White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes

Berwick Upon Tweed 2008

The last 2 weeks in September were our “summer holiday”. The weather during the first 2 weeks of September had been grim, with flooding affecting parts of the UK, so we packed our warm clothes and waterproofs and headed off to Berwick Upon Tweed.

 

As ever we got lucky with the weather! More tales of the holiday to come, but i have to concentrate on revision until the 14th of October…more photos can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildgeese71/

Bad feather day

Well Ray is away at the Three Wheels Temple in London this weekend so i’ve been trying to take it easy and start my revision.

The day started off well, i went for a swim at Eckington pool. I’m finding the return to swimming hard work, but very enjoyable. It’s a lovely way to meditate.

As usual when Ray is away some sort of calamity occurs and today i set fire to the toaster. After an initial reaction of “shit, what do i do now???” I managed to get the thing outside just as the flames began to reach eyebrow height. I’m going to “try” and relax for the rest of the day and not have anymore disasters…

This week

…I’ve been reading Here if You Need Me by Kate Braestrup (thank you Ray for this gift). It’s a beautiful book, but it will make you cry…so not such a good one for the tram to work! I’ve also been reading through VEGANOMICON – the latest cookbook by the very talented vegan chefs Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I’m looking forward to sampling these new recipes.

I’ve been listening to the new Seth Lakeman Cd, Poor Man’s Heaven and The Fray’s How to Save a Life.

And i’ve been out with my camera…

Six months on

I’ve just had my 6th month probationary meeting, and i’m officially a Housing Officer

I’m still wondering where the 6 months went to. It’s been very hard on some levels. I’ve been balancing working full-time, learning a new job, studying and looking after a house. I had hoped that by June i’d have finished studying, but sadly i broke my right wrist 3 weeks before my exam. Of course it’s the side i write with…so my exam has been deferred until Ocotber, ho hum. Just another 1 week and 2 days before i get out of the plaster.

I’m still enjoying the job, but there has been a lot of upheavel and more to come. There is the added challenge of working in an environment where everyone drinks (a lot) outside of work, so i feel a bit of a square peg at times. I’ve been reading

Awake at Work: 35 Practical Buddhist Principles for Discovering Clarity and Balance in the Midst of Work’s Chaos by Michael Carroll

Which has been insightful and helped me cope with the vast amount of change that happens in just our office!

I just need a 29 hour day and 9 day week to get everything in. I have little time to read blogs these days which is a shame. I miss reading these and i’m trying to fidn ways of sneaking them in…

I have been out and about with my camera (thank you Ray for this splendid bit if kit).  I’ve alwyas liked photography but needed a decent camera to really get the shots i wanted to take…now i have the camera and some more learning to do to get those shots.

Lots of things have happend outside of workduring the 6 months. The saddest is the death of Saille. Although i never met her in person she was a great email buddy and i learnt a lot from her short but inspiring life. I will always think of her as i pass wild horses…

Squirrel in Norfolk Park

 

Ray and i had a stroll through Norfol Park on Wednesday before going to see The Orphanage at the Showroom. We saw this little chap on our way out of the Park.

Numbers

I’ve not blogged in awhile…i’ve been very busy with my new job (now four months in), and college. Most evenings i get home and flomp, utterly tired out from the day – both physically and mentally. I enjoy the job, and seem to be good at it. Considering i’ve spent my entire life hiding from figures i find it amusing that i work with them now (this is by accident)…i’m glad i’ve got this chance to slay that dragon of fear i’ve always had. Numbers used to make me cry very easily. Well, not the numbers themselves, but all of the emotional baggage i have with numbers. They have an ability to make me feel 7 years old all over again. Although my day is spent processing numbers, these numbers represent homes, and people.

Numbers can mean so many different things.

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of my Nan’s death. Another number loaded with emotion. On one level i can’t believe 10 years has gone by, it still feels so fresh and raw. I can still hear the nurse phoning me. I was working on the other side of London at the time and I’d just got in from work after an hour and 3/4 commute. I didn’t believe what i was being told – i did truely believe she was either lying or had got it wrong. Nan was the picture of health a few days before. She might have been 102, but she wasn’t ill. I kind of thought she would go on for ever. The person i was living with at the time drove me over to the hosptial as i tried to get through to my two sisters to give them the news. Sadly, the nurse was right.

Nan was a grandma to me, a friend, and a mum rolled into one beautiful person. I tell myself of course it hurts that she has gone, how could such a huge part of my life be gone and i not hurt? Ten years on i’m kind of used to her not being here ( i would love to tell her all about the politics course i’m doing, and i know she’d be proud of me working in social housing…then there is Ray, he never met this person who nurtured me and taught me to fight social injustice…i really wish Ray had met her…although they would have made a good team at teasing me). The pain i’ve realised will probably never go, and that is sometimes hard to deal with.

Today at work people noticed i wasn’t my usual self, and when asked what was up my answer was “life”, because life is bitter sweet. Without the hardships and the pain, we wouldn’t appreciate the good stuff. I was grateful for deadlines today which meant i could just immerse myself in numbers, and hide in them.

Feline Wake-up call

Thank you Mudita for sharing this video, i thought it was only my cat who behaved like this.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2008

Holocaust Memorial Day 2008 – Imagine… Remember, Reflect, React

Candlelit Memorial Ceremony

Monday 28 January – 5.30pm

Winter Garden, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 2LH

Join us in the Winter Garden for a candlelit memorial ceremony to mark this national day of reflection. We will remember those who died in the Holocaust and more recent genocides through a series of readings. We will consider what the world has learned since the Holocaust and what we still need to learn to ensure these appalling tragedies never happen again.

The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Arthur Dunworth, will host the ceremony. Speakers including Sheffield school pupils will use a series of readings, stories, images and DVD footage to help us to imagine, remember, reflect on and react to the experiences of the Holocaust and genocide and to learn important lessons from our history.

Speakers at the ceremony will be:

• Dr Otto Jakubovic, Holocaust Survivor
• Adele Robinson, Head of Equalities, Sheffield City Council
• Michael Lewis, Headteacher, King Edward VII Secondary School
• The Lord Mayor’s Chaplain, Canon Trevor Page

Plus two other speakers to be confirmed

Readings will be given by pupils of King Edward VII Secondary School.

The ceremony will last approximately 45 minutes and be followed by refreshments.

Please note – the Winter Garden is not heated so please dress warmly.

If you need more information please contact City Centre Management on 273 6895.

New Year

Christmas came and went in whirl this year. Little dramas like our washing machine dying and my paypal account being hacked into aside it was a very lovely whirl. We went across the Pennines to Wigan to spend it with Ray’s family. I wasn’t well enough to travel across last Christmas so it was another positve reminder of how my health has improved. It was a special time and i found it hard to leave. Maisy was well looked after by our neighbour Linda, but gave us plenty of cuddles on our return.

I went back to work yesterday for a half day. I’m still finding it hard to believe that i’m back at work and in such a great job. On the way home i treated myself to an acupuncture session and a massage (i realise 16 needles inserted in various parts of the body might not be everyone’s idea of a treat)…the session was great and i came home zinging with energy and feeling a lot less pain. After a lovely supper with Ray i had a long soak in a glittery bath thanks to Lush, with candles burning on the edge of the bath. As a way to spend the last day of the year it was pretty close to perfect, and could become a tradition. I managed to stay awake (just) for the chimes of Big Ben at midnight coming through the radio.

Today has been a lazy day too. Ray and i had a service, followed by a short walk and a game of Pooh Sticks in the drizzle. A gentle way to start 2008.