The Summerglen Files

Every year, I hear all kinds of people knocking the month of January. Some say that, now that all the decorations are put away and holiday festivities are wrapped up, January feels dull and bleak and depressing. Others complain that it’s too cold, or that there’s nothing to do. But I think that poor January [...]

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When I was in high school, my trombone teacher had an endless supply of laments about the weak state of my lungs (and tone). Unfortunately for both of us, his instructions to “breathe deeper” and “fill up my lungs” lesson after lesson weren’t exactly getting results. But what DID get results was the day he [...]

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There’s been some kind of nasty tropical weather system passing over Summerglen for the past couple of days, and it’s made my sinuses and head quite, er, hostile toward trombone playing. During cold and flu season each year, many trombonists are in this same boat, facing the not-so-fun possibility of having to play sick. So, [...]

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Earlier this week, I stopped by Andrew‘s blog and was intrigued by one of his posts about balancing creative input and output. Andrew compares his creative expression to a conversation–just as a totally one-sided conversation gets boring, creating turns into drudgery if it’s always going one way. Reading his post made me think about which [...]

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1. Practicing good habits, even in the face of chaotic schedules, is a good thing… 2. but there’s no reason to beat yourself up if you get a little off-balance. Just keep on keeping on. And above all: 3. Where there’s an active schedule, success is somewhere nearby. Either the success made you busy, or [...]

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As many of you know, I just finished writing my very first book, Women Embracing Creativity: Unleashing Your Inner Artist. Writing the book was a lot of work, but it was fun work. I’m really good at showing up and doing what needs to be done day after day without worrying what the future may [...]

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For anyone engaged in any activity that puts their work in front of others, criticism is an unfortunate reality. While criticism can be highly beneficial, some forms of criticism can be quite frustrating and painful–especially critiques that are condescending, unsolicited, and off-the-mark. This morning after a church gig, I was on the receiving end of [...]

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Even when you do something you enjoy for a living, you can get burned out if you don’t take breaks. So, this past weekend we took a break…and drove to the Outer Banks! It was a 4-1/2 hour drive each way, but we made the trip last even longer by stopping to check out this [...]

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