I’m copying the title from my friend Eliana, who wrote a post about Viola March Madness. March and April are busy times—in fact, March is flying by so quickly I almost feel like I’ve missed it. The other odd thing is that I keep thinking the next month is August. At least three times in the past few days I’ve said August when I meant to say April. I don’t know what that means—am I having a nervous breakdown or early-onset dementia?

So, Spring Break was fun, though not as relaxing as one might hope. I did read several books, including Station Eleven which I absolutely loved and can’t stop thinking about.

I had lots of baby time!

She’s trapped and I won’t let go.

Overindulged and then passed out.

Leslie and I started trying to teach her that these were fake, plastic keys, and that if she had REAL keys she shouldn’t put them in her mouth.

She enjoyed swinging quite a bit!

Overall I’m so glad I got to visit for a week. She is my first niece and is 5 months old now. It was also one of the best weather weeks in Phoenix that I’ve ever experienced! It did rain one day, but otherwise was really nice and warm, even cool at night, and only one day felt too hot! By the way, I am not in the large group of people who think that the weather is Phoenix is amazing all the time. On the plane ride home I overheard people behind me talking about how the weather is so great, and it’s a dry heat, and up to 105 it’s just amazing. Which may or may not be true, but how many days per year are over 105?  That being said, my sister and her husband are doing really well and have a really great house in a walkable neighborhood that is close to downtown, which is pretty much exactly what I love too.

So after Spring Break ended, I took a very early flight home and hit the ground running. I’ve been teaching a ton, had several rehearsals and the weekend is full of more of the same. On Sunday my quartet (Perseid Quartet) is playing at the Ethical Society for their morning service.  One of the challenging things our quartet has been doing lately is learning some pieces that composition students at Washington University wrote. We had an adventurous rehearsal yesterday reading through the pieces. Sometimes music notation is so challenging. I think of how it would be looking at a Brahms Quartet for the first time…without the benefit of hundreds of recordings, years of study and listening. I guess that’s part of why people love new music—the challenge…and also being able to play something without hundreds of years of history telling you how you aren’t playing it well enough. You know me and my constant fear of not being good enough (based on years of being told that, but that’s hardly an excuse!)

I found this picture on facebook from a concert I played the other week. My hair looks great from the back, and I’d like all my students to notice how my violin is over my shoulder, parallel to the floor, my wrist in straight, my thumb is relaxed, and my bow is also straight, though it’s hard to see since it is disappearing into the light. I had one of those teaching weeks where I felt that everything I asked my students to do was ignored and they just kept playing exactly how they wanted to. Ranging from requests to check their bowhold before they started, to play closer to the bridge, to watch their bow, and even in some cases, to play a different piece than the one they were doing. Maybe I need to be meaner?

I’m looking forward to the weekend. I have a few things I need to accomplish today, but then the evening is free for recreation (though Louie is sick, so it’s possible the evening will be just relaxing in front of the television—currently we are watching The Americans, on a Dr. Who hiatus), and tomorrow evening is free as well! I’d love to go out to dinner and maybe to a concert or a movie. Suggestions?