Singin' and Playin' and Eatin' and Chattin'

The Carmarthen Vegans have been busy!  We recently had our spring Meet and Greet event which was *hugely* successful. We had about 60 people come --about half of them new faces--and as usual we had a great time visiting with people and stuffing our faces.

Priya had me make some new decorations for this event. The theme was Be Vegan for World Peace and so the words Peace Begins On Our Plates seemed appropriate.

We still had some decorations from previous events like this one:

We also had an open mic and provided lots of entertainment ourselves.

We started off with a bit of fun-- Peter and I singing There's a Hole in the Bucket, dear Liza and then later Peter and I singing more serious songs with the anti-war/peace theme.

Here we are singing Where have all the flowers gone by Pete Seeger.

My BFF  Rosie-Mai and I played a few songs on our ukuleles and sang together. We did a song I wrote to the tune of Dolly Parton's Jolene all about the three reasons to be vegan--the animals, your health, the environment (lyrics coming soon!) and we also played The Lion Sleeps Tonight. 

Rosie-Mai is only 19 but we have so much in common--I swear we are really long lost sisters. When we first met at a vegan gathering we had so much in common--we both play the ukulele, both write short stories, both in education (Rosie-Mai is training to be a teacher), both have a background in amateur dramatics and later found out things like we both love Simon and Garfunkel.

Rosie-Mai also did a stunning solo of the incredibly heartbreaking The Green Fields of France  about a 19 year old soldier who died in WWI. Sadly, we didn't get a picture of her playing--probably because we were all crying.

Here is Priya playing the guitar and singing in Mandarin. I have no idea what she said, but it was very beautiful and poetic!

Here are just some of the people who were there--a really good mix of young and old. Oh! Speaking of young--my favourite munchkins H and M (the ones that I tutor) got up under the name Mega Cool Vegans (their choice--not mine!) and H read a beautiful passage from a book about not harming any living creature and then we sang a few vegan children's songs that we have made up to the tune of other songs such as this one to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot:

I'm a little vegan
kind and sweet
I don't drink milk and I don't eat meat.
I care for animals can't you see?
Making life better for you and me!

and
If you're happy to be vegan clap your hands (x2)
If you're happy to be vegan and you love the food you're eating
if you're happy to be vegan clap your hands. 

If you don't want to eat meat then stomp your feet (x2)
If you don't want to eat meat then have a vegan treat.
if you don't want to eat meat then stomp your feet.

If you care for animals too then shout hooray (x2)
If you care for animals too and I really think you do
 If you care for animals too then shout hooray.

What fun! The whole event was a blast. It is great to have so many like-minded people of all ages to spend time with. We are so happy we have moved to Wales!

The only hiccup in an otherwise perfect day was our oven decided to be contrary and stopped working just as i was trying to bake loads of brownies and egg free quiche for the event. Everyone looks forward to my brownies and quiche as they are vegan and yum but also gluten free for those of who need that sort of thing too. Oh No! We coped in the end by making several raw desserts that were v/gf using nuts and dates and i bought some smoked tofu and vegan cheese and put cubes of them on cocktail sticks.

For fun (and to help me get over being so cross about the oven) we made up a song to the tune of American Pie.
The day the oven died....
We were singing
Why, why won't my oven even try
to be heating stuff for eating
Now i think I might cry.
This couldn't have happened at a worse time for me
because now I can't bake some brownies.
Now there won't be any quiche. 

(The oven is mostly fixed now--so no need to worry) And despite the oven fiasco, i did not let it ruin my day.

It was still a brilliant day, with friends, food and music. What more do you need?

I am giving up "arson" for Lent

I am giving up arson for Lent.

No the burning stuff kind of arson.

Arsin' about. Wasting time. Procrastinating. Avoiding tasks.

Because i do not have a regular schedule to my day--sometimes I am working and sometimes I am not--I find more and more that I am arsing about.

Aw, who didn't love Sea Monkeys?

It is easy to do. Thanks to YouTube there are toy adverts from the 70s to wax nostalgic over, music videos from the 80s to dance to, clips of sketches from Saturday Night Live from throughout the ages--the funny and the unfunny to watch.

There is the bottomless pit known as Yahoo News (and I use the term news in the loosest possible sense) where I can read about celebrities I don't know doing things I don't care about.  I can learn hacks for my chopsticks--great! Now I need to learn to use chopsticks before i learn a hack for doing other things with them.  Now I can watch people I don't know getting their face smashed into a cake or falling while taking a selfie. I can watch it and feel my life's energy and will to live slip away.

