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Simply..being practical....

18/1/2022

Sometimes I just have to be practical although it is not my strong point. Things need done.

My thinking is that this January is the time to plan, to be ready for whatever comes, whether that be the shopping trip for healthy food (take inventory of the freezer), buy a small camping stove and more salt (power cuts and icy paths), and deciding whether to replace the old fence or do away with it.

The thing that may be coming and which I am looking forward to most of course, is the end of restrictions! I want as many pracical things in place so that when freedom comes I am free to take advantage! I have a ticket for a live concert in February! So excited!

1 Comment

Simply fitter....

17/1/2022

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I have finally scoffed the last of the chocolates, cakes and other goodies in the house and am, I tell myself, transitioning to eating better. For seven days I am going to drink five glasses of water a day. I know it is good for me and the full feeling it gives me stops me from snacking.

It's a start..

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Simply..brighter....

16/1/2022

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..buttercuppy days..

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Smply..contrasts....

15/1/2022

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Outside

And in..

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Simply..minimal?

14/1/2022

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Try clearing off one surface and just putting one thing back.

I tend to have more things around in winter - ornaments, cushions, pictures, throws etc. It gives a cosier feel to the house, but there always comes a day in January when I want the calm feeling I get from a clear surface, or a surface with just one thing on it. There are two here but as one is a white folder against a white wall it hardly counts..

Does this work for you? Does it give you a feeling of spacious calm? Does it bring you a little sigh of pleasure?

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Simply..a walk in the forest....

13/1/2022

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clears my head..
..

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Simply..an unusual sighting....

12/1/2022

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..of the very shy robin

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Simply..street music....

11/1/2022

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The musician in yesterday's post made such a difference to the atmosphere on the Glasgow street on the wet cold day, with his cheerful fiddle. It lifted my spirits and I was glad to have some coins in my pocket. He wished me a Happy New Year when I dropped them into his box. (It was the day before Hogmanay.)

York is a great city for street music. I remember a harpist and cellist in Stonegate, a soprano with a voice like an
angel in St Helen's Square, a pianist who trundled round a piano on wheels to various locations, a man with a very fine voice singing sea shanties in the Shambles (we also saw hm in Whitby and Lincoln), and Ed Alleyne who drew a crowd in Parliament Stree with his electric violin. There was also, long ago, a little frail man with a shock of white hair who merely leaned against a wasll and breathed in and out of his mouth organ..

In Oxford there was a man with a zither-like instrument who played twinkly music with canddles in jars around his feet and a beatific smile on his face.

Are there street musicians where you live?

6 Comments

Simply..buskers and beggars....

10/1/2022

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How do they fare when so few peope carry cash now?

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Simply..restoration....

9/1/2022

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That could be a good word for the year, along with Fun, Finish and Fulfillment...Any more to share? Tthey don't have to begin with F!)

It is a constant on York Minster, which always has a part covered n scaffolding. The medieval craftsmen would have thought the lit star was a miracke.

The East end was covered in scaffolding for many years. It's wonderful to see it so beautifully restored and to know that the skills still exist.

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Simply..wih love....

8/1/2022

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Have you chosen a word, or a phrase for 2022? (Mine is Lovingly - see yesterdy's post.) A friend who longs to be lighter of heart after a difficult year has chosen Fun. Do share your word here!

York Minster was closed last week. I was disappointed as I like to light a candle for my husband Barry, who as a historian of the late medieval period, and volunteer in the Minster Library loved York and it's cathedral Next time...

Meanwhile I took a closer look at the doorway. So beautiful!

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Simply..The Word....

7/1/2022

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It's taken me some time to find my word for 2022. Decisiveness might have been a good one, but I have settled on Lovingly.

I have tried it on for size as it were for a few days and it gives me a good feeling. Doing some boring chore I asked myself How would it fel if I did this lovingly? Hmm. I notice it brings my stress level down a little every time I apply it, and of course it can be applied to pretty much any situation....

I chanced to look up in the waiting room in Waverley Station in Edinburgh and thought They don't make them like that anymore

Thank you all for the good wishes for the new year.

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Simply..twelfth Night....

