Grateful :)

Welcome my lovely family and friends to this week's blog. If I could pick one word this week, it has to be grateful! I'm grateful for the loving family I have, my two wonderful children, who allow their gypsy mother to live her own life for the time being :) The last seven years I have been able to spend with my gorgeous Dad, who has recently celebrated his 90th Birthday. I'm very grateful for my beautiful friends that I have known for a long time (you know who you are :) and those I have just had come into my life more recently :) you lighten my life up with your presence not only in the flesh, but those wonderful people I have met through the new age of technology i.e. Facebook. I miss my friends so much and I do look forward to being reunited with you all one day, but for now I'm so grateful I have been given this wonderful opportunity in this lifetime to experience what I am and to be able to just follow my dream and not to give up on it, as I feel so many of you are taking this journey in some way with me :) so for all of you, I will make sure I don't disappoint!

There are always hurdles in life that throw us and it is so easy to get on the spiral down and I have bit a few recently, believe me they happen to us all! After my catastrophe this week with my car breaking down, I could have thrown the towel in, so to speak! Then it takes like a light bulb moment, something seems to just switch on in the head, or maybe it's the heart, realising, nothing can be so bad, just get on with it, there plenty of other people in this world far worse off than you, you have to trust that everything will work out and it will fall Into place.

As soon as I murmur these words in my head, positive thoughts and actions are set into action and you will be surprised how quickly things change for the better! Classic example yesterday, driving over to Wells to go shopping, have only £25 - £30 for my weekly shop, not enough change in my purse to go to the car park, but I really wanted to go see my friends who own the little Sandwich Bar. Rosie and Mick have been so lovely and friendly to me since I arrived. Their son loves me, because I'm like an Aussie out of Neighbours lol. I digress, I am in the car park, asking my Car park angels for a vacant spot and yes, that does work! As I get out of the car, a very nice man next to me is about to pull out and says "would you like my ticket? it's still got half an hour on :) I could have kissed him! Haha I said yes of course and so ended the dilemma, I got to park free, got to see Rosie and Mick and ordered a coffee while I chatted to them :) before heading off to Lidl for the weekly shop.


I have to say the weather is absolutely beautiful most days now, it is still crisp, but the sun is out most days allowing the lunchtime walking troupe (Lizzie, Ali and Moi) and sometimes ringins a quick walk around scenic Peasedown. It is so lovely to get out into the fresh air and at the same time allowing time to vent any grievances of work hassles. We get to choose our route, one day we do the "chicken hill" lol past all the fat chickens and the the one cocky rooster, one mean hill! Next day we do the the flat route, another day we go past the horses, always forgetting to take them a carrot :( they look well fed anyway. I don't think we will have such a great walking route once we change offices, but we still might get the opportunity to get out as we will have flexi time then :)

This weekend I spent it in the sun, in and around Wells doing my shopping and visiting my friends at the Cafe, I also did a bit of window shopping. The atmosphere was very relaxed and there were lots of people out enjoying the day and walking their dogs and taking their kids out for the day.

Sunday I decided to reward myself with a nice brunch, after waking up and then cooking my Paleo Pancakes :) Using Chestnut and Coconut Flour and eggs and nutmeg with some creamed coconut and banana on top with a drizzle of honey :)

I was meant to have berries, but forgot them shopping :( yum a good start to my Sunday morning :)

After my lovely pancakes I got to chat with my older brother for a bit, he is coming over here with his partner in a few days, so it will be nice to see them. Then I got to Face Time (video chat) with my Helen, so it was nice to see her and find out all the gos and to see how everything was at home. Nice to know that they are all taking good care of Dad for me. He goes next week with my Niece to find out about Chemo and whether he wants to have it? I will know more next week I guess. In the meantime he is doing ok.

 

Just a quick pic outside, definitely time to go out somewhere, look at that sky!

I really felt like catching up with Lizzie for a walk today, but instead have to go for a drive to one of my favourite places again, Bradford on Avon. I haven't been here since the floods since Christmas time, when I came with Cate and Simon, so seeing the park back to normal, and flowers out in bloom, a real treat. On the way though I decided to take a bit of a divert and I ended up here on this lane towards Farleigh House, which was a magnificent as you will see by the following pics :)

 

 

Not quite in focus, but still lovely :)

 

Farleigh House

Part of the grounds

Farleigh House

I Know, I love trees!

Bradford on Avon Bowling Green

A pot of colour

 

A cute little gallery type shop set up nar the tithe barn in Bradford on Avon, I walked around and looked at an exhibition of artwork which was fun, it kind of gave me some inspiration :) one day!

Look at this Roof, can you imagine that being built in the 14th Century? Wow

 

 

I wouldn't like this door slammed in my face!

Can see the flood damage on the second course of bricks from the bottom with the recent floods. Can you see the 1979 on the right? Now look up to the level of the floods in Oct 25, 1882, now that's a flood!

