This started out as trivia, but grew into something really important

1. Deaf? WHAT WAS THAT??? Hmm. Oh yes. Still deaf. I have the tv on so loud you can hear the noise 2 roads away, and get this, I have a headache. From the noise. Which I can't hear.


2. Chocolate? Nearly history. It is sitting ever so comfortably around my waistband. Which is garrotting my stomach.


3. Friends? Met up with some for coffee, and they are fine, but have to shout as I have yet to acquire an ear horn. Which precludes female chatter. Conversation has to be fit for general consumption. Within a mile radius.


4. Fun? I am the one providing the amusement for all and sundry in my afflicted state.


5. Cleaning? I don't think so.


6. Washing? Done. We did need something to wear after all.


7. Ironing? You have to be joking. The sun is shining.

If you were hoping for pearls of wisdom, move swiftly on. None of those here today.

NOW for something really important.

Boomama has leapt into action once again, to organise help for Heather and her family, in her own inimitable fashion. If you do not know Boomama, you have no idea of what an amazing young woman she is, and how she is swiftly becoming a catalyst for so much GOOD in our blogging community. She is the one who makes things happen in a way I can only applaud. Go now and visit both those links.

Links. Here comes that pearl of wisdom after all. We link to each other, and form a web. Forget the internet-speak and see it more as spider-speak. We are all individual people linking together to cocoon a friend in our own small way. Individually, we are insignificant. Scattered around the world. Together? There is no limit to the difference we can make. Cocooning one of our own in prayers too, is unbelevably powerful. I am honoured to be able to link up with so many amazing women and to share the laughter and tears, to be a part of that invisible web.

I have just been reading Heather's latest update. Go now and read. I nearly deleted the first half of this post. How trivial and unimportant somethings are. This is who we are, isn't it? Woman who deal with the trivial and banal, and the overwhelming and life-threatening. The sorrow and fear , anguish, love, joy, and happiness. I am thankful for so much in this moment.

Home again

Apparently the weather here has been great, but today is grey. No mountains in sight. We are home. The trip back was predictably exhausting with trains and busses and planes and more busses involved. Once I retrieved the car from the far distant carpark at the airport, I thought it was a simple run home. To bed. Hah! The complete idiots powers that be running the roadworks closed off the on ramp to the motorway, so off we went on a midnight "let's wander through the moonlit countryside" trip. Hunched over the steering wheel with gritted teeth. Muttering. We finally got home 1 and a half hours later than we should have. BUT wonderful friends had left milk and bread and collected the post, so we could have some coffee and then topple into bed. Bear in mind that it was 2.30am European time by then.

I should not moan. I had 4 stunning days in the most beautiful place on earth, so I should be thankful. I love travelling. But actually propelling mother and assorted heavy bags through the process, ably assisted by my son, is not a complete joy.

My post today is mundane to the extreme. I have a lot of reading to do to catch up with everyone. I have taken mother shopping for food, and done battle with the power companies to retrieve overpayments. I have caught up with friends who have also had this horrible virus. And I am completely deaf from the pilot's decision to plant his plane on the runway after a nosedive. Well, it just actually seemed as though we descended rather rapidly, and my ears are still stuck at 38 000 ft. Inconveniently. I am now in need of an ear horn. Note to any pilot fortunate enough to be flying me anywhere....I need gentle descents. Slowly gliding downwards. Drifting like a leaf in the wind. None of this " Whoah...there is the runway.... let's land. Now. " nonsense.
I suppose the fact that I only paid £3.99 (+ tax) to fly there means there could be drawbacks. (Flying back was more, so don't get too excited.)

I have suddenly realised that I have turned into my grandmother. My Mum is quiet and gentle. Granny was a trifle more intimidating. She might have stopped to have a word with "the young man driving the plane" on her way in to her seat. And listed her requirements. Heaven help anyone if it had been a woman pilot. I am rambling. Enough. I am deaf. Did I mention that LOUDLY enough?????

I have 2 more days of holiday to:

1. Clean this house
2. Scrub the floors
3. Do the washing
4. And ironing
5. Write lesson plans
6. Sort the garden
7. Read a zillion blogs
8. Work out how I managed to kill my camera completely
9. Go and look at the allotment
10. Persuade my son to do some work
11. Sort out my sewing room
12. Springclean the entire house (as opposed to just cleaning)
13. Visit friends
14. Have fun
15. Do some reading (book club is here at my place in a couple of weeks. I must buy the books too)

Personally, I think I could concentrate on the last 3 and forget the rest. And make some more coffee. Did I mention the small fact that I brought home Swiss chocolate?

