Oops!
I really did mean to squeeze in a post before the end of September, but somehow
it just didn’t happen. The three weeks
since our return to Wales seem to have flown by, with days full first of
unpacking and sorting out, then of gardening, appointments and meetings, sermon-writing and service planning.
In the evenings I’ve been busy knitting a sweater for my new great-nephew to
the accompaniment of some favourite TV programmes. I really don’t miss TV at all when we’re
away, but it is definitely fun to catch up once we’re back home in Wales.
Talking
of home, it was a shock to realise at the beginning of the week that it is already
a year since we moved down from the hills into the valley. This time last year
we were gradually transferring our furniture and other possessions from the old
house to the new and struggling at times to work out how to fit everything in. I
find it reassuring to realise that the overwhelming sense of newness and strangeness I was so
conscious of last October has long since worn off. Now when I talk or think of home, this is the
house I mean.
It
has been a year of discoveries – gradually getting to know our kind and friendly
neighbours and enjoying the little treasures of a new (and flat!) garden and
the pleasure of being within walking distance of the village. The county council
is even in the process of constructing a proper footpath from our road junction
to the edge of the village centre which will save me having to leap onto the
grass verge out of the way of oncoming vehicles. I can’t wait for it to be
finished! It has also been lovely to discover how hospitable a house this is,
able to absorb visitors comfortably and enjoyably, with three different visits
on the calendar for this month alone.
 |
| Is there room for a little footpath? |
 |
| My tiny flowerbed in June |
 |
| And in September after 3 months away |
As
it happens there is another anniversary early this month, one which I am even
more grateful to be able to mark every year. Ten years ago, on the 4th
of October 2005, I had a mastectomy after my second diagnosis of breast cancer.
For a few frightening weeks after finding that second lump, I had to face the
possibility that perhaps this time the prognosis wouldn’t be as good as it had
been after my first diagnosis 8 years before. Thankfully my worst fears weren’t
realised and I am fortunate enough to have ten full and happy years to look
back on since that significant date.
Now
I’d better post this and finish getting ready for an all-day meeting tomorrow
and the service I’m taking on Sunday. I may be starting to wear out here and
there (don’t mention the word ‘knee’ at the moment) but I’m not going to rust
if I can help it. Life is too precious
to be wasted.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful 'catchup'!!! Has it really been a year since your move? Golly doesn't it flash by... so good to hear you are settled there. And congrats on that special tenth too! Now on into autumn... YAM xx
Thanks, Yam, and sorry to have taken so long to reply. It's been a very busy couple of days.
DeleteYes, the past year has flown by, as indeed have the past 10 years, now I come to think of it. Where have they gone? It's the most beautiful autumn weather today, the last for a little while, as the rain returns tomorrow...
What a joyous place you're in during these anniversaries -- feeling so comfortable in a new place that has become home in the past year and enjoying good health at that 10th anniversary and beyond.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a good place to be, Kathy, and I think myself very fortunate to be well and happy in our now not-so-new home. Though I still miss the views from our house on the hill, I don't miss the two miles of single-track lane to reach it. :)
DeleteHow that year has flown. So pleased to hear you have settled in well and that it really feels like home.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. The year has vanished so quickly, but it's been a very positive one and it's good to know we made the right decision in moving here.
DeleteIt's good to have you back, and apparently in fairly good condition too. Your blogs have been greatly missed but are all the more welcome when one appears.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have had a lovely summer. May it last into the remainder of the year. (The good part, I mean, not the Summer.......) well, you know what I mean.:-)
I'm sorry to have been the vanishing blogger over the past few months, Ray, but it's nice to have been missed. I'll try to do better from now on. Most of me is fighting fit, but the right leg doesn't seem to want to join in as vigorously as it once did.
