Retreating is a blast!

Another wonderful marching band camp this past weekend, although it has been renamed - or, as seems to be the current buzzword - "re-branded" -  as a retreat, not camp.  Still think of it as camp, since we slept in former military barracks, and shared bathrooms, and walked over to a big dining hall for our meals.  We got our own rooms, at least, didn't have to sleep in rows of narrow iron beds in a big hall. We also had a sort of boot camp approach to our musical and marching rehearsals, which is just fine, since we need the jumpstart for parade season. Our music is terrific - I like every song - and follows a rock and roll theme.  It's gonna slay 'em when we play "Iron Man" and "Enter Sandman"!  And wait until they see us bust our moves on "Smooth Criminal". Lady Gaga gets a nod, as well as Joan Jett. "Dynamite" lives up to its title.
The weather was great until Sunday morning, when we went outside to record for our music archives; we needed little windshield wipers on our flip folders.  By the last note of the final song during the marching portion, my embouchure finally cried havoc.  Perfect timing.

Whoa mama

Got an early Mother's Day gift from our son, as I got to go along with him and his dear woman friend for a day of climbing on the Index Town Walls up in Index, Washington, which is off Route 2 on the way to Stevens Pass.  Every year the beautiful granite cliffs get harder for me, and this trip was no exception.  You have to relearn how to climb this rock, it is utterly unforgiving.  After some warming up, we did a couple of kind of hard routes, and I was feeling pretty good. Then, ironically, I fell off the start of the easiest route which we had chosen to warm down on, which had the most difficult start of all the ones we did.  Just about yanked the little finger of my left hand off.  Blood, sweat, and almost tears; bruised pride, I guess. The other bruising showed up the next day. Yet it was a lovely, coolish, breezy, cloudy day, with views of Mounts Index and Perseus across the highway when you got to the tops of the walls, and a waterfall and plenty of snow.
I treated us to some delicious Thai food afterwards, and silently appreciated my efforts to trick aging and time in order to feel a little eternal youth. It's ambrosial.

Toying with us

The past few days have been astoundingly gorgeous.  We always pay for it...
Mix of activities, from walks to enjoying the new roof route at the climbing gym; the latter produces a temporary physical rush that you wish could last all day. Each to her own form of crazy.

Marching orders

The new band season has begun; we've got lots of new music, all themed Rock and Roll.  The selections  range from early stuff - like when we were young - to current tunes.  Should be a fine time, if we can play the tricky licks while we are moving.
Easy sessions at the climbing gym; sometimes it's good to just be able to get in there at all.