Cat

Caturday 6/30

June 29, 2012 hannahviolin 2 Comments

(Warning: This post started out nice and relaxed, and then things got out of control. There may be cute overload further down the page. Reader beware!)

I know I post cat pictures more often than not. But whatever, it’s CATURDAY! (Actually, full disclosure. I’m writing this on Friday night. We had an outdoor wedding, temperature 102, followed by dinner at Riverbend and perhaps a few too many raspberry vodka tonics, but I deserved it, dammit! IT’S CATURDAY SOMEWHERE!)

That’s Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee. I imagine a cat would enjoy it, hence it’s relevance here.

Her favorite seat: next to Chris on the papasan chair. Side note: we got a new couch and chair today for the new place, and we may not really be using the papasan so much. Personally I haven’t really sat in the papasan in about 5 years or more, but Chris loves it. I guess he’s looking forward to the new furniture though.

Pretty cool, right? It’s a mullet type couch. Leather on the bottom, some other softer material on the top. And we got a matching chair as well.

I’m sure the fatness will like that! Or the dog. Chris wants to get a dog. I guess compromise is part of marriage, huh?

Okay, next. I know I shared this yesterday but I’m sharing again because I love it.

So soft and furry. SO soft and furry.

Fatness in the window.

Oh, quick FYI, if you didn’t know. Officially her name is Oistrakh. I had another cat named Heifetz, and then I got the Fatness (who was a tiny, 5 week old kitty) and named her Oistrakh, who is another amazing violinist like Heifetz, but that was too hefty of a name for a tiny kitty. So we called her "little kitty" until one day we realized she wasn’t little any more. For awhile we called her fatty, but she was so entitled we started calling her "her royal fatness" and then also "the fat ham" because of that Family Guy episode where Chris is accused of having a ham under his shirt…anyway, that transitioned into simply "the Fatness".

Heifetz and "Little Kitty"

Heifetz, my first cat. SO beautiful she was. And sweet. She loved the violin, unlike the Fatness.

I think her head is still the same size? (Seriously, I just can’t with this picture. It’s ridiculous. I don’t even know.)

And this one. SO FREAKING CUTE I THINK I’M GOING TO CRY.

(Okay, seriously, how ugly was my couch? And how cute is that adorable creature??)

Okay, back to the present day. You can see that while her size has changed, her personality hasn’t.

Sometimes I’m frightened of how much I love the Fatness. I’m scared that I’ll come home one day and she’ll be gone. That happened with Heifetz…she was just in the closet…dead…and the Fatness was freaking out. I still get teary when I think about it. And I know that someday the Fatness will die too, as my friend Alex said, pets are little tragedies…

But until then. As much as I get annoyed at her in the morning when she tries to wake up me up (by slowly moving things around like my glasses or my phone)…I love her fiercely and with abandon.

Leslie (right) and I have always been cat lovers. And tan.

Cat

Vega Protein Powder and Kitties

June 29, 2012 hannahviolin 1 Comment

I was contacted by Vega Protein Powder about getting some free samples of their product as well as giving my readers and followers some samples. Now, you all know that I eat (drink? use? mainline?) protein powder every morning in my oatmeal, and I also often make a protein shake after workouts, depending on if I remember or have time. So when they asked if I’d like some samples, I said sure. I mean really, this blog is obviously taking off: free protein powder, free shoes, free Saucy Soiree tickets. I’m raking it in here, and YOU can say you knew me before I was big. (Unless you’re just meeting me now. Too late.)

(Go here to see a hilarious bit from The Office about protein powder.)

Honestly though, it’s fun, but of course I write for me (for me, not for you. Don’t forget!) I won’t say no to free samples, but (and I know everybody says this, but it’s true) I would never push anything on you, and I won’t lie about liking something that I don’t like.

So here’s the deal. I have no idea what this stuff is like, because I haven’t gotten my samples yet, but you can sign up for a bit of junk email and get a free sample for yourself. Maybe it’s terrible, maybe it’s awesome, but it is probably worth trying if you are a protein powder user like me. And it’s 100% plant based—so if that is a concern of yours, you’re good to go! (Though the small print implies it might be made in a facility that processes chocolate which might contain dairy and soy, so depending on your level of paranoia/seriousness you’ll want to be wary, as with anything processed.)

Go here to sign up for your free sample.

Okay part two. I promised you kitties.

My kitty!

And that is the funniest thing I saw on the internet this week. Can anybody top it?

Running

A Brilliant Run

June 28, 2012 hannahviolin 4 Comments

I love the smell of a new pair of shoes. Women’s size 10, Mizuno Inspires. Thanks to Mizuno Running and the Mezamashii Project.

I took a lot of pictures of my new shoes inside.

But, I figured I’d better try out my new shoes on the road.