Forest walk

Today I went to the forest I love so much. Mum and Marge and I went to light some candles in the grotto, and then they came home, while I stayed on for a while. I walked back into the forest, and sat in my favourite spot, and did some thinking. No matter how long I come for, it is never long enough.

Today the trees are at the in-between stage. No leaves yet, and no snow either. Just tall stick like things with a stark beauty all of their own. No leaves to crunch under foot, and no slippery mush on the paths. They are getting ready to burst into colour again, and soon the mountain sides will be a host of different greens, but not just yet.

There is nothing I can add to the picture. It is just as it looks, only better in 3 dimensional real life. I never ever get tired of it. Never.
Here is where the forest ends, and the pathway widens. I sat on the far bench for a long while. You know, the only sound I could hear were the birds, and the water tumbling down the mountain side in a stream close by. Other than nature, it was so silent, and I was aware of just how noisy my life normally is. There is always a rumble of life in progress in the background, and I never notice it anymore, unless it is not there. Even through the nights in England, you can still hear that rumble. I am not sure I want to hear it any more. The quiet is so much more immense. I know what I mean. I hope you do too.
Coming over the hill back to the village, and the Kloster again. The monastery, but from the other side. That forest on the other side of the valley is where David and I walked down a few days ago.
This is so Swiss, isn't it?

Sitting in the forest, I let the peace seep into my soul slowly. I can't speed up that process. It takes time. And time is something I never have enough of. It is not like going to fill your car up with petrol. It doesn't click off when it is full, and I don't know if it ever can be really full. But sitting there, and letting nature work....using all my senses to absorb the beauty all around me and heal is something unbelievably precious.

I ask questions up there. I don't always get answers, but I know just why Jesus and many since him, have gone to the mountains in time of need. I just have such a strong conviction every time I am up there, that I am meant to take note of the pace of life, priorities, serenity and values I see so clearly while I am in the mountains. Which I lose sight of as soon as I get back to my normal life. I had a text message from a friend while I was standing looking down over the valley, saying that stillness was something they were appreciating on their holiday, and the slower pace of the community they were visiting. Sounds just like what I was experiencing myself. The need for silence and stillness and serenity.

Now, granted this is a village and not an urban sprawl. I am sure there are many stats and much data which would say differently, but here, I notice that everyone smiles. Everyone greets everyone else. They make eye contact. And let me tell you, it works. You cannot walk around here, and everyone walks all over the place, without smiling, and it changes everything about your day, and your attitude.

Tomorrow, we go home. I don't want to go.

Back from a stroll around the village

Here is the Benedictine monastery, around which the village grew up. It has a school attached to it as well.
Looking back toward the village centre, and I just loved the 3 little white haired ladies sitting together on the bench. The village is nestled in an amphitheatre of mountain peaks. You can turn 360 degrees and see mountains in front of you all the time.
This mountain "bowl" is called the End of the World. Up there is the chapel where my son's wedding was blessed. In Switzerland, it is the civil marriage that is first then the blessing in a church comes afterwards. I will tell you all about that magical summer soon. I will. And up there is the forest I love to walk in. I will go tomorrow. There is a grotto up there too, where I always light a couple of candles, and sit.
This is the mountain I sit and look at while I am on the computer in my sister's study. I walked along the river to take this photo. Now I have a mega headache, so am going to flop on the couch and snooze. I surrender. Too much in one day. Groan.

Sunrise

My camera cannot cope with sunrises like this, but here you are anyway. It is a very old little camera. And it did try.

We have been down the mountain today to Luzern to do some shopping. And it is another beautiful day.

What I neglected to tell you is that I arrived here as sick as a parrot. I picked up a flu type virus that has been doing the rounds, and all I could do once we walked in the door, was collapse on the couch and sleep. We had to get up on Sunday at 3 to set off for the airport, park the car etc, and get the plane to Basel, then 2 trains here. I did tell my son he had to stay awake or we could make an unscheduled visit to Milan, which was where the train was heading. He stayed awake. We got here. And I refuse to waste any time being sick, so we are walking and getting out, but not as quickly or as frequently as I would normally be doing, I confess. I am shattered after a couple of hours. Sigh. Another by-product of age....taking longer to bounce back. I don't do "sick". And I refuse to miss a minute when I could be out on the mountains.

Ok then....little old camera and I will toddle off to see what else I can show you. Don't go far. I will be back.

Sunset

I thought you may like to see the sunset from behind the mountain this evening. Have I mentioned how much I love this place???????

