I have written down a list of posts I intend to write, but obviously, that list got buried beneath some other more urgent to-do lists.

Here is another list--a list of excuses for why I didn't get to my blog post list this month:

1) My darling Wylie boy. He is so busy every waking minute. When my girls were this age, they would get into things, but I don't remember fearing for their lives as often as I do for this child. I love him so much (and I really do hope I can keep him alive).

2) Lots of orchestra. I am on the orchestra board this year, and especially with no instruction manual for this job, it has turned out to be a lot of work with a steep learning curve. Early in the month I helped plan a fundraiser for our organization that consumed way too many hours. More on that, later.

3) Harry Potter. I am trying to stay ahead of Ramona in the book series, and it is a littler harder than I thought! But it's not so bad curling up with a blanket, finishing a chapter in the book, and feeling like I accomplished something.

Stay tuned for my Christmas blog post in March. Hopefully.

Making Time for Making Music

I am sure my life is some kind of scary example of time mismanagement. I have four children under the age of 8, I teach a dozen or more music lessons each week, I play in a community orchestra that meets weekly for 2.5 hour rehearsals, we take our family to church for three hours every Sunday, and we don't hire a nanny or house cleaner. Oh yeah, and I occasionally contribute to this blog. Realistically, I probably don't have time for all of that--something should probably get cut. Perhaps some would advise me to make some cuts in the music department to try to ease my schedule.  But somehow, I am still holding on and trying to "make time" for the music in my life. Most days it translates to a messy house and dishes left undone, but some part of me is afraid that once I let go of the music, I won't ever get it back--and to me, that is scarier than the clutter that resides in my home.

Earlier this month I crammed even more music into my life by participating in our orchestra's annual fundraiser. I performed some pieces with my friend Yoshiko, who accompanied on the piano. 

We got a smaller crowd at the gala than anticipated, but I still had fun getting on stage and playing works by Rachmaninoff, Elgar, and Bloch. We finished our set with some arrangements by the Piano Guys: Titanium and Thousand Years.

Forest and Ramona came to the event as a Daddy/Daughter date. It was so sweet to feel Ramona's little arms around me as I came down from the stage.

Surveying the refreshment table, the three of us made sure to eat cupcakes with little heart rings on them, so each of the three sisters could have one as a souvenir.

I guess time management is really all about personal priorities. So, as long as I assert that keeping a pristine house is not my top priority (I don't think anyone would argue with that) maybe I can justify spending so much time playing and teaching music.

Or maybe I am a complete lunatic who should stop typing right now and sweep the kitchen floor.

Either way, I discovered a product that comes very close to "making time" in my somewhat overloaded schedule--dry shampoo! It says right on the can that I can use it INSTEAD OF WASHING MY HAIR! A few sprays, and voila! my hair is clean. In much less time than it takes to wash and dry my hair with water and normal shampoo.

I do still wash my hair like a normal person. Sometimes. By now I am sure it is painfully obvious that personal appearance is not high on my list of priorities, either. But my children are fed, I'm happily married (to a husband who does a LOT of dishes without complaining), and I still remember how to play the cello.

Now I really should stop typing and sweep the kitchen floor.