Just Humans Being...

It was over 10 years ago that we wrote a blog post about nurturing, simplicity and  Slowing Down  and we are happy to say we still feel the same way. We enjoy helping others, being with animals and nature - somehow we have carved out this path. We can manage on a small income with enough money to do what we want...buying decent food is always our priority and  maintaining our car. We do want to go on a road trip down to our house in France and that will happen at some point soon, but for now - we continue to creep and go. We live very frugally, but always feel our world is abundant and believe as a result, we often receive wonderful gifts - things we require often show up when needed...food, clothes, wood and books are always gratefully received. The kindness of others just blows us away.  A few weeks ago we met a couple while out doggy walking. It turned out that we had a connection with this couple - the chap's mother had been the housekeeper for one of the grand properties we ev

We are back in Devon on one of our regular pet sits and after arriving a couple of days ago to torrential rain and flooding...we woke this morning to blue sky, sunshine and a beautiful mist across the valley.  After our early walk we jumped into the hot tub to make the most of this glorious weather, soaking up the warm rays from the sun and marvelling at the clear blue sky - a rare occurrence these days! We are here for 6 days and arrived with everything we need for our stay - our intention being to use this time to completely chill out and enjoy the peace and quiet. It's great that we both feel the same way and neither of us has a desire to race around sightseeing. Instead, it is a real joy to get into a rhythm with the animals, walking, cooking on the Aga, eating, reading and spending time in the snug by the fire in the evenings. Every day is pretty much the same and that's just fine by us...we always bring lots of books with us and the dogs love to snuggle in the snug... Thi

  I like to take responsibility for my own health and believe that our reaction to a virus depends on the condition of our immune system. If it isn't tip-top then we will be susceptible to any germs going, but if we look after ourselves then we can avoid getting ill or at least reduce the impact. Of course, if you listen to today's medical experts you will see things differently, but bear in mind these guys have been trained by the big pharmaceutical industries who want to make mega bucks from their wares, so it's in their interests to fund and build medical schools to steer the minds of those who are drawn to the profession. I'm afraid I don't trust any of them, even if their intentions are well meaning. I love the books of the old doctors, those who used their intuition to assist people to heal, who learnt from their ancestors and understood the power we all have to heal ourselves.  It's been a while since I had a cold, but after a nasty mosquito (I presume) b

  We are coming to the end of our stay in Hampshire and the last 2 days have seen autumn arrive, so it sort of feels right to be thinking about leaving. A bit like Vianne and Anouk in Joanne Harris' book "Chocolat" - our work is done, though I think it's a south westerly here, rather than a north wind.   It is always a joy to be staying in this beautiful thatched cottage with our furry chum, to totally unwind and relax. The woodland walks are peaceful and we feel that we've reconnected with nature and got into a lovely rhythm.  The great thing about regular pet sits is that they feel like our very own holiday home, everything is familiar...especially the pets and with this particular sit, we have got to know the neighbours and their pets too over the years, so there is much merriment when we arrive and see everyone.     We have enjoyed our quiet morning walks, as well as the pack gatherings every afternoon with the crazy furry gang running around the big field, wh

Cabin life... For years, we have felt the need to shut out the light from our bedrooms. We truly believed that our inability to sleep solidly was due to our curtains not being thick enough, long enough, wide enough... And yet here we are; over 10 months without curtains in a south facing cabin with many windows, lots of light and we sleep so well!  At a time in our lives when many folks of our ages are wakeful or needing the loo in the middle of the night...as we did before living here. We now sleep soundly and only extreme weather (torrential rain or howling wind) has disturbed us.  We don’t have any electricity around our bed. Our wooden cabin doesn’t have any built-in sockets and our only electric cable is in the kitchen, which is at the opposite end of the cabin. The fridge is the only thing that remains on at night and we switch everything else off...absolutely everything; including our phones and we pack all our devices away each night. We use candles, tea lights and torches on

Do you live in fear of growing old, of becoming ill and dying?  Or do you enjoy your life; living with purpose and seeing the beauty all around you? Our work has evolved in the last year and has taken us on a path which felt right...caring for others.  Going into the homes of older people who have needed help and human contact.  We started with 2 clients, people we have been supporting with housework and pet care for many years and as the months ticked by, they both asked if we would go into various friends too. We are now working pretty much full time, doing whatever is needed...housework, gardening, dog walking, food preparation, sometimes just sitting and chatting over a cuppa.  We feel we have calmed those who were fearful and helped them to see things more logically...there is little virus here in Cornwall and it is very doubtful anyone will catch it while sitting in their house. Those who had become frightened of the outside world, have now started going out again - seeing family

It is important to have some quiet time each day, to turn off TVs, radios, devices and just enjoy the peace. We see how addicted people are to technology and the information they are constantly receiving – it is very clear that these things are having a huge impact on their lives. This unhealthy habit is being encouraged and it almost feels like an obligation to stay “tuned in” and up-to-date with everything that is going on in the world. We are also bombarded with messages about the past - world events to acknowledge, shows to commemorate and documentaries keeping us fixated on a time gone by. Even social media pushes photographic memories. Why do we need to keep dwelling on the past? And then of course, there is “the future” – we must worry about what is coming next... Ask yourself this question: What would happen if you switched everything off for a few hours? Well, this planet we call Earth will continue it’s journey around the sun and the huge machine dishing out it’s sl

Do you trust your own instinct or prefer to rely on opinions supposedly based on facts? Over the years we have been advised against doing what we have wanted to do, we have experienced so many sharp intakes of breath by the people trained in the various areas we have disagreed with, but we have always chosen to stick to our guns and do what we feel is right. The thing is, our decisions came from within – we were never been influenced by others or knew of other people doing what we we wanted to do, we just felt something...a knowing. When we first got together in 1986, we discovered that we both felt repulsed by certain meats and we began questioning why we continued to eat it when we felt so uncomfortable. One evening Sime came over to my flat and made spicy veggie burgers from soya mince which were delicious and I then found a recipe for walnut and broccoli lasagne and we carried on learning more and more. In 1987, we bought our first house together and it just so happened that