Home again, home again.....

From THIS..........

 To THIS is a bit of culture shock. A shock to the senses too. Re-entry to my ordinary world is a little tough, you see.

 We got home, and I discovered that the battery had decided to expire while I was away. The car battery. So Peter and I used the industrial strength jump leads and got it going, and I whizzed up and down the motorway for half an hour to charge it. It goes, thank heavens. However, remember that headlight I was so proud I managed to change just before we left? Dead. Stupid thing. I took it out this afternoon and tried reconnecting it again, but no, it does not work, so guess where I am heading at the crack of dawn????

Just charming.

But I have been back to aquazumba and aquarobics and although my body has turned to jelly and I now ache all over, I am feeling very sanctimonious. Saintly. I have also started the £1 in the pot for every 30 minutes of exercise idea, to amass a fortune which I will spend on ME. Well, that is the theory, anyway.

I had to take down Christmas in this house. Including the tree. That was after I opened all my presents which were still here waiting for me. I didn't take any with me. That was fun! Taking down the tree was a little odd though......so much later than usual. The house is still red and brown and cosy looking, but it was different, somehow.

And then, today, just look what arrived in the post!

Some super thin, very warm gloves - sent (I think) by my sweet friend Kelli, to keep my fingers from falling off. I was SO excited, and it was a wonderful surprise, and I am very, very grateful!

There are always linings to the clouds, aren't there? Hidden delights waiting around the corners. This, then is the mark of an eternal optimist. The delight in the knowledge that the bad times make the good times even better. Contrasts. I am reading a wonderful book by Luci Swindoll called Doing life Differently, and she talks often about how the awful things which happen serve to enhance the good times. She talks a great deal of sense, and I heartily recommend the book. In fact, while checking the title of the book, I saw another one I really think I should read - Simple Secrets to a Happy Life. Not out yet, but it will be in March. (I love the wish list idea at Amazon!)

So, here we are. Winter is proving to be very mild in these parts, but I miss the snow, the biting cold and the sun and blue skies. And the mountains. And my family. And........

There is more aquazumba tomorrow. There is the trip to sort out the headlight. And there will, no doubt at all, be other adventures to enjoy. Tomorrow.