A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly
strangled.
– Sir Barnett Cocks
In search of musicy-bits
Ok, so now that I’ve got this spiffy viola, I need to find a place around here where where I can get:
- a new bow (or two)
- rosin
- some strings (C, G, D and A)
- music and instruction books
- something to help me tune the viola
This should be interesting. Simba was a total spaz yesterday when I was checking out my new toy and plucking the strings trying to tune it. I bet it will be even more entertaining when I actually start trying to play the thing.
Anybody know of any good local music shops that carries stuff for string instruments?
More blogger gathering pics
More pictures from yesterday’s blogger meetup. It was another good time hanging out with local bloggers.
Even a couple of the cameras decided to get together
Brian, Jarod and Chuck chatting at the end of the table
Joan, Windviel (Mustang Rolling) and Dan chatting at the other end of the table.
Geoff prepping his camera
Joan showing off the group photo she took.
A new old hobby
Today I spotted a viola the neighbours were selling at their yard sale, so on a whim I decided to pick it up. Unfortunately I missed out on the Lemond road bike he was selling yesterday, otherwise I could have started up two old hobbies.
I used to play viola for about 7 years between grades 4 and 11. I enjoyed playing but being somewhat tone deaf (although I can tell when something doesn’t sound quite right or is out of tune) and somewhat lacking in the rhythm department, I think I had gotten about as good as I could get by the time I reached high school. And by then my interests were starting to diverge to other things like cycling and running.
I hadn’t touched a viola since then but always thought about getting back to it. When I saw the neighbours set one out this morning, I just thought it would be too good of an opportunity to pass up. It’s in reasonably decent shape and sounds decent despite having a thin crack along the top of the body. It’s missing a G string, needs a new bow and maybe some new pegs but those things should be easy enough to find somewhere.
I wonder if my viola books are still back home sitting in the closet.
Yard sale day 2
Today’s yard sale was a bit of a bust compared to yesterday. Had a few people stop by early, but the rest of the day was pretty dead. Maybe it was the threat of rain. Maybe people around here are just Saturday yard salers. Still had a good time hanging out with the neighbours though.
Still managed to sell a few more things this morning. I think we’ll try to get together with a few more of the neighbours and try to organize another community yard sale in a couple of months. Might make a good discussion topic to bring up at the next HOA meeting.