salted

Yes, yesterday improved for both the dogs and I. Two unexpected visitors, and a very tasty gift for the dogs (or so their tails and eyes tell me) certainly improved it considerably.

After the interview (for a "peace paper") on International Day of Peace I found new energy to get back into Legato after being so lacking in energy that I had even considered taking a year off next year so I could focus on a bigger and better 2013 and 2014. Thinking you can change the world on your own gets a bit lonely at times. It's nice to know that other people are trying to do it too. This peace march must have started with just one person's thought, some time ago! Now thousands and thousands march from Perugia to Assisi to promote peace, marching against hunger, war, corruption... the list goes on. Today there is a "meeting of 1000" young people at the "peace table", sharing ideas and cultures. The great thing is that 4000 will be there!

I spent the evening updating the side panels of the Legato blog, linking to sponsors, listing the artists at different venues, and wondering how I could ever have contemplated abandoning the project for even a short year.

The visitor that I was expecting later in the evening didn't arrive, so there are still discussions to be had that affect my daily living here. Sometimes all the unexpected things make life just a little too challenging but somehow I seem to get through the tough times and emerge out the other side.

A visitor today helped me get a few things in focus. He is claiming back his weekends and refusing to work after 8pm at night. Teaching English to busy people is challenging, especially when, at the end of the day, they are as tired as the teacher is. The students he is discarding would be more than twice my income, but I live in the wrong town to pick them up.

I have to decide about returning to Italian lessons. It is a long drive, but the teacher is one well worth travelling to. Having the right teacher makes all the difference in the world! I know that I can pick up a student in that town to pay for the petrol, but do I want the commitment? Big sigh. It all takes me away from what I want to be doing.

Today's second decision: Facebook has to go. (Tui's advert?) FB is too time consuming. When the new version settles down I will look at it again, and figure out how to see only the posts I want to read. It is a distraction I can well do without, yet I find myself clicking "share" as I read newspapers on line...

OK, turn off the computer, take a break, drive to Sora and think about teaching and painting again.

Today I am grateful for choices.