Ooops!

One of the things I wanted to tell you about was last night's concert.  Last week we had Beethoven's 7th Symphony on the program, one of my favorites.  What I hadn't taken into account beforehand was that William Walton's Violin Concerto (James Ehnes, soloist) was on the program, too.  It isn't performed very often because it is devilishly difficult, but Ehnes made it sound easy.  The tone he got from the Stradivarius (the Marsik of 1715, according to the program) was unfailingly sweet and lovely.  This piece was last played here 25 years ago when it was the first time I had heard it.  The memory of it hadn't stayed with me, but I think this time it will!  Wonderful concert!

Last night Beethoven's 6th was on the program.  We are working through a count down this season, having begun with the 9th.  The interesting thing is that while what I think of as Beethoven's trademark graceful changes of key in his music, all of the symphonies are very different from each other and all are good.  Last night I heard the best performance of the sixth (the Pastoral) that I have ever heard.  If you have been reading here for a while, you may recall that last year I said I thought we were in for wonderful music with the leadership of Thierry Fischer our then-brand new conductor.  I am happy to say that my prediction was more than correct!

The second half of the concert was a sandwich (with a theme) of short pieces by Wagner (Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin and ending with Ride of the Valkyries) with a new piece in between  The composer is someone I didn't know, Christopher Rouse. which featured a solo percussionist, Colin Currie.  The title is Der Gerettete Alberich (Albrerich Saved) a piece about the dwarf Alberich from Wagner's Ring Cycle.  The piece was dazzling.

What an evening!

Moving on

The linen warp is off the loom and now the process of finishing begins.  First, I need to inspect the entire length (on both sides) and mend any flaws.  These can be places where there are skips in the cloth, knots that I need to undo and needle weave in or anything else that I find.  As you can see, I need extra magnification to be sure that I catch it all and can mend it properly: 

What you can't see is that I have my CD player on the same table so that I can listen to a recorded book while I work. 

I did too much on Friday, gathering all the leaves, mowing the lawn, removing the window a/c units (2) and taking them to the shed where they will spend the winter.  Snow was due on Saturday and I didn't want the leaves to be caught under it and the window units were doing me no good.  I still need to put up storm windows in a couple of places but will wait until it is drier here and until my new knee stops telling me off.  (Who knew it used such unpleasant language?)

If anything, the crimson queen maples are redder than ever.  This is their moment of glory and they are certainly all dressed up!

The next project is a series of rugs woven with the loops cut from athletic socks during their manufacture.  I need to dye them to get the colors my client wants.  But, first, I need to finish the linen towels.  I look forward to washing and ironing them once they are mended, cut apart and hemmed.  I think they are going to be very handsome!



Life goes on....

I am faithfully doing the physical therapy assigned and starting last Monday, Halloween, I was able to sleep through the night without being awakened by pain during the night.  That delightful trend has continued, I'm glad to report.  That, alone, has made a big difference!

I will see the surgeon for the first time next week.  I am hoping there will be an X-ray showing that my own bone is growing around and into the prosthetic knee.

Meanwhile there has been a decided change in the weather.  We got our first snow several days ago but because it had been warm, nothing stuck.  Then yesterday we got cold rain which rapidly turned to snow which continued all night and through this morning.  It's pretty cold outside.  When I went outside to look for mail I noticed that the Japanese maples in pots by the front door have changed practically overnight to their autumnal finery.  They are living up to their name:  Crimson Queen.

 I had tentatively planned to do more yard clean-up this weekend, but with all the snow and the cold, I decided to weave instead.










I am still weaving the linen towels.  I had bought a single cone of a gray natural 20/1 linen (the warp is the same size and also natural but a pale honey color) and decided to weave at least one of the new towels using the contrasting weft.  It shows the pattern more clearly:

This towel is being woven in exactly the same way as the previous ones, just using a different colored weft. 

I know what I will be doing next so am motivated to push on and finish this warp.  It is bothering my knee a bit to weave for more than an hour at a time, but I will be stopping soon for the day because I have a ticket to the Utah Symphony for tonight and I need to prepare my dinner and change from working clothes.
Tonight Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 is on the program, one of my all-time favorites!

At last!

I last wrote here the day after I got home from the re-hab facility.  Getting to sleep in my own sweet, little bed again was almost more than I could bear!  I worked hard at all the exercises I had been given doing each to the utmost of my ability and then pushing even harder.

Big mistake!

