Flower

Sorry, no time for a blog today..... have a flower instead!

Questions, questions, questions

I`m only going to write something short today, not that any of my blogs are very long, but today even shorter than usual, because I`ve so much on to do today preparing for a big event.

But, it`s struck me, looking at the blogs I`ve written over the weeks, just how many of them are all questioning ones. What a lot of questions I must have going round in my mind. I didn`t realise it until I came to start writing daily blogs. I used to always keep a diary with daily entries, but those were always just on what I`d done each day, and got very monotonus reading! Got up, went to work, came home, had tea, spent the evening doing...... and that was about it. Whereas here I tend to write more of what I`m thinking, pondering, wondering, questioning over.

Well, having said it was going to be a short one today, its ended up longer. Wonder why?!

How many worlds?

I keep hearing the expression The Third World.
It makes me want to ask, what or where are the First World?
and who or what makes up the Second World?
Why are the poorest countries referred to as The Third World, surely there is only one world?
We may have different life styles but we are all on the same earth, the same world in the same universe.
By saying we have different life styles, I`m not meaning that they should remain poor, far from it, but I`m wondering about our use of language in describing them.
Do the people in the poorer countries refer to us as the First World?
In these days of political correctness, it seems very exclusive to use the term third world, when we do all live in one world. Surely there could be better expression, if one is needed at all.

ID Cards

There`s been talk recently about the government bringing in ID cards for everyone. Yet so many people seem against it – but why should they be? If one has nothing to hide, what does it matter if one has to carry a card? Or maybe those who are against it do have something to hide?

Now-a-days so many businesses and firms just ask for a postcode and then in an instance their computer can tell them your address. It makes me wonder (not that I`ve anything to hide) just exactly how much information is stored about me on various data systems. And if that`s the case what difference would it make if we had to carry a card, if our information is already known.

It would certainly assist shops, pubs etc., when it comes to knowing the age of a young person – or perhaps those young ones are the ones that are against it!

"Put your wings down"

Why is it, I wonder, that even in the narrowest of spaces, in queues in shops, in the aisles of markets and many other places, men will stand with their arms akimbo? They block gangways, take up the space of two people, they`re in the way of people trying to pass, and they seem oblivious to this. How I long to say to them “put your wings down”. Why can`t they stand with their arms at their sides?

I expect some body language expert would tell me there`s a reason for it, but I fail to see what it could be.

Recreation

I`ve discovered (at long last!) that days of recreation really are necessary, to re-create us.
To stop and take time for ourselves.
That discovery came to me from my day out yesterday. The break away from routine and work, really did me good. I should do it more often! I feel very relaxed and calm today.
Now, I`ve just got to remember that!
And to do it more often!

A day out at the Show

I`ve had a great day out today!
I`ve been to somewhere, or should I say something, that I`d never been to before.
The weather was perfect, not too hot and with some clouds to stop the sun from being too overpowering, even a welcome light shower of rain for a few minutes.

Probably having lived in Norfolk all my life, it’s a bad admission to say that I`d never been to the Royal Norfolk Show before. But until today I hadn`t.
I can see now what I`ve been missing – a very enjoyable day out. Looking at beautiful flowers, plants and flower arrangements, animals, birds of prey and evene seeing a falcon splashing about having a bath in a shallow dish of water, seeing the skill of various crafts people, standing listening to a pipe and drum band. So many varied sights and sounds.

But I think what made the day so enjoyable was having a friend to go with, to share it with and to chat with.

It`s half gone

Where do the hours and days go to? Tomorrow will be the last day of June and half way through 2005 already. We`ve passed the longest day, so now the nights will start to get darker earlier, yet where have all those long summer evenings gone which we used to have? They used to seem to last for weeks.

Is it because now-a-days we`re always planning ahead so much, not living each day as it comes? I`m always thinking of what I`ve to do tomorrow, the next day, next week…. At times the lists of jobs, either mentally or written down (in my case mostly written down, so as not to forget them!) seems to get longer and longer, but the time to do them gets shorter and shorter. But, no doubt, as always, things will get done in time. I`m not saying I`ve too much to do, but just musing on how the time seems to run on quicker. For instance, I always intend to write my blog earlier in the day, but somehow it always gets to late evening before I actually sit down to do it.

Engage Brain before Speaking

Someone I knew used to say that he had those words written beside the telephone.

Maybe I should have written beside my computer…. Engage brain before writing !
I had no intention of offending or being insensitive to my readers in what I wrote in my Blog yesterday. Apologies if I did.

I suppose it goes to show how people interpret things in different ways, what I took to be an inanimate object could be read by someone else in a different way.

Is that where and how a lot of misunderstandings in our world happen today?

Saints galore!

I was just looking up something about St. Christopher, and discovered that there are saints for almost everything under the sun!.....
there`s saints for toothache...., pencil makers...., shoe shiners...., sheds..., florists..., button makers..., telephones..., television..., fireworks..., kidney stones..., needle-workers..., zoos (which of course turns out to be St. Francis).
Why do sheds need a saint? Or kidney stones? Or telephones and televisions? Or fireworks?
But from the lists of hundreds and hundreds of them, I don`t see one for shop-workers, factory workers or office works ! - why not??
Wonder if there will be one day??

Seen today

I found this beautiful window in a small country church this afternoon. The sun was shining through it, making the colours really glow.

It`s lovely the `treasures` you can come across in these small country churches.

Is it up or is it down?

Isn`t it strange how we use the words up or down to relate to going anywhere? Instead of just saying “going to”
From where I live I`ve always used the expression “going up the town”. Yet from a different road and direction I find myself saying “going down the town”. No, the town isn`t at the top or bottom of a hill, and I don`t live at the top or bottom of a hill, so why do I use that expression. And others like “down to the beach”, “up the city”, “up to the church”. I don`t know!.
I can remember writing in an essay when I was at primary school (and we`d had to write what we`d done at the weekend or something), writing about going up the town. And when my work came back marked, it had been crossed through as incorrect and a ladder drawn beside that expression. At that age, I couldn`t understand why teacher had drawn a ladder or what was wrong with it, because it was normal language to me to say that. It puzzled me for ages. But, it`s about the only thing I can remember about any primary school essays…. That`s odd too, isn`t it?

Which tea to choose?

Having written a Blog on coffee, (which I don`t drink), I thought I`d look up Tea, which I do drink. And I found in the Rainbow of Tea, that there`s far more varieties of tea without counting all the various blends than there are of coffee. And then of course there`s flavoured teas, According to the article flavouring tea has been done for centuries with onions, orange peel, peach leaves, berries, jasmine, orchid, rose, and magnolia. And even some manufacturer has even produced flavours from banana to toffee pudding! I wonder who drinks them? especially the onion tea? Can`t say I fancy it. I`m not adventurous with food or beverages. Think I`ll stick to plain tea. Might venture to try Earl Gray one day though!
But, to go back to my first blog on tea & coffee, as there`s far more varieties of teas than coffees why do people offer coffee first?

