Struggle

Herr Bach and I are struggling today....I remember a line from the movie Amadeus that struck a chord with me all those years ago and still resonates today......Salieri laments, "Why would God give me the desire and not give me the talent?"  Trust me, I don't aspire to greatness, but I would like to rise above awful.  There are few things in life that soothe my soul like playing Bach, even at a glacial pace.  Today, however, not even nearly the slowest setting of the metronome is a slow enough pace to play without errors.  After 45 minutes of constant struggle to get through 16 bars without mistakes---I gave up.  Tomorrow is another day. 

Practicing scales on a day like today is darned hard.

My workspace is tidy, finally

And today--is simply gorgeous: warm, but not hot; no humidity, a breeze that has settled down somewhat from the heavy winds earlier in the week.  The sky is a perfect blue, my flowers are gorgeous, and every sense I have is telling me to go outside and play.  I have managed a fair number of chores on the to-do list this week and think that an afternoon spent flaneur-ing about (it's a French word for walking about with no particular destination in mind--I highly recommend it) is well deserved.  

My geraniums give a spot of color to my street

Everyone is outside playing

Yes, there are always things to do, like re-organize the closet shelves and re-arrange the kitchen shelves and drawers, but that can wait for a less perfect day.  The bedroom floor could stand a wash, but it's not critical, not yet.  The Aude or the Canal?  To the west or to the east?   Let's just see which way the wind blows. 

Admittedly the view isn't much, but oh the sky!!!!

To follow up, I got a phone call from my friend Shelley, who lives just up the street, to come by and help her choose a paint color for her bathroom.....the Universe saved me from myself.  When I got home, my friend Martin came over with his guitar and we did a tiny little bit of singing, a fair amount of listening and a whole lot of talking.  So the Universe really did send me just what I needed.  It always does.