6/1/2022

14 Comments

Christmas decorations come down, but I will keep out a few which I think of as winter decorations rather than specifc to Christmas. Listening to the lashing rain I know that lights and flowers are needed to get through more dark days of winter.

However, for four days in North Yorkshire I enjoyed lovely weather, country walks and the company of good friends.
I hope you also had a happy start to the new year.

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Simply..exciting....

29/12/2021

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..to see different scenery, different faces, have different conversations, eat different food, wear different cloothes!

I realise how much I thrive on chnage and variety. It makes me feel alive, and feel ike myself.

Had a lobely walk at Inveraray Castle

My word for 2021 was Stretch (boy were we all stretched!) and I am considerng lighthearted, freedom, fun, chill, growth, forward....restore might be good word. What do you think?

I am taking a bit of a blog break now, but want to thank you for reading and for commenting. Above all I want you all to have a HEALTHY 2022

Be well.

15 Comments

Simply..grateful....

27/12/2021

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I am filled with gratitude for a family Christmas that went according to plan! I hope yours did too.

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Simply..this Christmas....

23/12/2021

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..I wish you smiles and a little bit of silly!

This card put a big smile on my face as soon as I saw it (thank you H). Ever the questioner I thought Why?

I realised it's because it so unashamedly lighthearted.

Our hearts have been so heavy for so long it seems to me. How could they be otherwise in a pandemic?

So, if only for a little while each day, and especially on Christmas day, I wish you lots of things to smile about and lightness of heart.

Happy Chritmas X

8 Comments

Simply..turn again....

21/12/2021

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This one makes an enchanting tinkling sound as the angels turn. I love it. (Thank you M.)

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Simply..the turn of the year....

20/12/2021

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I am writing this on the 20th, but tomorrow is the shortest day and I like to light a candle for the solstice and this little one which turns the owls seems particularly appropriate.

I will be thinking of Lynn who is planning to be at Avebury.

Will you make a little celebration of it?

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Simply..more cheerful....

19/12/2021

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The shop windows in town were more festive than the weather..

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Simply..in the bleak mid winter....

18/12/2021

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More film noir than Christmas cheer in Dunoon today!

The Old Coal Pier Christmas tree

Looking back towards the town

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Simply..nice work....

16/12/2021

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A satisfying task. I still have bulbs to plant too! Elemental, basic, simple. No need for government guidance or mandate, no online registering or mitigating protocols. I don't even need to wear a mask!

Whew.

While I have so little to say (imagine!) you might like to browse my 10 year archive. I think that's what I will do.....

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Simply..still here....

13/12/2021

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..quietly writing Christmas cards.

I love Christmas cards. Choosing them, sending them and receiving them. Do you?

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Simplyy..a little line up....

9/12/2021

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of some of my favouriite Christmas things..

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Simply..home made....

8/12/2021

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Needs a little tweaking but I like it.

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Simply..organised....

7/12/2021

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Yay! Did it.

Step three of my paper sorting exercise was to put like with like, categorise the papers back into piles. Step four was to deal with each pile in turn. Take action/file/discard. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.

I have a one drawer filing cabinet and the next task is to go through that one file at a time discarding as I go....Runnng a home is like running a small business.

I am really enjoying listening to Wintering by Katherine May, which is being read this week on BBC Radio 4 (find it on BBC Sounds if you can). Here is an excerpt..

Once we stop wishing it was summer, winter can be a glorious season when the world can take on a sparse beauty. It's a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment. It's a time for putting your house in order.

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Simply..being practical....

Simply fitter....

Simply..brighter....

Smply..contrasts....

Simply..minimal?

Simply..a walk in the forest....

Simply..an unusual sighting....

Simply..street music....

Simply..buskers and beggars....

Simply..restoration....

Simply..wih love....

Simply..The Word....

Simply..twelfth Night....

Simply..exciting....

Simply..grateful....

Simply..this Christmas....

Simply..turn again....

Simply..the turn of the year....

Simply..more cheerful....

Simply..in the bleak mid winter....

Simply..nice work....

Simply..still here....

Simplyy..a little line up....

Simply..home made....

Simply..organised....

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