(Free shoes courtesy of the Mezamashii Project from Mizuno Running, but I wasn’t required to write anything at all. I am because I love them and primarily because the soles of the shoes are purple. Want your own pair of free shoes? Apply here.)

What beautiful shoes. Mike asked me something about the soles the other day, and I looked at him blankly. I said, um, I don’t know, but they are purple on the bottom. He laughed at me, and said, well, of course you know that.

Have you ever tried to take a picture while running? Now I have. It’s harder than you’d think.

I went to the park, ran all the way around Tower Grove Park and Missouri Botanical Gardens. I cut down that street by the Gardens with the wonderful shaded dirt and grass path. The dirt was very dry, and so was the grass. We really need some rain.

The shoes were great. They don’t feel too different from what I’ve been running in, and they look fantastic. Yes, I’m aware that is not actually what matters in a shoe. But I can’t deny that I enjoy the look of them.

I felt great running. I felt like myself again. There is just something about running that makes me feel alive, that makes me feel like anything is possible.

Oh, yeah, that’s sweat.

(It’s funny that that is my default attitude. I can do anything. Anything is possible.)

I’m already thinking about my next run.

Random thoughts

I would bike 10000 miles

June 27, 2012 hannahviolin 1 Comment

I think that’s how the song goes?

Honestly though, I wouldn’t. But my dad did, in the past 12 months.

Here he is, returned from his 10,000th mile for the year.

Last fall he biked from my hometown (and his home) in Clinton, South Carolina to Phoenix, Arizona, with a side trip to St Louis, Missouri. Since then he’s been continuing to bike, day trips, weekend trips and longer. Once he realized he could hit 10,000 miles for the year he made that a goal. I asked if he would be trying for another 10,000 this year and he said no.

That’s my dad. I don’t think he’s trying to be an inspiration to anyone, but look. He’s 65 years old. What’s your excuse? I’m going to go for a run now.

Food

Saucy Soiree

June 25, 2012 hannahviolin 1 Comment

Friday I won some sort of twitter contest for free tickets to Sauce Magazine’s Saucy Soiree. Since Melissa and I already had dinner plans for Sunday night it made perfect sense to take her as my guest. My tickets were thanks to @chevystlkeys on twitter.

Interesting fact about the Four Seasons. Valet Parking is only $5.

Anyway, we weren’t sure what to wear, so we naturally both ended up wearing black dresses. They took our photo when we entered and the woman asked if we planned it. Um, no. We are just that awesome. I’m pretty sure that a little black dress is always appropriate attire. Especially if you are a musician.

I had planned to take a bunch of pictures, but I got a bit overwhelmed upon arrival and after that my hands were full. Basically, we parked, got in line for the elevator, and went up to the 6th floor. There we exchanged our passes for orange bracelets and got drink tickets.

I’d played weddings at the Four Seasons before but Melissa had never been. The view is awesome—it overlooks the river.

(Well, it really just overlooks a parking lot. But there’s a river back there, really.)

The food and drink were inside the ballroom though.

We got wine glasses and sampled some wines from local wineries, and then entered the main ballroom with TONS of tables from all kinds of restaurants giving out samples. We didn’t know how to tackle the room, so we just started going around clockwise, taking a sample from one restaurant, trying it, then getting the next one. There was a lot of balancing required, what with the wine glass, and then maybe needing a fork or spoon to eat the sample. After we got about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through we realized we were going to fail, because we were already super full. So then we got more picky about our choices…but overall it was very good.

My favorites: Niche had a delicious lemon artichoke tortellini (yummy!), Milagro had (I think) pork tacos, and Pi had the world’s most amazing pudding. Edited to add this tweet from Milagro:

(That is a tiny piece of pizza, a shot glass full of pudding with the world’s smallest spoon. I believe it was the oatmeal stout chocolate pudding and it was to die for.)

Overall it was a great event—fun and delicious, plus the people watching in St Louis is always incredible. I had already been many of the restaurants, and the samples I tried didn’t really change any of my opinions on which are my favorite restaurants, but it was a blast trying all the different foods, and I’d go back next year…at least if I got free tickets again :) We didn’t use our drink tickets—I think the cover price would have been more worthwhile if we had, but the wine and beer samples were already included and that seemed like enough drinking for a Sunday night.

So that’s my recap. Like I said, I kind of wish I’d taken more pictures, but I am not talented enough to hold a wine glass, a plate, and a camera. I’ll work on it :) I will also work on being a better writer in the future.

Weddings

Day in the life of

June 24, 2012 hannahviolin 2 Comments

Saturday was a pretty busy day for me. I had three weddings that day. If you aren’t a wedding musician, you probably wonder how that all worked. (If you are, I’d scroll down for the cat pictures and then for the wine.)

