Website Update

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

I’ve had this website online for a couple months now.  I’m actually surprised I’ve found enough to write about for the blog section.  I was nervous to feature a blog so prominently, but as it turns out, I’ve been enjoying that part of the site so far.  There may be times where I don’t post an entry regularly, or change the posting times a little, but I like the idea of keeping things changing as I need them.

I do need to finish building the site, however.  Not only am I missing a few pages and sections, I have not decided how I will move over the old art galleries so I can redirect the old site to this one.  I’m not sure why I’ve had so much trouble making decisions about what to do with this website; afterall, it took a few years to even start this new one up!  Maybe that’s why I’m not so quick to just throw something together.  I’d rather make sure I take my time, think it through, and create something that can be used for a long time.  Even if things change down the line, it will hopefully be easy to make those changes.

I also don’t know how many people have tried subscribing to the blog using a reader like Bloglines.  I have noticed that every once in a while, I get updates through a feed, but not regularly.  I know part of that is how I have the settings on the blog.  I’m actually torn — my old site got a lot of traffic and search engines were constantly on my site.  I don’t necessarily want that to happen this time around (especially with images), so I’m trying to find the best way to work around that and have a good balance for what I need.  At this point, I don’t know if many people are actually reading or if any of them use a feed.  I’ll just have to give it more thought and see what changes to make in the settings.

I know I need to finish the site and make it look more “professional.”  At the same time, it is a personal site, and I’m trying my best without spending too much time on a section only to realize I don’t like it and have to start all over.  I do wonder what this site will look like after a few years.  Will it even have a blog?  Any art galleries at all, much less new art?  Will my interests be completely different?  It should be neat to see how this site changes — not to mention me!

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Drawing On Past Experiences

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

One of the things my old site was most known for was my artwork.  The bulk of the content was art in various mediums and styles.  I mostly did hand-rendered art and really only dabbled in computer coloring here and there.  I prefer working without a computer, although I admit the lack of tons of art supplies everywhere and no worries about accidental spilling or messes sure sounds nice!

I didn’t have much training with art.  At least in terms of an art school, I mean.  My mother taught me most of what I know, and I picked up the rest by just practicing or getting tips and advice from a few artists I looked up to.  I’m much younger than my siblings, and when the rest of my family went to work or school, my mom would sometimes show me how to draw figures and faces.  I remember art books and supplies were always available to me and I loved to pull the books off the shelf and look through them.  I was also encouraged to draw from the moment I could hold a pencil, so it came as no surprise that I was constantly sketching and drawing.  I kept at it, and although the only other “training” I had was in various public school art classes, I really didn’t learn much else until after high school.

I actually met my husband Christopher at an independent comic book company the year after I graduated high school.  My art back then was a bit terrible in my opinion, but everyone was supportive and helpful.  We all bounced around to a few companies or did small spots in various publications, and I learned a lot from some of the artists I met during that time.  My art started getting much better.  Christopher and I decided to start our own comic book company, but shortly before the third issue of our main book came out, I started feeling a bit frustrated and unhappy with that form of art.  I knew my art was better, but I felt rushed and stopped enjoying it.  I would end up being a bit lazy in order to keep up and finish what I needed to do, and I found that I was doing less art for myself or for fun.  I wanted to do something else, so we stopped publishing.  I tried some freelancing here and there, but I definitely didn’t enjoy that at all.

At some point after this, I had gotten hooked on hockey and drew some of my favorite players, especially one goalie, Ed Belfour.  I decided to have a fan art website and designed an eagle “mascot” to help add extra decoration and personality to my page (Belfour is known as “the Eagle”), and it seemed to get a lot of attention.  Eventually, I ended up having the right people see my art and managed to get a contract to sell a print.  Unfortunately, some things came up that distracted my focus and ability to really do a lot with this wonderful chance, and I was never able to do all of the prints and things I’d hoped to try.  Belfour eventually went to another team, and we all decided to end the contract so we could all focus on other things.  It was a blast while it lasted, and it was an amazing opportunity that I am still incredibly thankful for the chance and trust I was given to see what I could do with my art.  Around that time, I had also been drawing some Star Wars fan art for fun and fellow fans I’d been meeting.  I started feeling like the quality of my art was starting to go downhill again though.  I felt like I was cranking out art for the sake of having something to post, and it started getting a bit sloppy and lazy again.  Various other things caused me to stop drawing for several years.  Burn out, stress, depression… even not being sure what — if anything — I wanted to do next with my art.  For the first time in my life, I rarely even so much as scrawled a quick picture.  That definitely was not like me.

