Sweetie the Mooch

You probably don't remember, but in one of my first posts describing Sweetie and the Sugar Babies I mentioned that Sweetie likes donuts. I captured some of the evidence on video. In one hand I have the camera, and in the other, a donut. As I recall, it was half of a rather stale old-fashioned buttermilk donut that I was eating for breakfast. (I'm not proud, but I do occasionally have entirely non-nutritious CHO-laden junk food for breakfast.)


She really, really wanted a bite of that donut.

In subsequent weeks, DH and I modified our behavior to accommodate a cat that was interested in any food that was left on the counter, as well as on our dinner plates. My own cats are well-behaved, and I think nothing of leaving food out on the counters. Here is the evidence of a few of our lapses, and some that I have never experienced with a cat before.

Eating the popcorn with Sweetie circling the bowl was a feat. I put the last couple of handfuls in a baggie and left it on the kitchen counter. The next morning I found it on the floor, and you can get some idea here of the holes that had been chewed in the bag.


What a pretty cat, sitting calmly on the floor in the kitchen. But what's that on the counter?

No loaf of bread was safe with Sweetie in the house. This was the result whenever we forgot to close the garage door on the bread and toaster.

One day DH set his briefcase down on a chair by the counter when he came home from work. What is that faintly groaty thing sticking out of the open pocket?

Looks like an uneaten ham and cheese sandwich from lunch. I hope he didn't intend to eat that later. It was clearly too much for Sweetie to resist. She's made quite a project of trying to dig it out of the barely opened pocket.

Here she is, caught in the act. We had obviously become a little too complacent, but who would have thought she's go after a bag of cantaloupe?

Eh. Not cantaloupe. She was eating the corner of a napkin that had been used to mop up something greasy. A bit of donut, perhaps?

Two days before Sweetie went back to the shelter (she returned last Sunday with the last two kittens, Candy and Sugar) it occurred to me that with such a strong drive for food, Sweetie was a good candidate for clicker training. That's short-hand for positive-reinforcement-based training where a sound (click) is used to mark exactly the behavior you are trying to encourage, and then something the animal desires, usually food, is given to them as a reward.

We were having salmon for dinner, and as usual were closely guarding our plates as Sweetie circled around the backs of our chairs, onto the window sill, making attempts on the table. First I set her down on the floor, clicked (I used a tongue click, the "tock" that you make when you remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth under pressure), and gave her a bit of salmon. You should have seen the surprised look on her face.

Thereafter, I CTd (clicked-treated) any movement away from the table. I CTd the first motion toward sitting. Soon her butt was glued to the floor. Every couple of minutes of sitting, I rewarded her again. By the end of dinner I had a cat who was quietly begging, sitting by my chair, instead of making strafing runs on my plate. This took no more than 10 small bits of salmon. At the end of dinner she got one last click, then a bonanza of all of the salmon skin cut up in small pieces, on a plate in the place where she usually eats.

DH was amazed. At the next meal we repeated the performance with bits of lunch meat and cheese from my sandwich. She already started out beside my chair instead of on the table. When she would climb onto my chair I pet her, but no food, and she got a CT each time she returned to the floor, where she daintily accepted each bit of food from my fingers. At the end of dinner I announced "all done" as I removed the plates, and she calmly went on to other activities.



I know some would argue that any begging is unacceptable. I'm not fond of it, myself. But this was a huge improvement in just two training sessions. I think the hardest thing about clicker training is deciding exactly which behavior you want to reward. In my case, I didn't want to desert my dinner, so I took the easy path of just getting her off the table. I would have had to spend some time thinking about what I would rather have her do than sit by my side on the floor.

I'm kicking myself that I didn't think of this earlier. Think of the things Sweetie could have learned to do, as well as becoming a much better behaved cat. I hope the special person who adopts her appreciates how smart she is, as well as how beautiful.

Pat White's Technique Bank

Five or so years ago Pat White wrote a post on Cello Chat in which she expounded on the importance of learning technique, apart from the music. Her analogy was the Technique Bank. That quote is frequently referred to as the discussion warrants, but the last time I searched for it I couldn't find the original post. I thought things were supposed to last forever in the Internet Age.

I got serious about my study of the cello in June 2002. I know the exact date now because I'm looking at the first Lesson and Practice Log I designed to help me focus on my mission. What a wonderful resource these old logs are now. I set up this blog in January 2006 with the thought that it would be the next phase in my practice log. It hasn't exactly worked out that way, but that's another story for another time.

At the front of my first Log are a few inspirational pages, one of which is Pat White's quote. So that it will live on for a little longer, this is the excerpt I copied:

On the one hand we have playing pieces. On the other hand we have working on technique. Most students love to play pieces, and most students hate to play technique. However, I want you to think of technique as a bank account. Let's say that every day you practice scales, arpeggios, etudes, bowing studies, etc. How high is your technique bank account?

...So you want to play this piece that has about 15 different techniques in it. No problem! Just go over to the technique bank account, make the needed withdrawals, and play the piece!

What if you wanted to play a really neat piece, but you are someone who does not have a technique bank account? You will try and try and try to get things, and you will think you just have to keep trying the piece over and over and over, but the REAL problem is that when you need to go over and make a withdrawal from your technique bank account, it is empty.

So the idea is to always work on boring technique because it gives you the ammunition to play exciting repertoire. Trying to learn a piece without the proper technique bank account is like trying to go up the down escalator. You CAN do it, but it is NOT the best way.

I know I found that to be very inspirational. In a way, it was one of the signposts that sent me along my current path. Thanks, Pat.

Cello lesson 6/7 - School's out for summer

T- spends the summer at Bowdoin, then September in Alaska, fishing. Has, for many, many years. Last summer I filled the didactic void with 4 cello camps, an experiment in excess. Not entirely successful, but I learned a lot about what I like, and where I fit, and what's worth my time, effort, and money, and what's not. And how different all of those points are now than they were four years ago, when I took the more obsessive fork in the road toward cello playing excellence.

This summer will be something completely different. I have no cello camps scheduled, partly by design after last year's excess, and partly because I knew I would need lots of recovery time after my knee surgery. I had toyed with the idea of starting Suzuki teaching training this summer, but am also putting that off, mostly because of the knee thing.

So, I knew the end of the semester was approaching, but didn't realize yesterday would be my last lesson until we were half-way through it, when I specifically asked about the summer schedule. (I wonder when T- would have mentioned it if I hadn't asked? Musicians. Disgusted snort.) We had spent the first half discussing the studio class I had missed on Saturday. (It was a last minute bail-out due to fatigue, pain, and thunderstorms with 1.5 inch hail stones. I considered that I had shown an unusual amount of sense by turning around and driving 30 minutes back home rather than risk physical damage to my newly reconstructed knee.)

He offered the possibility of one more lesson before he takes off, but I'm really ready for summer to start. I read a very interesting book on Monday, The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self, by William Westney,and one point that resonated was how difficult a weekly lesson can be when you feel like you need to have something prepared for the lesson, but really should be doing the painstaking work of slowly exploring the music instead of rushing to get something ready. That's the way this second Bach Suite has felt to me all year. I am so looking forward to taking as much time as it takes to learn, and hopefully memorize, all six movements without having to bring anything that's not ready into daylight for the next four months.

I told him that is my plan. He politely squelched his snort, and spent the last half of the lesson giving me an overview of the more difficult things to work out in the Menuets and Sarabande. I think the other four movements will yield to rhythms and other repetition games, but have been stumped by how to work out these two movements. My project for this afternoon will be a brain dump of those points, to retain as much as possible for later study. And that will be a post for later.