I crashed a week later in pain and learned that pushing that hard was actually counter productive.  I ought to have been able to figure it out myself, but always the achiever, I hadn't.  Now I am still doing the work but not pushing so hard and things are going better.

In fact, I began weaving this afternoon.  I had measured out a warp of natural 20/1 linen and beamed it before I left for knee replacement.  I finished threading it, sleyed the warp and got it all ready to weave where it has rested for several days.  Today was the day and here is what the first complete repeat (and the hem) looks like:

It feels good to be weaving again.  (What an understatement!)  I could tell that my knee/leg was getting tired and having learned my lesson about going the extra two or three miles, I decided to stop and ice it.

The structure is a two block twill (1/3 vs 3/1) which is the same structure that I used last fall.  The profile draft for this version is different from what I wove then.

My knee still hurts and I suppose I ought not to be surprised by that.  I look forward to the time when it hurts no longer and am certain that the time will come.

It's good to be back!

Home again!

The deed is done.  I have a brand new, prosthetic knee joint in my right leg.  I am not going to post a photo of the incision (You're welcome!) even though the nurses at the re-hab facility and the visiting nurse who came to my home today say it's beautiful.  That's nurse talk for no draining, no redness, no swelling (other than the expected) and no signs of infection.

My knee still hurts, albeit in a different way from before the surgery.  And, after all, how could it not considering what has been done?  (Google it.)

All the preparation I did has really paid off.  I made space for a walker--which I am no longer using--got grab bars, a shower stool, etc. and I exercised to be strong going in so that I would be strong coming out.  I learned a lot through this process including how compassionate the nurses aides I encountered both in the hospital and in re-hab are.  I was deeply touched by their kindness.  (Here's to Alicia and Rosa and Jenire.) 

It turned cold and wet just before I got home and had I not spent four hours with home health people today (the RN and the Occupational Therapist who says I don't need her and won't be back) I was planning to take a walk on the sidewalk along my street.  But by the time everyone had come and gone I was pretty tired.

I expect a full recovery and much sooner than anyone--other than me!--expected. 

In short, all is well.

Tonight's concert

This year the programming for the Utah Symphony concerts is focused on Beethoven.  The first concert of the year featured the Ninth Symphony and tonight we got the 8th.  They are being performed in reverse order and will end with the 1st.

Thierry Fischer, our conductor, was in very good form tonight.  I am happy to say that I was right when I predicted that good things were in store for us as a community! 

Tonight's concert began with two short pieces by Stravinsky Suites No. 1 and No. 2.  I don't recall ever having heard the first suite before but I know I have heard the second one.  The second made me think of a sort of off-center circus, for the Marche, Valse, and Polka movements and the Galop made me think of a big, busy city.  There were comic moments in the Valse and Polka movements that at their conclusion brought a ripple of laughter throughout the audience.

These pieces were followed by a wonderful performance of Symphony No. 8.  It was crisply played, never dragging, and quite lovely.  The Utah Symphony has uniformly strong sections and the woodwinds shone, as did the horns and of course the strings.  I enjoyed it very much.

Probably the highlight of the evening, though, was Garrick Ohlsson's performance of the Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven's last one).  Ohlsson's playing was masterful: delicate and with great restraint at times and powerful at others.  The romantic character of this concerto was very much in evidence but there was no sloppy sentimentalism.  He struck exactly the right balance for me.

I wondered how anything could follow that but Ohlsson returned to the stage and gave us an encore.  (Everyone was standing and applauding heartily!)  It was Chopin's Waltz in E Flat (Opus 18), a piece it seems everyone knows. 

I enjoyed myself very, very much.  My knee is shouting at me these days and anything that can distract me so completely from the pain has to be pretty amazing.  It certainly was!

The bagpiper is back.  I was trying to keep the melodies I heard in Abravanel Hall going in my head as I waited for the train to take me to my car and it's not easy.

Tomorrow I have a couple of social things and then Sunday I need to hunker down, pack my bag for the re-hab facility and do the last minute things before my departure Monday morning for the Orthopaedic Center. 

I probably will be out of touch here until I get home again.  That will be about ten days, possibly longer, although I am hoping not.

I actually CAN count....

In the last post I counted off the days until I get my new knee and put down the wrong number.  I can count.  Really.  After today there are only three days.

I mis-named the second hand store, too.  It's name is Our Store, and now they have a lot more good things than they did.  Someone from the shop came to transport the drafting table that I wasn't using and wanted to give to them.  I'm was grateful for the help.  And now, grateful for the room.

Onward.....