Four years

Four years have passed since we moved into our house here in Villalobos. In some ways - as we all say - it seems to be only yesterday when we packed up our things yet again and drove out in the drizzle to the countryside. It was such an exciting day...

The lovely table didn't survive.....it collapsed sometime last year.

The garden in its original wild state

Romy happy in the silly little doorway...now reformed to full height!

Four years on and there has been a lot of work. It's involved digging up existing parts, adding new bits, rather a lot of concrete and huge amounts of toil, mainly by FR but with help from the boys on the more back-breaking things!

There has been a lot of planting, building of walls and the placing of strategic electrical points in preparation for summer living....
Lots of trees....walnut, almond, cherry, nectarine, plum, pear,,,,

There's still a lot to do but FR's vision is taking place. I keep putting bulbs every year - slowly but surely our garden is starting to bloom.

I don't have a lot of time for gardening 'proper' but Mateo is a good helper and a brilliant weeder...I'm looking forward to getting the front of the house done...it's still the original ugly concrete that was here when we moved in. In time, it will be a beautiful terrace and additional living space, with furniture and plants and nice things. In time. 

And today, I have just taken a walk down memory lane as I dropped Romy off at her friend's house, which is the house we lived in before we moved here! It's such a beautiful day that I decided to do my old, favourite walk (though sadly without my favourite little white ball of fur that was Darwin....) up through the pine trees to La Mota, glad that there was no one around to hear my panting and puffing as I plodded up the steep hill. About halfway up, I heard a band playing. Practising for Semana Santa. It was lovely to listen and as I got to the top, I could see that they were rehearsing carrying the platforms that in a couple of weeks will be topped with figures of Christ, the (various) Virgins, plus donkeys, flowers, other figures - making them very heavy indeed. Today though, from an onlooker's point of view, it looked like a large table with about 20 people underneath it, who from time to time, lifted it up onto their shoulders and 'processed' a distance to the music, then stopping for a break. 

The glorious view from the top towards the snow-capped Sierra Nevada in the distance. The playground is new. 

As is this 'recontstructed', in a wonderfully minimal sense, church at the foot of La Mota. 

It really was a gloriously bright and sunny day on Sunday.

My photo is embarrassingly bad - I didn't manage to capture the 'table' or really even the people underneath - and you can't see the band that was just around the corner...I felt a little rude taking photos of a rehearsal. Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered at all!

Anyway - it was a slightly comical sight but will be impressive in a week or so from now once the processions start.

Four years ago, blogging was an integral part of my life. I could hardly carry out any activity without thinking how my blog post would accompany its description. Nowadays, I rarely write and rarely read blogs....and with a few notable exceptions, I think many of my blogging friends must feel a bit the same. It's too easy now to upload a photo to Facebook or Instagram and be done with it. I also have less free time than I had for writing. My free time is usually spent drawing my Zentangles. I am more addicted to this than ever! Partly, this is because every Friday evening, since last October, I have been sharing my passion with a class of, mainly, women in the Women's Association that I am a member of. It started out as the usual sharing of different skills, but very quickly after I did some Zentangle drawing for them, there is now huge enthusiasm and more than a little talent amongst this group and I'm going to show a little of our work here. 'Being Here', for me, is about being part of the town I live in and apart from my children, Zentangle is a thing that has brought me more into the community than almost anything else. It's important to say that I am NOT a certified Zentangle teacher ....yet! I am so determined that one day I will be so for now, we say we enjoy tangling. In Spanish, all those consonants together means that Zentangle is a very difficult word to say!

Our classes are informal and just for fun and we practice different patterns.
Outside the class, people also tangle - and bring in their various artistic endeavours each week. And each week, they are more impressive.

Note, for example, the beautifully decorated box on the right - absolutely stunning work by Aurora. You can see some of her 'practice' work, albeit a bit blurred, in the notebook she's working in.
She's really very good.