School's out, and I'm finally ready to get to work. I'm psyched.

Mary West

I received an e-mail notification earlier this week that Mary West died on June 3d. Mary was the great-grandmother of violin teaching in the Twin Cities music community, beginning her teaching career in the 1950's. I learned a lot about her when she came down to Kansas City to accept a lifetime community service award at the ASTA meeting. I was thrilled to see her, making the trip at... 94 years old? I think she was then. A tiny, elderly woman with exceptional presence.

I'm not a violinist, but it didn't take long to recognize that all of the advanced violin players I met in Minneapolis were students or former students of Mary West. I probably shouldn't say all, because there are so many other violin teachers in the area, but it certainly seemed that way. She taught a long time, with great dedication and skill.

One of the things I really loved about her career is that she didn't set out to be a music teacher. In KC I learned that when she was getting started a wise mentor advised her to just teach, and stop obsessing over whether she could.

Faith Farr is collecting teaching tips from Mary's former students to publish in the Fall issue of the local string teachers' publication. There were two in the e-mail, probably from a pedagogy session she presented in January. One was:

Start each lesson with technique. You know the students will practice the pieces. When they realize the lesson won’t get to the pieces until the technique is covered, then they will also prepare the technique well.

My first cello teacher (T1-) had just the opposite philosophy. I think we touched on a scale here and there, but other than that technique was all demonstration on his side. I think he must have been psychologically scarred by technical practice in his past. It took me too many years to realize that I was gaining nothing from that approach, and my own technical ceilings were firm. One of many reasons I love working with T- is that he obviously shares Mary's philosophy.

A lot of folks are going to miss Mary West.

Guest artist

Well, Luke always was the bigger kitten in that pair.

It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

Lesson follow-up

Leave it to my loyal readers to notice that I appear to be doing too much too soon after knee surgery. The surgeon said pretty much the same thing yesterday. That was partly a timing issue, partly responsibility to previous commitments, and partly ignorance of how much I was going to hurt post-op.

I chose May 22nd as my surgery date with a great deal of deliberation and schedule coordination. It was after my May 15th orchestra concert, 10 days before my June 1 chamber music recital, and at the beginning of a 2 week block where DH was going to be in town. It's also 4 months before September, when I am planning to go to Scotland, and is the minimum rehab time I can reasonably expect to need to be fully functional for such a long trip. I figured 10 days recovery before a chamber concert was do-able, so I also planned to attend my regularly scheduled (and already paid for) cello lesson, and scheduled an Alexander T. lesson. I resumed playing on Tuesday (post-op day 7), and did play the recital last night.

When I was first in the knee immobilizer back in February I presented with my stiff left leg at my cello lesson. T- took it in stride, pointing out that Navarra (with whom he studied) frequently played with his left leg extended, and didn't need a knee immobilizer to do it. I also have to credit 3 years of studying Alexander Technique. I can achieve a balanced playing stance even with my left leg out, providing a little guidance to the cello but no real support.

I'm sure my fumbling around between cello and crutch provided some comic relief at the end of the recital last night. My only difficulty was that my end-pin slipped a couple of times (grr), which I attribute to using a loaner with an inadequately sharpened end-pin, rather than to my knee issues. I will surely be glad to see my own new cello, and be able to do those little things to make it just the way I like it, and have them be the same from one session to the next.

Two other questions from the comments. PFS, every time I try to answer your question in my head the essay grows to book length. So I am going to limit myself to one paragraph, and one introductory exercise. One of Alexander's most useful observations about body use is that when the problem is too much tension, the nidus of that response happens, not when you start the motion, but as soon as you think about doing it. Probably the second most useful observation is how hard it is to notice that yourself initially, which is where a good teacher comes in handy. (I'll refrain from making the obvious comparison to cello teachers <g>.)

The exercise: use the first two notes from Arioso, (1) B, 1st finger, 1st position on the A string, and (2) C, also 1st finger, 1/2 step above the B. (Old finger, old string, new bow stroke.) Play the B with a big, sloppy, gorgeous vibrato, and the most relaxed legato stroke you can manage. Play it until the note is as beautiful as you can make it. Then THINK about shifting up to play the C. Rotate your attention from neck, to left arm, to right arm, to back, to legs. If you are a normal intermediate cello player you will feel various amounts of tension in all of those places. (Beginners are concentrating so much on everything that their sensory circuits would be overwhelmed with this attempt.) Here's the crucial point. Every bit of tension that you feel having just thought about shifting to the next note is unnecessary. The result of continuing that into the action will be things like a tight tone, non-continuous vibrato, an obvious slide on the shift, and missing the shift, usually on the flat side. And that's the simplified difference between preparation (bad) and transition (good).

Funky Smith, do you get the ASTA journal? There is an excellent article by Carter Enyeart on shifting, I think in the Nov '05 issue. He also had a session on shifting at the ASTA meeting in Kansas City last year. Though they describe it differently, his approach is similar to T-'s. My first teacher (T1-) also taught the preparation and follow-through approach. As noted above, for me that contributes to having too much tension in the shift, and particularly to difficulty maintaining continuous vibrato and having too much finger pressure. My technique is much better when I concentrate on the forearm falling.

Cello lesson 5/31 - Not Doing

The best weeks are the ones where I can't tell the difference between a cello lesson and an Alexander Technique lesson. Which I think means that the over-riding theme of my life as a cello player is that first I need to get out of my own way.

Today's lesson material:
Scale: d harmonic minor, 4 octaves, linked half-notes with 4 quarter notes on bow changes
Bach Arioso - 1st 2 measures
Bach Prelude to 2nd Suite - 1st 2 measures

Left hand things:
* bring the elbow low enough that the finger is flat without needing to either collapse at the DIP or round the fingers to keep on the tips
* vibrato mitten - feel like my finger tips form one unit, all supporting the vibrating finger
* 4th finger - rolling a bit to the outer side helps maintain the curved shape (I need more callous there!)
* imagine a weight taped around my elbow pulling the arm down and back
* shifting - the ONLY thing that needs to happen is that the forearm falls under the influence of gravity. The vibrato doesn't stop. There is no wind-up or extraneous arm motion required (a bad habit left over from T1-)
* extension - thumb and second finger fall with the arm while 1st finger remains behind

Exercise: swing left hand down to side, then up to plop onto the fingerboard. Without adjusting finger position, play vibrato on designated finger, wherever it happens to land.

Right hand things:
* watch the tendency to creep forward, excessive pronation. Keep eye of frog between 3 and 4
* the arm doesn't need the "help" of the shoulders. Watch tendency to raise the shoulders, which may be no more than excess stabilizing tension
* on up bow, feel the left elbow weight causing the bow to move sideways. This works better if the elbow remains low
* think gooey fondue, honey, peanut butter

Position note: when I move the cello straight forward (away from me), the C peg should hit me in the back of my head. If it passes without touching me my cello is slanted too far to the left.

Music is played one moment at a time. I was going to say one note, but didn't want to quibble about chords and double stops. Theoretically, if I play one note beautifully, then the next note, linking note to note, I will be able to play the whole piece beautifully.

Application: I think I need to designate 10-15 minutes of my practice time as "non-doing" time, where the only focus is going from one beautiful, relaxed note to another, inhibiting my habitual (unnecessary) preparation for playing the next note (that is the Alexandrian part). I can do that with my scale, or a couple of measures of Arioso or the Prelude. That needs to be my ONLY focus during that time, probably the hardest part of the whole exercise. Zen and the Art of Cello Playing.

