Friday Reflections : Go Confidently in the Direction of your dreams.

My choice for this weeks post is the quotation by Henry Thoreau, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."

Last April, I took a flight from Kathmandu to see Everest. This is the photo I took. It is the closest I want to get to that mountain peak!
I am so sad to see the devastation now in the city where I spent several days this time last year.

This quotation is on a plaque on my kitchen wall. My brother gave it to me Christmas 2013, not long after I retired.  I had just been through a stressful time, I had moved country and and spent two months camping out in the bedroom while I renovated the house and made it fit for winter living.

The house is actually looking quite tidy here. It was much worse and it was November. Not the time to be missing a window!

This was a post I really wanted to write about. I wanted to give it due care and consideration but as usual I seem to have run out of time. Why?

When my kids were small, I dreamed of the day when they would be grown up, independent and I would be retired.  I dreamed of lazy mornings, lots of books, and travel. Just look at the clipart I found when I googled. Are all retired teachers the same? This just describes it perfectly. I worked to live, not lived to work.

Got it in one!

I drafted this post. As I did I realised something. I am not moving confidently in the direction of my dreams. And this is why my time seems so scarce.

I have spent the past couple of weeks making a new garden. I had some help with the structural work but the rest I have done myself.






























I have barrowed tons of earth. I have planned, dug and planted the new beds.































The herb wheel I bargained like hell for. Had done the deal on  a bigger one but couldn't get it into the car. This one fits the patch perfectly

Basil is in, am waiting to get the rest of my herbs.

The veggie patch is prepared. It's next.

The veggie patch is prepared. I have visions of juicy tomatoes dancing in my head.

Through the work, there have been countless coffee breaks. The garden seems to be a magnet and so is the smell of coffee. It seems to bring everyone passing in to sit and chat. Lots of Turkish practice for me.  Lots of coffee and cake for them.

The terrace waiting to be planted.

In addition, I have been following my passion for photography. While I haven't got to the sea yet this week, to do my "reflections in water" homework. I have revamped some of my older photos and am learning to edit.

 Kyemore Abbey in the West of Ireland, great reflection but the sky was overexposed.

Improvement but still needs some work.

Sikh Temple in Delhi 

Better fits the homework brief when cropped in tight.

These swans became.......

........these, using the drama filter in Snapseed.

Random girl at the Taj Mahal

I inverted the reflection to make for a more interesting photograph , in my opinion.

Today I spent in the kitchen. Tomorrow I have planned a picnic with friends. We will meet, with our cameras and have a ramble. I am even bringing my swimsuit with me, In hope of having my first swim of the season..........on the 29th of April .

This is where we will go tomorrow.

 

My home wafts with the scent of fresh bread, brownies and muffins.

Hot out of the oven, Garlic, herb and cheese rolls.

Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins, easy to make and nice and light.

Chocolate brownies.......look my hand shook taking these, not so easy to make, definitely not nice and light but seriously good. Did I mention one never made it back safely to the tin? 

I love these ginger snaps, especially as they have sour pomegranate sauce to add a little kick to them.

Oh yes, the salad greens. This is  my carbon offset, sorry, sugar overload offset!

Of course there is a very healthy salad first!

Thursday is singing group and on Friday I will meet with my knitting ladies. That leaves the weekend to get my tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and courgettes planted.

One last thing for today, I have booked my flights to Bangkok for the end of September, the first leg of my upcoming trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. This was going to be a solo trip but in December a friend decided to come with me. We will be away for a month.

Looking forward to this trip in October. Vietnam and Cambodia with a brief stop in Thailand.

 I have planned a photography day tour in Hanoi, we will cruise Halong Bay, take the sleeper train to Da Nang, bus it from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh as well as fly to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat. 

We have booked a four night stay at the Secret Paradise Resort on Koh Rong Samloem pictured above.
This will a penance for me.....very limited internet access...I am going into rehab!!

I think I can safely say, I am not  moving confidently in the direction of my dreams. I am living my dream every day, be it digging the garden, baking, singing or knitting with friends, recording it all on camera. 

This is why I have so litle time to sit in front of the computer and write As I sit on my garden swing I realise my dreams are actually my reality. I am living them every day. Lucky me.