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After months of preparation, on Wednesday evening Katy finally left on the band trip to Montreal. As I write this at 10:30 PM on Sunday evening they still have not arrived back, though they are expected before midnight. We do know that they performed well with the Percussion Ensemble getting a gold medal. Of the bands that Katy is in, the Dartmouth High Grade 11-12 Concert Band got a silver, the All-City Senior Jazz Band also got silver, and the All-City Senior Concert Band got bronze. The whole Dartmouth contingent got the Spirit Award and also an award for the most number of groups registered at the festival.
This week David and two of his best friends all have birthdays. Aaron had his sleepover party on Friday night. I picked David up at about noon on Saturday looking very bleary eyed (David, not me). I suspect that, as usual, sleepover was somewhat of a misnomer. David will be having a similar party this Thursday, his actual birthday, as Friday is a school board-wide professional development day.
Emily was also on a sleepover this weekend, last night at her friend Leona's.
This afternoon Emily, James and I went swimming at the Sportsplex. We tried the slides at Pirate's Cove for the first time (you can find a picture on the Pirate's Cove page of the Sportsplex Web page). Emily has been keen to try these for years, but she has only been a strong enough swimmer since last fall. Since then, whenever we have gone, the slides have been closed. Under a new schedule, however, they stay open longer, so we finally had our chance today.
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On Wednesday and Thursday Katy had two more concerts in preparation for the trip to Montreal. On Wednesday, Ann, Emily and I went to the concert at Dartmouth High; Ann had to leave part way through to pick up James from Beavers. They both returned to see the last few numbers. On Thursday Ann saw the concert at the All-City Band Centre while Emily, James and I ferried David to and from his soccer practice.
The weekend has been gorgeous, sunny and about 15°C, so we spent some time outdoors. On Saturday afternoon David and rode our bikes to the Woodside trail, a short multi-purpose trail on the harbour near the Nova Scotia Hospital. Then Emily, James and I rode our bikes to the playground at Crichton Park School where they played grounders with some other kids from the neighbourhood. Meanwhile Ann and Katy drove to Acadia, about an hour's day away, to check out the Physics Department which is one of Katy's primary options for next year.
Today we were at it again. Ann, James and I rode our bikes to Shubie Park while Emily went to her friend Leah's birthday party at Clay Café (she painted a dragon which she will get in a couple of days after it has been fired). Then David and I went for a ride around the Shearwater Airport. By the time we got back my legs couldn't handle the last long hill from the duck pond; I got off and walked. I think I will be stiff tomorrow (and my bum hurts too!).
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On Tuesday I got up at 5 AM (ughh!) to catch a 7 AM flight to St. John's for a business meeting at the Institute for Ocean Technology. I always enjoy going to St. John's. Everyone is always very friendly, there are a number of good places to eat, and it's always nice to walk around the downtown or, on a nice day, out past Signal Hill to the harbour mouth. I did go for a walk after my meeting was over, but unfortunately it was raining, so it was not as pleasant as it might have been. I did take a few pictures anyway. Also, I am in the middle of reading The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, the novel about a fictional Joey Smallwood, so it was fun to be where all the action was taking place.
Saturday was a gorgeous day, so David and I went for a bike ride to the end of the Lake Charles trail, which goes along the shore of Lake MicMac, past Shubie Park and then along the shore of Lake Charles. It will be part of the Trans-Canada Trail when it is finished. Emily had her friend Leah over and she, Leah and James also went riding but closer to home.
On Saturday night Ann and I went to the theatre for the third weekend in a row. For a change it was just Ann and myself, so we decided to go out to dinner at Jane's on the Common, which does not take reservations and so is not appropriate for our usual gaggle of pre-theatre diners. The play was the Neptune Studio Series production of The Goat by Edward Albee, a rather odd play about a man who happens to have just turned 50 and whose eldest child has just turned 18 (sounds familiar -- actually it was the son of his best friend who was 18, but close enough) and who also happens to have fallen in love with a goat (not so familiar).
David found out this weekend that he has made the Dartmouth United Under 16 Tier 1 team, the top team in his age group. His first practice is tomorrow night at the artifical turf fields at Dalhousie.
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In a couple of weeks Katy will be going on a trip to Montreal with the All-City, Dartmouth High School and Prince Andrew High School bands. Katy is in three of the bands: the All-City Senior Concert Band, the All-City Jazz Band and the Dartmouth High School Grade 11/12 Band. On Wednesday night there was a concert at Prince Andrew in which all the bands played the pieces that they will be performing in Montreal. Ann and I went leaving David at home to look after Emily and James.
On Saturday, Katy officially became an adult. Unfortunately she had to work a 7 AM shift as usual, so we all got up early to make her our traditional Eggs Benedict birthday breakfast before she left. In spite of the fact that this is the first time since she turned seven that her birthday has fallen on a Saturday, a party with her friends has been deferred until next week. Instead, Ann Katy and I went to see The Satchmo Suite by Eastern Front Theatre in the theatre at Alderney Landing (the complex on the Dartmouth waterfront that also contains the ferry terminal and the Dartmouth Library). We all enjoyed it very much.
This morning the Youth Group was in charge of preparing and conducting the church service. Both Katy and David had significant roles to play as readers, leading prayers and also as performers. David played his guitar as a member of the church band Godapalooza which played during one of the hymns. Katy played a beautiful piece on her flute (Idylle by Benjamin Godard, backed by piano) during the offertory. It had a dreamy Debussy-like feeling to it that was quite appropriate to the theme of the service: the doubt expressed by Thomas. Katy had many compliments afterwards. When the service was over, most of the Youth Group came back to our place for pizza and to watch movies (it was a miserable day, wet and blustery, perfect for snuggling up with a book or watching a movie).
March 2005 Archive
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