Monday, March 18, 2013

A glimpse of the sun….

….and doesn't it make a difference!  The tightly-furled daffodil buds from the posies I was given at church on Mothering Sunday have finally unfolded their petals and yesterday the evening sun made them glow in their full glory. The sun may have vanished again today, but the daffodils are still there, brightening not only the kitchen but my spirits.

Another thing which gave me a huge lift over the weekend was the news that DD shared with us on Saturday. As I mentioned in one of my earliest posts, about 4 years ago, at the grand old age of 38, she began to learn the saxophone. How she finds time to practice in her exceptionally busy life I do not know, but find time she does and to such good effect that she has just passed her Grade 6 exam in classical saxophone with distinction, achieving the very rare accolade of full marks in one of her pieces!

This news made not only my day but my week, so this clip is for her, with my love.




60 comments:

  1. Yes, the sun has shone on not only the righteous, O Revd Big Sis, but Mere Mortals and their Dog, for his Birthday.

    He had a dog's Best Day; we left home at 11.00am and got back at 6.00pm. He had the window wound down in the car for him to hang out with his tongue lolling, as soon as we were at the coast and the sun was out. Cardigan Bay and the sky above were a stunning azure.

    He had his OWN Sunday lunch in the pub in Barmouth, a chicken breast fillet wrapped in parma ham and roasted, and his own bowl of water. Then he had a run on the beach, followed by meeting Daisy the Cocker Spaniel while we had an ice cream at a cafe on the beach and chatted to her humans, who used to live in Watford and once worked for British Rail, but now run a dog-friendly B&B in Criccieth. They knew someone The Husband knew (Ted Effin' Clark, whose swearing was legendary, even at British Rail). We will go and stay there in the warmer weather, we said. And then The Dog snoozed all the way home...

    A day of celebration and adventure and talking to nice peeps, and rejoicing in the sun. It lit up our day, as well as making your daffodils unfurl. If April's [near], can Spring be far behind?

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    1. In answer to your final (rhetorical?) question, he answer appears to be yes, according to the BBC. I've just sent Mum the latest weather outlook and it's dire!

      Your birthday celebrations for Edgar sound wonderful and they couldn't have happened to a nicer little dog. It looks like the weather on the coast was much sunnier than inland where the sun only really came out properly in the late afternoon. Still, I'm not grumbling as it was glorious for a short while. :-)

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    2. Let's hope it's a last gasp from winter 12-13, then

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    3. I think the weather is waiting until we've had a whole year of lousy weather before thinking of improving.

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  2. Well done to your daughter Perpetua. Somehow it seems an unlikely instrument in classical terms, yet, while it lacks the mellowness and subtlety of the clarinet it adds another dimension to music we think we know well.
    Not an easy instrument for a woman to play I would think. Quite heavy and an awkward shape, so doubly well done.
    I'm glad you have seen the sun (however briefly), it encourages me to believe it might still be up there somewhere.

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    1. The neck strap helps, Ray, and alto and soprano aren't so heavy and cumbersome.

      Yes, well done Niece! Quite puts me in mind of your grandmother, who learnt the piano - her first and only instrument - from her late 30s to her early 40s, for about four years, but had to stop as she was too heavily in pod with me to sit at the keyboard. I was born when she was just 41. And took up lessons myself aged 6, with the same teacher, in an interesting sort of continuity...

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    2. Yes, the neck strap does help, Ray, but playing takes a lot of energy, especially when practicing standing up. DD lost half a stone she couldn't really spare in the first 6 months after starting to learn and hasn't put it back on again. She has also started taking piano lessons again after a gap of 25 years. :-)

      As far as the saxophone as a classical instrument is concerned, DD plays at least as much jazz as classical, but the Associated Board doesn't examine jazz sax beyond Grade 5.

      I do hope you see the sun soon, but I wouldn't hold your breath. :-(

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  3. Congrats to your daughter! I think the Saxophone is a wonderful instrument. My grandson plays and I love to listen to him.

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    1. Thanks, Rian. She's very pleased. Learning to play was a long-held ambition before she discovered that her son's piano teacher also taught saxophone. I love listening to her whenever we visit, as I do to our trumpet-playing eldest grandson and clarinet-playing middle one. All three grandsons are also learning the piano and the eldest has also started to learn the organ. :-)

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  4. It's wonderful to have music in the family - and a saxaphone is a treat.
    As I write I look at the tulips I bought last night for my hotel room - fresh flowers are such an indulgence.

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    1. Music isn't in short supply in our family, as both our children learned an instrument and the grandsons are learning 4 between them. :-) There's a lot of music in the background at times....

      Oh dear, are you on a work trip again? No wonder you've treated yourself to some cheery tulips.

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  5. We had a terrible wet weekend. As soon as Monday came along, out popped the sun. Typical!

