(Read Parts 1 and 2 if you missed them.)

Yesterday, since my husband was home for the weekend, I thought it would be a great opportunity to knock out a bunch of recording. The plan was that he would take the dog and the baby on a long walk, so that I could have a quiet house. Hallelujah! So I carefully slid into my recording area and hit record. “Chapter Three,” I began. Suddenly, I noticed something odd on the recording. It sounded like a high pitched whine or something. So I took off my headphones and pressed stop, listening closely.

It was a CRICKET. A FRICKIN’ CRICKET had decided to sing its little heart out. If anyone has ever had a cricket loose in the house, you know that they’re impossible to find. They have this talent of hiding in little nooks and crannys and doing ventriloquism acts that make it sound like they’re hiding somewhere else. So I knew that I would get zero recording done until it moved away on its own. Letting the cat into the room to track it down wouldn’t be the most quiet option either!

As my baby and dog-free recording window dwindled down (and I started imagining elaborate “kill Jiminy Cricket” fantasies), I got desperate and decided to try and find a new place to record. Luckily, I was saved by the walk in closet in my bedroom! It would be a tight fit, but the densely packed clothes would help to absorb any wall reflections and the interior walls would help muffle outside noise. My computer was in the office, however, so I’d have to figure out a way to use something else. My Macbook Pro would do the job, although it has quite a loud CPU fan because it’s an older machine. I solved that problem by parking it outside the closet door and carefully covering it with a blanket. While I wouldn’t be able to quickly press record on the laptop once I was tucked away in the closet, I figured out that I could use the Teamviewer app on my iPad to control the laptop by remote access. I should have tried this before…it was perfect for monitoring my computer from further away!

This setup seemed to work well, and I was able to record plenty of material before everyone returned…until the neighbor started riding a DIRTBIKE, of all things, and I threw my hands up in defeat. Oh well…at least I got a good amount finished! The only other issue became clear when I decided to stop. I realized that I had backed myself into the closet corner and couldn’t get back out unless someone opened the door and moved the mic and stand out first! Oops. I had to text my husband to come save me. The best part was when his friend, who had been walking with him, laughed and said “Wait, you’re going to help your wife come out of the closet?” Haha, very funny…