Monday, February 28, 2011

Tra La La

S&P concerts this weekend went well! I was a little nervous coming into this set: I have not done much solo work in the past, preferring to hide in a quartet when I did sing. I ended up singing in three of the seven small groups that performed this set (probably because I was the only loooooow alto that auditioned, and Renaissance music was written for male altos), with some very exposed lines. I'm happy to report that the performances went well, and several fellow singers complimented me on my solos. Even better, a total stranger came up to me afterwards and told me how much she liked my voice! (Which one of you fans of SuperAlto paid her?)

I think I'll have to try out for a few more solos in the future. The hardest part is finding ones that suit my range, since most "alto" solos have too many high notes for me to sing comfortably.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A Very Weird Day

First, there was the weather. After we dropped the kids off to school, we headed to work. Within a mile of our house, we encountered bright sunshine, blue skies, pouring rain, and a hailstorm, all within a few minutes.

Next, Poppy managed to break through the back fence and let herself out again. She was picked up twice by kind strangers. The first put her back in our yard and left a message on our home phone. (Since there was a huge hole in the back fence, she very naturally went right back out.) The second kind stranger held onto her until he was able to reach us by cell phone, then brought her home.

Last (but certainly not least!), after I picked the kids up from school, I sat down at the dining table to have a quick snack before going out to repair the back fence. A fire engine drove past, lights and siren going. I wondered what was going on, and went back to my snack. A second fire engine went by, which made me curious enough to get up. By the time I got my shoes on, I found a police car at the end of our driveway, a horrible burning rubber smell outside, and flashing lights everywhere. Just past our house is a little cul-de-sac, and the house at the end had smoke pouring out of the garage. I counted FOUR fire engines (three big and one small), a fire-department SUV, and five police vehicles.


The fire appears to have been confined to the garage, and it looks like it started in an antique car. (DH came home and saw them towing it away.)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Girls' Night Out

B is a little annoyed that M is "stealing her dad" for the weekend (after a nearly two-week trip, she saw him for about an hour last night), so after sending the boys off on their Boy Scout ski trip, she and I had a fun evening together. I picked her up from musical rehearsal at 5:45, drove her friend home, and headed out to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. After dinner, we wandered through the Gap (didn't find any clothes she liked), Barnes and Noble (she bought three books and a new sketchbook), and Crate and Barrel (that stop was for me--picked up a new gravy boat). Last stop of the night was Loard's Ice Cream, our local ice cream place.

She already has tomorrow night's restaurant picked out :-)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Back in the Swing

After a relaxing January, February is off to a rather hectic start. DH has been gone for nearly two weeks (one of the longer trips he's taken). Tomorrow, the kids will be home for exactly an hour after school, and they each have a thirty-minute piano lesson during that time, with the other thirty minutes spent getting ready for fencing/ballet. (They usually have lessons on Tuesday, but their teacher had a conflict this week.) About the time we take off to pick up T for fencing, DH should be landing at SFO. The plan is to take B to ballet, drop M & T off at the fencing school, have DH take the BART to the station nearest the fencing school, pick him up there, and drive him home so that he can attend the Boy Scout parent meeting at 7:30 while I pick up B from ballet.

A good chunk of today was spent trying to organize the weekend. M signed up for the Boy Scout ski trip, but I didn't have it on my calendar. When I realized that it was this weekend, and that the scouts who don't ski well (M has never skiied before) need to have an adult with them, I convinced DH that he should go on the trip. The poor guy will be home for less than twenty-four hours! Once we sorted out who was going, I rented skis for them online, and will be making a trip tomorrow to pick up the gear we don't have (ski gloves for one of them, ski pants for M). Oh, and I have a choir retreat all day on Saturday, so B is going to have to miss her pre-ballet class assisting this week, as I don't have time to drive her home during the middle of my retreat. (For some reason she wasn't very excited by the idea of spending the entire day sitting in a church listening to us rehearse...)

Tomorrow is also Chinese New Year, but we're putting off our celebration until Sunday evening. Kung Hsi Fa Tsai!