Tune session yesterday; again excellent, and everyone was more comfortable in the reorganized library. We're learning a jig set. It's painful, doing it by ear, but Serena the Fiddle -- a teacher and classically trained musician -- is fascinated by different ways of learning. She is now teaching traditional tunes to her pupils, and encouraging them to get off the dots. I'm enjoying the process of helping another muso escape the bonds of the conservatory method.

Today I'm running the self-clean cycle on the oven, so the ventilator fan is roaring and the whole house smells a bit singed. The cats are unhappy, but it must be done.

We had several days of crazy warm weather that ended yesterday afternoon in the first thunderstorm of 2021. As usual, Environment Canada issued doom alerts -- THUNDERSTORM WARNING! in a red banner -- but Stratford's share of the action was only a couple of thunderclaps, exactly one flash of lightning, and ten minutes of hard rain. Today is colder, but the sun is shining with all its might. The ruckus in the kitchen will soon force me out for a walk downtown for lunch and a visit to the bank, my first extended trot since the cortisone shot.