Downs and ups

The weekend didn't start well. I burnt the dinner and had to bring out the emergency Cornish pasties. My family know me well enough to stand back until my prickles are lying flat again, and in due course the rest of the evening was spent in convivial conversation.

At last! A leek seedling appears

Saturday was much better. I spent the whole day with my choir buddies at a workshop led by Bob Chilcott. If you know who he is, I hope you are suitably envious. (He is a composer and conductor, currently working on an album with Katie Melua, and knows anyone who is anyone in the music business.) It was a wonderful day: one of those you know you are enjoying at the time. Then to round things off, in the evening I went to the Potbelly Folk Festival at the Arts Centre. More music, more friends.

Sunday start promisingly enough. The weather was bright and breezy, and I was still smiling from Saturday. I had a plan to spend the whole day in the garden, potting on, sowing more seeds, shifting a few things around, etc, etc. I'll spare you the details; suffice to say my plans were thwarted. I retired for a sulk. The day was salvaged (just) by reruns of The Big Bang Theory and a packet of shortbread. 

The joy of shared space

I think I've told you before that on a Tuesday afternoon, when I'm teaching yoga in an upstairs room in the Methodist Church, downstairs the Ladies' Group meets for tea and chat, and quite often a guest speaker. At this time of year, our bending and stretching is often accompanied by carols and such like provided by a visiting choir.

This afternoon was our last session of the year, so I'd planned to include a meditation on winter - reflection and contemplation on seasonal stillness and silence: you get the idea. OK, maybe silence was unlikely, but I felt sure we'd have nothing more disruptive than choral accompaniment.

The lesson went well. As the end approached, we eased ourselves into a comfortable position, put our socks back on and wrapped up for the final quiet moments.

Of all the music I thought we might be treated to, I never for one moment anticipated boisterous Songs From The Shows. As we guided ourselves towards stillness, from the floor below came the unmistakable sound of 'June Is Bustin' Out All Over!' I silently sent the musicians peace and blessings, while encouraging my students to 'turn your focus inwards'. Hey ho.

Luckily, I had a bag of chocolate Santas on hand, so everyone went home smiling.

Let's celebrate the small things

Today, as we have the first properly cold day of the season, I'm celebrating the wonders of central heating. I know that come the day when we run out of fossil fuels, those of you with wood-burning stoves will be laughing, but for now I love being able to press a button and have instant heat.

I'm also celebrating the receipt of a gift voucher from Amateur Gardening, which has published my letter in the latest issue. It relates to a wintry topic, but I submitted it back in May with a photo. Seems that planning ahead has paid off.

As if that wasn't enough, I've had an Amazon voucher from Creative Frontiers for my winning entry in stage three of its accumulator story. If you want to have a go at writing the concluding episode of the adventure, you have until 31st December and you don't have to have entered any of the previous stages to be eligible. More details here.

I'm meeting up with some friends tomorrow for a Come & Sing event. We're doing Captain Noah and his Floating Boat. Seems appropriate, given the weather.

Have a good weekend, folks.

'Celebrate the small things' is a bloghop instigated by VikLit on her blog Scribblings of an Aspiring Author and co-hosted by Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Cyborg Mom (Katie) and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse. Details are here.