Photo of the day: Cooking stuff

I cooked my "DrGaz's nice Italian-style tomato & basil sauce with pasta" earlier.

I got my grade 1 Piano!

Well I got my grade 1 piano! I wen't to my piano teacher's house and picked up the certificate this evening. I did pretty well - I scored 127/150 - a merit. I was only 3 marks away from a distinction.

Here is a transcript of my marks and examiner's comments:

A3 - "This was in a suitably lively tempo. Dynamic contrasts were effective and vivid. The R.H. fingerwork was strong (a couple of semiquavers aside). Although balance between hands was sometimes uneven (L.H. tended to dominate), this was characterful". 26/30.

B2 - "You judged the tempo well. Dynamic variations were mostly convincing. There was a slight hesitation before the second half. You recovered promptly and projected something of the mood here". 25/30.

C1 - "Opening staccato patterns were crisp and even. Fingerwork was largely even and strong, aside from fleeting exceptions in stave three. The dynamic range was appropriate. Another well prepared account". 27/30.

Scales and arpeggios - "Your scales were prompt in response and mostly even. Arpeggios and broken chords fared similarly (depite some uneveness in L.H. patterns)". 17/21.

Sight reading - "You started accurately. There were subsequently stumbles and rhythmic errors. You kept going, giving a clear outline". 15/21.

Aural tests - "Small slip in "B", otherwise assured". 17/18.

Additional comments - "An impressive start to your piano playing - well done today!"