"After all, tomorrow is another day" Gone with the wind

Today was long, full of mixed emotions, I had tons of reasons to be happy and celebrate... I also had strong reasons to be profoundly sad... Someone close to me was found dead... 26 year old... Alone at home, had a seizure... Found 2 days later...

Life has this way to show us we are very fragile, hasn't it?

On the other hand... I did it... I finally moved in... It was really important for me to move in today... My reasons? The craziest ones on earth, and had to do with a special date and me being me and having the weirdest of ideas... And I guess I will have to talk about it eventually... I just can't keep writing about things and then not explaining and I would gladly stay here and write about all my reasons to be happy and about me wanting to move on this exact date...

But you see, I woke up at 6 am... it's 12:4o ... Wi-fi not working, MSN not working, and my mobile just decided it's not working either... That has to be some sort of message, right? That I should go to sleep...

I am off to bed this very minute... Tomorrow... Or is it today? Will be another day...

“Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.” Lao Tzu

Should I say more??

I think I will spare you and go to sleep... Have to wake up really early... Oh, I have gas at home now, so it looks like I may move in tomorrow!!!

“Cheese has always been a food that both sophisticated and simple humans love.” M.F.K. Fisher

My idea of perfection...

Mascarpone, honey and pecans on rustic bread...

“I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.” Marlene Dietrich

I had a long day. Started very early this morning and got home about an hour ago...

I was trying to pack a box this afternoon when one of my friends called me, a fashion designer...

She knows I have been having a hard time lately, so she decided to give me a private show of her new collection...

I really needed something like that... Take some time away from work or thinking of moving...

So I spent 2 hours watching clothes, trying a few of them, talking fabrics...

I also got to pick a skirt that she will make just for me... Going to bed with a smile...

"I like to work a lot with wood. I make furniture that falls apart. I also sew." Tim Conway

After a week full of music, I came back to my real world...

I managed to find an upholsterer whose work I liked... That makes one less thing to worry about... I worked on refinishing a couple of bookcases... I still need more book cases... But I will have to look for some I really like... These were not a pretty sight, trust me... They still need a couple more days of work... I also decided to do something about the blue lamps in the bedroom... I will most definitely need to post photographs once I'm done with them, lots of cutting and gluing... I hope they turn out the way I want them to...

I also spent hours shopping for furniture and found a few interesting bargains... Coffee table... Whitewashed wicker, interesting design... It may need a glass top, will think more about it... I also found a new chair for my keyboard... Reading lamps that are actually desk lamps, but I will use as bedside... Side tables for the TV room... They are actually trays, but again, nice design... I will need to get a TV... Hum... Hadn't thought of that...

Oh! I got my washing machine and dryer yesterday... But I need to call the shop so that they come install them... At least I am seeing a few changes in the apartment... I was really starting to believe I was never going to be able to move... I can't set a date yet, because of the gas, but at least they told me they are calling during the week to set an appointment and come see the place... Once they come they are supposed to set another date for installation... So, in the meantime, I am taking care of little things that make me happy and take my brain off the big non gas issue...

I am thinking I want an upholstered headboard... I have been taking a look to see if there's any I like so that I can make my own... I think I may go for white cotton piqué, and a bed skirt to match... I may start with the latter... Easier to make, even though I haven't sewn anything in ages...

I used to be very crafty and then, somehow, I just stopped... I guess the fact that I tend to work so much just didn't help... I will need to make time for a few projects...

Anyways... My arms hurt from the sanding and painting and I have students early in the morning, so I might as well go to sleep now...

"Remember that all music, in general, is a succession of rainbows." Pau Casals

This week I'm doing something I have never done before... Simultaneous interpreting at a horns master class... Funny, right?

How did I ever come to do this? Well, here's sort of what happened... I was worried because I got rid of several students, and then some of them left on their own, and then some fell victims to the economics crisis we are facing... And I mentioned this to... Oh... No names, remember? But you know who you are...

Interestingly, after a few minutes he went... There is this job... Would you want to take it?... It's about interpreting, so I just said: "Hum, interpreting? What kind of interpreting?"

"Gimme a sec, let me find out" Was the answer... My brain was sort of going... I haven't done that kind of thing ever since I was in Lycée... Where I just went from one language to the other like a fish in water...

