It�s a banner day.
10:21 a.m.
Last night I attended the graduation recital of one of our piano students, a girl I have always thought of as a bit standoffish when it came to me. My daughter went so far as to say she thought she was arrogant, but that seems a little extreme. Anyway, she played a very nice recital and it was rather well attended, the left side of the concert hall being completely full, as people generally want to watch the pianist�s hands. I prefer to see the perfromer�s face, so I sat on the right side with a woman in the choir, the widow of the former pottery teacher at the college whom I did not know at all when her husband was alive (him I knew, I even took a pottery course with him) but whom I really, really like and would like to hang out with more. The programme consisted of a Bach suite, the Liszt Petrarch Sonata Op. 104, three songs without words by Harry S0mers, and on the second half her professor joined her playing the orchestral reduction for a Saint-Sa�ns piano concerto. According to my husband, who was a jury member, it was not a stellar performance, not the kind that would guarantee her a spot in grad school (which she thankfully is not applying for), but I personally had never heard her play better, and I had heard a lot of her recently in studio classes.
The reception afterwards was quite amazing. Her mother and aunt had come from Prince Edward Island for the occasion, and the latter had prepared a spread of vegetables, dips, cheeses, and cut-up fruits sprinkled with a pesto of mint and ginger. It was delicious. There was also a dynamite (non-spiked) punch full of raspberries and orange slices. I gave the star of the hour a big hug and congratulated her, and she seemed really happy about it, so maybe I was judging her too harshly before. I even congratulated her teacher, taking his right hand in both of mine and telling him what a wonderful job I felt she had done. He, also, didn�t run screaming from my touch. These are all good signs.
Other than that, yesterday wasn�t much. I spent money at Costco in the morning, bought fresh mint at the international food store to make mojitos with, but it�s already wilted, worked fruitlessly away at the crossword puzzle, and ended up giving Buddy Boy a ride out to his band practice in C0atic00k, a 35 km. drive from here, instructing my husband et alia to have dinner prepared upon my return, since it was right at the supper hour that I did this. Someone will probably have to drive out there today to pick him up. Ah, the joys of rural living.
Oh, for the first time ever I am running banners. I can�t believe I am doing this. This is what they look like:
If you are here because of them, welcome to my diary.
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