    I have 3 daffodils out in my garden. :)

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    1. And you're in the south of France! What hope is there for the rest of us? Congratulations on the 3 daffodils. We have lots but they are still shivering green spears without a trace of yellow. :-(

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    2. My tete-a-tetes are fully out in flower (ignore lack of diacritical marks, please) in the shelter of a wall, facing west. Our gardens are too small for "full size" daffs and tulips, so I have only planted miniatures

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    3. Thus nicely summing up the difference between a sheltered garden at 500' and an exposed field at 1000' (and at least a couple of degrees cooler most of the time) :-) We'll be lucky if we see ours even in bud until after Easter.

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  6. I am so impressed by the saxophone story. My attempt at learning the flute, as an adulthas never progressed further than very limited, and the piano, which was taken up at age 50, 8 years on, is pretty dismal. So,grade 6 sounds incredible.
    The daffs look lovely, and spring will come. J.

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    1. I am too, Janice. :-) I tried for years at school to learn the violin with very limited success, so DD's musical achievements and those of her two sons fill me with awe. I do admire you for even trying to learn one instrument as an adult, let alone two.

      The daffs have really cheered me up, but spring is absolutely refusing to show her face.

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  7. Hari Om
    Truly enjoyed this little snippet you gave us - though hearing DD herself would have been nice... maybe a family project suggestion? Ours is also a musical family and my niece is shaping into quite a good composer also. There are so many ways for the soul to express.

    An opening daffodil will certainly give it relief!

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    1. It's lovely to hear a piece of music on a different instrument, isn't it? Unfortunately DD lives quite a way from us, but recording sounds like a good project for a future visit.

      I'm not sure how much any of them have tried composing, but it must be wonderful to have a budding composer in the family. Much more special than a budding daffodil. :-)

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  8. Well done your daughter. The saxaphone is a lovely instrument, and I imagine not an easy one to play.

    The sun certainly makes everything seem so much better doesn't it?

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    1. Thanks, Ayak. I love listening to her playing and she makes it look easy, which I'm sure it's not. As with all musical instruments a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes.

      It was lovely to see the sun shining really brightly for a while. It's been so cloudy for so long that I was positively dazzled yesterday. :-)


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  9. Congratulations to your Daughter, and somehow I just knew you had a musical family. Music wraps its arms around you and fills your soul. I hope your hearing is better now. Take care of yourself. The daffodils are beautiful. I am aching for the sight of crocus.....

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie. As you can guess from my blog I and the rest of the family all love music of different kinds and we have several instrumentalists. As a schoolgirl I played the violin not very well, but DH concentrated on singing as long as his treble voice lasted.

      The hearing is still very poor and I now have an appointment in a week's time to have both ears syringed. Let's hope this does the trick.

      I do hope you don't have long to wait for your first crocus.

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  10. My daffodils from Mothering Sunday have lasted until today - they are so bright and cheerful. Lots of congratulations to your DD. I enjoyed listening to the You tube clip very much. I'm sure that she will too.

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    1. Were yours out when you got them, Molly? Only one of mine was and it's taken all week for them to come out completely. I'm revelling in them. :-)

      I'm glad your enjoyed the clip. I think a lot of people don't realise that the saxophone can be played as a classical instrument. I know I didn't until DD started to learn. I will make sure she sees all the congratulations. :-)

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  11. I'm so glad the sun is shining on you after your previous rough week, Perpetua! That's really impressive news about your daughter! Learning an instrument and doing so well at midlife is truly inspiring! No wonder her news made your heart sing!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy. Sunshine is a great pick-me-up. :-) I too am really impressed with her achievement, especially given all the other calls on her time and energy. Combining family and working life with other interests is a real balancing act, as I well remember.

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  12. The daffodils around here are still only just forming their buds. Luckily I have been able to get tulips and daffs in the shops to fill the house with colour and the promise of an eventual spring.....goodness knows when it will come.
    Congratulations to your daughter. I have huge admiration for anyone who can play an instrument properly, especially if they have learned it when no longer a child.
    (The only instrument I ever fancied learning to play was the drums.)

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    1. Judging by the photos on your blog you've had a really hard winter up there in Derbyshire, Jean, and sadly I don't think we've seen the last of it yet. Let's hope our daffodils manage to flower before the end of April!

      I think learning an instrument as an adult really must be quite a lot harder than for a child, though adult learners do have the advantage of being self-motivated, with no-one having to tell them to practise. When DH and I met at university all those years ago he played the bongo in a college group. I think it's still on top of the wardrobe somewhere. :-)

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  13. So it's you who has the sun! Could you please share it around a little?
    Well done to DD! The saxophone is one of my favourite instruments too. Not necessarily in its more classical form, but as a child of the Motown era, it doesn't half make for a good song if there's a sax break in the middle!!

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    1. Not guilty, Miss. I only had it for a little while and now it's gone somewhere else entirely.

