…or so I hope. Words
seem to be in short supply for me at the moment, at least thoughtful, coherent,
blogging-type words. Of course DH and I are exchanging a multitude of words as
the move draws nearer, not all of them coherent - or even printable. In
addition my ageing brain is having to organise lots of very different thoughts
and words as I try to prepare sermons well in advance for four different
Sundays over the next six weeks, to cover holiday absences in our group of
seven churches.
Here instead are
a few photos – snapshots of this busy period of preparation and change - in
nature, as well as at home.
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| Season of mists... |
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| ...and mellow fruitfulness. |
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| The hills we are leaving... |
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| ...and below, the valley we are moving to. |
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| A moment of relaxation in my sister's garden, wearing her hat... |
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| ...and several more this week, looking at the view from my mother-in-law's garden. |
I love that picture of you in the hat! Your other pictures are lovely too. You live in a very beautiful place. Try to remain calm in the final days leading up to your move to your new valley home. I know, easier said than done. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo do I, Kristie, but I'm not sure how much I'd wear it if I actually bought one. :-) Yes, Mid-Wales is very beautiful and amazingly varied for such a small area. I'm glad to say I'm much better at remaining calm nowadays (age has its compensations) and we're lucky not to have an urgent time pressure for the move.
DeleteHope it all goes smoothly Perpetua. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janice. We get the keys a fortnight today and can then start actually moving things. :-)
DeleteUnprintable words - you (or DH)? Surely not!! To quote a certain actor - 'I don't believe it'!
ReplyDeleteWell, unprintable for a family blog, Helva. :-) You'd better believe it...
DeleteI like the hat. If you had a cape, you'd look like one of those private investigators I like to read about in my cozy mystery books. Well, good luck with the move. I can imagine it's quite a hassle... but should be well worth it in the end. Will you be closer to family?
ReplyDeleteIt's a very fine hat, Rian, and my sister wears it with a stylish long raincoat, so it would certainly fit your investigator image. :-) The move will be a hassle, even though we're taking our time over it. We're only moving two miles, from up in the hills to down in the valley, so no closer to family, though they are alreasy planning to come and visit us there.
DeleteSuch beautiful images. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Hope the move goes well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. I'll be glad when it's all over and we're settled in. Mid-Wales is very photogenic, particularly in this golden September weather, though it's pretty good all year round. :-)
DeleteLovely images, (including the hat), and beautiful tree in a mist. Is it a willow?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure once the trauma of the move is a thing of the past, the fur will cease to fly :)
Very best wishes with the actual rather than the anticipated move. X
Thanks, Ray. The tree is OUR ash tree, the one visible from our present bathroom window. I'm going to miss it very much, though I have lots of pictures to remind me. The fur only flies occasionally, but we are both getting slightly more short-tempered as the move comes closer.
DeleteYou look very swish in your sister's hat.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly so, Molly, considering the only hats I actually possess are winter woolly ones and summer straw. :-)
DeleteI'm sure you will serenely float from the hills to the valley. I imagine you as a spiritually calm individual.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Spiritually calm perhaps, but physically frazzled by the end of it, I imagine. :-) Serenity will come when we're finally settled in...
DeleteIt sounds as if your cup runneth over Perpetua - but you do look lovely in the hat, it suits you perfectly - what a wonderful view MiL has to look at.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the hat, but sorry to be late replying, Rosemary. Life's been very busy at my mother-in-law's this week. Good practice for what is to come? Her garden backs onto a gravel-pit lake, which has become a real nature reserve.
DeleteYou do look lovely and relaxed in that photo. The photos are all wonderful, I hope they've helped you feel a little calmer.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer. Glad you enjoyed the photos. The hat one was taken a couple of weeks ago, before the build-up to the move got going. I doubt I'd look as relaxed as that today. :-)
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDelete...yup. Pictures will do it!! Sending a 'hug' &*> YAM xx
Glad to hear that, Yam, as my words at the moment seem to consist largely of questions and list-making. ;-) Hug gratefully received.
