Summer Sunshine + HOUSE!!

What an AMAZING couple of weeks it has been- sunny, full of friends and family and small days out, all back home in Aberdeen. It was so lovely to be away down south, but when we settle somewhere new to me it always feels like home. I am lucky that I am adaptable like that naturally. But now I am not keen to move on anywhere, which is especially good news since WE ARE BUYING OUR FIRST HOUSE!!! The mortgage lenders are just finishing having everything go through at the moment- only one thing to go- a second valuation- since they didn't like the fact that the first was a standard Scottish one and not one of their chosen surveyors (ooh, picky!) but once that is done in a few days we should be all sealed and dealed! (dealt?! :D)

The house is in a village called Newmachar, which is 5 mins from where we live at the moment. It is lovely, with a good community feel and BUS ROUTES in and out! The best you could hope for and more really! Everything inside has been recently done and to an amazing standard. We actually put an offer on a different house at the beginning of last week, but got ourselves into an epic Scottish-style bidding war that we totally failed at! Then, *miraculously* a new house came on the market literally as we found that our offer on the other house was rejected. We jumped on it-it was just right- we saw it that night and put an offer in the next morning. We found out that our offer was accepted the next day. I can't quite believe that our speedy offer worked, it was only on the market for one afternoon!

To be honest this is an even better house than the first one we liked, and for a snip of the what the other one must have gone for! It is in pristine condition, the garden is more beautiful, it looks better from the outside. Maybe Heavenly Father had this in place for us a long time ago when Oliver got a place at Newmachar playgroup?! I can believe that of him :) Ben can cycle to work on a designated cycle path so I have the car and we will save all that petrol, AND it is the best possible place for keeping my violin pupils!!! Truly amazing.

Happy days, we have been truly blessed this past couple of weeks. We have worked hard to be ready for this but I believe that it is going to pay off very soon :) All fingers and toes are crossed that this last thing with the new home survey will go smoothly.

And now that the sun is out, I have been thinking about The Corrs. They always make me feel summery!

New addition to the family!

This is Pearl, she is lovely old lady. She was born around 1920, in London. It looks as though she has had some trying times in her life (at least one world war and a lot of battering in at least one Primary school) but she is going to last us at least a couple of years, we hope!

P.S. I am VERY excited about this and am trying to learn a new piece or two every week!!!!!!!!! Two days in and I am still practising every day :D

One of my favourite pieces of music

Just thought someone out there would appreciate what I have been listening to a lot recently. This is one of my favourite pieces of music of all time- Lux Aurumque, by one of my favourite composers of all time- Eric Whitacre, sung by one of my very favourite choirs- Brigham Young University Singers. I'm not usually one for much modern music, but I LOVE Eric Whitacre's music. And the BYU Singers blow me away every time, especially live when we did big choir/orchestra things at university.

By the way, the choir is coming to ENGLAND on tour next April and will be singing in Cambridge, mmmmm. You MUST go!

I miss my Music!!!

I just got back from the most wonderful evening. I have a friend of mine from Music-y stuff while I was growing up who is amaaazing at the cello... his name is David. We played some string quartet stuff together and used to go to youth orchestra on Friday nights with some other friends. Tonight he was playing with his new quartet in a village hall nearby, made up from people he has been studying a Music Masters with a the Royal Northern College of Music. They were sublime!! And he even got me in as a concession! Really, if you ever hear of Caecilius String Quartet, you have to see them. They played Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Bridge. Then, at the interval I thought I'd blow all my pennies on a bit of cake, so I picked the biggest, most chocolatey piece... and it was free!!! And (wait for this!) when I tried to return my plate to the kitchen when I had finished, the lady gave me another piece of delicious orange and pineapple cake!! I decided it would have been impolite to refuse :)

But really, it just gave me cravings to listen to AND PLAY good music... and regret that I've left my viola alone for so long!! When we move I am really going to turn a new leaf with it.

Today's Music Time

Music and Babies

I am now becoming rather scheduled in my Mummy-ing. A couple of weeks ago I decided that I needed to make a list of things to try to do with Oliver every day- or regularly- to help him develop and so we can have fun together. I have a rather impressive looking table that I drew up on Excel and we are doing pretty well!

One of these things is Music Time.

The other week I went to a 'Music and Babies' talk and we did lots of activities that encourage babies to enjoy music, and make them more likely to be interested in learning an instrument in a few years. (Right up my street!) The lady that ran it had us walking around the circle to music, tapping them on the back as we went, in time with the music. We sang silly little rhymes while we stroked the babies, played with them, and helped them to kick toys with bells and shakers in them, and so on. The best bit was when the lady got her violin out and played and sung along to a made-up, two-note tune. The effect was AMAZING: all the babies- and there must have been 15 of them- were absolutely silent, transfixed on the sound. Even the couple of babies who had been screaming their heads off before. I was so impressed- it wasn't even an interesting tune!! Really, really amazing. I then nearly died because I realised that I'd never played the viola to Olly Woo!!! I can't believe I'd never done it!

So from then on, we've held 'Music Time'. Sometimes I play to him, Ben and I are always making songs for him, and every day I listen to a couple of pieces of classical music with him, and dance him around the room. So far he's listened to lots of viola and cello concertos, English choral music, a bit of Jazz and a bit of Tango...

It's fun and we love it!

"I didn't think a Mormon would sing in a Church of England choir??!"

Someone said this to Ben recently and I have thought about it a lot since. For those of you who don't know, this is the second year that I have sung with Magdalene College Chapel Choir. It is a typical C of E choir for one of the University colleges and we sing evensongs every Thursday and Sunday. I'm not sure if other people are surprised that I do this, so here are a few reasons why.

1. I think it's a great way to keep the Sabbath day holy.

2. It's the one thing I wanted to keep up after Oliver was born, and the only thing I do without him, so it's quite refreshing.

3. Mormons are Christians, so our beliefs and doctrines are fundamentally the same! I believe in the Godhead- that we have a Heavenly Father who created us and all things and loves us, a Saviour who atoned for our sins and enables us to live forever because of His resurrection, and the Holy Ghost, who comforts and guides us and testifies of truths. The difference is that we believe that God still speaks to man today through a Prophet, so we have further revelation and scriptures. We pray to the sane God but don't have too many set prayers (I'm still working on learning the ones for evensong!) although I recognise what is being said as prayers. Either way, the people who worship there are all trying to lead good lives and do what God wants us to do, and that makes us very, very similar.

4. Singing makes me happy and develops my talents! :)

5. After a really good or beautifully sung piece, I can feel the spirit and know that the words we are singing are true.

6. It's fun! :)