Please excuse my absence… again! Life is just so full and wonderful and busy at the moment! :)
So as an update, I am still in the village, though I will be moving out next month, and I am missing it already! L It has been so wonderful staying with J., listening to country jams as we cook in the garden… (Oh, did I say as we cook? I meant as she cooks! My cooking is not something I would subject anyone else to, so I mostly stick to chopping! Haha)
As a summary of my time in J’s adorable little place, here are some photos and notes I have been jotting down over the last week:
June 3rd -morning
Today the magic is once again apparent.
Waking to a morning cold enough to snuggle up with a jumper.
Sharing the spoils of visitors - John Mayer and Ferrero Rocher over a breakfast of beans reheated on the fire (which I lit), while the dog blissfully chews a charred goat’s hoof from last night’s slaughter.
Coffee filtered through some old, gray, crotch-less leggings.
Getting stuck upside down with my hair tangled round the tap and my face an inch from the surface of the soapy water during my bi-weekly hair wash.
Chasing a chicken out of the garden with my dripping hair still foamy and dangling in a bucket in front of my face.
Being caught by our guests while telling off said chicken as it scurried out the gate.
Pah hahahah
The simple, daily things that bring me joy…. :)
June 3rd - later
I feel my heart may just burst with happiness.
This is it. All there is.
Forget the bigger life questions. Let the world’s problems fade. Lose yourself in the moment.
The perfection of children.
That is where the future lies. Forget the rest.
S. in the hammock in pink sunglasses.
M. swinging happily while we try tickling her toes.
Why is it called a “bean bag?” Oh. Cause its full of beans!
Who needs a private garden when surprise intrusions such as this bring such joy and relief?
June 4th
So, it hit me again, the hilarity of this life, as I crouched over the charcoal burner, blowing on the beginnings of a glow,, as I tucked my cell phone under my ear to set up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon.
How did I end up in the wonderful position of teaching, applying for Masters, fundraising, AND chopping my vegetables by candle, squatting in the garden to pee, and heating water over charcoal so I can take a cup shower under the stars?
June 6th
“All I need, All all I need, all alllll I neeeeed, is you smiling at me….”
I will miss it here SO much! I am savouring every quiet, simple morning - sweeping leaves out of the kitchen and shower area with our brush broom, emptying last nights ashes in the compost, and watering the garden with the old school tin watering can. Then wandering along the path to work under a pink morning sky.
I know, I know, I am white and I have a salary. I should, therefore, be living in a house, paying staff to do these things for me. And yes, all things seem sweeter when there is a definite finish date. But… what if… I like it? What if I find it relaxing to wake to an active routine rather than a sleepy cup of coffee? (That comes later, at work… hehe).
What if I love sweeping the sand, my rhythm in time with that of the morning song going on around me - the simultaneous sweeping, scrubbing, water splashing, and crunch of feet on sand that let me know the world is waking.
I am so ungrateful...
So as an update, I am still in the village, though I will be moving out next month, and I am missing it already! L It has been so wonderful staying with J., listening to country jams as we cook in the garden… (Oh, did I say as we cook? I meant as she cooks! My cooking is not something I would subject anyone else to, so I mostly stick to chopping! Haha)
As a summary of my time in J’s adorable little place, here are some photos and notes I have been jotting down over the last week:
June 3rd -morning
Today the magic is once again apparent.
Waking to a morning cold enough to snuggle up with a jumper.
Sharing the spoils of visitors - John Mayer and Ferrero Rocher over a breakfast of beans reheated on the fire (which I lit), while the dog blissfully chews a charred goat’s hoof from last night’s slaughter.
Coffee filtered through some old, gray, crotch-less leggings.
Getting stuck upside down with my hair tangled round the tap and my face an inch from the surface of the soapy water during my bi-weekly hair wash.
Chasing a chicken out of the garden with my dripping hair still foamy and dangling in a bucket in front of my face.
Being caught by our guests while telling off said chicken as it scurried out the gate.
Pah hahahah
The simple, daily things that bring me joy…. :)
 |
| My cozy and beautiful room :) |
June 3rd - later
I feel my heart may just burst with happiness.
This is it. All there is.
Forget the bigger life questions. Let the world’s problems fade. Lose yourself in the moment.
The perfection of children.
That is where the future lies. Forget the rest.
S. in the hammock in pink sunglasses.
M. swinging happily while we try tickling her toes.
Why is it called a “bean bag?” Oh. Cause its full of beans!
Who needs a private garden when surprise intrusions such as this bring such joy and relief?
 |
| The nightly performance of the sun going to sleep |
June 4th
So, it hit me again, the hilarity of this life, as I crouched over the charcoal burner, blowing on the beginnings of a glow,, as I tucked my cell phone under my ear to set up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon.
How did I end up in the wonderful position of teaching, applying for Masters, fundraising, AND chopping my vegetables by candle, squatting in the garden to pee, and heating water over charcoal so I can take a cup shower under the stars?
June 6th
“All I need, All all I need, all alllll I neeeeed, is you smiling at me….”
I will miss it here SO much! I am savouring every quiet, simple morning - sweeping leaves out of the kitchen and shower area with our brush broom, emptying last nights ashes in the compost, and watering the garden with the old school tin watering can. Then wandering along the path to work under a pink morning sky.
I know, I know, I am white and I have a salary. I should, therefore, be living in a house, paying staff to do these things for me. And yes, all things seem sweeter when there is a definite finish date. But… what if… I like it? What if I find it relaxing to wake to an active routine rather than a sleepy cup of coffee? (That comes later, at work… hehe).
What if I love sweeping the sand, my rhythm in time with that of the morning song going on around me - the simultaneous sweeping, scrubbing, water splashing, and crunch of feet on sand that let me know the world is waking.
I am so ungrateful...
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