Some remaining sandbags still hanging around.

My favourite tearoom open for business again, yayyyyy!

Even the kissing trees were happy today:)

Clever wood/straw sculpture

How can you not smile when you see beautiful flowers all out in flower like in this large pot :) I start to head home now as it's after five. Even the days are getting longer and lighter.

Oh how the weather can change at the drop of a hat, as I drive closer to home, this is what I see as I get out of my car, but even in the early evening fog, there is beauty.

Well it's time for me to get some beauty sleep, for the next couple of weeks will be full on with work. Before I go, a very Happy birthday on the 24th to my beautiful friend Jan xxxxx and also on the 26th to my gorgeous boy Rob, hope you have a fantastic day and hope to talk to you soon. love you all xxxxx until next blog xxxxxxx

 

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Spring has sprung!

Well hello to all my beautiful family and friends xxx I first of all have to apologize for letting you down last week. (No blog) my heart just wasn't in it, with all the week of sad news about dad and waiting for his prognosis etc, talking to family over the weekend etc, it kind of left me a little wrung out to say the least :(

But with the new week and with a new dose of optimism, for not only Dad, whom will be having Chemo in a few weeks time, this girl is back on her feet and raring to go! I am putting out to the universe for Good health for Dad and all my family and friends, perfect funds to accommodate my travels :)

It is time for me to get back into meditation, I haven't been doing it the last couple of months and I know that I need it, work is stepping up a notch or two and I know that with all that is going on in my life right now, I need that peace and reassurance. :) There is a lot going on in my mind right now and I wonder how long my journey will be in the UK, but I am learning to just go with the flow and take it a day at a time.

Tomorrow I'm going with my boss to see where our "new" office may be when we transfer over to the BANES Council on the 1st April, it is in Midsomer Norton, so only a ten minute drive from my place in Oakhill :) from April to the end of May, I will be going between possibly three offices, one in Midsomer Norton (hopefully no murders happening today people! ) I use to watch that show all the time in Aus :) still do here sometimes and I live a couple of villages away lol The other work place will be Peasedown and then the third place might be Riverside Keynsham, which is near Bristol, but on the outskirts, so hopefully only a fifty minute trip, but that might only be once or twice a week. Most time will be in Midsomer Norton and Peasedown.

This weekend the weather was absolutely beautiful, I decided I would go for a nice long walk around the Village and local farm's, it was such a nice walk, I managed almost three miles :) I walked through the village and down past the little cemetery, kept on walking, cut down a few lanes and hoped for the best that I would find my way back to Oakhill! I spoke with lots of family's out walking their dog's. One dear old chap walking he says to me, I'm only 75 (bless him xx) he was house sitting and dog sitting and looking after a beautiful dog, a black Labrador whom I think was just as old, looking at the way he was travelling, looked like he had bad hips :( Further up one of the lanes on my way home, another old guy says to me, we've got to stop meeting like this! Lol we had lapped each other previously in the village :) I don't know many people in the village, but the are all very friendly and you know that you are very safe!

I took a few pics on my walk, so you can see how the weather was :)

The Hedge is pretty bare, but won't be long and you won't be able to see through it.

Look at the sky! Such a beautiful day :) I may not have travelled much in months because of the weather, but when you have the countryside on your doorstep like this, it is just so wonderful to just go walking and not be taking in fumes, but breathing in country air :)

Not sure what these little flowers are, but it's the first blooms of spring, as you will see with a lot of the pics, the trees and hedges are still bare but you can just start to see some leaves forming. Birds chirping and finding their partners and singing away in the trees :) that's when you know spring is not far away :)

Look at that sky!

This is the spectacular Catholic School called Downside School in the background in Stratton on The Fosse. It's Sunday and I spent it with Lizzie, my work colleague and friend, who lives nearby in Radstock. We both have an interest in photography, so Lizzie sent me a message and we decided to go for a walk and to take our camera' s at the same time and practise :) what a great way to spend an afternoon :) great company, didn't cost us anything and we got to see some beautiful countryside and burn a couple hundred calories as well as take a dozen or so pics.

This school is amazing and they have boarders, can just imagine the fees to attend here.

Abbey Lane, Stratton On The Fosse (not London!) been there as well! :)

Don't you just love these trees :)

Especially this one!

Downside grounds

Downside School

Downside School

In the Dead centre of Stratton :)

Spring is here :)

Love is everywhere:)

 

 

Entrance to St Benedict's Church, Stratton on the Fosse

 

No it's not Dr Who! It's Lizzie standing outside the local phone box with a difference lol what shall we do with the the unused phone box when it's no good for anything else, oh I know, we'll turn it into a community library for the village :)

Hmmm watch shall I read?

Pam I think they need a Librarian!

I leave you this week with all the colours of spring emerging and I hope you are all well and happy and that life keeps you busy doing the things you dream of :)

 

Love to you all xxxxxx

 

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