Moving Hazard

Uggh, I was warned this would happen by people who are experienced!  I have been engulfed by a huge wave of homesickness. Yes, homesickness for London (??how??why??? what?? etc). Well, not quite London, more for the life I used to know.  The one with certainties and known comforts and pains and with people I could ring up without worrying about the phone bill or whether I was intruding on their lives, the one where I had money and could cycle to Waitrose through the park in the sun.

Of course, these images are somewhat rose-tinted. Certainty re job vanished when the Tories got elected. There also wasn't really that much time to cycle gently through the park and it certainly wasn't always sunny.  I know all this and still I am very lonely, feeling slightly unwell, and am so unsure of myself and my abilities. I have no job to get my selfworth from and, to be honest, am flailing around a little.  It's like leaving University in Thatcher's Britain and I've already done that once!

And that's it.  It's the beginning of a new life, finding a new place in people's lives and my own.  It is entirely possible I'll actually have to get round to reading a Purpose Driven Life and definitely to remember "seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things, WILL be given to you".  Goodness, training the inner man is so tiring and hard work, I have no idea how people manage to train the outer one as well.  All those who manage it are truly awesome and are obviously much better people that I!

Good on you!   and apparently the wave recedes, so normal service will be resumed shortly....

NICE PICTURE OF THE WHATSIT>>>

Blonde and Beautiful

The classic view of the swede, lithe yet muscular and generally full of health. How is this so?  What exactly is the difference between us and them?

View 1: sitting in the car in a supermarket car park watching 2 groups of workmen coming out of the shop with their SnackAttack bags swinging. They were not on the Yorkie Bars, but were going to stuff their faces with satsumas, apples and bananas.

View 2: following the group of unemployed heading for the Information on Starting Your Own Business seminar, on the 4th floor, the 4TH floor, seeing them all head up the stairs. They didn't even look at the lift. How am I doing to give my lift 30second speel if no one takes the lift?

View 3: coming out of the airport refuelling for the trip back home with a Japp hazelnut bar, hearing the sound of crunching and looking around to see a horde of local youth munching on apples.

This is why the Swedes, on the whole, are all lithe and lovely.  It's possible that I haven't yet been fully culturally assimilated....

Feeling the Burn

As I sit here, in my comfy chair with my feet up on the cat, a glass of wine in one hand, an After Eight in the other and a steaming cup of tea at my side, I muse on the difference that an hour makes and the things one does when a husband thinks it would be nice to do something together.

Like aerobics.

Of course, those of you who knew me in my younger days would know that it was not an uncommon sight to see me throwing limbs around and generally being terribly energetic to a pounding dance rhythm, however, of late, it's not quite as common. Having several of our friends witter on about the gympa classes in the local village, Graham decided that he really did need some training and we should go, together.

Bless.

I'm glad it was half term, but that did mean there weren't so many people to hide behind especially with everyone stood around in a circle with the instructress in the middle, but on the otherhand, there were no mirrors. The exercises were varied and probably had some sort of modern name.  Of course, having experience made it easy for me to pick up the moves, it was just a question of coordination and timing (sadly lacking), but poor Graham had never been to an exercise class and so generally stood there flailing at random intervals with intermittent hopping.  I did tell him at one point that it was possible to bend.  He did have me on the running around the gym though. To quote Garfield, "show me a runner and I'll show you a strange person with a thing for pain". I did flex my knees to show willing.  And now I know why Swedish men and women are so fit, not only do they walk for hours in unpathed forest, they also take their aerobics terribly, terribly seriously.  One lady told me not to worry, it was OK to take things easy at the beginning.  The poor, poor dear........

Anyway, we're going again next week.  Mostly out of sheer bloody mindedness.  Soon we'll be doing press up bunny hops on one hand!

A New Beginning? Again?

The Tattooed Elk.

???? you say. This is the name of the website that my sister bought for me for my birthday. Graham thought it up as a good name for a pub.  This morphed into a cafe and is now the name of the mother company for an art gallery.

Here in little Bet, I have a dream.  A cultural, art nurturing warm place, where people can feel they are safe to develop their art/craft dreams.  Big or small, it doesn't matter as long as you can feel stimulated, inspired and uplifted.  This may be by buying a piece from an exhibition, or by taking part in a workshop, or by hiring a work or exhibition space.

There are some very good cultural places near, some large town and a major road just 10 minutes drive away.  The road through is reasonably popular during the summer, especially with tourers, so there is either actually or potential footfall.  I was going to convert the woodshed, but our lovely landlord has offered the old mission house, by the pond.

Yes, there is the possibility of a small cafe too.

Much work and discussion with neighbours needs to be done and I am now going to make a start. Hurrah, the name, in Swedish or English, has not been registered by anyone yet.  And, errhh, not unsurprisingly, there is also nothing like it!

Excuse me whilst I start on finding my old notes about business plans, the empire awaits!

It's been so lovely with the snow and the cold, but last week the weather changed.  As I sat/lay/moped sniffling, the temperatures went above zero (centigrade) and after a week most of the snow melted.  The temperature has started to fall again, so we've been getting some lovely rimefrost.  Yesterday, driving to the supermarket was like driving through ghost forests.  The deciduous trees had every twig outlined in ice crystals. With the dark backdrop of the firs and pines, the fading light and the frost silvered ground, it was beautiful and eerie.  Shame the car hasn't got an on board camera!

It went from this:

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