Numerous varieties

I`ve just been looking something up, and am surprised to discover that there are over 3,000 varieties of it worldwide, roughly classified into six basic categories which are white, green, oolong, black (also called red), pu-erh and flavoured.

What is it?

Bats and Balls

Through the winter I usually play table tennis once a week, and I`m missing it. But I`ve just found a great way to play table tennis at this time of year! I definitely need more practice though, I think I do better with the sound on as it makes it more realistic. I`ve played some single games and tried the tournament but I can`t at the moment get past beating the purple bat! But I`ll keep trying.

Only thing is, I`m not actually getting the exercise from running around, like I do with the winter game!

Coffee aroma and taste

Coffee seems a strange thing in a way, because having expressed my dislike of drinking it, I suppose I should say that I do like the smell of it ! The aroma from ground coffee or even a cup of good instant coffee is good. So, why doesn`t it taste like it smells?!
I`ll happily eat coffee cream sweets, or coffee cake too, and enjoy the flavour of them, so why doesn`t a cup of coffee have the same type of coffee flavour? What have they done different to it?

I knew there are many different kinds of coffee beans but I`ve just discovered there`s more than I thought! In the coffee encyclopedia, it says there`s over 60 of them, and over 900 volatile aromas! Wonder who identified and counted all those smells?!

It still won`t get me drinking it though.
I`ll stick to tea.

Coffee or tea?

Reading again through the piece I reproduced for my blog yesterday, a question came to me from the last line of it….
Why is it people always think of having a cup of coffee?
What is it about coffee that makes people always offer that to visitors or friends?
Why not a cup of tea? Or even a glass of juice, or even water?
Surely I can`t be the only person who doesn`t like or drink coffee, can I?
Or am I, as I`ve said before an `odd one out` !

Filling a jar

The following was given to me the other day, and at the bottom of the page, it said please share it - so here it is on my blog today......

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large empty jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if it was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things – God ,your family, your health, your friend,s and your favourite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like – your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else – the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first”, he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are really important to you.

Pay attention to things that are critical to your happiness. Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled “I`m glad you asked that. It just goes to show that no matter how full your life may seem, there`s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

More food handling

Following on from yesterday.....
With all the rules and regulations they keep bringing in on handling food, I`m wondering when the day will come when they say, it`s not hygienic and will ban the way bread is distributed in Communion services!
Just think about it, the bread is first cut up into pieces by someone in their kitchen, then transported to the church, put on an open plate and then picked up as individual pieces and given into people`s hands. How many hands handle that one little piece of bread?! I often wonder too, why the pieces are so small, if it’s a taste of the banquet prepared for us! But that`s getting side tracked.
Only on one occasion, years ago, have I reluctantly accepted the bread… on that occasion the hands of the person who was giving it looked very grubby with black nails. It later transpired that he`d come on a bike and his chain had come off on the way, so he`d had to fix it. But, I survived the bread!
But how long I wonder before some “wise health official” decides it should only be given out with protective gloves on or using tongs!!?

[No, before anyone thinks it, I`m not saying there should be regulations on it, far from it…. But with all the petty things they come up with, it`s a thought isn`t it?]

Food rules

Now-a-days, there seem to be more and more rules governing the handling of food, what with all the sell by dates, use by dates, the way fresh meat mustn`t be in a counter next to bacon, or bacon next to cooked meat. That food should be handled with tongs and not hands. Obviously some of these are very necessary, but it makes me wonder two things.
Firstly how did all our ancestors survive to their 80`s and 90`s without all these rules and regulations!? In their days, butchers had an old wooden chopping block, which they scrubbed down, (now not allowed) and sawdust on the floor (yes, I`m old enough to remember going in one regularly like that!) There were no "dates" on food, one used one`s common sense as to whether something was good to eat, or if it was past its best. Good food didn`t get thrown out because it was “past the date”, even though there`s nothing wrong with it.

The second thing?.... I`ll tell you tomorrow.

Sad birds?

I`ve just come back from doing some shopping, and driving along the road, I saw ahead of me something fluttering on the road in the breeze. As I came to it I saw that it was the black feathers of a blackbird. The poor thing had been hit by a car or something and was lying dead in the road. Was it on its way to its nest with some food for its young, I wondered. Were there a family of chicks waiting for it to return, wondering what had happened to it? Would they survive? Would the other parent bird survive to look after them, or would it too have some misfortune come to it. I do hope not.
We so often see birds and other creatures lying in the road, particularly in the country lanes, where they have been hit by vehicles, I always hate to see it, it`s so sad. But I`d not thought until today of the knock-on effect it could have, that others could die because that had died. So, I urge all drivers, please consider the wild-life when you`re driving.

Here`s a favourite view of mine

Weaving, stitching and knitting

Writing about weaving yesterday, it could so easily apply too to tapestry and cross stitch, which I enjoy doing. Looking at the back of my stitch work, seeing the way the threads overlap and the colours intertwine with one another, the dark and brighter ones, patches of each. That there is a purpose to them all and a place in the pattern of it for them all makes me realise that in life it must be the same too.

Today I`ve just come across a ministry of knitting. It`s something I`ve not heard about before, but what an inspirational way to spend ones time knitting. It makes me feel that I`d like to start doing something like that here.

The Weaver

Thinking about the dark glass I wrote about yesterday, and the way my thoughts have gone over the past few days reminded me of another item in a similar vein.

The Weaver:
My life is but a weaving
between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colours
he worketh steadily.

Oftentimes he weaveth sorrow
and I,in foolish pride
Forget that he sees the upper,
and I the under side.

Not till the loom is silent
and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
and explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
in the weaver`s skilful hand
as the threads of gold and silver
in the pattern he has planned.

Dark glass

Looking at a stained glass window again today – yes, the sermon was very long! – I found that the window said something else to me…….

I saw in it several dark brown pieces of glass and other dark colours, I`d never noticed them before, I don`t know why I hadn`t because they must have always been there, but the more I looked at it, it made me realised that those dark colours were very important in making up the whole picture, the whole pattern.

That set me thinking, that maybe these `dark times` that we all have from time to time are also important in making us the whole person that we are.

