1.5 miles!

And so it became for The Walk. For several days my OH had been making it his planned project for the weekend, that he would take me out for a walk around Colemere, shepherding me should I feel doddery, assisting me should I feel my energies failing. His expectation of me was similar to mine...... that it would take an effort to walk round the lake, because that is what Colemere is ...... " a deep expanse of water shaped like a giant's tummy button, with steep sides and filled with icy water in its lower depths". (www.shropshire-guide.co.uk). Of course I was not going to be going in for a swim, though, because I do not own a swimming costume, and there are huge fish in the lake anyway, which my imagination would turn into the biggest of sharks tout suite as soon as I was ankle deep in the water. Much better to stay on dry land. Much more sensible. 

Here is the lake and surrounding woodland. 

Here is NOT me, but someone else 

- a photo poached off the internet because I forgot to take a similar one of the lake myself!

But here IS a portion of me walking along the path beside the lake, just to prove that I did have my walking boots on and was stoically marching along albeit at a sedate pace.

..... and my OH moving ahead of me because he was a tad fed up with me trying to photograph my feet  in walking mode.....

...... and the wonderful sparkling of sunshine through the trees.....

....a pause for a snack, and Maz hoping for a morsel to come her way.....   

It was a grand day out, 

and I managed to walk, at a goodly pace, for one and a half miles!

It was a personal achievement for both my OH and me. 

I never thought I would ever walk a hundred yards, let alone 1.5 miles.  

Keep on going, that is what I have learnt, and don't give up.

I might not ever be as fit as I once was, but I am fitter than I have been recently. 

Bless you in your journey, 

Bye for now,

Vx

New fields........

We have moved!

And here is our new home.......

...... It is so different to the house we renovated in France, at least this one was ready to move into, which was a joy. I have done with old houses. The French farm house was at least two hundred years old, and the rented cottage here in England was about the same age, and both were difficult to live in because of the tendency for damp and the tendency for my bones not to like dampness. Anyway, this house was built in around the 1970's, with a pseudo Tudor look which was popular at that time. Building regulations had improved, so the house is dry, which has my bones very pleased. 

The house is on a housing estate and close into the town, which I can walk to when my legs let me. Or else I can get a bike. Or even a scooter. Or even catch a bus. Having lived in a rural community it is nice to have people around. Living remotely is OK, but does tend to make me feel 'not of this world'. There are a lot of people around here, and I like this. It makes me feel 'in life'. 

 I feel very blessed that this is the house which has become our home, and now opens up a new chapter in my life. This house, and its environment, will not let me give in to being elderly. I am, after all, seventy four year old and with a major operation behind me. But no! This house will not let me be weak and feeble about my advancing years. It will not let me park up on the sidelines and let life pass me by. For a start, there is an excellent coffee and cake shop,  which is a ten minute walk along a green lane just behind the house.  Do some walking exercise.....stop at the coffee shop..... have a chat..........then return home. Now that seems like a good idea! 

Part of the back garden. Unlike our farm in France which had thirteen acres of land, this garden is small ..... but big enough to have a garden full of flowers. 

And this is the lower part of the garden, which I have not gone into yet because the steps are a bit steep for my legs to manage. Not to worry........ a few more walks to the coffee shop and back, should get me up and down those steps in no time!

So, bye for now. 

In love and light,

Vx

An Update......

  So I was laid upon a bed in the x-ray unit of Stoke Hospital. After a two bouts of hospitalizations in the last six months, one of which included open heart surgery, I was not in the mood for another CT scan, which is what I was about to have. My newly furbished heart was beating loud enough in my ears enough to worry me in case it wore my new heart valve out before I had chance to adjust to it. In other words, I was a tad stressed although I was trying not to be. 

The vein in my arm was found, instructions about the procedure were said, and the scanner started moving towards me. It is a big circular tube which surrounds the body and it can be claustrophobic, although I had never found it to be on past CT scans.  This time I did. 

And then, zooming in, came my support team....... comprising of angel guides (I shall explain who they are another time), bringing with them a calmness of self and a feeling of being able to conquer all that is laid before me. Not only that, but my dear departed Uncle Jim, Aunty Rose, Uncle Don, Nan and Grandad also made their presence felt, making me feel very supported. I rode through the scan very well after that. The team and my family saw me through.

Now this might seem a bit weird to you, and I would have thought so too if I was not as psychically endowed as I am, and although it is an effort to stay connected to the Source of all that is, which was difficult during the time of my operation and recovery and often I was worried in case that link would never come back. I have worked hard to recovery that link, which has required several weeks of self healing meditations and positive thinking. It was a life test which I found to be long and hard. Not to worry, I am coming out the other side, with a greater connection to the Source of all that is, (or the Universe, or God, or any other name you use to define that power ) 

And I was reminded by the angels on my team that providing I spend time to make the links between me and them, that they can make a call to action when I need it. As for my family members who have passed on........ I never reach out to them like I do my team, they just seem to make their presence known as and when....... and it is not like I am remembering them from the memory files in my head, it is a different energy which I can only but know that they are still around even if they do no longer have a body shape. And, as a matter of interest, Mr Lobb, my piano teacher in my teenage years and who I had forgotten in the mists of time, spoke to me this morning, saying, " Keep your fingers flexible". Being psychically sensitive does make like interesting!

So I have started doing my piano exercises, but think that I shall not play the accordion again. It is a heavy instrument to play and in deference to my re-plumbed heart I think it has to go into history. But not to worry........ I am thinking about learning the melodeon and / or the concertina, which will not have the huge sound of the accordion, but at least I can play some of the our catalogue of music because they are lighter instruments to play.  Meanwhile I shall keep the piano practice going, and I shall not give up on my music. Mr Lobb has said so. 

The House Project:

It is still ongoing, and at the moment we are hoping to purchase a house in Oswestry, on the Shropshire and Welsh border. 

The Walking Project:

I am not walking up and down the lanes outside the cottage very much, but I did walk unaided through the hospital for my CT scan which surprised both me and my partner. And I walked quite strongly up to where he was waiting in the car park after the scan. I am aware that my legs are getting stronger, and that I am doing more jobs in the house. In other words, I am on the mend. 

My heart is settling down, and I am growing in confidence that it is a 'working' heart and not a 'soon to retire' heart. 

All is well, despite the ongoing trials of living life through these unsettling times, which only serve to make us stronger if we try to stay positive that all will turn out alright in the end.

Hope all is well with you. 

Bye for now, 

Vx