Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Saudi Arabia
S went to a camel market and was driven into the desert, not a drive for the faint-hearted! He had coffee and dates in a tented enclosure.
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Read this out loud to get the rhythm
'And all night long they sailed away;
And when the sun went down,
They whistled and warbled a moony song
To the echoing sound of a coppery gong,
In the shade of the mountains brown.
"O Timballo! How happy we are,
When we live in a sieve and a crockery-jar,
And all night long in the moonlight pale,
We sail away with a pea-green sail,
In the shade of the mountains brown!"
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a sieve.'
from The Jumblies
by Edward Lear
And when the sun went down,
They whistled and warbled a moony song
To the echoing sound of a coppery gong,
In the shade of the mountains brown.
"O Timballo! How happy we are,
When we live in a sieve and a crockery-jar,
And all night long in the moonlight pale,
We sail away with a pea-green sail,
In the shade of the mountains brown!"
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a sieve.'
from The Jumblies
by Edward Lear
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
That moment
' "Dr Diamond," I said, "I am giving up."
"Now you are ready to begin." he said.'
from 'Beg, Sl Tog, Inc, Cont, Rep'
by Amy Hempel
"Now you are ready to begin." he said.'
from 'Beg, Sl Tog, Inc, Cont, Rep'
by Amy Hempel
Sunday, 21 November 2010
So what
So what on earth will I read my way through in the second smallest room in our house next year?
The Bible?
My unread books, that rather includes most of the Bible!?
Maybe I will collect the candidates and lay them out on a table in the drawing room. Between Christmas and New Year I will consider them and make my choice. That's generally a peaceful, being time of year round here.
But first I still have 106 pages left of the book I'm savouring this year. I can't believe it. The book gets longer the more I read it! The never-ending book, rather like our ever-young cat Snowy. We always thought he must be about 18, but then he'd be a year older and look the same, so we said he was still about 18!
Someone somewhere blogged that they will not buy any more books in 2011, and will focus on the clearly embarrassingly large heap of treasures they already have at hand.
So what is my purpose in reading each day anyway? There's the real question to answer.
The Bible?
My unread books, that rather includes most of the Bible!?
Maybe I will collect the candidates and lay them out on a table in the drawing room. Between Christmas and New Year I will consider them and make my choice. That's generally a peaceful, being time of year round here.
But first I still have 106 pages left of the book I'm savouring this year. I can't believe it. The book gets longer the more I read it! The never-ending book, rather like our ever-young cat Snowy. We always thought he must be about 18, but then he'd be a year older and look the same, so we said he was still about 18!
Someone somewhere blogged that they will not buy any more books in 2011, and will focus on the clearly embarrassingly large heap of treasures they already have at hand.
So what is my purpose in reading each day anyway? There's the real question to answer.
And no birds sing
'I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful - a faery's child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.'
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
by John Keats
Full beautiful - a faery's child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.'
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
by John Keats
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Snuffling
The best bit about trying to wake up sleeping children is the way I can just snuffle the hair by their foreheads and give them kisses at the same time.
Even when I kiss our visiting cat I breathe in as I kiss her, just to check that she is really the same cat with the same smell.
Once I was carrying T or H and was beside a stable with a nervous looking mare with her foal. As soon as I did the snuffling thing with my child's head I could sense the mare relax because she could understand exactly what I was doing.
Even when I kiss our visiting cat I breathe in as I kiss her, just to check that she is really the same cat with the same smell.
Once I was carrying T or H and was beside a stable with a nervous looking mare with her foal. As soon as I did the snuffling thing with my child's head I could sense the mare relax because she could understand exactly what I was doing.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
How to be a wise prince
"So he should never let his thoughts stray from military exercises, which he should pursue more vigorously in peace than in war. These exercises can be both physical and mental. As for the first, besides keeping his men well organized and trained, he should always be out hunting, so accustoming his body to hardships and also learning some practical geography..."
"As for intellectual training, the prince should read history, studying the actions of eminent men to see how they conducted themselves during war and to discover the reasons for their victories or their defeats, so that he can avoid the latter and imitate the former."
"...A wise prince should observe these rules; he should never take things easy in times of peace, but rather use the latter assiduously, in order to be able to reap the profit in times of adversity. Then, when his fortunes change, he will be found ready to resist adversity."
from 'The Prince'
by Niccolo Machiavelli
"As for intellectual training, the prince should read history, studying the actions of eminent men to see how they conducted themselves during war and to discover the reasons for their victories or their defeats, so that he can avoid the latter and imitate the former."
"...A wise prince should observe these rules; he should never take things easy in times of peace, but rather use the latter assiduously, in order to be able to reap the profit in times of adversity. Then, when his fortunes change, he will be found ready to resist adversity."
from 'The Prince'
by Niccolo Machiavelli
We were all in one room
....so it was a sort of a party. We were all talking at once. 3 of us were using laptops/the computer. 1 hero was reading. He didn't feel it really qualified as reading because it was a small catalogue. But it was made of paper, printed and had words on it!
