Luke's drum exam was this morning. We knew he was going to be doing it sometime around Easter, we had been initially told that it would be the Easter holidays. However, last Tuesday night we got an email to say it was this Monday. Luke had only practised one song. Hadn't even looked at the others due to drum teacher illness, busy-ness etc. So amidst the chaos that has been going on for him this last week, he has been fervently practising.
We were all a little nervous this morning, Luke, Stuart and me! But Luke took it all in his stride, fortunately it was early enough today to make going into school a pointless activity, so he fitted in more practise, and then did about 20 minutes warm up once we got to the exam. He did his best, which was all he could ever do.
We have just had a call from his drum teacher to say he got a comfortable pass! Well done Luke!! You have a natural talent there!
Showing posts with label drums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drums. Show all posts
Monday, 4 April 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
How much can a 12 year old fit in?
I feel it is like a competition at the moment to see just how much can be fitted into Luke's life before he cracks! He has the poetry slam competition tonight, an arts evening tomorrow night where he is playing in the orchestra, and performing the poem again, and then last night we found out he has his drum exam on Monday!
Fortunately they are all short-lived things. But combined with other things that are going on ie life outside school, it means he is going to have a ridiculously busy few days. He is taking it all in his stride, but I think he will need a well deserved break after all this. A bit much for a 12 year old I reckon!
Fortunately they are all short-lived things. But combined with other things that are going on ie life outside school, it means he is going to have a ridiculously busy few days. He is taking it all in his stride, but I think he will need a well deserved break after all this. A bit much for a 12 year old I reckon!
Monday, 6 September 2010
Mama Made Monday - drumstick bag
Since Christmas I have been wanting to make a drumstick bag for Luke to be able to put his sticks in. I have eventually managed to make it for his Birthday tomorrow, it only took half a day, so why it took since Christmas to get my act together I don't know! There are three pockets for drumsticks on the front, and then that flash of red is the lining for the back pocket where he can store his music. It has a flap that covers all this, fixed with a press-stud, and strap on the back to sling it over his shoulder when going out and about. I hope he likes it.
And on a completely unrelated note, just look at the produce of 1 1/2 hours harvesting down the lottie today! I'm really pleased with the potatoes, very little damage to them, and some good roasters there! The winter purple sprouting is sprouting already, and we got our first sweetcorn cob today too! More apples and plums, the last of the onions, one courgette, and a bag full of runner beans (courtesy of a neighbouring plot holder who had too much for her needs!)
I am not even going to start thinking as to what to do with it all at the moment, the focus for tomorrow will be Luke, and his 12th birthday.
And on a completely unrelated note, just look at the produce of 1 1/2 hours harvesting down the lottie today! I'm really pleased with the potatoes, very little damage to them, and some good roasters there! The winter purple sprouting is sprouting already, and we got our first sweetcorn cob today too! More apples and plums, the last of the onions, one courgette, and a bag full of runner beans (courtesy of a neighbouring plot holder who had too much for her needs!)
I am not even going to start thinking as to what to do with it all at the moment, the focus for tomorrow will be Luke, and his 12th birthday.Thursday, 15 April 2010
Well done Luke!
We found out yesterday that Luke passed his grade 2 drum exam...
... with distinction!!
Well done fella, you worked really hard at that!
Saturday, 3 April 2010
One step forwards, two steps back
After having had a successful weekend in sorting out more "stuff" either redistributing it into relevant rooms, or getting rid of it, and the fluttering of feelings that it really is possible for us to have an ordered house, rather than boxes of things, long forgotten about, sitting around the place. We then got hit by more bugs!
Luke had to come home from school early on Monday. By the evening I was feeling ill, and then by Tuesday morning Stuart had to come from work, soon after arriving there! So any good work was soon undone by nobody feeling up to doing anything, and it's amazing how quickly mess accumulates again! To top it off Sophie seems to have a perpetual snotty nose at the moment, turning her cheeks bright red. So Sophie is trying a dairy free diet, and hopefully it will make some difference. Luke was off school all week, but did muster the strength to take his grade 2 drum exam.
Fortunately, Friday everyone was feeling well, which is a good job, as it was Ethan's 6th birthday. More about that later.
The general feeling though at the moment is rather depressed, as Stuart and I feel so run down at the moment, a kind of apathy has set in.