Insight

It came to me today, that this is my life, that I`ve got to make the best of what I`ve got, where I am, and not keep hankering after what I`ve not got. It must be where God wants me to be, and I`ve got to accept that.
I think it`s helped me think, by writing what I have this week.
I also remembered today a prayer I`d come across some time ago in a book of Norfolk Prayers,
to quote part of it:

Lord, help me to accept
where I am
at this moment.
It may not be where I want to be,
but the beginning of my healing
is in the acceptance
of where I am.

And if I don`t know
where I am,
or what is happening,
or what may happen,
then help me to live with
`not knowing`,
if that`s where I am!

Lord, you know exactly
where I am,
In your love,
you are with me,
here, in this place.
Thank you, Lord.

I`m not rushing!

I`ve had a day off work today, and had the house to myself most of the afternoon and evening, and its been lovely. I can get so much more done too when I`m on my own. I`ve had time to do both housework and some of my craft work. I know mother can`t help being slow, but doesn`t she realise that when she was my age she did things as quickly as I now do. All I keep getting told by her is “you`re always rushing doing everything , slow down”. I`m not rushing, I don`t want to slow down, I`m not old, (yet!!) It`s so frustrating.
I suppose that`s why I keep writing things like this here, because it’s the only safe way I can have of releasing the frustration, or trying to.

Mixing Ingredients

I was saying the other day about how most baking has four identical ingredients, yet can make so many varied items from them. The four I was referring to were:- flour, sugar, eggs and margarine. There are so many ways to blend and mix them and each gives a different result. Even if different people mix the same ingredients in the same way for a sponge cake when you look at the results all together they are all different.

I wonder who it was that first tried mixing those ingredients and baking them to make cakes, buns, scones, puddings? What made them first try? Who had the idea?

Baking is something we take for granted doing, yet someone first thought of doing it….. when? and where? and who??

Done it!

Well, I eventually plucked up my courage today and went. I knew I had to do it, and no doubt the majority of people would go without a second thought about it. But I`m a coward. As I sat there waiting, my number was the next one, but the clock kept going round, no-one went in or out, I got to the stage of telling myself that if I wasn`t called in another 10 minutes I was going home. But just as that ten minutes were nearly up, the number changed and I had to go in. It was all over in a couple of minutes, it didn`t hurt, and I asked myself afterwards what was I so scared about….. but I know I`ll be exactly the same the next time I have to go.
Where did I go?... yes to have that blood test that I was told I had to have. I`m sure that 99.99% of you reading this, will probably think what a stupid creature, but as I said in yesterdays writing I am an odd one out!

Discontented

A bit of thinking aloud today……Why can`t I be contented with life?

Looking back to school days, I couldn`t wait to leave and get a job. School days, so they say are the happiest days of ones life, I didn`t find that. Now I`ve got a job (and had it for a good number of years) I can`t wait to retire? I`m discontented at work, with the way things are there now-a days and the hassle of not enough staff, and the unrest among so many of us.

I want a life of my own, before it`s too late. I look at others of my age, they`ve got their own partners, children, homes etc., (I don`t mean I`m jealous, but it just brings make me realise what I haven`t got), they`re doing what they want to do. Me, I`m stuck still at home having never moved out. I`m an odd one out, and with the elderly parent, what chance have I got of finding anyone. My time`s not my own, my life doesn`t seem my own with an elderly parent to live with. I`d love to walk out, get a place of my own, but I can`t.

I know I`ve got a lot I should be thankful for, but I`m discontented with how everything is. Yet, what can I do about it, without hurting anyone.

Word Pictures

I wonder how many people, like me, get amusing “pictures” from various words and expressions?......
Whenever I see along the road the sign “Large plant crossing” – I expect to see a tree get up and walk across the road.
“Cats eyes removed” – sounds as if one should keep ones pussy well away from there, or it could be painful.
“remanded in custody” – have they put them in a jug of custard!
"drawing pins" - what pictures are the pins painting?!

Window thoughts

I`ve been looking at a stained glass window again today.
The more I looked at it the more different shapes and pieces I saw in it. Some were very large, some smaller and some very tiny, yet all were so important to the design. Each one was different but each really mattered. Some had hard corners and edges, others were curved and gentler shapes, yet all fitted together. But without the strength of the lead frames holding and uniting the pieces they would just be a pile of glass fragments, not able to make a thing of beauty and of use.

It made me think, how we could be thought of as those pieces of glass, each of us different, yet God has a place for each of us and its his strength that holds and supports us.

Bird Nest

Birds choose the oddest places to nest don`t they?
Going down the alley beside where I work earlier this week I head a lot to twittering and bird calls that sounded like a nest of young chicks, but I couldn`t see where it was coming from. Then the next day I spotted a starling dart quickly across in front of me and disappear, and I could again hear all the tweeting going on. As I looked up an adult bird sat by a metal grid in the wall. Looking closer at the place the next day I could see that the top corner of the grid was broken making an entrance hole and poking through the lower part of the grid were a few bits of twigs or straw, so I`m fairly certain now that we`ve got a nest of starling in the wall of where I work! Yet, it`s quite a busy alleyway with people always up and down.
I wonder how many other people who have walked up and down there have spotted it?

Flying time

Where does the time go? Every day I think tomorrow I`ll write my Blog earlier in the day than this, yet, here I am again and its past my bed-time and I`m now getting down to writing it. Perhaps tomorrow I`ll do it earlier.
But then, as the saying goes “tomorrow never comes”.
I wonder if other people have the same problem?
I`ve not even been at work today, yet I`ve filled up every hour doing something…. alright, yes I sat outside in the summer house for a while this afternoon, but I didn`t sit doing nothing. I can`t sit doing nothing (or at least not for very long). I took some craft work out there to do. Pity I can`t take the computer out there!
Is time going quicker? It certainly seems like it to me.

Can`t think what to write today, so here`s something I saw whilst on holiday, which I found interesing, both in the way it was made and the number of things contained within it. The more you look at it, the more you can see in it.

If you want to see the other side of the circle, and find out where it is look here

Think before you speak

I`ve just realised, I must be mellowing! I took my Mum and her man friend out to visit a flower festival the other day, and someone, seeing them together automatically assumed they were husband and wife, as they said to me something about my Mum and dad, and, for once I didn`t bite back ! I`ve normally quickly said very sharply “he`s not my dad”, but this time I didn`t. I wondered afterwards why didn`t I?, I suppose to save the other person (who was a complete stranger) embarrassment. And perhaps because it seemed pointless as we`d probably never see them again.

Having said that, it`s not to say that anyone local and making that slip, won`t be told firmly that they`re wrong!

It also goes to show, that one shouldn`t assume relationships between people they see together, doesn`t it. Wonder how many times we all do that and jump to the wrong conclusions. It can be very hurtful, as I know from experience.

