What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
I would be devastated. I know things are just things but I quite like things. To lose all my friends and family would be so much worse, but either is unthinkable.
Goodness I have been hanging onto these prompts this week. We have been hiding out in the campervan keeping our germs to ourselves. The weather has been kind. But pondering has been a little on the back foot.
Powered by a morning bun that looks like a comma we geared up for a two year olds birthday party.
The weather was kind. It’s been a good week for the weather. And today was a good day to be two.
This is an interesting question. I often feel out of place even in the most comfortable of situations. I often feel like I am on the periphery of a group. So much so that I feel that that is my place and I am quite comfortable with that sensation
Like being a white pumpkin in October , I lnow that I am in the group but perhaps not quite of the group. When Orange and ornate pumpkins are the season favourites.
This feeling has never bothered me
Although I understand to most people it could seem quite odd.
I am always an observer of new situations at the beginning , I dont jump in head first hoping to survive.
I always consider before committing. Apparently this is quite normal for ‘only’ children who are not brought up in a large extended family. We are just not exposed to the normal rough and tumble of life that growing up with siblings brings. We lack an innate competitive attitude to all things no matter how small.
For me being ‘out of place’ is exactly the place I am used to. Sometimes being the white pumpkin is no bad thing.
Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
My life without a computer. No blogging, more reference books. An analog life, which I have lived before. A different way of being in every way.
Today had been a non computer day, a bit of domestic sorting out and the joy of finding an old book.
2nd of October, just two entries. An exploding barge in 1874, loaded with gunpowder, must have made a massive bang on the Regents Canal. None of the crew survived and were blown up to such a point that there was no evidence they had ever existed.
On 1915 there was a blackout in London, I didn’t know such a thing had happened in the first world war.
Without a computer that would be the end of my knowledge. That would sadden me but I would still have a fulfilled life. But if I had some time on my hands I would be off to the library for a rifle through their reference library. But I have a computer, here is a link to the exploding barge.
And Google tells me that London started Blackouts in 1915 to deter Zeppelin raids. The first of which occured in September 1915 so it was probably a good idea.
In my analogue world, a tidy book corner plus wrapping paper.
What details of your life could you pay more attention to?
Sometimes these prompts from my blog hosts are useful and other times not at all. I am a life long gatherer of random knowledge. There is so much in my personal hippocampus/ temporal lobe archive, an archive that is not the tidiest,that it seems to be getting harder to retrieve my idiosyncratic collection of useless trivia. A question like the one above has me flummoxed. I have no idea what details of my life I could pay more attention to. Which of my details is not fully fleshed out or completely explored and understood. Who is the judge of personal details that have been given proper attention to and those that need a little more work?
Flummoxed I maybe but I rather like the thinking process that makes my mind tingle with trying to create an answer. Right now I am trying to work out if this is a good or bad prompt. I know it is not fully bad or of no interest because I scroll right past those. It is also not fully good because I don’t have an immediate response to blog about in a negative or positive way.
In conclusion I don’t know which aspect of my life needs closer attention, but I have given the matter some thought.
I have spent a few weeks with an old school friend digging out memories that we have both archived for more than fifty years. I am hugely surprised how quickly we could recall all that old data. Even more impressive is the way other forgotten trivia continues to surface in my mind. All a bit pointless now as we are once again half a world apart.
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
Hard work in itself does not make me fulfilled. Hard work with a positive outcome is very fulfilling. But hard work that fails to bring a good outcome is not fulfilling in any way. My hard work of the summer, painting an already white, heavily textured wall continues to reward me. I had no idea that a refresh of white paint would make such a difference. Especially now we have lost summer light, the optical brightness of the walls really enhances the more flimsy light of autumn. Hard work seems much harder to recover from when it does not bring the desired positive or pleasing result. I cannot imagine enjoying it for its own sake. I know plenty of people do. Thank goodness I am an optimist or I would never get out of bed without a guarantee of success.
There is a world of hard work for hard work sake that I rarely experience. The Gym for instance, great for physical recovery but once the recovery is achieved I have little interest. Is there any hope for me?
