It is a quiet life here in rural SW France, with the days flowing by only given structure to by the governing order of routine as laid down by the requirements of Lester's work schedule.
So I knew that Christmas was coming up because I was involved with a Christmas choir singing French and English Christmas carols to retired folk in the maisons de retraite in Marciac, Plaisance, and Castelnau Riviere Basse. All went well. I jigged and jumped and made a grand effort at keeping everything moving, my role as the conductor of the choir allowing me to do so. I learnt that I can play my tambourine with great verve and that it can make a grand noise if encouraged to do so, which is a bit like me really.
The concerts were positioned around the solstice of mid winter, (December 21st). At noon of that day you would have found me standing in a field with several other people, doing solstice related things. I would quickly say that this did not involve anything which required certain types of dress, ( robes, nakedness, etc......) nor did it involve all sixteen of us to dance around waving fronds of greenery. All we did was stood at certain points of the compass as laid out on the ground beneath our feet, and stood in a prayer led meditation. All was calm, all was peaceful. And then all back to the house to partake of lunch, which was full of good food, and good company.
Once this day had passed, so, too, did the feelings of it being the festive season, and Christmas seemed to float past us, as did New Years Eve.
In my head I am fiddling with the idea of starting a podcast. I am finding that blogging does not fully express all that I want to say, and so limits my creativity. The blog was started in 2009, which was just after we arrived here in France, and was specifically intended to record our journey of renovating our ruin of a house and land. There was lots to write about. But as 2019 arrives I am finding that I need to open up other avenues, hence the podcast idea.
So two possibilities are in the air. One is the starting of our Salad Garden (the Market Garden Project), which is on hold at the moment because Lester is working full time on his computer and does not have the time to get the project going, but I do what I can on the farm to keep the project alive. Mostly this is with working on our system of raised beds, which was going well until the sheep wandered into the courtyard and ate the tops off most of the vegetables growing there, except the onions....apparently they don't like them.
While the farm is on slow down, I have the time to investigate being a podcaster.
Shall I, or shall I not.......the answer to that remains unknown at the moment......whatever is to happen during 2019 sits in the mystery of time, and it does not matter in what direction we go in as long as Lester and I stay in sync with each other and keep going forward. And this I also wish for you, that no matter what comes along during the New Year, that you see it as moving forward, even if you are not quite sure of where that 'moving forward' is moving you forward to!
Sending blessings to you, that you remain uplifted and full of hope,
Bye for now
Vx
22 comments:
A lovely post for the first of the year. It certainly is a time for both reflection and thinking about the future. Starting something new (pod cast possibilities) is always a good thing if we remember that any new thing can be stopped if it doesn't feel right given the chance to feel right. Best wishes for whatever you undertake. You have a verve for life so keep banging that tambourine!
Hi Vera, Christmas and New year just passed us by this year as well. We are in the UK caring for 96 nearly 97 yo FIL who has Alzheimer's. Two weeks down and four more to go! We are finding it extremely stressful! Re podcast, I doubt if I could follow you if you do that as once back in France with our slow WiFi we cannot play videos!!! We are little better than dial-up which is very frustrating. N has written to the powers that be and we were told as much as they would like to improve the speeds there is no money available!!
All the very best for a healthy and wealthy 2019. Diane
Best wishes to you both for 2019, I know nothing of podcast, where to find or what to do..... Wishing you a good year in whatever you decide
Tilly
Happy New Year, I like to hear what is happening on the farm even if it's only occasional. I look forward to seeing (or hearing!) what you decide on.
Hi Vera,
I'm thrilled by your career as a choir conductor.
The solstice festivity as you've described it sounds like a peaceful and spiritual event followed by a lot of fun, food and company.
I'm afraid I don't know much about podcasts, but I get the feeling it's something good for you.
May you have a wonderful New Year, a year of prosperity and fulfillment on all 'fronts'!
A podcast opens endless possibilities - that said, I sense they are something of an undertaking as well. No harm in trying.
