Category Archives: sunrises and sunsets

Belief. Life’s messages

25 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by in Belief, Learning and Evolving, Making our own way, mental health, People, Reflections, Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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This is the Table beside my blue wing back chair.

It is a place I sit often to write, manage our life, and just look at life; and this table holds many things I use: my journal, my diary, my iPad, my book, books I am reading, currently Mark Nepo ‘The Book of Awakenings’, and ‘The Road Less Travelled and Beyond’. It has become a little sanctuary to me, as I look out on my garden, often with a Welshie sitting opposite me.

I took the picture of my table last night because today is my birthday, and as I placed the flowers that RD had bought me on my table (where else would they go?!) with my cards, ready to open this morning, I realised how much this table encapsulates my life, and just how blessed I am.

I have no religion, or ‘God’. Perhaps my ‘God’ is life. I truly believe that life does show you the way, if you have faith. But as with all faiths sometimes it is hard to hold on to them. I will do another blog to show how life has shown us over this month to believe in it, and ourselves, but today I want to share a gift I was given by our client.

I have often written about the awful people we have worked for, but yesterday our client paid their bill and then gave us a tip on top! A tip that will enable us to buy wood for the rest of the winter. But it was not the actual tip that was the biggest gift, it was the fact that it reminded me that there are good and kind people out there. It bought tears to my eyes because of that, because of their kindness, and because it gave me a lesson, and it gave me faith.

I think I will chalk that up as one of the best gifts ever, along with my son turning up at Christmas: spiritual gifts not material ones.

Rosie

You can read our other story by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

Making This Better the book is now available including the journal entries for the first 5 years of our recovery & the whole 21 days of ‘The War’. Available internationally in paperback and ebook  at Amazon and Barnes & Noble also available at Xlibris and Apple Books for iPad and Waterstones Bookstores for click & collect

Kindness on a cold winter’s morn.

21 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by in My family and other furry creatures, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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This was our sunrise on this cold morning in France.

Over the summer a little feral cat appeared in our garden. Needless to say she was chased off by the Welshies; but as winter drew in we found that when our bin was full, the bags would be ripped open, she was clearly looking for food.

Me, being me, bought some cheap cat food from the supermarket, we were broke but not so broke that we couldn’t help the little cat. But she disappeared and the tins have been left in the cupboard.

Today, when I let the Welshies out for their ablutions they proceeded to bark frantically at the gate.

When RD went out to investigate in the pitch black with his ‘Christmas Present’ torch (gifts are practical now!) the little cat was sitting on the gatepost. It must have been so cold and hungry it took the chance of aggravating the Welshies to see if it could get any food. Needless to say a bowl of food was dispatched and put under my car so the little cat felt safe to eat it.

I truly believe a little kindness from us all could start a wave in the world, instead of all the evil.

And all this before we had our first cup of tea!

Have a good day folks, do something kind.

Rosie

It may surprise some of you if your read my other blog Making This Better, it may help some of you too.

Making This Better the book is now available including the journal entries for the first 5 years of our recovery & the whole 21 days of ‘The War’. Available internationally in paperback and ebook  at Amazon and Barnes & Noble also available at Xlibris and Apple Books for iPad and Waterstones Bookstores for click & collect

Endings and beginnings

30 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by in Change is a coming, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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One of things I adore about living here are the sunrises and sunsets. They often inspire me for the day, or remind me why I am grateful for my life. So I thought I would share some from this year.

For me each sunrise is the start of not only a new day, but a new adventure, a new life, new opportunity……

As I sit here tonight,with my old cat on my lap, I know she will be leaving very soon, and it reminds me that each sunset means endings, the end of the day, and the promise of something new, but only for some. Each beautiful sunset that I see reminds me to count my blessings for each day. I do.

Rosie

Winter sunshine

29 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by in For the live of dogs, mental health, My family and other furry creatures, Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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I get to a point around this time if year, it’s like ‘no-mans land’, a ‘waiting time’, for this year to end and the new one to start. I start to feel lethargic because my sleep patterns have been disrupted, and more often than not it takes a while for them to settle back down. Well not this year, from tomorrow we are setting our alarm and slowly it will get earlier and earlier. For some reason I feel an urge to do things, I just don’t know what they will be yet.

So I am writing this in the garden, on a crisp, sunny December afternoon. The birds are chattering, the puppies are running around, and RD and I are enjoying an early glass of red wine.

I persuaded RD out here, I feel acutely aware of how it us so easy to just hibernate indoors at this time of year, when every season has something to offer, and we should always embrace it.

I also realised how much I like solitude now, just surrounded by nature.

Rosie

I look at things differently now. It’s an ever evolving world.

01 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by in Change is a coming, For the live of dogs, Learning and Evolving, Making our own way, My home, Reflections, Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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As I wheeled the wheelbarrow across the garden, full of logs to keep us warm this week, in howling winds and driving rain with two mad Welshies running at my feet, I remembered last year and how different I felt then. I can remember RD and I being in the garden, cutting wood to use that winter and begrudging, in some ways, that we had to do it.

When we came here we were both ready to embrace the rustic lifestyle, we both knew we would be cold, with only a log burner and some expensive electric heaters to heat our house. We both knew that living in a stone house would be chilly. But I think we were both looking at the challenge with optimism, and that neither of us really understood how difficult it would be to adjust to a new way of life: a life with no heating at the click of a switch, a life where you had to put the work in to stay warm. In fact in January we considered whether to stay or leave this life we had chosen, for many reasons.

Fast forward now to this year, and as I wheeled the logs across the garden, buffeted by the wind, I smiled to myself because I now respect the fact that I have to put in the effort for what I need. I no longer take heating for granted, I no longer take what this beautiful planet offers me for granted; and because I have to put in the effort I don’t waste what we have. In this world of climate change (living in a rural setting it has become so noticeable) that has to be a good thing.

As always we are open to change, I believe you have to be in life; and one of our biggest lessons has been to not hold on too tight. But next time we will take all we have learned from this adventure on to the next chapter. When that happens….life will show us the way.

Rosie

Winter is on it’s way…

21 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by in Simple things, sunrises and sunsets, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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Depending on the seasons the sunrises and sunsets change here so much.

When winter takes hold and we have cold mornings the colours are vibrant and intense.

Since my Autumn sunrise post earlier this week winter has started to creep in and we have had frosty mornings.

So now the sunrises are changing, we were up early this morning…..

Rosie