DeleteYes, I've had a lovely summer and given the gorgeous weather we've had this past week, summer doesn't seem to want to let go quite yet... :)
Dear Perpetua - pleased to learn that you are now happily ensconced back in your home. When I read the title of this post I wrongly assumed that something emotional had happened, so I was happy to read on and discover that it was the anniversary of your 'move'. Doesn't time fly when you are having fun?
ReplyDeleteSorry to have given a wrong impression, Rosemary. The emotional thing happened 10 years ago with my cancer diagnosis and treatment and feels very significant to have reach this milestone. The past year has indeed flown and we are very much enjoying living in this comfortable and very manageable house.
DeleteTime seems to be in 5th gear at the moment. I too am finding it hard to find time to post.
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling, but you seem to be having greater success at posting at the moment. I'll have to up my game. :)
DeleteThe year has flown but how wonderful that you call your place 'home'. There is no place like home when home fits like a warm cardigan.
ReplyDeleteYour 10-year anniversary is indeed worth celebrating.
Now as the cooler weather approaches those knees might appreciate a pair of leg warmers ... remember those stripy leg warmers of years ago? :)
Shirley, it was a lovely moment when I realised that this really is home now and fits us so well. I think DH still yearns a little for his old place away up in the hills, but I'm totally content here.
DeleteLeg warmers are a great idea. I never wear skirts nowadays, but two layers over achey knees sounds perfect for winter. I must get DD's advice as she is my knitting expert. :)
Oh, well done you, Perpetua, coming to the 10-year anniversary. That is wonderful, and you are obviously very fit and very busy indeed these days. I remember your kind and helpful comments three years ago when I had my mastectomy, which was so appreciated. I always make a point now of reaching out in the same way to others going through the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd a year already in your new home, and it is lovely that it feels so perfect for you. May you enjoy many more years in your special part of Wales.
Thanks, Patricia. I knew you would appreciate very clearly just how significant this anniversary is to me. Is it three years already since your mastectomy? Time does indeed fly and I'm glad you too are doing so well and living life to the very fullest. It's good to be able to pass on the support we received when we most needed it.
DeleteI can't believe it's a year, but the calendar doesn't lie. It's a lovely house and I'm very happy to be living here.
Amen to all your thoughts Perpetua. Your little flower garden managed quite well while you were away. I think it is so wonderful that you have reached a 10 year anniversary after having had cancer. It is a real milestone. I am glad that your little house is now what you call home, and that you are happy and thriving there. Take care and don't over-do what with sermons, visits and day long meetings. You have a great deal more energy than I do. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteI have energy sometimes, Bonnie, but certainly not all the time. After a particularly busy period like last week I find I have to slow down. It's probably time to finish my great-nephew's sweater. :) The 10 year anniversary is very significant to me and I'm grateful to be so well now.
DeleteNeither the new house nor its garden is small, but they are both so much easier to look after than the old ones. I've enjoyed getting outside for part of every day during this lovely autumn weather and the garden looks a lot tidier than when we got back from France. :)
Oh Perpetua! I do completely sympathise with your plan to squeeze in another post before the end of September. That was also my plan & I failed too :-(
ReplyDeleteVery pleased to read that a year after moving down from the hills, your new place now feels like home. I hope you enjoy your forthcoming visitors & that they in turn, enjoy your new home.
That tenth anniversary is a very significant one & I do hope & pray that you will have many more years of good health. It will always be in my memory because of a rather significant service that you conducted just a few days earlier, on 1st October 2005.
But at least you managed one post, Ricky, which is more than I did and I'm retired and therefore theoretically have more spare time. :)
DeleteYes, it's very much home now and having had several lots of visitors since we first moved in, I know how well it works for that. We'll have a houseful over half-term with DD and family here again.
To be honest I almost forgot the 10 year anniversary in all the busyness, but was reminded by your mention of your wedding anniversary. Being asked to conduct your wedding was not only a privilege but a godsend as it gave me something big to concentrate on and took my mind off what was happening to me.