Creepy Crawlies

Why were slugs created?!
What useful purpose can they have?

I think I`ve said before that I don`t like “creepy crawlies”…. This afternoon I was potting up some plants I`d bought the other day, and to do so had to empty some containers which had had bulbs in during the spring. On turning one upside down to get them out, and when it dropped out – ughhh there were several slugs and a lot of woodlice at the bottom but now on the top as it sat on the ground. But, what to do about them…. I didn`t want them getting everywhere, in the end I resorted to putting some slug pellets on them and hoping that would do the trick. It took me a long while to risk turning another pot up, eventually I did and found exactly the same, so at that stage I gave up emptying the pots. I know, don`t tell me! - I`m a coward. But why do such tiny things (against the size of us) manage to make one feel so creepy?!

Get Cooking

I`ve been working with some recipes today, and it`s amazing how although the majority have at least 4 basic ingredients in common, they all turn out completely different dishes. It may be the different mixing methods, the different cooking methods, differents heat used. What four ingredients am I talking about?

Inspiring Worship

Although I attend worship almost every Sunday, so often I find it very ordinary, sometimes dull, sometimes seeming to be `in the past` irrelevant to life today (I know it depends a lot on who the preacher is). But, this morning`s, to me, was a really up-to-date inspiring service. The organ sounded so good, the singing went exceptionally well and really uplifted one. No, the hymns weren`t modern, they didn`t need to be, some of the older hymns do have lovely and meaningful words which are still very relevant today. The sermon, linked to the theme of computers was very well thought out and put across. It really was a good morning`s worship. Normally I prefer evening services and find more in them, because they are quieter and more thoughtful, but it will take a lot to beat that service.

I somehow think its going to be one that sticks in my mind for a long time.

They`re back!

Yes, the grockles are back!, they`re everywhere!,
but I think they`ve left their brains behind.
Walking along the pavements one is very tempted to say “Look where you`re going” or “Go where you`re looking”! they all seem to be looking one way and walking in a different direction.
And, Why, oh why, on a beautiful sunny warm day does it take mother, father, all the children a grandparent or two to all wander round a shop to buy one small item, maybe a packet of crisps, a pint of milk, a loaf of bread, then to all decide to stand in the queues at the checkouts, making the queues appear much longer than they really are. Surely commonsense would be for one to come in and the rest to wait outside?
Or is it the novelty of small shops after the big supermarkets that`s the attraction?
I don`t think so, by the way they moan about the length of the queues – don`t they realise its them and others like them making the queues look so huge?!

Fascinating needlework

Visiting the Quaker Tapestry the other week, reminded me of another great piece of stitchwork that I went to see a few years ago. Done in a totally different style to the Quaker one, it too was very, very impressive. No, it wasn`t the Bayeux one, to see what it was, have a look at this. I enjoy stitching, and have done 4 fair size tapestry pictures, but nothing on the scale of these. I`m full of admiration for those who can produce such a wonderful piece of work, and so large. The hours and amount of stitches that go into them, is astounding.

Speeding along

What a different conception to speed one has when driving to being pedestrian. Driving along on holiday recently on the motorway, I`d been going with the speed of the traffic and the road limits, then I stopped for a break and sitting there munching on a sandwich idly watching traffic passing, it seemed to be going so fast. And it struck me (no not the traffic literally), that I too had been going at that speed, yet from inside the car and driving it was totally different.

What makes it seem different? It`s still the same speed.

Gardens

I`ve just been watching the Chelsea Flower Show on TV. What wonderful gardens and not a weed in sight!
How different to mine. Still, as they say a weed is a plant, only its in the wrong place. But, why is it that the weeds grow quicker, taller and stronger than the plants I want to grow?! My garden really wants to have something done to it, to make it more interesting, but I`ve no skill for that.
Looking at the programme, what wonderful plants there are, what a variety of colours, sizes and types. Isn`t nature wonderful. Even when it does get a helping hand from all the growers and seedsmen to produce the unusual colours and shades.

If it ain`t broken, don`t mend it !

I had a telephone call the other day from the doctors receptionist to inform me that they wanted me to have a routine blood test. Am I the only coward over this? Even the thought of it makes me go pale.
I also am thinking, but I feel fine, so why should I go and have one, my normal tablets must be ok, and if they change or mess about with them then maybe I won`t feel so well.
After all, if ones washing machine, kettle or whatever is working fine we don`t take it to bits and interfere with that do we. As the saying goes, if it ain`t broken, don`t mend it!
So, do I go or not?

Along the cliff top 

A Sunday Afternoon Walk

The sun was out, there was a breeze but it was a warm one so I took myself off for a walk this afternoon, along the cliff top path, and it was beautiful, the sea was calm and pretty shades of blue. Wild flowers growing along the side of the path were gently moving in the breeze, skylarks were darting about and the sound of bird-song could be heard. I watched the birds for a while, their swooping and diving at speed so fascinating to see. Such a beautiful world and just five minutes drive away. It was peaceful, there were a few other people walking, but no noisy radios or chatter, all just enjoying the natural surroundings.
It made me remember how as a child, that was the thing to do on a Sunday afternoon – go of a walk. We always did it on each Sunday if the weather was fine. Strange, I`d forgotten that till now.
As I walked along, I resolved to myself, that I really must make time to do this more often, to get out and enjoy a walk. To make time to do it, and time for myself. It only took an hour, but did a lot of good, as well as the exercise (badly needed!) it gives time to think, to clear ones mind and just Be.
Maybe those older folk whose habit it was to have a Sunday afternoon walk, knew a thing or two!

Intelligent Creatures?

If you read my blog entry for yesterday, you may have thought
“what a load of old squit!”

But, I think there`s also a serious question behind it… do crabs think?

We know that dogs are intelligent and can be taught to do useful things, like guide dogs, hearing dogs for the deaf, police dogs etc. Other animals and creatures show signs of being clever too, like the way squirrels can work out how to get a nut from various tests set for them. Even my canary knows how to ask for a bath, he`ll go to his water, start splashing his beak in it and then start shouting, he`s discovered that if he does that we give him what he wants.

So, do crabs and other sea creatures have brains and intelligence?

