This is the right time of year to be assessing lifestyles. I tried the test at the Wellbeing Network and it is interesting to see how skewed my pie chart is. They do give suggestions as to which area needs work, but I am not tempted to sign up – it costs real money after all. Let’s just say it is pretty obvious I should dig out the fitness videos.
Watched a TV film on the life of Elizabeth David last night. The cookery bits enthralled me, and her style of writing, not only made me want to cook good food, but also made me want to read her books. I must admit I had to overcome an aversion to the constant spectacle of her and various lovers smoking…..often around the preparation and eating of meals.
I guess she is well known to people who have trained as chefs nowadays, but the interesting thing is that she inspired a whole nation to try a completely new way of cooking in the years after World War II. A bit sad to think that chefs are still trying to entice people to cook good food, though today it is in response to the plethora of ready-made meals.
Him Behind the Wheel has become Man with a Cold today. Should I describe the coughing, spluttering, sneezing, moaning and regular dosing with cold cures? …………. No – I shall just leave it to your imagination?
As for me, well I am going to have a quiet date with some trousers that need to be shortened.
My morning prayertime consisted of helping a small child build a railway track. I am sure God understands and smiles.
It is interesting seeing the world through the eyes of a child (or three children to be exact) but with the knowledge of an adult. Today I have been treated to the DVD of The Magic Roundabout.… Dylan, voiced by Bill Nighy, was tremendous, but all the old inuendo about “What lovely grass” and “far out man” etc was still present as in the original programmes. In fact, the whole cast was excellent. Thereafter, it was Deep Sea World at North Queensferry, where the highlight was shark-feeding time. Impressive to see two divers in the sea-safari-experience, feeding rather large sharks with frozen sushi mackerel on a stick.
Think I’ll pass on the shark diving experience.
On grandchildren duty this weekend, but the parents are in trouble already. They forgot to warn us of the attacking birds at Linlithgow Loch. There we were, duly equipped with scraps of bread and three children. As soon as the bread was produced, swans, ducks and waterfowl homed in from the water – even leaping up onto the path. At the same time a gaggle of geese ran in from landward and seagulls were diving from the sky.
Exit two red-faced grandparents, a pushchair completed with 3yr old and two more running children. This baby-sitting lark is downright dangerous.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien is in trouble in the news again. His calls for Scotland to be re-Christianised do not seem to take account of the fact that many people with a Christian background actually operate on the premis of a superstitious folk religion. I wonder if he lives in the real world, and yet he is very good at getting the publicity for himself and the Roman Catholic church. In my view, tolerance and acceptance of all views is essential, otherwise we go down the age-old route of victimisation, prejudice and ultimately the danger of war. The seeds of violence are sown in bigotry and fear.
A friend said something lovely about Dana being in the doggy equivalent of heaven, because she had lived in wonderful places and enjoyed constant outings to beaches, rivers, forests and glens. It helped a lot. I have often been asked by children what happens to their pets when they died, and I always tried to be honest and to say things like “Could you imagine heaven without your favourite pet?” That usually sufficed. Although I am far from being a child, (and hopefully, far from my second childhood), I still am comforted by the same thoughts.
I am tempted to write that in the grand scheme of things the life of a dog is not all that great, as if to apologise for my tears, but I would be wrong so to do. All Our Losses, All Our Griefs was a set book on my divinity degree course, and it taught that all the losses we experience in life help to prepare us for the ultimate loss. We just have to be willing to allow ourselves to grieve and to learn.
