Showing posts with label Gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gardens. Show all posts

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Calm

After years of daily panic and worry I have found a little place of calm, actually it is a big place of calm and it's all around me.  I watched a programme on the Amish and one interview with a man leaving the Amish changed my outlook on life entirely.  He said he had total unwavering faith that all will be well in whatever form that takes but all will be well.  So now I am looking at the world as a friendly place and one where all will be well, or at least trying to.  I am breathing deeply, thinking before reacting, calmly believing that I have enough time, enough money, enough health, enough of everything and my calmness is bringing a sense of peace to the house too.  I hope and intend to make this my natural way in the future, I am saying goodbye to the fight or flight feelings I have always had and just 'know' that all will be well.

I am also utterly grateful for our place in life, in Tuscany, working for ourselves with great friends and neighbours and our wonderful and 'tight' family unit.  Yes, there have been downsides this week, even tears but the bigger picture is and always will be 'good'.
a new cosy corner in the living room

zoe dog waiting for crumbs

waiting for the rain to go away

bread for lunch

making fathers day cards

glitter and glue

scones

chocolate icecream experiment

extreme cooking

wild patch

tomatoes

fruit jam

potatoes

bounty

peas for podding

goodies from the orto patch

neighbours puppies

first swim of the year (neighbours pool)

view from the poolside

his flipflops, my feet

new friends

diving girl

roses and chestnut fence

love roses

lovely pergloa and hydrangeas

lavander sunset


dresser mess

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

things I love

Sometimes the everyday stuff seems so full of basic things that are dull and tiring the cleaning up dog hair, the wiping off icecream from furniture, the hunt for the missing sock, the forgotton homework dramas etc.  But, inbetween the 'necessary' are the goodies, the snapshots of love and laughter, the jam and honey.  Here are a few of mine.

Sneaky big dog snoring on forbidden sofa
The mummy's day poem
The sound of recorder practice
The warm sunlight peeking through the wooden shutters
My newly planted foxgolves waving in the breeze
Peach blossom
The scent of the Jasmine
our wild and huge garden
A full fridge and dresser
A 6 week menu plan I created at the weekend
The view accross the terracotta roofs
Cool tiled floor beneath my feet
The old films we indulge ourselves with in the evenings
The sun dried tomatos from a lovely friend
The mended mosquito net ready to go above our bed
The freedom to work for myself

Here are some pics I took when the tidying (a while ago) and cleaning got too much and I grumped around feeling glum then kicked myself up the backside and focused on the good stuff, here is some of the sweetness I found amongst the grime and dog fur...
















Enough of the sweetness and light, now off to pick up poo, hang the washing on the line, put more in, prepare supper and walk 3 km to pick the girl up from school.  On balance the walk is stunning and we will get a wondeful icecream when in the village, lucky us x


Monday, March 25, 2013

Sweet thank you's




Gratitude

Sleeping children in warm safe beds
Playful loving dogs
Hot soothing tea
Warm oversized dressing gown
Seedlings on the windowsill
Wood chopped for the fire
Freshly baked bread (made by tired Husband)
A few days off later in the week
The rain softening the soil
Second chances and fresh starts
Music and laughter
Curry in the freezer for tonight’s supper
A morning hug from the boy
Boxer dog kisses
Giggles from the girl’s room
Giant puppy hugs
A freshly cut lawn
The glasses that help the girl to read
Daffodils and iris blooms
This stunning part of Tuscany in which we live
Knowing we have each other
Siena and its buildings and cafes
Coffee in the piazza
Dreams and hopes
The possibility to change
Old sofas and old films
Parcels from Grandma