Ring-a-ding Drummer

Where did the time go? I haven't updated this blog in way too long. This is not the way to get noticed as a writer, I'm sure. All I can say is it's been a busy time.

I'm one of those people who seems to need new challenges as time goes by. Once I learn something to my satisfaction, I may drop it for awhile or I may stick with it. It's hard to predict. I always come back to it eventually, but when it's not challenging anymore, I need to move on to a new one.

I picked a doozy this time. I decided to try to play the drums. Being the considerate person I try to be, I promised my husband I'd only practice while he's sleeping. I can't imagine why he didn't thank me for that offer.

I've only had the drums a few days now and I'm getting a distinct message from the family. My husband (on advice of the music store) put a pillow in the bass drum. My son went over there and bought me "soft sticks." My drumming is now muffled significantly. Don't you agree that they're trying to tell me something?

I find myself watching drummers on YouTube now and I'm in awe of what they can do. Until I decided to take this up, I had no idea how important the drums are to a band. They set the whole rhythm of the song.

The neat thing is that when they stopped laughing at me, my son and husband started getting interested. They both have a natural talent for music of all kind so they're actually being helpful. I'm hoping they'll come down to the basement with their guitars and let me drum with them. Wouldn't that be something?

Now I'm waiting to see my daughter and son-in-law's reaction when they come over. Knowing my daughter's sense of humor, she'll probably bring earmuffs and/or plugs as her contribution to the family band.

In the meantime, I can't get the song from Bye Bye Birdie out of my head. "Think I'll be a ring-a-ding drummer..."

Off to practice now, but will be back soon. Probably really soon.

Back to the Grind

Not even a week left and I'll be back in Toronto. This summer has gone by so fast, I don't know what happened. Now, though I'm still in my beloved home (New York), I'm starting to feel like I'm winding down and it's not a good feeling.

New York energizes me. It excites me. It keeps me so busy and active there aren't enough hours in the day or night. I get more fresh air and tons of walking. I'm out somewhere every day, even if I just walk across the street to the supermarket. I walk most everywhere but if I'm in a hurry, I take a subway - this summer I took a bus for the first time in years. In Toronto, I'm never far from my car. The subway line is miniscule and the buses are slow,overcrowded, and stuck in the same traffic the car is. Minus the comforts of a car. There's just no real choice, especially when you live in the suburbs.

My daughter doesn't drive so she purposely lives in downtown Toronto and uses public transportation to go everywhere. She commutes over two and a half hours a day to work and back and it takes her over an hour to get to our house. That would drive me out of my mind before I even arrived somewhere, but driving isn't often better.

I see people knitting or reading on the subways and buses and I envy them. I'm trying to avoid the crazy drivers and obey my GPS.

Where did summer go?

The end of August and my summer to-do list isn't quite finished! I need more time. I need more summer. But, here's a progress report on things so far:

Knitting: Promised myself I would finish Hubby's sweater before knitting a stitch on anything else. Promise mostly kept. The back is finished, the front is almost finished, but I did start a scarf. It's for him, though, so at least I'm not too far off track. I needed a diversion. I get a little bored with the constant repetition of the sweater. I'll be happy when he can actually wear both. I promised myself that will be this coming winter.

Writing: Class is going well and almost finished. How could 10 weeks be going so fast? I'm learning a lot - amazing how an actual class can teach you more than just reading the text book. For the first time, I've experienced critiques from people I don't even know. And I'm still here to talk about it!

Photography: Didn't do as much as I wanted to, but got some good shots. I'm a funny photographer. I carry a small camera everywhere, but only take out the big one for special things like a day on the rivers, a day in Central Park, something planned. Or, an unexpected reflection in the Time Warner Center. The little one is for the unplanned; the shot you just need to get because it's so spontaneous. Like the day hundreds of bicycles stopped traffic on Fifth Avenue. Or the gorgeous light show at Christmastime in the Time Warner Center. Of the hubby just smiling for no reason. Or maybe even the dog just looking sweet. The big camera is too heavy to carry around casually. But both have given me pictures I'm proud of, memories I can relive and keepsakes of things that are important to me. I wish I could get them all.

Computers: Mostly done. The big Dell laptop is clean as a whistle and running fast again. Check. The little Dell laptop didn't need anything because it's only a few months old. Check. The desktop is cleaner but not perfect. I have to give that one some thought. Sort of check. And, on impulse, a new computer joined the family. An Apple! Which may be a big part of the reason the desktop isn't finished. While I learn the new system, revel in it not being a Windows PC, and enjoy it enough to want a bigger one, I stopped thinking about the Desktop. Why worry about PC when you've become an Apple?

As for the decluttering, perhaps another blog!

So this is my new blog

I'm not new to blogging - I've had blogs before - but this blog itself is new. I think the writing class I'm taking is getting me more in the mood to write regularly. My assignments are done for this week and I wrote another thousand words on my short story so now I'll write here. I don't know if anyone will actually read this, but I'll do my best not to be boring.

I'm working on several things this summer - the class, my writing, my knitting, my photography, even my computers - I'm finally cleaning those up! It's hard to believe how much they become like closets. I'm decluttering my house, my apartment and now my computers. I want my life clean and simple.

Maybe it's because a birthday is approaching. I feel a need to have everything in order. Or maybe it's just growing up.