Yodel-Ay-Heeee-Hoooooooooooo!!!

Well, here we are in Switzerland. This is where my sister lives, and this is what I see in the morning when I open my eyes. Mountains all around. Stunning, stunning scenery, and a quiet like you cannot believe.
David and I went on one of our "walks" this morning. Well, we always set out to do the simple thing, and then get sidetracked by wondering what is "up there", or "on the other side", or "what the view is like from up at the top" etc etc etc. This usually involves precarious descents sliding leaves, or ankles deep in snow. Today was no different. But we made it down intact and it was breathtakingly beautiful. This is my favourite place on earth, I have to say. Repeatedly, for those who know me. I fell in love with Switzerland when I was 12 and nothing has changed about that. (I am using a European keyboard, and all the letters are in the wrong place).

This is the view of the village from the side of the mountain.

I took 48 photos this morning. This is normal for me. I must have more photos of Switzerland than anyone on earth. But just LOOK at the beauty!

The sun shining through the trees in the forest on the side of the mountain. Sigh. Now I have shown you a little bit, I will be back later with more walks and more photos.

David and snow= snowballs and wet hair, and lots of laughter. I asked him to make footprints in the snow and he sank down a foot. Oops. He was wearing trainers, not snowboots. Oh well, he is tough! And he dried out quickly enough.

Gardens

We are having the most glorious weather here, and it has reached 20 degrees C in the past few days. If you walk into the garden, (the newly hacked back one), you will hear voices from all the surrounding gardens, and lawn mowers, and strimmers. There is the smell of newly mown grass, and of BBQs being hauled out and lit. Spring really starts now I think, and we come out to discover that our neighbours are a little older and greyer, but still there, after the long winter hibernation!

Soon it will be time to go and buy some bedding plants for all the pots, but traditionally, that happens at the end of May, once danger of frosts is gone. My lavender needs cutting back too. I forgot that yesterday. I love scented plants, and the lilac is indeed in bud.

I should be washing my car. It looks tired and grubby after the winter. This is not something I feel moved to do often. I am just enjoying the sun for a change!

Holidays - Part 1

Well, I am home, and behind me as I speak, are my 2 sons and my daughter-in-law. Talking about blogs. My last post was actually WRITTEN IN AN INTERNET CAFE. Be impressed. I went into one for the very first time, and then the officious little man tapped me on the shoulder and said...3 minutes left, and I got into a flap and hit the publish button and then had to ask how to delete the history stuff etc etc etc. Oh well.... something new I have learnt. How to use a computer in an internet cafe. In Skegness. Where the wind is VERY VERY cold.

Spring Harvest is an annual Christian event, and there are 3 weeks available in 2 places in the UK, and we go to the Word Alive week, which has the student stream. There are seminars, talks, workshops, and main events, Christian rock bands, huge worship meetings with the most amazing music, and speakers. This year, Charles Price from Toronto did the main talks in the morning, and Jeff Lucas, who is based in Colorado, did some of the evening ones. He is one of the organisers. I met him and had a chat on the last night. 7 000 people all there to listen, learn and take part. And the bookshop. Sigh. I could have done with a lotto win, and a lorry, but had to make do with one or 2 great new books.

David turned 18 on Tuesday, and had to suffer the humiliation (to an 18 year old boy) of having the entire diningroom singing to him. He loves going to SH, and was with his friends, and having such a wonderful time. (My baby is 18. How did that happen???)

I spent a lot of time walking on the beach. I went to some things, but not to others. It was a strange time, in a way, as it was the first time I have stopped and done nothing since last summer, and of course, predictably, the waves rolled in, but I had some space to think.

Now we have a few days at home, before we go to Switzerland, and my boys are both home. The washing machine is on, and the house is a tip, but it doesn't matter. If I had stayed home, I would have worked. It is good to get away completely. And to be with my family.. And to walk on the beach a while.

Spring Harvest

I said it was windy. I said it would be cold. I did not say it would be perishingly cold or that I would have neglected to bring any Arctic gear with me. As in no thick coat or hat or scarf or gloves. The duvet is the closest to warm gear, and I am not up to wearing it around the site. I have, however, discovered where the main heating blowers thingys in the Big Top are, and so help me, I am first in the doors to appropriate a seat where I will not turn into a popsicle.

I have walked on the beach. I have collected stones. I have paddled in the water, and yes, I still have 10 toes. I checked. David turned 18 yesterday,and had a great day. I hardly saw him. He was off doing things with his friends.