I'm thinking that kitchen cutlery can sometimes be a seriously nasty detriment to piano playing skills. A couple of nights ago, I took a chunk out of my finger while cutting peppers. The next morning, I had to play for a funeral. Of course, the trick is to get the band-aid on just right so that the wound is sufficiently covered, yet still provides as much exposure to the tip as possible. It throbbed the whole time I played; plus, I was worried that it would bleed all over the keys! Geesh, what a pain in the butt...uh, finger.

Ouch -- so sorry!

Since piano came back into my life, I have been EXTRA careful in the kitchen. Not only the kitchen, but gardening in now off limits. Reason being, a few years ago a red ant bit me on my thumb when I was pulling weeds. Well, I am allergic to red ants. My thumb and hand swelled and it was very difficult to play for a few days. So, gardening is out (luckily my husband is very understanding about all this).

On that note -- take care.

Barb

Careful! I cook, too I love love love good food.

When using a knife, it is necessary to make safety your first priority. Not cutting your fingers is more important than cutting the pepper, so the pepper must be secondary to safety.

<Julia Childs Voice> "Now we will avoid cutting our fingers, and while we are at it we will cut a pepper. Ooops, I dropped it- that's fine." </Julia Childs Voice>

Make safety rules, turn them into habits, and remind yourself of them as you cut- things like holding the vegetables in the correct manner (with the fingernails positioned to protect your fingers from the blade).

I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, sorry

A couple of my friends are professional chefs and they do not have any nerves left in their fingers. Make sure you fold your fingers back when you cut rather than sticking them out, that is, expose your knuckles rather than your fingers.
I haven't been able to play the piano properly for ages as I have a wrist injury from tennis.

I usually loose awareness of real time when I start to play piano(jazz),I get absorbed and sucked into some other space or something,so it many times happened that I burnt my toasts, soup even burned the boiled pasta etc.Since then I use kitchen timer which will bring me in again

My friend who is a cook book author used to say that the sign of a good cook is someone who has "asbestos fingers", i.e., one who can pick up hot things without obvious signs of discomfort. I have the asbestos fingers, but don't get much cooking practice living on my own. I have also badly frostbitten the ends of my fingers a couple of times when I had to replace the plug on my block heater in minus 30 degree weather with winds that made it equivalent of minus 45 or worse. Extreme cold now causes me agonizing pain in my finger tips. I have wondered whether all this affects my sense of touch. At my present level of pianistic activity I don't think it has made a difference, but I am sure there is a level of subtlety that I am no longer physically able to achieve.

If at first, you don't succeed.................



Then knife juggling is probably not for you :-)