19 June 2008

Well, finished High Tide in Tucson (check out the book page) and there are two main thoughts I have come away with.

Barbara talks about unwittingly adopting a hermit crab who lived in a recently acquired shell picked from a beach in the Bahamas and brought back to her home in Tucson.

I didn’t know that, like other species, the hermit crab not only splits his skin in two but also sheds his legs and sometimes his eyes, growing complete new ones.  It sounds a fascinating procedure – and made me think how good it would be if we could shed some of those things that stunt our growth.  Of course I’m talking emotional and intellectual rather that physical body parts – but don’t you just sometimes wish that you could stand up, shake yourself out of your metaphorical shell and walk away a new person with new attitudes.  I certainly do. 

Would that be an easy option?  Does the hermit crab experience discomfort and pain  during the process.  He grows a new skin that starts off very soft and takes a while to harden up, which makes him vulnerable. Maybe part of growing is acknowledging that there are things that we need to change in order to evolve to make things better. Admitting our weaknesses, failings and mistakes can make us vulnerable, and who wants to feel like that? But maybe it's where we have to start in order to change.

But beware the temptation to stay and focus too long on the imperfections, once acknowledged, we need to shed them, step out of them, walk forward and become regenerated. I'm reminded of Romans 12 verse 2 from the bible which says

'Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is - what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.'

It's heartening that it is possible for us to change, and the crab is probably not the best metaphor for what I’m trying to say, but certainly struck a chord when I read i. Unlike the hermit crab, who is at the mercy of nature and doesn't have a choice in the matter, we do - we can decided to stay as we are, treading stagnant water, or move forward.

Next one tomorrow.

18 June 2008

I've recently discovered an informative and thought provoking blog by a chap called Frank Lesko. He's given me permission to add him to the links page - please check him out - he has some interesting things to say about 'theology and ecology' as he puts it and also much more. Although based in America his thoughts and themes are universal.

17 June 2008

Well I don’t feel as if my feet have touched the ground for the past two weeks.  We decided fairly late in the day to go to see Bruce Springsteen in Cardiff on Saturday.  We had a wonderful, wonderful time.  Once again, despite a groggy forecast, the sun came out for us all.  Bruce more than lived up to our expectations and you know what, he has one of the most genuine smiles that I’ve ever seen.  You just know that he’s feeling inside what he’s expressing with that beam.  Got to meet some folks previously only known through cyberspace and even bumped into an old work colleague who had also travelled down from Derbyshire for the show.  I really like Cardiff too, despite (or maybe because of) the number of folks in the town centre, and spilling out of the pubs, there was a fantastic atmosphere – everyone very friendly and up for the night ahead. 

Time to put him on the back burner now though.  I’m looking forward to chilling this weekend and beating the house (which has suffered greatly over the past two weeks) into submission, and just needing to get some rest.  I am so tired.

11 June 2008

Phew it's been hectic since we got back from Italy. Venice was fantabulous, I loved (almost) every minute. I'll do a page about it with some photos when I get a chance - in the meantime you can find some pictures here.

Jenny is nearing the end of her GCSE's which seem to have gone well. She's searching for a holiday job to keep her occupied during the summer, although I think her Dad and me are doing most of the searching and she's letting us.

Becky has just scored herself a paper round. She's delivering magazines 4 nights a week once a month, just started yesterday and is already finding it hard going. It's an easy job really. She gets paid the same as Jenny used to a month, only Jenny's was the same amount of papers but every week.

All things being equal I should be starting my new job on 30th June. I can't wait to have more free time, there are so many things I want to do. I have a very long held dream of having a vegetable garden. One of my friends has a large garden and we discussed the possibility of me using some of it for vegetables when they moved into the house (quite a few years ago now) but it came to nothing. I was chatting to her today and the subject came up again and she'd be more than happy for me to cultivate a part of their plot as they can't keep on top of it themselves. It's a huge commitment though, once you start you have to keep going, so I'm thinking about it. Maybe if I start off small and see how it all goes.

I've updated the book page too.

5 June 2008

This will be my last blog for a few days cos we're away off to Venice on Friday for a long weekend. Can't wait - just hope the weather forecast is wrong as it's predicting rain for all four days that we are there. I suppose it will be a good excuse to get a bit sozzled in the cafes if it does though. That said I've been off the alcohol for a month and feeling much better for it. It's nice to wake up in the morning with a clear head instead of through a hazy veil of fuzzies.

I bought myself some nice new dresses in the hope that we will dine somewhere other than the venetian equivalent of McDonalds. When I tried them on at the weekend I looked like a whiter shade of pale so decided to go all St Tropez courtesy of the local bodywork shop. You have to leave the stuff on 'to develop' for six hours. Well, after three hours I already look like someone ran me through photoshop on the sepia setting, so goodness knows what I'm going to wake up looking like in the morning. Thank goodness it only lasts a few days.

Have a good weekend everyone, and look forward to telling you all about the trip next week.

4 June 2008

I have finally updated the music page. Rather than have a list of my favourite bands, I've decided on a series of one off blurbs featuring those who are keeping my party swinging at any given time. Updates are likely to be sporadic.

3 June 2008

Last night I finally got round to doing something that I had wanted to do for the past six months. I finally got round to making Melanzane Sott'olio Con Peperoncino (Aubergines in oil with chilli to you and me!). It's a recipe I picked up from Eating Up Italy, an epic scooter trip from South to Northern Italy by award winning food writer Matthew Fort. I'd recommend the book, and hopefully in 4 months when the vegetables have been sufficiently marinated in olive oil, I will be able to recommend them too! In the meantime it has inspired me to make a recipe page, starting with the wonderful aubergine concoction - here

2 June 2008

So we've hit June which means I've updated my list thing. They say that smells are the easiest things to recall to memory. Having camped downwind of the toilets at a music festival on a boiling hot weekend, I can, unfortunately, confirm that this is true. However, let's concentrate on nice smells eh? There you go, nothing too surprising on my list I shouldn't think. What's yours?

The 1st June also brought around our wedding anniversary. I can't quite get my head around the fact that we've been married 23 years, but there you go, time marches on. I decided to celebrate by recreating the very first time Simon took me out anywhere. 24 years ago it was to a restaurant in Sheffield followed by a visit to the cinema to see the very first Indiana Jones film. As luck would have it, Harrison Ford is still in pursuit of those ancient artifacts, so we sat and chuckled our way through that after hitting the very same restaurant (new name, and slightly more upmarket these days) as we did all those years ago.

For his part, I got a nice new camera and a dozen red roses. Insert smiley here!

 

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