Spring Is Here!

I am a firm believer that it is spring already. The temperature has reached seventeen degrees this week and I refuse to wear a coat now although the temperature is not as warm as that. These are some pictures of the flowers that come up outside my house every spring time and they were one of the many things that made my day so great.

Sorry that a lot of the pictures are over exposed and glaring but the sun was so bright that I couldn't get the white balance right.

Interior Decorating

    I haven't decorated since the summer and even then, my walls are too uneven to paint so, on goes the wallpaper. My friend Jess had put off painting her room for a rather long time so we went round to offer some help and these are the pictures from it.
    The room started off a light purple and we had to apply two or three coats to the walls to cover that up and as we are no experts and only had one proper roller between us, it was both fun, tiring and therapeutic.Three walls were being converted to a plain white and the other an incredibly bright green.
   Painting houses is really my type of thing and I started to plan my ideal house although because i'd have the choice, I'd probably be constantly changing everything around because I'm constantly getting new ideas which, given the freedom I would probably create. My house will be the extension of my art work.

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

I started reading 'The Forty Rules of Love' by Elif Shadak yesterday as I got it out from the library. That's right, I rented a book which never happens. I got a new card and searched the shelves for anything inspiring as I had just finished 'Lands Beyond the Sea' which was about the discovering of Australia and how the aborigines sacred lands were completely destroyed and taken over by the convict colony, and wanted something equally as deep rooted in foreign history.

This book is predominantly about a middle aged woman called Ella who is wrapped up in her world where she lives without love: as if everything in her life is a chore but one day, she gets given this book to write a report on written by Azziz who couldn't be the opposite and has a fascination with the scholar Romi and the book follows both the stories of Ella and Romi learning and growing as people and changing due to someone entering their lives. 

    I definitely recommend it as it is easy to read and the characters are so intriguing as it is rooted in 13th centuaty cities such as Constantinople, Konya and Baghdad but also the present day and both situations are identifiable. I am about two thirds of the way through and an thoroughly enjoying it!

The Harvester

I went to the Harvester with some friends for their birthdays as they are being greedy and having three party's which I think is a great idea! I'm not going to go into detail but I had the best time I have had in a long time and laughed until I wheezed. Thank you to Sophie and Emily for taking us all out and it's just a shame I didn't photograph more of it.

Exeter Travels

The last couple of days I have been in Exeter with my family. The journey took around 5 hours which wasn't too bad but was definitely long enough for an overnight trip. On the way there, we stopped off in Dorchester and had breakfast in a cafe called the 'Horse with the Red Umbrella' which was lovely. The people there were so nice and food was so tasty and welcome as I'd been up for quite a long time.

This is an image in Exeter of a wedding dress shop and it was either the building or the shop which was called the building that moved, I don't remember. I just loved how the floors got bigger and I am a sucker for old buildings and streets.

We spent the day wondering around the city and I did a bit of unsuccessful dress shopping in a shop called Catwalk where all of the women were so helpful and lovely but I didn't get one. The place we stayed at was called 'Mill Farm Bed and Breakfast' and it was lovely! It is on a farm and the house was beautiful and the couple were so friendly and I would definitely recommend it. 

The place we ate at in the evening was called the 'Anchor Inn' and if you like food, you will love this place! It is a 450 year old pub that is known for their delicious sea food which I was a huge fan of.  As you can see in the bottom image, my sister had enough food to feed at least two people with a huge bowl of muscles, a baguette and a bowl of chips. She didn't manage to eat it all sadly. 

I was a lovely few days out but I'm not a city person so when we got to where the restaurant and the B&B were it was such a relief for me. I definitely recommend going to Exeter as it is a really nice city.

Looking Back

    Change is inevitable and I want to look back on this time and see that I have made the most of being here, now and building things up and letting other things go because they tear you down. 

          


           I wrote a song about this back in primary school: 

"Isn't it funny how day by day, nothing changes,
But when you look back, everything is different;
because when I look back next time, it'll still see life through my eyes
but maybe then, I'll understand this life"
    

    I haven't thought about that song in years, but I can still remember that it was about a girl, a friends older sister who I had known for a few years and was getting into a lot of trouble and was rebelling against everything that she knew and had grown up with, and I found a picture of all of us a few years before and she looked so untroubled and peaceful, and I hadn't noticed her growing up but all of a sudden, everything had changed for her. 
    She was ashamed of her past and if I have learned anything from her it is to accept the past, and not be ashamed of it. That was who you were then and that was what you wanted. Looking back on it, you may see that it was wrong, but it is your history and if you deny that, what will you learn from?
    

Thinking Space

    I have been writing everything down on paper recently instead of potentially sharing it with the world and I prefer that, because I can write what I want without worrying about who will read it. I know that no one will ever read that so I can be completely honest on paper and then, those thoughts are gone. Any anger I was feeling at the time, it's gone and there is no evidence of that for anyone to see. 

   
 To me, a notebook is like extra thinking space which, for someone like me is ideal as I think too much but don't remember enough so I like looking back through the years and seeing the person that I used to be and for me, that helps me to ground myself because sometimes, I end up doing something without thinking about how much it might hurt someone while absent mindedly trying to please everyone which, as I have come to realise is impossible.