This is a final set of tiles, done in the last half an hour of the class. There is a peace and tranquillity that descends at this time that is incredible. A room full of women - Spanish women for the main - and silence. Beautiful, eloquent silence as we slip into a Zen state of concentration and creativity.

And this is in my English teaching classroom - sometimes the drawing creeps into an English lesson. I have one group of young teenage girls and it's a special treat for us all when we have a lesson devoted to the language of Zentangle!























And whilst I started off this post by saying that it seems like only yesterday that we moved house, looking back now, and seeing how life has changed and developed in these four years...it seems like we have done a lot and moved on even more, not forgetting those we have lost.

Life has changed in many ways for us all. What were you doing four years ago?

Axxx

Shpeekin' Inglis. (B2 or not B2.)

It's several weeks since I wrote a post and in that time, I haven't really read anyone else's blog or even thought about blogging. Blame Facebook! So many of my friends from blogworld are now Facebook friends too and when life is a bit hectic,then a quick scan of status posts makes me feel like I'm still in touch.

But here's a brief round up....

• Romy's performance, which wrote about in my last post. 
• Hot on the heels of this incredible production, we had end of term exams; 
• Ruy had archery competitions - where he walked off with one 3rd and two 1st prizes. 
• And my students at work had their English B2 exams.

And here's some detail, as much for me to remember it all by as for a blog post in its own right...

The exam preparation was quite time consuming for me as we did the Trinity syllabus, which is very interactive and requires a lot of extra input from the teacher! (At least, this teacher seemed to put in a lot of extra hours....there is always a lot to learn.)

B2 indicates the level of English that a foreign student has to reach in order to study at an English University. And I have been preparing a class of 10 people from the offices and research department in the factory where I am working. It's been very interesting, to say the least, teaching a group of adults who have different backgrounds, different experiences of learning English but who have close and friendly working relationships with each other. Our classes - held over the lunch break twice a week - have occasionally been utterly rowdy!

I know from teaching teenagers and younger children that I've always had a sneaky soft spot for the noisy, energetic individuals who liven up proceedings - or sometimes disrupt them - and who keep you on your toes. I could name several that I will never forget and I was delighted the other day to bump into one of them, who will be about 16 now, I think. When he saw me, instead of the usual polite greeting that I occasionally get from ex-students, he opened his arms wide and gave me a big hug and said how happy he was to see me! Made my day.

Teaching adults is different. But my B2 class has been very different! There's a great phrase that sums up how it's felt teaching this lively and disparate group of people - it's been like herding cats! We have had since mid-February to start the work, which is in two main parts - written and spoken, with the emphasis on communication. The written part took place at the end of May and a few people had problems with the timing...nothing we can do about that now! The spoken part consisted of preparing a portfolio of three writing tasks done in different styles - letter, report and creative - and which can be corrected as many times as needed before submission. The teacher can't directly correct but can indicate where mistakes have been made. The final results were, in my opinion, really well done and I was pleased with everyone's efforts. At the actual interview, students go in individually and converse with the examiner for about 12 minutes. They have around 4 minutes to talk about a subject or topic of their choice. My group had an incredibly wide range of topics - from a disastrous honeymoon to producing specialist plastic film products; from a childhood in France to a childhood in Transylvania; and from the guitar to business planning! In addition, they had to talk about their portfolio, including asking the examiner some questions and leading an interactive session to find out details of a strange or unusual situation that the examiner introduces.

The examiner was in for quite an afternoon!

The date for the interview was 25th June - which just happened to be my birthday - and my students were due in both before and after the lunch break. There were three - and I picked the three that might be most nervous - before lunch and they arrived all together and definitely nervous. The other six were after lunch. (One person chose not to enter the exam, but had been in our classes - if you wonder where the 10th had gone!) But I'd met the examiner beforehand - a very sweet, gentle and rather eccentric (at least so she appeared to the Spanish folk) retired FE teacher, who spoke slowly and calmly and very clearly - and so I was sure that my students wouldn't have a problem. And the first one emerged smiling broadly. Then my only dubious candidate went in - she'd been very busy and rather stressed for a few weeks previously and I felt her speaking had actually deteriorated, rather than improved and I was a bit concerned. However, she too emerged with a big smile and a huge sense of relief. She said she surprised herself with how fluent she had been! And the final morning candidate left the room, more than 12 minutes later, and punched the air with delight!!

