Hi everyone.  I'm Gail.  I'm retired and live in a small town on the desert.  I played violin in high school some 40+ years ago but haven't played since.  After graduation I moved to Los Angeles and lived in a series of small 1 bedroom apartments.  None of my neighbors was willing to put up with my practicing so I put my violin away.  After retirement I moved back to my hometown and bought a house.  My neighbors aren't so close anymore. 

Last November there was an article in the local newspaper about the Joshua Tree Cultural Center starting violin classes, so I decided to donate my old violin to them in case they have a student who can't afford to own their own instrument but wants to learn.  They have a loaner program.  I explained to the volunteer who runs the program that I couldn't play anymore because of arthritis.  She suggested I try the cello, so now I'm taking cello lessons on a borrowed instrument.  My hands work better now so I'm going to take another run at the violin.  My new violin should be delivered tomorrow.  I can't wait to start learning again.  I have a cheap little digital camera that can do short videos.  I'll try to record my progress with it and post on the progress thread. 

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's posts and watching FiddlerMan's videos.