Life is Music

I came across this paragraph I wrote for a creative writing class:


There is a saying,” To be born Welsh is to be born privileged, not with a silver spoon in your mouth but with music in your blood and poetry in your soul.”
The hard working people of the principality of Wales are known for a love of music which permeates every aspect of their daily life. An English-speaking Welshman can always be heard above the crowd by the musical inflection in his speaking voice.
Singing, accompanied by the rhythmic slap of the shuttle against the loom, the pounding of the bread dough and sweep of the broom, filled every home. Dawn arrived at the pit face as the men, arriving for work, sang of faith, trust and thanksgiving. In sorrow and joy, their voices rose to uplift and support their community.
Musical instruments were a luxury and generally not needed by Welsh choirs. The National Eisteddfod, a Welsh choral competition, bestowed honours upon those possessed of “The Voice”. The respect of their peers brought life-long satisfaction to the individual and prestige to his region.


...just thought I would share that with you.

By the way the boat is a "coracle"

Oh for a good night's rest.....

I know I will be so happy when the new bed arrives. The water bed has been drained and discarded. About time too.

In it's place we are using an inflatable Queen size mattress. Great for a "spare" bed but every night is killing me. I feel like the princess and the pea. We have tried to adjust the air accordingly but no luck. The new bed is super duper top of the line with oodles of coils and memory foam with a wool and silk padding. It is so high I am going to need a stool just to get in it.

OK..... lets hear the ooos and the ahhhs........

Thank you

At this point all we are really concerned about is a good nights sleep. We have 60 days to try this Lamborghini of beds and it it doesn't do the trick out she goes.

Where we go from there will be the problem but I am sounding like a pessimist. I laid on the bed in the show room and did not want to get up at least until the next day.....Oh joy Oh bliss.

Once we get over the shock of "no mattress is worth that much money" we are going shopping for a new headboard and foot board.

*whisper* I want one like the picture.

There is Gypsy in my Soul

This is the weekend when we used to open the trailer for the summer. For 10 plus years I lived in a natural conservation park from the last Saturday in April until Canadian Thanksgiving in October AND commuted 5 days a week to work. The trailer had all the luxuries of home, don't get me wrong...oops other than the laundry and emptying the septic tank once a week. But that is exactly what I am getting at. I loved living like a gypsy. When possible I spent most of my time outside, spinning under a tree, knitting by a campfire, reading in a swing and wandering through the woods. It was glorious and I will always miss it.

When Julia was a year old my husband and I camped in a tiny tent trailer ( and I mean tiny) with 3 children all under 6yrs old for 8 weeks. No running water or electricity. It was the best time of my life.

I live for colour, dangling earrings and flashy skirts. I dance when no one is looking. I love to tell stories on the spur of the moment. Once upon a time my hair was black and my eyes a brighter blue. When I was a teenager and would go to see my Auntie Kate ( My Mother's Aunt) she would look at my bright clothes and all my jewelry and say, "Oh you Gippo you."

My theory about travel is,"If your going away make it worth while." I have been back to Wales on vacations never less than 4 weeks at a time. Moving all the time from place to place. You have to love the "Bed and Breakfast"concept. One holiday of a 6 week duration found me in Scotland, Ireland, Wales ( of course) and then onto Europe, through Belgium, France, Germany, Italy all the way to the Isle of Capri. ......sigh

Now, I live with memories of those wonderful days...... Wistful at times. Ever thankful of the opportunities I have had to travel. I knew that one day I would want to relive those moments. Now I can close my eyes and feel myself back in any given place because when I was there, and this may sound silly, (but it worked) , I would stand with my eyes closed and whisper to my self," Remember, be a sponge, let this moment soak into me." Right now I can remember the heat of the sun on the column at Pompeii, the musty smell from the stones of the Chester Cathedral, and the taste of the salt in the breeze on Capri.

revel in the moment.........

Appreciation is sooooo nice.

My bosses wife came into the office on Wednesday with these flowers. For me!!! Just to say "thank you" I was very touched.

I took Friday off work to go to the Creative festival in Toronto with the darling daughters.

Today we went to see my poor little Mummy. She is back in her house and she didn't look well when I saw her. she was, as she would put it, "all out of puff," (short of breath) trying to tidy up before we came....sheesh.... We stayed about 4 hours and had a really nice visit. On the way home we stopped at Sears and bought a new bed! On sale! sweet! 50% off! ..... even then it was a brutal price. I had no idea that they don't keep beds in the warehouse any more. Our bed will be made in ETOBICOKE on MONDAY. Delivery next Sat. We are going to rearrange the room too.

WooHoo

I am freezing......ya ya I know it's Spring

In an effort to welcome spring I have dressed accordingly and refrained from turning the heater on in my office. I am dying of the cold. The men come to my office door and back out again complaining of the heat. I am sitting here with a jacket on and I have "given in" and turned on the heater. Ahhhhhh that feels good. The draughts in here are not to be believed when the heater shut off. I should have worn jeans and a sweatshirt.

Global Art project is finished...on time...go to the "other" blog to see my offering for this year. I am pleased with it I just hope it is meaningful to the recipient.

