I had a lovely afternoon with mwl1's family - my mum isn't well and wouldn't be able to cope with the stress of having an extra person at home, so I've stayed at uni over Easter, but it was nice not to be alone on Easter Sunday. Now I'm off to stay with Matthew for a few days.

Watching my sister and her friend playing some dance game on the wii is hugely entertaining.... I'm in fits!

With the dance mats? That's always lots of fun

I'm happy because we might be driving over to Wales tomorrow for a picnic. I've never been to Wales before, so I'm quite excited! That's only if Mum isn't called into work tomorrow though...

What a relief! SO pleased to read this!!

A hilarious Easter party, involving a trampoline, lots of small children, lots of food and round-the-world ping pong (extra players using hands instead of bats)

Having a lovely Sunday lunch with my nearest and dearest, then several hours of lots of fun and laughter playing card games...

Have a great time, Celeste! I hope you're feeling a bit better at the moment.

egg rolling and egg painting

Was it Just Dance? I got that for my birthday and it is great fun!

3 hours good piano practise, 3 course meal & a 3 mile walk!

3 is the magic number?

My son has just heard he got selected for World Scout Jamboree. The selection process was a day and another weekend. I am so pleased for him. He is my middle child- sandwiched between 2 very able high achieving girls. He has dyspraxia and is just a good egg! He is a really good kid- and after the first day he said 'I don't think I'll be selected, as there were many much better at stuff than me'. The selection process wasn't looking at how good you are at things- and I think he just got it for being a nice bloke.
Also... he scored really highly in the presentation- he's good at drama and IT- (due to being dyspraxic he's had laptops for ever!) and is a very funny communicator! and they had to do karoke at his selection weekend- and he is confident and for someone who's voice has just broken- not a bad singer. He gets on well with people.
I am one very proud mother- to me his achievement is just as good as his big sister's expected string of A*'s and A's next term (altho- I'll be proud of her too!)

great news!

Clari Nicki that's brilliant! - what an achievement I hope he has the time of his life Where will it be held, and does he now have to raise money to get there?

I'm off tonight for (well-deserved -- even if I say so myself ) 10-day holidays...

Well this isn't today, but I forgot to post yesterday... turns out we didn't go to Wales yesterday - we went to Blackpool Pleasure Beach! It was so much fun, but I'm so sore now. All those old rickety rollercoasters really hurt

It's in Sweden- and yes- he has to raise money as I think richer contingents pay for the poorer ones! Will find out more soon....... It will be amazing- young people from nearly every country in the world - 30,000 between 14 and 18!

Thank you Berkshire Mum and Eldatom for your very kind wishes - it's much appreciated.

Working a past paper (grade 7 theory) and realising that I have picked up a lot of musical knowledge - scored quite highly in questions 4 and 5.

Nothing's really made me happy as such, but I've been having a lot of fun messing about with my sister's face on Photoshop. It turns out that the 'liquify' tool is good for getting at least two hours of good giggles.

Getting to go into third position in my violin lesson for the "first" time

That sounds like good progress.

Thanks, Flossie I've tried messing around going into third a little on my own, but I always got too panicky that I was doing something drastically wrong to keep it up for long I seem to be able to hit the note okay, but my shifting IS fantastically slow I do love a challenge though!

I got a letter of confirmation of my place at University of Manchester. I already knew that I had the place because my offer was unconditional, but it's nice to have it formally written down! Now all I have to do is deal with my accomodation and finances.

Well done Stephie, you must be thrilled

I am! Thanks

Well done Steph xx

Great news Stéphie : congratulations!

Thanks guys!

Thwarting a robbery! Chap had stashed a pile of submersible aqua pumps through a hole in the garden centre fence, and was the other side of the double fence preparing to cut a hole to retrieve said stash when I rudely interrupted him. He "made off" as the boys in blue say.

^ What an awful experience! Same thing happened to me in London once - we got a brick through our door...

I'm loving the weather... 20°C, sun, spring flowers.... 'bout time I say!!!

More, please! (Says she, greedily! )

Same here! I'm so excited about summer approaching. I've always been a sun person.

Yes, me too.

Going to see Enio Morricone later... just got to sort out someone to take the spare ticket so mad rush of phone calls now (the person who was supposed to be coming has dropped out on me )

My flute.

Changing my sig.

seeing my youngest play in county youth orchestra tonight! and having my eldest home!

That sounds good!

Seeing two Brits at the top of the leaderboard in the US Masters. Isn't that just great Barry?

Booking my first ever summer school....

I was playing in a county orchestra yesterday as well! (clarinet)
What instrument and pieces did your youngest play, and where was your eldest coming home from?

More sun! And it seems that today we really ARE going to Wales for a picnic The food is packed and all - just waiting for my sister to get ready, as usual

well done, pushpull!

My dog. When we lost our first dog last year, a few months later we got another rescue dog only she has quite a few behavioural problems. Mr Blackbird and I have done a lot of work with her and its been very difficult at times but she's been doing very well.

Someone stopped us as we were out walking today to say that we were working wonders with her and they couldn't believe how well she was coming on.

Am very, very proud of my girl

Well...not today...but last Tuesday I was forced WAAAYYYYY out of my comfort zone and went and taught 95 10-21 year-olds on the York Youth Choir course. EEEP! I don't usually DO teenagers...and certainly not in quite such alarming numbers...so I was pretty petrified...

BUT it all seemed to go well. They were split into two groups - I had the younger, 10-14 year olds, in the morning and the older ones in the afternoon (when they weren't with me they were doing Dalcroze with a fabby colleague of mine). Each group had two one-and-a-half hour sessions and I was POOPED by the end of the day - the older group was 50+ (including a good 20 lads) - these are really big groups to work with!

Apparently there was a real mix of experience and abilities - from those who don't read music at all to those who are doing 'A' Level, have perfect pitch etc. But I seemed to be able to get them all doing things, from silly games to intervals, scales, (pentatonic, modal, whole-tone), ostinati, letter names, improvising...this last was fun - got them to perform a short improv with a partner and I managed to make one of the younger group cry . I felt really bad until one of the organisers told me that this was not an unusual occurrence for this lad...

PHEW. I had loads of the older group REALLY interested in doing more Kodály training - they seemed really blown away by it all - so I went off mightily relieved, quite excited and totally pooped!!!

Treated myself to a couple of days' holiday mooching around the Yorkshire Dales/North York Moors, which was fab.

The worst thing was feeling quite ill on Thurs and coming home a bit earlier than I had planned - thus missing a planned meeting with Floss and mwl1 .

But apart from that - and all the worry and fretting beforehand - it was a fab experience!

New shoes!
N

Quite apt, you being 'nova' and all!

We didn't even go - we went to Southport. And I don't even know where that is! I just know we got there..

A 10 egg day! We have 10 chickens and they have never before all laid an egg on the same day. Must be the weather...