this is the upside down photo

these pictures are fairly recent. i am most proud of the one of robin upside down. partly i am proud because i took it and andy and robin both look so cool. but mostly i am proud because it looks like something you would bring home from venture photography which is all the craze these days!

i like photos being everywhere but i never have enough frames. i like simple frames and clusteringthem all togather like we have in our kitchen and our bathroom. when i get more frames we will cluster pictures up the stairs too i think and then who knows where else. the pictures all get saved up in a big brown envelope in the attic and then i look through them every now and then and long for simple photo frames.

does anyone read our blog REGULARLY?

ww.postsecret.blogspot.com

this is all i want to share today...

www.postsecret.blogspot.com

blogtastic bea bleats on...

so i went to the bbc website today and saw this item in the news section. slightly odd that people are paid probably quite a lot of money to spend time looking at something which won't change the lives of many people at all - if anyone.

mowed the lawn yesterday and hugh made lush brownies and i also went to a bbq.

we have a newt in our pond. this is good and not good. good because it adds to the glowing feeling in my heart thqat comes with knowing that the pond i dug (with hodgson) is so attractive to wildlife. not good because it means my tadpoles are under threat of extinction because newts are carnivorous beasts.

off to the mighty 'nam tomorrow with my friend kate and her daughter miriam. back on monday in time for the ben folds gig. eek - need to find a baby sitter.

the marshalls are having a party - fancy dress of course!

the theme is "the bill (or another tv show)".
on friday 17th june
at our house
from 7.30 onwards
bring a bottle

look forward to seeing you

oh dear!

this afternoon we found mushrooms growing out of our newly turfed lawn. having pulled them up and googled them, it turns out they are of a seriously poisonous variety.

seems this turf isn't all it's cracked up to be - uit also came with a weed grass in it too. however, it does look fab even if it could be the early end of one of us. let's hope not!

just had a fab evening with cathers and mogul playing settlers of catan which is an awesome game. andy won first round and then he went off to be with his little men and i won second round in a stunning display of skill and mental agility!!!

entering scary territory... again

$2 falafel 22.08.00

a treasure chest of tailored variety
ageing paint peels away from the overhead fan
the best food for a fraction of the price
warm red tiles suppoet the stream of visitors
and the public phone greets those who dare to enter,
the temptation never to leave almost shouts

a table of devoured merchandise sits stranded
crying out for a hand to clear
if only it could be graced by traditional clientele

variety abounds all over

the music is powerful - a collage of metal against
utensils, formulated chatter and balti whining
the slim rustle of wax paper amounts to a crescendo
and then silences itself

stationary disco lights entertain the upward eyes
lanterns uplift the warm air scented
with comforting familiarity
minds change with the engrossing smell of
warmed pitta and fired meat
the falafel falls softly in my stomach
i am satisfied in more ways than one.






writing out poetry you haven't visited for a long time is strange. there is a fierce desire to make changes and adjustments and re-working but also an opposing strength which wants the moment to stay the same and so not change anything. i remeber learning at school in english class that some poet (can't remember who) always locked poems away for years before re-visiting them and making changes, only to lock them away again and go through the process all over. that is definitely not me. i think any poetry i write is about the moment and restoring a memory to me - mayeb like some crazy revision notes or something. he above poem takes me back to mamoons falafel bar in new york in an instant and i love that about it.

it feels so good being obedient to God!

andy and i have been feeling really burdened by the poorly van situation since it happened at Christmas. mostly because of money really - we want to honour God with the money he gives us and that means, to us, using it wisely and where he tells us to use it.

the other night i had a psychadelic dream all about the van. it was so ridiculous that i dismissed it as my mind just processing the van situation. then God told me later that day that tyhe dream was from him and we were neglecting the gift he gave us. i was a little confused cos we genuinely thought we were doing right by God with the money stuff. as it happens, all the things i've done since the dream to rectify the situation have all fallen into place amazingly and costing less than expected. hip hip hooray!

and every time i do something to take the van further along the road to glory (!) it feels great.

i was pondering the bit from the bible about 'freely you have received so freely give' which has been in and out of my mind since andrew jones blogged it. i always heard it as you didn't pay anything, or do anything for what you received so give without expecting anything back. but then i was reflecting on it and heard it differently - this time as you recived in freedom, without constraints, by grace, so give freely - from a place of freedom without constraints, by grace. this ties in with something my friend lindsay heard in some teaching recently: "if you want to come against the spirit of poverty you must be abundant in generosity".

not done much processing so the above is a raw cut of the fine-tuning that will no doubt go on over the next few days/weeks.

new pics

anyone would think it's robin's blog...
he's certainly growing up fast!

to publish or not to publish, that is the question...

here's the thing. i have written lots of poetry over the past few years and i love writing it - sometimes i might even share it with a couple of people. i notice, though, that some people have the confidence to publish poetry on their blogs. i am in awe of this and these people. when i was at school, poetry was something you picked apart until all the possible meaning was wrung out of it and what was left was a saggy bag of words. my english teacher once asked me to read out a poem in class and after asked how it made me feel. he then told me that my response was wrong. how can an emotional response be wrong?

this makes me really scared to publish anything but this is my blog and i am going to. therefore, please feel free to feel any way you want to, or , equally, to feel nothing at all as a result of reading any poetry i put up. so the following is something i wrote when i was on a 'mountain top'. right now i think i would express things differently but it is faith-building to remember and look forward.

GOD may 2000

you inspire my every thought
free postcards of refreshment
even as you breathe against my cheek
soft hairs rise - capturing your cares

did you kiss me? wrap your arms tight?
touch me deep within
take me into your dwelling place
make your dwelling place within my heart

you let me go
watch me run, jump, sing, weep
keep me warm under your wing - let me soar
speak to me, louder than silence

you are my perfection
a perfect beginning to life
my eyes ahut tight to see your glory
my heart's door is open-wide
come Lord

i see the sun in its brightness
i hear the sea sweat and rage
i know your embracing presence
you are all i need - God - all i need

forgive me
love me
lead me

show me the war to baghdad...

this is pretty funny.
and a bit disturbing too...