Its little thing like the latches on the doors that I really love about living in this house.
This is the latch on the inside of my bedroom door with the peg in to lock it from those who might be tempted to disturb my slumber.
21 January 2008
20 January 2008
Winter Walk Day 7
Back on the winter walk...
Axel taught Anja how to chop up wood for the fireplace today. She earned a few quid for the chore, which she immediately bought sweets with. Some things are very predictable.
Axel taught Anja how to chop up wood for the fireplace today. She earned a few quid for the chore, which she immediately bought sweets with. Some things are very predictable.
17 January 2008
Winter Walk To Valentines Day #4
I missed #3. That didn't take long for me to fail in the every day category. Ah well - onwards we go.
Today I chose a picture I took while in Amsterdam this summer. It is the front door of Anne Frank's House.
The past few days have brought some very disappointing news about my options for getting the type of care I need here. Since late November I have been more or less housebound because of pain and fatigue caused by fibromylagia, and things are getting worse. I do my best to keep a positive outlook, but it is hard when hopes are taken away like they were yesterday. I feel trapped in my home. Trapped in my body.
What I am dealing with is not at all on the level of trapped that the Frank family must have felt hiding out in the tiny hidden rooms of their house, literally fearing for their life with every step they took. Yet reflecting on this image and the legacy that such a young girl left behind reminds me that even when there is not a happy ending, there is still great value in a life lived to its fullest within whatever limitations present themselves.
15 January 2008
Winter Walk To Valentine's - Day 2
I took this picture over the Christmas holidays. It is the view from my bedroom window looking to the horse fields behind the house. When we moved in during the spring the trees provided a curtain that has now been drawn to unveil the horses and hills that were hidden. I chose this picture today because as I write this, the field is once again flooded due to heavy rainfall. It has been raining buckets for a few days and show to keep it up for at least a few more. In July these same fields and the road that runs in front of our house were under several feet of water. Luckily then our house didn't flood, but with the ground still heavy deep from all the rain we had last "summer" things are certain to get bad quickly. Wish us luck and send us stay dry or stay afloat thoughts!
14 January 2008
Its a Blog Party! Winter Walk To Valentine's Day 1
Kristarae, my sweet friend at Blessings of An Herbwyfe is hosting a blog party! The theme of the party is "A Winter Walk To Valentine's Day" and the idea is to post pictures and brief thoughts that go with them about your daily life in the hibernation of winter. The goal is to post one picture each day between now and Valentine's Day. Now I don't know if I will be able to post every day, but I will make a valiant effort.
I will start out today with a less than stellar quality picture (sorry Axel, I love you but you can't take a picture to save your life and there is only so much magic I can do!) of Anja today as she begins her violin lessons! The lessons are offered through her school, once a week during school time. Anja has been begging for the better part of a year or more to take violin lessons so when they became available through school we jumped at the opportunity. She will be learning the Suzuki method, which I don't know much about at this point but am sure that will learn more very quickly. Its early days of course, but she came straight home to practice today and couldn't wait to tell me all about how they learned how to hold their instruments. I hope she continues to be so enthusiastic. And I hope that I have the tolerance for the shrieks and shrills that will be emanating from her while she learns. Either that or a good pair of earplugs.
07 January 2008
SHHHHH.... Listen Closely...
Do you hear that? No? Neither do I. And that's just it - there is nothing to hear. It is quiet!
The kids went back to school today. I love 'em to pieces, and we did manage to have a pretty nice Christmas holiday, but I am glad its back to normal around here. First order of business is to take a long uninterrupted nap. Beyond that I have no plans.
I pushed a little harder than I probably should have while the girls were on their break. I am feeling the effects of it pretty deeply these past few days and it will be good to get back into a more restful routine. I used to be able to get by with brief periods of resting between times that I was more active. Now its the opposite. I need to have brief periods of activity between the time that I rest. Simple things like doing the grocery shopping will ensure that I will have a few days of pain and flaring of other symptoms. Its hard to keep from feeling useless when its like this so my response is to push a little harder and accept the consequences. Which is what I have been doing the past couple weeks and it has taken its toll.
On the health front, we are looking into some more treatment options in hopes that I will find some relief and improvement, but so far it's slow going. I need to get referrals that take time to come through. We could go private in lieu of waiting, but that is very expensive so for now we are content to go through the red tape. In the meantime we all do our best to cope with this. And today that means taking a nap. Naps are good!
The kids went back to school today. I love 'em to pieces, and we did manage to have a pretty nice Christmas holiday, but I am glad its back to normal around here. First order of business is to take a long uninterrupted nap. Beyond that I have no plans.