Snap

Snap is a very interesting little fellow. He reminds me of Fred Astaire, with too big eyes in a too little face, a little too thin but very appealing, a disposition both sweet and impish. By the time he left he was doing belly flops all over the house. He loved to lounge on the carpet, toes curled, spots showing, looking at you a bit cross-eyed. Of course, my associative memory is a bit skewed as I've been having my own private Fred and Ginger watch-a-thon thanks to a loan from D-. Imagining dancing while one leg is propped up on ice is excellent therapy.

Every once in awhile a kitten snags Sweetie for a private nursing session. This is Snap showing his postprandial pleasure.



It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

Sunday Snoozes

It's an absolutely glorious day. Blue sky, shining sun, low humidity, comfortable temperature. At least it looks that way from inside. Come to think of it, I haven't been outside since I returned from surgery on Tuesday. Can that really be? I'm pretty sure. I've spent the week trying to titrate the pain meds somewhere between relief and sleeping. I don't get it exactly right very often. Recovery has been more painful than I expected.

Though I spent most of today napping, this photo is from last Sunday. Five of the six Sugar Babies are crammed together on one level of the Orbitor for a lovely Sunday afternoon snooze. Who's missing? Taffy, of course.



Here she is. A few moments before I was on the other side of that red polartec throw. She was napping with me.



Chip, Taffy, Honey and Snap went back to the shelter on Monday, before my surgery. Candy was still only 24 oz., so I kept her, Sweetie for nourishment, and Sugar for company in case Mom wanted to finish weening. The stress level in my house went down instantaneously. Six big kittens plus Mom was a lot. We have had a pretty peaceful week, and probably have one more to go until Candy is finally big enough.

Why Rhythms?

PFS asked why I was practicing in rhythms in the first place. I started to respond in a comment, but it got quite long so I've moved the explanation here. I can see I was a bit sparing with the point of the thing in my lesson notes.

Rhythms are a good technique to use when you want to bring a passage up to speed. The other common technique is to play with a metronome, starting slowly, then gradually increasing the tempo.

What the rhythms do is increase the speed of movement between notes, while allowing time on the longer notes to recover your balance (if needed) and prepare mentally for the next short block of fast notes. By changing the rhythm, you change which fast notes are coming, and change the challenges, like shifts and string crossings - easy when slow, more complicated at tempo, but with more time to prepare.

The rhythm exercise where you add quarter notes also allows you time to hear the intonation of that note better, while you are also preparing for the largest number of notes (4) at the fastest speed.

The accent exercise improves your control of the notes at a slower tempo. Believe me, it takes control and really knowing what's coming to get the accents right, even under tempo. I found that a lot harder than the rhythms.

The bottom line is that after practicing the passage with rhythms you can play it better and faster, and better in tune. You may have noticed that between the first clip and the last my intonation improved quite a bit. I also couldn't play it at anywhere near my target tempo initially. It seems like work, but it's very efficient when adequately applied. That was my shortfall before. By changing the task every 5 or 7 or 10 repetitions it keeps your mind engaged by frequently changing the challenge.

And ola etc, I have memorized those 12 measure over 4 practice sessions. By concentrating on one short section each time, I have it memorized by the end. Then I spend 10 minutes adding it to what I've already learned, which provides the needed repetition to keep it secure. T- has a saying, which one day I will learn to spell. It's in Russian, and the translation is something like "Repetition is the mother of all learning." Remember my post about the Yo Yo Diet? A very small chunk and many repetitions is working for me.

Hope that helps.

Demonstration of Rhythms

As I was loading my cello into the car this morning to go to church, a bird was playing in my head. Sounded like a bird, anyway. No, it was a violin. The tune was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it, until I reached the tutti. Ah, Vivaldi. Spring, 1st movement. I am still in awe of people that can identify a tune after hearing 2 or 3 notes, or the opening chord. Me, I'm delighted when I can figure it out by the tutti.

It didn't take as long as I expected to string these practice video clips into a movie. Even though I had to fix a video card conflict with Movie Maker first. But since yesterday's post was long enough, I'm giving the movie it's own post today.



It would be nice to have an extension so that I didn't have to get up to start the camera each clip. I found that when I sat down I felt rushed to start, and often had the cello placed suboptimally. Silly, when I had to trim the beginning, anyway. Another little lesson to file away.

Cello lesson 5/10 - Rhythms

Yes, that's 5/10, not 5/17. I canceled my lesson this week, something I rarely do, because I was still getting over being sick, plus I had practiced a total of maybe an hour the preceding week, again because of said illness. It didn't seem sensible to waste both of our times.

However, I haven't posted anything about the preceeding lesson. The most important item we discussed was a practical approach to working up music that consists of strings of notes using rhythms. I won't call it passage work, since the music under discussion is Bach, the Courante from the 2nd Suite, and heaven forbid I think of that as passage work.

The reason we had to discuss a practical approach is that, though I have tremendous theoretical knowledge about how to do this, for some reason I have been unable to apply it in practice. So we went over 10 variations, and I have explicit instructions to work one section, or even 1 measure, at a time. Ten rhythms, sequentially, 5-10 reps of each rhythm. Since my lesson I've worked on 2 measures and two sections this way.

Today during breaks in my practice I was thinking about this post, and it occurred to me that I should record the last of my reps in each rhythm and post them. It will make a lot more sense, to you now and to me later, to see/hear them than to read the following cursory description. It's a good time to do it, too. My readership falls off significantly on weekends. Plus, I'm going to post the description now and the video a little later, because it will take some time to compile the clips (Oh! A movie!) and I'll bet lots of folks won't remember to come back to look <g>.

All rhythms describe a block of 4 sixteenth notes. The 10 rhythms:
1. long - short - long - short
2. short - long - short - long
3. add quarter note to 1
4. add quarter note to 2
5. add quarter note to 3
6. add quarter note to 4
7. accent 1
8. accent 2
9. accent 3
10. accent 4

I keep the metronome set at my target quarter note value (84 for now), but for 1-2 and 7-10 I play at half that rate. The bowings are not altered, which takes some planning for bow distribution, especially in variations 3-6. T- was very clear that after playing the rhythms I should play the bit I have been working on in tempo, up to tempo. Then I slow down a bit, check my memory, and add it to what I have done so far. I recorded both the up-to-tempo (still a little too fast) and the "so far", 3/4 of the A section.

Should be more video than anyone would want to watch.

Monkeys and lunges

Boy, are you going to be surprised when you read this post. Monkeys and lunges? What's up with that?

Today I had my last Alexander Technique lesson before surgery. (Whoa! I just got a message that New Blogger saves my draft automatically. Progress!) What was I saying? Oh, yes. At my AT lesson I asked for a refresher on stair climbing, thinking ahead to an unknown number of upcoming weeks on crutches. After table time, where I had some unexpected tension in my lower neck and posterior left upper arm I needed to rid myself of, we did our first lesson on lunges. Up to this point we have concentrated on chair-sitting (monkeys) and arm motions (arm-on-back-of-chair type things).

So now I've used monkey in an unexpected way in a sentence. Alexander referred to the monkey as the position of mechanical advantage, and it's commonly called a monkey because, well, you look a bit like one when you squat that way. I can assure you that it works very well. This is the classic photo of F.M. working with a young girl, and I found it in a handout on a nifty NZ web site, if you would like to read about it.

But today we worked on lunges, not monkeys. A lunge is what you think it is, and in it's simplest form it's the way you unweight one leg so that you can move it forward to walk, run, climb stairs, or do just about anything in which you move your feet. The coolest thing about AT is that just about every activity is encompassed in the limited number of things you work on: lying down, monkeys, lunges, and hands-on-chairs. It's a bit like playing the cello - infinitely simple and infinitely complex.