Oh, and to top it all off, the chickens gave me a scare on Tuesday, after I found them picking over the carcass of a rat. My worry was that if the rat had been poisoned, that they too would succomb. And after speaking to the vet who gave me rather in depth details of how they would die depending on the poison used, I dreaded letting them out the following morning. If they had been poisoned, they would have been dead within 24 hours, it really made you think though about how actions have ripples beyond the intended action. And whilst I never would use anything like poisons, there are many other aspects of our lives where the intended action has far reaching consequences, from how we speak to each other, to the foods we eat.
So with such a realisation, I am going to try and look at things more positively, and pull myself, and the rest of us out of this sickly rutt we have found ourselves in. Sophie has loved having someone to share her passion of books with, with somebody always sitting around feeling sorry for themselves! I have started knitting a cardigan for Sophie with some wool given me by a friend. Ethan was invested at Beavers this week, and was very proud of himself. Luke is feeling confident about the results of his drum exam. And we have 2 weeks to live as fast or as slow as our bodies need. Onwards and upwards!
Luke had to come home from school early on Monday. By the evening I was feeling ill, and then by Tuesday morning Stuart had to come from work, soon after arriving there! So any good work was soon undone by nobody feeling up to doing anything, and it's amazing how quickly mess accumulates again! To top it off Sophie seems to have a perpetual snotty nose at the moment, turning her cheeks bright red. So Sophie is trying a dairy free diet, and hopefully it will make some difference. Luke was off school all week, but did muster the strength to take his grade 2 drum exam.
Fortunately, Friday everyone was feeling well, which is a good job, as it was Ethan's 6th birthday. More about that later.
The general feeling though at the moment is rather depressed, as Stuart and I feel so run down at the moment, a kind of apathy has set in.
Oh, and to top it all off, the chickens gave me a scare on Tuesday, after I found them picking over the carcass of a rat. My worry was that if the rat had been poisoned, that they too would succomb. And after speaking to the vet who gave me rather in depth details of how they would die depending on the poison used, I dreaded letting them out the following morning. If they had been poisoned, they would have been dead within 24 hours, it really made you think though about how actions have ripples beyond the intended action. And whilst I never would use anything like poisons, there are many other aspects of our lives where the intended action has far reaching consequences, from how we speak to each other, to the foods we eat.
So with such a realisation, I am going to try and look at things more positively, and pull myself, and the rest of us out of this sickly rutt we have found ourselves in. Sophie has loved having someone to share her passion of books with, with somebody always sitting around feeling sorry for themselves! I have started knitting a cardigan for Sophie with some wool given me by a friend. Ethan was invested at Beavers this week, and was very proud of himself. Luke is feeling confident about the results of his drum exam. And we have 2 weeks to live as fast or as slow as our bodies need. Onwards and upwards!
Friday, 10 July 2009
He Passed!
Luke had his grade one drum exam yesterday, and was feeling really confident having spent pretty much every opportunity this last week or so practising on his drumkit!
Dosed up on Rescue Remedy, as the nerves began to kick in, he entered the exam room, knowing he only had to try his best, and it was all experience. The first time he has had an exam, I was so nervous for him (I think I should have had some rescue remedy too!).
The good thing with drums is you can hear them easily. All his set pieces were perfect, and he came out feeling he had done his best, but eager for the results.
His teacher called today to say he had the results and he had passed with merit, and was very close to getting a distinction. Luke is really pleased, and we are all very proud of him. The nice thing is even though his exam is over, he is still spending alot of time on the drums.
Well Done Luke!!!
Dosed up on Rescue Remedy, as the nerves began to kick in, he entered the exam room, knowing he only had to try his best, and it was all experience. The first time he has had an exam, I was so nervous for him (I think I should have had some rescue remedy too!).
The good thing with drums is you can hear them easily. All his set pieces were perfect, and he came out feeling he had done his best, but eager for the results.
His teacher called today to say he had the results and he had passed with merit, and was very close to getting a distinction. Luke is really pleased, and we are all very proud of him. The nice thing is even though his exam is over, he is still spending alot of time on the drums.
Well Done Luke!!!
Saturday, 4 July 2009
An update
Well, once again life is ridiculously busy!
We had a lovely holiday down in Cornwall with great weather, and meeting up with Jo and company who were in the same area at the same time! We spent evenings going for coastal walks, or playing skittles at a local skittle alley. Days were on the beaches, my all time favourite being Kynance Cove. A couple of daytrips to either Penzance (to a wonderful fairtrade clothes shop) and St Ives, were thrown in for good measure! This was weeks ago now, and I still haven't finished unpacking!
