Simplifying Life - Mark II

pagangirl

Snow !!! Snow, snow beautiful snow, you slip on a bump, and over you go !!!! - Can you tell I like snow???

mary43

Had a covering of the stuff here............I hadn't realised till OH came home from his pint or several at the pub...............bitterly cold, stopped snowing now -bet it'll melt, then freeze and be disaster zone when more snow lands on top. I'm going nowhere.............. I'd be the first one to 'slip on a bump'..........ouch !!!:eek:

pagangirl

You probably get it worse than we do - south east always seems to get it bad. Well we had sleet, then sun. Then snow, now sunny again Looks like its ready to snow again though. I'm definitely not going out - took a bag of rubbish out before, that's as far as I'm going ! (knew I should've got a pair of wellies).

vivw_2

We have a fine coating at the moment , but the sun seems to have come out again. Still very cold outside though

mary43

Seems to have stopped for a bit but we've got one of those skies that lets you know there's more to come. Got a good covering already:mad:
Oh well, least out garden will look as good as anyone else.............lol:rotfl:

And think how much I can get done not daring to go out..........card drawer will get cleared out and tidied up (she says hopefully)
, pictures laying in a heap just might get re-framed and I just might get around to covering my shoe boxes........:j

ceridwen

Not a simplifying day here again......just took it into my head to check out things on my house....and, lo and behold, problems I wasnt aware of........:mad: ...of the "just how much trouble and expense is THIS one going to cost to put right?" variety. Started feeling tearful......started detective work to see what has caused it......and the tearful changed to the air turning "blue" - as I am going round muttering swear words and wishing I could throw something at a certain workman's head......as its 90% certain its down to him.....:mad: :mad: :mad: . As there is the vague possibility that it MAY not be his fault - theres nowt I can do in that respect - but I'm muttering visibly, as its pretty certain that it IS down to him.....

As we know - I hate hassle with a passion - hence the simplifying. I THINK this isnt going to cost much money to put right - cross your fingers for me that it doesnt.....

<<Wanders off dreaming about a brand-new environmentally-friendly house - well I'd better not go further down that route.........as it was explained to me the other day why I'm unlikely to get one to my specifications in this country anyway if I had the chance.....and of course there's the little matter...of greenfield sites...well....just a few snags that make it impossible in other words...but I can dream cant I?>>

I was wandering round my house earlier remembering a bit from one of my Shirley Conran "Superwoman" books to the effect of "If you're feeling low...just get out of the house" - ie go for a walk or whatever - and thinking "These days - that walk has really got to be somewhere rural. Urban surroundings are likely to exacerbate any low feelings - as I'll just go round and count how many more shops have closed since I was last in the vicinity" - countryside it definitely is - the remoter the better - so roll on the good weather, so I feel more like being outdoors.

I wondered if the swathe of shops closing was just here - but my mother was telling me that its happening in other places nearby as well at the same rate of knots. I am not a consumer for the sake of it - as we know - but its still depressing to see this visible evidence of things changing around me like this.

I must go off and do a spot of "count blessings" instead of counting closed shops or summat. As I was walking round yesterday counting the closed shops I bumped into someone from the groups I'm involved with (a person I very rarely encounter outside them) and she asked me what I was doing right then - so I told her that I had got the couple of bits I had gone to the shops for and was now "counting (shop) heads" - to which the reply was that she had noticed as well - but we had to remember that a better Society could be on its way once we have gone through this awful transition period and reminding me that we all need to work towards living in a more "communal" sort of way and think beyond the Consumer Society we have all been a part of and money isnt the only thing (and I know she herself hasnt got any - so isnt a "spoilt rich kid" when she says this). I saw her point and thought "I am being reminded to stay focused on Other Values here".

I will try and remember ....I will try and remind myself that "just why did I take it into my head to have a close look at that bit of my house anyway? - just try and be grateful that I did....or I would certainly have ended up getting a LOT worse and much more costly problem to solve". So - I must try and remind myself that I seem to have been "looked after" again and try not to be uptight because things still go wrong. They could be worse - a lot worse....and, fingers crossed, I havent even come across anyone yet personally who has lost their job or part of it....so things could be worse....

Lula-Hula

Hugs to you ceridwen,

must be something in the air; have had a few 'fight the tears back' moments myself today; a close friend has turned out to be someone different than I believed so currently going through the separation & disappointment process. Should be out celebrating imbolc but prefer to keep my fluctuating moods & negative eneregy away from others tonight.

