Reflections

Life settles into a routine, it always will, and so it has for me. Every weekday morning I get up have breakfast and start a load of laundry. This is not an exaggeration, if I don't do washing every day I will never get the clothes dried, the kids would be uniformless and the machine would never hold a load, so each morning I put in the clothes before I do almost anything else so that it has the most time possible to dry. Then of course the work it requires to get the kids off to school with homework done and lunches packed. Once this is done I put in as good a workout as my living room allows. Then I shower and get myself ready for the day. Most days will require a walk to the shops for groceries or other supplies one can't live without, but even if nothing is required I still try to get in a stroll through the neighborhood. These are the everyday, routine things that I do, this week I also visited a friends home, went for lunch with a different friend, did a bunch of baking and finally finished the furniture projects I had on the go.

You can see from the picture that my current hobbies fill my living room as I work on them. The table, chairs and entertainment unit have all been refinished and this week the final top coats were applied and I was able to finally put them out of the the way as much as possible. Of course this meant I had to search out and find what my next project should be. I also cut my sons hair, this was a two part job as I didn't have clippers and had never used any before even if I had. I know that many women out there will be rolling their eyes at me right now but after walking over to the store to pick up a set I then had to read all the instructions before I would even be willing to go near his head. Finally Thursday we gave him what we are calling his summer hair which makes it sound like I went that short on purpose instead of the truth which is that I picked to low a number. This weekend my daughter had a big fancy dance over in Wales, her first since being in the country, and this required a new dress, a manicure, pedicure and the day of a elaborate up do and make up application. The point I suppose is that I keep myself pretty busy, perhaps even busier in some ways than I did in Canada. I am making friends, something I don't do great at, developing new hobbies, trying new recipes, getting outside, planning trips and visiting new places. It is odd then that I can still have so many moments of feeling lost and out of place. Interestingly I still have times when I succumb to boredom and find myself wondering what I should do with myself.  As I asked myself the question this week 'why', I discovered the truth about me, I am a leaner. I realized that I had always counted on my family and friends to simply be there when I needed them, if there was a time that I found myself at a loss I would dial one of them up or pop out for a visit. Now with all of them so far away instead I stare at the clock and calculate how long before it is an appropriate time to face time. I am glad to be in this beautiful country and am loving the opportunities that it affords me but I wanted to let those back home know that without you, I will always be a little lost.

Today was another remarkable sunny day so after church we packed a picnic for tea and headed to another of Swindon's parks. As I know some of you count on photos and travel tips I thought I should include these.

The park has a fairly good sized lake, that I am told that people used to swim in but opt not to these days, with a walking trail that skirts all around. In the park there is also an eighteen hole golf course for those into that kind of thing and for those at my golf skill level a mini golf course as well. There are plenty of grassy spots to lay out and work on your tan and lots of shade to lay out blankets and enjoy a meal in the outdoors. When the heat get too much or after working up your appetite circling the lake there is also and ice cream vendor that was doing roaring business today. Kids can also play on the playground or in the sand pit  so really there is something for everyone and it is easy to see why so many people head out there on a sunny Sunday afternoon, much to the chagrin of some seeking more private interludes, like for example the couple enjoying each other a little too much on the next blanket over from us. After some significant coughing and loud talking they did seem to get the hint and we were all able to go back to enjoying nature as was intended.