|
I am aware that it sounds a bit mad, but I absolutely LOVE ny barefoot walks on the sparkly frost. It's a woderful way to start the day.    I got the fire going nicely, set the table for breakfast and put the kettle on before I went out into the magic of the morning.
8 Comments
Music, food and conversation, architecture and friendly Glaswegians! A few photgraphs while I sort out my thoughts..      My head is still so full of Egar's Symphony no 1 in A flat - a great surging, meandering abstract thing, I can hardly think.
Two concerts in one day. So excited. Plan to see the inside of this magnificent building too..Back soon!   ..and unable to sleep with images of terror and fear and suffering in my mind. I've been up since three.  I rekindled the fire and lit some candles.  Each one a forlorn prayer for peace in the wold.  I tidied the kitchen, washed a few dishes then spent a bit of time out on the porch with my new Star Walk app (3 degrees C). I made a cup of tea and savoured the peace of my own little corner of the world, and like most of you I expect, counted my blessings.
..at five thirty this morning were astonishingly beautiful above the forested skyline. I wrapped up and went out into the garden to take in the wonder of it all. What tiny specks we are in the firmament! The deep silence and the utter mystery of it all enraptured me and I went back to bed and slept soundly. A lot is made of 'the work/life balance', but I suspect more should be made of 'the real life/virtual life balance'. I have said it often that for me there is nothing like the real thing. What do you think, and have you looked at the stars lately? A cold bu clear day, and a beautiful blie sky. I stood for a moment in the garden with my face turned to the sun, savoured it's warmth, and remembered the line from the poem the kiss o the sun for pardon, and I pardoned myself for not getting everything right, for not keeping up, for not being able to help more. It was a precious peaceful minute or so..  Eric Edmeades, who created Wildfit, claims there are eight needs of the human body - air water sleep energy movement sunlight non energy nutrients touch I think it will be interesting to consider how my own needs are or are not being met.. Did anyone else watch Yuja Wang on tonight's Prom from the Albert Hall? Mind blowing! And the outfit! Wow, This is The Studious Servant by Theodule Ribot, about 1871  It made me think of the Villhelm Hammershoi paintings in Copenhagen I mentioned in this post
I was so pleased that The Burrell Collection won the Art Fund Museum of the Year award! I was there today and It's wonderfuli   ..of starting a new category here on the blog. Am thinking about what to call it. The hammock, I find, is a very good place to think...  ..there are no words. Just feelings which can't be expressed n a blog post, so I posted a simple picture last night.
I had been to a funeral yesterday which happened to be on the anniversry of another death. It is important and beautiful to celebrate a life and equally important and necessary to mourn the loss, but I don't think both can be done at the same time without messing up my head! Neither can they be rushed. The heart sets it's own pace. The mind follows. If I am wise, and let them have their way. 'Too blessed to be stressed.' Maria.  NB I really like it when you talk to each othr in the comments but Weebly can't seem to cope and the replies recently got all mixed up. Sorry about this glitch! What do you want the month of June in the year 2023 to be like for you? Sometimes lovely things happen to us, but sometimes, I believe we have to nake them happpen and the first step is probably to know what it is you want! Would you like your June to be exciting? Or sociable or preoductive. Perhaps you would likfe it to be relaxing and you long to have some time alone, some time to think. Or you may seek adventure, or determine to finally do something you have been thinking about for a long time. How about getting pen and paper and a nice drink and sitting down for 15 or 20 minutes to imagine what your ideal June 2023 would look like? Then you can ponder how you could make at least some of it happen at least some of the time.. ..was a very good month. I focussed on dealing with things which were becoming urgent because I had been ignoring them - repairs, paperwork, unfinished projects etc and although I didn't manage to keep up the pace I began the month with, I did get a lot done. I had lots of visitors, which I loved. Our day trip around Argyll's Secret Coast ended with a lovely dinner at Portavadie Marina  How was May for you and what plans do you have for June? A bank holiday yet miles of beautiful beach with perhaps a dozen families and a couple of happy dogs on it. It's especially nice when visitors get perfect weather for a swim! Ostel Bay with a view of Arran.  ..on Argyll's Secret Coast. More tomorrow..  Yesterday's photograph reminded me of one of my late husband's favourite poems Glory be to God for dappled things Gerard Manley Hopkins. And from poets to painters - if you live near enough to Harrogate don't miss the wonderful exhibition by my friend Caroline Bailey. Caroline lives and works on Skye and paints brilliant landscapes and the most lively and vibrant flower still lifes. You can view the exhibition here. This is the first time I have referred to Barry as my late husband - an odd expression is it not?
Sometimes they do! I had a notepad on which each page was headed Dream. Plan. Do. I really liked that notepad. I'm very good at the dreaming bit. Can do the planning though much of it is tedious..nearly done. And ready for the Do. Will report back next week. Meanwhile what are you dreaming of right now? What steps will you take to make it come true? Perhaps there is one little baby step you could take today?  Where did that come from?
I know I did not plant yellow in with the pink. I have been enjoying listening to the book of this name on BBC Sounds (still available). Especially episode two which is about Erasmus - a hero of mine. I was lucky enough to be an Erasmus student, studying in Sweden and Venice , one of the ten million who benefitted from this wonderful European exchange programme, sadly a victim of Brexit. Erasmus lived a life of travel, reading and friendship - which sounds as good a way to live to me in the 21C as it was to Erasmus in the 15C and 16C.  Who are your heroes from history? And why? My daughter worked with a group of people to house and support a family of Syrian refugees who had spent 12 years of their lives in a refugee camp in Egypt. When the woman of the family was asked how things were going she said the small ordinary Scottish town where she now lived was 'paradise'. I found her comment so touching, and humbling and I wanted to share it with you. Is it possible that many of us live in paradise - we just don't notice it? Afer a winter of buying flowers I love when it's time to pick my own These are February Gold though they mever appear in February here.  I have watched the harrowing film Mr Jones and have been thinking about how fortunate I am to be able on the whole to pick my own surroundings, my own thoughts, my own pastimes, ideals and values. To have so much freedom of choice is not to be taken for granted I think. One stormy day some years ago I stood watching the ferry coming in. It took some time to dock as the water was choppy and the wind was strong and I chatted to one of the stewards - an older man who always wore a hat which had corks on strings around the edges of the brim. The weather forecas was uncertain, and so was I and I confided that I was not sure whether I should get aboard or not. 'What if the ferries are cancelled and I can't get back?' I asked him. 'Well' he said cheerfully 'You'll have a wee adventure!' I got on the ferry. He's long dead, that kindly man, but I often hear his voice.  |
Categories
All
Archives
December 2023
|
RSS Feed
