Tuesday, March 10, 2026

In November I began teaching myself guitar using the Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method Complete Edition and Justin Sandercoe’s Justin Guitar app. I usually practice twice a day for 30 to 45 minutes in each session.

I inherited my mother’s very fine cello, and after trying unsuccessfully for a year to sell it on consignment, I decided to learn to play it. Unlike my parents and my siblings, I am not gifted musically, so I do not expect to play it very well. But I am attempting this because it will make me learn something new, and playing will provide social interactions if I get good enough to join an amateur ensemble. I am waiting for my very busy luthier to finish setting up the cello for a beginner, at which point I will begin taking lessons.

I am running every other day, but I missed a few weeks this winter because of heavy snowfalls here in eastern Massachusetts, when I substituted snow shoveling for running as my aerobic workouts. I have entered several 5 kilometer races this spring.

I do a lot of reading, and as I finish a book I write a post on this blog. I am currently reading Bach’s Cello Suites by the cellist Steven Isserlis.