I went with the examiner and my friend from the Academy for lunch in the park - a glorious spot in full view of the castle. The examiner was enchanted with the place and sweetly anxious to know how the candidates seemed to be when they left the exam. I told her that they seemed to have enjoyed their conversation and felt that it had gone well. (Maybe it would help in the results, maybe not!!)

And then they arrived....a group of my B2 students came to the park BEFORE their exam...and I could hear them clearly speaking in English, ordering a beer or four! Eeek!!!

As the examiner went back to prepare for the afternoon session, I scurried over to my group just in time for George to see my face and change his order to a non-alcoholic beer. They'd already had two.
Elena was the first of the afternoon interviews and she definitely was going to be a nervous candidate especially for the interactive session, which for her was a potential nightmare. She pushes herself hard and has put in an incredible amount of work in preparation and likes to know she has her facts clear. She has given us some unintentional laughs over the period as she's tried to be 'spontaneous' in the interactive practice.... However, after two beers, she seemed remarkably relaxed. Jolly even. And on the verge of ordering another beer! I had to drag her away and we had an hilarious twenty minutes waiting for her exam, where she never stopped talking with Toni in English. I only hoped the examiner wouldn't notice - although to me, it was quite obvious that Elena's usual somewhat formal demeanour had disappeared. Fortunately, she came out smiling, though complaining that it had gone far too quickly and that she had lots more she wanted to talk about - her topic was Equality for Women.

The next two were utterly sober and quiet and sensible. One came out not too happy but as he's from the Pays Basco and much less extroverted than the rest of the group, it was in keeping. He speaks very well but he isn't the most interactive of types - and when the examiner asked whether he wanted to ask her any questions (a cue to do so), he said, no thank you!

Whilst the other candidate was in, the remaining three from the park emerged....full of beans. Lots of beans. There has been a long standing joke about using the word 'subtle' during the classes, on account of the very direct approach of one person. He's worked very hard in softening his style of writing, which bordered on brutal, but still has a tendency to pronounce the word 'shuttle'. It was the ambition of the group to use the word at least once during their interview, so the three remaining candidates were practising. In whispers, so we didn't disturb the exam in progress. It was not reassuring, though it was very comical.

Eventually, all three had been in, done their bit and come out. Then they left to return to work. As the last one closed the door, the examiner emerged from her room. I swear she looked exhausted! And she said, 'Well they were a lively bunch, weren't they? Are they yours?' - and I SO wished those last three had still been around, then I could have said - 'THAT'S subtlety!'

The next morning, the students from the Academy had their exams and then Toni, Becky (the native English teacher at the Academy, who took over from me when I left) and I waited for the examiner to finish off and give us the feedback - and the results - from the interviews.  We were all on tenterhooks and most concerned that our students had done their best. (I was also worried that the examiner might come out and tell me I shouldn't allow my candidates to enter for their interviews in a state of inebriation.) But eventually, we had our minds put at rest. All my students passed - and a few of them passed really well indeed. Alberto - with his honeymoon story and great sense of humour - had impressed enough to get 3 As, which is fantastic.

I went back to the factory to share the news and there was much whooping and hugging and a great sense of relief. We had still to wait until late July for the results of the written exams, but as the spoken part amounts to 70% of the exam, most people feel they've made the grade. And they are also keen to continue onto the next level. I may have work for a bit longer yet.

Thank you if you've made it to the end of this quite personal ramble. I don't know who will have done, but if you are or have been a teacher, you'll understand the anxiety and concerns that you have when it's exam time. And at least I've only had 9 students!! I know that they are all pleased to have passed - one or two definitely thinking they could have done better and one or two feeling hugely relieved - but I suspect my own delight and relief almost matches theirs.


