Copyright © Louise Bostock 2007-2013. Please give credit where credit is due.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Counting blessings

Still raining after a night full of thunderstorms and cloud bursts, thick mountain fog and drifting street-level mists populated by slinking, soggy cats.

I've been feeling rather hard-done-by lately, and I thought it was time to give myself a shake and count my blessings in a good old-fashioned stiff-upper-lip sort of way, for as Paulo Coelho wrote, "Every blessing ignored becomes a curse". 

When I set my mind to it, I got to seven in about as many seconds, and here they are - because seven is a magical number and if I do things by sevens and don't step on the cracks, it might encourage the sun to come out, and that would make everyone feel much better...

1.) I have been blessed with two healthy and energetic children in my middle years when I thought perhaps it might never happen. They're a handful of trouble, but also a heap of happiness.

2.) But for the fact that he doesn't play the Spanish guitar, my beloved husband would count as one of Joanna Trollope's impossible men. And I adore him.

3.) I live in a beautiful place and have as neighbours and friends many people I like and admire. Outings are punctuated with cheerful greetings and friendly conversations - all adding up to making me feel part of a happy and sane community. 

4.) The eternal renovation project I call home, while being a bugger to keep clean and tidy (especially when populated by one under-40 male, two under-6 kids, one over-size adolescent gun dog, half-a-dozen cats and the occasional sick chick), is big enough to contain all our desires and old enough to forgive all our frustrations. 

5.) My so-called garden, while being a bugger to keep up with, is jammed with beautiful colours, exquisite smells and good things to eat - that's if I can find them among the weeds and the heaps of obese slugs. 

6.) We have enough income to keep us in books, burgundy and brockenstube bric-à-brac, and our little family business is steady-as-she-goes. No repossessions. No double-dip debts. No recession night-sweats.

7.) So what is the biggest problem in my life right now? How to transport more than a thousand books from the East End attic where they've languished for seven years to a point south of the English Channel. 

And that's not such a big problem, after all...



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Send us some rain this side! Every day we get our hopes up and the clouds fade away every time!

xxx Love your blog! Its Awesome. I'm dropping by from SITS.

Excuse me, I'm going to follow you!

Have a nice day!
xxx

mangiabella said...

love the blog! I came to you by way of SITS :) and just became a follower - would love to have you follow me at mangiabella! mangia-bella.blogspot.com - have a glorious day sweet bella

Woodman said...

The main thing you should consider, is that you have so many lovely and reliable friends where you live.

V. said...

Nice post. I'm listing mine now - but my list is very different from yours...

Louise | Italy said...

Dear Woodman - yes, we've found people here very kind. Very accepting. Our friends here have been invaluable. We wouldn't be without them, and to tell the truth, we couldn't do without them either.

Something else I didn't mention -- I'm blessed with a loving and supportive family back home.

Carol said...

That, my dear, is one lovely list :-). It's too easy to get bogged down in the day to day frustrations and not realise just how bloomin lucky we are! Hope you felt cheered by the end of it

C x

LindyLouMac said...

It it so easy to get bogged down with life so writing or reading this great post is a remedy for the blues for us all. Thankyou Louise, beautifully put. How have you managed without your precious books for so long?

Joy said...

Loved reading your blessed seven list. It is a good reminder to just stop and think about all the wondeful things and people around us. We truly are blessed. Children, husband, friends, pets and a little garden to keep us in tune with earth.
Watch those cracks. :)
♥ Joy

Carole Poirot said...

What lovely blessings and what a good idea, something I should do more often when I'm feeling down (don't like london life, bahhh) or hard done by...thanks for the inspiration. Love from London x

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

It's so hard to be cheerful when the sun refuses to shine! But wonderful family, friends, home, and garden along with income to sustain them...they are blessings worth counting! Hope the sun returns soon.

Arti said...

Its pouring here in Mumbai..
The Paulo Coelho quote was amazing!
Hopping over from bpotw.

injaynesworld said...

You do have much to be thankful for. Especially finding a little place on this earth that you can describe as "sane." What a lovely piece. Louise.

tattooedwithattitude said...

Again, a very enjoyable post (just like always). Sometimes many people indulge all too easily in self-pity bemoaning tearfully and verbosely the hard, laborious and ungrateful life they lead - myself included. But put into the right perspective, we must realize that living in one of the richest western industrialized countries, having an adorable girlfriend plus supportive and loving parents, being in a meaningful and fulfilling occupation are all things that should not be taken for granted. Not often enough I am grateful to whoever or whatever that my life has turned out the wonderful way it did. Thank you for reminding me.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Counting blessings

Still raining after a night full of thunderstorms and cloud bursts, thick mountain fog and drifting street-level mists populated by slinking, soggy cats.