These are my brief notes, so I will have something to refer to next week:
* Beginning lunge, one hand on chair. (Alternate hands.) Unweight one leg by shifting balance from over heels toward balls of feet. Bend at ankles. Bend moving knee by releasing from behind.
* Think: spine goes up, knees go forward. The bend occurs as release. Should not be leading with hips.
* Stairs work exactly the same way. Start from stance one foot up on next step. Move weight forward, bending at lower ankle. Use momentum as you release bent knee from behind, thinking of support under bent leg, and straighten leg.
* Remember: spine up, knees forward.
It made climbing steps feel incredibly easy, rather like I'd lost about 20 lbs.

When I came home I practiced with my crutches. I shortened them one peg to better accommodate using myself this way. Again for my own benefit, these are cliff notes about how to use the crutches, for when I am confused next week. B is bad (left, for me) and G is good (right). C stands for crutch(es):
* Walking, two crutches: C + B, G. Think step, together. Can also be done C, B, G.
* Walking, one crutch: C + B, G. Also step, together.
* Stairs, down: C + B, G. Two feet on same step, bad always goes down first.
* Stairs, up: G, C + B. Two feet on same step, good always goes up first.
* Stairs with rail, carry crutches: rail on G side, same order as above.

I'll be on crutches until I can walk "normally," meaning without a limp. Objectively that means swelling resolved, no pain, and flexion of about 70 degrees. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to carry a cello over my shoulder once I can walk using only one crutch. Well, I can plan...

Wednesday

Thinking up titles can be such a pain. I can't tell you how many e-mail messages I write where I just use the day of the week as the subject. And it does fit the theme that is developing this week.

This morning I had my pre-op physical therapy appointment. I learned the correct way to walk with crutches, and what I should be doing for the first week post-op, until I start rehab in earnest. My priorities are 1) to keep the swelling down with ice and compression, 2) to be able to extend at the knee completely and 3) to keep my quadriceps muscle firing so it doesn't atrophy. Plus frequent calf muscle contractions to reduce the risk of deep venous thrombosis. Other than my irrational fear of spinal anesthesia and nerve blocks, I'm ready for next Tuesday.

I was looking through my photo catalog this morning, and realized that I shot a short video of John playing with Candy at the same time that I took the photo I used for Tummy Tuesday yesterday. Uncle John is such a good babysitter.

Tummy Tuesday

What with being quite ill and using all my energy today to play our final concert (we were already down to three cellos), I almost forgot what day it is. It's nice to have a theme day.

Here's Candy helping Uncle John show off his tummy. Isn't that black tip on her tail cute?



It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

Blue Monday

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Dang. I thought I was more fun than that. And I tried blue, but didn't like it.

However, this 'idgit that I stumbled across en route to other things fits well with my post for today. The events I am about to describe started on a Monday, but it was the one two weeks ago. Out of deference for PFS's (who has the pinkest blog I've ever seen) GI woes that week I delayed describing my own issues with gastrointestinal dysfunction until now. And too, I was pretty busy dealing with the fallout (so to speak) at the time.

This was the sight that met my eyes (and nose) when I opened the office door to feed the Sugar Babies that Monday morning:



Yes, those little brown, yellow, and white puddles are exactly what you think they are. Every 6-8 inches around the circumference of the room. I know exactly what happened.

D-day. It's 2 am, all watches synchronized.

ATTEN-TION!

"Sugar baby squad all present and accounted for, sir!"

Dress right - DRESS!

Ready - FRONT!

By the numbers - POOP!

There's no other way to account for the absolute regularity of the interval.

The thing about kittens

...is that they live completely in the moment.
If you allow yourself to join them there, you will inevitably find yourself in a peaceful, happy place.

What brings this to mind? I'm sitting beside the office desk, with my feet propped up on it while DH does some e-mail chores. Little Candy has deserted her siblings in favor of playing on my lap, using my legs as a bridge to the desk. She is completely involved in her play, chasing one thing, then another that distracts her. DH can't continue the e-mail. It's too much fun to watch her play.

BTW, that's Chip on the left. He reached his goal weight of 2 lbs on Thursday. Candy is on the right. She is up to 20 oz. today. I suppose some would think her homely, but I think she is just the cutest thing, shadowing me wherever I go. She and Chip are best buddies.

Only Yesterday

It's fascinating to watch each group of kittens mature, meeting the same milestones, but each set with a unique family personality. The morning routine is much the same: wake up, play, eat, play. As they get older, play, play, play. Then there comes a time later each morning when energy levels flag and all are overcome by sleep.

This was nap time yesterday morning. As usual, the Sugar Babies are stretched out in a companionable group. They filled the space that originally hosted a little pile of kittens in one corner.



This is today. I know they are growing up when they start doing things independently.

Sweetie, sleeping on the dining room floor.



Taffy and Sugar snuggling in another corner of the dining room.



Snap and Chip, sprawled on the couch. How guy-like.



Honey snoozing under the coffee table.



Tiny Candy, curled up under the chair.






They'll be big soon.

I'm full

Wanna play?



That's Chip in the middle. It's worth it to click the photo open to check the priceless expression on his face. Not to mention the spots on his not-so-little tummy.

It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

What's the difference...

between an amateur and a professional?

That was a recurrent theme during T-'s last studio class.

Answer:
An amateur practices until he gets it right.
A professional practices until she can't get it wrong.

It occurs to me that playing in an amateur orchestra fosters an amateur mindset towards preparing music.

A major benefit of playing in an orchestra is that the music stretches you, and can be an impetus for adding technical principal, fast. But the risk to this is that the requirements are often beyond what your "technique bank" can afford. Sometimes you can be seriously overdrawn. So you prepare as best you can, figure out the best way to "fake" it, actively engage your imagination to hear the music the way you want it to sound, even though it doesn't. Practice until you get it "right enough," then move on to the next challenge.

Some of my current angst over how I am playing is a side effect of having my ears opened to the sound I am actually producing. It's painful in my lessons, but so worthwhile. At least, I think it is. Might it be better to remain ignorant, enjoying my imaginary music? Sometimes, while I am practicing the orchestra music that is still beyond me, I wonder.

Jelly bean

DH's birthday is about a month before Easter, but one of his sisters gave him an Easter basket for his birthday present. Unassembled, with the bags of candy waiting to be added to an Easter egg or two and artfully arranged. The basket is still sitting on the kitchen counter, and we are opening a bag of candy at a time, and slowly eating our way through them. I'm sure that wasn't the plan, but what can you do? He eats his meals that way, too, sequentially. Anyway, I'm enjoying jelly beans this week.

You Are a Peach Jelly Bean

You have a distinct style that you don't really have to work for. You're genuinely quirky, and people love your understated charm.

What Flavor Jelly Bean Are You?

Cello lesson 5/3: Yo Yo Diet

I have been focused on learning some new bowing motor skills, and consequently am feeling less well prepared for lessons. That may also be due to a decreasing practice phenomenon, between frustration that nothing feels right at the moment, and the need to spend some of my time learning trio and orchestra repertoire. And I wasted a lot of time this week reviewing old repertoire and playing things I can already read. I think I needed a confidence boost.

In any case, we again spent three quarters of the lesson working on my bow hold and mechanics. The scale was a combination of F minor and major, and my exit assignment is to limit my scale practice this week to slow linked half notes with four short notes at the extremes before the bow change, with no metronome. Focus on using the whole arm to move the bow, extra push from 3 and 4 at the tip, the way the thumb bends with the bow changes.

We moved on to Bach, a new movement today. T- asked for the Courante. Fortunately, I did read through that several times this week. Unfortunately, I'm still playing with a different fingering and bowing each time, not sure how I want to do this. So I basically massacred it, wrong notes, inconsistent bowings, irregular tempo, lots of pauses while I figured out what to do next. Ugh.

