New Year Connections

Nine days into the New Year… how’s it going so far?  I came into the New Year with a new attitude to how I live my life.  I wanted to be more focused, so that whatever I did, fed into my goals for the year, for my life, but in a simple way.  I wanted to do little things which mattered, whenever possible.  This includes basic things including household tasks and shopping to more meaningful things: kind words, positive gestures, gifting presence and listening skills.

I love my husband and family very much, I have a few friends whom I cherish, and I adore my fur babies; often however I am so busy, I see far less of them than I would like.  I have a tendency towards being a chatterbox, especially when I am ‘full of beans’ and I have realised more and more than I don’t always listen.  My husband can ask me to do something and two minutes later I have forgotten what it was.  We both assume that my memory is not so great, but I truly believe that sometimes I just don’t listen properly.  I also believe that this is common in our busy world.

My first goal for the New Year then, is to ‘enjoy time with family and friends’.  This means quality time, and during conversation listening to what is being said.  For the first nine days of the year so far I have managed:

1. Visiting and chatting for some time with one of my yoga teachers, not seen for many months

2. Taking my mum and recently widowed aunt to the cinema (Mary Poppins Returns), and for a late lunch

3. Spending the day with my husband at a vintage market and eating a delicious Sunday roast in a lovely restaurant

4. Meeting with one of my oldest friends (and ex dancing partner) for a lovely belated birthday meal (for her) at a delicious Turkish restaurant, with lots of chatting

5. Returning to dance classes with my dad – I took a break while doing my doctorate some years ago, and I missed it so much.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going to the theatre and at the weekend friends are coming to our home for an afternoon cream tea.

This pace won’t continue for the rest of the year, it would be too exhausting, but I am determined to make an effort to connect with people in my life. I have to remember though that being autistic, overload can hit quickly if I keep my life too active, so balance is needed.  Of course I also need to leave room for my other goals for the year as well.  I never make resolutions, simply goals to keep me on track and ensure I don’t waste what is a precious life.  More about these coming up soon…

My husband is due home any time from an evening of teaching… so I am shortly to leave you, so that we can catch up and spend some quality time together.

Let me know what your goals are, and how you connect with others.  What is important to you?

Until next time…

www.sensingthesimplelife.com

Simple Sunday Morning

A lazy Sunday, with nothing major planned; a cold is brewing and my body simply needs a rest.  A quick trip to the vet with Rosie for her annual vaccination, and then we decided to try out our local Farmer’s Market for the first time.  I expected a few stalls with perhaps some preserves and some baked goods.

How wrong was I, and I have become so obsessed by what I found that I rushed home to book each monthly market into my diary for the foreseeable future.

The recently refurbished square in my home town was buzzing with people, and more dogs than I’ve seen at a dog show, wandering about on leads stopping to ‘chat’ to each other as they walked.  There was a real community buzz which was wonderful.  Everyone seemed to have time to chat, and were so friendly.  Does a farmer’s market automatically attract friendly people?  Some were sitting around on benches, drinking steaming cups of coffee and hot chocolate; others munching on hot sausage rolls or a cheeky slice of delicious homemade sponge.  There were stalls with such a wide array of foods from marshmallows to local sausages, locally brewed beers and wines, apple juice and cider and massive jars of juicy olives, pickled eggs and sundried tomatoes.  There were homemade cards, knitted goods, hand painted canvas bags to replace the horrendous plastic tsunami which is engulfing our world and stunningly beautiful handcrafted pens and wooden gifts.

The photo above shows most of my haul, bar the Italian pastry I bought back for Joe as a lunchtime treat.  Who can resist freshly baked onion bread spread thickly with local butter?  It was so scrumptious I had two wedges – shared of course with Holly and Rosie (our fur babies).  I didn’t even wait to cut the local cheese I also purchased Ashmore Cheddar – I’ll save that for later with some of my cousin Amanda’s multi award winning  Captain’s Crackers .I did however sample the cheese in the market, as did Rosie.  Although I am currently on a low sugar kick (more about this another time), I couldn’t resist a lovely jar of Apricot Chutney from a lovely lady who had a good chat with me.  I should make a promise to Flo here, that I will resist opening it for another three weeks.  A fat wedge of goats cheese and asparagus quiche completed my purchases.

Just a simple lunch of fresh bread, real butter, cheese and chutney, with a freshly brewed pot of coffee is simply wonderful.  Who really needs ready made meals?  I am feeling a little smug today; I also have a large pot bubbling away as I make a batch of bone broth for the week’s meals.  So good for you, so cheap, and so yummy.

Apologies if I have made you hungry.  I suggest you get down to your local Farmer’s Market as soon as possible.  Simple really is best.  Enjoy the incredible aromas, colours, tastes and sounds of chatter.

Until we meet again

Don’t forget to check out my website sensingthesimplelife.com, and my book Sensing the City: An Autistic Perspective, where I discuss the sensory issues surrounding markets.

Family Life

At the age of 51 I don’t necessarily have the conventional family life. There is my lovely husband Joe, a karate instructor and Chair of a national martial arts governing body.  And then there are our two adorable fur babies: Yorkshire terrier Holly and Yorkiepoo Rosie, both 11. 

We have no children of our own. At home we have never had wet nappies, terrible twos or threes, stroppy teens, empty nest syndrome or having to save for weddings, university or help pay deposits on first homes.  We have lots of nieces and nephews (our siblings have been blessed with these ‘joys’), and have taught hundreds of other people’s children; a job we both love.

As a childhood cancer survivor, I wasn’t able to have my own children, and other avenues were explored and discounted for various reasons. We have been sad for much of our lives together about this, but now in our fifties, we appreciate and are so grateful for the life we have.  Mainly Mothers’ and Fathers’ days are sad for us.

We have a beautiful home, with a wonderful garden to explore and relax in. We love our fur babies so much; they give us love and comfort and in turn we give them everything they could need – basically food, water, exercise and love… oh, and regular grooming opportunities.

In the garden we have a clutch of hens with a loud and proud cockerel looking after their needs. They provide lovely rich eggs, and roam around their expansive pen digging in dirt, socialising, clucking and pooping.

The front garden sees a pond large enough to swim in (Joe proved this when he fell in one day) filled with beautiful Koi of all sizes and stunning colours.

We are both members of the RSPB and encourage a host of wildlife into the garden to admire and appreciate. Butterflies, bees, squirrels and hedgehogs are just a few of the creatures who inhabit our garden, and I love them all.

My parents and siblings live nearby and family barbecues are a regular feature in the summer; my dad cooking and ‘encouraging’ (he can be bossy and I have inherited this trait) us to play racket ball and hoola-hooping (he is a champion at this).

So, that’s us… now you have met us all, it’s soon time to appreciate all that is simple

Until we meet again…

Check out my website: https://sensingthesimplelife.com  where you will find links to my professional sites and books for purchase, should you choose to explore further.