A light dusting of snow here in surrey so far & I hope to wake up to a beautiful pure landscape tomorrow with no sign of human interference.

Mary43 - The 9 drawers are now glaring at me & at least 2 contain all my card making equipment & I'm sure they could be condensed into 1 .. if only I could summon up the motivation :rolleyes: I hope your eyes are healing now,

love to all
Lula

mary43

ceridwen - what can I say but big hugs ((((((((:o )))))))))) which seems pretty useless when you've always somehow managed to say the right thing at the right time to put me back on track.
I know what you mean about houses/builders etc. and its infuriating - I've been there too many times. All I can say is put it down to part of life's learning curve and whether you have a faith or not, we're never given more than our maker believes we can cope with (so I read somewhere anyway - and I stand by that one as it makes so much sense to me ).
Bless you and hope tomorrow is a better day

Lulu - shock to the system when people aren't what we thought they were. But we can only wipe away what tears there are as a result, dust off any anger and move on.
My eyes are feeling much better and tomorrow I will attack the card making drawers...........you bet !!

For now.........its Larkrise to Candleford on the tele...........a dose of how easy life once was (as portrayed on the tele anyway.........lol)

ceridwen

Thanks Lula-Hula and Mary....well between us all we will "keep ourselves on track"....shades of that dreadful advert on tv "We want to be togevver" - still many minds make light work or summat.

Its been a couple of consolatory glasses of wine day and am having a "chat" to and fro with another virtual friend right now...which helps.

'Tis always easier to see whats what with other people than for oneself thats for sure. We are the ones "living in our own skin" - and, from that position, its often hard to "see the wood for the trees" - which is where it helps to get someone else's "take on things" coming back to us.

Lula - it is a shock to the system when people arent what we thought them to be. I think we have all been there - seen that - done that. Hope this wasnt someone very close to you? It is difficult when this happens - I am thinking right now of a man I positively "hero worshipped", who turned out to have huge "feet of clay" and actually I suspect now, in hindsight, was possibly a bit of an "abusive" figure. I'm still unsure on that...but know I am not capable of seeing things clearly in that respect still yet....as I had very strong feelings for him and there was some odd "inexplicable" type stuff going on there - so I'm realistic enough to know those feelings arent "dead and buried" yet - but I had to ultimately "walk away".

One thing that has struck me sometimes - as I get older - is that no wonder its sometimes difficult to see clearly what someone else is like - reason: as people themselves often dont see themselves as they really are. Certainly I can think of people who on the one hand think of themselves as much nicer/more generous/more intelligent/whatever (delete as applicable) than they actually are on the one hand. On the other hand there are other people who think of themselves as much "worse" than they are. Right now - I am thinking of a good friend of mine who is pretty persistent in telling me that she is selfish/heedless/etc/you name it - but we all know the truth about her...it shines out a mile off that she is one of the most caring/generous/loving people one could hope to know. So - this being the case - I think a lot of people dont really know themselves very well at all - so no wonder someone else finds it difficult to see what they are really like........IYSWIM

Lula - perhaps you can do just a small celebration tomorrow on your own anyways? Then any negative moods dont impact back on others...

Aril

Hello virtual friends:j:j
A very happy Imbolc to those of you who celebrate. A little mindful recluttering going on here this weekend...I have received a desk which is collapsible [useful when you have deliberately not moved to a bigger house but space is limited] from freecycle for the small person for when he starts at senior school later this year and a pile of archaeology magazines. Archaeology is a fascination of mine and I look forward to reading through them all and then passing them on again.
The following comes from a set of beautiful cards that I own called the Rune Cards by Tony Linsell and Brian Partridge and it is from the card for joy. The picture on the card is a black and white line drawing of children laughing as they dance around a decorated maypole. I hope you find some comfort in the words...I often put it up in my bedroom and draw great strength from it when I'm feeling out of kilter:
Joy is he who has little want, soreness and sorrow, and has for himself plenty and bliss and the comforts of the town.
Joyful are those who recognise good fortune when it is with them. To know joy, you must also know sorrow....
Be thankful for what you have and enjoy it. Learn from the past and contemplate the future but enjoy today. Do not let the possibility of misfortune tomorrow spoil today's joy
Arilxx