I am a schedule person. I like having a schedule, and following it, and scheduling things, and knowing exactly how my day and week will unfold. To some that may sound rigid, but honestly, it’s what holds my life together. You can’t be a successful freelance musician and private teacher without being good at scheduling!

Of course, sometimes things change, and I have to be flexible. That’s sometimes hard for me, because like I said, I love scheduling and planning. And I often feel that it’s not fair that I should have to accommodate those that don’t—shouldn’t they accommodate me? Isn’t this why the calendar exists??

In any case, summer time is always a little more relaxed. I looked at my schedule for this week, and next, and realized I have 3 days each week that only have 2 or 3 students. Every summer I’m unhappy with how teaching works out, and I THINK that next summer I will consolidate, and only teach 3 days or something like that, rather than having 5 days of teaching but only 1-2 hours for some of those days. It’s always hard to figure out, because nobody wants to schedule, or because nobody wants to schedule as early as I do…except for the few students that ask about summer lessons even before I’ve starting thinking about it. Really I am not even the most schedule-y of all schedule-y people I know!

(played in a new-to-me orchestra, the Gateway Festival Orchestra. I had the honor of sitting concertmaster!)

I haven’t blogged as much lately because I’ve been doing all kinds of stuff…that perhaps isn’t that interesting. I’m working hard to get everything organized for teaching in the fall. Right now that means scheduling a recital and some other things that are kind of new for my studio (fall contest and group/studio classes) and there’s lot of thinking and emailing and planning involved. I’m still processing everything from the workshop, practicing tons of rep and etudes, and brainstorming new stuff for all my students to play. All of this is happening now because in TWO WEEKS we will be in Colorado…on day 2 of our road trip, and we are going to be gone for nearly 3 weeks. (I’m comfortable telling you that because we will have a house-sitter, so don’t try anything, but also, the house-sitter doesn’t teach violin so don’t stop by for a lesson!).

Road trip plans…it’s a crazy trip. Colorado: Aspen, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado National Monument. Utah: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion. Arizona: North Rim Grand Canyon, Page (Antelope Canyon). Home through New Mexico. There’s more driving and moving than last summer, but I think it’ll be very do-able. I’m worried about how hot it will be in Utah and we are mentally prepping to be HOT, and physically prepping by being outside a lot here and making sure we have good hats, sunscreen, and loads of water.

After we get back, the fall should be fun, even though there’s a lot of stress between mid-August and mid-October.

Good news: right now Mackenzie (the dog!) is doing really quite well. Some of her hair has grown back (on her head and ears) and I’m hopeful that the new medicine will continue to help her improve. It’s been a hard year in so many ways, and having some good news is so very welcome.

We’ve been working hard planning how to make this road trip happen. We are tent camping, and we are going in Louie’s Corolla, which means space is at a premium. The goals for the trip are to keep the car organized, and to get our campsite set-up and tear-down as quick and efficient as possible! We plan to cook most of our meals at the campsite, and hope that we can manage an occasional shower and laundry—most of the campgrounds we are staying at are renowned for their locations and natural beauty but not their amenities. We do have reservations for each and every night, and most days there is only 1-3 hours of driving so we will be able to get some good hiking and sightseeing in!

Totally random post here, I know, just my thoughts. I always like to get the words down so I can look back, and you the reader can see at least what level of crazy I’m dealing with right now I’m sad because my friend April is going away in the fall for an internship of sorts…she will be gone when we get back so we have been trying to hang out a lot! My youngest sister Carrie is coming to visit for a few days though, which will be delightful, and my parents might stop by at the end of their summer road trip. (They are beating our itinerary in terms of awesome and crazy by spending nearly a month on the road in ALASKA. Another time!)

(April took these pictures last Sunday night at Wash U-Gateway Festival Orchestra. I’ll be playing again this Sunday—the weather will hopefully be nice and you can picnic in the lawn, which my friends did last week. This week Louie might bring Mackenzie so she can enjoy an orchestra concert.)

Anyway! I’m off to grab lunch with a friend/colleague. Free food from Panera, due to our having an abundance of gift cards from students.