Last night there were millions of stars, so I knew we would have a frost and this morning the air is sharp and the sky is pale blue. Not a cloud in sight. Here is some of last night's ice in this morning's sunshine
... and here is Tara come to inves
Read more…Those of you who have been worried about my health will be pleased to hear that during January and February I have had a series of tests and check ups, it being a year since my emergency, and it is all good news. I am now off medication completely. M
Read more…I like to rotate the physical jobs so today it was liming walls. My technique has gradually improved and today I got quite a bit done. My son kindly bought me some extra tools for my birthday so they were in action today. Liming is rather different f
Read more…Although, no doubt, we shall have more cold, wet and windy days yet, I think I can declare that here in my little kingdom on the hill, yesterday, Valentine's, was the first day of spring. There was something differnt about the air, and today, suddenl
Read more…Life here is pretty simple. Today, for instance, it has been mild and windy - a good drying day - so I decided to do some clothes washing. I did two loads, coloureds and whites and got about half dry by evening. In the afternoon I made a chocolate c
Read more…This week my practical tasks have mostly been set aside in order to clear the decks for writing. I have got some work done on the manuscript of a potential book based on my "Questions in the Sand" series. I've also heard that my Dogen book is now und
Well there was no typhoon today, only grey clouds and a mild temperature. In fact it has been the first day of the year warm enough for me to work in the upper room and not bother with a fire in the kitchen. Tara stayed out all last night and has bee
Read more…The end of the month. I wonder if it is the end of the winter. I mean, of course, the real winter, the winter defined by the elements, not the winter designated by the calendar. Here at La Ville au Roi we have well defined seasons for the most part.
Read more…I’ve got guests coming, persons unknown. What does one do? Make a cake. OK, corny but true. I start to get out pastry and cake making things. I’m SO glad that the extremely cold weather has ended as I was really anxious how I was going to keep them t
Read more…Cold Days
It is another frosty morning. Frost on the east window is thicker and climbs almost to the top of the top pane. Nonetheless, it does not feel quite so cold. Paradoxically, this may be because objectively it is colder. Yesterday it did not g
Read more…Tara the cat knocks on my door. It’s morning! She is full of energy after a night confined to the house. I let her out onto the frozen earth, white and crunchy under foot. I watch. She scampers high into the walnut tree and I cast cries of encouragem
Read more…It has been a post-travel day. I have been occupied with recharging the car battery (the car is an electric-petrol hybrid), bringing in the rest of the things from the car (not so easy with a gammy leg), unpacking, organising the things I brought ba
Read more…I'm back.
My visit to UK has been full and joyous, but it is lovely to be back at Eleusis. Today I travelled from the snow in the north back to gentle rain here. My injured leg is still giving me trouble so unloading the car was a challenge. I had bo
Read more…This afternoon the Amida Sangha had arranged a celebration event to mark my 70th birthday. It was a lovely occasion. Many people came including some I had not seen for a long time. My English children and grandchildren were also present. There was a
Read more…I am currently visiting Britain. I spent Christmas with dear friends near London, my birthday with my daughter and grand-daughter, and am visiting the Amida Mandala Temple in Malvern which is splendidly situated with a panoramic view across the vale
Read more…Spent this afternoon bringing to the surface a rock estimated to weigh about 350 lb to incorporate in the crazy paving path we are laying. Once that is in place it should be pretty stable.
In the evening in honour of the full moon we had a fire to th
Read more…This is the season for remembering the enlightenment of Buddha. Traditionally, in the far east, Bodhi Day is December 8th. Yesterday, the 8th, we did some chanting and today, 9th, we did continuous prostrations at Oasis and talked about the path of f
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After you have gone for a long walk all around the property, climbed to the top of the beech tree, investigated the inside and outside of the cold frame, found a way of getting to a new window sill, inspected the excavations and the stones dug up by
Here is a picture of one of our little projects. The path is made mostly from slabs of limestone dug up on the site and maneuvered into place. This is work in progress. We still have quite a way to go. The doctor says that I need to stay active and g
Read more…Good Medical News
I have recently had some medical tests and today saw my own doctor to review the results. She is pleased with my progress. The best news is that the deep vein thrombosis in my legs which was one of the major elements of the conditio
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