And now BREATHE! It's holiday time.

When you find a little time....

Write a post.....

This is the first Sunday in a while that I've had a bit of time. Writing posts during the week is practically impossible nowadays as I am teaching every day, including Saturday morning, and by the time I get home, the computer has been well and truly taken over by one of my three.

Usually, on Sundays, I take Ruy to do archery and have a lovely, leisurely breakfast in a nearby cafe. I suppose I could write my blog then, but it would have to be on my phone and to be honest, this is very difficult. And as I get older and become more a creature of habit, then this time has become my tangling time....I can't imagine not tangling whilst I sip my coffee and crunch on my 'tostada con tomate'.

I'm loving my teaching hours - and now I have plenty - but am very glad to have arranged a week off. I find that I get a lot of energy from the teaching process but when I come home, I find I'm quite drained!  I have recently discovered that my teaching 'technique' has a name - Dogme - which basically allows a conversation to follow in any direction, using the 'journey' as the opportunity for learning. I do usually prepare something for my classes in advance but these are generally things that simply set the ball rolling and I don't feel the need to deliver exactly what I've prepared. This means we often talk about incredibly interesting subjects, even if some of my students find it difficult to express themselves well in English. But they are so keen to try that some learning is absolutely inevitable! And it gives them greater confidence. Even with my basic group, we've covered things like global warming, book and film reviews, solar and nuclear power...in fact, life, the Universe and everything!

Barney is still with us as I write but as it's Easter this week, he may well be missing from our garden by this time next week...

Here he is looking rather majestic, if a little out of focus.

And another of him under his umbrella.

I recently posted a couple of pictures on Facebook and a number of people commented on how big Pip had grown...yes, he's a large dog! He's incredibly handsome and sweet natured but still has a tendency to jump up, particularly at me as he does love me so much. He's fantastic to take on a walk and never goes far from my side, which makes me feel very safe indeed. Here are a couple of him today, hunting a bumble bee in the grass...

And just being handsome in the sunshine.

We have some wonderful blue skies now and the blossom is well and truly out - even on our old and rather unproductive almond tree, seen here. The smell is, of course, wonderful - honeyed and sweet and everywhere. It is a most perfect time of the year.

Tomorrow, we're planning to have a visit to the Sierra Nevada to take advantage of the snow whilst it's still there and the days are warm and pleasant.

And later in the week, I'm hoping to have a trip to the coast, so maybe I'll be able to take photos other than of the sky, Pip and the turkey!

I have no problem whatsoever in the repetition of the days or even my numerous trips in and out of Alcala. I have reached an incredibly settled and happy period of my life and I'm just enjoying each day. Nothing can buy this feeling, I'm sure, and ups and downs do happen, so I don't expect it to last forever.
But be quite sure, my silence in the blogging world is nothing to do with wanting to keep quiet or out of sight. It's a sign that I'm really very busy being here and being happy right now.
(It's almost boring ... but not quite!)

Hoping to get another post in before the Easter weekend and also to start catching up again on all the lovely blogs that I like to follow. Take care everyone and may you have a very happy week - whether busy, sunny or otherwise.

Axxx

Some weeding due...

My blog garden is falling into a state of neglect, I'm afraid. Time for some weeding and pruning, or rather, some devoted attention.

I have hardly blogged this summer and hardly read the blogs of my friends. It's a strange feeling - in June, it seems as though the summer stretches out endlessly ahead and that there'll be time aplenty to do all the things that need to be done or that we want to do. And we do them - without doubt, this summer, we've done lots - but then sneakily, a subtle change comes about.

It starts as soon as the calendar turns to September. We see the odd cloud in the sky for the first time in months. Our evening walks with Pip have to begin earlier and finish before 9 o'clock or we risk being stranded in the dark. The overnight temperature drops low and we have to pull out a fine blanket on the bed for sleeping.

