Resurrection

Sometimes I have to die a little
In order to allow the gentle turning
Of the earth spin me around 'til
The darkness subsides and light
Dawns - Look, here it comes on the edge
Of the world - Wait, don't rush
It has a life of its own, and that's
How I missed it before, remember?

Grateful Friday

It really is winter in London. This week saw the worst snow for two decades, transport chaos, wartime camaraderie and even igloos being built in London parks. The snow is almost gone, a few slushy piles of ice are all that remain, and I am grateful for:

1. The excitement of awaking to a snow-covered street outside, and the gentle trudge in wellies through fresh, powdery snow on Monday.

2. Cycling over sheets of ice covering the road that break and splinter as my tyres move over it.

3. Eating winter food. Pies and roast chicken and soup and wedges of cheese. Yum.

Grateful Friday

I haven't posted for a while. Sometimes life gets busy; sometimes I have little to say. Both are true this week, but I am still grateful for:

1. Pu'erh tea recommended by a friend and quite possibly a new favourite. Pu'erh is fermented tea that improves with age. I'm currently drinking organic five-year-old pu'erh from China (obviously!) and it's delicious. It makes a reddish liquid and tastes a bit smoky.

2. A morning cycling through West London tomorrow. I have promised myself a good two hours in a bookshop, long overdue, and I can't wait.

3. A good start to 2009. The end of 2008 was a little rocky and best forgotten. Fingers crossed, apart from one trip to A&E (not for me I hasten to add), the start to this year has been calm and full of quiet reflection.

4. Finding Happiness by Abbot Christopher Jamison. I would never usually pick up a book with such a title, believer as I am in the subjective nature of happiness. But, that's what this book is about, using the monastic traditions to explore the true nature of happiness - in the internal world, rather than looking to external circumstances to dictate contentment. It's one to savour and digest, rather than devour.

5. Dinner tomorrow evening with ten lovely people. I can't wait.

Liberty Covered Moleskine Diary

I love my Moleskine diaries - they're just the right size. This year I was fed up of black though, and decided to cover my new one with Liberty fabric. This is an old Tana Lawn fabric that I really love. It was easy enough to do with textile glue, and I left it overnight between two books to make sure it had stuck properly.

Excuse the blurry photos - I hope you like it as much as I do.




To see what other (far more creative people than I) have done with their moleskines, click here.

Grateful Friday

The first Grateful Friday of 2009! It's toasty warm, if horrendously dusty (building work) in my flat, so I have no idea of the weather outside... it looks cold though, cold enough to stay indoors and be grateful for:

1. The start of 2009 - for the first time in my life I was actually relieved that a year was over. Instead of being glad about the end of one year, I'm going to be pleasantly anticipating this new one. Here's to a better 2009!

2. A surprise trip this weekend - to visit a friend whom I haven't seen for too long. It's her birthday and I'm going to make her a Santiago Lemon Torte, lush!

3. A whole wheel of cheese! Two extremely kind friends donated half of their Stilton to my NYE dinner party. Three days and a lot of digging and eating later, it still looks the same size as it did when I opened it... It's about as big as a dinner plate and about four inches tall, that's a lot of cheese. I don't even like Stilton, it's too rich for me, but this one is organic and creamy and rich and tangy. I love it, especially with a glass of Port.

4. The satisfaction I know will be mine when I finally finish my tax return... I hate these things. Why oh why can't I start it earlier and avoid the nightmares?

5. Cycling 2009 - I'm going to cycle lots this year, even if it's cold, I have neglected Mabel of late and she is sad and pathetic chained outside to a railing, I promise to get her out more this year.

2009 - The Simple Life

I don't know about you, but simplicity is not something that I manage to experience very often in the way I live my life. I came across this poster from Ready Made and it made me think. The dynamo lights on the bike in the drawing are almost the same as those on my Dutch bike. They never need batteries and I am always able to cycle home in the dark, even if I have forgotten my LED lights. Maybe living simply is about removing the need to remember so many things, like bike lights, and just getting on with living. If there were more room in my head for the importan things in life, perhaps I would be happier. I'll give it a go and let you know how I get on.

Christmas

Christmas came and went this year in a frenzied blur. I was out of the country until mid-December and didn't feel remotely Christmasy at all, even after mulled wine and minced pies the last week in December. The lack of Christmas cheer made me feel sad, I used to love Christmas - the magical promise of life in twinkly lights against the darkness. Maybe next year will be different. It's hard to feel Christmasy walking along the top of the Andes in 18 degree sunshine in December, or while filling in a tax return at the kitchen table, or while the house is full of builders' dust and the Christmas tree is coating in a fine grey powder and the lights are only half visible. Next year there will be baking and trees and cinnamon muffins and presents and lights, lots of lights, and I will try to stop to take it all in.