Navigating life's sometimes terrifying yet frequently wondrous variety, one prayer at a time
Nyamazela blogging
Well, hello, dear ones – good morning, good afternoon or good evening!*
Wherever you are, I hope you have a hot cuppa in hand (I have) with something to dip or a decent glass of wine. I’ve just re-read my November blog – wow, it’s like going back in time. I mean it literally is, but I’m amazed at how much has changed since that last blog post. Continue reading A bit of a catch up over a cuppa
Listen…
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp’d, break from the trees
And fall.
November Night BY Adelaide Crapsey 1878 – 1915
Thank you for your patience my dear readers – if in fact there are still readers out there?
Hello? (Echo echo echo) Continue reading November Catchup
“For some time no one had heard our clock, any more than if it had not existed. But for these last few days the living-room was quiet, and then I heard that it was still ticking away. It never let itself get flurried. Slowly, slowly went the seconds in my grandfather’s timepiece, and said as of old: et-ERN-it-Y, et-ERN-it-Y. And if you listened hard enough you could make out the sort of singing note in its workings; and the clear silver bell struck. How good it was to hear once again the note of this clock in which there lived a strange creature! And to have been allowed to stay here in Brekkukot, in this little cottage which was the justification of all other houses on earth, in the house that gave other houses purpose.”
The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Laxness
Have you noticed how many people you speak to, have just, or are about to make, some big change in their lives? Continue reading It’s all happening here
“While I was growing up I never heard the word ‘happiness’ except on the lips of a crazy woman… My grandfather was once asked, sympathetically, how the people at Akurgerði, who had lost their breadwinners at sea, were keeping. He answered, “They have plenty of fish.” In the same way, if someone asked how anyone was, we invariably replied: “Oh, he’s fat enough.” – which meant he was well, or as they would say in Denmark, he was ‘happy’. If someone was not well, one said: “Oh, you can see it on him.” And if the person under discussion was more dead than alive, one said: “Oh, he’s a bit low.”, “He’s off his food these days.” or “He’s packing his bags now, dear fellow.” Of a mortally ill youngster it was said that it did not look as if he would ever have grey hairs to comb.”
The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Guðjónsson Laxness
If you’re considering a trip to Iceland, get yourself fully vaccinated, let 15 days pass, book your tickets, pack your cozzie and some wind/rain proof outer layers, grab your passport and go!
Also, take your life savings. You’ll need every penny. Continue reading Iceland – hot pools, lava, glaciers and icebergs
“Birthdays need to be celebrated. I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday that a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: ‘Thank you for being you.’ Celebrating a birthday is exalting a life and being glad for it. On a birthday we do not say: ‘Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.’ No, we say: ‘Thank you for being born and being among us.’“
Here and Now by Henri Nouwen
It’s been a bumper birthday week! Thank you for all your wishes.
I received a card in the post all the way from Bufallo, NY. I’ve had calls and messages from friends and family near and far. I’ve been sung to IRL and on WhatsApp by some very talented people – and some not so talented, but equally enthusiastic.
I got a bag of thoughtful gifts from my family in Hull, including a card decorated by KL-M, my littlest niece. (see photo, left).
“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”
To a Mouse by Robert Burns
Our flat is still not sold.
The whole experience has been super duper weird.
It’s been re-painted, re-floored, re-bathroomed, re-priced, sorted, tidied and be-flowered, re-agented and re-photographed to within an inch of its life, and still barely a jot or a tittle (or if you prefer the Greek, an ‘iota’) of interest from any self-respecting buyer.
Why?
Continue reading Thwarted“The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.”
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Before you read any further, I want to state for the record that there really isn’t anything quite like a bright cheerful day in London, with blue sky above and the sun warm on my face.
But on the other hand, I truly love a rainy day, and today seems set to be one of those.
‘”I can’t tell you just now what the moral of that is, but I shall remember it in a bit.” “Perhaps it hasn’t one,” Alice ventured to remark. “Tut, tut, child!” said the Duchess. “Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it.” And she squeezed herself up closer to Alice’s side as she spoke. Alice did not much like her keeping so close: first, because the Duchess was very ugly; and secondly, because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin on Alice’s shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin.’
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Apparently.
No 1. – We ventured to put our flat on the market. What have we gained? Just 4 viewings in 7 weeks and two drops in price. No-body wants our gorgeous little flat in Fulham!
No 2. – I applied to 4 universities to study in September. What have I gained? I have 2 unconditional offers and 2 “Your application is with the relevant department for consideration.”
“Maybe I ain’t too old to start over, I think and I laugh and cry at the same time at this. Cause just last night I thought I was finished with everything new.”
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Last week I mentioned that our flat has had a makeover.
It’s looking gorgeous.
This week I’ll let you in on a new development – we are selling!
It’s just over a year since we disbanded our company office at Putney Bridge and retreated into our various cubby holes to try and do work, do life and stay safe. Continue reading Something New
“Time is a slippery thing: lose hold of it once, and its string might sail out of your hands forever.”
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
There’s a sentimental ditty by Neil Diamond, called ‘Hello’:
“Hello, my friend, hello
Just called to let you know
I think about you every night
And I know it’s late but I could’t wait
Hello”
It makes me a little tearful because my Dad loved Neil Diamond, and he’s gone too far away to make contact with. But also because I’m a sucker for an old ballad.
You know when you have an old friend or relative that you get on very well with, but you hardly ever see? Continue reading Hello!
Musings about life, Christianity, and mental health.
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