Yet still i watch it.

For hours.

I never mean to. I always say I will only watch one thing and then it spirals out of control.

But secretly, deep down...I know why I do it.

from lifehack.org

I am afraid of failing. We have lived in Wales for a year and a half and i have yet to get regular employment. I am actually mostly ok with this--because the irregular employment is very good. I work odd days here and there in my friend's shop.  I am also a private tutor to two delightful home educated children once a week. I am born to be a teacher and so this brings me unimaginable joy as well as a bit of cash. The only problem is I wish i had more students.

 And how does one get more students? By advertising--by putting myself out there. To make posters and bookmarks and work at it to get someone to notice me and be willing to let me teach their children.

To face rejection if no one else is interested in my services.

I watch YouTube so i don't have to have people reject me.

Not having a regular work day *should* enable me to spend more time (because I have more time) doing the things I love--playing the ukulele, reading, designing and making jewellery.

Twathammer

But somehow it doesn't. Something is making me read that Kanye West is saying he is broke on Yahoo news and laughing because he has no idea what financial hardship feels like. So what am i avoiding?

Again--rejection. In December i wanted to open an Etsy shop. For those of you who don't know ETSY is a place where you can sell your crafts online. I spend a month making things, photographing things (which was hard without natural light--we had 40+ days of rain and the house was dark) and getting things ready.

Then came the bit where you have to write it all up online and upload photos and set prices and make banners for the shop and think really hard about things and make them perfect.

Perfect shop--so that people will want to buy from me.
Perfect items--so that people will want to buy from me.
Perfect prices--so that people will want to buy from me.

And the nagging feeling that nothing is perfect especially me sent me into a month of watching YouTube in my pyjamas. Did you know you can watch Lifetime Movies on YouTube? Well you can. Dreadful, based on a true story garbage that makes your worries about perfectionism disappear.

No one can ignore me, reject me or even see me if I stay home and arse about.

So what am i doing for Lent? First and foremost, reminding myself that No one fails who does their best for God. 

Secondly, i am banning both YouTube and Yahoo News from my life. I am prayerfully asking God to help me face my fears and get the lead out.

Because I have to TRY. I might not succeed, but if i don't even make an attempt to do these things then I will  definitely NEVER succeed.

I need to change my thinking. To stop worrying about the past and recalling in painful detail the six (count 'em six) interviews i had last year where it went *so* well where they thought I was "amazing" and "fascinating" but didn't give me the job.  And obsessing negatively about the future--whatever i have to offer nobody will want.

I am resolving to stay in the present moment. To notice anxiety and kindly tell it to sod off and then to breathe deeply. I am taking a free online course though Future Learn about Mindfulness. I am already in week two and feeling the benefits. it is a free online course and i would highly recommend it. Go here for details: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/mindfulness-wellbeing-performance


Did you know that anxiety and worry keeps you in that fight or flight mode and your body can not only become mentally ill with all that negativity and tension but physically ill as well? I want to get out of that kind of thinking.

I want to stop obsessing over what I lack. Because, when you really look at it--i am living in abundance. 

I have a roof over my head.
I have delicious, healthy food on my table.
I have my health.
I have a soul mate who loves me.
I have friends.
I am full of creativity.
I live the life others can only dream of--safely immigrating to another country  without being hated or shunned or labeled or feared.  We are so lucky and blessed to live in the green valley of Wales.

What do i lack? More regular employment. Is that it? Seriously, is that it? What else do i have?
Time to write for the blog.
Time to play music.
Time to read.
Time to pray.
Time to create.
 Would I like more regular employment? Yes of course. Would I like more money? Sure. Our budget is tight as a drum, but we are always (and I mean ALWAYS) taken care of by God. There is plenty for everything we need. For example, I have seven days of shop work coming up which will pay our rent for the month. Just like that.

Since we have redefined what we want in life--what is important to us--then pretty much that is taken care of too.

Would I like to have more money to throw at our debts? Hell yea. Would i want more money to put towards our retirement? Uh-huh.

But if I am in the moment and really trying to live Luke 12:22-34 then i am better off.

Do Not Worry
 22Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So for Lent, I want to change myself, to change my attitudes and fear of failure and face my fears. To feel the fear and do it anyway.

We are only a few days in and already I am seeing a profound change in my attitude and my use of time.

