Rain rain go away

I'm watching the news right now, and this announcer talking from Fenway is standing outside (in the absolute POURING rain) with someone ELSE holding an umbrella for him. So its the man giving the report, and a random hand seemingly from nowhere holding an umbrella. Looks creepy. He has clean fingernails though.

It was so frustrating all day today with the rain. Even from my stop WAY out on the Green line there were people standing because all the seats were taken. I had to take the T a lot today because of rehearsals being all over the greater Boston area, and every time it was hot, muggy, wet, and crammed. I am one of the few people I know here that actually enjoy taking the T, but today I most certainly did NOT.

I will leave you all with this:

I love Beethoven 131.

Tonight was the first BU orchestra concert, which went well - Brahms 2 is always a joy to play. 

I'm teaching at Exeter for Heidi while she's on maternity leave this semester, and so far, I am really enjoying it. I had to get a Zipcar, since its a little over an hour north of here (NH) and taking a train would just be too risky, with delays and what not that usually happen with trains. The teaching itself more than makes up for the cost of the zipcar, so that is great, and I love having a car for one day of the week. The drive itself is gorgeous - fall, in all its beautiful, tree-color-changing glory, has already arrived up north. 

Peter has put me on a Kreutzer diet for lessons this semester. Its going well - kinda like a purifying ritual. Today was about trills. I am a very bad trill-er, especially my fourth finger. Its a disaster. Kreutzer to the rescue!

Announcing!

Little dearie Hannah Ruth has a blog!

http://bannahhraun.blogspot.com

In other news:

My life has been chugging along here now for three weeks at BU and Boston in general. I'm enjoying school - great Sheveloff class, and orchestra isn't too bad. We're doing some Debussy piano pieces that were orchestrated by Ravel, a new trumpet concerto by Richard Cornell (Terry Everson sounds GREAT!), and Brahms 2. I'm concertmaster. Again. Fortunately (or, I should say, hopefully) this means I'll be somewhat off the pressure hook for the rest of the semester. Hopefully. Last year I was concertmaster twice in a row in the second semester - I really don't want to deal with that again.

This past Thursday night was the opening concert at Emmanuel. We did all 6 Brandenburg Concerti. It was, to put it plainly, an incredible experience and I enjoyed myself immensely. I played the solo violin part to number 2, which used a solo horn instead of trumpet (apparently thats how Craig Smith did it the last time they did Brandenburg, in 1996). It was beautiful to have a horn instead of a high, screeching piccolo trumpet. Ahem.

I got to hear a lot of the rehearsals for the ones I didn't participate in (3, 4, and obviously 6). My conclusion is that number 6 is my all-time favorite, especially the first two movements. Simply glorious. The grand plan of my lifetime is to have a kid who plays viola and then I'll learn the 2nd viola part somehow badly but since its my kid they'll HAVE to play it with me! Ha! You're all invited to that concert about thirty years from now. :-)

Finnis and the rest of the Braunhills are doing well. Last weekend he had a brief return stint to the hospital to treat jaundice. It was scary, but according to Hannah (Miss PA School Smarty-Pants!) its very common in newborns. He was three weeks early, which could have caused some stuff to not quite work right yet. However, I got to see him and Heidi Wednesday evening at the Bran. dress rehearsal, and his coloring is back to quite normal and he is cute as a button. Thank goodness.

Here is a picture of the incredible flowers my parents sent to me for Brandenburg:


For more Brandenburg pictures, click HERE.

Excerpt from a 1950s Home Economics Textbook

This was handed out at my history and lit of the keyboard class. My prof, Sheveloff,  has been teaching at BU for 45 years, and is a whole entire wealth of information unto his own. He is also one of the funniest people I know, and loves irony. Our entire class is basically female (only one male), so thats why he handed this out. Numbers 4 and 12 especially make me laugh out loud.

How to Be a Good Wife

1. Have dinner ready. Plan ahead to have a delicious meal ready for him. This is a way of letting him know you have been thinking about him and his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and they need a warm meal as part of their welcome.

2. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up; put a ribbon in your hair. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

3. Be a little gay and interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and it is your duty to provide it.

4. During cooler months, prepare a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

5. Minimize all noise. Turn off the washer, dryer,  and vacuum. Tell the children to be quiet.

6. Be happy to see him.

7. Show sincerity in your desire to please him.

8. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

9. Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

10. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie down in the bedroom. Always have a drink ready for him.