Luke had a day back home and then was off to Brecon with his school for a 5 day adventure holiday which included raft building, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, trapeze and many more things, all right up Luke's street!
Luke came back from Brecon, and then Alec went off on his first Beavers sleepover. He was so excited by it all, and had a lovely time. He was, apparently, completely oblivious to waking up many Beaver Scouts and leaders by screaming in the night!
Whilst he was at the sleepover we went to get a drumkit for Luke. It is a lovely Pearl VBX kit in claret. It is now established in his bedroom, and we have been rather impressed with his drumming ability. His grade one exam is on Thursday, and he is feeling pretty confident! We have had to get pads for the kit though after neighbours 4 doors away could hear him playing!
In all this swealtering heat I have been down the allotment trying to harvest things as quickly as I can. Everything is ripening at such a rate of knots! Then it has been trying to preserve the harvest. We have got strawberries by the bucket-load, blackcurrants, raspberries, redcurrants, broad beans, onions and new potatoes all ready at the moment. Broad beans are eaten; onions are drying; new potatoes are dug up as and when needed; blackcurrants are now made into sorbet; redcurrants are still on the plant because I have no idea what to do with them; raspberries are in the freezer awaiting time to do something with them; and strawberries... well we've had strawberry and orange ice lollies, strawberry milkshakes, strawberries and cream, 8 jars of strawberry jam, given some away, paid people with strawberries, and there's plenty more still ripening!
A neighbour of mine has a sister who works at M and S, and has swatches of material for the Per Una clothes sent to her. These are now getting forwarded to me, and they are just the right size to make clothes for Sophie. I just have to find the time! Also, as I obviously have so much spare time (ha ha!) I have decided to start trying to sell tie-dyed clothes. I am currently collecting plain clothing to experiment with, then Stuart is going to do a website for me! I will keep you updated.
Amongst all this I think Ethan has been feeling a little neglected, so I am trying to spend a bit more time with him too.
We had a lovely holiday down in Cornwall with great weather, and meeting up with Jo and company who were in the same area at the same time! We spent evenings going for coastal walks, or playing skittles at a local skittle alley. Days were on the beaches, my all time favourite being Kynance Cove. A couple of daytrips to either Penzance (to a wonderful fairtrade clothes shop) and St Ives, were thrown in for good measure! This was weeks ago now, and I still haven't finished unpacking!
Luke had a day back home and then was off to Brecon with his school for a 5 day adventure holiday which included raft building, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, trapeze and many more things, all right up Luke's street!
Luke came back from Brecon, and then Alec went off on his first Beavers sleepover. He was so excited by it all, and had a lovely time. He was, apparently, completely oblivious to waking up many Beaver Scouts and leaders by screaming in the night!
Whilst he was at the sleepover we went to get a drumkit for Luke. It is a lovely Pearl VBX kit in claret. It is now established in his bedroom, and we have been rather impressed with his drumming ability. His grade one exam is on Thursday, and he is feeling pretty confident! We have had to get pads for the kit though after neighbours 4 doors away could hear him playing!
In all this swealtering heat I have been down the allotment trying to harvest things as quickly as I can. Everything is ripening at such a rate of knots! Then it has been trying to preserve the harvest. We have got strawberries by the bucket-load, blackcurrants, raspberries, redcurrants, broad beans, onions and new potatoes all ready at the moment. Broad beans are eaten; onions are drying; new potatoes are dug up as and when needed; blackcurrants are now made into sorbet; redcurrants are still on the plant because I have no idea what to do with them; raspberries are in the freezer awaiting time to do something with them; and strawberries... well we've had strawberry and orange ice lollies, strawberry milkshakes, strawberries and cream, 8 jars of strawberry jam, given some away, paid people with strawberries, and there's plenty more still ripening!
A neighbour of mine has a sister who works at M and S, and has swatches of material for the Per Una clothes sent to her. These are now getting forwarded to me, and they are just the right size to make clothes for Sophie. I just have to find the time! Also, as I obviously have so much spare time (ha ha!) I have decided to start trying to sell tie-dyed clothes. I am currently collecting plain clothing to experiment with, then Stuart is going to do a website for me! I will keep you updated.
Amongst all this I think Ethan has been feeling a little neglected, so I am trying to spend a bit more time with him too.
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