DeleteThat is a very smart hat! Looks fetching on you, Perpetua, and, my-oh-my, that scenery is exquisite and you captured not only the seasonal atmosphere with the mists, but, probably a bit of what you are feeling as well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the sermons and with the packing.
It's a super hat, Penny, and I'd be very tempted to get one except that I'm not really a hat person at all. :-) We've had a wonderful spell of golden September weather after the morning mists, so the landscape is at its most beautiful and I'm glad to have captured that. Thanks for the good wishes. I think I need them...
DeleteLovely photos and, in particular. the hat and the view from your bathroom. Good luck with the move.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I'm really going to miss looking at that view as I clean my teeth every morning, but thankfully I have 40 years of memories to take with me to the new house.
DeleteSeasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness ... my all time favourite poem. Beautiful scenery Perpetua; where you are at present and to where you are moving. I am sure, once the 'dust' of flitting has settled, you will remember the hills with pleasure as you enjoy your new abode in the valley.
ReplyDeleteI hope inspiration strikes for the sermons:)
A wonderful poem, Shirley, one of my great favourites too and totally appropriate this September. Mid-Wales is a wonderfully scenic area and we never tire of the changing views as we drive round it. I grinned reminiscently when I read what you wrote about 'flitting' as I grew up with my Lancashire parents and grandparents using that word to mean moving house. :-)
DeleteThe sermons are coming along nicely, thanks...
I'm sending you a virtual hug - moving home is no mean thing to handle, the physical stuff is tiring enough but there's also the emotional packing too, so remember to look after yourself as much as you can - after all, there'll be lots to do at the other end! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hug, Anny, much appreciated. We had quite a lot of experience of moving when I was in parish ministry, so I've had practice at trying to pace myself, not always successfully.... Thankfully the distance we're moving this time is so small that we can take our time and hopefully not get too tired.
DeleteYour scenery makes me catch my breath, it is so beautiful. Moving to the valley from the mountain will certainly give you a different view, but beautiful none the less. I love the picture of you in the hat. Wishing you blessings and time to prepare for your sermons.
ReplyDeleteThe scenery in Mid-Wales still makes me catch my breath, Bonnie, and I've lived here over 40 years. I will miss our hill views very much, but the valley is lovely too as you point out and it's easy enough to drive up the hill for a refresher view. :-) The sermon preparation is coming along well, thanks.
DeleteYou look fab! Miss Marple's hat and Elton John's sunglasses. Inimitable style, Miss P :-) Keep that flegme britannique up and rolling, girl. I believe you on the unprintable stuff. NOBODY manages to keep an lid on it when they are moving house - it's one of the best parts of it. Only hit DH with a wooden spoon, and no more than once a day. Hugs xx
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly, MM, for that boost to my ego. :-) As it happens both the hat and the sunglasses belong to my sister who lent them out of pity to stop my expiring in her sunny back garden. My lid at present is rather like that on a pot just starting to come to the boil - the odd clatter and puff of steam, but nothing too serious as yet. The wooden spoon is also staying within reach... ;)
DeletePictures are worth many words, Perpetua. I've just been resizing some of mine for a final blog post about walking across Switzerland with Sybille. I'll think I'll get some of them 'talk' for me.
ReplyDeleteI never find it easy to prepare sermons well in advance - I prefer to mull over the set readings in the days before the Sunday and only commit to paper 24 -48 hours before speaking. But I can understand your reasoning with the up-coming house move.
Love the picture of you wearing your sister's hat, along with the episcopal sunglasses :-)
Your pictures from Switzerland each tell a story in itself, Ricky. They've been absolutely marvellous and I've really enjoyed your series of posts.
DeleteYour method of sermon preparation was usually mine too, but the present circumstances just don't allow for it. For much of October we'll be in such confusion that sensible thinking-time will be at a premium, so needs must...
