I think I need a three to four week work vacation every winter!  Usually by the time January rolls around I am completely burnt out from holiday traveling, and somehow muster through the next five months, uninspired and tired.  (And as a violin teacher, uninspired is just no good.) 

But since I had approximately a month off, I am refreshed, excited, and ready to get back to teaching!  The only traveling I had to do was for our honeymoon and instead our friends and family came to us!  This is HUGE.  I love the years I don’t have to travel.  (Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy traveling, just not at the same time as everybody else in the world, and I don’t like coming back from vacation more tired than when I left.)

Technically I was back to work yesterday, but today is my first full day back, and my first day back at the school.  I just spent an hour organizing paperwork and writing a couple of thank you notes.  Now it’ll be practice time!

Remember, children, more drinks like this makes Hannah a happy and relaxed woman!  Also note the pink fingernails.  These were not conducive to violin playing, or anything really.

Let’s talk about  my performances for the spring because I’ve got some cool stuff happening.

Next weekend we start rehearsing for Winter Opera’s performance of Ariadne—performances are Friday, January 27 at 8 pm and Sunday, January 29th at 3 pm.  Then we play La Boheme at the beginning of March.

With Chamber Project St Louis I am performing a concert on March 23 at the Wine Press, April 13 at the Chapel, and maybe something else here and there.  They are performing this Saturday, January 21 as well—I’m not playing but I’ll be attending.

And the most fun:  My sister Leslie and I are performing Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins with the Presbyterian College Orchestra in our hometown of Clinton, South Carolina at the beginning of April—April 3 to be exact.  We will be doing a masterclass  the day before for the students.  If you are from the area and want to come to the concert, I can give you more information!  (Or talk to my mom, she’ll know).

I feel like I used too many dashes in this blog post—maybe I need to work on my grammar? 

Last note:  a tornado siren woke us up last night!  Living in St Louis is crazy…I thought the spring was tornado season, not January.