A slow Sunday

I woke up determined to get all the housework done. I set myself a deadline of 1pm. I cleaned out the fridge, swept and mopped the kitchen floor, put shopping away, cleaned the bathroom, put laundry on, tidied the bedroom and lounge. Started a new writing project which I'm rather excited about, journalled some, carried on with the housework. I did in fact finish by my set deadline! This is rare for me, I must say, as I'm usually found procrastinating on the computer instead of cleaning up.

We had some lunch at home, and then went for a stroll down to the local city farm, through what we affectionately call "hippyville" - full of allotments, and a certain atmosphere that isn't found elsewhere in the city. There is a guy that leaves free art out on the wall for people to take.

We made friends with the goats at the city farm:

 



 



 



 

 

I think I'm smitten. They're so friendly and sweet, especially the young kids.

We kept coming back to them, and then went to the lovely cafe at the farm:



 

 

Chai tea latte and apple+ginger juice. Yum.

 



 

 

After the slightly hectic cleaning session in the morning, it's been nice to slow down, notice the flowers, walk along and talk to the animals at the farm. I love finding little gems on our explorations of the local area. I've been here 4 years and keep discovering new things. Today we found a path up to a community garden maintained by people with learning disabilities as part of the farm's work. It's these discoveries which draw me to non-profits, and making a difference in our world.

Now to find somewhere to get involved!

 

A couple of other updates:

Today is the last day of our TV licence*, and we are going to be experimenting with not watching any TV at all (we will be unplugging it from the TV aerial socket), except for the occasional iPlayer session (TV episode catch up online, for those of you who don't know it). We have been thinking about our finances, and the £150 bill for the year is something we could do without right now. I hope the TV licence people don't hound us too much.

Today is also the last day of Google Reader before it retires. If you subscribe through Reader, you'll need another RSS service. I use Feedly - it's free, and a one-click import from Google Reader. I like it so far. Here is the link to my RSS feed. 

 

*In the UK, the law states you need a TV licence to watch TV as it is broadcast. This is aside from any cable or satellite charges. If you want to watch TV, you need to have one. If you only watch programmes after they've aired, then you're exempt.

 

I hope you're having a lovely weekend... I'm off to do some crochet.

Some thoughts on camping

 

 

This post has been simmering for a while, as I found I originally wrote it in a negative, whingy tone. Sitting on it for a few days allowed me to re-frame it, in a positive light.

I took a week off work at the start of June, and we decided to go camping by the North Devon Coast. We had gorgeous weather, bright blue skies, and spent all day outdoors.

We camped for three nights, cooked our own breakfast and dinner by the tent, surfed, walked and basked in the sunshine.

It was truly refreshing. One, we spent time outdoors in the sunshine, had lots of time to relax, and no work to worry about, or get up for. Perfect.

Second, it gave me a tiny peek into what minimalist living is like. I’ve never really considered it before, because I’ve never camped as an aspiring minimalist. Before, just getting out of the city was awesome.

 

This time was different

I noticed the following after I returned home to my flat full of stuff:

- I don’t need a lot of stuff to entertain myself, for days. I had my journal, my camera, and a book to read. Those are my 3 favourite things, aside from crafting.

- Being limited to a single tiny gas stove made cooking breakfast a very slow process, but I loved it because there was nothing to hurry for. I could sit on the blanket outside the tent, quietly stirring the porridge while watching the bunnies hopping about on the grass.

- I am happiest outdoors. Stepping out of the stifling heat of the tent onto the grass at 7.30 am was delightful. I took my journal and pen, sat down, felt the fresh morning breeze on my face, and admired the beauty of the surrounding countryside. The picture above is my view from outside the tent.

- Being outdoors from 7.30am to 10pm made me feel healthy. Both physically, with plenty of fresh air and activity; and mentally, helping me to have a more positive outlook.

- I cooked, washed up, tidied and put away - activities that I try to avoid at home. Less stuff to maintain, more motivation to clean up?

