It was a dark and stormy night...

It wasn't exactly stormy, just rainy. But it was dark. And night.

Fell asleep with the stereo set for 90 minutes of "sleep" - music on NPR. Must have been zonked enough to drop straight into REM sleep, because I vaguely remember dreaming about an all-day bicycle ride with picnic gone awry as I was pulled back to conciousness by the sounds of Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights from Romeo & Juliet.



Thinking back on it this morning, I'm pretty sure my dreamland day trip & picnic were going just fine, and that it was the music which pulled it off course.

I loathe the general premise of Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story, and all stories where star-crossed lovers kill themselves in despair. (Tragedies where someone accepts death or torture to save the one(s) they love, those I like.) But, no matter my feelings on the subject matter of the story, I do love this score. It never fails to rev up my brain and push a bit of adrenaline into my system. It's not a great thing for trying to get back to sleep at one o'clock in the morning, but it is perfect to add to my playlist for today's 35-40 mile ride. Will go well with some Shostakovich.

Now that I think about it, I'll toss in Night on Bald Mountain and hope for a rainstorm.

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Update:
Gotta quit trying to plan long rides in advance. I just get my hopes up, only to be dashed by crazy puppy destructive antics and calls from school. Ended up with less than 90 minutes to ride before school pickup. Was okay, as I got to see the upside of hauling 20+ pounds of groceries around the neighborhood on the city bike. It's easier to maintain a decent 16-18mph on the road bike. (On real streets, not just the PATH.)

Next time, it's time for a stealth workout. No speaking about it beforehand. I'll sneak up to my bike, ninja-style, then head out for as long as the clock allows.

For now, I'm stripping the white cover off my comforter for a soak, since the white & blue sheets are moved to the dryer. Clifford decided to burrow in my bed this morning for his rest after walk and playtime in the wet yard. Little red Georgia clay pawprints everywhere. Sigh. Good thing he's cute, even when he's naughty.

Show Me!

YouTube is marvelous! I had a song going through my head today during my run, and couldn't recall a portion of the lyrics. Tonight, I searched for it. Not only did I easily find Show Me, from My Fair Lady, I found umpteen versions of it. I chose the clip of Julie Andrews from the broadway production, rather than the Audrey Hepburn movie clip(s):


Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a group of Munchkins, waiting for me to kick open the first dungeon door. I'm hoping to draw an Orc class card tonight. I'm in the mood to use the +5 Slug Thrower.

Musical Interlude

A friend sent me a link to this video clip of She & Him. "She" is Zooey Deschanel. Followed the "related videos" link to the first music video released from their debut album:



I was pleasantly surprised, then remembered I shouldn't be. My favorite snippet from Elf was her duet with Will Farrel of "Baby, It's Cold Outside". And, since the three days of rainy but warm days here in Atlanta have ended, and I'll be running in a breezy 35 degrees this morning, it only seems fitting to end with:

I did it!

I finally finished replacing the strings on my guitar! I only have about 30 mins to play when I pick up guitar before either being swarmed by little people, or having my 'to do' list chase me back to work. As a result, it has taken me a week's worth of play time to get the strings swapped out. I still have long bits of the strings sticking out from both ends, though it's not easy to see here with the scratches on the bench.*

Last night, I was able to start tuning. I say start tuning, because strings 6-3 were tuned when I put them on last week; they have since dropped in pitch BIG time. E-1 and B-2 are both tuned up - for now. Today, I'll work on the others. From what I've read online, I'll be tuning a lot more than usual for the next couple of weeks. Sometimes it'll even be in the middle of songs.

Once everything settles down with the strings, I can drop E-6 back down to D, and get back on In Sorrow's Wake. (No, I don't play it anything like that... and I probably never will. But I'm having a blast learning about harmonics.)

*Oh dear. I hadn't noticed how scratched up the piano bench is. Not bugged by it, as it's to be expected from 80+ years of rear ends sliding across it. Might be time for me to try out my novice sewing skills to make a cover for this.