One of the most difficult things for me at my present level of development is playing music I can't play yet. I know that sounds like a big "Duh!," but what I mean is music I can't read easily. At my advancing age, I have yet to figure out a reliable way of learning something I don't get on the first reading. After yesterday's lesson I think what I need is the Yo Yo diet.

As the story goes, Yo Yo Ma learned his first Bach at the age of 4, with his father teaching him one measure per day. That's pretty much the way my lesson went. After that gruesome read-through, we went back to the beginning and worked on the first measure, plus the chord at the beginning of the second. My assignment is to go forth and do likewise in the practice room. The process will be something like this:

For each measure + first note of next measure
* Decide on the fingerings and bowings
* Play through No Tempo with all notes equivalent until the fingerings work
* Isolate problem shifts, chords, fingerings and practice separately if needed, then reincorporate
* Play through at very slow tempo with metronome with fingerings + bowings
* Isolate problem bowings, bow distribution, and string crossings if needed
* Slowly increase tempo to a moderate rate
* If it's not coming easily, invent different ways to play the measure (double stops, rhythms, etc.) to get the necessary repetitions. No beating head against wall!
Next measure

At some point, I'll need to apply the process to phrases, and then sections. The hardest part, as always, is to fight the urge to pretend I can play it and mangle it in chunks I don't know yet. The other variable I haven't figured out is what review to do on a day-to-day basis, and how quickly to progress.

As painful as this was in my lesson (I felt so inadequate), I left feeling optimistic. I'm sure I can learn one measure at a time. Now I just need to lose the expectation that I will be able to play this movement by next week. It's got to take the time it takes.

Sharea Maria

We have a guest tummy today for Tummy Tuesday.



This is Sharea Maria, D-'s newest foster kitten. D- brought her home from a weekend trip to assist with volunteer efforts at an under-resourced animal rescue organization Up North. Seems she was a tiny girl in a tiny cage all by herself, after her mother and the rest of her siblings succumbed to an unknown illness. Well, if you know D-, then you already know the end of that story.

Sharae Maria was packed into the car, along with an injured bald eagle headed to the metro Raptor Center. Sharea had evidently had enough of cages, because she complained vociferously about being in one, in a moving vehicle yet. Fortunately, there was another driver, so Sharea got car privileges under D-'s (and the eagle's) watchful eye. As D- says, "the kitten was unconcerned," and obviously enjoyed the rest of the ride home.

Sharea Maria, named after two little girls that D- met on the trip, has also proved fearless in the face of D-'s resident 14-18 lb tuxedo cats, and has joined the Sausage Kittens in waiting to grow up a little more and find a good home. The only thing she doesn't like is being left alone.

It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

Send up a count

ROTC Summer Camp. Squad tactics. Walking through the woods or along a road in the dark.

"Send up a count."

"One... two... three..." Whispered from cadet to cadet. (By the 70's it was no longer man to man.)

"All accounted for..." Sir/Ma'am/Sergeant.

I think that must have been where the constant counting I hear in my head became a habit. The habit of accountability, knowing where your troops are all the time.

Today I look at a pile of kittens at my feet and think one... two... three... four... five... five... five... Where's six? Who's missing? OK, I see four grays and one red. A red one is missing. That one's Honey. Where's Snap?

And off I go, searching. It was Honey the other night, Snap this morning. Candy went missing briefly yesterday. Two out of three times I found them... in the filing cabinet. During the first long search for Honey I remembered having seen them play behind and hop over the bar behind the filing cabinet, a wooden structure with a partially open back. I pulled out the drawer, and there she was sleeping. Just enough head room for an under-20 oz. kitten.

It still took me awhile to find Snap this morning. Next time I'll look there first.

(Not so) simple pleasures

A sunny and clear Sunday morning, sitting high above the Chicago cityscape, sipping an excellent cup of coffee and reading the New York Times.

Travel amenities

I think I've finally got this figured out. There's a setting deep in the bowels of Blogger that lets me e-mail in a post and have it published directly. No more struggling with a web interface that doesn't quite work on my Treo to edit and publish.

I've also set up my Google Reader Mobile so that I can scroll through my massive list of blogs waiting to be read while I'm hanging out at the airport or otherwise waiting for travel things to happen. If I have a signal, I can read blogs. Except in the air, of course. But I have a couple of e-books, and there's always Sudoku or Kakuro to play.

The only thing I can't do with a Treo is CelloBloggers. Ning is not Blazer-friendly. But otherwise, I don't miss my computer much at all. And I certainly don't miss my laptop-lugging days.

Cello lesson 4/26: Cello #3

Yesterday afternoon I stopped at the violin shop on my way to my lesson, returned the lovely French cello I have been playing and picked up a 7/8-sized Goronok, 2001. I'd noticed that, as lovely as the French cello sounded, long practice sessions and rehearsals were causing my long dormant left elbow tendinosis tendencies to stir. And sure enough, when I finally measured the string length it was 27.25 inches. So I asked that the next loaner be 27 inches or shorter, a length that has reliably caused no problem for me. Thus, the 7/8.

It's so much fun to try all of these different cellos while I am waiting for the varnish to dry on my new replacement. This week I went from a smooth antique sound to a brash youngster worth a log less, from a longer string length to a smaller cello, had less than a half-hour to warm up and walked in to my lesson, then a strings-only orchestra rehearsal where we had our only rehearsal on a new piece (Vivaldi Spring) before we play it in concert next week.

While I may not be entirely happy with my sound, I am delighted to finally discover that I do have a characteristic sound that is similar on every cello I play, and I no longer feel like if I could just find the right cello (or strings) I would sound better. That's not to say I can't tell the difference - I certainly can, and I have a much clearer idea of what I like best. I wonder - did anyone notice that I am playing 3 different cellos on the videos I've posted so far?

Back to my lesson. This week I again spent half the time on my scale (F MAJ again) and half the time on the Bach Prelude #2. We spent a good chunk of the technical time making more adjustments to my bow hold. I have a strong tendency to change position during the course of the note, and T- really wants me to retain the same flexible hand position for the entire stroke, changing with the bow change. Yesterday we experimented with moving my hand a little more toward the frog, so that my 3d and 4th fingers straddle the eye. This necessitates a little less pronation of the forearm, and facilitates movement that feels more side-to-side. I wish changing the bow hold was easier. Habits die hard.

On Bach, I struggled a little more with intonation than I had during practice this week, at least partly because of the foreign cello. I'm also in that half-memorized place where I can't trust myself to play from memory under pressure, but when I look at the music it appears unfamiliar. However, I played well enough that we were able to address the musical intent of a couple of passages instead of the technical requirements.

T- asked again what else I wanted to play besides Bach. I told him I'm OK for now, working on the Hummel piano trio, Op 12, which I don't bring to my lesson. I really should choose something else to work on there. All Bach all the time is grueling.

Trust

The Sugar Babies have had a busy week. They have moved completely out of the tub, though I still confine them to the bathroom at night. During the day they spend most of the time playing and sleeping in the office. They have made a couple of short treks into the house at large, but still prefer the more confined and familiar space... unless both Sweetie and I leave.

We did make a quick trip to vet services yesterday. After 2 1/2 weeks the three smallest kittens have gained no weight to speak of. And all the kittens except one have diarrhea, which I won't describe in detail. They all got a round of deworming, though no parasites were seen. I think it may just be cow's milk intolerance, since it started with the introduction of KMR. (With all the advice not to feed kittens cow's milk, I am astounded that kitten milk replacement is based on cow's milk, as are most of the kitten glop formula recipes. WT?) Anyway, we're trying some dietary modifications.

