Aquilla

My standard practice for tidying a room is to put everything that lives in that room in its place (loosely defined, admittedly), move the the things that live in another room to that room, and then anything that's left over to the music room. And then, periodically, as that act of doing anything music related becomes impossible*, I attempt to tidy the music room.

The problem, of course, is that my usual tidying strategy breaks down. Some stuff can go in the attic - do NOT look in the attic - and some can be hidden away in drawers but for the remainder, well, this is when items are consigned to the tip (and join the pile on the landing). 

What's joyful about this process is coming across old photos, flyers, tickets, notebooks et cetera. They don't go to the tip, ever. I found one notebook from 2001, where I found quite a lot of notes written on the best New Year's Eve I ever had. (Briefly: on my own, neighbours away, v powerful stereo, and loads of food and drink.)

Amongst these notes is a short list of regrets. I know I'm a fortunate fellow;  I am very grateful for the life I am enjoying and I'm lucky that none of the regrets was particularly sad or serious. One of them was that I wished I had kept a better record of the things that the kids did and said (especially as my memory is so haphazard).

"... Not writing down more of the things the girls said and did. For example, Izzy's "aquilla", a new letter, "like two Qs", to go between G and H". 

*I wish this affected me more, but it's Dan who is the active musician, and it's him whom I see struggling to cross the room to the piano. 

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Finished 'In Praise of Older Women'. Started F Scott Fitzgerald's 'On Booze'.