Category: Musings
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Unexpected joy on a frosty morning . . .
The world is a small place. I thought I’d take a quick snap of the lovely sparkling frost covering the garden this morning, and when I returned to the kitchen table to upload the image, my brother’s snap of his own frosty morning (yesterday’s) pinged into the laptop. Our mother related with great glee how…
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When the present accommodates the past, joyfully . . .
I’ve been revisiting parts of my past life, off and on quite consistently over these last few years. Many times it’s with a groan of recrimination, a ‘wish I could have done better’ feeling. This morning, thanks to an intriguing series of notes from my brothers, I’m learning that forgiveness is a two way street…
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The delights of feedback
My good friend from college (university) days back in Pennsylvania is a constant source of joy. We seem to have many areas of empathy, and the primary one is now in the realm of ageing. One of the great things about feedback in this blog is that I get to re-consider the thoughts I’ve had,…
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New horizons: trepidation before possible joy
There are always new horizons, I guess, and new experiences as we age. My good friend Henry reminds me that the ageing process can affect us differently, but as my erstwhile Writers Group colleague and friend Marjorie Anderson noted, the end result is the same. Not to be gloomy or fatalistic, I’m also remembering that…
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The joy of quiet service
During this contemplative time, when it feels wrong to try to be cheerful, perhaps there’s some joy to be had in quiet service. There will be rather a lot of such devoted serving, by many kind and careful souls, over the next weeks, as two community funerals, and later a memorial gathering, take place. Not…
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The joy of arriving . . .
Today, with any luck, I shall finish the last scene of the last chapter of my third novel. Its working title is: Biome NE47: Daughters of Eden. In these desperate times of war virtually on our doorstep in Eastern Europe, a retreat into the final scenes of a fictional story exploring what a new life…
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Clear vision joys
Actually, the revealed joy was on Saturday, during an extensive eyesight check at the local opticians in Hexham. The expertise and professionalism of Dickinson’s on Priestpopple is second to none, I thought, especially as the weird double vision I’ve been experiencing over the past while got prismed back into crystal clarity. I could read the…
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Gotta love that hard frost
There’s a special joy to be had, sitting in the warm kitchen, looking out at the hard frost over the East Allen valley, as the sun threatens to encroach over the horizon. I know this, because I’m experiencing it right now for myself. And if I am cheerful and ready for the day, it’s no…
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Delights of fine dining
It felt like an Instagram moment, right here in our dining kitchen, when our cooperating chefs laid out sushi and prawns, avocado slices interspersed with spring onions over black cod and raw abalone, soft-shell crabs fried in crunchy tempura batter. What a delight, and a fruition of a Christmas voucher! The sushi was enveloped in…
Roads to Joy 