Oh, Perpetua, I always feel quite a home with you and your writing, and never-more-so than with you as I read this post. You "new" house is now "your" house in all ways, especially in "how hospitable a house this is". We have felt this way about our house.
ReplyDeleteWhat joyful news to share of your continued good health after your second cancer diagnosis ten years ago. Blessings.
Well, now, while not a sermon, I have a presentation to make on Monday that I still need to whittle down and it is such a blustery day here that a potted mom just rolled down the porch. Best to rescue it before I take a few more minutes out of my speech.
Thanks, Penny, that's a lovely thing to say about my blog. It's been a bit neglected recently, but I'll get it all dusted and shipshape and take better care of it in future. :)
DeleteI hadn't expected how good this house would be for entertaining visitors, but so it has proved and I look forward to having a houseful of family at the end of the month. We will probably lift a glass to the next 10 years of hopefully good health.
Good luck with your talk tomorrow. I hope you managed to prune it to your satisfaction.
Just picking up on Shirlwin's comment, my facsimile copy of "The Art of Knitting" from 1892 has a pattern for what are delightfully described as "knitted knee caps". Sounds just the job! ;-) Shall I bring my book when we next visit?!
ReplyDeleteYes, please. That would be brilliant. I love the idea of knitted kneecaps and they might perhaps help pad my extremely tender real ones. I really can no longer kneel on a hard surface for more than a few seconds. Sigh... Thank goodness I can still bend and touch my toes or gardening would be very difficult....
DeleteSome important anniversaries here P. The 10 year one is particularly special. Congratulations, and lets look forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary. Jx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janice. You know all about this kind of anniversary too and how important it is. Yes, let's start planning for a 20th anniversary celebration. :)
DeleteLovely catch up, Perpetua and a reminder of how quickly times goes and the importance of appreciating all the moments we can in a mindful way. You have certainly packed plenty of moments into the last special 10 years, haven't you?
ReplyDeleteJust one thing..... Photo of jumper?
Axxx
A very belated one, but glad you enjoyed it, Annie. You and your family must be very aware at present of the importance of appreciating each day as it comes, When I think back to the significant changes and events that have happened since my first diagnosis 18 years ago I can hardly believe it myself!
DeleteAs for the photo, I'll post one as soon as I've done the final finishing touches and sent it off to its intended recipient. :)
It's always fun to take stock after the first year in a new home. I'm glad it was such a good move for you and your husband. And how wonderful that you have an even better anniversary to mark, with your ten years of health since your second diagnosis. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Kristie, and I remember you doing the same in a blog post on your first anniversary in your new home. You too commented on how fast the time had gone and how the new house now felt like home. We've both been fortunate in our moves. :)
DeleteI'm very grateful to be fit and well ten years on and am looking forward to marking another ten (or more) years if I'm lucky.
Glad you're settled into your new home, gosh how quickly that year has flown by.
ReplyDeleteIt has simply vanished, Jean, and I have to pinch myself to remember just how much has happened in the past 12 months. I hope time doesn't keep on speeding up... :)
DeleteAlready a year? Gosh, time does fly. It sounds like this house is a lovely place in which you can be very happy and sociable.
ReplyDeleteWell done on your cancer-free anniversary. Life is indeed precious.
That's what I said when I realised the first anniversary was approaching. :) Yes, it's a lovely house and I really enjoy living here.
DeleteI feel very fortunate to be so fit and well 10 years on from that second diagnosis.
Echoing comments above, congratulations on two good anniversaries! What a frightening and challenging time that must have been a decade ago - and how much you have packed into life since. Here's to your next decade; may it be blessed!
ReplyDeleteThanks, DB. Yes, it was a very frightening time for a while until the tests showed the cancer hadn't spread outside the breast. An experience like this makes one value life so much and the last decade has been very happy and fulfilling. I'm rather hoping the next decade will be the same. :)
DeleteApologies for so late a comment - just back online after landslides took out our telephone lines.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that you two have a knack of making a house a home in two shakes of a lamb's tail....and I suspect that even without the cancer scares you would still have lived every minute of your life to the full.
