A Return

This post is my first since the 23rd of April post. Any posts in between have been added in order to catch up with records.

The day after that last post I injured my ankle and I have to say, I took the opportunity to visit several things.

• That I had clearly superseded previous warnings from the Universe to slow down. Instead I was now being told to STOP.
• It was going to be a while to recover and I’d best use the time to reflect on my life up to this point and what was coming for the rest of it – and how I wished it to look.
• I reflected back on how much has occurred the last ten years, and in particular the last several. The stress, the anguish, the annoyances and distractions. The renovations and the financial concerns. I practiced letting it go and I am still practising.
•  I took some time, where possible, to return to practising French language and playing guitar.
• I thought about blogging and recording details of observations and thoughts about the garden – and then let all that go too – and did nothing.

And I liked it. Very much.

It was only with the arrival of Spring that I felt ready to write down my thoughts again. With Spring being in full swing, I had been busy still. Nature does not always wait for you to have all your ducks lined up. I planted seeds weeks ago and have been sorting out places to plant the seedlings ever since, now that I am ready to continue with the next phase of the garden.

We lost all our rabbits and our guinea pigs too. The rabbits disappeared mid-morning one day a few weeks back. They had done so a few weeks before that too, and just sat sunning themselves in the garden, got picked up and put back. The last morning they went missing I knew deep down that they had gone for good. Sure enough, they have not returned and there has been no sign or sighting of them. The neighbours dog torn into the wire of our guinea pig hutch and cleaned them out. They had only just had another litter of babies. Gone. All gone.

I had a contractor call to quote for fencing. Others will come also. I’m not happy with the neighbours kids trampling through our garden, the dog barking at me whenever I am in the garden despite living here nearly two years now. Random people wandering in from the street behind pretending to not know they are in someone’s backyard. Stray dogs and cats digging into the garden and walking through newly sown beds. With the coming addition of a pond in the future it will also secure the garden a little more.

Through the winter, Gran was not well. It was only really towards the end of winter that we looked back and realised just how much Gran has declined the last couple of months. She even did a week in hospital during the end of August and into September. She has since returned. A week ago now she was taken by ambulance. Much to our surprise it was her kidneys playing up. We are not altogether sure about Gran’s future health and the last week has been quite tumultuous. Still, it has meant that there is a great deal more restful sleep occurring in the house as Gran’s restless nights and noisy visits to the bathroom (not to mention regular, disturbing nightmares) were really starting to wear thin after several months. It’s been years actually, but the last couple of months has been really hard. Even the Little Fella’s teachers had made comment on their improved character and wondered what had changed.

In the meantime, Gran is on the up again. But the latest bouts of sickness and changes to her medication have really knocked her around. With the possibility of Gran’s impending death Mrs PP and myself set about making some changes. We sold some extra stuff, took a heap more stuff to the local auction and tip shop . . .  and of course donated a heap of stuff to the garden where it is happily recycled and made into soil!

We’ve even managed to fit our car into the garage for the first time since we moved in. There is more to go still, but with each ute load out of the house the space is clearing and there is less of an overwhelming, suffocating air to the house.

So, despite the feeling that life slipped off the rails for a big part of the year, our regular and consistent de-cluttering and simplifying is starting to pay dividends. There is very little in monetary value from sales, but the huge pay-off is in the feeling of the place and the increased energy in the house. Now feeling much more like a home. I definitely stand by what is now my conviction, that it was much of this hoarded stuff that contributed towards Gran & Pa’s ill health.