...shipwrecked...

Oops on Day 14!

I turned the alarm off in the middle of the night and completely overslept! Oh well...these things happen. My plan is to just stay up a couple of hours longer tonight so I can be certain to have my extra hours in the day. But at least I did grab my camera in my haste...I love cornflowers! Of course - I'm no gardener which has been established previously and this wee bunch is growing up out of the sidewalk next to the planting bed by the house and not IN the planting bed. But that's OK - they are still just so pretty and delicate. The photo does not do the colour of their blue flowers justice.

Day 14 and all is well...I'll become an "early bird" yet!

This is what happens when you SHIPWRECK your ankle!

Last weekend, I wrecked my ankle walking through a farm field looking for a missing, rebellious cat. As a result, I've been working from home, propped for days on the sofa with my ankle elevated watching it turn a variety of colours and learning that...YES...your toes can in fact swell up! One outcome of this has been the newly revamped blog now living at TypePad instead of Blogger. I did this as part of a larger blogging project in an effort to keep things simple. [NB: Larger blogging project to be discussed more openly very soon! ] Suffice it to say that now all blog spots will be located in one place. I'll be informing my amazing followers on the old space via FB any minute now.

You can't help but notice that this layout/design is a bit more stark - though I like to think of it as a bit more streamlined, a bit more tidy to look at. The challenge now is to introduce some colour in both the photograhs and the text content! This is no small challenge!

Today's very colourful photo is here just because I love it. It is my visual version of Spring - and I am so glad to see Spring entering the game! Yes - it is my feet...my favourite pair of Birkenstock sandles and a fabulous nail colour! You can't help but have a good day when this is the way your feet look in the morning on the way to work!

 

Those of you who may be following my 37 day challenge, please note that I have done pretty well getting up earlier than necessary throughout my recovery from the torn ligaments and wrecked ankle. Ok - mostly this has been to get up and take pain killers or get an ice pack or wrap or unwrap the ankle depending on how it's feeling. That said - I was up and at 'em at 6:30 this am and have gone full tilt since.

With this newly redesigned blog space, I've decided to set myself a subsidiary task with my morning's stolen time...take a colourful photo daily...sometimes to be added to the blog! So here you go - Day 13 of the 37 Day Challenge...Day One on the take a colour photo challenge. For today - I'm going to count the one above...I have no interest in the colours of my right foot at the moment!

Day Four of Being an Early Riser...and Compost Daffodils!

It is day four of the "get up earlier than you need to approach" and so far I LOVE IT! Let's see...

~Day 1, Friday - 5:45am
~Day 2, Saturday - 6:00am
~Day 3, Sunday - 7:00am
~Day 4, Monday - 7:00am

So - yes...believe it or not...these times are at least an hour earlier than necessary on the day. I'm sure this seems like no big deal to loads of people. But for me? It's big. I can already see how this single tiny change makes a difference. Each morning I've had time to think about the day ahead, to plan a bit, to consider life a bit more. It's quiet in the AM and I enjoy that. The house is tidier since I can't help but faff around a bit in the morning knowing I have a bit more time. In all...I can see how this little change makes a HUGE difference...at least to me!

It's been good too because I've been forcing myself to NOT obsess about making the "must do" list any longer than this one thing. It's sort of like simplifying your expectations. I tell myself in the AM - OK, get up now...before you need to...before the alarm goes off...before giving in and going back to sleep. Everything after that feels like icing on the cake of my day.

And then there's more daytime to enjoy now! We put the clocks forward in England this weekend. I love that moment. It's not losing an hour from your day - it's gaining more sunlight! This weekend I noticed that even my almost-a-compost-heap corner of the garden is happy. Yes - I have daffodils growing out of my compost heap! Now clearly - I'm not very up on the gardening thing. However - these compost daffodils just make me smile! Late last summer, I cleaned out all of the "weeds" from the beds around the house. Thing is - I clearly don't know a daffodil bulb when I see one. SO...all the weedy dirt went on the compost heap and now I have compost daffodils.

These flowers are proof that more sunlight is a good thing. They are proof that life conquers all. They are proof that even a big change (i.e. being tossed on a compost heap!!!) isn't enough to keep spring from coming or life from blooming. They are my lovely compost daffodils...And if they can grow on the compost heap than I can become a morning person! :-)

All things in life are possible!