1000 Fields of Roses

A Sign, And A Promise

That’s a big sign.

We got a call on Monday to say that the owner of this house is putting it up for sale.
The agent came round Tuesday for a chat, and the photographer came round Wednesday to take photos for the listing.
Which went up Thursday.
This morning was an open house – not sure how many there will be.
My laptop charger decided that connecting to my laptop was no longer in its job description…

It’s been…a week.

Still, I spent last night and today at an online conference, which has been inspiring.
It meant that I was sat on the sofa with my headphones on while people were traipsing through the house.
Worth it!

There weren’t many visitors, but it’s possible that one (an investor) might put an offer in. If that happens we might get to stay here. Yay! 😀
Our lease is up first week of September, so hopefully we’ll know by then.

Last Sunday, on our way to church, there was a rainbow through the clouds.
It was bright, and a timely reminder that we are never forgotten, and that we can trust God with whatever comes our way.

It was brighter on our way in.
But it still lingered, arching over the prayers outside the church building before the service.

❤

Here are a couple of songs we sang at the conference.

I don’t know what the next weeks/months will bring.
Rain, or rainbows?
Either way – it’s all good!

Published in:

on June 28, 2025 at 9:17 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Joshua Halls, Katie McManus, Maverick City, UPPERROOM

On Being Joyful

I cut my hair today.
Well, my fringe.
And a bit off the sides.

My Babe was clipping his hair – something he does regularly. I shave the back bits, and tidy the tufts.
My hair has been growing long for a while, and gets in my eyes. For one reason or another, going to a hairdresser hasn’t been something I’ve been able to do.
So – clipper.
Long hair.
Obvious, really.

The first buzz took off a Huge Chunk of hair, and since that was right in the middle of my fringe, I had to keep going. It was a few minutes of horrified panic, mixed with grim determination. Possibly some tears.
And, really, it’s not too bad.

I’ve recently been reading a book about joy. Then, in my online reading today, there was a lot of discussion about…joy. 😀
As much as my fringe looks slightly like someone came at me with a hedge trimmer, I can find the joy in the lightness, and being able to see unobstructed. Is it perfect? No…but why do I need perfection in the way I look? I like me!
I had a shower, and everything looked a lot better. I’m snuggled into my fresh, clean sheets (changed today – yay!) with toes that have finally thawed out. Have had a hot cup of tea and a big bowl of porridge.

Life is not perfect.
But maybe songs can be?
❤

Published in:

Thinking....

on June 21, 2025 at 8:21 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Fairground Attraction

Glimpsing The Light

It’s been a busy couple of days.
Tired, still, but I’ve been doing better.
Next week starts another round of learning (a short course on business skills), and I’ve had appointments that have taken up time, so I don’t have any words of wisdom to impart…
just some photos that I’ve taken over the last few months but that haven’t fit any posts I’ve made 🙂

Light hitting the delicate seed heads, and a faint shadow behind.

The moon!
(with a hint of stars…)

Glass, and ceramic, and sunshine on old wood.

Jelly!
Tasty and shiny 🙂

Glass, and water, in the late afternoon.

And a bright purple bouquet, catching the sunshine as I walked past.

This world holds darkness.
But there are still flashes of light, if you look for them.
❤

Published in:

on June 20, 2025 at 10:45 pm Leave a Comment

Chai, Mint, And A (Passably) Good Day

Really, it has been a good day.
Just still dealing with that post viral fatigue.
The kind that feels like trudging through sludge. In lead shoes…

But I got housework done!
It’s always hard to start the little cleaning/washing/organising jobs around the house, but I usually feel happier when I can see the finish line. And it’s lovely to have clean things around me.

Today, I thought I’d celebrate my Monday with a big mug of chai (and vanilla) tea, with crushed mint leaves from the garden (steeped in the tea, overseen by my happy unicorn tea ball 🙂 ), and enhanced with a splodge of honey.

Sweet!
❤

Published in:

Simple life...

on June 16, 2025 at 10:39 pm Leave a Comment

Under A Strawberry Moon

…or so I’ve heard.
The moon is supposed to be bigger tonight, with a pink tinge.
It does seem brighter. Still doesn’t show up well on camera.

We’ve been snuggled in duvets/jackets/unicorn-onesies the last few days. It’s a bit harder to get going in the morning – so today we…didn’t, really 😀 I think most of our virusy things are on their way out, but shivery winter mornings tend to highlight coughs and sniffles.
Got a lot of talking done, though!

I love the winter evenings, when the sky turns pink just before the darkness.

As for the strawberry moon –

I took a photo earlier in the evening, when the moon was still hiding behind the big tree. It does seem a bit pinkish.

Here’s the photo I just took – straight ahead, no hiding 🙂

Shiny!
And still a bit pinkish.
❤

Published in:

Thinking....

on June 11, 2025 at 8:34 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: strawberry moon

Fire In The Sky

The week has been getting better each day, and I have been getting more done. My boys seem to be brighter and happier as well! ❤
I’m trying not to fall into relapse like last week, so there have been some quick darts out into the world, and some snoozing under the covers…

While I’ve been recovering from the Nameless Virus the cactus under the stairs has been…budding?

I’m not sure if those will become flowers?

Last night I figured out night mode on my phone camera. I think.

You have to hold it very still, but outlines seem a lot crisper.

The cold nights have seen colourful sunsets.

…and the daytime cloud formations have sparkled with sunlight.

But tonight!
Fire in the sky,
as the cold night fell.

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on June 6, 2025 at 9:26 pm Leave a Comment

Taking My Old Body To Sing

The beginning of last week was great!
I did stuff.
I even did more stuff!
And then my body said, “No.”

Somewhere towards the end of the week fatigue whacked me over the head, and I’ve been trying to sleep/rest enough to replenish.
I’m glad I did all the stuff last week 😀
Just might have been a bit more than my recuperating self was expecting! 😆

So, the boys are in varying stages of recovery from the “virus-that-has-no-name”. And my Babe started coughing Friday morning, and stayed in bed for a couple of days. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have caught what we had. Or he just heals really quick…

Today was a new day. Yay!
I still needed to sit and rest.
But I also managed the washing, and my share of the cleaning/dishes. Double yay!

In my sit-down-before-I-fall-down time I read some Mary Oliver.
Then I put my headphones on, closed my eyes, and listened to a CD I picked up a few weeks ago ($1 at a charity shop!)

Here are two poems that sang to me.
And two songs that spoke to my (weary) heart.

I Worried
Mary Oliver

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

How Would You Live Then?
Mary Oliver

What if a hundred rose-breasted grosbeaks
     flew in circles around your head? What if
the mockingbird came into the house with you and
     became your advisor? What if
the bees filled your walls with honey and all
     you needed to do was ask them and they would fill
the bowl? What if the brook slid downhill just
     past your bedroom window so you could listen
to its slow prayers as you fell asleep? What if
     the stars began to shout their names, or to run
this way and that way above the clouds? What if
     you painted a picture of a tree, and the leaves
began to rustle, and a bird cheerfully sang
     from its painted branches? What if you suddenly saw
that the silver of water was brighter than the silver
     of money? What if you finally saw
that the sunflowers, turning toward the sun all day
     and every day – who knows how, but they do it – were
more precious, more meaningful than gold?

Published in:

on June 2, 2025 at 10:08 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Brandon Lake, Brooke Ligertwood, Mary Oliver

Exiting The Mould

I had started to wonder what happened to autumn.
The last couple of days have been pleasingly chilly, though, so we’ll see how winter comes in 😀

I had a full weekend, and enjoyed it immensely. Made it to church, after two weeks of being unable to go, and it was well worth it. I even got to pick up the Mothers’ Day gift that was given out the first weekend I was sick 🙂

A tiny little succulent ❤ , guarded by Nightmare Kitty 🙂

It felt like I had turned a corner, and life would rev up into (my version of) reality. Unfortunately, I’ve tipped back into coughing tiredness. Not sure whether it’s the weather. I’ve had a roaming sore throat (first one side, then the other…then none…and back to one side or both). At this stage it’s mostly annoying rather than anything else, but still wearing.
Poor Sweet Bean is still not good 😦

Today we had some areas of mould in the house cleaned professionally, which meant we had to be out of the house for most of the afternoon.
Biggest Boy stayed, and spent the afternoon sitting in the fresh air in the garden. It seems to have done him good. The rest of us went to the library for the duration, except for Sweet Bean, who stayed in his pyjamas and slept in the car with his duvet and pillow.

It was a long afternoon.
But worth it.
We hadn’t realised the ceiling in the sunroom was actually white!

There was a strong smell of chlorine (or bleach?) in the house when we got back, so we had the windows open and fans on until we got too cold.
At least tomorrow is looking like a quieter day…

We were out yesterday morning (part of my getting-back-to-normal-routine), so that added to the fatigue.
But I got a hot chocolate out of it.

With marshmallows!
😀

Published in:

on May 29, 2025 at 9:20 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: rafter and rose

Lounging Around

Feeling better every day 🙂
Still getting very tired (and a sore throat) – but we were out briefly yesterday (my first foray into the world for a while!).
I had to have an afternoon nap today 😆
I’ve been sitting in the lounge chair the last two days, putting my feet up on my unicorn, and catching up with my reading…
I had a bit of a backlog of library books – I’ve been getting interesting books from the library, then running out of time to read them. These last few days has been good for my brain 🙂

Unicorns.
Good for feet and books!
The big book is from Kew Gardens, about endangered or vulnerable plants.
The other one is about food sustainability, and various methods of food production across the world.
As part of my jaunt yesterday we went to the library, where I picked up a book I’d put on hold.

Someone trying to tell me something?

Hoping to get back in to my normal rhythm by the weekend.
Until then – time to read!

Published in:

on May 22, 2025 at 11:26 pm Leave a Comment

Having A Laugh

I’m still climbing out of the dark chasm of feeling-absolutely-horrible.
Probably sitting somewhere between ordinary-icky-take-a-rest and ooh-let’s-go-to-the-shops-(if-we-don’t-take-too-long) right now.
Biggest Boy is not too well at the moment, although his 4-in-1 test was also negative. So, we have/had something. Just not something with an easily identifiable name 😆
I’m able to read and watch YouTube (and enjoy both!) without overdoing it. I was even able to watch church online yesterday – yay! The week before it was too much to stay upright for that long…

The weather is still cooling, and I’m hoping to do some work this week. I’m booked for a Micro Business Skills course later in June, so it makes sense to get some work done towards the business itself!

No interesting photos to share.
I have a variety of views from my window (as seen from the bed), not sure anyone wants to see a range of cloud formations…
But I have a couple of new songs I’ve enjoyed over the weekend 😀

No Beyonce.
Enjoy anyway!

…and here’s a way to have a laugh at yourself, while gently teasing your fans…
(you’ll need to put the captions on [that little “CC” button on the bottom])