..is in need of a haircut. It is casting gloom and making this room look a bit too Miss Haversham! Dried flowers can do that and I think they must go too.

I'm taking a short blog break. Do have a lovely weekend.

..the N on my north point.

It's a work in progress..

..and autumn pickings from the garden.

Enjoy..  (Thank you Gwendoline.)

..my true north.

A walk on the shore and a playful tweaking  of the north point I made on the drive some time ago.

..and do they really know better than you what is best for you?

I find it takes time to work out my own ideas, and to be an independent thinker I do need to be informed. I am very very choosy about who gets into my precious headspace! It's all too easy to be overwhelmed.

I want to stay sane and calm and will not let my nerves be wracked by the latest news/trend/scare/speculation/prediction..


Posting this under Simply Chill, Simply Headspace and Simply Live and am simply sharing what works for me :-)

..it is harder to be an independent thinker today than it was in the past?

There are so many people telling us what to think and what to do.

Parents and siblings, teachers, religious leaders, pundits and politicianss,  bosses, government authorities and lawmakers, newspaper articles, books and magazines, therapists and counsellors, radio and TV programmes, advertisers, vloggers and bloggers (me?), motivational speakers, campaigners and activists, gurus,  influencers and celebrities, YouTubers and podcasters, disruptors and the woke fraternity, then of course there is Mr Google, algorithms and AI...

So many people want to tell us how to live, what to think, say and do!

I worry that we will forget how to think for ourselves and how to have confidence in  our own judgement.

What do you think?

..and the moon at night.

At long last we are having a spell of good weather!  Clear blue skies and warm sunshine by day, and the most magnificent  and huge full moon by night. Magical, beautiful, nourishing both body and soul.

It's that time of year again and this is a job I fnd very satisfying.

..that I wouldn't dream of scoffing a whole packet of amaretti biscuits in one go? It's not just that they are far more expensive. No, something else is at play here.

Maybe you never would binge, but are there some things you could binge on and some you just couldn't ever scoff all at once?

I found myself pondering this ridiculous question several times today! :-)

What could be nicer than a digestive biscuit?

Two digestive biscuits?

Or hlf a packet of digestive biscuits! Shame on me I had the whole packet one evening.

I suppose there are worse sins..

On a recent podcast by Sarah Raven and Arthur Parkinson, Arthur talked about 'climate chaos' and winners and losers in the garden this year. His very sensible attitude is that we must get used to it and be grateful for whatever thrives.

He has a nice turn of phrase - Medusa vases of sweet peas. (I wish! Mine were almost a total failure this year.)

I have sown a tray of cornflowers for next year...

..it's probable that almost half of the people reading this blog will have experienced cancer themselves. Quite a shocking fact. whcih has me thinking a lot abput resilience and recovery  from both crises and any illness. I am lucky enough to have rarely been ill and I had not realised how patient one has to be as a patient - is that why people are called patients? I never made that connection before!

So I am into all the  re  words - recovery, resilience, regeneration, recuperation, revival, restorative, reenergised...

It is astonishing and inspiring to see how people respsond to difficulties far worse than mine. I jist have to think of the paralympics or the book The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jeam-Dominique Baugy, and the world of regemerative medicine is almost incredible - see Tony Robbin's book Life Force.

So for a few weeks there, when I woke in the morning and my mind raced around the world and back but my body said  'Sorry, I am not going anywhere! '    I had to ssay okay, I understand you need all your energy for healing right now. I will be patient.

As Karen said, healing isn't limear.

This one tiny quince scents the whole room! Possibly my favourite smell in all the world.

..thanks to this gorgeous gift! Thank you so much K.

Every now and then I get the urge to clear off this space..

It gives me a lovely feeling of making a fresh start, or of a clean slate or in the words of Liz's yoga teacher 'the magic of new befinnings'. Just a tiny boost, bit nice.

What simple thing gives you a little boost. And can you do it today?

A guided walk in Benmore Botanic Gardens yesterday gave me hope that my old energy is returning.

Living in a beautiful state of gratitude and patience!

I was very moved by this story by Luciano Pavarotti. He experienced war as a child and at one point he decided not to look at what was right and what was wrong in the world. He said -

It is the world. I am alive. It is plenty enough.

He fundraised all his life for child victims of war.

Sometimes when the world gets too much I think 'I am alive. It is plenty enough.'

I love that at the beginning of this concert everyone in the audience waves a white handkerchief. I wonder who thught of that.

..it flows by itself.

I like to set my intentions for the day, the month, the year, and after a diagnosis of breast cancer in June in preparation for surgery due at the end of July I did a Super Healthy few weeks.  I wanted to be in as good health as possible for it.  The surgery went well (the lump was very small, caught early and had not spread) and the care I received from our wonderful health service was excellent.

August was spent resting, healing, and doing some gentle clearing of clutter (the identity sort of which more later).

September. Well, I might just let September be September and unfold as it will.  That's when I remembered this phrase -

Don't push the river, it flows by itself.

Looking Septemberish..


Filing under Simply Fitter..

I quite simply haven't known how to write (or whether to write) about the family crises which have occurred this year.

Partly for reasons of privacy and partly because I don't have, and don't really wamt, a categorty called Simply Crises!! Writing his blog has been somthing of an antidote.

A worsening of my eye condition, an unexpected divorece, a fraught house purchase, 999 calls and emergency hospital admissions, the putting down of a beloved family pet, a cancer diagnosis (mine. I am okay now) - it's only as most of these are somewhat resolved that I feel I can write about them now.

Whew!

You will know how I have been longing for some sunshine. Well, here we are - several days in a row of high temperatures and full sun - but I have to stay out of it!


I developed a rash around a tick bite and was prescribed an antibiotic as a precaution against Lyme disease. There was a warning on the label that bright sunlight should be avoided and although I covered up and wore a hat I have had an allerggic reaction with swollen lips and nose. Had to stop the medication and am being very cautious and staying out of the sun, but have to confess that I am feeling a bit sorry for myself. I am going to an outdoor wedding reception tomorrow and a red and swollen face is not a very good look!

This llittle robin is getting quite tame.

..is the name of a quirky cafe close to Queeh Street Station in Glasgow.

I was planning to have a healthy breakfast but was completely distrracted by the fresh and beautiful Portuguese custard tarts...I can recommend them.

I love these pianos in public places, and this young girl cheered up the Novemberish day with her rather good performance.

..at dawn this morning. I took half an hour to sit by the open window and  savour it.

The sun shone and in a little rebellion against my sensible self I decided to buy only ice cream and roses.

I needed cleaning materials and carrots and kale and other sensible things, but I will shop for them tomorrow. Today I am having a holiday,

Lilke me, they just need a bit of sunshine and like Oliver, I just want some more please!

I am living in a beautiful state of .........

I often start the day by completing this sentence. Today I am living in a beautiful state of accepting change.

What about you?