Abby was practicing her violin the other evening and for some reason she decided to start walking around the living room while doing it. That’s not typically how we practice. There have been many times over the years that I’ve had to remind both girls that they aren’t Lindsey Stirling. That they have to learn their music well before they can dance to it. I promise them that Lindsey has practiced many, many hours to become proficient at both playing and performing.

And every time I say that to them, an old memory of my sister and I practicing comes to mind. After school in the 80s, we’d end up a few days a week with my dad at Incarnation Catholic Church over in Town-n-Country where he was the music director. He had choir practice in the music room, so while he had rehearsals, my sister and I would do our violin practice in the church. It was huge. Big enough for over 1000 people. So, we’d start our practice, but we were kids, and it was an enormous space. To pass the time, we’d began daring each other to walk a distance away and then make it back without anyone noticing (playing violin all the time, I promise). It started with a 20-foot dash. Then down a pew and back, then around a set of pews and back, until one day we found ourselves circumnavigating the entire church playing through our repertoire. I vaguely remember my dad popping out one time, not thrilled that we weren’t at our music stands. I guess I know where Abby and Maddy get the desire for movement from.

While I wasn’t serious enough about my violin practice to become a professional musician, one thing I do know pretty well is plants. So come out this Saturday at 10am for our Herb Gardening workshop. I’ll teach you all the tips and tricks that I’ve learned for growing tasty herbs in Florida and we’ll look at the variety of herbs available to us. The holidays are racing this way, so it’s time to dig out your best recipes. Why not make them taste even better with fresh herbs from your garden?  

And don’t forget the two make-and-take workshops that we have coming up. Next Saturday the 12^th is Fall Flower Arranging and then on November 19^th is Creating an Accordion Photo Book. Click the links to register and get your tickets.  So many great opportunities for fall fun in the garden.