Where did this week go? Time had been moving along pretty slowly until this week. Maybe its because this is the week that January ended and  February began, so I was able to go shopping. With so little income, I’m really trying to stick to my rather meager budget plan, so I didn’t go out and buy things like dishwasher soap, paper clips, and hair color until February arrived. So that was a big (and expensive!) day, right in the middle of the week.

I’ve been going in to school to play for the choirs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for the past four weeks, too, which keeps me about as busy as I like to be. Basically I work three days, then am off four days – nice routine. My lessons fall on Mondays and Wednesdays, but I’d like to have them a bit more frequently, since that is where my steady income comes from. I’ll get paid for going in to school, but not until after the concert and contest, which is the beginning of March.

One problem I’m having is that on the days that I go to school, I don’t drink hardly anything until I’m done at about 2:30. I know I’m not getting enough water, but I can’t really drink much after about 6:30 p.m., either, or I’m up so many times at night. I need to have a plan to just drink and drink between 3:00 and 6:00. I did that yesterday and it helped.

I’m going in to school today, as well. The students have a day off, but the teachers have in-service. When we go to contest in a month, we are taking the madrigal group and the concert choir group, and also putting together a men’s ensemble and a women’s ensemble. Most of the members of those two groups are from the madrigal group, but there are a few others handpicked from the two sections of concert choir. The madrigal group has rehearsed all the men’s and women’s music a lot, but the others have not. So they are coming in today and we are going to work on that music for 90 minutes with each group – girls in the a.m. and boys following. It should be fun, because it is just the good singers. Each group is doing three pieces, and they are not easy, so it will be hard work. We’ll also be rehearsing at 7:00 a.m. some days up until the contest. (School starts at 7:30 a.m., and there are outside music rehearsals just about every day beginning at 6:30 a.m. The choir director gets there at 6:00 ! Ugh. And play practice, when they have it, lasts until 4:30 p.m. Long days.)