I thought, hmm, haven’t blogged in awhile, but I feel uninspired to do so. I’ve been doing a fair amount of writing outside of the blog (some music reviews, a class assignment) and perhaps that is covering my wanting to write urges. Also, I’m tired, have had some headaches, and we’ve had Louie’s dad visiting the past few days.

I thought I should stop by and say hello in case you thought I’d forgotten about this space. October has been a bit more difficult than I’d thought, but it’s going okay, just busier and more emotional. My class job has been wringing me out, with two kids crying yesterday and me feeling like letting them feel like that was against what I wanted for my class and feeling like I failed them. I continually remind myself that class teaching is not something I’ve been doing a long time and I am learning along the way much more than in one on one teaching, and that I need to let myself be bad at it sometimes, but the thing is: if I’m bad at it then I’m failing the kids. I also know they were probably just tired and they wanted to move on and they weren’t ready quite yet, and I hope I consoled them well.

My weekends have been busier than I wished for, but I’ve been feeling useful which is worth something, and we did get out for a nice hike at Castlewood State Park on a nice day in between rainy days. I love Castlewood, but it gets so busy on the weekends, so it’s better to go during the week if possible.

This weekend has a few activities, including the Arch Cup for my students. Usually I attend, but this year I am unable to, so I’m excited to hear how they do without me hand holding them through it. I’m trying to push them to be more independent and I think they can handle it. The Arch Cup is in person OR online, so some students submitted videos already and others will be playing live, which is scary for them and I’m excited.

I got my COVID booster shot, Pfizer. I debated for a little while whether I should wait for various reasons, but ultimately decided that since I interact up close with a lot of younger, unvaccinated students it was for the best. I can’t teach violin without touching students and getting up close, and even though they wear masks, their mask usage is imperfect because they are children.

I just bought tickets for the Great Artists Series at Washington University this spring. I am thrilled for all the live concert events we have on the schedule. You know I mean classical and jazz shows, as that’s my style, but I’m thrilled for you if you are attending any live music events as well. I am always excited to show my vaccination card to any venue that wants to see it as I believe vaccination is our path back to “normal” and that we need to continue to work towards that goal. There was a time in my life where I played more concerts than I attended, but I absolutely love going to concerts with Louie now. I attend far more concerts than I play, and I learn from them and I enjoy them. I missed live music during the pandemic, and even though technically we are still in the pandemic, live music is back due to vaccines and it’s great!

Oh and we got a new stove! It’s an induction stovetop with an oven that can do convection and air fry. I haven’t baked anything yet but plan to do pumpkin bread and maybe fruitcake this weekend. I’m planning to do my own fruitcake this year just because and it needs to age 6 to 8 weeks before eating. And I have a few new pumpkin bread recipes to try: I have a tried and true one that I love but I’ve made it so many times over the years that I’ve been branching out to try new kinds. I’ll keep you posted.

What are you up to? Have you been apple picking or pumpkin patching? I have not, but it seems that many of my friends have been and it looks like it would be fun if it weren’t 90 degrees.