Other than not gaining weight, the kittens are growing fine. They are all excellent climbers. D- described the experience of putting her arm in the tub as being attacked by spiders, as they all clambered up her sleeves. I wish to reassure her that the world is safe for sleeves since Sunday, when we did a round of toenail clipping. Do you realize that I currently have 180 feline toenails residing in my house?

As for play skills, I've seen a couple chase the balls, but they prefer chasing each other. I see lots of pouncing, wrestling, sideways hopping, puffing up and chomping down. They are also starting to express playmate preferences. My favorite pair is Chip and Sugar, the biggest brother and the smallest sister. She's a scrappy little thing. The two red tabbies, Honey and Snap, are also a regular pair.

Another thing all but Snap learned to do this week was belly rolls. After learning belly-up in the lap I have seen everyone else sleeping and playing this way. I consider that a sign of excellent socialization. Here are a few I captured on film.

Honey, Taffy and Candy.



Taffy belly up, Chip checking things out.



Chip decides that looks pretty comfortable.



Tiny Candy squirming.



It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

AT 4/20

AT stands for Alexander Technique. I've been studying it for 4 years, as a complement to my cello technical overhaul that began at the same time. And this week it occurs to me that it is about time that I jot down memorable points from my lessons, on the theory that if I keep the points in mind (conscious) I may need to be reminded of them a little less frequently before I manage to physically incorporate them.

My reminder this week was to think of every position as a balancing act among the various points of contact between me and my supporting structures. For instance, when playing the cello, contacts include both feet on the floor, both upper thighs on the chair, both "sitting bones" on the chair, left hand on the cello neck, right hand on the bow, left knee on the cello bout, right knee +/-, and chest against the cello.

One of my most deleterious tendencies is to pull away from whatever I touch, and the added tension keeps me from playing freely. So this reminds me to rotate my attention around all of my points of contact, asking if I can do less myself and give more of my weight to my supporting structures.

Babysitter

Between frequent kitten feeding and clean up, practice, and some extra Alexander Technique events this week I haven't had time to collect my many thoughts into blog posts. I need to go warm up for my cello lesson, so this is a quickie.

I put the sugar babies in a plastic bucket while I cleaned the nursery one morning this week. Here is Uncle John babysitting. And yes, that's Taffy saying "Hi!", then Sugar, Chip, and Candy. The red kitties must be huddled in the bottom.

Perseveration

Yes, one more post on the topic of dinner.

If you are following the Sugar Babies' weight chart, you would have noticed that on Saturday most of the kittens weighed the same or less than they had the week before. The exception was Honey, who began to eat from a dish on Wednesday. When Sweetie offered her tummy for rubs, which she is doing more frequently, I noticed that her breasts are nearly flat. Not much milk left in there. So, D- and I had a conference, and decided that even though the kittens did not appear to be in distress, they could use more calories than they were getting.

By the weekend, Honey, Chip, and Taffy were doing a good job eating from the bowl, but the littlest kittens just weren't ready yet. So out came the syringe, and I became a surrogate mom. Wow! Those kittens were hungry. Take a look at Sugar, Candy, and Snap enjoying their dinner. And at us all wearing it.



I fed them as much as they wanted four times yesterday, until their little eyes closed and they keeled over sideways. And today Snap is holding steady and everybody else has gained an ounce or so, on average. They are eating less frantically, so we'll continue on the three meal-a-day plan. I don't think it will be very long until they are all eating from the dish.

Sweetie continues to nurse, though less often. Our new routine is I feed them, then they nurse. I think she's more like a big pacifier than a food source. She wasn't very pacific last night, though, when I heard yowls and growls and general caterwauling coming from the nursery. She had climbed in with the kittens, who were vigorously nursing a mere 20 minutes after I had stuffed them to the gills with formula. Though very gentle with the kittens, she was lying there screaming like she was in a cat fight, and did move a couple away from what seemed like a tender area mid belly. I watched for a few minutes, to make sure she wasn't about to go on a murderous rampage, and she just left with a pained expression on her face. She let me examine her belly, which was unremarkable except for mild tenderness of the middle pair of nipples. Nothing hot or swollen. This morning she let me do a pretty thorough abdominal exam. She has a little more milk swelling than she had yesterday, and again the middle nipples seem irritated but all are nice and pink, no redness, nothing hot.

I checked in with the shelter, and L- suggested she may be going into heat. Ah, the life of the unspayed puddy tat. I'll keep watching her for now.

Intonation

It occurred to me after I posted my last lesson summary that we discussed one more thing: using ringing notes to check intonation. Rather than editing that post to add that point, I thought listing all the ways I know of to check notes (without electronic assistance) might be a useful exercise.

* Check against an open string. This applies to playing C, G, D, or A anywhere on the cello by playing the note, then the corresponding open string, and comparing the two notes.

* Use vibrations of open string. In this case, playing the C, G, D, or A should elicit sympathetic vibration of the corresponding open string when in tune.

* Double stop with adjacent open string. Works best with 3ds, 4ths, 5ths, and 6ths low on the fingerboard.

* Play passage against an adjacent open string drone. Works best when the drone is the tonic, 4th, or 5th in the key.

* Ringing notes. Use a fast, light bowstroke that releases the string, and listen for the resonant ringing. This works best for the "string" notes, C, G, D, and A, but can actually be heard to some extent with all the notes when they are in tune.

And finally, this is how I would "find" each of the notes in 1st position, beginning with C and working upward.
C - open
C# - play open D, then 2nd finger on D IV, then C# is leading tone with 1
Db - play open C, then Db points to C
D - play open D, then compare. Ringing note.
D# - get E in tune (see E) then D# as leading tone
Eb - tune D as above, Eb points to D
E - double stop with either open G with A, depending on the key. Tune A as below.
F - tune F on II with open A, then compare. Hear 4th with open C.
F# - leading tone to open G
G - open
G# - leading tone to A
Ab - points to open G
A - compare with open A. Ringing tone.
A# - tune B. Leading tone to B
Bb - points to A. Or tune Bb on I, then compare. Or double stop with open D.
B - double stop with open D. Or tune B on I and compare.
C - compare to open C. Ringing tone.
C# - leading tone to open D
D - open
D# - tune E, then leading tone to E
Eb - points to D. Compare double stop with open G to double stopped G-D
E - double stop with G or A, depending on the key. Compare to E harmonic on I.
F - double stop with A
F# - Tune G. Leading tone to G. Or double stop with open A.
G - compare to open G. Ringing tone.
G# - leading tone to open A.
A - open
A# - Tune B. Leading tone to B.
Bb - points to A. Compare double stop wth open D to double stopped D-A.
B - double stop with open D.
C - compare to oopen C. Ringing tone.
C# - Tune D. Leading tone to D.
Db - points to C
D - compare to open D. Ringing tone.
D# - Tune E. Leading tone to E.
Eb - Tune D. Points to D.
E - compare to harmonic under your finger.

For notes in 4th position and higher, I make use of open strings and available natural harmonics for comparison. In general, the harmonics available on each string correspond to the major triad with the string note as root. So:
C - C, E, G
G - G, B, D
D - D, F, A
A - A, C#, E

That's what I know about intonation in a nutshell. I welcome all comments and hints.

Slow Practice

So I tried it. T- is right, an hour just slips by working like this. Not only that, but it seems to enhance my mushy memorization skills. After the first hour, in which I covered the first 12 or 13 measures of the Prelude, I was able to play the section from memory, and it sounded much less "square" and better in tune. So I thought I would put it to the test, and shoot a quick video.