I've been feeling rather hard-done-by lately, and I thought it was time to give myself a shake and count my blessings in a good old-fashioned stiff-upper-lip sort of way, for as Paulo Coelho wrote, "Every blessing ignored becomes a curse". 

When I set my mind to it, I got to seven in about as many seconds, and here they are - because seven is a magical number and if I do things by sevens and don't step on the cracks, it might encourage the sun to come out, and that would make everyone feel much better...

1.) I have been blessed with two healthy and energetic children in my middle years when I thought perhaps it might never happen. They're a handful of trouble, but also a heap of happiness.

2.) But for the fact that he doesn't play the Spanish guitar, my beloved husband would count as one of Joanna Trollope's impossible men. And I adore him.

3.) I live in a beautiful place and have as neighbours and friends many people I like and admire. Outings are punctuated with cheerful greetings and friendly conversations - all adding up to making me feel part of a happy and sane community. 

4.) The eternal renovation project I call home, while being a bugger to keep clean and tidy (especially when populated by one under-40 male, two under-6 kids, one over-size adolescent gun dog, half-a-dozen cats and the occasional sick chick), is big enough to contain all our desires and old enough to forgive all our frustrations. 

5.) My so-called garden, while being a bugger to keep up with, is jammed with beautiful colours, exquisite smells and good things to eat - that's if I can find them among the weeds and the heaps of obese slugs. 

6.) We have enough income to keep us in books, burgundy and brockenstube bric-à-brac, and our little family business is steady-as-she-goes. No repossessions. No double-dip debts. No recession night-sweats.

7.) So what is the biggest problem in my life right now? How to transport more than a thousand books from the East End attic where they've languished for seven years to a point south of the English Channel. 

And that's not such a big problem, after all...



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Send us some rain this side! Every day we get our hopes up and the clouds fade away every time!

xxx Love your blog! Its Awesome. I'm dropping by from SITS.

Excuse me, I'm going to follow you!

Have a nice day!
xxx

mangiabella said...

love the blog! I came to you by way of SITS :) and just became a follower - would love to have you follow me at mangiabella! mangia-bella.blogspot.com - have a glorious day sweet bella

Woodman said...

The main thing you should consider, is that you have so many lovely and reliable friends where you live.

V. said...

Nice post. I'm listing mine now - but my list is very different from yours...

Louise | Italy said...

Dear Woodman - yes, we've found people here very kind. Very accepting. Our friends here have been invaluable. We wouldn't be without them, and to tell the truth, we couldn't do without them either.

Something else I didn't mention -- I'm blessed with a loving and supportive family back home.

Carol said...

That, my dear, is one lovely list :-). It's too easy to get bogged down in the day to day frustrations and not realise just how bloomin lucky we are! Hope you felt cheered by the end of it

C x

LindyLouMac said...

It it so easy to get bogged down with life so writing or reading this great post is a remedy for the blues for us all. Thankyou Louise, beautifully put. How have you managed without your precious books for so long?

Joy said...

Loved reading your blessed seven list. It is a good reminder to just stop and think about all the wondeful things and people around us. We truly are blessed. Children, husband, friends, pets and a little garden to keep us in tune with earth.
Watch those cracks. :)
♥ Joy

Carole Poirot said...

What lovely blessings and what a good idea, something I should do more often when I'm feeling down (don't like london life, bahhh) or hard done by...thanks for the inspiration. Love from London x

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

It's so hard to be cheerful when the sun refuses to shine! But wonderful family, friends, home, and garden along with income to sustain them...they are blessings worth counting! Hope the sun returns soon.

Arti said...

Its pouring here in Mumbai..
The Paulo Coelho quote was amazing!
Hopping over from bpotw.

injaynesworld said...

You do have much to be thankful for. Especially finding a little place on this earth that you can describe as "sane." What a lovely piece. Louise.

tattooedwithattitude said...

Again, a very enjoyable post (just like always). Sometimes many people indulge all too easily in self-pity bemoaning tearfully and verbosely the hard, laborious and ungrateful life they lead - myself included. But put into the right perspective, we must realize that living in one of the richest western industrialized countries, having an adorable girlfriend plus supportive and loving parents, being in a meaningful and fulfilling occupation are all things that should not be taken for granted. Not often enough I am grateful to whoever or whatever that my life has turned out the wonderful way it did. Thank you for reminding me.