Crabs eye view

Ooooh, come on Sis it`s time to play and see the big wide world again. Look, there`s all those long things coming down from above us again. Do they think we`re hungry? Which do you fancy - the bit of bacon, the crust of bread or that smelly old bit of fish? I like the look of the one on that orange string, I`ll get hold of that. Here we go, have you got hold of one too?..... up we go…. Now, let go! Let`s do it again, before we let them get us right to the top! Suppose we`d better let them pull us right up this time, ready? I`m racing you, mine`s going up quicker.
Oh, aren`t those children big against us, I`m going to wiggle my claws and my feet at them, listen how they squeal ! Funny isn`t it, how we can frighten them small as we are. Now what`s happening to me, my feet are getting tangled up in that boy`s mesh on a stick – O I see, he`s afraid to get hold of me, to lift me off the bacon, not like the brave girl whose gently lifted you off.
Well, I`m on my own now in this bucket of water, funny, its not like one I`ve been in before I can see out of it, still I can crawl round and see all sorts of things, don`t know what they are, some of them make a noise too. Wonder where Sis is. Oh hello Uncle Salty, have you come up to play with the children too, wonder who else will end up in here with us.
It`s getting crowded in here, there`s Crabby, Oneclaw, Brac, and some I don`t know, wonder how many more of us he wants to catch, I`m getting hot too under the sun.
Now, we`re moving, don`t swing that bucket so much, I`m getting bucketsick, slow down boy. Oh, at last, now just a gentle tumble and roll, we`ve out!, now I can crawl slowly back into the water and go and find my friends and hear where they`ve been and what they`ve seen up there today.
It`s quite an exciting life being a young crab!

Talking about catching crabs yesterday, made me think and wonder what its like from the crabs point of view, so have let my imagine run with it!

Under the Surface

I was watching some children dangling fishing lines into the water the other day, they were hoping to catch some little crabs, and they were succeeding. Looking down into the water, it was murky and opaque, you couldn`t see the crabs, you couldn`t see anything below the surface but there were things below the surface.
And it struck me, we can be like that water. People only see the outer side of us that we are prepared for them to see. But yet there can be a lot going on in our lives, with our emotions, our feelings, our doubts, our uncertainties, our worries, that are hidden from view.
It made me wonder, how well do we really know people that we think we know? People we work with, people we meet, people we live with. Do we need sometimes to do like those children and delve under the surface, to really get to understand others better?

Selfish?

Thinking about the thoughts and feelings I`ve got of wanting to be a bit freer, to do less, and to be me.
I`m also wondering today though, am I being selfish in wanting space and time to myself?
Yet, God has given us so many good things, shouldn`t we make time to enjoy them, and make use of our gifts and skills in hobbies etc.
But on the other hand, shouldn`t we use His gifts for the benefit of others and so keep busy that way and not for oneself?

I`m confusing myself now!!

Hold on? or Let go?

I seem to have done a lot of thinking and discovering on this holiday. Without consciously being aware of doing it!
It has been good to be free for a few days of the responsibilities I have.
The break has really done me good, not only in the sense of helping me unwind, but in making me really stop and think.
What am I doing with my life?
What should I be doing with my time?
Am I making the most of it?
Should I be spending more time making the most of my free time, instead of being busy all the while?
I know that there are “lifelines” which have been invaluable to me over the past years, but, I wonder now, is it time I let them slacken, maybe even let go of some of them?
Dare I take that step?
My instinct is to feel that I am being led to do less, to make the most of the precious free time that I do get to do what I want to do, follow up some of the hobbies and interests I now have. To make time to relax too.

Changing Views

Isn`t it strange how one`s views of a place can be changed.
For years and years I`d wanted to visit the Lake District, it sounded such a beautiful place, but each year`s holiday came and went and we never went there. Then years later, I learnt to drive and went to my “dream” place. Was it as I`d imagined it to be, no. The scenery was there, but it seemed disappointing, flat, it just didn`t do anything for me.
Yet, having been into a little of the area last week, (yes, some of the same area as before), my view of it was completely changed.
That set me thinking and wondering, why. Looking back, I can see now that it wasn`t the area that was wrong, it was me that was wrong, my feelings and emotions were at a mixed up and sad time in my life, that everything was looking grey and that coloured my view of where I was. That wherever I`d have gone at that time it would have seemed the same.
So I`m glad I`ve had the opportunity to go again and really appreciate the beauty of the area. And discover something about myself at the same time.

Inspiring Tapestry

One of the highlights of my holiday was a visit to the Lake District and in particular to visit the Quaker Tapestry. To realise that people in many countries had all taken part in stitching part of the 77 panels, telling the story and history of the Quakers and insights into life in the early centuries, was quite inspiring. Also, enjoying needlework, it was interesting to look closely at the way they had been stitched to give depth to them. (the panels can be seen at www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk/panels.htm)

Refreshing Holiday

I`ve just had a wonderful weeks holiday staying with some friends the other side of the country. I didn`t realise how much I needed a holiday until I got there. I do feel so much better for it. Just time to relax, to not rush around, to unwind. To have someone to have a leisurely walk by the sea with, for a day out touring the beautiful countryside, To be in the easy company of friends and after catching up on news, the ability to spend an evening just companionably sitting with them without any of us feeling the need for any conversation much, but just feeling at ease.

It`s not until one stops that one realises how much that break is needed is it?

I feel totally relaxed now, infact I`m finding it difficult today to put my mind to doing anything now I`m back, I`m wandering aimless round the house, wondering whether to go out, whether to just sit down, whether to do bits around the house, but yet feeling inclined to do nothing!

Bluebell time

Can`t think what to write today, so here`s a photo of a Bluebell wood for you to enjoy instead.

Holiday jobs

Why is it, I wonder, that when the prospect of a holiday is looming, there always seem so many jobs to be done in the time before it? Holidays seem to make work! Why do I feel that I must leave every loose end, tied up? Are they really worth it, with all the rush of jobs before them?
Or, is it only me, that feels that everything must be left straight? Why do I feel that? Is it somehow a fear that one might not come back? Or perhaps its subconsciously wanting to come back to a fresh start? I don`t know what it is. But yet, perhaps prospects of a holiday are good in that it makes one finish jobs that have been sitting on the side for weeks?

HURRAY!!!

Hurray!, Three cheers! Success at last!
And grateful thanks to a friend for a suggestion of what to do and for being willing to come and look at the problem.

Do computers have minds of their own?!
Do they like to be mischievous and play us up like naughty children?
I think this computer must have known someone was coming to look at it, because suddenly this afternoon before the friend arrived, it decided to behave and let me get in to read my mail.

I know when things go wrong we often hear people say it’s the computer`s fault, and I`d always thought, no it must be the operators fault, that they`ve put the info in wrong etc., but now I`m not so sure. And I`m not saying that I don`t tap wrong keys or enter wrong items, I often say my `trademark` on a lot of the items I produce contain a `deliverate mistake` (and I`ll leave you to find the one on here!) but I know in this case that I hadn`t done anything different to what I`d always done to open my Inbox.