I knew with this new site that I wanted to do something different.  Something that would inspire me to have fun with my new website — keeping it updated, without feeling burned out — as well as feeling re-inspired to get back to my various hobbies and interests.  Will I do art again?  I’m hoping so.  I have some ideas of what I’d like to do, but I know I will never freelance again, and I never want to do anything that would cause me to lose the fun of doing art for myself.  I’m sure it will be a frustrating time, shaking the rust off after all this time of not drawing and trying to do something new.  I look forward to producing art again someday.  For me, and for the fun of it, but definitely not the main focus or the only thing I’m known for being able to do either.

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Sewing Update

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

I’ve been very quiet about sewing lately.  There were things I had to do, like clear away some things that were in front of my sewing area.  Progress on that has been very slow.  I’ve also had a few moments of wondering if I should even bother with sewing until things got more stable with our situation.  The most important things for my husband to focus on right now are job hunting and his writing — his desk is in the same very small room as my sewing machine, so I don’t want to bother him.  With all the fabrics, patterns, and accessories I will have to buy, I also have been hesitant to really dive into things fully.  We’re doing fine at the moment, but I like maintaining that sense of comfort.  While continuing with the things I love is both healthy and important (just as important to my husband as it is to me — he enjoys seeing me working on projects), I also don’t want to dip into savings too much just in case it takes longer than we anticipated for things to get back to normal again.

I most likely won’t be able to attend a private costume dinner party this spring like I’d hoped.  I would love to try to make it to another event coming up this autumn — I’ll just have to see what I can get done by then.

For now, I’ve decided to just take my time.  Start off on some simple pieces that are affordable, and eventually work up to the bigger parts of the project, including whatever accessories I may need to acquire.  I have already put off sewing completely for far too long — it would be a shame to have to stop again before I even get started.  Surely, I should be able to do a little here and a little there over time.  It will unfortunately still be very slow progress with a lot of pausing and waiting in between.  That’s fine with me — whatever works!

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It’s in the Details

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

One of the things I think can intimidate the beginner with sewing is feeling like you have to get it all perfect the first time.  Unless you are joining a group that has accuracy rules, I don’t think it’s as important to get it all perfect right away.  See what you can do, or feel up to doing, and then work up to it.  I have enough things irritating me — can’t find the fabric I want within my budget (type, color, pattern, amount) — things like that.  If I worried about every little detail, I’d never get started!

I first started using some of the commercial patterns to learn how to follow patterns and get used to sewing, and have moved on to patterns from companies that try to use more historical construction.  The commercial patterns were more affordable for me to start with and for the most part kept things basic.  I also stuck to some fairly simple designs so I wasn’t too overwhelmed.  Now that I’ve had a little more experience, I feel more confident to attempt the more expensive, detailed, and closer to accurate patterns.  I have even started learning how to draft my own patterns from information off the internet, or even by draping and shaping on my own (again, starting with some simple items).  It will probably be some time before I feel skilled enough to sew something by hand.  I will practice hand stitches where I can, however.  Hand-sewn eyelets (even if I don’t do them exactly period accurate) have been a great way for me to build some confidence with hand-sewn stitches.  I even whip-stitched a seam allowance by hand that started fraying horribly.  It wasn’t perfect, but it’s doing the job just fine at the moment.

I’ve also been able to practice machine-stitched seams with undergarments for the first time.  One of my favorite garments is my late-bustle petticoat.  I purchased some white taffeta for it and discovered after the pieces were cut out that the edges were fraying so much that I would have to do something about it right away!  I grabbed the serger that was a gift from my mother.  I had not had the chance to really use it on anything but test scraps when I first got it, but I carefully went over all the edges to clean them up and protect them from further fraying.  Once I started sewing, I decided to try another thing I had never tried before:  french seams.  Between those new things, the gathered ruffles (I’ve done plenty of those, but practice is always nice), and pin tucks, I still adore that petticoat as one of my favorite garments.  It was also a great learning experience.

