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Simply..sitting around....

5/6/2015

Or lying around! see here

The hammock isn't up yet this year, but your questions about my favourite seat in the garden (this post) got me thinking.. I love all the different places to sit. Some are for sun, some for shade, some for meals, some for drinks, some for company, some for time alone, or reading, some in the open, some out of the wind, some very private (a nap in the hammock in the afternoon of a hot day = absolute bliss). I'm spoilt for choice.

All of them have a view of the garden and when I sit in each one I am looking at the composition. I enjoy rearranging things - moving a pot of something scented perhaps, or pruning a shrub so that you can see beyond it. or planning an accent of colour for next season....(I've been a garden designer for a long time and we've had this garden for 15 years now).

This is reminding me of Thurber, who said it was hard to convince his wife that when he was lying stretched out on the sofa he was actually working!

2010 photograph - I'll do an update when the sun comes out!

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Simply..Kondo Friday and going slow....

4/6/2015

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I wonder if those of us who have slowed down in our Kondo activity have done so not because we have run out of motivation or interest, but because we are nearing the magic just right click point Marie Kondo describes, ie the point at which we only have as much stuff as we can properly handle. So the intensity or urgency is going out of it and we can relax a bit - and relaxing about, and really enjoying the stuff we have is the aim after all!

Another possibility is a slight fear - what will we do with ourselves when everything is sorted? (What will I blog about on Fridays?) If shopping for stuff has filled a lot of your time - how will you fill that time now? I know my freed-up mind is already coming up with exciting new ideas..

I am finding myself thinking so much more clearly, and doing all the necessary things without stress.

Some examples - seemingly trivial things but adding up and making a difference for the better/calmer/simpler/happier:

Knowing where (most) things are because I always put them in the same place is so nice - it takes but a minute or two to do this, but it saves many minutes and a surprising amount of mental energy searching around. I want my lipstick and I'm going out - is it in this bag, or that bag, or my jacket pocket in the bedroom or in my coat by the back door or by the mirror? No, it's on the bathroom cabinet shelf because that is where I always put it when I come home.

My head is clearer so I don't rush so much and take a little time to plan.

I'm on top of the washing and ironing because there are fewer clothes to look after. This is especially nice and I always have something to wear that I love.

I like not having duplicates of things - I hadn't realized how niggled I was by having extra stuff I didn't need and that those little niggles took up so much headspace!

I just wonder why it's taken 100 years and a book by a very young woman to get me to do these common sense things!

What changes have you found since you started 'Kondoing'?

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Simply.. longing for the sun....

3/6/2015

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A sunny day was forecast. I was waiting. I was even up at dawn which is very unusual for me. All the many seats were waiting. All the plants were waiting. The whole of Scotland was waiting...

I did have lunch outside and dashed out every time the rain went off and the sun came out from behind a cloud. Five minutes here, fifteen minutes there. But I long to discard some layers of clothing, put away the winter coat and waterproofs. I'm greedy. I want a whole day of warm sun and no wind. I want to get warmed to the core. It is JUNE after all!

Meanwhile I have put a tick beside Day 3 of my 30 day challenge, and Lynne is joining me (I think). Maggie is learning Photoshop and I know for a fact she did ten minutes today. Cath is well into her own series of challenges and Lotta is bouncing with joy on her trampoline! Late news! Angela is going to learn some plant names! Penny is practicing French and Julia is recommitting to her yoga and meditation practice.

How wonderful that we all love learning.

Anyone else doing the challenge?

And how is the weather in your part of the world?

Tomorrow's forecast?

Rain.

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Simply..more joy anyone?

2/6/2015

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Did I say that when I finished reading Happiness by Matthieu Ricard I went back to the beginning and started it all over again? (The Guardian had an interview with him very recently - see here.) Don't you just love it when a great book comes along just when you are ready for it.

I am also happy that I have the time to do this,, it is said after all that the unexamined life is not worth living, and if Ricard can spend three months of each year meditating on happiness then I can spend a few hours here and there thinking.....

Ricard claims that happiness is a teachable, learnable skill and that compassion and altruism are more prevalent in the world than modern media would have us believe. There is an incisive logic in his writing that really appeals to me.

He says of his book
'...it is intended not for the Buddhist shelves of libraries, but for the heart and mind of anyone who aspires to a little more joie de vivre and to let wisdom and compassion reign in his or her life'

There are also two Ted Talks (here and here) I find the first particularly dynamic and full of hope and positivity.

If you have time to watch I'd love to know what you think!

Brompton or Ten Week Stocks are scenting the room.

Wouldn't be without these easy annuals in the garden!

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Simply Move..and Simply Listen....

1/6/2015

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Every day for 30 days I will do this exercise routine.

Today is the first of June and I'm taking up Leo Babauta's challenge (see here)

And reminding myself that this means doing it every day even when I really don't want to!

I shall observe carefully (journaling as Babauta suggests) and see if I feel different after 30 days, and although she knows what an exercise wimp I am I know that Angela will be cheering me on.

If you were to take up his 30 day challenge to learn something new what would it be?

Pretty in pink

Aquilegia and diascia

I'm afloat on pink and a cloud of Puccini. I listened to Opera on 3 tonight O Mio Babbino Caro - pretty wonderful. I listened to all the you tube versions and chose Angela Gheorghiu - pretty wonderful too (it will be in your head all day tomorrow!)

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Forward>>

Simply..sitting around....

Simply..Kondo Friday and going slow....

Simply.. longing for the sun....

Simply..more joy anyone?

Simply Move..and Simply Listen....

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