OMG! My nerves killed me! This is such a good thing to do. No pressure other than a running camera sitting in front of me, but I felt all the tension of a live performance. Before listening to the clip, I put my observed performance at about 75% of what I had done 5 minutes before. I struggled with the tension in my body and in my face, and I heard all those little intonation errors. I heard them! That's great! And you know what? After watching, I'm still pleased with the outcome, because it is better than it was before. And as documentation of the progress to come, I'm posting the clip here.

Further on the subject of dinner

The face says it all.

Cello lesson 4/12: Intonation Day

Today we did a lot of work with only a little material. I started off with a play-through of Bach 2nd Suite Prelude, en route to working on the Allemande, but got side-tracked when the opening phrase was just awful. So we stepped back and spent the first half of the lesson on my Cossmann warm-up, only the A string. Skills we worked on:
* Know which position I am in at all times.
* Know what notes I am playing. Further, know which accidentals I am playing (Eb vs D#, for example) and adjust intonation accordingly. And even further, do this by ear, and not from the page.
* Play slowly enough that every note is in tune.
* Play quickly enough that my hand is fluid.
* Use exaggerated rolling motion of the forearm to enhance balance and relaxation of the hand with each note change.

I was pretty well warmed up after that, so played the Prelude. While happy that my fluidity is better, I was frustrated that it is still more "square" playing with an audience than playing at home. I was even more frustrated that my intonation was just off, and I seemed powerless to fix it while I was playing. Guess that's a side effect of tuning my ear.

So for the rest of the lesson we focused sequentially on the first two measures, taking the following steps:
(1) Play the notes of the measure at no tempo, tuning each note and paying attention to the finger motions required to play each note exactly in tune with the maximum efficiency of motion and optimal hand position.
(2) Play the notes in rhythm but at a very slow tempo WITH the metronome, fighting the urge to stop and fix notes one at a time. If a note is out of tune, play the excerpt again and fix it then. If you can't, revert to step 1.

The key to this exercise is hearing which notes are out of tune and remembering which notes you need to fix at the end of the excerpt. That was a struggle for me. T- advised working with a small enough number of notes at one time to make that possible, gradually increasing the size of the excerpt.

It is so frustrating that I can easily hear which note someone else plays out of tune, and I can clearly hear my own intonation at a slow enough tempo, but my ear can't seem to play in tune at normal speeds. But I was really getting excited about the possibility of improving that, especially while doing Step (1) and observing my finger motions. T-'s point was that working this way could easily fill 5 or 6 practice hours a day, and he wanted to hear no more complaints that I can't figure out what to do with my practice time .

And we never got to the Allemande.

Sugar Babies (Gp 6 Weights)

The contrast with D-'s Sausages is marked. Hers are huge and fat and energetic and eat constantly. These are small and wiry, sleep most of the time, and go long stretches without suckling. Sweetie isn't a great eater, either, unlike Juliet, whom I witnessed inhaling a whole 5 oz. can of kitten pate at one sitting.

This week I have introduced a slurry of KMR (kitten milk replacement) and either kitten pate or Gerber's Turkey and Broth baby food, but only Honey has shown much interest. And Sweetie. I finally found something she likes other than donuts (which I won't let her have, no matter how much she wants one.) Yes, Sweetie appears to have a sweet tooth. (We won't discussed how I discovered she likes donuts.)

Anyway, I can see I will be obsessing about these teeny ones. But they look fine, they're reaching normal milestones, and they are not dehydrated. They're just not gaining weight.

	11 F	12 M	10 F	14 M	15 F	13 F
Date	Honey	Snap	Taffy	Chip	Sugar	Candy
Sa 4/7	11	10.5	10.5	10	10	8.5
W 4/11	11.5	10.5	10	10	9	8
Sa 4/14	11.5	10.5	10	10.5	8.5	8.5
M 4/16	13	10.5	11	11	10	9.5
Tu 4/17	13.5	11.5	12.5	13.5	9.7	10
Th 4/19	13	11	13.5	15.5	10	10.5
Sa 4/21	12.5+	11+	14+	17	10	11
Mo 4/23	14.5	11+	14+	18	10.5	11
We 4/25	16	13	15.5+	15.5	10.5	10.5+
Th 4/26	17+	13+	16	19.5	12	10.5
Sa 4/28	18.5	13.5	15	18.5	13+	10.5
Mo 4/30	20	14.5	15.5	19.5	13+	11.5
We 5/2	21.5	15+	17.5	22.5+	14.5+	12
F 5/4	22.5	18	19	24	16+	12.5
Su 5/6	24	19.5+	19.5	27	18+	14
Tu 5/8	26	21.5	22	28.5	20	15.5
W 5/9	27	23	23+	30+	21.5	16.5
Th 5/10	28.5+	24.5	24.5+	32*	23	18
Su 5/13	31	26.5	27	34	24.5	20
W 5/16	34*	28.5	29	38	27.5	21
F 5/18	35.5	32+*	30.5	40.5	28.5	23
Su 5/20	37	34	31.5	42.5	30.5	24.4
F 5/25			*		34.5*	28
Tu 5/29					37	30.5
Sa 6/2					40.5	32*

Descriptions
Honey: red tabby with white face, feet and belly
Snap: red tabby with buff feet and spotted belly
Taffy: mostly gray torbie with light gray face and buff feet
Chip: dark gray tabbie
Sugar: gray torbie with white face and feet and flame by nose
Candy: dilute gray torbie

Date	Events
4/6	Arrival
4/11	Start offering weaning formulas
4/14	Start syringe feeding Sugar, Candy, and Snap, others if interested either KMR + 2nd Step KMR or KMR + Gerber's
4/15	Chip begins eating Baby Cat
4/19	Kittens stop KMR
4/21	Mom stops KMR
4/23	VS eval - kitten diarrhea and no wt gain all given round of deworming (neg stool exam) Sweetie + milk on exam Snap, Sugar, and Candy SQ hydration change diet to DM kibble, + pate
4/26	VS eval - persistent foul yellow watery diarrhea (except Honey) Candy very punky Ponazuril (for coccidia); neg stool exam diet Authority kitten pate + DM kibble mixed
4/27	Candy - last kitten to start eating from the dish
5/1	Add acidophilus to food 1 cap/meal
5/7	VS eval-Sweetie's diarrhea Sweetie hydrated, metronidazole 0.4 cc BID x 5d all - Ponazuril 2nd dose
5/9	Candy breaks the 1 lb barrier
5/10	Chip is first to reach 2 lbs
5/21	Chip, Honey, Snap, Taffy return
6/2	Candy finally reaches 2 lbs. And Sweetie is emphatically in heat.
6/3	Sweetie, Sugar, and Candy return

Dinner

There's a tummy under there... can you see it?



But wait... I only count 5 kittens.

Where's Taffy?



There she is!
Even with dinner calling, she can't resist visiting the people.

Oh... did you say dinner?



Hey! There's no room for me!



It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

Mic

I had a surprise waiting for me this morning in church... a brand new microphone in a tiny velcro strap to put on my bridge. Previously we have had a mic on a short boom a foot or two in front of each cello. I must say, having the microphone actually on my cello made me uncharacteristically nervous. Oh, no! Now everyone will be able to hear those runs I fudge! Yes, I confess. If there are more than 4 sixteenth notes in a quarter note I kind of slide the notes at an appropriate rate to land in time on the next down beat. My eyes still blur when they see too many notes crammed into too small a space.

When I told DH about the new arrangements he made that light-bulb-turning-on face and said that the sounds from the orchestra *had* been much clearer that morning. Fortunately, the only thing he remembered standing out was a ragged clarinet passage. Phew.