And then school starts and everything changes! No more lazy mornings; now, it's up just as the sun is rising and the air is still very chilly. No more late, late nights when the temperatures drop enough for us to feel able to be active. It's back to work and back to a schedule. And probably no bad thing.

So, to leave my borders tidy and my lawn well mown (figuratively speaking - my 'garden' still has a long way to go before we get to that stage!) I will share some photos from our lovely summer and then I shall start afresh with life as it is in Casa Rosales as we begin the new school term and focus on learning and growing for another year!

Some of our almond harvest

En route to Valladolid

Taking in some amazing scenery on the way!

Something not too nasty in the woodshed...

Cousins' poker school...

And some rain!!

Buying some of the excellent wine from Rueda

And a picnic in our favourite spot above Madrid.

Just back in Andalucia looking for vultures..

A most amazing spot and well worth leaving the motorway for.

Glad to be home again too.

And, back to work!!

For some, it's still back to play though!

Oh, and lots of Zentangle of course!

And a selfie on my new tablet.
Hello!

Hope you've had a good summer too - I shall definitely be reading again soon! 

Axxx

How many beans make five?

Don't ask me why I've called this post 'How many beans make five?' because I really don't know! I just couldn't think of anything else and this little phrase just popped into my head....maybe there's a reason but it's not obvious just yet. (The answer, by the way, is 'a bean, a bean, a bean and a half, a half a bean and a bean'.)

I think it's because it's such a while since I posted and I have no single 'theme' for this one. I would have liked to tell you some 'big' news (well, biggish for me) but as yet, there isn't any! This is par for the course for Andalucia and how things are arranged here....but soon, there will either be some 'big' news or, of course, there won't!

It's been a busy few weeks and so bear with me as I give you a whistlestop tour of my world in pictures and just a few words.

I started painting with my Zentangles....

The beginnings of the Villa Family orchard...perhaps!

My four-month old 'puppy' on guard!

Signs that some work is beginning
(though after the cement went in, there's been no further progress just yet!)

My iris flowered!

We had Semana Santa and to my shame, I didn't go to a single procession! Romy and I went to Granada for a day and had a lovely time, including lunch...Romy's pizza was so big, she couldn't finish it!

Then after Semana Santa, my mum came! She came in a much more relaxed and healthy state than last time, when she was really tired out with looking after my dad. We had a lovely week, sitting in the garden, chatting, going out for lunch with the children and popping in to see Sam before she left.

There were lots of crosswords, but not between us!

Pippin was so good with her and didn't jump up or behave badly - and they got on like a house on fire.

The time went far too quickly though!

Having Mum to stay was good for another reason too as it did help take my mind off Sam and family leaving us for Scotland this week. We had a great get together with lots of her friends on Thursday night and all was jolly and fun until this photo was taken....

 ...when we gave each other a hug and immediately the tears began!! However, one week on and they are all safely back in Scotland; the girls have started school there and Sam starts her new job today....so a little chapter has ended and a new one has begun. One day soon - a visit to Perth, I think! Means I can also visit another friend there at the same time...which is beginning to sound like an excellent plan.

So, lots of beans here - possibly a few more than five - but magical ones and ones that will be taking seed and growing and bringing new stories for my blog in time to come. (There, I knew I'd find a way to bring it together at the end!!)

And do forgive me if I have been absent from your blog in recent times...we're one computer down and I've been otherwise occupied - I shall be finding time to catch up, comment and get back into the swing of things again very soon.

Here, it's a 'bank holiday' so we have another four days of holiday before life gets back to normal again next Monday. Enjoy your May Days wherever you are.

Axxx

Sunday...

This morning we awoke to creeping fog. A fog that was rolling over the tops of the mountains and towards us. No sunshine for Janice and Mark's last view of beautiful Andalucia was what I thought as I peered out of the window. We had spent much of the previous day together and spent a little planning how to publish a set of shared posts about our get-together. You will have to wait a little while until Janice gets home before we can make a start on those. As my camera isn't working properly at the moment, I have no sneaky pictures to share before she gets home - we will have to wait!

