Waiting.......

Waiting........

It does seem that we spend rather a lot of our lives waiting.......

I had always thought of waiting time as time spent being bored, frustrated, a waste of time; that was until recently when I was waiting for a shower at a festival waiting in a queue. A fellow waiter was talking of the amazing conversation and experience that can come out of waiting.

'The best things come to those who wait'.

It occurred to me that waiting can indeed be a frustrating and boring time but it can also be a time where we step back and look in, a time for contemplation.

I bought this beautiful rose earlier this year. The early buds died whilst waiting for me to plant the little darling so I was thrilled to take note of this perfect bloom earlier this week.

For the past ten days I have been waiting patiently whilst my Dad has been working away trying to fix my broken car. No car, has meant a complete change of the usual routine. Apart from on foot, via bike and three very short trips out offered by willing friends, I haven't been able to get out of the village (off the island). Being marooned on the island could have driven me to insanity; and at times I guess I've been close; my children have certainly complained more than usual. I've tried very hard to embrace the moment and use my time wisely. Luckily I've not had any commitments to uphold so the pressure of that has not been upon me.
Waiting has actually been rather exciting! Who will rescue our souls today? What wonderful adventures will occur whilst we remain in the same spot?
Friends have been to visit us....24 to be exact graced our home surroundings on Tuesday all bringing surprising and delicious food to cook and share :-)
On other days, lovely people have popped in for the morning or afternoon others to drop off provisions and work. Never a dull moment!

I've pretty much finished decorating the girls bedroom. That was a serious waiting game for them and one definitely spurred on by the added 'home time' we have gained. Decorating is not one of my favourite jobs! Everything seems to have come together and thank goodness - they like it!

The excitement on the estate has been brewing all week. The sounds in the air, the dust rising in the distance......tonight the combine harvester is cutting the fields surrounding the house. The waiting is over for the farmers, the crop is mature and luckily the weather conditions are right.

They dare to stand just two meters away from the buzzing blades!

I love to be in connection with the cycle of nature........it's exciting but also a blessing!

Yesterday, Small Boy and I dug up our first handful of potatoes. He's been helping in the garden since he was teeny weeny but still the excitement of planting the wrinkly tubers, watching and waiting for the leaves to develop and grow, the flowers to bloom and die and finally the actual physical act of unearthing the beautiful potatoes......It's amazing how the things we grow ourselves taste so much nicer than those we buy from the supermarket. It was a surprise also that the potatoes are pink! Again those little tubers are often just 'brown' in colour and of no specific significance, yet deep inside they know exactly what they will become. It's all just a waiting game!

When my best friend and soul mate left earth side almost four years ago, waiting was for me a time of healing. I knew that as the days, months passed I would once again be able to live a fairly normal life and that I would be okay.

Waiting.........

We've been stripping the lavender this week. I love having pretty purple lavender growing in the garden, it's a real pleasure to brush past it and inhale its sweet relaxing scent. I enjoy watching the bees who visit too and listening to their soft therapeutic hum.
This years crop is almost ready to harvest. I always leave it until all of the flowers have gone over as even in the final stages the bees still visit.
Once cut on long stalks, I hang it somewhere warm to dry; usually in the kitchen or in the utility room. A year later we all help to strip the stalks and bag up the scent of loveliness for lavender bags or lavender shortbread mmmmm!

A special person gave me these delights last week. They didn't look that amazing in their tightly curled state but Wow! I never expected them to be so vibrant and gorgeous.

Whilst watching and waiting for a canal boat to arrive into the lock last weekend, we were thrilled to see a family of familiar faces driving the boat (not those in the picture!!). We hopped aboard, had a little chat and a short jaunt along the canal. A moment of adventure :-)

You know, that person was right about queues and waiting......since hearing that I've actually had some really fun times and engaged in some great conversations whilst waiting. Be open minded........

Right, time to extract my son from the piles of straw!!!! Perhaps I'll just wait and let him meander back on his own accord :-)