A short holiday with so many life lessons. Awesome!

I’ll be thinking of some of the ways I can apply these lessons to my daily life and I shall return with those soon!  I also have a tonne of photos to look through and I'll be sure you to show you the best ones here!

Over to you

Have you been on holiday lately? What is different about holidays for you, compared to home? Are there ways in which you can bring the holiday feeling home? I'd love to hear from you in the comments :)

 

 

The week ahead

A short one today, one to say thank you for the support and encouragement on my last post. It means so much that you, lovely readers, take the time to comment. It lights up my day when I receive email notifications. I've left replies for each comment :)

*******

For the week ahead, may you listen to what your body is telling you. Are you downing caffeinated drinks or craving sugar? Are you falling asleep standing up?

I invite you to listen to the subtle messages of your body. How do your shoulders feel? Your stomach? Identify any triggers for stress, and how these manifest in your body. I get stomach problems if I’m under pressure, and dizzy spells if I’m exhausted beyond measure.

Take a moment to do a body scan, check out your feet, your legs, your arms, stomach, torso, neck and head. Notice how each one is behaving or feeling. I get twitchy eyes if I don’t get enough sleep.

The body gives clues as to what is really happening. So often we ignore them, and no wonder so many people including me, take time off work due to stress and illness.

Nothing is more important than your health. It gives you life, energy and motivation to do the things that matter to you. Treat it well.

If you can, make some time this week for an activity just for you. Take time alone, and indulge in your favourite self-care activity. A good idea is to make a vision board of all the ways you can take care of yourself. Things you would love to do, but don’t make {enough} time for. Here is mine, that I did a few months ago. It’s on my wall as a reminder.

 

For the week ahead,

May you be well,

Linda

Something in the air

 

 

There is something in the air in the blogging world. At least judging by the bloggers I read. It seems a few of us are getting disillusioned, downhearted and de-motivated regarding our blogs, including me. Although it’s not a nice feeling, I feel better when others mention they are feeling the same.

It reinforces for me, that

We are never alone

 

There is always someone else going through a similar experience.

I only know this because the bloggers said so, instead of pretending things were a-ok. And that’s what inspired this post. I feel more able to share my experiences with blogging, because someone else was brave enough to do it first.

Blogging is a funny thing, y’see. We write for an audience, even if no one reads it. We write to portray our lives, find our voice, share our message with the world, or follow a passion.

It can be incredibly hard work, but it can also be incredibly fulfilling, and that’s why I keep returning to my little space on the internet. Just some days, it’s harder than others.

As I say here I don’t believe in pursuing a beautiful life, because it feels like it’s always going to be one step ahead. I want to create a beautiful life, right here, right now. In creating something as profound as a life that I want to live, I will be on a journey, and there is a difference for me between a pursuit and a journey. The journey is the here, the now, and what happens on a day to day basis. A pursuit implies some sort of chase, and I don’t like the connotations that has.

A great post I read today mentioned that if we were already there (wherever we want to get to), our writing would in all honesty be boring. Mine would perhaps be gushing with beautiful stories and images and how oh-so-amazing everything is. If that was me reading a blog like that, I think I’d feel a little left out, a little like, well I won’t get there,  so why bother trying?

Instead, I would want to know how that person got there. How they created that beautiful life. All the ups and downs along the way. The challenges and the triumphs. I would want to see something I could relate to, an experience similar to mine, something that resonated with me.

One little niggling thing of mine is that I feel I can’t write about my journey until I have the direction figured out. Until I know what I’m doing. Only then do I feel comfortable actually doing it. With most things in life though, I’ve learnt how to do things, by doing them. It’s the best way to learn.

So I struggle with this blog, because I haven’t found a clear direction. I’ve figured out the mission statement for this blog, but quite honestly, I’ve little idea how I’m going to create this beautiful life that I believe is possible.

Sure, I have ideas that I’d like to try, learn and do, and see what happens. But I haven’t got a solution yet.

