And I’m down and out…
Sunday August 26 2007
We arrived in San Luis Obispo to visit my uncle who is not in good health, and all of the sudden, my health crashed to. I have a raging fever and am medicating myself with large quantities of tylenol, while trying to push on to my sister’s in santa barbara (about 2 hours away.) I need to rest! It sure is terrible getting sick in the middle of a road trip.
And I’m down and out…
Sunday August 26 2007
We arrived in San Luis Obispo to visit my uncle who is not in good health, and all of the sudden, my health crashed to. I have a raging fever and am medicating myself with large quantities of tylenol, while trying to push on to my sister’s in santa barbara (about 2 hours away.) I need to rest! It sure is terrible getting sick in the middle of a road trip.
The truth about Patty! *GASP*
Sunday August 26 2007
My tell-all report of Patty!
- She’s a wonderful player! She has a great sound, and I’m amazed how well she does on such thick, unresponsive reeds.
- She’s very outgoing! She always writes about how shy she is, and perhaps she is, but as her sister put it, “When she doesn’t know you, she’s shy, but when she gets to know you, she’s very warm!”
- Her reeds aren’t THAT… bad. They just needed some minor adjustments, which were easy since there was too much left on, rather than too much taken off.
- She is a very gracious host! After reading her blog for over a year, I’ve kind of got this sense that she’s lived in some kind of gray house 100 feet away from the curb, with the shades pulled closed. It’s the kind of house that nobody sees anyone going in or coming out, except at odd hours at the night. But in reality, she has a GORGEOUS… house, in a beautiful neighborhood, and she’s just like your friendly neighbor next door— who plays oboe. Her husband cooked great food for us, and her beautifully remodeled interior looks like a perfect house out of a magazine.
I had a great time with Patty and Dan, and the laughs never ceased from the moment I walked into the door until the minute I stepped out, and Dan was still cracking jokes! I wish I lived next door to her. We’d have a great time sitting around just making reeds with each other. Of course we’d have to make them at my house, because Patty refuses to make more reeds— because she doesn’t want to dirty up her studio floor— or clutter her bookshelf with more reeds. ROLL… EYES… HERE…
Thanks for a great weekend Patty!
A busy day!
Friday August 24 2007
Trying to move all of our stuff out of our house, while preparing for a week and a half long trip is quite taxing. We’re planning on getting up tomorrow at 4 am (6 hours from now) driving down to San Francisco, picking up a longer bocal and a wider English Horn Tip, and maybe even some extra English Horn cane to mess around with. Then, we’ll continue on to San Jose where I’ll meet up with Patty Mitchell and play duets until we drop! (which won’t be long, if I get up at 4:00 am!) It will be an exciting time, and I’ll keep you all up to date.
A day of reedmaking, A day of a good gouge
Thursday August 23 2007
After playing a bit around with my gouging machine, I found a great setting which assisted me in finishing the 5 reeds I needed to complete for Jillian Camwell’s large order for her oboe class at Simpson College. With a good gouge, everything just falls into place and I can quickly whip out reeds in a matter of no time. I made a great reed tonight, starting at 9:03 and finishing at 9:18, so 15 minutes from typing to finishing scrapes. Not a bad ratio! I think I’m becoming more efficient, effective, and learning more about how to shave of seconds in my reedmaking. During the entire reedmaking time, I tried it a total of 3 times, mainly just working off of the crow. I think I made about 12 reeds total today in about 5 hours, while taking breaks and doing other things.