Yes, the hat and sunglasses combination is rather fetching, don't you think?
Dear Perpetua, thank you for the beauty scenery and for a look at what you are leaving and what you are going toward. And by the way, purple and red are my two favorite colors and so I really like the frames of your sunglasses. You look so suave! Peace.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dee. This combination of hart and sunglasses seems to have been a real hit with my readers. :-) I love the scenery in Mid-Wales so much that I always enjoying sharing it, so you can expect some new and different pictures as I get used to our new surroundings.
DeleteThe hills are gorgeous, but the valley looks green and beautiful, too. I can imagine you're extremely stretched if you still preparing sermons while trying to pack and prepare for the "big move." I must say, though, that you look relaxed and quite calm in that hat. It's very becoming. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think you would love the greenness of Mid-Wales, Debra. We have so much rain that it's quite rare for things to look very sun-baked. The valley is lovely and of course we can see the hills from there, though they do look different from below. :-) I'm glad to say that most of the sermons are almost finished, though the same can't be said of the other preparations, but it will all happen in the end.. I'll have to hold onto the calmness induced by that hat. ;)
DeleteGorgeous images, Perpetua - all of them! I am impressed you have found the time to blog anything at all - although I remember doing it myself during the removal process and it definitely was as a distraction from all the chaos around. You've created a very calm atmosphere here with these lovely photos. All the best for the chaotic bits!! Axxx
ReplyDeleteAnnie, I've taken advantage of spending a few days with DH's mother this week to dash off a post and get some perspective on the forthcoming chaos. :-) Only another 12 days to go until we complete on the purchase and begin the removal process and then i think calmness will fly out of the window...
DeleteI'm glad you have found the odd moment to relax in what must be a hectic time. Coming back to the blogosphere after a long summer absence, I am taken by surprise by your decision to move. After a momentary pang at the thought of you having to leave behind your hills and your beautiful ash tree, however, I realise that your decision is a very wise one - and you will still be in the countryside you know and love.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that all the hassle of packing and moving goes as well as it can, and that you will soon be settled and happy in your new home with the stream at the bottom of the garden. :)
Thanks, DB. I'm feeling a lot of pangs at the thought of leaving the hills and the ash-tree, but I'll be carrying with me more than 40 years of memories of both and of course they are still within easy reach. It will feel very different to have neighbours close at hand after so long in splendid isolation, but after the past year's health alarums it will also be very reassuring. The new house has a lovely atmosphere and I'm sure we will start to feel very much at home there once we have our things around us. The stream is a lovely bonus. :-)
DeleteSuch beautiful photos, Perpetua! I don’t know which one I like the best – I have a slight penchant for the picture with the hat – love that hat! The color, the shape and it frames your face so well – très chic!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vagabonde,I'm glad you enjoyed them. I can't take credit for the hat as it belongs to my sister, but I may try to find one like it, as everyone has been so complementary about it. :-)
DeleteLove the serenity of the view from your M-in-L's garden.
ReplyDeleteThe hat is fab! You must get yourself one :-)
It's a gorgeous view - a gravel pit lake in the Cotswolds fed by a natural spring. It's a real nature reserve and Mum enjoys bird-watching there. Last week we were watching Canada geese assembling there prior to migration.
DeleteThe hat is super, but would I ever wear it in real life? I'm so not a hat person. :-)
Dear Perpetua,
ReplyDeleteThe time for your move, closes in.
You are leaving a beautiful valley...but the new one sure looks just as beautiful.
Where exactly will you be moving too Perpetua.!
xxx val
It does indeed, Val. A week today the house will be ours and the work will begin. The hill and valley photos were taken from the field just below our present house and we're moving to a house down in that very valley, where you can see a small village - just two miles away.
DeleteFabulous photos... pictures tells a thousand words :-)
ReplyDeleteWhich at the moment is a very good thing, Catriona, or blogging would cease altogether for me. :-)
Delete