But. In order for this blog to be real, it’s time to drop the perfectionism, and start writing already. I am on a journey, and sometimes it won’t be pretty, and sometimes it will be amazing. Some days it will be hard, others it will be easier. Some days I will be highly strung and a nervous wreck, and other days I may reach the spaced-out calmness of meditation.

My life isn’t perfect. It’s been flippin’ hard at times, and I will continue to be faced with challenges. The ups and downs are what makes it interesting.

My purpose for being here is to share my journey, so others may stumble upon it, find something to relate to, and maybe feel a little less alone.

We are all trying to find our way through life, one experience at a time, and sometimes it helps to know someone has been there before.

The more stories there are, the more chance someone has of finding their way.

Some good posts from elsewhere on the tinterwebs (which inspired this post).

The Jest from Mel at Coal Valley View

Which linked to On blogging over at Knitsofacto

A quote from here:

"Of course lots of the pics posted in blogland give delight to others too, but the point I'm making is that even if they didn't, the posting of them remains important, perhaps even essential, for bloggers themselves. And although I think one of the most important and special aspects of blogging is the possibility of connection with others, there is also a place for blogging that preserves connections with ourselves and the days of our lives that we thread together, like beads on a string; sometimes in deliberate patterns and ordered arrangements; often haphazardly and accidentally and which, whether we like it or not, make up the history of our identity. And part of life's essential survival kit, I think, is remaining interested in that."

and this post from Jen at little birdie.

Reading these made me feel a bit more able to jump on in and get involved. I invite you to come along, share the journey, perhaps find your own way in the process. It’s so much better when there’s other people too.

 

No-spend challenge update

 

I’ve been doing my no-spend challenge for a little over 2 months now, and it’s time for an update, according to rule number 6: Keep myself accountable.

I’ve realised I don’t spend much money in the first place, so there was little point imposing a restriction!

I made the rules, which means I can break them too, and downgrade the challenge to include clothes only. I will continue with a clothing shopping hiatus until September 30th, which marks a year of being involved with Project 333.

I pledge to not buy a single item of clothing, shoes, or accessories until at least October 1st, and only after I’ve evaluated my entire clothing collection.

Bonus rule: If I am given an item of clothing, and want to keep it, I will need to get rid of something from my current collection.

Things I have learnt from the challenge:

1. Over time, I realised that imposing rules on spending allowed me to continue "not deserving things". I have always found it incredibly difficult to justify spending money on myself, often seeking reassurance from those close to me that it's ok to buy a mug, or a new item of clothing, or my camera. Spending money on myself actually challenges me to believe that I deserve something, and thus imposing a total ban just helps avoid that challenge. I've reasoned that a total ban is actually counter-productive to my recovery, given that I hardly ever buy anything other than the essential food and consumables.

2. I made progress with justifying expenditure for courses and experiences; and have booked two online courses, one finished and the other starts tomorrow! I had a great time on the first course with Tammy Strobel, and am about to experience the delights of Susannah Conway's teaching on Journal your Life.

3. I have learnt that I can stop impulse purchases altogether, and instead put things on a list for a few weeks to see if I really want them. Such was the case with the camera, and the new mug I am in search of. The mug has been on the want-list for several weeks already. I’m in no hurry to acquire it, but I know I can buy it when I find the right one.

4. I have no need for new clothes. I have around 110 pieces in total now (reduced from 150), not including shoes or accessories, and only wear a selection of 33 items for each 3 month season. I have identified a gap in my wardrobe, which may get filled eventually, but again, there is no hurry, and if I still feel the gap is there in October, I will go and purchase a suitable item.

5. Spending money on experiences, such as short courses and trips away is infinitely more valuable than any item I could find in a shop. Focussing my spending on this area has been worthwhile and a lot of fun.

Overall, I think I have really learnt that I need very few objects or material things to be happy.

 

Insights to take forward from here:

1. Placing items on a want-list allows me to evaluate if I really want them, and prevents impulse buying.

2. Tracking expenditure on experiences has been very helpful, and has allowed me to book courses that I would have trouble justifying otherwise.