My first bustle gown was quite a learning experience from start to finish.  I started with items that wouldn’t be seen to get a feel for how the patterns were and to prepare myself for the items that would be seen.  I had spots here and there on each piece that I fumbled with, or didn’t quite know how to do a few of the details.  I still received a lot of compliments, and I jokingly told friends and family that it was because I’d hidden some of the spots with trim or that there was so much to look at, no one would be staring at my mistakes unless they were really looking for them.  There are even small sections on my trims where I had little mistakes.  I gave it an attempt and was fortunate that the garments fit properly, most of the sewing went together correctly, and the little mistakes were not noticed by most people or were hidden by the trims.

Right now, I need to get caught up on my “to do” list, and meet some deadlines so I can wear my costumes to events with friends.  The things I make may not be accurate, but I won’t be joining any re-enacting groups that educate the public (not that I wouldn’t love to, and I’m sure there are many members who are more than willing to help someone new make or acquire the required gear and clothing).  I’m learning as I go, trying what I’m comfortable trying, and pushing myself just enough of out of my comfort zone.  I look forward to getting more accurate with my historical garments, and eventually maybe hand-stitching my first outfit someday.  I might still cheat here and there with some things that are my favorites to do, however.  Regardless, I’ll have some costumes and clothing that — while I will know the mistakes I’ve made on them, or see things I would do differently the next time — I’ll have fun wearing them, and will have learned a few things and gained some confidence from diving in and trying something new.

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Fiddle Update

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

I thought I would do a quick fiddle update — a little time has passed since my fiddle goals entry.  It’s given me some time to get used to the new bridge and break in the new strings.

I seem to do better when I can warm up a bit before I let myself get too annoyed with how my playing is any particular day.  I just never know how long I’ll be able to practice, and tend to jump right in to playing tunes.  Sometimes I sound decent very quickly, sometimes it takes a while.  Other times, I know it’s just one of those days, so I put the fiddle away and get back to it another time.  I still have T. Fiddle at the moment, and I have to admit that while I still prefer the fiddle bridge and the wound E string on Aisling, the sound is better on T. Fiddle.  I’m not sure if I will keep buying these particular strings or try another set, but I’m sure there will always be something about Aisling that’s not quite right.  Still, the new items have helped, and that’s what I have to work with.

I tried to play along with music by ear once (haven’t had a chance to attempt it again since), and it wasn’t very good understandably.  It’s going to take some time to get used to doing that, although in the past I’ve had better luck trying to play simple parts from different music (non-session, regular music CDs that I was more familiar with).  I had some trouble hearing the music enough to pick out the melody (my first attempt unfortunately had a particularly loud background noise saturated session), but I managed to get it a few times even if it was clumsy.  I’ll just have to try it more often and rotate the music selection with podcasts, CDs, and whatever else inspires me to play along.

As I’ve mentioned, I seem to be jumping back in to playing tunes from sheet music.  I’ve memorized a few songs (I still want to really make sure I won’t forget them when I move on to others), and have tried to recall some I used to play regularly.  Sometimes accidentally stumbling across one or two in my memory and wondering what it was! Ha!  Two songs I’ve been working on had one or two bits of ornamentation written in the music already, and I’ve had fun playing them.  I got so comfortable adding the extra in when I was ready for them, that I actually added a roll in automatically to another song.  I definitely plan to keep trying to do that where I can.

One of the best things that has happened has been chatting with some other musicians.  I had posted on a non-music forum and talked a bit about my troubles and things I wished I had been able to do in the beginning.  I was pleased to hear from another fiddler that he had been through a similar situation.  It was reassuring to be able to vent frustrations and chat about fiddles and music in general.  That’s just one of those great things about the internet!  There is so much information out there, and people willing to chat and share help and experiences.  I look forward to meeting others and sharing both good and bad stories about our journeys learning to play an instrument!

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“It’s not damaged, it’s full of memories!”

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

My husband, Christopher, and I are still getting back to juggling.  Slowly but… well, you know the rest.  It’s been a little slow-going due to the weather (we unfortunately have to juggle outdoors at the moment), but I’m sure we’ll have a few windows of opportunity in between the spring weather of rain and strong winds.  At the moment, I still feel clumsy, but that’s okay.  I don’t intend to perform — it’s just a fun pastime for me.  At the most, I maybe see us joining the IJA again, and possibly attending a juggling convention sometime.  There are a lot of other things we need to do first, so I’m not holding my breath on that.

