Cache of the Day - New Season for the Symphony

The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra began its 38th season this past month, and I am enjoying my ninth year playing flute with the BSO.

We started our season this year by playing at the local mall. As part of our community outreach, we look to playing in venues that will allow us to reach potential audience by going to places our audience goes ("If Muhammad won't come to the mountain....").

Not only was our audience fairly large and diverse, we were also able to show them that we are not a "stuffy" symphony. Our program was all about PIRATES (notice my tattoo on my arm - aarhh!!), and we played music from "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Pirates of Penzance" and many more seafaring ditties.

Before the concert, we introduced young audience members to the instruments of the orchestra. I had my flute and piccolo, and several children had the opportunity to blow (or they tried to - no one actually made a sound). Taylor participated by showing off her pirates beard.

It was a great start to the season. Check out the BSO site for upcoming concerts. Would love to see you there!

Cache of the Day - The Best Place to Live

I guess I left my heart in San Francisco and I didn't even know it. Seems the Trolley City is the best match for me in terms of places to live, followed by Boston, DC, New York, and Los Angeles. I must be a "city girl".

Austin was #86 (that would have TOO freaky if it made the top!).

Where should YOU be? Take this quiz to find YOUR list of "Best Places to Live".

Cache of the Day - Festival Fun

Saturday was a full day of festivals and the difference between them was radical!

Taylor marched in the Persimmon Festival parade. The Persimmon Festival lasts all week in Mitchell, Indiana, and is quite the event for the small town of 4,500. This was the last day of the event, which includes midway rides, arcade games, and lots of "fair food". Persimmon pudding and ice cream - and anything else you can think of that you can create with this fruit - is everywhere. The competition is fierce for the best pudding.




The first year I experienced the parade was right after we had lived in California and we had just gone to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. As I stood on the streets of this small town, watching the firetrucks and tractors drive by, sirens and horns a-honking, I had to laugh to myself. But I have since appreciated the charm and the small-town atmosphere. Here are some shots of Mitchell friends on the street, as well as some shots of the parade. Taylor is the clarinet-player.

Later that night, we headed into Bloomington for the Lotus Festival. This is a VERY different event. Going into its thirteenth year, the Lotus Festival brings the world to Bloomington by booking musicians - bands, vocalists, unusual instruments - from countries everywhere. The diversity of the musicians and the diversity of the crowd add to the energy of this event. We saw just about every group (albeit sometime for only one or two songs). My favorite was the a capella group Chic Gamine and the improvisational oud and vocals of Dhafer Youssef. The Tuvan throat singing of Chirgikhin was also pretty cool.

A perfect day for a festival!

Cache of the Day - Shakespeare in the Park

What a beautiful evening to bring a lawn chair and a picnic and to enjoy some theatre in the round. Taylor and I, and Taylor's boyfriend Tyler, had a chance to see a modern-day version of "Romeo and Juliet", performed by the Monroe County Civic Theatre on Saturday night. It was staged in a local park and was performed by Bloomington-area community members.

The play was updated for a modern audience, and actually adopted a sports theme by creating rivalries between Bloomington High School South and Bloomington High School North (two real rivals!).


Here are some shots of the actors, who relied on the setting sun for their stage lighting. There are shots here of the rumble and the [homecoming] dance.

Check out the pic of Taylor, Tyler, and I enjoying the show. You can also see a very disinterested Gracie!

Cache of the Day - High School Football Games

I'm actually not talking about high school football games. The football game is just the opening and closing to the marching band.

I heard that statement once before, but OF COURSE I never believed it! Football is king, as is any sport when you're in high school. But - being a former "band nerd" myself - I couldn't wait for football season to begin. There is nothing like having the best seats in the house (our band at Cortez High School in Phoenix always sat on the 50-yard line on the "Home" side). And the antics in the stands! Having an instrument close by, while viewing a football game, always carries a potential for mischief.

One of my favorite times was when I first started going to college and, as a "prequel" to going to Arizona State University, I enrolled at Phoenix College. Of course I was in the marching band, and that is where I met My Pal, Andy. Andy always was the Master of Mischief and he (percussion), along with buddy Dave Hoops (trumpet), would make me laugh hysterically. I remember a particular game where Andy would put a trumpet to his chest and someone would yell out, "Hey Andy, play it with HEART!!!". And Dave - unseen of course - would play the "CHAAAAARGE" fanfare, while Andy would act like he was "playing" that fanfare with his heart. And then someone would yell out, "Hey Andy, play it by EAR!!!!" and Andy would put the trumpet to his ear and, well....you get the picture.

Of course, all the other non-band fans were actually WATCHING the game, so they paid no attention to these antics whatsoever.

I learned practically everything I know about football - and developed a true appreciation for it as my favorite sport - as a result of going to every Home game and 90% of Away games. And I developed a true appreciation for the unique bond that musicians have for each other through the closeness and camaraderie that we shared in these tight quarters.

So, much to my delight, my daughter Taylor is now in marching band at Mitchell High School, where she plays the clarinet. I can see that she enjoys the band very much. I'm pretty sure that is because of the people she plays with and shares the stands with. Here are a few shots of her in her band uniform.

So, football season has begun and going to Taylor's games has brought back some great memories, and just one of the reminders of why music means so much to me today.

Cache of the Day - Theme Parks

Everyone's got to do at least one theme park over the summer, and we've had a chance to hang out at a couple this summer.

Here's Tyler and Taylor at Kings Island, north of Cincinnati, getting ready to ride The Italian Job. Even though we were waiting in lines the majority of the time, and spent lots of money on food and drink, we had lots of fun.

The best value around is a Holiday World, where they've got great wooden roller coasters. The best part, however, is that all the fountain drinks are FREE!!!! And sunscreen - if you're in the water park - is FREE!!!! And parking is FREE!!!! We like FREE!

While nothing compares to Disney, these local theme park are loads of fun.

Cache of the Day - Biking

In honor of the final day of the Tour de France, Taylor and I got out our bikes and went for an extended visit along the bike trails in Bloomington. What a great workout, especially since the brake on my mountain bike was rubbing the entire time, causing better resistance than could be artificially simulated in any gym. I hated it. But Taylor sailed along on her road bike and laughed at me a lot.

The weather was perfect - warm and breezy, and we encountered many interesting characters in our travels.

We enjoyed the rest of our Sunday evening eating Mexican food on the patio, and Taylor here is still reading Harry Potter. (Don't tell her the ending yet....there are spoilers everywhere!).