Friday, 12 November 2010
A new noise
The visiting cat jumped up and walked around on top of T's open lap top on the kitchen table. I was stuck on my chair with my lap top on my knee so I made a 'eeeeh' sound. It was just like a sheep.
Then the cat walked very close to T's mug of hot chocolate, so I made another spontaneous 'meeeh' sound, only without the 'm'. I was so shocked and yet couldn't do anything apart from bleat!!
Both boys spent such a long time copying my wonderful noises. My stomach started to hurt I was laughing so much. The cat was quite happy and totally ignored all of us.
Then the cat walked very close to T's mug of hot chocolate, so I made another spontaneous 'meeeh' sound, only without the 'm'. I was so shocked and yet couldn't do anything apart from bleat!!
Both boys spent such a long time copying my wonderful noises. My stomach started to hurt I was laughing so much. The cat was quite happy and totally ignored all of us.
A peaceful evening
I was chatting to a friend, telling her how chilled our household is at present.
Then I went home and had the rest of the evening. There were 3 stressful points in it which could have ended very badly, but didn't. So it isn't as if arguments and misunderstandings don't happen, they really do, plus swearing, and quite late at night. It's just they don't get anywhere.
Long may this phase last.
Then I went home and had the rest of the evening. There were 3 stressful points in it which could have ended very badly, but didn't. So it isn't as if arguments and misunderstandings don't happen, they really do, plus swearing, and quite late at night. It's just they don't get anywhere.
Long may this phase last.
The wind is blowing strongly
Sometimes the wind blows so hard the top floor of the house shakes in the night. I can feel it as I lie in bed. It isn't scary, but it is awe inspiring.
The leaves are off the deciduous trees now, but there is still a chance of a bit of a branch coming down in the night.
When I first got my two hearing aids the wind was the most frightening thing. What I used to perceive as mild gusts sounded like a terrible storm. I used to rush outside to see what on earth was going on. It took maybe a year to get used to the new noise level and not respond with a gut fear.
The leaves are off the deciduous trees now, but there is still a chance of a bit of a branch coming down in the night.
When I first got my two hearing aids the wind was the most frightening thing. What I used to perceive as mild gusts sounded like a terrible storm. I used to rush outside to see what on earth was going on. It took maybe a year to get used to the new noise level and not respond with a gut fear.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
If you have a tickly cough
This is what we do in our house:
Eat apple every so often, including in the middle of the night when you wake coughing.
Stop eating sugar for a few hours, because bugs like sugar, this includes cough sweets in my case.
Eat little and frequently, moves bugs in the throat away from where they are muliplying.
Stop drinking tea and coffee, they are a little rough on the throat.
Drink smooth drinks like milk and water.
The tickle should go away.
If/when it tries again, just revert to these treatments until it goes away again.
I used to get bad coughs which went on for weeks, but since realising that cough sweets and sugar were probably inadvertently making it worse, I changed my approach and have been cough free for years now.
Eat apple every so often, including in the middle of the night when you wake coughing.
Stop eating sugar for a few hours, because bugs like sugar, this includes cough sweets in my case.
Eat little and frequently, moves bugs in the throat away from where they are muliplying.
Stop drinking tea and coffee, they are a little rough on the throat.
Drink smooth drinks like milk and water.
The tickle should go away.
If/when it tries again, just revert to these treatments until it goes away again.
I used to get bad coughs which went on for weeks, but since realising that cough sweets and sugar were probably inadvertently making it worse, I changed my approach and have been cough free for years now.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Reading aloud
Just this week I have had the opportunity to read aloud to H. Long may this last. As we know it takes two to tango, so if his enjoyment of my voice and the books available wanes, that will be the end of that for who knows how long. I never thought he'd want this again so I am thrilled.
H asked me to read out from a website too. I think I know why, it had white text against a black background and was murder to focus on. When I looked at the walls and curtains all I could see were odd horizontal lines for a few seconds. I found out all about the variables in the writing of the code for a game.
H asked me to read out from a website too. I think I know why, it had white text against a black background and was murder to focus on. When I looked at the walls and curtains all I could see were odd horizontal lines for a few seconds. I found out all about the variables in the writing of the code for a game.
Growltiger and The Rum Tum Tigger
"Growltiger had no eye or ear for aught but Griddlebone,
And the Lady seemed enraptured by his manly baritone,
Disposed to relaxation, and awaiting no surprise -
But the moonlight shone reflected from a hundred bright blue eyes.
And closer still and closer the sampans circled round,
And yet from all the enemy there was not heard a sound.
The lovers sang their last duet, in danger of their lives -
For the foe was armed with toasting forks and cruel carving knives."
"He's always on the wrong side of every door,
And as soon as he's at home, then he'd like to get about.
He likes to lie in the bureau drawer,
But he makes such a fuss if he can't get out."
from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
by T S Eliot
And the Lady seemed enraptured by his manly baritone,
Disposed to relaxation, and awaiting no surprise -
But the moonlight shone reflected from a hundred bright blue eyes.
And closer still and closer the sampans circled round,
And yet from all the enemy there was not heard a sound.