Here’s a day in life of Hannah.

Saturday morning: Woke up around 8 am. Had my overnight oatmeal.

(stock photo)

Around 9:15 I left the house to head to pick up my friend Laura on the way to Lafayette Park United Methodist Church. We started prelude at 9:40 for a 10:00 ceremony. I was playing with a string quartet. We did the usual stuff: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Pachelbel’s Canon, Wedding March, etc.

The organ was BEAUTIFUL.

I liked the color scheme of this wedding a lot. We were up close and personal with the party. I was thinking to myself, I wonder what time they had to get up to get their hair and makeup done? I got married at 5:30 pm and still had to wake up around 8 am…

The back of the church. It was definitely an old church, very cool.

We finished around 10:45 or 10:50. I went back home and did a few things around the house and ate a quick lunch. Then I was off to Belleville, Illinois, for the next wedding. This one was with organ (and trumpet and singers, which I didn’t know until I got there.)

St Mary’s Catholic Church. I was up in the organ loft for this one, which meant I had time to kill in between songs. I may have done a little texting during it.

Another cool organ, though not quite as awesome as the first one.

The mass started at 2 pm. I played a few prelude pieces, but wasn’t in all of them. Then I was also playing some of the processional and various parts of the mass.

Like I said, I had some time to kill. I tried a few self portraits:

I should mention I woke up with my eyelid swollen like that. I don’t know why. It didn’t hurt, but it was puffy. I’m guessing either lack of sleep or allergies, or perhaps some combination.

Self Instagram Portrait. I like it, but it’s mirror image and totally weird!

Then I noticed I was playing a piece written for the Pope’s visit to St Louis. I sent this picture to Sarah because she loves everything about the Pope.

In return she sent me these (well, she sent them and then I instagrammed them for her.)

The mass ended around 3 pm, and after a bit of chatting I got on my way.

As I drove away from the church the guests were releasing balloons into the air.

So then I made an slight error in judgment. I knew there was some traffic back into the city, but I just didn’t want to take the southern route: it takes about 50 minutes, versus 30 the regular way. I just didn’t think the traffic would be that bad, but it was. One of the interstates was closed and everybody had to merge from 4 lanes to two and it added about 40 minutes to my drive. I was totally annoyed, but luckily I wasn’t cutting it too close on time, and I was chatting on the phone with a friend so it wasn’t all bad. I got home around 4:15, and had a snack. Laura was picking me up at 5:15 for our last gig of the day.

Lesson learned: if there is any doubt about traffic, just take the southern route.

My last wedding was another quartet gig (both quartet gigs were with a group I play with often called Serenade Strings), this one at Oliva on the Hill, a venue I hadn’t played at before. I didn’t know what to expect, and I was surprised by a) the fact that it was outdoors, though a courtyard rather than completely open and b) how cute it was!

We played some more "contemporary" music for this wedding, like Clocks by Coldplay and Love Story by Taylor Swift. It was short and sweet: prelude at 5:45, ceremony at 6, on our way home by 6:30.

(Side bar: Leslie’s intended, Peter, sent me this picture of Leslie on top of the "Royal Arch." I assume that’s in Colorado somewhere.

Side bar ends)

I got home by 6:45. Chris had an opera performance that night, and I had dinner plans with Laura, Jon and Benny (the baby). Chris was meeting us after his performance.

I got this in the mail from Leslie:

I haven’t read it yet, but I’m guessing it will convince me to take my cat with us to Paris in September…

Also got this in the mail. St Louis Magazine, I think I should get free tickets to the party since you know I’ll blog about it! Plus, I’m totally hip and fashionable…okay, maybe not, but I am an interesting character and would add a certain something to the party.

Okay, so around 7:30 pm I headed over to Jon and Laura’s for pizza, wine, and baby.

I brought a bottle from a local winery, Montelle Winery. Chris played a concert there a few weeks ago and then stayed for a several course food and wine dinner. He was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines, so he bought a few bottles.

We had pizza and salad with our wine, and then tried some ice cream Laura had made in their new ice cream maker. It wasn’t quite right—I think ice cream making must have a bit of a learning curve. I have no doubt she will figure out how to make it amazing soon enough, and frankly, did I really need much ice cream? No.

Then we headed outside to relax.

Chris showed up after the opera, plus this little fellow finally woke up.

Don’t you just want to tickle those feet? I’m going to assume YES. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to be ticklish yet.

So after we finished off the wine, it was late and I was exhausted. So we headed home and went to bed.

The end!

HANNAHVIOLIN

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Caturday 6/30

Vega Protein Powder and Kitties

A Brilliant Run

I would bike 10000 miles

Saucy Soiree

Day in the life of

thoughts about violin, teaching, running, life.

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thoughts about violin, teaching, running, life.