Guitar, Piano, and Dickens

Julia has busily been recording again and again a 23 minute program that she will be submitting tomorrow as an audition tape for an international guitar competition in California. This will be the first round of judging. We shall see how she does. It is due on the 13th and she will have an answer by mid-March. It has been such pleasure to hear the clear melodies of Mozart and the hauntingly beautiful "Melancholia" drifting in from the front room. My gain, for sure.

The other girls are quickly getting on top of their practice regimen and making such good progress. I never cease to find joy in such improvement! So from that room I hear Bach and those charming Clementi sonatinas.

Meanwhile, while the tape rolls in the front room we lock ourselves into the family room, lest we should forget to be silent, ruining Julia's attempt at a more perfect rendering of her beautiful pieces. And we watch Dicken's "Our Mutual Friend". The story has a dark side, of course (could there possibly be a Dickens tale without poverty and crime?) But, as Jamie says, "The John and Bella [part of the] story is such a cute one."

And I still sit. Today I have taken it easy on my poor little ankle. For the past few days I have been walking a good deal - it is quite exciting. But my leg is feeling a bit weary, so I am babying it. As long as I am nice to it, it seems to be nice to me! A suitable arrangement in my estimation.