Absolutely, optimism is a superpower that trumps my aversion to pointless hard work.
I don’t know that I value so much, as rely on my ability to stick to a commitment once I am commited even if the task or project seems a little beyond what other people might need or expect of me. Until recently I would describe this ability as ‘goat-like’ meaning that no matter what the job, it would be completed. Maybe not elegantly or with style but with confidence and determination. With the diligence that goats show when taking difficult paths. In recent times Goat has come to mean something entirely different. Greatest Of All Time.
Now that, may I say is not how I would describe myself.
The nuance of my interactions with people changes outrageously with this new Goatish accolade.
” Would you like help with that shopping”
” No , don’t worry, I am a goat”
Meaning ‘I am fine the bags are balanced and are not too heavy’
Or
“Leave me, I am the Greatest of all time at carrying shopping without a scintilla of modesty”
Language is an evolving and perplexing creature.
However I think the world would be a better place if Goat stood for, Gets Onwith A Task.
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
Neccesity not money has always driven my employment. Now in the afternoon/evening of my employment life I choose to volunteer and paint. Money does matter, but there are far more inportant things to chase
Travelling, off the beaten track. I will freely admit that often the ‘off the beaten track’ is an error of my navigation or a misfiring memory. But ‘the road less travelled’ has always been fascinating to me. As for todays blog I have decided to go with some alliteration.
If it is Monday it must be Monomvasia, although, in truth we visited on a Tuesday. Images from Monomvasia 2 weeks ago will illustrate this blog.
Perfect Pomegranates in Monomvasia
First my aversion to alliteration, like swearing I believe alliteration should be used sparingly. Too many people on Social Media use it as a reliable tagline.
I once protested, by swearing, when someone running a Social Media account gave me a list of alliterations to use for the month when I was taking the account over. Despite me explaining gently that I was alliteration averse. Not my finest hour.
Greek Urn Geek, Monomvasia
By nattering on about alliteration I have ably demonstrated how easy it is for me to go off the beaten track. But I needed to explain myself as I delve into ‘Its Monday, it must be Monomvasia’
Steep steps, Monomvasia
Monomvasia was a misfiring memory. When it was suggested as a destination on our road trip my head thought Mount Athos. A monastery destination near Thessaloniki which is closed to women.
Colourful cottages, Monomvasia
Both places played a part in my vivid imagination as a child with access to the National Geographical magazine.
Best bar, bar none. Monomvasia
The adult me never thought to question why women would be admitted, I suppose I imagined some form of orthodox emancipation had occurred. Regardless Monomvasia was everything I had hoped and welcomed women. Which is always a good thing. The unexpected road less travelled did not disappoint and off the beaten track is always thought provoking. Plus Alliteration can be useful in small doses but it can be taken too far.
Which topics would you like to be more informed about?
The world is a complicated place and I have a magpie mind. Never really knowing what will interest me next. Frequently I surprise myself. This week I have been intrigued by football chants and songs. Who knew?
Goodness knows what it will be next week. I also plan on baking macaron biscuits some time this week. Not delicate little french ones but chunky almond coated ones to accompany coffee. I also have a rather ugly piece of furniture that needs some TLC to make it acceptable as my bedside book store. I sense my magpie mind is busy storing projects to get me through the winter months, once this glorious early autumn descends into dreary dreariness.
Post holiday the yard is working hard as a drying space. The climbing plants managed very well while I was away. Climbing and flowering in my absence.
Probably happy not to have my interfering fingers trying to encourage them in directions of my choosing rather than their natural urge to find the best sunny spot for their new shoots.
Our yard planting is all about improving privacy and encouraging wildlife, alongside creating an outdoor space that we want to sit in.
Our first new visitor of the autumn is a Pug Moth.
Named, apparently, because at some angles it resembles the dogs with the same name. Not from any angle I could find. Maybe that is something I could be better informed about!
In theory, rather empty, but my head has the most delightful, personal Juke Box, playing in my subconscious, on demand. Sometimes in the form of earworms, when I least expect it.
theoldmortuary.design 