All Change

Well…………………………………..

After 6 years of living in the countryside we have moved back to town.

Although we made the final decision and moved very quickly (10 days) we have been talking about it for a while. A couple of months ago we went for a drive around Harrogate just to have a look.

I had some criteria:

1. Dalesboy had to be able to walk to school
2. We had to be walking distance of town and Meeting House.
3. Dishwasher in the kitchen
4. Shower in the bathroom
5. Suitable for Fizz Dog
6. Dalesman needed a garage/workshop
7. Not too small and not too big
8. Cheaper than where we were


It seemed impossible to get all 8 things and we didn’t want to compromise. So we put it out to the universe and sat back.

Something strange happened.

Dalesman chose the wrong number to dial from his mobile and so as not to appear rude had a chat. They were about to relocate to Scotland and their house was available to rent and did we know of anyone looking for a house in town. Ten days later we had moved in.

In the six days since we moved. I have saved about 6 hours driving time going backwards and forwards to music lessons, rugby matches, social events, supermarket shopping etc. Before it took 25 minutes to the supermarket and 25 minutes back. Last night I was there in less than 5 minutes.

We didn’t always to live in the countryside. My Mother found us a house when we moved 6 years ago but until then we had always lived in towns and cities and always been happy.

Despite living amidst the chaos that is moving house already my life is calmer and I have more time for knitting and stitching about an hour a day on a weekday and more like 3 hours a day on weekends.
Now where is my knitting…………………

Going Offline

Since Dalesman bought me a laptop computer a couple of years ago I've spent more and more time on the internet.

I check my emails, read and post on various the forums, catch up with blogs, play Facebook games, search for books on Green Metropolis, keep up to date with bookings on courses and generally surf my away around any random thought that enters my head. Then when I've done all that I start again in a never ending circle of internet activity.

I spend my day job on the computer and I'm studying so spending time researching and writing essays takes up more of my time.

So in line with some wonderful people I know I have decided to have one computer free day each week. Choosing the day hasn't been too difficult. I work Mon, Weds-Fri and am on a computer all day. Although I don't 'work' Tuesdays it's my official study day so need my computer for essays, literature searches etc. Which leaves Saturdays and Sundays. Sunday is the day I generally have the most spare time to spend on the computer so that's the day.

Beginning next Sunday 13th September I shall be going offline each and every Sunday.

Tremendous Inspiration

Recently a dear friend of mine received some gift vouchers and she spent them on stitching stash that she’d had her eye on for a while. Excitedly she couldn’t wait to start stitching but soon realised that the hand drawn pattern was bad, very bad. There were mistakes galore and it was one big frustrating mess.

Well she could have moaned and groaned, whinged and complained ~ and she was certainly fed up.

But she turned a negative into a huge positive and has just designed the most beautiful Hardanger Santa I think I’ve ever seen.

Her inspiration was the absolute rubbish she was being asked to deal with.

So when life serves you a plate full of rubbish please remember my dear friend Colly ~ have a moan and a whinge, get fed up and then turn that energy around and do something tremendous.

MISSING

Reality..........................

I have spent the past 5 days on The Mother Retreat.

Camping, compost loos, no hot water, communal cooking/eating, blessingway, naming ceremony, mens circle, singing under the spreading chestnut tree, birth circle, tea, rain, mud, wind and sun, children, music around the campfire, new friendships.

I experienced my perfect day ~ you know the one that sometimes you dare to dream when life is just a bit mundane. I got up and helped prepare breakfast for camp, made carrott cake for 100+, attended a blessingway, shared birth stories in a replica iron age round house and sat around the campfire listening to my son and one of the fathers play guitar whilst we sang.

I love being the parent of a teenage boy and having one of the oldest children at camp I sometimes wondered why we were there.

It was about the sharing ~ men sharing their experiences of being fathers, children sharing mud pies and games of tig, women sharing birth stories and tears, we shared the rain, wind and sun, we shared life experiences and it was wonderful.

I just don't know if I'm going to be able to find my everyday 'reality' and do I really want to?

The babies are arriving

A few of the many babies coming Earthside this year have arrived to join my friends on their adventure of a lifetime.

There's gorgeous Gwen with the most spectacular hair I have every seen.

Amazing Amelia ~ who has chosen perhaps the most laid back, happy and chilled first time parents I have ever met.

Imogen ~ what can I say? I was blessed to be there to greet her fast and unpredictable arrival and although it's only been 9 weeks I know we are going to be great friends.

Isla ~ who I have yet to meet as she is enjoying a time of 'laying' in with her Mummy.

Notice anything? Girls, Girls Girls ~ of the babies biding their time I know there are at least another three girls

As for the number of pregnancies amongst my friends (17) ~ the universe ran out of my friends who were actively trying for babies and decided to bless a few for whom babies were really not part of the plan ~ all is well now they've got over the shock. There is however one friend who has not yet been chosen by her baby ~ so if you don't mind in your thoughts and prayers could you just ask quietly and gently if a baby would consider choosing her (no name needed because the universe is clever like that).

A Parenting Adventure

For the past 8 weeks I've been spending my Saturday mornings with a group who are just starting out on their journeys as parents. What an adventure is ahead of them.

Dalesboy turns 14 today and what an adventure it's been............

Thirteen and we let him catch the train to London by himself - are we completely mad?

Twelve favourite cakes that I love to bake and he loves to eat - there's chocolate birthday cake today.

Eleven years of playing football, training every Saturday Morning and matches most Sundays.

Ten years of school.

Nine Pets - The three fish, Katie the hamster, Herbert and ToeToe the Guinea Pigs, Thumper and Mini the house rabbits and Fizz the Dog.

Eight camping holidays ~ from the bottom of Cornwall to the tip of Scotland, in rain and shine.

Seven operations and numerous investigations.

Six years of swimming lessons and yet he can only really do backstroke!!!

Five housemoves from Yorkshire, to Woking, to Birmingham before coming back home to Yorkshire (if you're counting there were two homes in Woking and three in Yorkshire).

Four years to go from not being able to play a musical instrument or read music to taking his Grade 8 on the Tenor Saxophone.

Three schools which have all been very different and mostly harmless.

Two parents who haven't a clue what they are doing but it seems to be going OK.

And a fall of 12 (or 15 foot depending who you ask) out of a tree.

Sweet Peas

When I was a little girl I spent the summer with my grandparents. My Kepa was a wonderful gardener. Half the garden was veg, a quarter flowers and a quarter lawn where he would lie in the summers sun after a hard morning tending his blooms. Do you remember how long and hot the summers were in the 70s?

In particular he grew sweetpeas - a lot of sweetpeas. Every day handfuls of sweetpeas would come into the house filling it with their gentle smell.

On the kitchen windowsill Granny had a lovely little green glass vase that Kepa would keep topped up with fresh sweetpeas for her - so she could see them whilst she did laundry the old way, cooked beautiful meals and watched the neighbours go about their business.


I don't have neighbours to watch and my laundry whizzes round and round by itself but the sweetpeas are just the same.