This morning was good... we dropped the kids off after a breakfast of rice crispies, waffles with whipped cream, and steamed chocolate; Maggie also enjoyed her capuccino, all made with the "new" espresso machine. Then went to the bank, did a little shopping and came back home. It's not hard to open an account, but to get an online or ABM bank card you need to have a carte d'identité, and that is proving difficult to obtain without a visa. I spoke with the Belgian consulate last week, and they are going to submit the visa application via diplomatic pouch on Tuesday. Then it could take several weeks, as much as two months to find out whether we have been approved or not. Fingers crossed!
When we got back from our little shopping, I warmed up and sang through a couple of my audition arias for maybe 30-45 minutes, I'm just taking a little break now, and I'll be back at it for another 30-45. For not singing much for the last three weeks, you'd never know it: I feel fantastic! I'll probably do a little field recording later on this afternoon to see how it actually sounds; that always helps me identify things that don't sound right when I don't have a coach or a teacher to work with, and wouldn't necessarily be able to hear while in the midst of singing. It's interesting that singing is one art that you need an external ear to evaluate; the singer really has no idea what they really sound like to the outside listener.
The piano is old but serviceable, and my only concern is that the room is a bit too boomy and echoing for my taste. There's also a keyboard upstairs in the spare bedroom; I might try up there for a change; there's a better mirror and more fabric to deaden the sound, which is better for practicing.
We have to go get the kids at the school for lunch at 12:00, and they come home between 12:00 and 13:30. It will be interesting to see how they feel about going back after lunch, since they're probably going to want to stay home. They've been going to school / daycare all day since they were babies, so they are used to coming home and staying home.
Malcolm goes swimming this afternoon!
On the bike front, there is a big event on the 23rd of September at the maison communale where people bring their used skateboards, roller blades and bikes and sell them, so we'll give that a try. We need bikes for me and both boys; there is one here that will sort of work for Maggie, but maybe we'll look for one for her too.
Next on the list is a membership, or abonnement at the swimming pool around the corner; all this walking is fine for exercise but the cobbles are hard on North American knees, so I'm thinking I'll start swimming in the mornings again.
Until next time!
p.s. be sure to check out Maggie's blog too, she's better at this sort of thing than I am: www.maggiesexcellentadventure.blogspot.com
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