So my frustrations gone today, and all`s well.

Computer Frustration

I`m going to have a moan today! I`m fed-up and frustrated.

Strange isn`t it how we`ve come to rely so much on computers and technology?
Until about eighteen months ago, I`d not got onto the Internet, now that I have I use it constantly. It`s so handy to just email messages instead of disturbing people by ringing them up, they can read their mail when they`re ready.
But now I`ve got a problem with it and I can`t solve it, and its getting me more and more frustrated. I just keep going round in circles on it.
What`s the problem? I can`t get into my email inbox.
I sign in, yes and remember the right password, then it gives me a security square to tap in, I do that, and it go back to the log-in one, and round and round and round we go on those two screens and don`t get into my mail. I could scream!! Its so annoying and frustrating, and time wasting. And I don`t know what to do to read my mail.

Now it`s giving me messages, something about cookies - is it hungry? does it want a biscuit?! What does it want to let me get into my mail?

In a shower of rain

As I sit down to write my blog today, there`s a large pigeon sitting on the fence in the garden, and he (or she!) is doing something unusual, or at least something I`ve not seen before.

There`s quite a sharp, heavy shower of rain but, instead of flying away, there he (or she) sits, lifting up its wing and spreading the feathers out letting the water get underneath them, as if enjoying a shower! Then it turned round and did the same with the other wing and spread all its tail feathers out too, before settling down to preen all its feathers. I`ve seen birds in the bird bath before - infact there`s a blackbird in it now, (must be bath day!) and I know our canary likes to splash in a bath (no, not the bath in the bathroom!, a special one that goes on the cage), but I`d not seen a bird having a shower before. It looked to really enjoy it.
I wonder if others have seen birds shower, or is it unusual?

Where locals walk

Having written (and had a moan, yes I do have a grumble now and then!), about visitors to the town yesterday, I go to thinking....
When I go on holiday, am I as bad? Do I wander and stop suddenly when I see something of interest? I suppose it`s because one isn`t tied to be at a certain place at a certain time (unless catching transport), that one feels more at ease to just take things at a more leisurely pace. Must remember to be aware of locals who have to get to work, or from A to B for a reason.

(The way to recognise `locals` here, is they`re either out very early before the grockles are about, or else they`re mostly the ones walking along the edge of the road instead of the pavement. I passed as least 3 like that in 5 minutes at Saturday lunch time!)

Recognising locals

Well, its a Bank Holiday weekend again, and the town was jam-packed with visitors yesterday. Why do they wander and meander all over the pavements, stop dead in front of you, stand in the middle of the pavement to have a gossip, with children and dogs at arms length??

How do you tell who are locals and who are the grockles (visitors),? There`s an easy way!....

Works of Art

I`m not really an art person but yesterday I went to the city and decided to visit an exhibition of religious modern art at the Cathedral there. I was surprised by how long I spent there looking at them and really appreciating them One in particular which at first glance appeared to be nothing but a daub of white paint on a black canvas, the more I looked at it the more I saw. First that the background wasn`t black, it was a very, very dark blue then that the white shape took on the rough shape of a dove with outstretched wings and the edge of the brush stroke at the edges actually gave the appearance of the fine feather edges. The title of it was Pentecost. It was very moving.

Colourful names

Looking again at the paint card, what lovely images some of the names conjure up……

there`s – Blue lagoon, Aqua pool, Wild honeysuckle, Paradise blue, Summer sky,
and a few down to earth ones like – putting green, English forest, Willow tree,

But what makes anyone think of something like Juicy Jade, Sassy, Desire, Atmosphere,
Wellbeing, Winter`s Day, and put a colour to them. What colours would you think they are?

Who has the job of naming all the shades?
Wonder what colours anyone would invent and name, who reads this?

What is White?

What is white?
I always thought white was white.
So how can the paint card/chart (yes, that was where I found all those white`s yesterday), have so many versions of white? Surely they must actually be very, very, very pale tints of the colour they call them – so Violet White must infact be a pale, pale, pale violet and not white? If you put them beside a white piece of paper they don`t look white, so why do they get called white?

Thinking along those lines, do we all see colours the same?
There`s no way of knowing is there?
Or is someone going to baffle me with science?!

Where are the Whites?

I`ve just seen..... Jasmine White, Barley White, Almond white, Orchid White, Rose White, Apricot White, Blossom White, Violet White, Blossom White, Cornflower White, Apple White, Jade White, and Daffodil White.
What was I reading?

Success at last!

It may seem nothing to any of you computer experts who may stumble across and read this blog - but, at long, long last, after weeks of experimenting I`ve at last discovered how to set up a simple spreadsheet to do one of the tasks I need to at work. And, without sounding boastful (or at least I hope I don`t?), I just am plesased with myself that I`ve done it. Using a computer at work, and which had a different system to my home one, and ofcourse no instruction books with it, it was a case of trying all the different combinations of buttons etc.
But, success, I`ve got it!

A Ploughman`s Prayer

Seen by an old plough while out in the country yesterday:

The Ploughman`s Prayer

The King he governs all

The Parson prays for all

The Lawyer pleads for all

The Ploughman pay for all

And feed all.

Pen & Paper

I`m always happy with a pen and piece of paper.

I suppose it’s a throwback to childhood, when to keep one amused on a Sunday afternoon (because one wasn`t allowed to play games or do anything active!) I`d either be told to read a book or given some paper and pencils to keep me occupied and amused. There were so many things you could do with them to pass the time that way – word games, like Hangman, chains of names or items, or noughts and crosses, dots & box game, or just doodling. I was no good at sketching or drawing though, (still aren`t).

So even today if I have time on my hands (which isn`t often), or if I sit waiting for an appointment or anything, I`ll usually have a pen and paper to keep me occupied. Maybe that`s why I like making up quizzes and competitions because I sit and do them with pen and paper.

Probably the computer is the next step from that too, and why I enjoy doing things on here so much. Even if it is writing about nothing in particular, like this!

What Singles need

I came across a line later yesterday which seemed a coincidence after the blog I`d written yesterday. It was `Every single person needs inspiration and guidance`.

So true.

But, to put it in its context, it was in my bible reading notes, and of course the `every single person` referred to wasn’t just single people, but everyone. (at least I assume that`s what they meant). But I wondered why they used that phrase in that way, when it could be read that only single people need that and not couple or families - or perhaps they don`t need it and only us singles do?
Strange language this English, isn`t it?

