Living Life As It Is
Saturday, January 27, 2024
WELCOME Home ❤️
Saturday, December 30, 2023
THE JOURNEY
It was a cool morning and the final week of 2023 when my friend and I decided to meet up at a local cafe. She ordered peanut butter toast with banana slices and I ordered a bap with cheese and egg. Not one who has a great appetite for breakfast, I couldn't finish the bap and so I ate the good bits - the melted cheese and the egg - and left some bread behind.
Thursday, November 9, 2023
THE CHOICES WE MAKE
I am
thankful for the songs from Spotify, for the almost desolate roads with no traffic
jams and for the free coffee I have just redeemed, having drunk 10 cups over
time. Small things, but all the more precious.
There are
so many things that I want to do and some weeks pass with doing nothing new and
then there are weeks where everything comes together all at once. I find myself
engaged in so many new activities this Autumn and the thing is, I completely enjoy all
of them.
There are activities
that I’m naturally inclined to and there are activities that I am not.
Let’s talk about outdoor sport and gyms.
Not exactly my cup of tea but there’s one thing
that I treasure most and that is good health. I owe it to myself to take care
of my body because life is a gift. I prefer to stay healthy than to give reason
for the doctor to prescribe tablets for diabetes, high blood pressure,
cholesterol and the list goes on. Many regular activities came to a halt during
the lockdown so I decided to join a fitness programme once again.
Truth be
told, crawling out of a warm bed on a cold and wet morning to head to the gym
is torture. But finishing a session makes me feel good all over. Hard work but
rewarding. The personal trainer is all encouragement as I’m not one who
naturally gravitate towards mean machines and dumb bells.
It so
happens that swimming classes have also commenced after a break and when notified
I decided to take that up as well. No harm checking out if I’m Olympic material.
Autumn is
also the season where many colleges offer part time programmes for people who
have learnt too much but still want to learn. So I signed up for 10 classes of
make up techniques – day makeup, evening makeup, contouring, block eye shadow,
socket line eyeshadow, 1940s black flick red lip, smokey eye, strip lash
application and everything else necessary to paint the empty canvas of a face.
Nothing like letting the professional make up artist teach me a thing or two. I
enjoy every bit of it and it’s all coming to an end now so next week I’ll
venture into learning stained glass
techniques, something up my street.
And so I am
very thankful for the choices made.
To reset the
brain– to see the positive and not the negative; to overcome fear and face
challenges; to be disciplined and to have the opportunity to give and serve
others in church, in the neighbourhood and at home.
I am
thankful to be surrounded by a good husband, children and friends.
Most of all
to know that when I reach home, there are logs burning in the stove and the
room is warm.
Sunday, December 25, 2022
THE CYPRESS AND MYRTLE TREES
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Emancipation
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
HEAVEN ON EARTH
We were on one of our random escapades and as the Dacia meanders the long stretches of country roads, the rolling meadows reminded me of a prayer I made a long time ago.
Sunday, February 13, 2022
GOING KOREAN
KOREAN drama series are very addictive they said. I didn't know what they meant. UNTIL.
Because of the many cold rainy days, I decided to watch one series. Any excuse to explain this queer addiction. And so I am hooked!
Why are the episodes so engaging?
I must justify this binge.
1. The Complete Story
Nothing in any episode happens at random. There is a beginning, a middle part and a conclusion. Even if a character appears in episode 4 and disappears for the rest of the episodes, he will definitely reappear as part of the plot, even if it is in the last episode. When things become complicated, you can rest assure that there is a proper explanation by the time the series ends. The number of episodes is just right: 16 - 20 approximately. You can cry or laugh but you know you just have to go through this number of episodes. Nothing drags on. There are some western series that just go on and on until the plot becomes so ridiculous, just because the producer needs to generate so many episodes to please the audience and of course to make money.
2. Soundtrack
I've never really listened to any Korean song before but the Korean drama soundtracks are so engaging. I go away humming the tunes in my brain. Then I google the tunes on Youtube to see the lyrics in both Korean and English. I must say I have it bad. Of course the actors and actresses are just eye candy and I wonder how they can have such unreal porcelain-looking skin. Plenty of make up, photoshop or amazing lighting, I console myself.
3. Values
4. Food
There's always plenty of food around. Not big plates that make you overeat but dainty little servings. We went to Kimchi school in Seoul and suddenly I felt that kind of kinship with the preparation of those delicious morsels of food.
5. Love and language
I can't find fault with the language either even though I only read the subtitles. The moment I finish watching an episode and revert to a normal tv programme, I can almost immediately hear foul language and curses whether it is an office scene, a family scene or a lover's quarrel. Lots of yelling to boot.
KOREAN drama series are very addictive they said.
I have just finished one series and I can't wait to start another. Maybe when summer comes and I can spend more hours outdoors, I may be weaned off them. But then again, who cares?
This is the beauty of hard earned retirement.