Monday 21 June 2010

Pre-show frenzy, the piano arrives and a pretty paua bracelet



I'm in full headless chook mode (aka running around trying to be productive but not really making it!) as I try and get ready for a three day show this weekend.

Out of character, I have committed to an outdoor event, it's currently cold and wintry and the thought of leaving my tent up for three days in possibly gale-force winds is not comforting. If you have any hints or tips on outdoor events, particularly in reference to tents and keeping them down, please comment NOW! All will be very gratefully received!!

The battle with the elements is one of the reasons I prefer indoor shows. However, I was asked by a client to bring my jewels to this event (it's the Gunnedah Showjumping Festival) and how could I say no when she told me others like her would be there!

Although only a few years old it's already a fairly big event in the Australian showjumping circuit with over 200 competitors booked. Add on their support crews / families / friends and of course other people just coming for a look and you can see its not a small get together. When the ladies are tired of the horses and associated products they can come and refresh themselves with looking at some pretties! So, fingers crossed it is successful for me as well as the festival itself and the wind and rain stays AWAY for the duration of the show!

As you know, the search for the perfect piano (well, as perfect as it could be within financial limitations!) was pretty consuming for a couple of weeks. It all culminated in it's delivery on Saturday afternoon and we celebrated by having the piano teacher and her family over for lunch so she could check it out and hopefully tell us we did OK. (We did! *phew*)

There was much excitement as they brought in the pedals, then the legs, then the lid and finally wheeled in the piano.



Hubby had taken the railing down off the verandah and their truck had a ramp that could be raised or lowered to various heights so it rolled out with hardly a worry (well a small delay as it inched forward as it only just fit between the ramp and the roof of the truck).



They put it together in minutes, moved it slightly to the desired spot and it was all done! Ahh, the joy of professionals!



The children drew straws as to who would get to play to first and they were followed by the teacher :) Here is Langdon trying it out:



And here is the teacher, Telly. She is really the one who deserves a grand piano rather than our children in their current stage of musical ability, but hopefully having a good instrument will spur them on to greater achievements! If you want to see a very short video of Telly playing it, you can see it on my facebook page. (20 seconds of her playing Ballade Pour Adeline). Her fingers just FLY!



Needless to say the children have been fighting over who gets to practice on it first. If its not one thing, its another....

Before I go back into my frenzied mode in getting ready for the weekend, at the top is a photo of a bracelet I made yesterday (before the headless chook mode struck and post piano excitement) with sterling silver, paua shell and freshwater cultured pearls in blue, green and purple to reflect the glorious colours in the shell.

Cheers!
Annette :)

10 comments:

Le said...

well done you :) great work re the piano find and of course the jewels are 'ohhh' worthy.

I wear an empress pearp - from paua - as my engagement ring - it gets lots of comments :) le

Veronica Lee said...

Love the piano and the the paua bracelet. I'm a big fan of paua.

xoxo

Cate Neely said...

I am so excited about your new piano!! And how wonderful that your children love to play! Our son just graduated with a degree in jazz composition, is a bass player and heads to New York for grad school in a few months. Good luck with your show. I love the way you set off the paua colors.

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

What a beautiful piano. I guess there could be worse things to fight about.

Beautiful bracelet.

Good luck with the show. I have only done a couple shows before, but none outside.

Name: Holly Bowne said...

Oh my gosh, Annette. I love, Love, LOVE that bracelet!! It's just beautiful!

And best of luck with your pianists and your new grand piano. I guess if your kids have to fight about something, at least it's over making beautiful music for you to enjoy. ;o)

GottaLoveMom said...

Wow! That's one lovely piano...Your home will be filled with great music soon!
And the bracelet is beautiful as always.
May you have sunshine and warm weather on your outdoor event - sounds like fun!

Christine Holroyd said...

Hi Annette. I haven't visited in awhile and so much has been going on. As always (and I'm starting to feel very repetitive with this), your creations are gorgeous.

I carry a Paua bracelet in my purse for those occasions when I need a bit of bling in a hurry :-)

Congrats on the piano and the wonderful Eisteddfod results. I can tell you're one proud Mama.

Unknown said...

Wow, beautiful piano! I never got into playing the piano, but I thnk they are pretty. So is your latest creation!

Come by and check out my guest post and book giveaway.

icklekids said...

The piano looks great - looking forward to seeing a video of you playing it soon!

Outdoor venue - I've only done it a couple of times. Have you got bags of sand to weigh the bars at the bottom down? Probably best and also extra tarpe to pop over your jewellery should rain get inside the tent. Might be an idea to have plastic boxes to quickly throw your products in just incase the weather worsens ... BUT I'm sure it won't! I will do a sun dance for you now! Best of luck with it and let us know how you got on!

Mandee said...

First of all I LOVE the piece at the top of the page. It is so pretty!!!!
Secondly, have fun setting up! Hope it's not too cold for you.

What a great piano! :)

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