New school year. New routine.

Busy few weeks.  Shaking the sand out of the beach towels one more time. Getting the kids back to school.  Continuing to mow the lawn.  That's the one constant as we transition to a new school year and a new routine.

My day to day is anything but routine.  That's one of the joys, or not, of moving. I've gotten comfortable in my new surroundings, and very comfortable having no schedule, no calendar.  I can't say I've necessarily used all my time wisely, but I have accomplished a few things over the summer months.  I spent a lot of time at the piano.  Beethoven and Brahms mostly.  The Brahms in particular is an angry piece, lots of forte and fortissimo octaves.  I like to play at night, but I live in a row house.  I don't want to wake my neighbors, so I keep my foot firmly placed on the soft pedal.  So far, no complaints from next door.

My tomatoes came in all at once, so I've also been busy in the garden and the kitchen.  My latest kitchen project was pickles, bread and butter pickles.  Oh, how I love bread and butter pickles.  I have definitely enjoyed the summer months.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end.  I find myself creating a new routine.   I still have a few lessons in the old neighborhood, but that entails a round trip commute of 120 miles.  Fortunately, I've had some success finding students in my new home town.  I need to continue advertising, marketing.  That is not my forte.  As I continue to learn that skill, my new studio will grow.  That's what I'm counting on, anyway.  Like I tell my students, it all takes practice!

Piano is my forte, one student at a time.

And the beat goes on...

Where did the summer go?  School started a week ago.  Lessons start back this week. I have been between jobs since the end of April.  So much to do to get the old house sold, and to get moved into the new house.  I have definitely missed teaching; I set myself a goal of September 1.

Early on, I was gung-ho to get things put away, arranged to my liking.  I moved from a big house with a big yard to a tiny house with a tiny yard.  Perfect, really.  I can stay on top of things here, not get buried in the responsibilities of maintaining a large home. But I brought too much stuff from the old house.  I've got most of the boxes unpacked, and I've made more than my fair share of trips to Goodwill and the Restore.  The music books, however, are still in boxes under the piano.

Having tried to build a music room out of a dining room has been more challenging than I had anticipated.  Where I want a music room that will accommodate a dining table, I have a dining room with a piano in it.  One step at a time, I guess.

I found bookshelves last night.  Don't you love Kohl's?  I had a 30% this month, expiration date August 31.  So, I hit the website at 10, with not a moment to spare.  Finally settled on 2 black bookcases, 43" tall.  Six shelves in all, I hope it's enough to house all the music.  Great thing about Kohl's.  If I don't like them, I can return them to the store.

And here we are, September 1.  All I've wanted to do is teach, and today I get to do just that.  I've dusted and vacuumed, I've arranged and rearranged the room and rearranged it again.  I have the bookcases on order, and my enthusiasm, which admittedly had waned a bit in August, is returning with gusto.  My class roster is not too full yet, but that's okay.  Just like I don't want to overwhelm my students with lessons the first week of school, I too will get to slide slowly back into the habit of working and scheduling and routines.

Yes, summer flew by, but it dragged a bit as well.  I am looking forward to a slower-paced fall, filled with music and routine.  But mostly music.