One thing we will definitely have to do at some point is buy a repair kit or replace some of our props.  They’re falling apart.  The juggling balls are a mess due to accidentally being stored near torches.  I’m not even sure how old they are in all honesty.  Our clubs are falling apart.  I would love to replace a lot of our props, even getting some of my own clubs (nothing like having to stop juggling clubs when Christopher wants to do some runs with numbers — we only have 6 clubs).  Until then, we’ll just have to make do with what we have.

There are so many memories attached to many of our props.  I’ve mentioned the gift Christopher bought me when we first started seeing each other almost 18 years ago.  He has even given some of our props to people who were interested in learning to juggle.  I hope they’ve helped the recipients learn to juggle, and when they buy themselves better props, I hope they pass them on to other aspiring jugglers as well.  It’s a nice thought, thinking some of our old props might be making their way around the country, helping others learn to juggle.

I’m not sure the current props could help anyone, especially since we have to make them last a little longer.  I look forward to deciding what to get next, and making new memories with them.  Every drop, every scratch, every bit of damage just adds to the memories of learning and reminding us of the hobby that helped bring us together all those years ago!

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A Juggling Picnic

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

I mentioned Monday about another hobby my husband Christopher and I are involved in (even if it’s a bit sporadic these days):  Juggling.  Over the years, we’ve pretty much slacked off on practicing and kept meaning to find time again to juggle more often.

Since my husband got laid off from his job in December, he’s had some free time when he’s not writing or job hunting.  One of the things I like about this looser schedule is that we are free to arrange our plans any time we want for the most part.  We can go to a park while most people are at work or school and juggle in privacy most of the time.  This allows us to focus on what we’re trying to learn and not care about dropping too often, attracting a crowd, or having to stop and talk to people for too long and miss out on much-needed practice time.  Also, we can make a relaxing event of it.  Since we have to eat lunch anyway, why not pack it up and have a picnic?  That way, any frustrating juggling sessions aren’t the entire focus of that morning/afternoon’s event.  It’s simply a nice afternoon out with my husband.  Once I get a little better with the fiddle, I would also love to take it for those times I’m having trouble with juggling or just not in the mood to juggle.

I must admit that we have been fortunate so far, but I’m getting used to this time with my husband.  I really don’t want it to end!  I just think of all the things we’ve put off or missed out on, and while we have reason to be concerned and this will eventually change when he gets a new job, we’re going to take advantage of this opportune situation and enjoy it to the fullest!

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Passing Time

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

It’s time for me to do a few entries about yet another hobby.  This time, it’s juggling!  I was first taught some basic juggling patterns in elementary school as part of our physical education/recess time.  It was a really neat and fun segment, and I wish there had been more like it.  We were taught basic 3-ball cascade patterns in various forms.  There were “stations” in our gymnasium to help break up the class into smaller groups and to keep our interest and attention.  There was a bounce juggling section, where we took red dodge-balls and bounced them in a pattern on the floor and wall.  There was also a black light installed in the storage room.  Once you figured out how to juggle three scarves well enough, they’d let a small group try it in the dark with the black light to make the scarves glow.  I’m sure there were some other things, but that’s all I remember.  I think that was the only time I did anything with juggling through school.

I kept up with that basic juggling pattern though.  It appealed to my “I don’t like sitting in one spot doing nothing for too long, and it blows off nervous energy, too” side.  Sadly, it never occurred to me to actually learn more.  It probably sounds silly, but I’m not sure if I really realized just what else there was with juggling, and although I would still juggle three items off and on until after high school, I guess I didn’t think I had the interest to bother trying more tricks.

After I graduated, I met my husband Christopher through a comic book company (he wrote, I did art) and somehow I heard he juggled.  He told me he had been to a juggling club in the area and that got my attention.  I got excited, wondering if he knew any other tricks — which he did, of course — and I asked him if he’d be willing to teach me some of them.  I guess I was finally bored with the one pattern I knew and decided to take advantage of meeting someone very nice, patient, and willing to teach me. We went to parks constantly, juggling together, and he even bought me a gift:  a large, blue contact juggling ball (blue is my favorite color).  We started dating fairly quickly (and knew almost immediately that we wanted to get married), and it seemed like we spent every minute of our free time together juggling.  I still had trouble getting some tricks down, but I kept trying.