The Hot House Dog and the Geriatic Cat

Today was my first relaxing Sunday afternoon on the patio. The robins and the cardinals are singing their little hearts out. I saw "Our" robin sitting on her nest, now competed, over our porch light fixture. I went to the library and got Kathy Riech's book 'Bare Bones" on CD...hence the laptop...knitting, glass of wine...recipe for a perfect afternoon.

Ebony made an appearance for a while, laying in the sun. "Chloe you had better let me back in if you know what is good for you!"

Meanwhile , Chloe laid in the open door way. she did not want to come out until I coaxed her out with some "Snausages" See the "ghost' beside her?

Believe me, that unnerved me when I downloaded the picture, there is no rational explanation for that. This was taken right after she let Ebony in the house.

Just waiting for the week of May 4Th, that is when they take away all the yard clearings. Darling Daughter Julia, cleaned up this amount of yard work for me. I get to laze about in the sun on my day off now!!

My sweet man is off to the "dark side" ......"Quebec".... on a trip. He won't be home until early Tues morning. He left me with the admonition to "be safe" and lock all the doors and windows tonight. That comes of watching "Law and Order' all the time!

Next Friday my DD ( darling daughters) and I will be going to the Creative Festival in Toronto. It boggles the mind to think there are people who will be taking "special" flights to Toronto for this. It is like Niagara Falls. We go there when we are bored..lolol I am sure there are people who would be horrified by that comment!

I am on "Quest" to find the "right" colour of a wool I need to finish "Granny Ann's" B-day present!!!!

I have had an e mail from my brother, our Mum, (aka "Granny Ann) has fractures of the ribs and veritbrae. She will be 83 in May. She went to Yoga without a Dr's OK. "Lift your right leg and place if over your left and let your knee touch the floor" makes me gasp just thinking about it. As my baby brother put it...She doesn't think she is "old" so the warning didn't apply to her....sigh.....now she is depressed she has osteoporosis. This woman has kept the Dairy Industy viable in Canada, in recored memory!

* Expell breath*

I will call her tonight.

Where did the week go?

I have lazed around all week and I feel rested for the first time in a long time. I knit, napped and watched DVDs and Oh yes, went to visit my Mum. that was a 4 hour drive round trip on one of THE most boring stretches on highway in Ontario, also known as "Suicide Alley." The highway even has signs that remind you to take a rest. It is a mind numbing drive. My solution... go to the Library and get a book on CD. It is amazing how quickly time and the kilometers pass. I am notorious for getting lost so I borrowed the GPS and arrived "at destination" without any side trips.
Political commentary: What was the IOC thinking when they agreed to let China host the Olympics? Don't tell me they are surprised that there is this big kerfuffle now. In a perfect world we would be able to separate politics from sports and religion but that is not going to happen. The situation in Tibet was a pressure cooker ready to blow. The most disturbing image I have seen was the cover of McLean's. A club wielding soldier was chasing a Tibetan monk through the street.
On a more peaceful note....the robins have returned and are building a nest above the porch light again this year. I watched her yesterday and it is quite amazing the way they weave the bits of twigs together.

Woe to the lowly penny!

There will be a members bill introduced in Parliament today to eradicate the penny. The price of copper has risen such that the wee coin now costs 4 cents to produce. Well, hello, look what they did to the nickel? Once upon a time that coin was worth it's face value. Ha. The nickel has a 2% nickel coating now. I am old enough to remember when quarters were made of silver. So, here is my solution; devalue the nickle and inflate the penny. Switch coins! Problem solved. Timmies gets all the pennies now that a medium steeped tea and a muffin $2.23 anyway. If the penny goes what are we going to put in the vase of tulips to keep them bright and cheery? I will listen to CBC on the radio this after noon and fill you in on the results of the vote.

The weather man sucked me in again. It is going to be 14 on Wednesday, he lied. (maybe next week?) So I exposed my legs to the sunshine (almost). Yes, I am wearing a skirt to work. However, being not entirely stupid I have my limbs encased, I might add, in a cosy pair of tights. But still this is a departure for me. Even old broads get a case of girly-girl-itis.

The hairdresser is whining. She wants to dye my hair again. She wants to charge me $120.00 more like!! I said no leave it alone. "But the roots are showing," she howled. Yes, that is true but I am the one living with it.

I asked for next week off work. I am not going anywhere. I just need some down time. The "wall" is about a hands breadth away from my face. My last relaxing week off was the summer of 2005. I did have a week in October of 2006 to recover from gall bladder surgery. Now that was a party!..Not! So it is time. I will knit and read and putter, go see my Mummy and maybe my children. Day trips mostly with naps in between. If I don't get some time now we will be so busy I won't be able to get out of the office until November. I will be petrol poor by the end of the week.

I have discovered some wonderful "pod casts." The newest is Stephen Fry, that wonderful British actor/writer/and all around nice guy. He of "Wooster and Jeeves" fame, he was "Jeeves" and Hugh Laurie ( now of "Doctor" fame) was Wooster. PG Woodhouse at the best. Great stuff.

Very witty. But I digress as usual. Stephen has done 2 podcasts and I really enjoy his expressive vocabulary. I refer you to Stephen Fry dot com to read, if you do not pod, his blessays and podgrams.

Knitting natter will be found on the "other" blog nant-y-gloneedles@blogspot.com. Lots of new things going on over there.