I know I’ve been a bit MIA here on the blog, I am still here! We took a trip to NY and Philadelphia and I will tell you more about that later, but now we are back.

We got back a few days ago and are doing the usual catch up. I don’t teach again until Monday, so it’s been really easy to get things done here…or easier. We took a long bike ride yesterday, on the Katy Trail. We went from Augusta to Dutzow and then back. We stopped halfway, in Dutzow, and had lunch at a restaurant right by the trailhead, which I would totally recommend. It was a nice day: not humid to speak of, not too hot, and the cicadas were a nice added touch, haha. The way back we did have a bit of wind to bike into which made it more challenging but we still made good time.

After that we did yard work, and then went out to dinner and relaxed. Today I am actually going to a wedding, as a guest, not as a violinist! And tomorrow is back to work in the evening with an outdoor concert as part of the Metropolitan Orchestra of St Louis.

We had a most excellent cat sitter while we were gone and she sent a variety of pictures: we would be doing something and then get a few texts about how the cats were doing and what they were up to with 5 to 10 (or more) pictures. It was always fun to receive! Are they the most photogenic cats or what??

The cat sitter would bring toys along to interact with the cats. They really seem to enjoy it, though when we are home, they don’t enjoy toys as much, and just want to cuddle with Louie.

Some other things going on: I resigned from my morning job. I learned a lot and really enjoyed many aspects of it, but I couldn’t do the hours anymore: I can get up early, but it’s really hard to get up early AND stay up working late, so after a lot of thought, I decided to drop the early morning thing. I’ll miss working with those kids though! I am starting my summer teaching schedule this week, as well as playing a couple of gigs with the Pop Pop Pop Orchestra, and then after that things start up at the Muny, which I am excited about (I was lucky enough to be asked to play for three of the shows this year, though I’m not a regular player). I don’t have too many weddings this summer (strange, IMHO), but I have a lot of other things going on, and perhaps weddings will fill in more. So that’s the work side of things. Taking some time off is SO nice, but I know getting back to seeing everybody soon will be fun as well.