War wounds

Both my boys have recently received injuries in almost exactly the same place. First Chris at rugby from a random sprig at a ruck which dug a deep hole beside his left eye and then Tyler got a nice split at the corner of his left eye while playing at the pool with his wee mate.

Felix the cat has changed from being a mistrustful outside cat to an inside snugglepuss.

The kids are allowed to have a pair of slippers at school to change into in the classroom. Here's Tyler's choice. Note that he still has shorts on!

Tyler is really starting to get into his reading now and has discovered that he can read a book by himself. He came home from school on Friday and told me that he had read the first four chapters of his Zac Power book. He finished reading the book out loud to me at bedtime.

Random pretty picture :) Taken from the our house one morning.

Tyler is still obsessed with Bakugans and our lounge floor is constantly scattered with the little round toys and their cards. This makes for an interesting crossing from one side of the lounge to the other if one is not paying attention!

Winter has set in and we have the fire cranked up most days. Fortunately a lot of the days while being cold, are also sunny and calm so not unpleasant. Chris has had another couple of moles removed as a precaution - one on his back and another on his calf. I'm off to the doctor tomorrow to get my throat checked out. It hasn't been right since I lost it at the last opera performance. It's very frustrating especially because I have discovered an absolutely gorgeous piece by Mozart that I want to learn - Ora Pro Nobis from the Regina Coelis K108 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx2pnPI18yI (start at 6:40)

When I grow up I want to be....

A fireman! Tyler's class is working through the Firewise programme so he was very excited

when they had a visit from some firemen with their fire engine.

Full steam ahead! Stop!

So it was two weeks of full on rehearsals and performances and then.....nothing. No.Thing. After the last Hansel & Gretel (H&G) performance I looked at the family diary and for the week ahead there was nothing. Well no that's no quite true, we did have the A Capella Singers AGM but that doesn't count :)

H&G went really well and I loved it!! I even managed to add my own little spin onto a little bit of the Dew Fairy's dialogue and the director was hugely delighted as he had been encouraging me to add my own take on the characters I was playing. I didn't trip over my cloak, and I think I sang pretty well. Apart from the last performance where I had to do a 'Milli Vanilli'. I'd had a slight sniffle all week but it was no impediment to singing. However I woke up on the Saturday morning sounding like a strangled chicken! Application of a recommended gargle (warm water, salt, baking soda and maple syrup) failed to un-strangle the chicken and so I mimed and acted my two roles while the amazing Amanda Winfield sang from the wings, miked forward so it sounded like it was coming from me. She'd never sung those parts before, only heard me sing them. Not only that but because she was already playing two roles herself (mother and witch) she had to rearrange her costume changes to accommodate me. And she just took it in her stride. That's a professional for you. Oh and I wasn't as bad as the notorious Milli Vanilli duo, as the director advised the audience prior to the show beginning.

And so this Saturday morning I was able to have lie in, then amble up to the kitchen in my fluffy pink dressing-gown to make a cup of coffee in my favourite mug (no-one else is allowed to use it) read the paper and do the word puzzles.

Fun at the pool

Tyler, like most kids, loves going to the swimming pool and we are lucky that we have a school pool just along the road from us. Yesterday the boys headed down there and because I was due to sing that afternoon, I didn't get in, but took the opportunity to take a couple of photos.

Tyler doing a 'starfish'

Happy boys

Ready for the big throw

Daddy stalks Tyler

I tried to upload a video directly into here but it wouldn't play ball, so here's the link to it on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a3l5G8VqA4

I'm feeling a bit sung out after all the Easter Masses, and that was still after not doing two of them! I got to sing the Agnus Dei and Kyrie from Mozart's Coronation Mass on the Sunday morning, and then at the Solemn Vespers in the afternoon I sang the Laudate Dominum (Mozart again) which is a lovely piece which sounds deceptively easy. I felt that I did a reasonably good job (and did the Amen exactly as I had planned - yes!) but as always there were things which inwardly had me going 'Oh you didn't have enough support for that note' etc. Sometime I wish the little critic in my head would wait till after the performance to point out my short-comings!

Now I am full-on into rehearsals for Hansel & Gretel. All the soloists are professional singers or have had extensive theatre performance experience except for me. I am singing two roles, firstly the Sandman who puts H&G to sleep and the immediately I change into the Dew Fairy who wakes them up. There is a narrator who ties everything together (particularly important because there are some judicious cuts in order that the opera will be just over an hour long and therefore ideal for first-time opera attendees/children. There's a lot of humour in it and I think once I stop being anxious about my lack of experience I will have a great time. I only have a couple of minutes singing for each role but the Director has a whole back-story for my characters. I have to completely be that character. It's really hard to sing, act, watch the conductor and not trip over my voluminous Sandman cloak all at the same time! Who knew that the words 'I am!' could be said in such an endless variety of ways and with such different facial expressions?

Happy Easter

Tyler was in a fever of anticipation all week, looking forward to his Easter egg hunt. So at 6am on Friday morning a voice calls from down the hallway "Can I look for Easter eggs now Mum?" It took a bit of convincing that he should wait till 7am when there would be a least little daylight to help search for the outside-hidden eggs! As in previous years, the Easter bunny had a left a note with clues about where to search. 7 chocolate eggs later and one satisfied small boy. Amazingly there are still 3 left today.

T came with me to the Basilica for the morning Mass and then we went to Mum and Richard's for lunch with them and the Howards. After a delicious meal we swapped Easter eggs and then Tyler went home with the Howards while I went make to the Basilica to sing at the Celebration of the Lord's Passion & Veneration of the Cross. As the veneration was in progress we sang the de Victoria 'Populae Meus', Crux Fidelis (plainchant) and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Quite a few people are away for the Easter break so I was the only soprano which kept me on my toes.

Although there is an Easter Vigil tonight I am not singing, as a) Chris is working and b) I want to preserve my voice for tomorrow which includes solos for me of the Agnus Dei and Kyrie from the Coronation Mass in the morning and then at the Solemn Vespers in the afternoon, the Mozart Laudate Dominum (which I'm told the priest is very much looking forward to hearing as the last time he heard it was at his ordination. Right, no pressure then!). I go straight from the Vespers to a rehearsal for Hansel & Gretel. More on that in later post.

Happy Easter to everyone - even if you are not religious, take time to reflect and give thanks for what you have.

Now that was weird - I went to the list of posts and it showed one as just a draft - check out the post below entitled 'Swim, swim - ouch! Scoot, scoot -ouch! You'll see a photo that I posted in a more recent post. So that will have to keep you going till I post some more.

In brief:

School holidays have started.

Tyler got a really good review from his teacher - yay!

Rehearsal's for the Hansel & Gretel opera start this week. I have the prettiest costume :)

The weather has been shite this weekend, but the fire is lovely.

The A Capella concert of Easter music went really well today.

Chris played rugby yesterday and didn't get injured - bonus.

Happy Birthday Leona!!!

A Brown Brothers Cienna is calling my name. Back when I have some more photos.

Photo post

I've had a great week which needs a little post all of it's own (hint: Andreas Scholl), so as it's nearly time for me to head off to the Basilica for choir rehearsal, here are some photos to tide you over :)

Playing Bakugan in the sun

Tyler amd his best friend, Hunter

Watching a Lush bath bomb fizz open