Just so you know...

If you are still checking this blog regularly, you can head on over to:

www.exploratorylife.blogspot.com

That's my new blog, and that's where all the action will be. I hope to see you there!

Hugs,
Sheila Christine

Always Exploring

I told you I'd tell you about my trip. Well, until we get back, this blog here is going to be rather quiet. I'm starting a new blog to blog about anything and everything related to our big trip to Europe this summer. You can visit it at:

www.exploratorylife.blogspot.com

Here is a copy of the latest post over there:

"To begin with, this blog will be a diary of my big trip this summer. We'll be gone for 5 weeks, and I'm getting rather excited, as well as a bit nervous! I have the chance of a lifetime, as I've been accepted as a participant (performer) at James Galway's international flute masterclass in Weggis, Switzerland, where he now resides. To find out more about James Galway and his amazing flute career, visit www.thegalwaynetwork.com

We will also be spending a relaxing week in Italy, and visiting friends and family in the town where I was born in Switzerland. The last week of our trip will be spent near Montreu, Switzerland, where I will attend a woodwind ensemble week with other young musicians from around the world, and learning one-on-one from Cormac Henry, principle flutist of the Liverpool Orchestra.

Questions? Feel free to ask. Hopefully soon I'll be posting updates on the happenings and preparations that go along with this trip.

Best,
Sheila Christine"

And here is a copy of the trip schedule:

July 12 - Drive to the city where we will fly out on the 13th
July 13-15 - Toronto
July 16-19 - Rome
July 20-26 - Tuscany
July 27- August 2 or 4 - Thun, my hometown in Switzerland
August 3 or 5 - 9 Weggis, for James Galway flute masterclass
August 10-15 - Blonay, for woodwind ensemble week
August 16 - Zurich
August 17 - Fly to Canada
August 18 - Drive home

Hope to see you commenting on the other blog!

Sheila

My apologies...

So sorry for the delay in writing. This post is going to be much like Erica and Sadie's last ones.

Ummmm..... life is crazy, what with just living and all. :D Plus preparing for our trip, which I will brief you on in the next post. Hopefully that post will be soon, but I can't say exactly.

Do enjoy the other blogs in my sidebar, and chat away in the Cbox. :)

Hugs,
Sheila

Choral music

Hello friends,

I have been blessed to sing with amazing choirs in my life. I sang in an incredible children's choir for 4 years, and I am so blessed to have had that opportunity. I joined another fantastic choir in January, and hopefully in September will be switching (can't add it because practice is on the same night) to a stunning small youth chamber choir. I've also had the opportunity to play flute withe the children's choir I used to belong to at Christmas, and will be doing so again this year again, as well as playing flute for the choir I joined in January. I also have been presented with an amazing offer to join that same youth/children's choir and sing with them in Hawaii next year. (don't know yet, cost...) I helped out with percussion at another stunning choral concert recently, and just listening to that music tingled the hair on the back of my neck. Choral music is seeping into my soul and getting the better of me.

Today I looked up a boy's choir from London, England, and watched this video. This is Libera. If it doesn't leave you with an open mouth and an amazing, peaceful, stunned, tingling-hair feeling, then I can't understand you. This is beyond words.



Peace,
Sheila

Life in the world of FLUTE!

Well, it's over. Woohoo! Sort of, anyway. :)

One week ago today, I competed in the Provincial competitions for the British Columbia performing arts, as the representative of my area. I came in 2nd for the Province in my age range! Yay!!! It was a really fun day, spent with my Mom, Jenni, and Marianne, and I was blessed to have that opportunity.

Then, on Saturday evening, I had the opportunity to perform solo with a local Chamber Orchestra. It was so much fun! A couple slip-ups on my part, (always in places you've never messed up before) but also I made it through some tricky passages (that I often mess up!) just beautifully. It was a lot of fun, and I felt so loved! It was also REALLY neat to get my hair done:


I have some video footage now, but I will save it until it is better edited, and then I will share it with you. :)

Until then,
God bless,
Sheila

Laughter!

