One of the amazing things about birds and animals, is vocal group communications, whether that’s the Dawn Chorus, Twighlight Barking, or the alarm tones that signal mass evacuations. And time-based activities aren’t always vocal. Some years ago we sat on a beach watching the sun go down and found ourselves sitting near a mob of […]
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Thank You Mrs Sparkle
A curious thing happened today. DB and I went to our local village fair, and among the things we do every year, we went into the Church to look at the Art and Craft Exhibition. One of the pieces was an arrangement of hand-made bears, with a sign saying something along the lines of: These […]
Remembering and Forgetting
Not long ago, Katy got in touch. And I was remembering that she taught me one of the most important lessons that I have ever learned. At the time we were the best of friends but lost touch around about 20 years ago after I moved to London for a while. We both had the […]
Stress Free Medieval Dinner Party
Turns out to have been a really long time since I wrote a Dinner Party, and for a while there I was really stuck on what to do, but then I watched The King and now I’m doing a Medieval Dinner Party. Though I suppose more technically it should be called a Banquet. Food We […]
October 2019 Progress Report
Is it my imagination, or did we skip right over October 2019? I mean I know there was stuff that happened, but I feel a bit like Speedy Gonzales whipped by and I’m left clinging to the ceiling by my fingernails. Virtue Sep Oct Notes Beauty: bodyI enjoy exercising my lean, healthy 59 kg body […]
2019 Transplantiversary
It’s the 2019 Transplantiversary already – number eight. As I mentioned in the mid-year review, my transplant is deteriorating, and if I’m good, I’ll get at least another five years from it. On the bright side, my original disease process hasn’t recurred. The deterioration is mainly caused by: The kidney’s age when transplanted, That the […]
The Joy in Matching Beanies
The other day, I saw a young couple wearing matching beanies on the train. He had his arm around her, and she was nestled into his armpit, leaning her head on his shoulder. She titled her head up to him, and he leaned across and kissed her lightly on the forehead. It’s a cute thing, […]
Alice ‘mid the Starships
“Normal” people get caught in social media quagmires, but I run down a different kind of internet rabbit hole. When I first saw this image I was intrigued because it’s a Victorian glass lantern slide titled ” Oh there, ‘mid the starships, Alice, I know a”. And I was really curious about the starships. The […]
The Joyful Memories from Gifts of Love
I took advantage of the recent gloriously summery weather to catch up on some washing, starting with the towels because they take the longest to dry. As I hung them on the line, carefully stretching and straightening them out so they dry square (and are easier to fold neatly), I realised I hadn’t bought any […]
Understanding Choice and What To Do With It
A while back, almost at the start of this blog, I talked about a place for setting goals for choice. And when it came down to it, understanding choice – consciously making choices, not having them thrust on me. Mind you, that also came with the intention of getting good at cryptic crosswords and I […]
Creating a Happy and Healthy Home
Recently there have been a lot of changes in the Blaelock Household, with the aim of creating a happy and healthy home. Mainly leading out from the transplant rejection scare, and consequently a need to redesign my working and sleeping environments. Happy and Healthy Sleeping Environment We started the sleeping environment upgrades a few months […]
September 2019 Progress Report
And that’s September 2019 been and gone. Is it just me, or are the days flying by faster and faster? Or is it that Christmas is in the stores already? The weather’s been good enough for working outdoors (with the laptop), but September 2019 has also had a lot of very cold and wet days. […]
Stealing Kisses
Sometimes, I think the best viewing comes from watching ordinary people doing ordinary things, like stealing kisses. And you don’t have to go far to see it. You can see people stealing kisses almost everywhere; train station, hardware, IKEA, and pretty much any place that serves food or alcohol (or both). Though it can, on […]
2019 Signature Wardrobe Summer Plan
We’ve had some lovely sunny days, and after some wonderful winter purchases, I’ve been warm enough to start thinking about a 2019 Signature Wardrobe Summer Plan. 2019 Summer Plan This year, I’m taking a slightly different tack from previous years, just to see how it goes. There are two main components: In previous years, I’ve […]
Your Hierarchy of Needs
In 1954, Abraham Maslow posited that all people are driven to fulfil a basic set of human needs. Essentially, you start from your most basic needs (at the bottom of the hierarchy) and work up. Only when you have satisfied your biological needs can you think about your safety. And not until you feel safe […]
Electricity Humbug
The other day, our electricity went out, and I was a little surprised about how dependent on it we’ve become. Even though I’ve written about that before. Aside from the alarm not going off, the central heating didn’t kick in, the hot water tank didn’t stay hot, and even worse – the coffee machine wasn’t […]
2019 Signature Wardrobe Winter Update
The Bureau of Meteorology is already predicting a long hot Summer. The garden is full of Spring Bulbs, and there’ve been some slightly warmer sunny days. So it’s time to get the 2019 Signature Wardrobe Winter Update out of the way so I can start thinking about my Summer plan. The 2019 Winter plan continued […]
August 2019 Progress Report
During August 2019, I took a few weeks off for some navel-gazing. And now I’ve started developing a new kind of normal. It’s been hard work. Naturally, it involved a hair cut and some new clothes. No new shoes just yet though. Virtue Jul Aug Notes Beauty: bodyI enjoy exercising my lean, healthy 59 kg […]
What I Need Right Now
The other day I was watching Men in Black: International, and among other things that made me laugh, were the red buttons. The “what I need right now” buttons that supercharge whatever thing they’re attached to. And as I thought about it more, I realised that a lot of movies, especially science fiction, feature some […]
Taking a Short Break
I’ve already mentioned it’s the time of Great Regret and my action plan for getting back on track. And as it turns out, it seems that around about this time every year, I hit the wall and need to take a break. So I’m taking a few weeks off to do and see interesting things, […]
The Time of Great Regret
I generally call myself a forward thinker, but just lately I’ve been thinking backwards. It’s been a time of Great Regret. Especially given my recent transplant rejection scare, the last few weeks have been stressful and overly emotional, I’m feeling tired and regretful. And quite frankly, I’m a bit stuck. When I was planning 2019, […]
July 2019 Progress Report
July 2019 featured the transplant rejection scare, the month when the Earth spun upside down on its axis and inside out. It was terrifying (and distracting) and isn’t all better, but it does give me a new sense of urgency and a desire to get things done. And I was going through all the tests […]
Busy Bees Buzz Buzz Buzzing
I don’t know about you, but it didn’t really occur to me that bees exist in Winter, even if they aren’t busy. Well, not until I saw a couple the other day. So I checked, and according to Amanda, they huddle together (like puppies) in winter to keep the Queen warm. And then as the […]
The Building Blocks of Style
I’m fascinated by Harajuku style at the moment. At first glance, it’s a random collection of stuff screaming in your face, but take a closer look, and you’ll see all the building blocks of style in an ever-changing arrangement. In case you don’t know, Harajuku’s a playful mix of styles and colours, most commonly seen […]
5 Hints for Achieving Happiness
Some days it seems that all around you are exhortations to be happy. And some days, it feels like you might as well try to be cheese as be happy. So, how do you go about Achieving Happiness? What is Happiness? According to my favourite Oxford English Dictonary, happiness is: 1. The quality or condition […]