And I am only going to blog here that I've just had a phone call from her to say that they've reached their overnight stop-off point on their journey home and have enjoyed a beach walk in beautiful sunshine in a place our family once holiday'd and liked, Alcossebre. This is great news because here at home, it's miserable and damp to such an extent that FR lit the stove for us! I think that tomorrow, they are planning on visiting another of my favourite spots, just over the French border, the very pretty town of Collioure. It will be more than thirty years since I was there but friends of mine who have visited since assure me it's still very lovely there. It should round off their holiday beautifully.

I shall leave you with a photo of Collioure and those of you who know Janice can imagine her sitting and having her lunch here tomorrow - and join me in raising a glass to her very good health.

Picture courtesy of 'The Guardian'

(And I know I keep adding Mark in brackets but he too has been great company and I've really enjoyed getting to know him better!!)

News from my small blogging world

Blogging has increased my circle of friends in a wonderful way. Today, I want to say a special hello to Perpetua, who I know is becoming rather nervous about an approaching eye operation. It's not a little thing to have to face but I know there are so very many people thinking about you, Perpetua, and hoping that all goes smoothly for you. Those nerves won't go away, I know, but at least it will very soon be all done. You are in a lot of people's thoughts right now.

Gaynor, I'm still waiting to hear back from the Notaire in Tournon St. Martin as I start formal proceedings to sort out my house in Lurais. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for making the trip out to Les Basses Granges to check out the state of the property these days. It amused me greatly that you and Tim and your friend were on that little lane leading up to my house there and was delighted with the photos you took, especially to see the little shrine infront of the house again! It was absolutely above and beyond the call of a blogging 'contact' to do this for me but I feel it was done out of genuine friendship and I'm so grateful. Did Tom receive his birthday cake in Japan?

And in just about a week's time, I shall be waiting for the phone call from Janice (not in Caunes at the time of calling, I hope!) and Mark to say that they have made the long drive down and have arrived safely in Alcala la Real. I know they've had a busy few days - a new grandson made an appearance a couple of weeks early - and so, before setting off to Spain, they flew back to the UK to visit him. He hasn't made it onto the blog yet, but I've seen a few beautiful photos posted on Facebook, so I know he's absolutely gorgeous and worth the trip back to see.

I understand Janice has a friend who lives just north of Valencia, whom she and Mark will be visiting before heading south. She only just missed the opportunity to visit Helen, of Venomous Bead blogging fame, who has a house nearby but who has now returned to Costa Rica. That would have been excellent fun - except I would have been dreadfully envious - how I'd love to spend some time with Helen - and it would have made the wait for her to arrive seem almost unbearable!

Not much more than a year ago, Janice and I decided that at some point in 2013, we must meet up. After working in the same local authority for many years, it's been blogging, not working that seems to have brought us really close and in tune with each other. Our work circles didn't overlap that much which in retrospect seems such a shame. We had much greater opportunities to get together in the past. It's not quite so easy now. And Janice has had quite a year. Those of you who have followed her journey through illness and recovery must agree that she has been absolutely incredible throughout. I have said it before, but I am filled with admiration for her approach.

We met at Christmas when I came back to spend a few days with family. It was a very special hug we shared - if ever a hug spoke words, that one did. For my part, it was a 'thank goodness; you're doing so well...now be brave and strong and get completely better' sort of hug. And now for that meet up! Hurray!!

And now she is and will be here in just a few days time. I'm pretty sure we'll be sharing our days together with those of you who are our shared blogging pals...who will be next for a meet up??

See you soon!
Axxx

Caracol colocado

Hours of mental application. Words whizzing through my mind. The choosing of a new blog title is almost as difficult as choosing your child's name.

Of course, I wanted something clever; witty; encapsulating; pertinent. So many good concepts to choose from - I already had chocolate. I have moved to place with a name - Rosales - in a village with wolves in the title. There were 94 inhabitants before we came. I have identified myself with snails; we'd been 'moving on' for quite some time; we had arrived in our very own home.

