Have a great weekend!

My leg still isn't better, ever few days I attempt to run , but I never get very far. It is annoying as it is such perfect running weather. Today is very warm actually, 17 degrees, it's been very spring-like, even flowers seem to be shooting up everywhere. I planted some bulbs , but there is no sign of them, I probably planted them the wrong way up or something. I have always kept a lot of houseplants, but gardens are something quite new to me, not that I've never had a garden of course, I've just never had to look after one with such intensity.
It was a challenging week as Gerald had a lot of computer problems which he did manage to sort out in the end, but it was looking a bit scary at one stage as the songs wouldn't even load up. Not the best thing to be happening when one is preparing for a festival. It's been a strange year so far, lots of upheavals coming from all sorts of directions, it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
Learning and growing is definitely an ongoing process!
Have a great weekend !!

Fear is like a weed...

It seems like the whole country is living in a climate of fear as more and more people lose their jobs and the news is just full of doom and gloom. Even people I know are really struggling and I don't remember the UK ever being like this before. I was chatting to an old friend of mine, we used to share a flat together and we went to India together on a spiritual quest. She reminded me of how important it is to be strong. In the last year she split from the one she truly loves and now she has just lost her job as well, but still seems more concerned about others than she is for herself. It doesn't seem fair that all of that happened to her, but she just sees it as another lesson that life is teaching her. She has always been a bit further down the path than I have been, some people have tremendous insight and can understand things really deeply. I suppose that combined with a lot of faith, it can lead you to remain calm and positive in any situation.
Still there is the promise of spring to look forward to. The days are getting longer now and the birds in the garden are getting raucous and frisky. They start to sing very early in the mornings now and there is evidence of nest building going on already. I'm glad they all survived the nasty winter.

Don't be a pumkin

Hi everyone, so we have started preps in earnest for the festivals now, it's a very strange and challenging time as there is so much going on in other aspects of our lives. Yesterday I set off for a run and had barely gone round the block when something gave way in my calf muscle and I was gripped by excruciating pain and had to abandon all thoughts of going further. I was forced to hobble home and even though it wasn't that far away, it took me ages and I was cold as I'd been brave and left my sweatshirt at home. Oh well, to cut a long story short, I am much better today and hopefully by the end of the week I will be charging down the country lanes again.
I've realised I'm actually afraid of a lot of things and I don't know why because most of the things I worry about never actually happen. I don't like to admit to my weaknesses, but it's true. The other day I allowed myself to be completely overtaken by negativity and the only thing it helped to achieve was to set me back as I had a totally unproductive day and just couldn't get out of that space. I could have channelled all that energy into something creative. And when I think of what some people have to go through, my issues do seem trivial. So don't be a pumpkin like me!!

Friday 13

I love Friday 13, to me it the most auspicious day, I don't know why everyone thinks it is so unlucky. Many strange things have happened to me on Friday 13, so I wonder if something will happen today. So I guess you're wondering where I've been for such a long time, just really busy is the answer. I've also been helping Gerald with some online stuff as he is now getting the music ready for the Cosmic Puffin. We are the Grand finale of the festival, not that's there's much pressure or anything, we have some very creative people helping us with some visuals as well, so it should be good!
Last night I foolishly drove into London in the middle of what seemed like another blizzard. the roads were so slippery that I was skidding every time I accelerated, everyone had to drive like snails so I was exceptionally late. I even saw a taxi that had gone off the road and overturned, people were just so unprepared for it all. I seriously doubted that I would get home, but later most of the snow was melting so it wasn't so bad. The forest looked amazing in the darkness, the snow has a kind of ultra- violet luminosity and it bathes the trees in an eerie light, so beautiful and almost celestial.

Before and after

I think I mentioned last week that I have finished wearing my braces now and the other day I had to return to the orthodontist to have some 'after' photos taken. The previous night, for some inexplicable reason, I had decided to curl my hair and because I have never been able to curl it successfully in the past, I decided to use the old fashioned remedy of curlers. So I put loads in and wound them really tightly, leaving them in for ages, even fell asleep with them digging in my head all night. When I awoke early the next day and took them out, my head had been transformed into a giant, uncontrollable, almost- Afro style, I was totally flabbergasted. I couldn't even get a brush through it , it was so thick and intense, even Gerald looked a bit apprehensive. Not only that our cars were covered in thick layers of snow and ice and it took me a good 20 minutes to clear my windscreen, so I was exceptionally late and didn't have time to attend to this wild and uncontrollable mop that was now my hair. When I arrived at the surgery everyone looked slightly taken aback, they are used to seeing me perfectly groomed, like my 'before' photos. Even the orthodontist looked shocked and then when he was taking the photos he was like "can you just move that hair to the side please, I can't see you mouth." I have been chuckling about this for days, the ironies of life!

Winter Wonderland

Woke up this morning to a blanket of snow, I've never seen it so thick and abundant, there is a tree in the garden whose branches are actually straining under the weight of it all. Our little town now looks like an alpine village and was really quite deserted, I didn't even see one car attempting to go down the street the whole morning, and I'm not surprised as the roads are treacherous and sludgy.
No trouble to us, we decide to go for a walk in the forest and it was like going into a winter wonderland, the trees looked as if they'd been dusted in a thick layer of icing sugar, the thick snow hard and crunchy beneath our feet. All around the air was silent as if the whole world had been muffled, even the birds seemed too cold to sing. Mind you as we were walking the snowfall just became even more and more intense, thick flakes clinging to our scarves and our hair, we were pleased to come home and escape their icy grasp and I am now sitting here yawning in front of the fire...