My Six Word Saturday is full of flowers. How is yours?
I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. My theme “Look up” for this week comes from The Daily Post.
Doing yoga on a beach in the San Blas Islands, Panama, in 2012
Walking in “our” forest in the yard today, Heath, MA, USA
Ceilings in St. Petersburg, Russia (September 2015)
Do you remember to look up when walking in nature, towns or museums? What is you favorite sight to look up at? Mine is … a boring blue sky or a sparkling black one! 🙂
This past weekend, the weather was miserable and all but summery. It rained, it was cold for the time of the year and the sky was a permanent grey… perfect conditions for the activities we had planned!
Earlier this year, Mark and I did a three month house sit in Kent, CT, where we took care of two great dogs, Henry and Mickey, and two cheeky parrots, Tutu and Kookoo. The owners of the house are both respected and acclaimed artists, who we enjoyed meeting and getting to know. Steve Katz is a founder of the famous band Blood, Sweat and Tears who recently wrote a book and is touring again. His wife Alison Palmer is a very accomplished and talented ceramics artist. When we said our goodbyes the end of March, we promised to pay them a visit over the summer. What better time than the day of an exciting “pottery event”?
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting and relatively adventurous life without being rich. Or even without owning/earning a lot of money. That being said, Mark and I seem to manage one big expense a month for some reason, whether it is car, plane, travel or computer-related. Luckily, we live totally rent-free and in comfort, wherever we end up. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce and non-alcoholic drinks (100% orange juice, oat milk for Mark and organic 2% milk for me) predominantly bought in supermarkets. Dining out means eating at a restaurant and/or take-out food. The health category covers medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements. Utilities are always phone and Skype-related, now that our internet is free.
Here is an overview of our expenses in June. Once again, we did not manage to stay under $1000. Maybe next month? The grocery bill was much higher than usual, because we organized a family gathering over the 4th July weekend at our current place. After months of having no sound, "off balance" color settings, random crashes and regular "freezes" on my three-year-old computer (which Mark, my personal IT-guy, did not want to touch anymore for the last six months, because the thing frustrated him too much), I finally gave in and bought a new computer for a great price on eBay. Next week, it will be up and running. Thank you, IT-guy!
Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing. Starting this month, they have added a question as a prompt to get the juices flowing: “What’s the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?” It has been a while since my last “book update”, so today is a good day for some insights and an answer to that question.
The Background
As some of you know, my biggest passion is traveling. Since graduating at 22, I have been on the road or on the water full-time for 14 out of the 18 years. I’m not sure whether to count our current lifestyle of house and pet sitting as traveling, since we are semi-settled “abroad” (for me anyway), but still explore different parts of the country while at it.
The other thing I have been doing most of my life is write. I have always enjoyed writing and have been pretty engrossed by it since I started my first diary at the age of 10. Continue reading
I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. My theme “Opposites” for this week comes from The Daily Post.
Wharariki Beach in Golden Bay, New Zealand
Opposites that come to mind are: sand-rock, dead-alive, arid-lush, air-water, dry-wet, bumpy-flat
Which opposites do you spot when looking at this photo?
Ever since we arrived in Heath, MA to do this five month house sit, Mark has been interested in climbing the biggest mountain of the state, which is located an hour drive away. Usually I’m the first one to partake in any exciting hike or adventure, but ascending a 3500ft (1067 m) mountain is not in the cards anymore for me. Many times in the past, when scaling smaller hills and mountains, my “Sure, let’s do it! I’ll just walk at my own pace.” turned into tough, steep climbs with loads of sweat, many breaks and a guaranteed headache. Turning 40 is no joke!
Entering the mountain park
So, here is a “preview” of the blog I intend to post soon, about climbing Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts.
Mount Greylock rises behind a cemetery in the town of Adams
Six Word Saturday to the rescue! 🙂
Can you describe your Saturday in six words?
The result of the Brexit vote/referendum in the UK has shocked the world and its impact is global and immediate. The Brits regrettably (and regrettingly?) have decided to leave the EU. We all suffer because of it. I am disheartened by the way politicians misrepresent the truth and by how people don’t think critically and for themselves anymore. I fear for this right-wing trend to continue everywhere and hope the US, among other countries, will learn from the UK’s “mistake”.
My blogger friend Al is a writer, poet and citizen from the UK, who did an interview with me for his Dirty Dozen series recently. He put his sentiments in words that make total sense. I have decided to reblog his post from yesterday on Roaming About, because of the insights it presents, and because I stand by his side. My intended bog post for today about visiting the biggest mountain in Massachusetts on Sunday will be postponed until later this week. You can see Al’s original post and comments here.
This great video by British comedian and HBO television host John Oliver also hits the nail on the head…
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