Monday 7 November 2016

'Trio of Blessings'

I believe that it was in Marian Keyes' book 'The Brightest Star in the Sky', that I first came across the idea of a 'trio of blessings'. Each night, one of her characters forces herself to think of 3 positive things that have happened that day. If I remember correctly, at one point things get so bad that the best she can come up with is: 'I'm not dead, I'm not dead, I'm not dead'. It's something that I have adopted and do each night before going to sleep. Sometimes the blessings can be really mundane - 'dinner was nice' and that sort of thing. Yesterday's was easy. I'm into week 5 of my Couch to 5K and yesterday was the first time that I have run for 8 minutes without stopping - that was blessing number 1. Blessing number 2 happened just as I was doing a walking section. As I crossed over the river, a kingfisher flew under the bridge and landed on the branch of a nearby tree. It stopped me dead in my tracks. Despite living with the river at the bottom of our garden for 17 years, this is the first kingfisher I have ever seen. It was beautiful and I ran the rest of the way home with a huge grin on my face. Blessing number 3, if you're interested, was lighting the stove in the evening and doing some knitting whilst watching the film 'Agatha'. Blessing number 2 will take some beating though and I think that every run from now on may be a bit of an anticlimax! 
Talking of running, according to the schedule stuck to my fridge, tomorrow's run should see me running for 20 minutes - well 'Ha' is all I can say. Given that I can just about do 8 minutes, that seems quite a step up. I think I may just ignore the programme and build up to it gradually in my own time.

Other blessings recently have included:
Going for a drive in 'Bridget the Midget' to the Cotswolds. We stopped off in Burford for lunch and then carried on to Stow on the Wold. The buildings were beautiful and the shops lovely to look round. They did, however, all seem to be aimed at tourists and R and I wondered where the locals go if they want 'normal' shops like W.H.Smiths or Boots.
 My new sheepy progress keeper: 
 Watching Hamish enjoying his birthday presents on October 31st . Yes, he really was born on Hallowe'en - our own little devil bunny. Incidentally, that suspicious looking pile is part of a dandelion and carrot treat that he has just demolished: 
 The carved pumpkin that the girls made when they both came home for the weekend. Them being home was a lovely blessing.
 A dog walk in the woods with a friend to enjoy the last of the autumn leaves:


 A cold autumn afternoon spent in the kitchen making marmalade for R:
 A trip to Bath to meet my friend, S. This time, we both decided to take the train, rather than driving. It was lovely and allowed me to do a bit more sock knitting. The only difficulty arose on the way home, when I ended up stuck at Westbury station, waiting for my connecting train for an hour and a quarter. Let me tell you that Westbury station's waiting room needs better heating!
 My Veggie Tex Mex burger for lunch:
 Finishing the hat that I bought the wool for at the Ally Pally knitting and stitching show. I wear it in Bridget when it's cold and the refrain 'Is my pompom still attached?' rings out frequently! 
 Harvesting some of my veggies:
Finally, one of the best bits of autumn:
Well, that's all for this week. The supermarket run awaits and then I have to go and buy some paint as the decorating bug has well and truly bitten. Wishing you many blessings of your own in the coming weeks.

Toodle pip for now. xx

13 comments:

  1. What a lovely post. A kingfisher, how amazing is that. I'm still hunting, sadly not in Jersey tho'. Love Buford such a pretty town, but I know what you mean about the shops. You have me chuckling about your Pom Pom, I can just imagine you singing. Have a lovely week and keep going with the running. B xx

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  2. I got the app for the couch to 5k, but I'm ashamed to say that's as far as I have gone so far �� Maybe it might be my New Years resolution, to actually start it!
    In answer to your question, my mum lives near Stow, and for 'normal' shops they tend to go to Cheltenham!
    When we lived in NZ we used to see heaps of kingfishers and got quite blasé about it, but theirs aren't as brightly coloured as UK ones. I would love to see one but haven't
    been as lucky as you xx

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  3. Kingfishers always make me feel touched by magic whenever I see them, such beautiful little birds. Am so pleased that the running is going well. Happy birthday to Hamish! xx

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  4. We do the Blessings as a family group text message daily. It's a wonderful way to keep connected. Each member is encouraged to post a "positive" for the day. It's fun and often heart-warming. Greetings from the States!

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  5. Oh a Kingfisher! I have only seen one fleetingly; as a little girl. But it has stayed with me always. I should adopt the three good things. I'm staring at the wall far too much these days. Fab progress with the running. You should be very proud of yourself.
    Leanne xx

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  6. Kingfishers are quite magical. My parents used to live on the river Thames and we used to spot them quite frequently. I saw one last weekend in Cornwal and, for the first time, I saw Dippers in action. Such funny little birds which we don't see on the Thames I think. Surely it is now far too cold for open air driving. It is bad enough cycling downhill at 30mph! Brrr.

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  7. I love this idea! I am now trying to think what my three blessings today would be...John cooking roast chicken for dinner tonight would definitely be one. There are lots of blessings in your life at the moment. Seeing that kingfisher though! Wow. And well done for running for 8 minutes. xx

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  8. I really like the idea of three blessings, what a lovely, positive thing to do before goimg to sleep. Well done with your running! You can do it! X

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  9. I do like the idea of focussing on our blessings, I get that sometimes it's hard to pull three gems out of the bag each night. How wonderful that you got to see the kingfisher, I saw a few when we had our narrow boat, and yes, they certainly put a smile on the face!
    You go with the running! Well done you.
    For some strange reason, I'm no longer getting email notifications of your posts....I'll have to try and sort that. xxx

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  10. I've just read your comment on my blog. Was your hedgehog out in the daytime? If so, it's highly likely that there is something wrong with it. Most hogs are hibernating now, but the babies are unable to hibernate, maybe yours is a juvenile. If you can find it and weight it, it should be at least 600 grams to successfully hibernate, if it's smaller than that it will need to go to a rescue. Email me if you need any further info.xxxx

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    Replies
    1. Oh no! Poor thing.I was just so thrilled to see one that it never occurred to me that something might be wrong. I haven't seen it since but, if I do, I'll do as you suggest and weigh it. Thank you for the advice. xx

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  11. I am going to try to follow your 'trio of blessings' - it will be good to find things to be positive about. I am really impressed with your C-5K efforts, good luck with your next run. xxx

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