A Very Happy New Year!
MAMA PEA, thank you for your kind and uplifting words, and I shall indeed keep banging my tambourine even if at time it sounds not quite right, at least I shall keep on trying!
DIANE, I am sorry that you are having such a trying time at the moment, although at the same time I feel deeply respectful for the care that you are showing to your FIL.
It is odd that your area does not have a good internet connection, but I shall still carry the blogs so you can stay updated.
Wishing you peace and love.
TILLY, podcasts are found on YouTube, and are similar to blogs but are spoken to camera. I shall start one up eventually, but it will take a lot of work to keep the podcasts going!
Thank you for your best wishes.
ATHENE, thank you so much for your encouragement, ....I shall keep carrying on with the thought of both blogging and podcasting in the future.
DUTA, thank you for such a lovely comment, it is much appreciated.
The choir has stopped rehearsing for now, as it was intended to give Christmas concerts only, but we have been asked to play again in a couple of months, so there is a chance that it will continue.
The solstice event was magical and, as you say, very spiritual. As for podcasts, I don't know much about setting one up either! And they do require a lot of background work, like editing, etc. I am still dithering about going ahead, but I feel as if I am being pulled along by greater forces, so it will happen! Thank you for your encouragement with this.
TOIRDHEALBHEACH BEUCAIL, podcasts do take a lot of background work to bring them to a good standard, and this is what is making me dither about starting one up. As you say, there is no harm in trying, so today I start the process of learning what is involved.
Wishing you all the best for 2019, ......may your writing flow strong and true.
Hope your 2019 is fruitful and full of music. Please make a podcast! I have recently become a fan of them and spend/waste a lot of time now on YouTube. The best I might add are the naturale/unedited. Give it a whirl.
Sending best wishes to you both for a Happy New Year and good luck with the podcast development :)
All the best for 2019. Any news with the tourism ideas: campsite, Gite..?
LOCAL ALIEN, thanks for the advice, and will take notice of it, especially about keeping the podcast natural and unedited. Wishing you all the best for 2019, and thank you for your best wishes.
SHIRLEY, thanks for your best wishes, and I shall keep working away at getting the podcast up and running.
NORTHSIDER DAVE, all our plans for the farm are on hold at the moment because of Lester's work commitments, but when his work finishes we shall be reviewing our plans. Thanks for reminding us about the camp site / gite idea.
And wishing you all the best for 2019.
Happy New Year!
I always thought the tambourine (pandareta) was pretty basic, but they figure prominently in folk music around these parts and my appreciation for good technique has skyrocketed.
A podcast sounds lovely, if a tad technical to set up. That said, I don´t have an MP3 anymore, it got misplaced years ago in the move and I haven´t bothered to get another one, so I´m not one of those who gardens or cleans listening to books or chats or whatever. And I do like your writing style, so keep blogging if you can.
Best of luck with all your projects!
COCO, Thank you for your valuable points you raised....
I also thought the tambourine was a bit of a nahnah instrument, which has not been used at all since we bought it some years ago. But, as conductor of our little choir, I thought that some of the songs needed a bit of pepping up, Jingle Bells being one of them. It worked. Not only did it help the song to bounce along, but I enjoyed the sensation of working with it. I shall continue to use it now, when it is relevant to whatever music I am playing.
Podcasting can be quite technical, and therefore expensive to set up because of the required equipment. It also requires a lot of time, because the podcaster is usually front of camera, sort of like a mini film. I came across podcasters on YouTube a few months ago and enjoyed the intimacy it gave me with the podcaster. With blogging you only have the words of the blogger, so it there is a greater distance between you and the blogger. The podcasts I look at are mostly do with with knitting, and other crafts, and home and garden related subjects. I have learnt a lot through them.
I shall keep the blog updated as much as I can though, as I would like to keep connected to my blogging friends!
I have really enjoyed your blog for many years so a vlog would be even better.
MEADOWLASS, thanks, I am working on it!
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