irini

 Somehow time morphed away from me. I mean, yeah, I knew when Christmas or New Year was, but goodness, those days have become so insignificant over the years that I only realise they are there because of outside input so to speak. There were more lights than usual, which I noticed as I walked to the office one evening in December to meet up with the team for a get-together, which was lovely. It wasn't what had been planned, but considering the whole hoax situation, we managed a joyful evening. Then I received an email about a care package because I had volunteered to work during the holidays and take the winter solstice off instead, which worked perfectly for me. I was touched and amused about the care package. So novel that a company actually does these little gestures that no doubt costs them a fortune. And both Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, I received a phone call to ask where my house was (for some reason, the GPS cannot find us) so they could deliver dinner/lunch. I wa

Most of the time, we associate creativity with being active -- not necessarily physically active at all, but active in that we write or knit or sew or cook or make cheese or  whichever way our creativity goes. But sometimes, especially at this time of year when Earth goes quieter and quieter each day -- at least in the Northern Hemisphere -- until she momentarily stops, perhaps to take a deep breath, creativity also means appreciation of others' creativity perhaps, or maybe even taking a step back and thanking the Mother of all there is for all of creation, which in essence is exactly what enables us to be creative. I momentarily wondered this morning if it was acceptable for me to do pretty much nothing today. I decided it was, so I swept the floor, did some laundry, afforded myself some fresh rolls for breakfast, and chilled. This week was a wee bit rough workwise because being only two people in customer support at a time when there are massive changes in the market being implem

 I was pondering this afternoon how everything has changed so dramatically to the better for me, thinking back to last year November when one evening I came home and just cried because customers had sucked the last bit of energy out of me, what with "Black Friday" approaching and offers being not good enough in their eyes. I had sold worth of around 10k that week on top of my normal work, and two weeks later would get a kick in the butt because one of my 'regular' customers refused -rightly- to talk to me or anyone in my office. It didn't count towards the bonus either of course.  Sharing an old, not-well maintained flat with my son and his friend had become a disaster, and I was dreading that time when everyone is expected to be cheery. Darkness falling from around 3.30 onwards was not helping; I got to work while it was still dark and left work when it was dark already. My promise to myself of becoming a merry widow was in serious jeopardy, as there was little I

It's now been over three months since I left England, and the time is finally starting to feel real, not like a dream. In the first few weeks I tended to wake up thinking what a pleasant dream I'd had, living in pleasant surroundings (if loud, thanks to never-ending construction), minutes from the seafront, in lovely weather. It's not happening that often now, though I'm far from taking it for granted. The feel of actually living a life instead of merely existing, the knowing that the devastating energy that is Newcastle now lies in my past, and above all, that inner feeling of peace that washes over me every now and then - what an incredible journey. Some people don't like Malta -- because it's too small, too hot, too windy, too rip-offy where the locals are concerned, too expensive, and whatever other findings one could come up with. And I totally get that. It is small! August gets Very hot! when it's windy, it isn't just a gentle breeze, that's