Since my original engagement was cancelled last night, I joined the impromptu open rehearsal some of the band was having at the studio. There, in the words of the lovely and talented Mousme, “we beat the instrumental of J’Veux pas vieillir into bloody submission, and lo, all was right with the world once more.” I threw my bow at the floor three times in frustrated despair during the beating, however. (Kids, don’t try this at home. I have four low-end bows; I can afford to do stupid things that can damage the equipment in question. And now it occurs to me that I have a heavier bow that would probably better serve my purposes in the band, instead of my lightish all-purpose one I use for orchestra. Note to self: Get the hard case and all the extra bows out of storage from the in-laws’ basement. Bonus: I can finally give t! my old three-quarter fibreglass bow to mess about with as well.)

So, The Instrumental Bit Formerly Known As The Cello Solo will happen. It may not be as pretty as I would like it to be, but it will happen. (And assuaging my gnashiness with the knowledge that it will be over before the audience figures out what bit it is does no good, of course.) Ceri and Mousme were absolutely rock-solid supportive and patient friends last night as we did it over, and over, and over. They even recorded their bits onto tape for me to practice against at home, as I can play the damn thing when no one else is playing with me; it’s listening to the other stuff going on at the same time that throws me. It will be fine, of course; I’ll be the only one who knows it’s not as good as I want it to be.

Tomorrow is full of dress rehearsal, moving equipment, setting up the space, and sound checks. HRH gets to watch Liam during the day while I do music-stuff, until Liam’s grandma takes over the babysitting in the late afternoon.

I had an excellent morning/early afternoon today with ai731, having my hair professionally highlighted (and I have it on good authority that it looks “really, really, really gorgeous”, although I can’t tell because I can’t see it from the correct angles, darn it all), doing lunch, and helping out with corset refitting. We ran errands together yesterday afternoon as well, and I picked up the most adorable little boom stand for the supplemental microphone that’s only about eighteen inches tall. Now I don’t feel as if there’s something looming over me when I sit between the supplemental mic and the amp.

Book roundup: I’ve finally finished Rose of the World by Jude Fisher, the final book in an epic fantasy trilogy, and the end kind of trailed away. I think it lacked punch because the climax was being told from the POV of over six characters, and things kept skipping around. The momentum was lost over about a hundred pages. Anyway, when I realised I was just turning pages to get to the next plot point, I put it down for a couple of days and reread Pratchett’s Witches Abroad instead. I’m always surprised at how quickly this book is over: it’s a very smooth read, and full of truths about basic stories and how they play themselves out again and again. And while discussing Connie Willis with Ceri and Mousme last night I decided to reread Bellwether, so I started that this morning.

Now: more practicing, a warm bath, then bed! And my fingers are crossed for Liam sleeping through the night, for everyone’s benefit. He had a bad night last night. I want these new teeth of his to finally appear and be done with it.