Turns out it was about some music master classes... In my mind that just made it even worse... "I'm only a singer" and I guess I just made some silly excuse... But the reaction was this: "Baby, come on! This has your name written all over it, just grab the phone and call the guy this very minute"... Obedient little me, did just that, but a part of me doubted I would land the job...

Turns out I did... I still knew nothing about horns, right? So I started reading like mad... Techniques, parts of the instruments...

I was very scared yesterday, when I got to the place the master class is taking place in... But today, I can say is I have gained a lot of insight ... Not only about musical instruments, but also about music, and music making... I've acquired knowledge not only from the teachers, but also from the students...

I would have lots to write about all I have been learning these last two days, about working solo, about musical ensembles... That has kind of allowed me to forget about all of my worries... There are more important things to life than appliances and moving... And I still have the rest of the week... I can't wait for it to be tomorrow morning... I am a musician after all...

And, you... The one who made me grab the phone... Thank you... Not only did you get me a new interesting job that is teaching me about variety... You also gave me one of the best gifts I have ever been given: The reminder that in life, as in music, there is a succession of rainbows... From piano to forte to piano... And changes in colour... That is what turns musical notes into art and a boring life into living... Without all that variety it just wouldn't be worth the while...

"Things are never so bad they can't be made worse" The African Queen

I don't even want to write about this week... It could be summed up as frustrating...

It appears I won't be able to move in on the date I wanted to... I have light and water, but not gas... And I don't have a date for installation yet... I wouldn't be able to cook or have a warm shower??

I had to reschedule with my cable company because of work and they simply pushed the visit to the 18th??? I mean, I was supposed to move on the 13th!!! I know it's only a week... And ok, so that would mean, no TV, I can actually live without it... No telephone... Ok, there's always the mobile, and no internet... Again... Mobile... Still... I would prefer having those when I move, right?

And I hope I have gas by then... It's so discouraging, really...

On the other hand, I found a couch and 2 chairs that I like... But they do need reupholstering, and I have been having problems in that department as well... Again, I could move without those... And just wait for them to be ready... (Gas... ok... no gas, that is my main problem...)... I am opting to have them reupholstered by a pro and found the perfect shade of just off-white linen to do it... I can move without those if they are not ready... (I know... Gas... No gas there...)

I could go on, because I have really been having problems in the moving department... But at least I can say that the paint in the sitting room, dining room, tv room and studio looks amazing, I love the green and chocolate colours... Just finished painting those today... Guest room is still white, and so is my room. Mine will most probably stay that way, only I need to find the right white. The one that is on the walls, now? I don't really like it, but I can most certainly live with it for a few months... And the guest room, well, so far it's just for storage... I will deal with it eventually...

Oh.. Washing room? I don't have a date for washer/dryer delivery yet... Aaarrrrrgg... Ok... So I can take my clothes to the laundromat... (Yes, well, that still doesn't solve your gas problem ,right?)

The shop B. and I want? So, we found the perfect place and fell in love with it... But, apparently the landlady won't rent it for a place that will carry food of any sort... We are still trying to negotiate on that one... Hope the tides will turn in our favour...

And my cold... Well, I fear it's just part of my personality by now... It just won't go away...

Is it Monday, yet???

"Why do two colours, put next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? no. Just as one can never learn how to paint" Pablo Picasso

Down with a cold... Yes, I know... Tired... Somatization... Need to cry, blah, blah... It's not that I am dismissing the fact that some things in our lives would do that to us...

It's just that I don't really have time to stop right now. I really need to keep working and decorating, and taking care of my life. Illness will have to wait, or will be there, only I can't let it stop me at this point...

On the bright side, I finally decided on a colour scheme for my bedroom. I really had problems working it out because I had to deal with some stuff that was already there, like a Prussian blue blind and royal blue Venetian glass tiles in the bathroom... Hum... I do like blue a lot but I really wanted to go for a softer look... So, after lots and lots of thinking I settled for a sea glass colour palette. Relaxing, softer than just blues and whites. Watery shades of blue and green, maybe even a bit of purple or turquoise... I have yet to decide on the final accents, but at least it was easier for me to pick linen hues...

This is proving to be great fun... I just want my bedroom to be a place where I can really forget about everyday hassles and I am really liking the fact that it's a work in progress. A first for me... I usually like to have everything there before moving in... Could that mean that I am finally on my way to stop being such a control freak?

Oh... I guess time will tell, right? At the moment I just want to curl in bed with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa...