Week 4 of Summer A – 2022

The arrival of week 4 means I’ve surpassed the midpoint of summer A at school, and the jacaranda seem to have reached the zenith of their bloom. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has reappeared on the radar at work, so masks and periodic testing will remain in my life through the summer, it seems.

This week, I finally got my own coffee grinder, so I won’t need to grind at the store anymore. An Internet search revealed that cheap grinders will make a mess of your kitchen. I managed to find a manual grinder made in Osaka that doesn’t shed a speck while grinding, but cranking out 30 grams of coffee every morning will complicate my morning ritual, nonetheless.

Also, I got around to hanging a tapestry and a silk embroidery that a student gave me at the end of fall 2021. With luck, I had a picture frame I’d never used that fit the embroidery. They add a lot to the room and complement the antique book shelf I bought last year. If you ever read this, thank you, Xuan.

On the guitar, I’ve been working on one of Baltazar Benítez’s transcriptions of an Astor Piazzolla tango. I have most of the notes under my fingers, but it’ll take a month or two to polish it. I’m also working on Juan Martín’s Granada from his Flamenco textbook.