Psalm 126:2
Then our mouth was filled with laughterAnd our tongue with joyful shouting;Then they said among the nations,"The LORD has done great things for them."

Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine.


I stole this next bit from James Galway's website:

Laughter, by definition, is healthy.

--Doris Lessing

A hearty laugh can warm a cold room and make our spirits soar. But many of us are afraid to laugh, especially when we make mistakes. We think we’re supposed to be perfect, and we don’t allow ourselves to make mistakes. However, we’re not a mold punched out by a machine. We’re human beings, with all our wonderful flaws. It is those flaws that make our lives interesting and surprising. Who knows when we might accidentally bump into a chair or catch our sweater on a doorknob? We needn’t feel self-conscious, it happens to many of us.

The ability to laugh at ourselves is a gift from God. All we need to do is grab it and use it. Then we will see how healthy and powerful laughter can be.

From ‘Today’s Gift’

~~~

Oh, to laugh! Last night, I was thinking about laughter, and I was thinking how important it is to our lives. I realized that I laugh a lot more than I used to. I noticed that people's laughter rubs off on you. Sometimes I laugh, and I think, "Oh, that sounds like my Mom!" or sometimes I laugh, and I think "Oh, that sounds like my Dad", or like Jen, or like Rosemary. Everyone's laugh is individual, and I believe that is so because it is a conglamoration of many laughs, laughs that we have heard through the years. Laughs that make us laugh in return. Isn't it beautiful when just a few words can make you laugh?

Hahahahahahahahahahaaa!!! Ahahahahahahahahahahahaa!!! Music. Pure music.

Laugh today,
Sheila

PS. Post on my musical endeavours will come on the weekend. :D Wish me luck on Saturday evening!

Out on my own...

Hello friends!

I'm out on my own for the day, and actually composing this post from the library. :P Left home at 8:00 this morning on my bike. Worked for 4 hours, pulling weeds and hoeing beds, and totally killed my back! Oh well, I love the hard work. Makes me feel really fulfilled and empowered. We should all do hard work! Then I biked into town, and went to a coffee shop. Had an iced mocha and worked on Canadian history. Sat outside in the sun, and it was so pretty. :)

Then I went shopping. First stop, lovely little gift-y shop, where I found something special for someone I know in Switzerland! ;) Glad that's done, and it's just perfect for her. Giant back-pack on my back, and it's REALLY heavy, but I continue. Chatted with the lady in the gift shop, and we talked about Europe. On my way out she said "Hey, stop by when you're back and tell me all about your trip!" I will! Wandered up the street, and meandered through various awesome health-food stores (They smell SO good...all those herbs and healthy mmm-tasties!), and checked in the outdoors store for a Klean Kanteen. All the water bottles were plastic, phooey. 'Approved by Health Canada." Hahahaaa...but do I actually care about Health Canada's opinion in the matter of plastic water bottles? No! This is the government who is trying to enforce Bill C-51! (Google it, it's crazy. Talked with some of those health food store people about that, too. It's driving us all nuts.)

Checked out local bulliten boards, and checked a few more places for stainless steel water bottles, but nobody has them. Guess I have to wait until the store in another town gets them in at the end of the month. Oh well. I did get the flip-flops I needed though! Now, except for hemming my new pants, I am completely outfitted for the trip this summer! (will make a post more about the trip soon)

You know, I love being at home. I love my parents, and I love the homey feeling. But I do so love to get out sometimes and just be my own person. I work, earn money, buy the things I need, survive on my own for a day, don't get lost, talk to interesting people, build my own relationships with the people around me, and just learn about life. We live in a great place. Remember when we did that last summer, Maya? That was so fun! Basically, that's what I'm doing today, just being, learning, thinking, and living. Again, so fulfilling.

Now, I think I'll go work on my essay on opera, and then head home to finish my flute practice. I think my parents miss me. :D It's good to be an adult for a day though.

Well, just 10 minutes left on the computer. I think I'll go now.

Go in God's Grace!
Sheila

PS. Sorry, no pictures this time, I'm at the library, remember? Maybe I'll edit some in later. :)