Families

What is `a family`?
Reading something a friend had written today sent my thoughts along a line of thinking I often get. We so often now-a-days see and hear the phrases - family outing, ideal for families, family worship, family friendly, family service and others...
Do they mean that those events are just for a family i.e. a mother, father and childen?
They sound fine for them, but they make me as a single person feel very excluded. An odd one out. Lonely. That life has passed me by. (And if one goes the same feelings apply when seeing others in pairs or families).
Instead of being inclusive language, it seems very exclusive.

Do birds see us?

How do blackbirds (or any bird for that matter), see us?

It`s something that I wondered this evening as I watched one on the lawn, digging his beak into the ground for worms or insects. He came quite close to me and seemed quite unafraid.

Do we look giants to them?

Or do their eyes magnify so that we look in proportion?

Do they actually `see` in the way we see, or do they just define shapes?

I`m sure that if I was the size of the blackbird and something the size of me (and no, I`m not a heavyweight! or extra tall or wide!) came close I`d be very frightened.

So why aren`t they?

Sense of Direction

I was writing yesterday about how I enjoy driving.

Something that has surprised me since I learnt to drive, which is about 12 years ago now (wish I`d done it sooner), is how it`s greatly improved my sense of direction.

Although I`d lived here all my life I didn`t have any idea how to tell anyone the way to nearby villages or towns, because I didn`t know the roads or the way. I can remember when I was learning to drive in the city, I just followed the Instructors directions, turn right, turn left, straight ahead…etc., and I can remember how I used to think to myself however does he know how to get round here, I`m sure I`ll never manage to find my way as well as drive! But, I now merrily drive round all the country lanes and anywhere. I think its one of the best things I ever did, learning to drive.

Strange places

Going back to what I was writing the other day about stress, and thinking about it. I suppose in a way you could call it a fear of strange places, of unknown places. (is there such a phobia?) It`s almost a sort of feeling of being trapped and of not feeling in charge of what is happening. It`s not driving that worries me, I enjoy that. I`d happily drive anywhere. It`s irrational, and again I suppose it boils down to feeling insecure, self-conscious and lacking confidence. Perhaps that why I like driving, because that does give me confidence.

Why am I writing all this, I suppose to try and help myself to think out what it is that makes me get so worked up about holidays. And then, maybe, hopefully realise how stupid it is – but yet, can one change how one feels and reacts?

My Cathedral

Thinking about the poem which included the lines of being nearer to God in his garden, reminded me too of a favourite Jim Reeves song that I like, which has a similar sentiment…..

My cathedral has a ceiling of blue,
my cathedral `neath the sky
where I may lift up my eyes unto the hills
and hear music from a stream rippling by.

My cathedral has an alter of flowers,
their fragrant incense fills the air.

In my cathedral
I am closer to him than I could be anywhere.

For here I pray in a place so grand
the carpet I kneel on was made by his own hand.

My cathedral has candles lighted by the stars
and mighty pillars of trees.

No other cathedral is so beautiful
for God made my cathedral for me.


(lyrics found on www.sing365.com)

Spring in the Countryside

It was a nice sunny day so we went for a drive along the country lanes. How amazing to see the brown of the hedges from even a week or so ago, now turned to the beautiful fresh green of new growth. The daintyness of pink and white blossom on some of the fruit trees where before there had just been bare twigs. The air was alive with the sound of bird song, and a variety of wild life was to be seen, rabbits, pheasants, partridges, even a squirrel. So much beauty all around. So much new life.

There`s a well known verse that starts along the lines of.... You`re nearer to God`s heart in the garden ..... (the actual wording escapes me, but the meaning`s there, maybe someone will put me right on it).
I think that it could easily be said to be true of the countryside too, when one takes time to look around, and give thanks for it, and feel a sense of closeness there too to the Creator.

Nerves or Stress

Nerves or Stress?.... are they the same thing?
Is stress the `with it`, modern word for nerves?
Whichever it is, I get it badly over certain things, and one of them is starting to affect me now when I think about it, before I even get to the time of it - it`s going on holiday. I`m soon going on holiday for a few days and although I look forward to it and want to go, I get very nervous (or stressed?) about going anywhere and the nerves (stress?) gives me a real physical problem in the form of stomach upsets. It`s embarrassing to admit to, and I try to keep it to myself, but maybe writing this in my blog is someway to confess to it. But how to cope and deal with the stress or nerves is the problem and question.

More Music

As I sit writing this I have a CD of Pan pipes playing quietly in the background. If you read yesterdays blog that might surprise you. But, it`s playing quietly, softly, tunefully. It has no harsh screaming, shouting vocals on it. It`s gentle on the ear, and quite relaxing. Yes, I do enjoy music but, of this type and of gentle light classical pieces too.
I suppose as much as the seemingly tuneless thump of modern music, it’s the way the singer (if you can call them singers!) screams and shouts their way though a few words over and over that grates on me. Whereas this is unobtrusive, apart from getting my fingers tapping in tune to it at times!

It would be an interesting exercise for shops to try this type of music and see if it made the customers linger longer and buy more, instead of rushing to get out of the din!

Thump, thump, thump!.... is it music?

Why it is that wherever one goes now-a-days one is forced to listen to so called music?
Even in the shops and supermarkets pop music is blaring out. Do the staff think everyone wants to think they`re in a disco all day long. Alright, one would expect it in a record shop, but not in a food shop. The sound of the loud thump, thump, thump all the time rather than have a calming effect as music can do, instead sets me right on edge, makes me feel up tight and irritable – which makes me wonder – if it gets me feeling like that, are all the problems with teenagers and youngsters that become hooligans, caused by the music they listen to? Does it stir them up to such a state that they become so aggressive?

More on act of Worship

I`ve been thinking more about the phrase “an act of worship” since reading the comment left on my first one on the subject.
I think my dislike of the phrase was because I was using the interpretation of the word act in the sense of something not real. And to me that was wrong as worship is something real.
It`s something that is important to my life and not just something to be acted at on a superficial level which was the way the phrase had always seemed to me. I realise that worship is an activity involving heart, mind and soul… but body?.... (unless one is clapping, …) how? Or am I again thinking of a word in the wrong way of its meaning?
Notice the use of `was`, I think on this phrase I`ve now been converted!, but not on `lost`.

Strange isn`t it, how one can get a phrase and only look at it one way, and not see other possible meanings.
Think I shall have to study English better!

As I`ve been thinking about flowers a lot these last couple of days, here`s a favourite photo of mine.  

Act of Worship

I wrote the other day that there`s another phrase that I dislike to hear – it`s “an act of worship”.

