Be my friend......................

"Technology doesn't prevent intimacy, it redefines it....................."

Today's post is inspired by the above quote, although I am not certain of its origin, but thankyou to whoever came up with it :)

It is a constant source of wonder to me how big an effect connection to the internet has had on me and my life. As most of you will know or be able to guess, I'm not much of a technology bod, preferring the simpler hand-cranked life;many years ago now, I was the one who said that we would have a computer, yes, but no net. The children spent the next few years trying to get a turn on here lol - well, not quite, but you get the picture. I remember the first thing I ever looked up on Google - the Dalai Lama talking :))
Look at me now...........
I get mightily fed up with people who are adamant that real and true friendships cannot be made online - I would deeply dispute that. Since 2003 ish when I dipped a tentative toe into the world wide web, I have made some very deep and lasting friendships. Living a life like I do, in a small rural village, there can be a tendency to become quite insular, especially if there are few like-minded folk around you - my situation at present.
I can come on the net and talk about growing carrots, how the bees are doing, share knitting patterns, housework, the weather, all the things that make up my daily round - all without ridicule and scorn, and sharing with folk who are doing the same things.
It is the minutae of everyday life that binds ordinary people, not the great acts and famous deeds of a minority.
Even more important to me, and I imagine to a lot of others, are the friendships I have made over the years, mainly , although not exclusively, through various online forums; add in to this my blogging and Facebook, and it's a rich mix. There is the initial shared interest to provide a step up, but just like real life, you take to certain people, and general chats develop into close and rewarding relationships. Meeting up with them in real life is lovely, and very rewarding, and I know that I will never meet some of them at all, but that doesn't make the friendships any less valuable and precious to me.
Being online gives you the time and space to talk about the things that matter, to share the laughter, the crying, the fun and humour that gets you through your days - all wedged in between the things that have to be done to keep body and soul together, and a break from the humdrum of daily life.
I have two very special friends I have met online; one has ended up moving, through sheer chance, quite close to me, and I see her regularly, which is lovely, and will be a lifelong friendship. The other friendship is on a different level, but will be lifelong too, I know.
So I thumb my nose to the naysayers who don't believe that these friendships are the "real thing" - they are to me and countless others, and become interwoven into the fabric of our lives, giving us strength and love and fortitude, support and encouragement when perhaps "real" friends are thin on the ground.

The view from here...............

This is what I look out on to from the back kitchen window, where I wash up at the sink; it's truly beautiful at this time of year, with all the lush early summer growth.

Doing things properly

It's nice to do things properly :) Sometimes, we're in such a rush that the details and niceties of life get passed over and passed by, and often, it's these little things that make the difference between OK and great.
A little example from yesterday; I was asked up for coffee by a friend further up the village, in the morning. She's under pressure getting ready for an exhibition (she's a weaver), so I went up to share a break with her for an hour or so.
She appreciates home made stuff, so I made some fresh scones to wrap up in a teatowel, delivered warm, cut some dark purple irises from the front pond and added a pot of home grown basil. I found a book I knew she would like, and popped the lot into my basket; washed my face, put on some make up and favourite earrings and a clean bright red dress and off I went :)
We sat outside under the pergola in the shade of a huge old grape vine, drank good proper coffee (I watched her OH grind it) out of handthrown mugs, ate warm scones with jam and watched blue tit parents flit in and out feeding their brood only 6 feet away. We looked at garden photos from last summer, wandered aound her garden, laughed and gossiped for over 2 hours in the end. I left with a box of various veg seedlings and an oven-ready rabbit...:)
I loved it, a really good way to spend a morning, I won't forget it, and she was ready to go back in and tackle her work afterwards after a break from it all.
I then walked home in the sunshine :)

Moments in a day...........

- spending a few minutes right at the top of the garden looking out over the fields to the woods

- taking time to check the animals over as they rush helter skelter towards their respective breakfasts

-the coolness of dewy grass on bare feet

-looking out of the kitchen window whilst washing eggs

-ten minutes under the umbrella in the garden with a reviving cup of tea

-family being grateful, and letting you know, for good food in the evening

-conversations with friends

-the few minutes at a time when no traffic can be heard

-standing and listening to birdsong

-realising there's no rush for anything

-opening the windows for the cool of the early morning

-snatched moments to catch up with your book you'd rather not put down

-the moment when the oven door opens to take out fresh bread or a tray of shortbread

-putting away freshly ironed clothes and laundry

- watering the indoor plants

-moments when thoughts of friends pop into your head unannounced

-putting out the kitchen light when all the jobs are done for the day

-realising your children are growing up and into their own lives

-that snap of a moment when everyone else is in bed and the house sighs with you after another busy and satisfying day

-head hitting a good pillow with fresh linen on it after a fulfilling day

Toffee vodka

This came from a post on Creative Living, but I'm not sure where it came from originally; it's ridiculously easy to make, and lovely to drink. Give it a go :)

Decant one bottle of vodka into a large jar or bowl; add two packets of Werther's Originals (the hard candy ones,not the toffees), give it a shake and leave overnight. In the morning, you'll have toffee vodka. :))

Sunday in the garden

The most beautiful hot day here today - summer is upon us. My garden is beginning to look how I always wanted it to - isn't that quite something? Lots of pictures to share over the coming months, and Bean and I are going to make a short film of it too, with music and commentary from me, so look out for that :). In the meantime, this was today........