I pushed a little harder than I probably should have while the girls were on their break. I am feeling the effects of it pretty deeply these past few days and it will be good to get back into a more restful routine. I used to be able to get by with brief periods of resting between times that I was more active. Now its the opposite. I need to have brief periods of activity between the time that I rest. Simple things like doing the grocery shopping will ensure that I will have a few days of pain and flaring of other symptoms. Its hard to keep from feeling useless when its like this so my response is to push a little harder and accept the consequences. Which is what I have been doing the past couple weeks and it has taken its toll.
On the health front, we are looking into some more treatment options in hopes that I will find some relief and improvement, but so far it's slow going. I need to get referrals that take time to come through. We could go private in lieu of waiting, but that is very expensive so for now we are content to go through the red tape. In the meantime we all do our best to cope with this. And today that means taking a nap. Naps are good!
01 January 2008
And so begins 2008
Axel and I toasted the new year last night with a bottle of wine that we bought when we were in Cinque Terre in Summer 2006. When we bought this bottle we didn't know what would qualify as a special enough occasion to open it, but we knew that it would be significant. There were a few times this past year, as we held on tight while the wheel of life took us to highs and lows at a fierce pace, that I considered opening it for both celebration and consolation or even desperation a time or two. I was afraid that I would waste it on the wrong thing, however,so in the cupboard it remained. Waiting.
Until last night. Other than the date on the calendar and a nostalgic wind blowing through the trees, it was no different than many nights in our house these days. Dylan and Kiah were both out with friends. Movie night for one, impromptu party for another. Anja snuggled up with us as we watched a few shows from the past week of BBC television on the BBC iPlayer. Axel made a joke about not having champagne for our big celebration (as he changed into his woolen pajamas) but thought that perhaps I would like a glass of wine nonetheless. It was then that I knew without a doubt, that it was THE moment we had been waiting for. A quiet night at home resting and relaxing.
I realized that it was not for lack of significant moments in which to pop the cork that we held off. Instead it was for the moment when 2007 was coming to an end when we could raise our glasses to all the celebration, consolation, and desperation that came and went in the year and bid gratitude for the lessons and growth they brought. And to breathe with relief and amazement that we have seen another year pass and live to tell about it. It was a hard year. Some pretty big stuff happened in our lives this past year. Same as every year I suppose, but to me it seemed a bit more heavily weighted in the number of times I found myself repeating "This too shall pass. This too shall pass. " Thankfully, it passed.
And so begins 2008. Another typical day in our house. Anja is bouncing off the walls and onto daddy's back. Poor Axel can't get 5 minutes rest from her adoring pleas to 'do something with daddy'(which is arguably her favorite thing to do in all the world). Dylan is at work until later this evening and Kiah is home taking it easy after staying up until 6:00am at her movie night. She claims not to be at all tired, but I don't think she can claim to be energetic. I am at my laptop reading posts like this one by my friends and others in their blogs, watching the trees sway and I feel a cold air creep in with that same nostalgic wind that was blowing last night. I wonder if it will snow.
Until last night. Other than the date on the calendar and a nostalgic wind blowing through the trees, it was no different than many nights in our house these days. Dylan and Kiah were both out with friends. Movie night for one, impromptu party for another. Anja snuggled up with us as we watched a few shows from the past week of BBC television on the BBC iPlayer. Axel made a joke about not having champagne for our big celebration (as he changed into his woolen pajamas) but thought that perhaps I would like a glass of wine nonetheless. It was then that I knew without a doubt, that it was THE moment we had been waiting for. A quiet night at home resting and relaxing.
I realized that it was not for lack of significant moments in which to pop the cork that we held off. Instead it was for the moment when 2007 was coming to an end when we could raise our glasses to all the celebration, consolation, and desperation that came and went in the year and bid gratitude for the lessons and growth they brought. And to breathe with relief and amazement that we have seen another year pass and live to tell about it. It was a hard year. Some pretty big stuff happened in our lives this past year. Same as every year I suppose, but to me it seemed a bit more heavily weighted in the number of times I found myself repeating "This too shall pass. This too shall pass. " Thankfully, it passed.
And so begins 2008. Another typical day in our house. Anja is bouncing off the walls and onto daddy's back. Poor Axel can't get 5 minutes rest from her adoring pleas to 'do something with daddy'(which is arguably her favorite thing to do in all the world). Dylan is at work until later this evening and Kiah is home taking it easy after staying up until 6:00am at her movie night. She claims not to be at all tired, but I don't think she can claim to be energetic. I am at my laptop reading posts like this one by my friends and others in their blogs, watching the trees sway and I feel a cold air creep in with that same nostalgic wind that was blowing last night. I wonder if it will snow.
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