      I will pass the congratulations on. :-) The saxophone in its various forms is a lovely instrument to listen to and sounds good in so many musical contexts. DD started, as most people do, on the alto sax, which her younger son, the clarinetist, is also trying out now that she has acquired a tenor sax.

      Ooo, I'd forgotten that last bit earlier. It means that the 3 grandsons are now learning 5 instruments between them. :-)

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    2. You're on the way to an orchestra! Or a very talented trio, at least!

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    3. Well, we haven't enough for five-a-side football. :-)

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  14. What a most delightful musical interlude to end out my day here, Perpetua. I really admire your daughter her talent and her determination. I listened to her play as I admired your sunny daffodil. Spring will come, dear Perpetua.

    I hope you are feeling a bit better and that your hearing is coming back. Best to you.

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    1. Thanks, Penny. It makes a lovely change to hear familiar music played on an unexpected instrument. As usual, YouTube came up trumps with a suitable clip until I can get a recording of DD herself. :-) Yes, she has had talent and determination in spades from being a very little girl. We had a scattering of snow again this morning, but one day winter will HAVE to let go. :-)

      The hearing is still bad, but the doctor wants me to have my ears syringed next week, so I'm crossing my fingers this will do the trick.

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  15. Congratulations to DD. Grade six is hard; I did it for the flute. YOur daffies are beautiful, and the sunshine of your good mood did me as much good as the sunny photo!

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    1. Thanks, MM. I only made it as far as Grade 4 with the violin before O and A Levels intervened, and that was hard enough. Aren't daffodils wonderful at lifting the spirits? I can't look at a vase of daffs without smiling, even on a day as grey as this. As you guessed, I've bounced back to my normal glass-half-full approach to life. :-)

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  16. Catching up with blog visits this morning and enjoyed the music played on the saxophone, good news about your daughter's achievement and satisfaction at passing Grade six. It must give you a lot of pleasure to have such a musical family. Hope your hearing improves with syringing and more 'sunny days' will follow.

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    1. Nice to see you back, Linda. Your presence has been missed. :-) I'm glad you enjoyed the clip. DH and I do indeed get enormous pleasure from listening to various family members doing their musical thing, whether at home or in one of the concerts they take part in.

      The doctor warned me that with the drops my hearing would actually get worse before my ears are syringed, so I'm expecting to have a muffled week. :-)

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  17. We've lost our sunshine here too. I came home from a Consular Services reception at the British Embassy yesterday evening with snowflakes falling & this morning we have fresh snow lying everywhere. Rather than singing 'I'm dreaming of a white Easter', it's looking increasingly like being a reality!

    I do hope you now have a functioning septic tank, that your central heating is behaving itself and that your hearing continues to improve. However, if you're having your ears syringed, you usually have to have drops + cotton wool in them for a couple of days beforehand which makes your hearing even worse during that time :-(

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    1. You too? I read somewhere that statistically Britain has a greater chance of having a white Easter in any year than a white Christmas, and it looks like this may apply to the Czech Republic too this year. :-)

      The domestic problems are gradually being dealt with, but the hearing has stalled and I've now been told by the doctor to apply a couple of drops of olive oil twice a day for the next week until my appointment on Monday. Interestingly the advice now is NOT to use cotton wool as it absorbs the oil too soon. We live and learn......

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  18. Your daffodils in the sunlight look so very reassuring that Spring is getting closer - I am trying to find daffodil bulbs here in Spain; they're sort of essential when you have a garden!

    And very well done to DD! That's a great achievement. My friend is a saxophonist (and a specialist neonatal nurse...!) here's a link that your daughter might be interested in for more information on saxophones and playing.

    http://www.saxtetpublications.com/composers/composer.php?composer=jashley

    Axxx

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    1. http://youtu.be/iP1LNCbLIBo - this is a YouTube link to a performance of saxophones. Jenny is on the right with a short red bob and big sax! It's a French one and she wanted a name for it - I was rather pleased with my suggestion - Bari Antoinette!
      They are very good.
      Ax

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    2. Sadly it's taken the relative warmth of the house to make the daffs open. The ones in the garden are still hiding all trace of colour. I do hope you manage to find some bulbs for your new garden.

      I shall make sure DD read this post and all the kind comments, so that she can follow your links. She loves all things saxophone, even to her coffee mug. :-)

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  19. Congratulations to DD on Grade 6 Saxophones - totally brilliant. I am a huge fan of late bloomers, having made it to University only in my 50th year! My sister started learning violin in her mid-50s. We refuse to be considered too old for anything. Gorgeous daffodils, and the world would be the poorer without their lovely yellow trumpets. It is too hot to grow them here, but they do appear on sale these days. I'm looking forward to seeing them in their natural habitat in Canada in May. Goody! x

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    1. Thanks, Patricia. Late blooming is much to be recommended, as I know so many of them in different fields - academia, music, mid-life career change, etc. Myn experience is that adults make wonderful students because they are so totally motivated, even if learning doesn't come as easily as it did in childhood.

