Making it last

I've had an amusing time just lately: apparently the violinist thinks I must be rather hard up because I only work 20 hours a week and she is of the opinion that the reason that I have the students here is because I "need" the money........she hasn't said as much to me, but has shared her thoughts with the Dane, who has shared them with me!  

This seems to have come about because I have objected to the way that the violinist wastes energy.  For a member of the Green Party, she is remarkably profligate with electricity and water, and thinks nothing of boiling the kettle, for example, then forgetting about it and coming back half an hour later and boiling it up again..........and then even forgetting again! Lights are regularly left on and we walk about behind her, flicking them off........ She's young, and doesn't grasp the difference between being hard up and not wanting to waste things.  She'll learn, one hopes.  As for "needing" the money - there is not a lot of profit to be had in this as I am receiving a food grant for them which amounts to £6.80 a day - and that is all. There aren't many places you could lodge with dinner, bed, breakfast and laundry done for that, are there?  You can't put a value on the family atmosphere, either.

As we are in the period of Lent, I am helping with some Lent group meetings, and we have this morning been talking about the differences between "wants" and "needs", and I shared the story I had read somewhere about a rich chap coming across another man eating a lentil-based dish and telling him that if he would become subservient to the King, he would not need to eat lentils. His comrade replied, I imagine with a wink, that if the rich chap would learn to be content with lentils, he would not need to be subservient to the King!

Contentment has a great deal to recommend it, I am finding.

Dads

I have had a day off work today - yay!  A more beautiful spring day you could not have wished for here, AND yes, I am calling it spring because we have seen the first lambs of the season in the fields just outside the village - and that makes spring for me!

A lovely drive and the sun was very hot on the car as we drove so the YFG commented that she would be able to top up her Vitamin D levels at this rate, but I did wonder whether the glass window would be impeding that?  Nevertheless, sunshine has been the order of the day in the Fens - can you tell just how excited I have been about that?  Thank goodness for the odd bit of high pressure coming our way - shame I don't think it will last and the wet and windy stuff will be back soon.

I took the YFG and we popped over to a nearby town and watched "Dad's Army" courtesy of the Tesco Clubcard vouchers, and then we went on to my dad's house for a couple of hours chatting over a cup of tea.

(image from radiotimes.com)

The film was hilarious and we really enjoyed it.  It had some of my favourite senior actors showing off their skills, such as Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, and Bill Paterson. Then there were the younger chaps who were just as funny - the YFG nudged me a couple of times as I was laughing too much for her liking!  Catherine Zeta Jones was good but the other female actresses like Sarah Lancashire and Alison Steadman were also brilliant.  

The plot line is a little obvious but the costumes and sets seemed to be great, and it was just a good afternoon's outing.  When we got to my dad's and were telling him about it, he sounded intrigued and thought he might have to take his friend George and go to see it - that I would like to see!!

The YFG is revising hard for mock AS level exams in the first two days when she goes back to school next week, so she had her nose back to the grindstone this evening. A bit of an outing has done us both good though - and we have really enjoyed it.

Four single women

So it's Valentine's Day today and there are four single females in this house who are not in the thrall of this particular love feast.  The Dane went to the city yesterday and was amused to see that the Card Factory shop had a line of men waiting to get in the door, as did Pandora - last minute shopping at its best, obviously!  She noticed that there weren't a lot of women in panic mode.  She also had a meal in a little cafe, and was a bit bewildered to see the stares of the couples in the booths around her - she was fine going to the shops on her own, and having a meal but apparently, those eating around her in cosy couples were a little uncomfortable with her there.

So it hasn't cost us a penny to celebrate, because we aren't!  My Facebook feed has had some local floristry establishments advertising bouquets and bunches of roses at astronomical prices, and there have been ads on the radio for Aldi, which is also selling a wide range of Valentine's flowers, at slightly more reasonable prices.  The FH and I used to exchange the occasional card in the early years, but we didn't really do much latterly - it was more about every day things than a huge declaration on one day of the year.

And actually, there is so much more to life than romantic love, isn't there? There's loving our children, our relatives, our parents, our friends and neighbours, our communities, our church families,  and even our enemies, as Jesus said.  Some are more challenging than others!

Opening up

This week has been a real eye-opener in several ways!  I worked too many hours last week and was only supposed to do about 10 this week, but struggled to do that few and ended up with 14 on the time sheet......well, if there's work to be done, I do like to get on with it!  But I had a lovely day "off" on Tuesday and then worked my socks off Wednesday and Thursday - and then had another day pottering at home today - it is a good way of doing things!