The lovers sang their last duet, in danger of their lives -
For the foe was armed with toasting forks and cruel carving knives."
"He's always on the wrong side of every door,
And as soon as he's at home, then he'd like to get about.
He likes to lie in the bureau drawer,
But he makes such a fuss if he can't get out."
from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
by T S Eliot
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Values
I have noticed that there is a moment when I become anxious that another person does a particular thing. At that point my values rate the doing of that action above their happiness and our mutual relationship. I also value it above my own contentment, because it vanishes there and then!
Having lost my contentment it stays lost for quite some hours. Person x probably loses their well-being too.
To be fair often other people go through the same process of demanding certain behaviours from me and finding that their ease disappears too if it is reliant on my compliance.
Having lost my contentment it stays lost for quite some hours. Person x probably loses their well-being too.
To be fair often other people go through the same process of demanding certain behaviours from me and finding that their ease disappears too if it is reliant on my compliance.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Night time thoughts
Whatever I used to think about at night has been replaced by a sort of endless looking back.
I remember people, mainly long dead, the places they lived in and glimpses of time spent in their company.
It's lovely and I look forward to this journey of surprises in my own memory.
I remember people, mainly long dead, the places they lived in and glimpses of time spent in their company.
It's lovely and I look forward to this journey of surprises in my own memory.
Cultural Pile up
I have too many good things to read and watch the moment:
Lawrence of Arabia on my laptop, yes I am the sort of person who buys classic dvds at Sainsbury's.
Millennium 2, a book, part 2 of 3.
The Prince by Machiavelli, my online book group is doing this right now.
2 books I actually went back to the library to borrow: Black Spring by Henry Miller and stories by Amy Hempel. I'd thought about them all weekend after standing there reading a snippet of each and deciding to be rational and put them back.
I used the online ordering system for my library to get a Rory Stewart book after reading an article about him in the FT.
Lawrence of Arabia on my laptop, yes I am the sort of person who buys classic dvds at Sainsbury's.
Millennium 2, a book, part 2 of 3.
The Prince by Machiavelli, my online book group is doing this right now.
2 books I actually went back to the library to borrow: Black Spring by Henry Miller and stories by Amy Hempel. I'd thought about them all weekend after standing there reading a snippet of each and deciding to be rational and put them back.
I used the online ordering system for my library to get a Rory Stewart book after reading an article about him in the FT.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
BB pellets
We had some spare bb pellets which were not perfectly clean. They can mess up a bb gun if they are in any way dusty.
I poured them into a dish to have on our table as something to play with. Idle strewing.
The problem is that I have a tendency to try to eat anything which resembles food. I can feel myself wanting to reach out and see if they are actually white chocolate coated nibbles. My higher brain knows they aren't, but my pre-stone age brain just says 'fooooood'.
A long time ago I instinctively licked some spilt washing up liquid off my hand because it had an apple smell which overrode any sensible thoughts!
I poured them into a dish to have on our table as something to play with. Idle strewing.
The problem is that I have a tendency to try to eat anything which resembles food. I can feel myself wanting to reach out and see if they are actually white chocolate coated nibbles. My higher brain knows they aren't, but my pre-stone age brain just says 'fooooood'.
A long time ago I instinctively licked some spilt washing up liquid off my hand because it had an apple smell which overrode any sensible thoughts!
Monday, 1 November 2010
Laughter
From where I am on the sofa I can hear T shouting out with loud laughter as he listens to the Halloween Qi programme on iPlayer.
We had a row earlier in the kitchen, but somehow it got defused. I said that I turn into a toad at 9pm every night and he said *he* couldn't understand why *I* didn't understand his (very intricate and confusing) explanation of how to buy books from Amazon for the Kindle. Then he didn't want to hear how I would have explained it to an older person (me).
I can just imagine the discussions between teenager and parent back in time or indeed far in the future.
I'm meant to be writing my home ed review for October, but instead I'm reading my own blog!
We had a row earlier in the kitchen, but somehow it got defused. I said that I turn into a toad at 9pm every night and he said *he* couldn't understand why *I* didn't understand his (very intricate and confusing) explanation of how to buy books from Amazon for the Kindle. Then he didn't want to hear how I would have explained it to an older person (me).
I can just imagine the discussions between teenager and parent back in time or indeed far in the future.
I'm meant to be writing my home ed review for October, but instead I'm reading my own blog!
The News From Beijing
..is that the pool at the hotel has, wait for it...... tropical islands in it. How amazing!!
The water is pretty cool though so the swimmers can't just loll about.
The water is pretty cool though so the swimmers can't just loll about.
Each day
My simplest meditation is to take the date and breathe that number of breaths.
So today it is at its shortest, just 1 breath.
When it gets to 5 or more I find my breaths slow down so much I think I'll never get to the end of the session.
It's really good to do in bed as it helps me fall asleep. Bingo, 2 benefits in one!
So today it is at its shortest, just 1 breath.
When it gets to 5 or more I find my breaths slow down so much I think I'll never get to the end of the session.
It's really good to do in bed as it helps me fall asleep. Bingo, 2 benefits in one!
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