I always wonder why people say, act of? To me, (and again, I`m probably odd in this!?) an act, means its not something real, so in that sense is the worship real, or is it just an act? Why not just say worship? Or even a time of worship? A play is an act, it`s not real. Worship is something real.
Yet, I know that the word `act` can mean doing something, an action, like an act of kindness. But then doing worship doesn`t sound right either. Worship seems somehow to be something more of a feeling than a physical doing thing – hard to explain in words what I mean. Am I confusing anyone reading this? I`m beginning to confuse myself now that I`m trying to write it into words!

Net Curtains

Writing about net curtains has made me stop and think. Do we all have invisible net curtains around us, stopping people seeing in to the real us; being a defence or a shield? I know I do.

I was in a meeting the other day and was approached by someone who forcefully wanted to get a point across, and did it in an aggressive manner, which immediately put my back up. I suppose it wasn`t just so much what he was saying, but the way he was doing it. But I found myself drawing those net curtains tight around me so that it hid the insecurity I felt, the doubt he was giving me in my ability to do the job right, my vulnerability, my lack of confidence. And so I found myself reacting in an equally wrong manner, as I tried to hide what I was feeling. But yet, that was giving out a wrong impression too of who I really am, how I really am. I worried for ages afterwards about my reaction knowing I`d done the wrong thing, reacted in the wrong way.

Up or Down?

Having taken the curtain down yesterday, (and washed it), I`m now reluctant to put it up again!
I like the open space I can see beside me, but yet I also feel what I suppose it must be like for a fish to be in a fish bowl(!), able to see and be seen.
So should I put it up again for the privacy it gives?
Yet, it`s nice to look out at the garden, and nice to feel the sense of a bigger room, more space.

I am a person who feels claustrophobic and can`t bear to be shut in. I hate lifts. I hate going through tunnels. I can`t sit in a middle of a row of seats, I have to sit on an end. And preferably still, near a door if there is one.

Perhaps I will leave the curtain down for now, and let the light in, and look out at nature.

Bird Watching - Time Wasting

I`ve just taken the net curtain down from the window beside me to wash it – good move or not?....
Instead of getting on with what I should be doing, I now keep looking out at all the starlings pecking about on the lawn. Well, that`s if you can call it a lawn, it`s more moss, dandelions and weeds than grass in places, still it`s green! They are such entertaining birds to watch. Some squabbling over some chips we put out, chasing one another if they think one has something bigger or better then they have. Some not interested in the chips they`re contentedly probing the ground for insects or whatever it is they find down there. Then as if by some signal they all fly up, only to settle a minute of two later and resume what they were doing. Amongst them on the groung there`s a hen blackbird, she`s filling her beak with small pieces of food before flying off, must have some young ones to feed somewhere. So much nature on ones doorstep. I should make time to sit and watch it more often. Maybe need to take net curtains down more often!

Different Relations

It came to me the other day, how many different relations one person can be….
....and how we are different things to different people.

… a daughter,
a mother,
a granny,
a sister,
a wife,
a partner,
an aunt,
a niece,
a mother-in-law,
a cousin….

I, sadly, can only claim to be three of those.

Skip

We`ve recently had a skip outside our house because of the work being done, and it`s been fascinating.
Have you ever watched a skip?

First you get the people casually walking by casting it a sideways glance. And trying to look as if they`re not looking to see what you`ve thrown out.
Then you get them walk by again and give a longer look as they pass.
Next you get the person who stops and stands and looks at it.
And you get those who stop, have a good look in it, and around to see if anyone`s looking at them.
You go to bed at night, and in the morning – what`s that item in the corner? It didn`t come from this house!
Later in the day you look again, where did the watering can you`d put in it go to? or the old crocks?
The next morning – where did those set of wheels come from? They weren`t there last night.
It`s amazing the way things come and go in it, but no-one sees it happen!
Now its gone, what will they do?!

Strength of flowers

Can`t think what to write about today,
so as its spring here are some daffodils.


I was quite concerned about my daffodils last night, as there was a very heavy shower of hail. I expected to see them all flattened to the ground this morning, especially the ones in pots as they`ve gone up very, very tall. But for all their delicate look they must be strong, because they`ve survived, or maybe its because they are flexible and able to give and then spring back?

Isn`t English difficult?

I`ve heard it said that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Looking at the comments on my theme of “lost”, I can see how true that is. How one word can mean and imply different things; how the same expression can be thought of differently by different people. And that`s only with one word, there are so many that can be used for more that one purpose, and that’s without learning the different spellings of words that sound the same but are totally different.
(and before anyone wonders, yes, I am English, born and bred but with probably a strong dose of Norfolk too!)
So I think we`ll have to agree to differ on “lost” ?

There`s another expression I dislike too, but more of that another day!

Lost again

A bit more pondering about why I dislike the phrase I wrote about on Friday…..

I know we can feel `lost`without a person, but that`s not exactly what I`m meaning.
“I`ve lost my cat” (no I`ve never had one and don`t want one!)…. but to hear that phrase would mean to me that it had run off, or gone out and got lost, that people would be out looking for it; that it could be possible to find it.
To me anything that`s said to be lost, means there is a possibility of finding it again.
And so I guess that`s another reason why I find using the phrase “I lost……” about a person who`s died, so wrong, we cannot find them again. We know where their grave is (or ashes scattered), so their physical body isn`t lost. We trust that their spirit lives on through faith.
So, how can they be lost?

More about Ducks

Well, I posted this picture of duck late last night (yes, I was burning the midnight oil, for once!), when experimenting to see if at last I could get a photo on to my Blog. And, hurrah, it worked!

Feeding ducks on a pond in a nearby village is something we enjoy and quite often go out to do.
The white one in the picture, we nicknamed Tufty!

What are we having for dinner tomorrow? –
you`ve guessed it -duck!
Yes, we also enjoy eating duck occasionally. But not, I hasten to add, any from the pond. This is strictly from the butchers.
Strange isn`t it, how one can like animals and enjoy seeing them and yet still eat them. And, before anyone suggests it No, I`m not going vegetarian!

Duck feeding time!  

Lost

There are some expressions I just hate to hear used.
I just cringe when I hear “we `lost` Joe or Jim or whoever it is, last year (or whenever)” when people are talking about someone who has died.
To me (and I may be wrong because I`m not good at English or grammar, I just write as I speak!), “lost” is something that`s my fault. I`ve lost an item, or something that belongs to me, because I had it and did something with it, perhaps put it somewhere and lost it – if you follow what I mean.
A person is an individual not belonging literally to anyone. We may be very attached to them, but they don`t belong to us, so how can we lose them?
We can lose the physical presence of them, the friendship, the companionship. We can feel totally at a loss without them. But, we don`t lose the memories, and thoughts of them. So in that sense too, we haven`t lost them, have we?

Wonder if others find the same, or what expressions others cringe at?