Monthly Archives: February 2024

New kind of reeds 🎷

I have used synthetic reeds on my saxophone for more than ten years. I was in a German music store called Thomann when I asked the salesperson which synthetic reeds they would recommend because there was a lot to choose from. The salesperson gave me only one choice - Legere Signature - and I haven’t regretted that decision. A couple of years ago, Legere launched a new reed - American Cut - which I have used ever since. Recently, they launched French Cut, and I had to try them.

I have tested the different reeds the last couple of days, and I have been a little stumped. The reed that I like the least is the American Cut, which surprises me a lot because I compared the American Cut to the Signature last year, and at that time, I preferred the American Cut. Well, I guess I’m allowed to change my mind. I like both the Signature and the French Cut. It is hard to describe, and I’m sure that others will explain the difference in other ways, but according to my ears, the Signature reed is more soft at the edge of the sound while the French Cut is more sharp. I’m not saying the French Cut doesn’t have a dark sound - it’s just more defined. I will play on the Signature reed again for now, but the French Cut may be more suitable for the big band. Time will tell.

Box of French Cut reeds for Clarinet and Alto Sax

Cleaning of my car 🚗

Steamrex has cleaned my car. I have been looking at the company’s homepage for about six months because I like the idea of them coming to me instead of me going to them. Also, I was not satisfied with the last cleaning by another company.

The guy showed up half an hour early, but that is ok with me. I work from home that day, so it doesn’t matter when he shows up. He started cleaning the car, and to my surprise, it took him one and a half hours to finish. The result is stunning. The car is cleaner and shinier than when the other company cleaned it. The inside of the car was cleaned, too, and I can’t complain about anything - not even the price.

It will not be the last time that I contact Steamrex. I’m looking forward to driving around in the car and enjoying the clean windshield - it hasn’t been adequately cleaned the last couple of times.

Clean car

A new type of rechargeable batteries 🔋

I have three LED candles in every bathroom window in the winter, and I have tried to use rechargeable batteries, but it was a flop. First of all, the light was not very bright. Secondly, the batteries didn’t last very long. That is why I use normal batteries. Normal batteries last two weeks, which sums up to a lot of batteries during the winter, and I want to be more environmentally friendly.

Last fall, I saw a commercial for a new kind of rechargeable battery. The battery didn’t require a special charger, and they were on 1,5 V. I bought a package of four to try them out, and they were a success. I couldn’t distinguish the candles with rechargeable batteries from the ones with normal batteries. The only difference was that the rechargeable batteries only lasted one week. Since they are rechargeable, it is okay, and they only take two hours to recharge.

The downside of the new battery type is that they are expensive; they are approximately twice as expensive as normal 1,2 V rechargeable batteries. But I bought them anyway for my LED candles. I’m happy I don’t have to buy many normal batteries for the next many winters.

The new battery type
The new type of battery with charging cable

Great start on the year 👍

I’m pleased about the start of the year. I’ve been able to do more than I’ve been doing in the last couple of years. When I look back on January, I’m happy.

I’ve been doing status over my goals and habits during January and discovered that I need to change how I do things. First, I must turn down my expectations regarding my habits. I want to complete my goals - even on bad days. If I have a day with migraine or if I have a day where I don’t want to do anything, I still have to be able to complete my goals. I’m looking forward to seeing how I manage in February.

I’ve started spring cleaning the house, and it’s about time. In the past, I did it during the year so that every room was deeply cleaned every year. I want to do that again. But I’ve also considered reducing the frequency, so I do it every second year.

I’ve also considered my dream of a homepage with reviews of play-along sheet music in January. I’ve realized that I have too many projects in progress. I’ve decided to complete two of my projects before July 1st before I start building a new homepage. The first project is to write all the missing blog posts for this homepage. The second project is to reorganize my sheet music. After completing those two projects, I’ll have time to make a new homepage. I’ll most likely also have to reduce the number of blog posts on this homepage, which is ok.

What I’ve not done during January is play music. I need to play more regularly again. I aim to play a couple of melodies without the sheet music, and I haven’t started yet. And then I created one more project :-) Well, I’m starting to plan the missing blog posts before I plan the music.

Before I cleaned the shower
The floor in the shower before cleaning
After I cleaned the shower
The floor in the shower after cleaning