And I Return

Hello! 

Nope, contrary to what you may have thought, I haven't dropped off the planet! Wow, has it really been three months already since my last post?! I have a stack of photos waiting to be edited and uploaded, but between busyness and technical issues I haven't managed to work on them. :/

During September and October I spent three weeks in Australia, visiting friends and family . . . and enjoying the weather :D lol. In Aus, short sleeves and jandals -- try not to get sunburnt; walk off the plane into Auckland terminal -- *put puffer jacket on* *still freeze*. Lol. Great trip! Photos coming :)

Since I've been back I've taught a full term of recorder classes, and finished the year off with my students and siblings performing a concert at a local rest home. It's somewhat weird to think I've been teaching for three years now!

While I have some extra time on my hands *cough* since my students are on summer holidays, I become student again, solidifying scales for my next flute exam, and studying so I can {one day/finally} graduate. So if I come on here speaking French and {scientific} Latin . . .

Somewhere between knocking things off my to do list and enjoying the warmer weather (if and when it arrives lol) I'm supposed to get some job hunting in. *Sigh*

At present I can't edit photos on our desktop computer (not sure if I can run updates to rectify that or not) and the adapter for my super-slow laptop died last week . . . I should be able to replace that but not sure how quickly with Christmas being this week. So hopefully I can sort something out and get some more photos on here! But for now, 

Farewell!

{10 on 10}

#1

: : That time of year already! This is my first one done, will be busy with the rest in the coming week or two! : :

 #2

: : Everyone else is in bed, so the neighbour's cat is making himself at home! : :

 #3

: : My Snowy <3 :="" td="">

#4

: : Yep, peeps, I got it. Yay! :) : :

 #5

: : Working on it. One of these days I'll graduate! : :

#6

: : See below : :

 #7

: : I think I've said before that Summer is my favourite season. : :
But wedding season isn't so bad either! ;)

#8

: : End-of-year certificates for recorder students : :
I've taught for two whole years now!

 #9

: : Abstract photography? : :

 #10

: : So when I photograph plants, the background gets thrown out of focus . . .  : :
now I just need to get the same effect with portrait photography!

Guy Fawkes with Cousins

On November 5th we visited our cousins' place for dessert and fireworks:

Inside or outside?!

Since my flute exam was the following day and I had come straight from my second lesson
of the day (together they totalled two hours!!), a mini-concert was in order! ;)

And the others have a turn!

Heels run in the family . . . haha

!!

My First Ever Flute Exam!

Written 27th December

After nearly four years of flute lessons, my teacher decided I was ready to sit a grade 3 exam. So I began doing a lot of serious practice, actually I did more practice preparing for the exam than I’ve ever done before! And yes, that could have something to do with the fact that I played for nearly four years before I was ready to sit an exam! Soon it was settled. I could certainly be able to attain a suitable level of playing on the required things by exam time. So the exam was booked; we found out the time and place it was; and I continued practicing long and hard! I think I drove everyone mad playing the scales and pieces so many times! It was getting close to exam time; we took my flute to KBB Music in Epsom, and scheduled many extra lessons with my teacher {Ruth}.

Finally that was it. The practice I had done was all I could do; the day had come. I had a quick lesson with my teacher in the morning to touch u on a couple of things, before going to an orthodontist appointment, going home for lunch, and Mum taking the others to their swimming lesson. She still had a couple of things to do, and the children would be late for their lesson if she waited any longer, so she dropped them off, leaving me home to relax on my own for a few minutes (music and a drink work wonders, don’t they?!). Then she came back home, I got ready to go, and she finished what she needed to do. We picked up the others from their swimming lesson, and drove out to Remuera.

We arrived in plenty of time to see where we needed to be and stuff. I grabbed my flute and warmed up. Unfortunately the nerves hit me then! =( Anyway Ruth soon called me for my exam, so we went in, returned the greeting of the examiner, and tuned before playing my first piece. (Ruth was accompanying me on the piano, so we had to make sure my flute was in tune with it). I got through my three pieces (Andante alla Siciliana, Hurdy Gurdy, and Melodie Polonaise) with only a few mistakes (mostly due to nerves), and my teacher left as soon as she had played all the accompaniments – so after Hurdy Gurdy. Then I played a few scales, arpeggios and the sight-reading piece. Then the aural test, unarguably my worst part of the exam!

Before I knew it, it was all over! The exam Mum and I had calculated to take about an hour was over in about 10 or 15 minutes! I was relieved that it was over, but at the same time I knew I could do it again.

I think Mum had been a bit unsure about whether or not I would pass, but when we got the results sheet it looked pretty good!
Minimum pass mark = 100
Maximum possible mark = 150
My mark = 120, or pass with merit! =)