Fin

I just love this photo taken by Fin last year after DD's wedding. No. she isn't going to jump off the end of the pier after a sudden change of mind nor has the groom absconded. I don't know how Fin captured this shot, it's so different from all the happy and funny ones taken throughout the day. I notice he hasn't included it in the gallery on his website - I guess it's more Zeffirelli than Hello magazine

"These sheep know which way to go"

Winner of the HSBC International Photography Competition 2009.

The competition received over 1,700 entries from 52 countries worldwide.

The theme for the competition was ' A Sense of Security' and Finlay's image of sheep crossing the snow was deemed by the judges to capture the essence of the theme perfectly.

Congratulations, Fin!

Futility

(lyrics from Ecclesiastes 3)

One of the few activities I can do one-armed, besides typing this with one finger, is to read. Today I've revisited wonderful Philip Yancey's brilliant chapter on Ecclesiastes in his book 'The Bible Jesus Read'. In it he highlights the similarity between Existentialism (so popular in the 1960's) and the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes.
This book in the bible and the philosophy of the absurdity of life & general meaninglessness (also the theme of Albert Camus' book 'The Outsider') really spoke to me as a teenager and Ecclesiastes still does, so I felt reassured by Yancey saying it was an issue that would bother all fair-minded people!
He goes on to point out that despair arises out of circumstances of plenty quoting Philip Roth, "In the West anything goes and nothing matters. In the East nothing goes and everything matters." Why do comfort and prosperity not breed satisfaction? Because we discover that they don't give meaning and purpose to our lives. By becoming self-sufficient we take on the burden of God but don't have the key of "WHY?" "What's it for?", "Where's the fulfillment?"
Peggy Lee's 60's hit "Is that all there is?" and sung here beautifully by Bette Midler touches on it

“I don't know Who, or what, put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone, or Something,and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.”

Dag Hammarskjold

Fall & fracture folly

I think it must be the broken-wrist season: since falling and breaking my right wrist on Thursday 16th I keep hearing of others - a friend's neighbour, someone else's grandmother. Even the pope joined in.

According to press reports, Pope Benedict XIV sat & waited his turn for an x-ray in the casualty dept at the Umberto Parini hospital, in Ivrea where he was taking a mountain holiday. He was then given a 20 minute op - straight away! (I suppose there have to be some perks.)

As for me I've had to sit out a painful two weeks in the temporary pot that was slapped on after a tortuous (or torturous!) manipulation. I have no complaints at all though about my treatment at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. The staff in A & E were efficient & very pleasant. I'll know on Monday 3rd August whether the bones have stayed in the right places and will then hopefully get a bright new pot in a colour of my choice. DH suggested I took my wedding outfit to ensure a good match - DS3 gets married on 8th August!
It was certainly folly to attempt to walk down subsiding concrete steps on a wet day .....and the site of the offending steps? Saltburn's Folly ( seen here along with many more beautiful & interesting photos of Saltburn taken by flamelillyfox & displayed on flickr)
Just for the record, the dangerous steps aren't those leading directly from the folly but are just to the side - and I'm not going to report the subsidence to the council because a) I don't want to risk the path being closed for the next year and b) I don't believe in a 'nanny-state', & take full responsibility for my actions - anyone fit enough to walk that far into the woods can look after themselves.

Furlough

Had leave of absence granted from duties & rotas to spend June visiting friends & family......

Flat-hunting with DS in Budapest. A reasonable one bedroom apartment in a central location can be found for £50,000 but there are so many factors to consider. He hasn't yet found the perfect one but we enjoyed looking.

Finished off streams of wedding bunting with DF(of Frippery fame). In her Hastings studio overlooking fishing boats we pinned & sewed the floral flags to tape. The effect at the wedding teaparty should be stunning.

I could have just sat and stared at the iew from her studio window....

And finally - just for fun - with DH & faithful pup I enjoyed the fresh air of the fells with their summer covering of fabulous ferns & foxgloves. Stayed at LongByres, Talkin Head again and enjoyed Harriet's delicious food.

Feet feat

Not just any feet.... feet modelling my first attempts at knitting socks.

I used Regia 4 ply sock yarn -Kaffe Fasset (above) & silk (below) - on 4 x 2.5mm short double-pointed bamboo needles.

I couldn't possibly have learned how without following the 4-part Masterclss by Dorret Conway on You Tube

Flowers flowers flowers

That's what I thought my blog was going to be about when I decided to redeem the f-word. I imagined that all I'd want to do would be to share my passion for flowers and post loads of photos of them. That it'd be like a flower catalogue. I'm really surprised that this is the first post devoted to them.
So here are some of my favourite flower photos:

There are just too many to chose from so I'll devote this first flower post to cut flowers that have been bought by friends. These are special not only because of their beauty but because of the memories they evoke.

A bunch of flowers cannot fail to please - unless of course they're 'c' flowers, a.k.a chrysanthamums or carnations on their own. They are just too sensible and don't smell nice. I remember a friend who was experiencing hard times saying that she just couldn't afford not to buy herself flowers every week just to keep her spirits up.
So why not give someone a surprise gift of flowers today?

Fabulous Fungus

The Trees
The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
 by Philip Larkin

Yesterday I went walking in the woods with DS & DH & Ralph, the
black lab., me clutching my camera to capture some of the new
growth. We take the dog into the woods most days and I love
to see the changes to trees and plant life. The flowers of the wild
garlic have taken over from the violets, primroses and bluebells
and the trees are bright with new leaves, the ground overgrown
with ferns and greenery I couldn't put a name to.
I was intent on capturing the beauty of the new growth when DS
suggested I took a picture of some fungus growing on a rotting log.
My first reaction was to object  -it reminded me of death and was
the opposite of what attracted me but he pointed out that new life
depended on that death. It's Nature's way, God's way, Jesus' way.

 It was an interesting thought so I was soon looking out for more fungus
and have had great fun learning more about it on the wonderful 'net'
As in all creation there's not  just one kind of the species but thousands 
and there are appreciation groups all over the  country. The
Bracket Fungus  below was my prettiest find but  is just one of them:
click on the link to see many more beauties.

So now, far from seeing the dead wood as an eyesore I am eager
that it is allowed to stay on the forest floor. I found this article
that says Life-giving dead wood 'at risk' 
Happy Fungus hunting!

Postscript: A few hours after posting the above I was woken by a
familiar but unwelcome itchiness & tingling in my foot - between the 4th &
 little toes to be precise. It could only by foot fungus!  I've not suffered from
it for ages & it seemed such a coincidence that I looked for a meaning from it.
Am I dead wood? Not quite perhaps but like the dead wood I will have to die
 in order to live again.