Christmas Stuff

Another Christmas has come and gone.

Last September I decided to make stockings for our four grandchildren. I started Mya's but got sidetracked. Dec 10th I finally finished it and I hated it. It was ugly. So with two weeks to go, and a lot of other things on the schedule, I started over, finishing them Christmas Eve. Their gifts that fit went right into the stockings instead of wrapping them. The kids liked them and I was asked if their parents get them next year.
















This is Mya, she spent a lot of time singing and dancing in front of the fireplace.
















Jonathon & Jamie getting their gifts ... Andrew was as pleased with their gifts as they were.


















Gavin wanted a tiger shirt ... he doesn't ask for a lot, so we weren't sure if he wanted a cute tiger or a realistic tiger on the shirt, so we gave him one with two adults and one with a young cute tiger.
















As always, we had clowns at our Christmas gathering. Gryper and Prince Charming ... a scary pair!

A Few Friends

Last night, we had a few friends in for supper. There were 13 of us and we all had a great time.


I had great fun planning the menu and setting the table. I was particularly pleased with the way I was able to fold the serviettes - like little Sydney Opera Houses.




















After supper the Tone Deaf Daredevils, made our "recorder debut" and played some Christmas carols and we had a little sing-along. We played soprano, alto and tenor recorders. Last year at this time none of us had even played recorders, but Ken arranged the music in three parts and then he, Dave and I worked on learning to play. It went really well.

We Had a Little Snow

Oh, yea, we had a little snow alright .. and it's not even winter yet.

I've been trying to upload these pictures since Sunday and blogger was giving me grief. It doesn't look like much because it's taken from so high, but there's about 4 feet of snow piled along the left side of the driveway. We have pretty close to two feet of snow here already and they're saying that this is what we should expect this winter.

















This is what our poor gazebo looked like after the storm on Sunday. We've had more snow since then.

The recital and all

Well, I did it, I publicly played my violin at a recital. Up to now, I've only ever played in front of friends and family (and my teacher). I was somewhat nervous for the weeks leading up to the recital, but not freaked out, as I have been for some things in the past.

Any time I've sung publicly, the outsides of my legs shake from the hips to the ankles, my tummy gets twisted, my throat and neck gets really tight, my voice gets higher and shaky, my mouth goes dry, and my hands shake. I know how my body acts.

Yesterday, was different. My bow hand started shaking part way through my first piece, so I told it, go ahead, I'm not going to worry about it. It went away. The two pieces went really well. I made a couple of little mistakes, but nothing horrible. So on the way home I started thinking, "Why did it go so well?" I want for myself to be so calm every time. I know my teacher, this is only the beginning.

Here's my recital prep.

I decided on my two songs, then I played them to death, until they were memorized.

Then, at my teachers suggestion, I started practising them with the metronome set at 80 bpm, increasing the speed by 5 bpm each time I played it until it was too frantic and I was unable to keep up. Then I would go back down the by 5 bpm until I was back at 80. By the time I got to 90 (the speed I wanted to play it) it was easy. This way, if I started off too fast, I've played it at that speed before. I did this with both pieces for about two weeks, I must have played them a million times. I know them well.

The day before I ran through them at speed a few times, and I was happy with them.

The day of the recital, I played my fiddle for about an hour. I figured, if I don't know them by now, one more day won't help, so I didn't play them at all that morning. Instead, I played all kinds of old stuff that used to be difficult, noticing how some of the nasty parts had become easy. I had a good old time.

One other thing I've found. After doing lots of public speaking, I know I'll relax if I connect with the audience. So before I started to play, I talked to them. It relaxed me. I was astounded at my calmness. People told me afterwards I didn't seem nervous.

I actually enjoyed it. I almost wanted to say, as I was bowing after my second piece, "I have another that I could play", but the big cane came out and around my neck in the nick of time, saving me from that embarrassment.

There was a little guy, about 4 years old, who played his tiny cello, he was so cute! His big brother is about 6 and he played his violin first, then got handed a candy cane. Little guy was so focussed on the candy cane the teacher had to get right in front of him to get his attention to get him started. So all in all, it was a great time.

Can't wait for the next one.