My oboe

About a year ago I purchased a second-hand oboe from Ebay with intentions of learning to play it. When it arrived I was very surprised to find it had completely different keywork to a modern oboe. My flute teacher (who also teaches the oboe) took it home and studied it, and learned that it was made about 150-200 years ago! I had no idea I would be getting a rare antique oboe when I bought it. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have gone ahead with the purchase. It has a very basic fingering system (which makes tuning difficult and limits the playing range); since it had different keywork to a modern oboe, it meant I had to figure out how to play each note by experimenting with different fingerings until I found the right one. That in itself wouldn't have been too much of a problem (as I do love a good challenge), except that most instruments made several hundred years ago are tuned to a different pitch to instruments today. Of ALL the different instruments, oboe happens to be the one that can't be tuned (well, it can, but only very slightly). That means that I can't play this oboe with any other instruments without it being excruciatingly out of tune.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I haven't got a good use for this oboe, so I've decided to resell it. An experienced oboe player could possibly adjust the reeds to make it play in tune, and I'm hoping that such a person will take an interest and take the instrument off my hands. I spent all afternoon on Wednesday fixing up the oboe, oiling the body, and making sure everything was in working order. This involved taking apart all the keywork, oiling it down, then trying to put the keys back in the right places. I already knew that there was a spring that needed replacing, but other than that everything was in good shape. After a good clean and wipe-down, it looked shiny and new again.

This was my first time taking apart an instrument, and I found it quite fun and interesting, and very educational. Here are some photos I took of before, during, and after the process.

This is the bottom half of the oboe before being dissembled.

Top half before being dissembled:

Top half after having all keys except one removed (the screws were so tight I couldn't budge it - ironically, this was the one key that wasn't working properly and actually needed fixing).

Keys from the top half of the oboe, along with the screwdrivers I used, a small bottle of oil, and the bell from the oboe.

The finished work after being oiled and reassembled.

If anyone knows anyone looking for an antique oboe that plays out of tune, let me know!! =D I'd be most happy to oblige.

Renovations - Part 7

Not much to report, as the builders have only been once this week. However, it looks like quite a lot has been done, since they put up all the insulation where the walls are going to go, as well as the roof. I found out that, much to my disappointment, the roof blocks the view from my window (the window in front of my desk). Instead of looking out and seeing a garden and a silver birch tree, I now get to see a big green roof. I guess I have no right to complain, though. I can't wait to see the extension finally finished! In the contract we were actually told it wouldn't take more than 7 weeks... well it has been over 7 weeks now, so hopefully it won't be too much longer.

Anyway, without further ado, here are a couple of photos. This one was taken from the garden:

From the carport:

This one was taken from the roof outside our bathroom upstairs... don't ask.

Apologies for my slackness in posting the last week. I have been extra busy, and I'm likely to be equally busy until about mid-June, so I may not be able to post as regularly as usual. I'll still do my best, though.

Happy Weekend!!

Family Photos

I've been asked by a relative to put some family photos on my blog, so that's what I'm doing today. Unfortunately the builders haven't been once this week, so there's nothing to post about the renovations. Consider this post a substitute for the weekly Renovations post.

The first photo is of our whole family. All of these photos were taken in February by Joshua, I think.  

Mum & Dad

Joshua, Bradley & Me

Sarah, Caitlyn & Emma

Caleb & Joseph

(Left to right) Caitlyn, Caleb, Bradley, Joshua, Joseph, Emma, Sarah & Me. Also included are Amelia and Sam, the rabbit.

Be The Best

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,

Be a shrub in the valley, but be

The best little shrub at the side of the rill;

Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush, be a bit of the grass,

Some highway to happier make;

If you can't be a muskie, then just be a bass,

But the liveliest bass in the lake.

We can't all be captains, some have to be crew,

There's something for all of us here;

There's big work to do and lesser to do,

And the task we must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail;

If you can't be the sun, be a star;

It isn't by size that you win or you fail --

Be the best of whatever you are.

Anonymous.

I want a pet possum!

Yesterday morning Caitlyn and I were walking back to the house after feeding the rabbits, and we noticed Amelia, particularly agitated, barking up a tree. Further investigation showed that there was a possum in the tree, in broad daylight, in one of the lowest branches of the gum tree next to the carport. The weird thing is that it was just sitting/hanging there without making any effort whatsoever to move to a safer/more protected place. It was so low I could have reached out and touched it without moving my hand higher than my head. In spite of all the noise of excited children and a barking dog, it just sat there and stared at us. Although I know it was probably because it was sick or hurt, I like to imagine it was actually really tame and quite enjoyed our presence.

Anyway, here's a picture I took of him. We named him Harold, by the way. I took lots more photos, but since Harold wouldn't move, they all turned out pretty much the same.

Have a great weekend!!

Renovations - Part 6

The construction site looks really good now!! It actually looks like a room is being built, which is so exciting! As usual, the builders did pretty much the whole frame while I was gone on Tuesday (for the last 4 weeks everything they've done has been while I'm in Canberra at MuST - I think they must have a grudge against me or something... maybe it had something to do with my taking photos of them working while they poured the concrete...). Anyway, they've made some real good progress this week, and I have included the original photos of the house before any construction began just so you can see how much it's changed over the course of a couple of weeks. This photo was taken from the south side of the house:

About 6 weeks ago:

Yesterday:

Cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

2 cups S.R. flour

1 egg

1 cup chocolate chips

Method: Preheat oven to 160°C. Beat butter and sugar together. Mix in flour, then egg, then chocolate chips. Place dessertspoonfuls of mixture on greased baking trays, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Makes about 36 cookies.

