I have no real stages planned for anytime in the foreseeable future, of course, but the violin did make the annual Christmas trek to Wichita with us this year.  We rented a little SUV, so we had room to include it, as opposed to the two-seater we own, which, in addition to being as useful in winter driving conditions as an ice cube, has, between its two storage compartments, enough room for exactly two roll-alongs and anything we can stuff around their periphery.  We arrived at our hotel late last night having taken full advantage of the extra storage offered by the little SUV, lugging all our stuff up with the help of our Chicago Shopping Cart, which also made the trip.

Not only is this road trip the first time my violin has left the house since I brought it back from the shop a year ago, but it’s the first time I will play outside of my condo.  I brought it along because I have some interest in playing for my family – they have been wildly supportive of my playing, including, as I’ve written about, my supremely gifted pianist sister sending accompaniment tracks for me to use.

This traveling with violin thing is affecting my psyche – I had a terrible dream about some friends playing with it while I was away and badly damaging the instrument.  They did not ‘fess up, rather they concealed the damage, and then when confronted they did not apologize; in the dream I was apoplectic.  My rage lit up the night.  I guess it’s good to let that sort of raw emotion out in a dream – I sure hope I could handle such a transgression more gracefully should the circumstance ever materialize in the waking world!

When we got settled it was too late to practice, and I’m trying to figure out if playing will be in the cards today.  Most of my family has to work, and we’re also hoping to see an old, dear friend; we’ll see what time and the fates allow.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan