Alice's Mug

For those of you who haven't already, you really should visit Alice's Bucket List

Alice is a beautiful, brave 15 year old girl who has terminal cancer. Her blog is her bucket list - a list of things she wants to achieve in the precious time she has left. In her words: 'You only have one life - live it!' 

Today, Alice posted about one of her fantastic achievements since starting her blog - she has designed a stunning summery mug for Emma Bridgewater. You can buy it here, with a great-big £10 from every sale being contributed to Torbay Holiday Helpers Network, which supports families with terminally ill children. 

Another of Alice's aims is to get EVERYONE to sign up to be a bone marrow donor. I'm going to take the first step towards doing so on Monday, when I go to give blood. (You need to be a blood donor, before you can be a bone marrow donor). While Alice and I have your attention, I would urge you to consider doing so also. When I look back at how much donor blood my dad needed when he was sick and consider that - had he been lucky enough - he would also have had a bone marrow transplant, it makes me so incredibly thankful for all those people who had taken the time and thought to donate. I'm ashamed to say I wasn't one of those people before then - I'm going to put that right now. 

For more information about blood  and bone marrow donation, if you are in the UK visit Give Blood and British Bone Marrow Registry or if you are in the USA visit The American Red Cross and National Marrow Donor Program. 

Thank you. 

Chance

Looking at this picture now, it does not seem real. 

When I flicked through a day's worth of photographs taken around the farm on Saturday, I was not expecting the flight of the swarm of swallows, swooping in the sun, to have been captured. They are so fast, dive-bombing to catch flies and gnats in the air; it is a chance blessing that the shutter of my camera moved at the precise moment to capture this one mid-soar. 

Wandering curiously into one of the barns, camera in hand, I found the purpose for their frantic flight...

A nest tucked away under the eaves, containing hungry mouths to feed.

Entirely by chance did I choose this moment to explore, and I was blessed with this reward: the opportunity to capture a beautiful aspect of nature in action. 

To ponder...

Indeed.

A new moon, an eclipse and a reflection...

Yesterday's total eclipse of the sun was only visible for those in the South Pacific and yet it was on my mind for much of the day. 

Like the ouroboros serpent - with its tail in its mouth - the new moon eclipse brought a renewed sense of the self-reflexivity and cyclical nature embedded within everything we do. 

 This time last year I was celebrating finishing my teacher training with a trip to Geneva and was vividly aware, as I acknowledged the eclipse falling while sailing on the lake, that it would bring great change to my life.

A year later and I am about to celebrate my first anniversary with B, a time tinged with sadness as it carries with it the memory of first learning that my Dad was ill. Two events coincided in my life with that eclipse and yet I believe with my whole heart that they are far from 'coincidence'. B was led into my life at a moment when the gods knew I would need him most; and so my dad could see how happy I was before he left this world.

So, yesterday's eclipse led me to a reflection on how much has changed in my life over the course of just twelve moons and where I am standing right now.

The last new moon which eclipsed the sun was six months ago and I marked it with this blog's inception.

And here I am...still writing, taking more photographs than ever (which my dad would be thrilled about) and enjoying the small rewards that each day provides me. 

Today I celebrate...

Having successfully completed my first year of teaching.

Finding a home.

Eating food that I have grown in the garden.

Loving a man for all the right reasons.

Standing on the doorstep to my future.

National Myeloma Awareness Week

This week would mark my Dad's 52nd birthday. Poignantly, it is also National Myeloma Awareness Week - a campaign week aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the type of cancer he lost his life to, just a couple of months ago. 

Myeloma is an aggressive cancer of the bone marrow arising from cells in the blood plasma. It affects multiple parts of the body and causes a great deal of pain to sufferers. As healthy plasma cells produce antibodies, people with Myeloma are at a high risk of infection due to having an immune system which is not functioning properly. 

Myeloma patients find that, as the disease progresses, their bones become weakened, painful and fragments may even begin to break away, as tumours riddle the bone marrow. Areas which are usually most affected are the spine and pelvis, skull and rib-cage. 

Complications which frequently arise in myeloma patients concern the kidneys: the blood becomes too viscous due to the abnormal plasma cells and the kidneys can become 'clogged up' as a result. Many Myeloma patients develop kidney failure - it was actually this stage that alerted the doctors to what was happening with my Dad. 

And that brings me on to the important message behind the Myeloma Awarness Campaign. For many patients - including my Dad - their cancer can go undiagnosed as doctors remain baffled by their symptoms. As Myeloma is such a rare type of cancer (around 4000 people are diagnosed in the UK each year) with such varied and unspecific symptoms, it goes largely unrecognised by GPs. When it finally is discovered, its often too late. 

There is no known cure for Myeloma but treatment can halt the progress of the disease and enable patients to regain some semblance of a 'normal' life. This chance is hugely increased if the disease is caught at an early stage, before multiple systems in the body are affected. The Myeloma UK website, with a wealth of information about Myeloma and the campaign, can be found HERE. 

I want to thank you for taking the time to read this far - it would be fantastic if you could pass this information along, either by linking to my blog or to the Myeloma UK website itself. And if I could ask one final thing of you, it would be this...

If you are a UK resident, please sign up to the TAKE 2 campaign. 

You will be sent a Diagnosis Pathway document which you can take to your doctor, next time you visit the surgery.

I can only imagine what a difference it could have made, if only my Dad's doctor had had one. 

Thank you. 

Summer Bucket List

Inspired by the lovely Laura over at The Lola Letters and recent events in my life encouraging me to seize the day, I thought I would share with you my summer 'to-do' list.

Laura calls this her Summer Bucket List and it comprises of all the things one desires to do during the summer months, written down onto strips of paper and placed in a bucket, to be pulled out once or twice a week. I just LOVE the idea behind this - letting  whatever will be happen. 

So, when the days are long and the evenings light; when the Earth is warmed and the sun shines bright, what do you want to do with your time? I know I'll be enjoying some freedom this summer as, being a teacher, it will be my first long holiday. So, here goes...

My Summer 'Bucket' List

Spend the day in Oxford and have drinks by the river at The Trout

***

Visit the seaside and eat fish and chips out of newspaper

***

Go wild swimming

***

Go strawberry picking

***

Have an evening by the fire, toasting marshmallows

***

Take photographs in a rapeseed or poppy field

***

Share a seafood platter with B

***

Paint and distress my desk chair

***

Go for ice cream

***

'Midnight Margaritas'

***

Sew some owls just like these cuties from Alexandra at Moonstitches

*** 

Go for a picnic

***

Spend a whole 24 hours without technology - including watches - and just go where the wind takes us.

***

Have a girls' pamper day with Mum

***

A day trip to London to visit the art galleries with B

I'm sure I will think of many more to add to this list over the coming weeks!

How about you? What would be on your summer bucket lists?

Marvels

'Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished' - Lao Tzu

Once they hatch, dragonfly nymphs live for most of their lives on the bottom of rivers and ponds. This stage can last up to five years, with the nymph breathing through gills. When the larval dragonfly nymph is ready, it climbs up a reed or other water-dwelling plant and as soon as it reaches air, begins to breathe. 

The skin splits and the dragonfly emerges, stretching its wings and taking to the air, with the ability to propel itself in six directions - up, down, forwards, backwards and side to side - at speeds up to 30 miles per hour and spot movement from 40 feet away.

In the air, their wings refract and reflect light, enabling them to shine with an array of  luminescent colours. This wondrous creature symbolises the ability to see things from a different angle, embrace change and transformation and acknowledge the fact that life, like light, offers many illusions. 

Mother Nature at her most marvellous. 

The simple life

One of the most joyful aspects of living on a farm is seeing these little guys popping across the yard for their morning walk...

Everything is an adventure and filled with intrigue.

However, not all eggs can become little balls of chickadee cuteness.

So the bonus is that I get to have fresh ones for my tea. 

Yum yum yum.

Making changes

After an unproductive day, when life feels barren and empty...

...the best thing you can do is nourish the soil, plant some new seeds and wait for something beautiful to bloom out of the desolation. 

Life is good...

I was delighted to find that I'd been given this beautiful award by Crystal Rainbow over at Sparkle and Shine today - what a lovely surprise! And a fantastic idea to help us all get to know one another in an interesting way.  Life truly is good.   

So thank you, Crystal, and here are my answers to your thoughtful questions...

***

1. What would you perfect day consist of?

Waking up to the sunshine pouring through my windows, breakfast in my pjs with B and the papers or a good book, followed by a long walk, a big family dinner and finished off with cuddles and a bottle of wine on the sofa. Bliss. 

2. How would you describe yourself if you were an item of clothing?

A little pair of ballerina pumps - small and dainty. 

3. What hobbies are you currently working on?

Writing, photography, reading, needle crafts, cooking and a bit of knitting.

4. Walking in the woods in wellies or bare foot on the beach?

Oooh, tough one - both are favourites. Bare foot on the beach - I love feeling the sea and sand between my toes.

5. Have you ever hugged or sang to a tree?

Hugged and spoken to all the time. I think I sing like a crow, so I'd be worried about offending the poor tree!

6. Growing your own veggies or nipping to the supermarket?

Growing my own veggies. Sadly my 'garden' is tiny and mostly in containers so that is limited, but one day I am determined to have enough space to grow everything myself. 

7. Have you found anyone exciting in your family tree?

No-one 'famous' that I'm aware of, but I think discovering your roots is always exciting.

8. Slap up meal in a posh restaurant or fish 'n' chips from the wrapper?

A bit of both for balance. 

9. Which element do you most resonate with, Earth, Air, Fire or water?

I'm a real Earth girl but I work with Fire a lot also. 

10. Do you believe in fairies?

Oh yes. 

***

My own nominees for this award are...

Faerwillow at ~serendipity~

Anna at Annabel's House

Willow at Wandering in the Woods

Mother Moon at Mother Moon's Message

Liz at Lizzie's Logic

...and here are my questions to them...

1. What is the most memorable dream you have ever had?

2. Do you have a 'spirit' or totem animal or an animal you feel particularly connected with?

3. If you could go on any journey tomorrow, where would you end up?

4. A cozy winter's eve by the hearth or a warm summer's day by the sea?

5. If you could conquer one fear, what would it be?

6. What is your favourite poem?

7. What are your most frequently used herbs and what do you use them for?

8. Savoury snacks or sweet puddings?

9. What is one thing you wish to achieve this year?

10. What would your perfect day consist of?
(I loved this question, so I have pinched it!)

Blessings.

Journeys

I have struggled to find words of my own throughout this toughest of weeks. My dear dad departed this world, taking another path to continue his journey. 

Myself and my family watched and waited, praying for him to find peace. Each moment of our day became another step closer to a new, alien life; every word spoken was another emotion experienced. We have all grown and changed within this short time. 

Seeing a loved one battle with an illness which robbed them of the ability to experience life as they once did makes my future path all the more clear. I shall no longer put off those things I want to do; I don't want to say they can wait another year. Life is for living and precious little time we have to do it. 

I will spend more time with my family.

I will enjoy my happy, healthy relationship.

I will make the effort to be creative and express my thoughts.

I will find the time to relax and nurture myself.

I will love with my whole heart.

Loss

Oh heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, 

answer that the flower withers, 

but the seed remains  ~ Kahlil Gibran.

Life is eternal, and love is immortal,
and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight
~ Rossiter Worthington Raymond.

Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven 

where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us 

to let us know they are happy  ~ Author Unknown.

Hope

Journey's End

In western lands beneath the Sun

The flowers may rise in Spring,

The trees may bud, the waters run,

The merry finches sing.

Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night,

And swaying branches bear

The Elven-stars as jewels white

Amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey's end I lie

In darkness buried deep,

Beyond all towers strong and high,

Beyond all mountains steep,

Above all shadows rides the Sun

And Stars for ever dwell:

I will not say the Day is done,

Nor bid the Stars farewell.

J.R.R.Tolkien

Cleo's Guide to Life

Meow! Salutations! My name is Cleo. Avie and her family are my pets. I have noticed that she has been rather distracted from her job of giving me attention lately and have come to the conclusion that this blog is at fault. So I have taken it hostage. Today I thought I would give you my key steps to the good life.

Here goes...

1. Curiosity is your friend.

Sniff things. Pad them with your paws; feel them with your whiskers; taste them if you fancy. Ask questions about everything! And even though sometimes we make mistakes, this is how we learn and grow. For example, I know now that tasting bumble-bee results in a very swollen face and a trip to the vets. 

2. Stay focussed.

If you want to get to places, you have to concentrate. Put one foot in front of the other and try to stay balanced. Don't be put off if you have to take small steps. Racing ahead will mean you'll fall off the wall. Take in every moment of the journey - you learn as much from that as from reaching your goal. 

3. Be resourceful.

Obviously I much prefer to get my scratches and strokes from the humans, but sometimes you have to make do with what is at hand. A tree branch, car exhaust or new carpet can be just as useful - it's all about thinking outside the cat-carrier.

4. Do your stretches.

Keeping fit and healthy is important so make sure you get regular exercise and lots of fresh air. Look! I can touch my toes. Can you?

5. Relax.

Take some time for yourself in a quiet spot to rest and recuperate. If you can do this in the sunshine, well that's a bonus.

Cleo. x

Rarity

The Fritillaria Meleagris - commonly known as the Snake's Head Lily, Chess Flower, Leper Lily or, simply, Fritillary - is a rare European wild flower usually found in grassy meadows.

Its nodding, bell-shaped flowers are imprinted with a delicate pattern reminiscent of snakeskin or a chequer board. The fritillary's flowers range from this deep mauve shade, through lighter purple tones, to pale creamy white. Even the almost luminous white flowers show the same faint chequered pattern, almost like a watermark upon their fragile petals. 

Now an endangered species in the UK (and much of Europe), it is rare to see these beautiful plants growing in the wild. However, they are still found in the gardens of enthusiasts and I am proud to say this wonderful specimen still flowers at my parents' home.

I planted the bulbs around 14 years ago when I was just a wee girl and it gives me such a thrill to see the delicate flowers still raising their heads, year in year out. 

It is nice to know that, in spite of all the change that occurs in our lives, some things remain constant and true, reminding us that there is stability and security all around us, should we need to ground ourselves every once in a while. 

Simple pleasures

After a day spent spring cleaning, crafting and pottering around the house, this is what I would love to be doing.

Sadly my partner in crime and scrabble is away this evening and I don’t quite feel desperate enough (yet) to play against myself. 

B thinks that I love playing scrabble with him because I win every time. However, this is not quite the case. I enjoy our games so much because they symbolise a connection. Not only are we having fun creating memories together; we are also interacting, chatting and thinking.

Chaucer used the 'game of chess' as an allegory for love, but I think scrabble fits equally well. We anticipate each others' moves, think carefully about what the other person has written and respond accordingly - sometimes having to compromise. I'm not suggesting either of us is out to 'win' in our relationship but I like the fact that this particular game struggles to work without equal participation. If one of us does not put down good words, the other has difficulty playing as a result and the web of letters fails to grow.

Tonight, however, as I just have my radio for company and a glass of wine, it’s time to delve into a good book instead. These are simple pleasures that I feel moderately less guilty than normal revelling in – it is half-term after all. Bliss. 

Joy

It may still be chilly and grey but boy is there change in the air. An abundance of life is flourishing around us –steadfastly weathering those pesky February frosts that threaten to quash it. But oh no, it will not be beaten. Like Persephone, battling her way back from the Underworld, these little signs of life are defiant: Spring is coming.

This week I have watched the little flock of sheep that inhabit a small enclosure at my school very closely – they have a definite glint in their eyes and a frolic in their step as they charge about. What a change from their huddled ‘scrum’ stance of a mere week ago! On the farmyard, the rooster has taken to crowing louder than ever and chasing the lady hens. 

Everywhere you look there are signs of flora and fauna coming out of hibernation.

The hedgerow is teeming with signs of new life. It is joyous to see so much green again.

And in my parents’ garden my favourite tree is beginning to reawaken, reminding us of the perpetual cycle of life and nature.

Even little Cleo got caught up in the air of spring liveliness, bounding around in a flurry of madness, chasing leaves and sticks.

Wonderful.