Yet more pics of Roma

Me (spot the satsuma)
and the gang in Le Lanterne

The gang at the colosseum


The Trevi Fountain

Piazza de popolo Near the Roman Forum Roman Forum

Casting my clouts

Yes, I know, "Cast not a clout till May is out" but when you are not sure when its going to rain and when not you have to "strike while the trowel is hot" dont you?
I speak of gardening and I spent all day Saturday casting as many clouts as I could.
Very satisfying to see my Bizzie Lizzies smiling at me from the pots and flower beds and the Marguerites in pots gasping their thanks because they were in fact pot bound.
Another neighbour , not Evil Bob who is not evil anymore by the way, cut down the Holly trees that formed a nice privacy screen at the end of his garden and the side of mine.Now it feels like Im in a fish bowl!
I need to find a fast growing evergreen climber to restore my comfort zone.
A pole in the middle of the flower bed formed the highlight of the day.
This pole had come, over the years, to represent the struggle between the dominant male of the species and the local wildlife in the form of a squirrel and its offspring.
Every hurdle imaginable had been put in the way of the little mammal to prevent its access to the bird food hanging in a metal feeder.( Metal was the only material capable of resisting its sharp little incisors).
Still it found ways , each more elaborate and ingenious that the previous, of jumping on to the feeder and hanging there , nibbling through the bars.
I always quite liked watching it and the birds still came and fed.
However, for alpha male, this became a war of attrition.
Man against beast.
David versus Goliath (which was which?)
Samson and Delilah...no thats not right, Ill stop now.
The pole was the last bastion for our furry friend.He would run up it and leap onto the line bearing the feeder, dodge the rolling plastic coke bottles and find his hanging place, no sweat.
So the pole was greased and I mean greased, with axle grease.
Yes, it did stop the squirrel who just jumped from the roof of the shed then, but it also covered me in grease each time I did anything near it.
It aint no joke to keep getting the damn stuff up your arm or in your hair I can tell you.
I asked, ney DEMANDED, that it be removed.
Then the trial really began. Its my belief that the squirrel and the pole had an agreement because it took about half and hour of bashing and digging and rocking, not to mention the swearing and grease covering, to remove the thing.I watched from the safety of the kitchen, where I could have a little chuckle.
Cruel arent I?
I bet the squirrel laughed more than me.

Skald missing?

Alysia seems to have disappeared.
I understand everyones right to remain incognito.
If this is the case...Farewell Alysia...Thanks for reading mine.
I enjoyed reading yours and good luck.

If not....get in touch and keep on blogging eh?

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for some reason I am unable to post comments!! So...
Alysia, glad you are still around.Look forward to hearing from you now and then.Send me the link when you are blogging again wont you?

A little bit of breathing

Take a few long deep easy breaths

Enjoy the spaciousness that comes with each breath.

Breathing in, feel that light expansion as it flows into every cell in your body.

Breathing out, let go of all holding on, empty out all heaviness.

Let your mind rest on the balanced, easy rhythm of your in and out breath.

Enjoy the freedom of the present moment.

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Not new age...just old me.Thats the beauty of the blog.

I can write whatever I want whenever I feel like it.

The Warrior of Light

A warrior of light knows that certain moments repeat themselves.
He often finds himself faced by the same problems and situations and
seeing these difficult situations return, he grows depressed, thinking
that he is incapable of making any progress in life.

" Ive been through this before;" he says to his heart.
" Yes, you have been through this before"; replies his heart.
"But you have never been beyond it".

Then the warrior realises that these repeated experiences have but one aim.
To teach him what he does not want to learn.

Quote taken from "The Manual of the Warrior of light " by Paulo Coelho (Harper Collins 1997)
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Neither.Just a reminder to all of us to acknowledge that which we find difficult fo accept.
Im sure I need that reminder, dont you?

Pilates and the football.

Why do I take these things on and then feel supremely happy when I dont have to do them?
Yes, I speak of Pilates. Tonight is indeed pilates night but Helen rang to say she had to fill a form in so she couldnt go. Yes, I know how she felt.I , too, had to open an envelope so Pilates was out of the question.
Sarcasm aside, I danced around the kitchen singing "Im not going to Pilates" to the tune of " Here we go here we go here we go." Try it.It sort of works.
Anyway , the footie was on.I speak of course of the semi finals of the Champions league (UEFA ) between Man U and AC Milan.We were 3/2 up on aggregate and simply needed a draw , even 0/0 , to go through.
But, of course, we were losing 3/0 when I gave up and came up here to add to this little diary of mine and to check my emails. That cheered me up.
So here I sit, typing and listening to my Ipod.The favourite on the gos are Simon Webb, Coming around again, Afternoon Delight the Starland vocal band, Breathless by the Corrs and Come on down to the river by Alison Krause.
Off to a course on Autism tomorrow. Hopefully informative if not fun.

More pics of Roma

This is "The sacred place" where Julius Caesar bit the dust.

The colosseum(minus Russell Crowe unfortunately)

View of the Tiber from CastellD'Angelo The Altar of the Nations