Splendid Weather

Another sunny day, another great bike ride. Kansas City is blessed to have such fantastic weather at this time. Fall is approaching! 

Even ducks have ears!

What a Difference a Cellist Makes

This past weekend was a prime example of how important the cellist is to any small ensemble.  On two separate occasions I had the honor to perform with two fine cellist.  One played with a solid sense of tempo and stayed out of the way of the melodies happening within the ensemble.  The other tried to control and dictate tempos i.e. (there was never a double bar or repeat sign that the cellist could not resist adding a retard or rallentando).  Retards and rallentandos are nice and add to the music when indicated by the score. Adding them on a whim to emote some sense of musicality is unwarranted and unnecessary.

Guess which cellist was the most fun to work with and whose product was superior? That's right, the first cellist that kept a solid tempo and followed the melodies!

Now mind you, the audiences were both appreciative and in no way appeared to be the wiser to the ensembles lack of congress on the second night of performance; but the musicians certainly new the difference between music making being a pleasure vs. music making is hard work.

Sunny Roads

Another sunny day, another great bike ride. How blessed to enjoy such
fantastic weather.

First Time

Summer is a busy time for staying in touch. Using itouch for mobile entries is very cool.

Busy Day

Today was a day for watching hummingbirds in our backyard dive bomb each other as they attempted to defend our feeders.  It was hard to keep count of them, but at one point I saw six hummers.  I was able to take a few photos of the hummers at one of our feeders.  It was amazing how totally unafraid they seemed to be of my presents.  On several occasions they actually hovered near me to check out my camera.

In the evening I took a leisurely bike ride around Loose Park and the local vicinity. Life is good when you take the time to enjoy what is in your own backyard.

Zing for the kitchen

It is amazing what new counter tops can do for your kitchen.  Today we are having granite/polymer counters installed.  They are good for as long as we live in the house.  Counters fit over the top of existing counters.  This makes it a one day installation.