Practicing in the Cold

People often wonder why I have such a strong dislike for the winter months.  It's because my hands will get so cold and will take so long to warm up, that playing violin becomes really difficult!  If I've been outside for more than five minutes, even with heavy gloves on, it will take a good thirty minutes for my hands to feel normal again and not like cardboard.

Thank goodness for hot water though.  I can speed up the warming process by running my hands and forearms under hot water for a few minutes.  When I go to a school or a building where I have to perform and they only have automatic faucets in the bathrooms I get very annoyed.  Thankfully we don't have that problem at Rice University :)

I'm practicing in my apartment today.  It's 25 degrees outside, but I'm warm in my apartment with Beethoven concerto, my puppy Himiko and a wintry scented Yankee Candle Co. candle.  In about an hour I'm going to go teach a lesson at Rice and then maybe see a movie with a friend later.  I'm hoping the road conditions in Dallas clear up overnight so I can drive home in the morning.  I'm playing Beethoven for David Kim before the Dallas Symphony concert tomorrow night! He's a great musician, I'm really excited!

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