Day 58....... Does anyone remember what sleep feels like?!

So the countdown to the end of camp has begun! We have 13 sleeps left here before we all pack up into a bus and travel back to New York City. Where I will be spending 2 nights before moving onto Chicago (this is all a hopefully scenario at the moment, my knee needs to keep improving the way it is for it to all go to plan :/ but more about that later......) A few things on my travelling plans have changed, so for those of you who are interested here is a link to my new and improved Google map, which, yes, I updated all by myself :D http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109629027493582904002.000487588e1fda26f9ebd&ll=38.959409,-98.261719&spn=32.907523,78.662109&z=4

I quite like the new plan, it looks much better on the map, more of a circle than me crossing myself several times! I still get 3 stop offs in NYC but Im sure there's enough there to see on all my visits!!

As for my knee, well I went to physio yesterday and he was pleased with my progress. I remembered some of the things I was told from last time this happened and so had been doing some of them and it seemed to have done some good coz he said I had much better range of movement than he expected based on my notes. The pain is still ridiculous but its at a stage where regular painkillers will stop it and its become more of a background annoyance than the only thing I can think about!! I am currently sporting a fetching 'hinged brace' which 'provides both stability and movement' (ha Americans make me laugh) which seems to be doing the trick. Its a bit uncomfortable coz under my kneecap is still pretty swollen but the guy said that would get better as my knee does. So fingers crossed it keeps going the way it does and that my travelling will be ok, Im still refusing to admit defeat and look at what effect cancelling flights etc will have :/

Work-wise things are plodding along. Devastatingly I didnt get in the pit for Fame :( but Im doing 'Into The Woods' and 'Once Upon A Mattress', both of which are fairytale type shows. The music is really pretty, 'Mattress' is fairly straightforward, I switch between clarinet and flute only ever in between songs and not during so thats all ok, 'Into The Woods' is a bit more of a pain, Im reading of a piano/vocal score and picking the parts that are needed. Which would be awkward enough except Im doing most of it for clarinet, and from the bass clef, and sight transposing the bass clef is not an easy task! Those of you who understood that please feel sorry for me, and those of you who didnt can marvel at how impressive it sounds and what a genius I am :) (its really not that hard!!) I have more advanced students this session so Im putting together a flute ensemble, which is really good fun, the kids pick things up really quickly! Other than that there's nothing really new to tell, we're all just focussing on getting this session done with!!

Ill try to call everyone before I leave camp, I probably wont get much of a chance to when Im travelling. Ill have my cell phone so feel free to text or call, but I cant dial international numbers so I wont be able to call you :)