Navigating life's sometimes terrifying yet frequently wondrous variety, one prayer at a time
“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.
“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
“Good morning! Thank you. We are all settled in amidst the pouring rain.”
This is the email we received from our tenants on Sunday 21st April – Easter morning.
We have a couple from Johannesburg and their 3 small children, a granny and two aunties renting our Morgan Bay home. They booked for 6 nights and are our first paying tenants.
Hubby and I were nervous-excited to get our first let. I’d put together a welcome pack filled with info about what to do and see in our idyllic South African seaside village. It promised to be a wonderful holiday!
Little did we (or they) know… Continue reading Cats ‘n dogs ‘n floods
“Maycomb was a tired old town, even in 1932 when I first knew it. Somehow, it was hotter then. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon after their three o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting from sweating and sweet talcum. The day was twenty-four hours long, but it seemed longer.”
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I love a good sci-fi film, a nail-biting apocalyptic flick or an edge-of-your-seat creature-feature.
Hubby and I often make up storylines – one such tale featured a family of hikers on the run from a scourge of stealthy blood-sucking giant mosquitos, the result of nuclear testing gone wrong.
I fleetingly imagined getting a call from Steven Spielberg about this one. Continue reading Torrid temperatures take their toll
“Mna Ramotswe cleared her throat. ‘I’m hoping there’ll be some more rain soon,’ she said. ‘The cattle will like it.’ In Botswana, that was the most uncontroversial of comments. Nobody would disagree with any sentiment in favour of rain, nor could they express anything but sympathy for cattle. Cattle had no vote, nor words to express a view, but their feelings ranked above just about everything else in the country.”
The House of Unexpected Sisters (No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Book 17) by Alexander McCall Smith
I wonder if you’ve ever seen a ghost?
On Sunday Hubby flew to Estonia at 5am. BBC Radio 4 woke me 2hrs later. As Zebedee Soanes burbled about Brexit, I hauled myself out of bed. I padded across the room in the darkness. Suddenly, a movement caught my eye in the large mirror beside me.
I stopped walking. I stopped breathing. I forced my eyes to focus. Continue reading I would send you a bouquet of rain if I could
“As I sat in the bath tub, soaping a meditative foot and singing, if I remember correctly, ‘Pale Hands I Loved Beside the Shalimar,’ it would be deceiving my public to say that I was feeling boomps-a-daisy.”
Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse
I love a good transferred epithet. I spent a restless night. I hauled my embarrassed bikini out of the cupboard. It’s happy hour.
They say a lot about my life.
Today this schvitzing summer was broken a little by a cool breeze and some welcome rain (did you see what I did there?). Many South Africans dub England ‘Mud Island’ and complain constantly about cold wet weather …
But Hubby will tell you that’s all lies and propaganda. Continue reading A schvitzing summer
“Pluviophile: Noun Latin pluvia + phile = pluviophile (plural pluviophiles) 1) Any organism that thrives in conditions of heavy rainfall 2) One who loves rain, a rain-lover”
Collins Dictionary – proposed new word 2014
Have you ever watched yourself as if in a film scene? You’re there exactly as you picture yourself in your head (not the person you’re often surprised to confront in the mirror). You’re the star of your show. You’re in high definition. The shot is framed beautifully. The lighting is perfect. And in some strange way, the movie-you is more real than the real-you.
I’ve just had one of those experiences.
Serendipitous? Precipitous? Wild? Whatever! Continue reading “If you like Piña Coladas, getting caught in the rain…”
“The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.”
Dr Seuss, The Cat in the Hat
This house has been a hive of activity since returning from Wales.
Apart from running around three small girls and sightseeing till we’ve almost dropped, the Secret Seven have been most productive at home. My hubby and brother have trimmed the hedge; got rid of a fox mess; bought seafood at Billingsgate Market; gutted and cooked prawns, scallops and squid and made a delicious paella. They have bought a brew kit and begun brewing; put up a wooden parasol on the terrace and accomplished various other household tasks.
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