Eventually, we spent less and less time juggling until we hardly ever practiced at all.  I mostly felt terrible for Christopher, because he had been juggling since he was 12 and was much better than my awkward attempts.  We became rusty and started slipping on our skill levels.  Every time we tried to make an effort to get back to practicing, something would come up.  One of those times, I was so close to getting two tricks I swore I would learn (Mill’s Mess and club chops) and Christopher was sent away to Atlanta on business for two months.  That was the first time we had ever been apart.  Needless to say, neither of us juggled during that time (I did try, but didn’t enjoy juggling by myself).  It seemed like once he was back, the minute we’d mention juggling, rumors of anther business trip would come up.  I admit, I got a little paranoid (which is silly, but still… I was tired of making plans — any of them — only to have to cancel them because of something coming up like that).  Besides, as much as I enjoyed juggling, it wasn’t my favorite hobby.  I had others that if I had to choose, would get more of my attention.  We both had plenty we could be doing, so we didn’t try as hard as we probably could have to ensure we could squeeze in even a little juggling practice.

Still, I knew Christopher should have never stopped juggling regularly, and I missed it as well.  With the layoff giving him a lot of extra time, we’ve started making more time for juggling again, and it’s been fun.  We’re hoping to try to keep it a part of our lives in some way.  We might not spend every moment together juggling like we used to, but we definitely shouldn’t let it fall away like that again.  Besides, I still have more tricks to learn!

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Fiddle Goals and Plans

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

I recently did a three-part series introducing some fiddles I’ve played, along with an explanation of some of the struggles and frustrations I’ve dealt with so far over the years.  I thought it would be an interesting way to bring music into my blog, and now I think I will do one more entry (definitely not the last, I’m sure).  I thought I would list some of my goals with learning the fiddle, and some of my plans to achieve them.

I have decided that I need to go back to playing my fiddle Aisling again.  While I enjoy how T. Fiddle sounds, I can’t possibly continue borrowing it — my friends have been incredibly kind already.  I decided that I finally needed to invest in some better strings, and I also found a luthier to fix the bridge the way I prefer.  He took the existing bridge and reshaped it so it is flatter, with a better shape and height for playing things like double stops.  I picked Aisling up Monday afternoon and finally got the chance to see how she sounded and played.  I was very happy!  While I need to get used to playing regularly again, and also get used to the new feel of this fiddle — along with breaking in new strings — I already notice a big difference.  I just prefer a fiddle bridge over a regular violin bridge.  I should have done this years ago.  I also intend to keep trying out strings and investing a little more money in them.  I definitely want to use a wound E string over a regular steel string — I’d been having a lot of trouble with raspy sound issues driving me crazy whenever I’d play the open E string.  The most important part is that I’m excited to play Aisling again (even her tone doesn’t hurt my ears like it used to — it’s not perfect, but it’s better), and I’m looking forward to getting back to regular practices.  It will still be a little bit of a challenge working a schedule around my husband’s while he’s at home, but I think we’ll be able to figure things out.

I’ve known what I want from this hobby (I have no interest in joining a band or anything), but I thought I should make an actual list to come up with a plan that would work for me:

  • Improve playing and add ornamentation.
  • Memorize more tunes and keep up with them again.
  • Playing by ear.
  • Sessions.

It seems like a fairly simple list.  I was never able to make much progress due to some of the troubles I had, but I need to start forcing progress to happen more often again, instead of feeling like I’m going backward!  One of my plans is to take the Aff the Cuff podcast and pretend I’m at a session and play by ear.  I’ll probably stink, but the great thing is I won’t bother anyone.  This is one of the reasons I never play at sessions, despite everyone telling me I should.  I admit it would be a great opportunity to improve my skills by playing at sessions, but the few times I have tried it have not had good results for me (especially my confidence).  I’m just not ready for playing at a session (even in the corner, away from others), even if it’s mostly in my head.  If I feel like I’m bothering someone, it really affects how I’m playing.  I also don’t like feeling pushed into things.  I’ll work up to it eventually, but for now I think this would be better for me (not to mention, more affordable — remember, my husband was laid off, and I don’t want to have to blow a lot of money over time on food, drinks, and gas).

