Has anyone else noticed that when we do things here, we tend to make very quick decisions then have to work like crazy to get them sorted out?! Actually, also as usual, we’ve been thinking about this particular decision for a while but just not said or done anything about it.
So, Steve finally decided what sort of piano he’d like to get, after reading a bit around it. According to our piano teacher, the Clavinova (weighted keys and piano action no less!) that we have upstairs is not going to be good enough to take the kids through the higher grades. I’ve been wanting a real piano for ages but it took for Anna to get to that stage before Steve would even think about it!
Anyway, after coming to a conclusion we sent a quick email to our friends at Bonners Music, just to check that we weren’t about to make a huge blunder. We had a prompt email back verifying that we’d made a good choice and also offering us one of that exact model which they’d just had back in part exchange! No brainer there then – Steve said yes almost immediately.
So it’s all happening rather faster than I’d imagined, with a piano potentially arriving very soon! It’s going in our back room downstairs, which really needs decorating anyway, so it was stupid to wait. We called our friendly household maintenance person who said he could come in two days! RIGHT! (best Basil Fawlty voice) RIGHT!
So we had to clear the room in rather manic fashion, after work and fitted around the usual music lessons, food shopping, etc. The dresser from that room has had to be fitted into the conservatory, in a space where Steve always said it would fit (I disagreed). I’m not sure who was right if he’s only made it fit by taking off skirting boards and hacking a corner out of the end of the windowsill! But it’s there now, and won’t move until we do! Everything else has been stacked in the conservatory while the room is decorated. Not entirely sure where the rest of the furniture will fit in the room afterwards, but we’ll work that out later. Games and books have been squirreled away in an orderly fashion 
So today and tomorrow the room will be decorated. Carpet after that (carpet fitters willing), and then we’ll be ready and waiting. Really can’t wait, I’ve wanted a piano of my own for EVER. Not that it will be my own, as I know who will hog it, but still, despite not asking for any Christmas presents at all, it’s about the best Christmas present I could have asked for. All the kids will benefit from it, and I will dust it regularly in a loving manner, and moan at people who leave music lying around on it!
Other things I would like to blog about if I had time but I probably won’t get around to it:
3 day training course that I’ve just completed on Person Centred Reviews – lots of interesting and useful tools, nice to have a break from school, good to go through lots of the thinking processes involved.
Less manic preparation involving Josiah doing a couple of nights boarding at school – he wants to board at Christmas (I think because he suspects that the school Father Christmas may be more generous than the one at home!), which we think is a good idea for him, but then he chickened out as he didn’t have a clue what it would be like, so we’re facilitating him being able to make an informed decision – his first night boarding is tomorrow!
Steve and his wretched car (injectors). Actually perhaps I’d rather not blog about that!
Wonderful children who adapt beautifully when we throw extra things like this into the mix!!