      Daffodils and our other spring flowers are things I would miss enormously if I lived where they won't grow, though looking at the photos on your blog, there are compensations in the tropics. :-) Enjoy your Canada trip, including the daffodils.

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  20. Delighted for your daughter...not only taking up the instryument, but having such success. I do envy her energy and dedication.

    Weird weather everywhere....we had rain, unheard of at this point in the dry season - though I suspect that this was due to the visit of a friend whose rain making powers make it essential that she stays indoors on St. Swithin's Day - and high winds resuting in damage to roofs...and now back to the sun at 35 degrees...which is about 7 degrees above the average.

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    1. It's great to see her hard work rewarded, not only with the enjoyment she finds, but also with this recognition. I'm very proud of her and know I could never have done the same.

      Don't talk to me about weather! There was snow on the ground again this morning and it's been sleeting all day. Yet a blogger friend in Los Angeles says that they've been having record-breaking March temperatures of 90F or more, which echo your recent weather experiences. It's as though someone's taken all the world's weather,shaken it up in a bag and scattered it randomly across the planet. Sigh....

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  21. Dear Perpetua, your daughter's learning to play the saxophone with such success and veer is so inspiring. Please congratulate her for me and tell her how much I enjoyed listening. And....what about your hearing????

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    1. Thanks, Dee, I shall definitely tell her and am glad you enjoyed the clip of classical saxophone playing.

      As for my hearing, I'll do a quick post tomorrow, but you can be the first to know that it returned today as suddenly as it disappeared. I'm SO relieved.

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    2. Dear Perpetua, I'm so relieved to learn that your hearing has returned. I've lost all the hearing in my left ear because of Meniere's and loss of hearing changes many things in our lives, such as eating out in noisy restaurants, engaging in conversations with few or many people, trying to decipher the dialogue on television. So I'm just so happy for you that all is well. Peace.

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    3. Thanks so much for coming back to say this, Dee. It was such a relief when my ear suddenly popped and I could hear again. It was obviously wax that had caused the problem and I'm now due to have my ears syringed once the snow has gone and we can get out again. I'm so sorry that for you the loss has been permanent and can understand so much better now the difficulties that loss causes you.

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  22. Congratulations to my talented niece! We go to a series of Contemporary Classical Music Concerts locally in the winter and in December we saw a Sax Quartet - very interesting.

    Glad that your daffodils are adding some sunshine to your life!

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    1. Thanks, PolkaDot. Your concerts sound very interesting and I know DD would have loved the Sax Quartet. she's accumulating a fascinating collection of saxophone CDs and broadens my musical experience every time we visit.

      The daffs are just starting to fade, but they've been wonderfully cheerful to see, especially now it's so grey and sleety again outside.

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  23. You daffodils in the sun look so springy! We never did get snow in Georgia this year but I saw some, barely, in Nashville one morning. Spam is getting bad – I get a minimum of 70 spam messages per day so that is why I have had to go back to comment moderation. I hope your house and your health are returning to “normal” so you can get back to your knitting. I need to start a baby blanket for the baby girl my daughter is expecting in a couple of months. I don’t make them fancy, so the knitting goes pretty fast.

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    1. Aren't they gorgeous? I'm starting to wish we hadn't had snow this winter, as it doesn't seem to know when to stop. It certainly doesn't feel as though it's the first day of spring on Thursday.

      I'm sorry you're being so plagued with spam. Your wonderfully illustrated posts must be a real magnet for spammers, so you don't really have any alternative if you're to keep them off your blog.

      Both I and the house are getting better, thanks, though the knitting has continued unabated throughout. Congratulations on your forthcoming granddaughter. How lovely to have such a happy reason to knit. :-)

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  24. Two of my loves. Daffs are always beautiful and saxophones are equally so. I got as far as buying a book and frequenting the local shop, but never got around to buying one. Rather worried about offending the neighbours with my practising. So very well done to DD.

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    1. The first daffs of the year are always a treat and I've had to wait for these this year. As for the saxophone, perhaps you could save it for when you're at the finca. I think saxophone practice in a flat in Gibraltar might be stretching neighbourly toleration a bit far. A sax is definitely loud in an enclosed space. :-)

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  25. I'm not the biggest fan of daffs - I'd far rather have tulips - but the sound of the saxophone, on the other hand, I adore :) Hugest congrats to your daughter!

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    1. Yes, tulips are very much your style, Annie. :-) I love them too, but they don't do well up here - too exposed, so they flop very quickly.

      Another saxophone fan! It's a great instrument, with far more variety of sound than I used to think before DD introduced me to classical saxophone, which is what she plays most nowadays.

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