I’m finding myself listening to more sessions (where I can — wish I could find more online), traditional Irish music, and really focusing on listening to fiddle players when I hear them in any songs.  One way I’ve made time for thinking about music again is also helping me with something else.  I have an app for the Couch to 5K program.  I added some songs that play during the program, and for my 30 minute walk after, I listen to the Aff the Cuff podcast.  I think a lot about how I would approach songs I hear, if I had a fiddle in my hands at that moment.  Not only does it make me excited to eventually start trying to play along, it makes me focus so much that my work out session seems to fly by too quickly!  I’m hoping even mentally focusing on the concept and listening will prepare me to start moving forward again once I start kicking some of my plans into gear.

I also have a few DVDs and CDs, various sheet music, and possibly a fiddle teacher (or more) to help me out as well.  With everything I’m considering, there has to be a way to start that forward progress again.  I need to work out a time with my husband so I can practice without bothering him (or thinking I’m bothering him) while he’s writing and job hunting.

Christopher has been very supportive, helping me get what I need, always showing an interest in my playing, and never cringing when I hit a sour note.  I think, through it all, it really helps to have such supportive family and friends!

Hopefully I can work practice in with the sewing I need to start doing.  I might not get to do all the events I wanted — I do have to consider other things and the budget we need to stick to, but we’ll see.  I just want to stay busy doing things I enjoy!

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Fiddle Introduction: Part III, P. Fiddle

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Cynthia Griffith

Two fiddles, two bows, and a few strings later, I was starting to really question continuing with this.  It really wasn’t lack of practice — I actually had to force myself to stop playing so much since I would play off and on for most of the day the first few years at least.

After a month or two of not doing much more than occasionally picking up a fiddle and playing one or two songs, I was about as rusty as I could be.  My musician friends, C. and T. (who loaned me T. Fiddle), invited us over to their place for a pre-Christmas dinner and we had an enjoyable evening.  Wonderful food, drinks, and a few games of darts.  We eventually ended up chatting about music and although I didn’t bring an instrument, I ended up with a fiddle in my hands as C. wandered off to do something.  T. was playing mandolin and banjo that evening and waited to see what I’d play.

My mind was blank!  I hadn’t played in a while, and I had even forgotten the names of songs, much less how they went.  The other problem is that I get shy around others.  I played on my own for so long (even my husband rarely heard me play), that when I would play in front of others, I’d forget the music or mess up horribly.  Sometimes it felt as if I had never played before!  I struggled to remember a few tunes, and T. joined me along with C. on mandolin here and there.  They were both incredibly patient, but I started relaxing a little more (as much as I could under the circumstances).

Even with not having practiced for a long while, barely remembering tunes, feeling a bit tipsy from drink — somehow I was starting to get into it and play!  I loved it!  My only regret it is that I couldn’t remember enough tunes to do more.

What happened?  P. Fiddle (named after the person who made the fiddle), and a really nice bow.  While I still struggled, most of that was due to being rusty.  I hit sour notes.  I messed up and forgot bits, but I was playing with others!  It made me realize that I need to give myself a break and admit that even though some of my issues are my own fault from being self-taught, I might just need better tools.  Sure, a great musician could probably play anything and make it sound good, but I’m not trained like that.  I like the feel of a well-balanced bow, a bridge that I feel comfortable with (P. Fiddle has a fiddle bridge), and a well-made instrument that’s a little higher up in quality.  Not to mention strings that are a little more of an investment.  I remembered how even breaking in a new bow or new strings made me have to slow down and let things settle in, almost as much as old strings threw me off.

While I may not be the best musician — far from it actually — I need to remember these things and cut myself some slack.  Some day, I’ll finally feel comfortable enough to join in sessions.  Some day, I’ll finally invest in a nice bow and fiddle, and keep up with new, quality strings.  I’ve probably made things harder on myself all these years, but intead of being annoyed, I’ll just have to learn from my mistakes and experiences.  After all, it would be a shame to just throw all that time and work away and never follow through, all because of a few annoyances holding me back like that.

Still, it’s nice to be reminded that it’s not all just me fumbling around not knowing exactly what I’m doing and feeling incredibly clumsy.

Photo Credit: My musician friend, C.S.

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