Wow - what wind

So they said there would be some winds today

Oh boy were they telling it the way it was.

Where we live is quite exposed but wow - I don't think I I've known winds like it since we have lived here (we were not here for the hurricanes and so that would obviously have been worse)

The winds woke me several times in the night but built up even more. When I got up I checked the fences and they were OK. However an hour later and two panels had gone between us and next door and, more worryingly, one between us and the heath. It means anyone can wander in off the heath if we leave the panels out and, to be honest, our garden is so 'naturalised' at the moment that people would be forgiven for thinking they were still ont he heath rather than in a garden.

The problem was that the wind was so strong it didn't only 'pop' the panel, which is what usually happens, but broke the concrete post. We were lucky we had kept some of the better quality older panels so replaced it but it took Nij an age to repair the post.

So my photo of the day - the broken panel and post.

 
Apart from fence fixing I have been working hard today in preparation for school. Of course it is not the only day I have worked, but it has been a lot more focused today.

I have a new page to share, made last week, which was another from the 2011 album

They were photos from last February at snowdrop weekend at Kingston lacy and I can't believe it is almost time to do that again.

If you live locally I do recommend it as it really is lovely to see the huge drifts of flowers. It really does look like snow.

Nigel bought me a calendar called 1000 places to see before you die. I think he is trying to broaden our horizons a little as most pl;aces we want to see are in the US.

I means to blog the place each day but forgot the first two - not a good start. I will try and remember in future.

1st January  - Wadi Rum in Jordan. Looks beautiful but to be honest I can't see us ever going to Jordan (though I WOULD like to see the Rose City of Petra)

2nd January - Milford Sound New Zealand. As we hope to visit New Zealand one day I will keep this one in mind

3rd January Martinique. Doesn't appeal to me so much - does it count that I have stayed in Martinique? The Martinque village at Disney's Caribbean Beach resort that is. And actually I did not like that village - not like our Aruba that we love or Jamaica that is so pretty. Ah .... dreams of the Caribbean Beach - can't wait to be there again.

Today I am thankful for

• not suffering any more damage than we did in the winds
• a wonderful Christmas holiday
• friends on UKS that are so helpful

 
and finally this seems a less efficient way than using a shredder but a whole lot more fun .... well fun until kitty who you have trained does it to something you DON'T want them to play with

 

 

 

we think Boo could disintegrate the paper just by breathing on it!

 

And finally this is from my one minute devotions calendar for today

Years ago, I made a list of things I wanted to ride, including a hot-air balloon, a snowmobile, an elephant, a camel, a toboggan, in-line skates, a surfboard, a go-cart, a wave runner, an alpine slide, a horse and buggy in New York City’s Central Park, and a helicopter. By my mid-50s I’d done them all, except the camel. Then I started a new list that included parasailing, a rickshaw, and a train through the Paris-to-London Chunnel. I’m still dreaming about those. Just having the list makes me feel fit, fun, and full of adventure.

Not too long ago, my friends Wally and Shirley invited my friend Jack and me to tour downtown St. Petersburg, Florida (our neighboring town), on Segways, those funny-looking things on two wheels. You stand up and lean forward to go fast, and lean back to go slow or stop. A sensitive gyroscope senses your balancing act and keeps you moving.

Perfect, another interesting thing I can add to my list of fun things to ride, I thought. This will be easy. I’m only sixty-one and they’re all in their seventies. I’ll run circles around them.

Well, of the four of us, I was the only one who bumped into a lamppost, swerved into the grass (three times), hit a big metal pole, and knocked the Segway to the ground after screeching around in a sandy spot. My body wasn’t hurt, but my brash, overconfident feelings sure were.

Lesson learned? Sometimes I need to slow down, obey the rules, and take it easy in order to get the most out of life.

Lord, thank You for all the adventures we can have in this glorious world. Help me to enjoy them wisely.

—PATRICIA LORENZ

Comments

[Jules]

Snap! We've got a fence panel that looks just the same, all forlorn on the ground with bits of broken wood sticking out at all angles.I'm relieved that there was no more damage, I was half expecting to find bits of roof on the floor this morning!

[HeatherC]

Karen, I went to Jordan last February, don't remember if I had told you. We were only there 3 days, and it was a quick trip, so I don't have much of an impression of it. But Petra was wonderful!