Don't ask me why I posted a recipe on here. I guess I just felt the need to share what I consider to be the best cookie recipe in existence. It's super quick and easy to make (I don't even use the recipe - I just make it from memory), it tastes great, and keeps really well. It also uses only very basic ingredients (so you can make it anytime without shopping for special ingredients), and makes quite a large quantity of cookies... which is a really good thing, because they don't last long! I forgot to mention... when I say it makes 36 cookies, that's as soon as it comes out of the oven. Soon after that, they start disappearing, and the numbers will considerably decrease unless you guard them with vigilance...

Catch up post

So this is just a catch-up post to let you know what I/we have been up to. Pretty much the whole family has been sick, so we haven't been out and about much this past week, but fortunately most of us have seen the worst of it and are now on the way to recovery. This virus has been particularly nasty, primarily because it means I haven't been able to sing OR play the flute!! In fact, I have lost a whole octave of my vocal range since getting sick!! It was worse for Caitlyn, though - she couldn't even speak until yesterday, after having lost her voice for several days. Like I said, though, we're mostly on the way to recovery now, which is something we can really be thankful for.

About the composition workshop last week, though: it was actually not how I expected it to be at first. At all. It was completely different to the description, but still really good! The most notable difference was that it was all about "orchestration" and not so much about composition. In fact, we only did a little bit of composing in the last 20 minutes of the 3-hour workshop, and that amounted to each group (there were 3 groups) writing 1 bar each, all based on a different chord. The ensemble (which at the time consisted of flute, violin, & cello since the pianist was directing the composition) then played these bars together in a certain chord pattern to create the "tune" which the students had just composed. Given that most of them had never written music before, it actually didn't sound too bad. But the thing I liked most about the whole day was the concert at the end. About two-thirds of the concert were pieces composed by the man who was directing the workshop - it was amazing to hear some original compositions after spending a day learning about them. Other works were a piano trio by Debussy and a piccolo suite by Schocker, a contemporary American flautist and composer. The piccolo/flute player was amazing!!! I got to speak to her, which was excellent, because she told me all about what it's like studying music at ANU, what the flute classes are like, all about the teachers, and all the interesting sort of things I really wanted to know! The musicians were incredibly friendly and helpful, and the whole thing would have been worth it if only to get to know them. The pianist had the funniest sense of humor, and had everyone in stitches the whole time!! In a word, the day was inspirational.

Today I got to revisit all the rabbits I sold a couple of weeks ago because they were due for their vaccinations. It's so nice to be able to see them again, check up on how they're doing, and see how much they've changed. Not to mention I've always loved giving rabbits vaccinations (except for that first time when Peter's skin was really tough and I couldn't jab the needle into him...).

Other interesting things that have happened to me this week are listed below in no particular order:

• I finally found out what this "MLIA" thing is that everyone is talking about. It is THE easiest way to waste a whole lot of time without getting anything done at all. Take my advince, and don't ever get started on MLIA.
• I found my latest favourite song! I LOVE this song so much. That's why I put it on this blog post - so that the rest of the world can benefit from hearing it too. It's called "You know better than I" from the movie Joseph the Dreamer, which is the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt.
• This afternoon I discovered that I had the ability to bring laughing fits upon myself at will. I had lots of fun until the others made me stop.
• I got my very own DVD of The Phantom of the Opera!!! Best present EVER!
• I was walking outside today and suddenly found something stuck in my throat. I think it was a fly, because I could feel it moving. I couldn't cough it back out, so I swallowed it. The cool thing was (other than the fact that I can now say I've swallowed a fly) I discovered I could actually sing for the first time all week! And reasonably well at that!! That fly made my day. Must keep it in mind for next time I lose my voice... 
•  I brought the Clavinova back into my room! It didn't end up going to Newcastle after all... instead it just sat in the garage, and I was here wishing we could rearrange our room to make it fit again. We didn't, but I brought it in anyway. At the moment it's just dumped in front of my bed which is slightly inconvenient, but a huge improvement on not being there at all.

Can't think of anything else to say now, so I shall sign off. Have a great week!

Renovations - Part 5

So much for my predictions about the construction progress... I was totally wrong. The builders have done heaps this week!! The floor has been laid, and it looks so much better!! Now everything looks tidy and orderly, rather than just holes in the ground or blocks of concrete. We are all really excited - it is so encouraging to see everything coming together.

Here is a photo taken from the east side of the house. This angle shows it the best, I think. The only trouble is that it's hard to include the full length of the construction.

From the backyard (on the north side):

You're probably wondering what's with all the upside down black flowerpots... you see, we've been playing handball on the new floor, and some of us were getting really "into it", even to the point of diving/sliding on the floor to get to the ball. Since there were metal posts sticking up around the edges, this was, as you can imagine, quite a dangerous activity. The solution was to place the flower pots over the posts, which, although somewhat unsightly, was effective

Finally, here is a closer view taken from the back door. As you can see, it didn't take us long to mess up the place! I kind of hope that the builders won't do anything for a couple of days, because we're having a lot of fun playing handball there at the moment!!