11. Arrange his pillow and take off his shoes. Speak in a low, pleasant voice.

12. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

13. A good wife always knows her place.

Pictures

For more pictures, including a few of Finnis and a few more of the road trip in August, 

click here.

For Hannah

Poor Hannah, without text/photo messaging on her phone, has yet to see her new nephew. So here is picture for her, and all who read!

He's Here!

Finnis Whitacre Braunhill was born this morning just after 2 am, and weighing a bit over 7 lbs. He is healthy and whole, and parents Heidi and Whit and big sister Adelaide (who started kindergarten today too!) are all well. Heidi looked great this morning!

I'll put up pictures when I have my camera and him in the same room together - didn't have it this morning when I visited. I forgot it last night in the flurry to get to their house to spend the night with the new big sister who was too excited to sleep, thinking about the next 12 hours of her life - a baby brother and start of all-day kindergarten all at once!

I Regret This Error....

My sister Holly has a few words to say about what I wrote in a previous post (the one about Scrabble.....) on August 15th, 2008.

".......just reading your blog and noticed you wrote that you beat me in Scrabble once. As I recall - Hannah is the only one that has won against me (ONLY ONE TIME). Just so we understand each other.... ;)"

I apologize profusely to her, my family, and the Scrabble gods. Although I did not beat her, she did not win. The only time she didn't win, too.

As you can see, the Brauns get a little competitive from time to time concerning board games and cards....but we have never been that way with violin or music. I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)

This week has been too long, too stressful, too frustrating, too emotional, too draining, and too depressing to write anything.

Picture instead.

Holly enjoys in solemnity the war memorials at Gettysburg.

Beginning of School - Year 20

Yes, thats right people - this week is my 20th start to a new school year. 

Today was pure hell. Woke up to the sound of car alarms, moving trucks, and the front door of my building opening and slamming shut many, many times. Its Sept 1st, the most terrifying day in Boston, especially in Allston/Brighton. I was told the other day that about 500,000 people are moving in/out in Boston on this day yearly. Being the college town it is, today it lived up to the chaos standard - it took me almost an hour to get to BU because the trains were so backed up that THREE came at the same time after waiting 20 minutes and OF COURSE the one I got on went express to BU Central WITHOUT saying it was going to so I had to walk back for ten minutes to CFA. Got my theory test results - happily, I passed with flying colors, so I have no review for theory required for this degree. Yay for me. That was it for happy news today.

After I got the results I went to registration. BU has a messed up system with all kinds of rules and exceptions. When I first got here two years ago I was incredibly confused. Today wasn't as confusing, but still pretty bad. I have a plan for the next three years of coursework, and I am relatively happy with it. Emily S. and I went up to the lab to finally register in the computers, but we couldn't without an advising code, which is messed up because technically we're new students even though we aren't. Too complicated to type out here. Anyway, about an hour later, after a trip back to the string advisor and the dean's office (TWICE for me) we finally registered and all was well. 

Not really that I was well, though, because by this time I was so fed up, frustrated, and the clock was ticking without any practice time done. I checked email to find out info about all kinds of things filling up my schedule at an alarming rate, and I started to have a slight panic attack, so I left the lab and calmly went and practiced. Of course, as it happens, I cut the fingernail on my third finger too short so the strings were cutting in and making it bleed, and with only an hour done, so I just ignored the blood and kept on playing. 

My orchestra audition is on Thursday, and I have to say, I am more well-prepared for this one than for the last two, so that is good. 

In other non-school related news, I'll be teaching at Exeter up in NH for Heidi this semester while she's on maternity leave. I start next Tuesday - last week we made a trip up to get me acquainted with the area and building I will be teaching in. I am very VERY excited - the experience will be amazing for me - and looking forward to having, if only a little bit, a real "job." Imagine that! 

Molly and I have been rearranging furniture and books in the living room, and its a nice change. The fishies, Couperin and Quantz, are still well, the weather has been nicely mild lately. I prefer it to not be so hot. 

And now, time for a happy picture:

Heidi models with Baba bedecked in blue and black ribbon (from Shelly's wedding).