Surely from this little lot I could conjure up a wonderful title?

Well, there have been some strong contenders. ('Dun Romin' was the outsider, though, let me make that clear!) 'Moving In', 'Settling In' and 'Staying Put' came quickly to mind; closely followed by 'Casa Rosales'.

Ruy came up with a lovely one - Five New Wolves'; and someone else suggested 'And then there were 99'.
I was focusing on snails and rose trees and discovered there is a story of this name by Hans Christian Anderson. Interesting.
I checked out chocolates and roses and was plagued by memories of a truly awful advertisement from my younger days. Some of you will know exactly which one I mean! (I was quite surprised to find it was from 1964 - when I was only 5 - and I can remember it clearly even now. The power of advertising!) It was for Cadbury's 'Roses' - a mix of chocolates, usually in a tin, - and had Norman Vaughan saying 'Roses grow on you' as the slogan.

So no to a roses and chocolate theme. But I did wonder about the phrase 'May contain nuts.' I've included it in my heading because it appeals to me and could cover a multitude of possibilities as well being a common reference to chocolate. (And I much preferred Frank Muir's contribution to Cadbury's advertising...)



The other night, my mind still turning words and phrases around, I had the lovely idea of being a settled snail. Snail, in English, has a slightly unpleasant sound to my ear.
In Spanish, though, it's lovely. Caracol.

SO, feeling on the verge of something rather exciting, I remembered that something 'placed' (or settled) in Spanish, is 'colocado' - and I absolutely fell in love with the sound of 'Un Caracol Colocado'.
Beautiful alliteration, somewhat unusual and rather clever, in my opinion.

I turned to FR to try it out. He was unimpressed and appeared to mutter something. As he was with earphones on and watching a video, I though his comment about being 'doped up' was related what he was watching. Then he stopped and gave me his full attention.

"'Colocado in Spanish does mean 'placed' or 'settled' but it's also used as a slang expression for being stoned, smashed, drugged up. You can't call your blog 'The Stoned Snail'......No, you can't!"

(This last comment as he saw my eyes light up!) Yes, I was sorely tempted - but then I discovered someone already had the title. Not a blogger, but a fantasty fiction writer. And not a very good one. But I really was tempted.

I've had suggestions from friends too and in the end, I've settled for something that takes a bit from many suggestions, says what I want to say, doesn't require lengthy explanations and also draws on the philosophies of living in the moment. Of being; and of being here.

Being Here.

More words...

Courtesy of the Plain English Campaign

Have you noticed a greater intrusion from spammers recently? More is making its way onto my blog, rather than being sidelined by Blogger's excellent 'Spam' detector.  I've got away very lightly compared to some, but it is so annoying when a spam comment gets through.
I shall have to have a dig around to check that I haven't left a crucial box unchecked...






There's a sort of fascination for me in such gobbledegook though; I like to imagine the blog-owner actually typing this stuff into my comment box...

"You actually mаke it appeаr геally easу with youг presentation but I find thiѕ matter to be actually one thing that I feel I'd by no means understand. It seems too complicated and very extensive for me. I am taking a look ahead to your subsequent submit, I'll attemρt tο get the gгasp of it! Take a look at my homepage: "

Almost worthy of a politician!!

It seems like such a lot of trouble to go to to encourage new visitors. Is anyone else vaguely tempted to visit the webpage suggested and leave an equally ridiculous/mysterious/obscure (delete as appropriate or add your own!) message?

Hmmm....just me then?

Footprints...

I love footprints.

I love them on a deserted beach

On newly-fallen snow

I love prints of babies' feet - little chunky smudges.

And of course, the image of dinosaur footprints - herds of them - lumbering across the Jurassic Coast of northern Spain...with some rather younger models from the modern era...

And I was enchanted to find this lovely word cloud maker that has allowed me to make a word footprint from my blog.

Love it!