The AV support at this church is phenomenal. There are at least two big mixers "out front", one on stage left and one in the middle of the auditorium. In addition, there is a room full of monitors and I have no idea what kind of electronic equipment back stage. In addition to two super-sized screens for the congregation to watch videos and live close-ups of the pastor, choir, orchestra, and other performers, there are small monitors at the front of the stage and a larger one (36 in. or so) in front of the orchestra and choir where they project lyrics and program prompts for the performers. And the choir wears FM frequency radios that feed from the auditorium so that they can hear what things sound like out there. Amazing.

I haven't counted the choir members, but it's a big choir. More than 60. Maybe close to 100. (Now I'll have to count to see how good my estimating is.) In orchestra we have 4 violins, 1 viola, 2 cellos, occasionally more or less. Flutes, clarinets, bassoons, oboe, trumpets, trombones, tuba, drum set and guitars, piano, keyboard(s).

Those AV guys must be really good. I can't imagine making a beautiful sound out of the joyful noise of a separate feed on every instrument. I hope they are good enough to turn my cello down during my most spectacular flubs.

Group 6, Day 1

Here they are!


By report, there are four girls and two boys, and they look to be about three weeks old, with eyes open and observing, and shaky walking skills. I went up to get 5 kittens, and got a bonus... there are 6! Oh, and Mom, which makes 7 total cats. Kitten season is beginning. This week there were three moms with litters plus two spares looking for foster homes. And kittens aren't all. While I was picking these up another foster mom was there picking up three puppies.

Here's Mom:


Her name is Sweetie, a lovely DSH torbie, but she is both smaller and skinnier than she looks in this photo. Her story: she and her litter were in an apartment building that doesn't allow pets. Doesn't that just leave you wondering? Was she someone's surreptitious pet that got pregnant? And how, if she was squirreled away in an apartment? Was she a stray, found in the area? If a stray, how ever did they keep her together with all 6 kittens?

It's not only me. My bigs are dying of curiosity, though they seemed a little less anxious to visit the nursery when they caught a glimpse of Mom. They definitely have the routine down, though. As soon as I went in, they were right there at the door wanting to see the kittens.

Another cello

I saw a great sign on the door of one of the studios at the music school today:

Slow Practice = Fast Progress
Fast Practice = Slow Progress
No Practice = No Progress

Yeah, baby.

Unfortunately, I demonstrated a bit of the last at my piano lesson. I think I'm past the point where practicing in class is enough to keep me moving forward. This week I'm going to start making a habit. What to try... Maybe 15 minutes before (or perhaps with) my first coffee.

In other news, I swapped my first loaner cello for another today. The first was a modern cello (2006) by a local maker. It was fun listening to it get better and better as I played it, but it did have days where the wolves on open G or A were very annoying. On some days I considered trading in my future replacement cello and buying it, but it just didn't have the same appeal as my deceased cello.

The new loaner is a completely different animal, an old (old) French cello. I've just finished my first practice hour with it, and I can tell we are going to have a lovely time together. A very rich and even sound, which I like, but a little "harder" to get the sound out. I can't wait to hear it at orchestra rehearsals tonight and tomorrow night. No lesson or trio until next week, but that will give me more time to adjust.

John gave his seal of approval, immediately coming to my side during Elegie, and staying for several passes through Chanson Triste. I really think he is developing some musical sophistication. He waited patiently while I was playing, but butting against my arm at each cadence. I wish my ear was so good!

Twinkie and Inkie

There's more than one way to get a belly shot. The easiest, and hardest, one is the roll-over-and-stretch pose. Easy because cats do it all the time, hard because it lasts only seconds and you have to have camera in hand at the right moment. If you have the kind of slothful feline that sleeps belly-up, I suppose that would be even easier, but I don't have one of those.

Kittens can be induced to relax belly-up in the lap, and I've posted a few of those. No kittens in the house today, so I went spelunking in my archives to choose this photo for Tummy Tuesday - an action shot. It helps to have one person on the toy and the other on the camera, and you see that while the belly is easy the face may not cooperate.

That is Twinkie on the left, and Inkie in full upright belly. (And either Winkie or Binkie is doing a chin-up under the bench. I hadn't noticed that before, and there's not quite enough gray showing for me to tell.) They were two of the litter of 4 + mom that D- fostered a few months ago. We called them the Elves because of their oversized ears, which were particularly noteable when they were very small.

This is also a Happy Tale. Twinkie and Inkie became Max and Gus when they found a home together a few months after this photo. Here's one from just before they left foster care, a couple of teens who still liked to play with toys.


It's Tummy Tuesday. To see more of the (feline) sunny-side-up variety, visit LisaViolet.

Translation

I'm classifying this post as an 'idgit, though it's not the result of a funny web quiz. And I figure I owe my dedicated readers (hah!) an extra post today, having written nothing over the weekend while I was traveling.

There were several new folks who joined CelloBloggers over the weekend, including one who blogs in Japanese. Guanaco explored some options for doing a machine translation of his blog into English, with some success. We would also like to have ready translations for other non-English cello bloggers we've located. Nothing like the optimism of the uninformed.

So today, having returned to my 21st century computer I was doing some reading about the promise and pitfalls of machine translations, and I ran across a site whose sole purpose is to demonstrate the entertainment value of translating a phrase from English to another language and back again. Here is the phrase I tried, and the results:

Original English Text:
the piece we played at orchestra rehearsal yesterday aggravated my tennis elbow

Translated to Japanese:
私達がリハーサルが昨日私のテニスエルボーを加重したオーケストラで遊んだ部分

Translated back to English:
Us the part which idled in the orchestra where the rehearsal increases yesterday my tennis elbow

Translated to Chinese:
我们虚度光阴在乐队排练昨天增加我的网球手肘的零件

Translated back to English:
We wasted time in the orchestra rehearse yesterday to add my tennis elbow components

Translated to French:
Nous avons perdu le temps dans l'orchestre préparons hier pour ajouter mes composants de coude de tennis

Translated back to English:
We wasted time in the orchestra prepare yesterday to add my components of elbow of tennis

Translated to German:
Wir vergeudeten Zeit im Orchester uns vorbereiten gestern, meine Bestandteile des Winkelstücks von Tennis hinzuzufügen

Translated back to English:
We wasted time in the orchestra us prepare yesterday to add my constituents of the elbow of tennis

Translated to Italian:
Abbiamo sprecato il tempo nell'orchestra che noi ci prepariamo ieri per aggiungere i miei costituenti del gomito di tennis

Translated back to English:
We have wasted the time in the orchestra that we prepare ourselves yesterday in order to add my constituent ones of the tennis elbow

Translated to Portuguese:
_ nós t desperdiç tempo orchestra que nós prepar nos ontem a fim adicion meu constituent tênis cotovelo

Translated back to English:
_ we t desperdiç time orchestra that we to yesterday prepar in the end adicion mine constituent tennis elbow

Translated to Spanish:
_ nosotros orquesta del tiempo del desperdiç de t esa nosotros a ayer prepar en el codo constitutivo del tenis de la mina del adicion del final

Translated back to English:
_ we orchestra of the time of desperdiç of t that we to prepar yesterday in the constituent elbow of the tennis of the mine of the addition of the end

If you are as easily amused as I am, check out Lost in Translation.

Not Paris

My impression from reading recent blogs is that most cellists belong in Paris. I cannot tell a lie. I liked Paris well enough, but the attitude left me a little cold. I've never been to Amsterdam, so will certainly keep my eyes open while I'm passing through this summer. Or maybe I should consider a mere layover to be a missed opportunity.

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?