Raising a glass to your next decade.
If ever I heard of a good reason for not commenting, Helen, it's yours. I'm glad you're back in contact with the world again.
DeleteIt's very kind of you to say such nice things and I'll join you in that glass. :) We do try to make things homelike, wherever we are and I've always believed that life is for living. One can always squeeze in just one more interest...
Dear Perpetua, as I've aged, I've discovered as you have the absolute truth--and comfort--of that old adage "better to wear out than to rust out." In the past year I forgot that wisdom a few times, but always, by some great grace, I got things in perspective and now I'm resuming a life that has equal parts routine and spontaneity, family and friends, togetherness and solitude--my recipe for contentment.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to learn that in the last year you've settled into your home and it has embraced you as you have come to cherish it. The footpath sounds not only like a good idea, but pretty much a necessary one as you deal with--I'm using the word: knees!!!! Peace.
How nice to see you back posting and commenting, Dee. I'm glad you've got your life back in balance again. Balance is so important as we get older, in every kind of way. I don't want to rust, but I can't keep going for quite as long as I once did. :)
DeleteYes, the house has embraced us. That's a lovely way to express the feeling of just being comfortable and at peace here. The footpath is making good progress and I should be able to use it to walk into the village before too long. Walking doesn't bother my knee, except on uneven ground.
A year already? Cripes, time has flown by! It sounds like congratulations are in order all round - particularly for that last sentence, which hit home here in MM's kitchen, loud and clear.
ReplyDeleteOops, for the first time ever a comment has been left languishing in moderation. So sorry to leave you hanging in limbo so long, MM. Blame my hectic life and the advent of a houseful of visitors.
DeleteYes, it's been a whole year since we carted the furniture down the hill to our valley home and we feel very settled here as we savour the preciousness of life.
A hectic lifestyle and visitors? Sounds too good to miss for internet, girl. Hope you have had fun and enjoyed yourself.
DeleteThe visitors are still here and we're having a great time, thanks. A report will follow in due course. :)
DeleteI like your outlook!
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy anniversary this is. Ten years is an important one.
I'm glad you are settling into your Valley home.you and I are enjoying similar pleasures, though you seem a bit ahead of me in making the house really yours. I'm working at that!
Thanks, Pondside, and how lovely to see you back in blogland. Yes. this is a significant anniversary for me and it feels very good to have reached it fit and well.
DeleteI'm not surprised it's taking you time to make your new house your home. You have had such a lot of other things to deal with as well as settling in. I hope it all comes together for you soon.
I'm glad to hear that all is well with you and you're now settled in your new location in Wales. I miss your blog posts, but I'm sure other interests and commitments keep you away from blogging these days. Enjoy your visitors and life in general Perpetua.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. Yes, we feel very settled here now and are enjoying our new home very much. I'm sorry for the paucity of blog posts, but life really has taken over recently. I'm hoping the long winter evenings will be more conducive to blogging.
DeleteApologies for not commenting on your blog for so long. You may have noticed that I've been neglecting my blog too. And I see that your post is five weeks old, so I think we've both reached one of those points in time when other things take over.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on reaching a milestone since your mastectomy. Yes life is to be lived to the full, that's for sure. I hope your cough is getting better by the way...Such a nuisance!
Lots of Love, Linda xxx
No apology needed, Linda. I've been very erratic at reading and commenting too, though I'm starting to catch up a bit now. Yes, life has certainly taken over from blogging in recent weeks, but I'm not giving up yet. I think of it as a phase, like teenagers go through ;)
DeleteMy 10 year anniversary was very special, made even more so by a reassuringly clear mammogram a couple of weeks ago. The cough is behaving like coughs do - taking its own sweet time to go away. Sigh...