change and a comforting light bulb moment

an excellent read: Julian Barnes' The Only Story, of course tea from the beautiful tea mug, made by a local ceramist Anne - have forgotten her surname - tastes especially good

 my, it has been a while since I last posted, not there isn't lots to tell, there is, but I just couldn't get back into the posting/surfing mode necessary for the undertaking....life without a steady job is without structure and without that I have to reinvent one for myself; I have a pretty good routine to start the day off with: 10 minutes stretching exercises, 15 minutes intense yoga session, then a hearty breakfast, followed by a brisk walk with Django! then it all becomes muddled and ad hoc: the garden needed attention, as did the house and studio! there was a family holiday in Greece, a visit with Danish relatives and all the rest of life, not to mention the setting up of my small tidying-up business, which is still in it's early stages.
The molar implant journey which lasted one-and-a-half-years, has reached it's final stage, as I now have a tooth crown since last Thursday: I am, so to speak, complete once more, although this has not meant I'm completely pain free in the mouth! oh how one suffers.....more on that later 

a bright and cheerful new table cloth, a birthday present as I turned 55 last Saturday, even though each year I say I don't want to celebrate, I find myself doing just that, this time just a small circle of family & friends, made all the more special by Meghan and Harry's Royal Wedding, which I of course watched, I even took some pics of the telly!
tada the kiss

))))))

all the outdoor chairs and benches are covered in new pillows, some of the covers even hand-sewn by me, and the east terrace is almost smothered by the potted plants, we reinforced the fence along the east side, and I was then able to construct a plant carrier/porch structure alongside the terrace, plus a raised bed in the lower front garden, it keeps me busy.....
I have just now taken a few photos to show you, but this laptop has become increasingly annoying and uploading takes forever; I most definitely need a new laptop! the boys are helping me choose one as I have no interest in such matters, alas, but I do need one that's for sure. Hopefully I'll be posting soon with images on this subject.

Fortunately I do have something else to present to you

In the studio, a major change has occurred: The Dwelling has moved from the East to the West wall.

It seemed perfectly okay where it was, but I had to be able to reach the wiring which runs at the back of the cupboard The Dwelling was built in (the cupboard was originally built to hide the wiring, as my husband plans to build an office in the garden instead of his shed, and we need to sort out electrics, another story!)

So now that I had decided to move The Dwelling, I could also custom build it, and as OldBirdKing, or OBK was the start of it all and his room the beginning of The Dwelling, it made sense to build a structure around his room, all with reclaimed wood of course:

it's twice as wide so the units can close, and as you can see there's more space on the shelves and even room for more boxes to be added on, if we need them

OBK was very relaxed about it all and slept through most of the noise, moving, refurbishing etc

this morning he inspected our collection of tiny horse chestnuts, I suspect the tree dropped them due to the dry and hot weather, it feels like Summer over here I can tell you
another reason for not blogging is the fact I'm outdoors most of the time in a bikini

the moment of truth, last evening as I was cooking and had had a sip or two of the Sauvignon blanc, it hit me, as in an actual physical opening up of head space, a sense of lightness: yes there's still tooth/gum ache and it comes and goes and maybe it will for the rest of your life, duh, life is suffering, why did I ever imagine I was exempt from that?

I have said it many times but never felt it as acutely as I did then, I wrote it down as it had entered my thoughts, in English - no kidding - and what made it special was that it comforted me, knowing that Buddha had realized this and said it out loud and that 

I am not alone

namasté