Rainy trip to Platteville

Today Mom, Avinash, and I went to Platteville for the State Solo & Ensemble festival. I always bring my "entourage" with me and we make a day of it, since it is so far away. I had three students playing in it this year.

The trombonist did well and recieved a special commendation from the judge for the showy Fernandino David Concerto solo. I made a few small screw-ups, especially when the music fell off the piano music stand and onto my fingers! There is no way to fix that problem when playing piano but to take your hands off the keys! It happens a lot with upright pianos and I've forgotten what a pain it is because I have a grand at home. :) Hopefully I distracted everyone with my skillful crossed-hand work later on!

My other two kids did not perform spectacularly. One actually officially scratched because he forgot the judges' copy, and so he performed for critique only. He is young and will remember next time, I am sure! The other, the confident and aggressive player, ran out of air and had to stop for breath midway. He had prefaced his piece with a notice that if he passed out, it was because there were no breath marks in the solo! It's never a good idea to tell the judge what shortcomings to watch out for before the performance! Just goes to show that you should never select a Haydn keyboard piece for the bari sax; it's totally inappropriate for the instrument and can never be done really well.

We stopped at the Bargain Nook and picked up a few Lands' End returns for cheap.

My haul:
olive green suede Mary Janes - catalog $46, cost me $4
blue suede lightweight slip-on mocs - catalog $30, cost $4.50
blue spandex trousers, list $44, cost $2
jeans - way too long and will need hemming, but nice anyhow because the waist is where is waist should be, instead of down by the underwear zone - catalog $39, cost $6
blue shorts, unfortunately pleated, catalog p[rice $28, cost $2

We rounded out our day with lunch in Madison at TGIFridays with a $25 gift card from surveys (not enough vegetarian options on the menu, as usual) and a trip to Maharani's grocery and Yue Wah.

Here is a photo of the cat watching the rain out the window, taken with my slightly compromised digital camera. A new one is on order (a camera, not a cat) and hopefully will be coming soon. At least the last one paid for itself entirely with ebay sales.

Book update:
I finished Designer Knockoff, by Ellen Byerrum, which was surprisingly good for a chick lit mystery. I will have to find the first book in the series!

Mail call:
Psychology Today
utility bill - down $10 from last month
Mystery shopping check for $17