It's been all about deliveries today - a parcel from Aberdeen from the EFG including some books she has read and wants returned to her bedroom shelves, a pair of earrings she bought very cheaply but doesn't want so sent them for the YFG and I to fight over [no, not really - the YFG has them], some more sock wool from Hobbycraft for me, and a disposable camera that she would like me to get developed.  A parcel from Amazon was next to arrive - we are having a circuit study group around "Gratitude" this year, and are using Ann Voskamp's Study DVD so several ladies have asked for copies of her book, One Thousand Gifts.  I had to order two more copies, and they arrived today so that I can give them to the ladies on Sunday.  And then there was a Sainsbury's delivery, and a pair of trousers for the YFG for school wear........good job I didn't plan to be out much today!

I've also done some baking today too - a loaf of bread for the EF girls, who love wholemeal bread with lots of seeds, some cheese scones and some cinnamon swirls.  The kitchen has been warm and smelled really welcoming this afternoon - just what I love!  And I had washing on the line.

Not today's but some of these just the same

And I have spent time thinking a lot about a wonderful lady who shared a terrible story of a lifetime of abuse with me last night.  She's a lovely lady who opened up to me and it all came out in about 20 minutes, and left me quite shocked.  Part of my job is walking alongside and listening to stories as people are led to share them with me, but that came out of the blue last night. Thankfully, I was able to listen in a supportive way and offer the right kinds of words but all the time, I wanted to cry.  I didn't, and neither did she, but oh, blimey, the things that God gives me to do.......she's in my prayers.

It is so nearly daffodil time again - there are glimpses of yellow already on the banks of the river

Breathing a sigh of relief that it is half term here now and the girls can take some rest and have a tiny bit of downtime, although the YFG has mock exams straight after the break so she will be revising. She has taken the night off and is at a friend's house, where they are having a Chinese meal, having a bonfire and playing some card games.

Really longing for the better weather to come now!

Not normal but trying

Oh blimey, what a weekend that was!

An informal, fun, family worship time on Saturday afternoon [for which there is a proper trademarked name which the circuit has permission to use, but I don't so I had better not, but you possibly know what I mean] and there were kids having a lot of fun as well as slightly bemused adults wandering about, having a go at all sorts of crafts.  There was a treasure hunt, lots of food and worship - it was brilliant [but hard work!].

Sunday morning I was preaching, and then Sunday afternoon we ran a group for 11-16 year olds, the first in a once a month series. That was very relaxed and great fun, and the kids enjoyed the playing table tennis, board games, crafting and making their own pizzas for tea.  Slight mishap when one of the friends from the church here didn't turn up, which bemused me as she had been keen, and then she walked in with her son at 5.55pm just as we were clearing up - she had times muddled up and thought it was 6-8pm instead of 4-6pm unfortunately!

(image from telegraph.co.uk)

Call the Midwife is dealing with the harrowing Thalidomide story in this series, and seems to be doing it sensitively and with a very caring ethos - but it is still desperately sad to watch.

By Sunday night, I was only fit for collapsing in front of the tv and enjoying Call the Midwife and Vera, and I had rather a lie in on Monday morning. I managed to work 50% more hours than I am contracted for last week so I am having time off in lieu this week and having less to do - which is a change!  I have had a whole day "off" today, and it has been great to recharge my batteries a bit.

The [sad!] highlight of the day for me was actually hanging a load of washing out on the line and being able to bring it in later, smelling properly fresh and clean with that outdoor smell in it - and then I also managed to get it ironed too - almost unheard of here lately.

Tonight the girls have enjoyed pancakes, and we have heard all about pancake traditions in Denmark and Austria as well as debating for nearly half an hour about the line of succession of the Danish and British Royal families, and the Danish girl asked a rather random question about how the situation of a gay monarch might be handled in either country.......the things that they come out with are never dull.

Normal service

I don't know what has happened but this real life [as opposed to t'internet] has got really manic lately!  Will pop back over the weekend - if I get a minute...I've got a cold, too :(

Dignity in death

God calls us to some wonderful work, and I am currently working hard on the bereavement part of the project that I have been employed in connection with, even though I haven't said a lot about it lately.

Today I have had the privilege to take our minister to meet with a village lady who is terminally ill, and she knows it. She is well past 80 and has ovarian cancer: she has had a lot of treatment and it has been harrowing for her, but it has been called to a halt now as the tumour has not reacted well enough to the chemotherapy in order for it to be removed.  Whatever the medical teams have thrown at her, the lovely lady has dealt with it all with enormous courage.

The minister and I spent a blessed hour with her this afternoon, and her remembrances of her life as well as her joy in living at this time, right now, are evident. She's able to get out and about, share times of happiness with her friends, come to the knitting group at the chapel occasionally, and enjoy her three cats!  She is aware that she is dying, but she is doing it so well that she is really inspirational. Her attitude is what makes the difference, and the peace which she exudes is not given to everyone in her situation. She is very matter-of-fact about it, and remarked today that she is only doing what thousands of people do every day.   It was a blessing to spend time with her, and to learn from her, to be inspired by her courage, grace and dignity.