3. I don’t need to worry about over-spending, but a budget is still helpful.

 

Over to you

Have you tried a similar challenge? What did you learn? Do you find it easy or hard to justify new purchases? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Adventure: a trip to Brighton

 

 

The sea beckoned.

A long 5 hour drive, plus a stop in Chichester to wander around and eat ice cream. It was a lovely little town, and gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs. I couldn't resist a visit to Paperchase to look at all the beautiful notebooks and journals. My crafty conscience got the better of me before I bought any, convincing myself that I could make my own for a fraction of the price.

Upon arrival, we decided on an early evening walk to see the horses. My first foray into animal photography, realising the difficulty in capturing moving subjects! I had space for 1500 photos so my guess was that at least one would turn out well!



My parents had acquired a new bike, taking the total to 3. Fitting, as we were 3, wanting to head down to the sea, cycle into Brighton, eat lunch on the beach and take in the sights.

A nearly endless cycle path stretched from our corner of Brighton to the centre and beyond. It made for easy cycling, feeling the slight breeze on our faces, slowly pedalling, gazing at the gorgeous sea view. It was delightfully sunny and not too hot, and I took the opportunity to be mindful. Enjoying the low riding position, with the basket wobbling on the front of the bike. Looking out to the sea, a great expanse of calm water, a fresh new sight for us South-West city dwellers.



 

 

I asked for us to stop to indulge in my newly acquired passion for photography, never having been much of a photo person before. I knew of the multi-coloured huts along the promenade from previous trips, and this was the opportunity to capture them on camera. Luckily, my little point and shoot lived up to expectations, having left my better camera at home owing to its bulk. I regretted not taking it, but remembered any camera is better than no camera.

We locked up the bikes, and wandered along perusing the market stalls. My stomach and energy levels called lunch time, a selection of sandwiches, crisps and cake freshly made by the Pret masters. We took the bag down to the beach and planted ourselves on the pebbles.

A lost bike key, and a frantic, panicky search among the beach pebbles, walking to our previous resting place. We resigned to one of us taking the bus home. We then found it hidden among the bike wheels, dropped while attaching the helmet to the lock. Phew!

The next day, we were in the mood for some green spaces. A quick look in the local guidebook told me of Ditchling, a picturesque village, and a country park nearby. I had remembered to take my DSLR this time, adamant that I would not miss more photo opportunities.

 

I found a bakery selling giant scones, yes please. Plenty of butter too. They had a basket of free bread to feed the ducks, a clever idea for any dropped chunks or leftovers from the cafe. I hadn't fed ducks in years!



 

 

We found a picnic table to enjoy the giant scone, along with apples and dried apricots. Then a short wander along to the pond, to give the ducks their lunch time snack. They rushed about picking up every last morsel of bread.

We planned to drive back to Ditchling to enjoy a pub lunch, but found a huge traffic jam and not a single parking space in the whole village. Onwards to find another, which quickly turned into a stressful, low blood sugar grumptastic drive to a pub known to my mum. C gratefully took over the driving until I'd had some food.

Home again, this time putting out the chairs for a good holiday reading session until the sun went in. I thought how lovely it would be to have a garden at home. I used the garden well during my time at mum's, sitting outside in the fresh morning air, journalling quietly before everyone else woke up, and sitting outside at every opportunity, warmed by the sun.

The trip was restorative and refreshing. It was good to see the parents, hang out, talk, and eat good food. The change of scenery was important, so much so that I enjoyed coming back home.

 

Over to you

Have you been on any adventures lately? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments.

 

Thanks for reading, and hello to my new followers. It's good to have you here.

 

p.s. The photos above are merely a selection. You can see the rest on my Flickr stream, here.  I am also going on another sea-side adventure later today. You're welcome to follow updates on Instagram while I'm there! I'll be back in the week with more photos!

Until then,

Linda