2011 was a really great year. It brought many memorable musical performances, wonderful students, multiple airplane trips traveling across the country, and fun visits in Boston from family and dear friends. I was inspired by the idea for a “Year in Review” post from reading some other blogs and decided to make a post about my own journey in 2011. To remember what happened each month, I’ve had to reference calendars, e-mail and iPhoto to remember everything that took place. I found pictures from most months except for February, April, and September, in which I can only find pictures of my cat or things I baked.
January
Snow, snow, and more snow! I think we got around 40 inches in January alone. I think I had at least 4 days of teaching to reschedule due to the snow. By the end of the month, there were snow many piles everywhere that it was hard to find places to shovel the new snow.
An empty Davis Square in the middle of a snow storm
February
February cat picture since I couldn’t find any others.
March
Greg and I traveled to Austin in the middle of the month as he attended SXSW Interactive and I helped Carmen with some wedding details. I got to see her new house for the very first time and we went on a quest to satisfy our thirst for authentic Mexican food (which is not found in Boston!). I flew back to Boston to two intense weeks of outreach quintet concerts, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, and Sound Icon’s inaugural concert.
Austin Java downtown near City Hall
Dropping Greg off at SXSW
April
April was spent recovering from March and getting ready for May! I spent time planning Carmen’s Bridal Luncheon and consulting on wedding details. The only pictures from this month are of the cat.
Dolce is excited that all the snow is gone because she can go outside again for “walks” on her leash.Shortly after, I finished up the teaching semester and headed off to Switzerland to join eighth blackbird at a new music festival. I met some new friends, played good music, and soaked up the beautiful Swiss countryside.
View of Lake Geneva from Chexbres Village
L-R David Trum (composer, me, Megan Ihnen (mezzo-soprano), Kerrith Livengood (flute/composer), and Nick Photinos (cello)
July
I flew back to Boston after an unexpected extra day in Paris thanks to Air France maintenance strikes and was happily reunited with Greg and my kitty. I taught a week-long flute camp to a bunch of really great kids. Mid-week during lunch, one of my flutists ran to come get me because a giant snapping turtle appeared in the creek by their lunch area. At first, I really didn’t believe that it would be a giant snapping turtle but they were correct! I hadn’t been outside a minute when the giant snapping turtle floated up to the surface and clamped down on a normal-sized turtle that had been nicknamed “Sheldon Jr.” earlier that week. You can watch a video clip to gauge the snapping turtle’s size. This was taken after Sheldon Jr. was turtle-napped.
Click here for video of giant turtle.
Who says art therapy doesn’t work? I found this drawing on one of the bulletin boards at the end of the day.
Art Therapy soothes turtle attack memories.
My old roomie, Lindsey, came to visit Boston for a few days. We hit up the beach at Plum Island, drank cocktails at Top of the Hub, rode the Swan Boats, picked blueberries, and caught up on everything that has been happening in our lives.
Blueberry picking with Lindsey
August
This month featured a visit from Carmen and Kathryn where I took my 3rd trip of the season to Rockport. We also went to Wingaersheek Beach for the first time.
Carmen’s “Lobster” at Roy Moore Lobster Company in Rockport
September
The school year aka “teaching time” and performance season started up again! I’ll spare you the cute cat picture for this month.
October
Greg’s entire family came to visit in October. We took our visitors on a trip to Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Halibut Point State Park, Essex, and the Topsfield State Fair to see the giant pumpkins. We also took the obligatory Freedom Trail Tour, walked the Public Gardens, watched the 2011 Honkfest Parade, and visited Harvard Square during Oktoberfest.
Extreme Gardening – The Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off in Progress
Obligatory Texas Longhorn Picture at the Topsfield State Fair
I thought this was a very creative sign to discourage smoking in the barns.
Harvard Square T with Cindy
October ended with a visit from my mom (sadly no pictures) and several concerts.
November
Just as the New England winter weather was starting to sneak in, we escaped to Florida for a family vacation with my parents and sister. We left on a cruise ship out of Ft. Lauderdale and docked at San Juan, PR, St. Marteen, St. Thomas, and a private Bahamas Island owned by Princess Cruises.
Ocean View from El Morro Fort, San Juan, PR
On the Catamaran “Party Boat”
Pre-snorkeling sunscreen application.
Kayaking in Magens Bay, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Goofing around in the Bahamas with my sister
One of the many beautiful sunsets seen from the boat.
December
Although the plan was to spend a quiet Christmas in Boston, we flew to Washington, D.C. for 2 days to spend Christmas with my extended family and visit with my Grandfather.
Wishing everyone all the best for a prosperous and lively 2012!