What are you doing for Lent?

A Charles Dickens Christmas

This was our first Christmas in Wales or Nadolig am Cymru, if you prefer. It was a bit of a Charles Dickens Christmas and by that I don’t mean we were visited by three ghosts and we changed our miserly ways after being shown the past, the present and the future.

No, I’m thinking more of A Tales of Two Cities, you know:

 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

 

Yeah.

 The good:

We had a wonderful three days of celebrating from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day where we ate ourselves silly with all this amazing, delicious healthy cruelty free food. I have a new favourite vegetable--the parsnip. I love it so much I have composed a song in its honour. Seriously. More on that later.

 

The bad:

Our Lily Rose was found dead on Christmas Eve. She was our oldest spider--somewhere in the range of fourteen years old or so--and she was our first spider in the UK.  She was also our first second hand spider that we got from a lovely lady named Sue who could no longer care for her. Our first rescue. It just broke out hearts.

 

The happy:

Despite having to watch our pennies, we each had a pressie under the tree as well as a joint gift. Siôn Corn (Father Christmas, literally Chimney John) did not forget his little chickadees! Spiderman got a new key chain with a Welsh dragon as his old one had broken and I got a Welsh children’s songbook of traditional Welsh tunes that came with a CD, a book of chords so you can play along at home and (thankfully) a translation. I can now play three songs!!!! Go me! I’d also like to thank Tallulah who actually makes the music. I am only as good as my ukulele and she’s fabulous. Together we got the new CD by our favourite comedy blues band Jonny and the Baptists entitled the Satiric Verses from their Stop UKIP tour.

 

The sad:

We had to bury Lily Rose on Christmas day as she was beginning to stink. Sorry old girl. Thankfully, it had been raining (when does it ever bloody stop here????) so the ground was quite soft which was good as we don’t own any sort of digging apparatus.  My heart was very heavy. I am writing a full eulogy for her, but am finding it emotionally hard.

 

Despite the sadness of the loss of Lily Rose, we have had pockets of sunshine where we rushed out for errands, but mostly we just had lots of Duvet Days where we snuggled up on the sofa and watched DVDs or read books. 

 

Life is just like that--the good with the bad. The happy with the sad. So I guess our first Christmas in Cymru just wasn’t that bad after all. Together we can bear all things.

The House that Escher Built

Can I just say how much I love our new place? It is an interesting pink house with a small walled (slightly overgrown) garden--we’ve got bleeding hearts and a rose bush and quite a lot of dandelions. It even has a name.

 Model Villa.

 Because a name makes everything better. FACT.

 We live on the first floor (that’s second floor to my American  peeps) above a really nice bloke who reads comic books like we do. It is nice to have a friendly neighbour.

 

To get into our flat, go through the main door and then unlock another door and go up the stairs. At the top of the stairs the landing splits into two sets of small stairs. Which way will you choose? The Lady or the Tiger?

three sets of stairs!

 

See what I mean? It is like a drawing by MC Escher.

 

One side leads you to the kitchen, bathroom and dining room, the other to the bedroom, living room and my personal favourite--the craft room.

 

Yes! I get my own little cosy room to do all my crafty/ musical stuff!!!!!

 It is only a one bedroom flat (whereas our old was two) but it is surprisingly spacious. We just had to rethink how we wanted to arrange things.

 Now onto the tour.

 This is our bedroom. We have hung our wedding photo over the bed (it used to be in the living room)

This is the bookshelf Mama Bear (formerly in the hall) and the Altar (formerly in the living room)

One thing we found out when we moved in was how un-level the floor is. Seriously, everything leans. Which was a bit of a problem for bookshelves--all those heavy books made it lean even further. We had to add a bit of a prop up on Mama Bear and Papa Bear to stop them leaning. Spiderman cleverly rigged device made of three unbreakable rulers (bought on a back to school sale) wrapped in packing tape to keep them together. Not too bad, huh?

 

This is how we have our clothes. Spiderman already had an open clothes rack, but I had a wardrobe at our old flat that we had to leave behind so we bought me another open rack. Thankfully we both don’t have too many clothes.

 

Now for my craft room!  This is a small room probably meant to be a study or computer room, but it’s mine all mine!!! I couldn’t get a good shot of it, but the colourful shopping bags hang on the door and my sewing table and shelves with all my crafty bits and bobs fit in perfectly.  There is also space for my music stand and Tallulah the Ukulele! Plus I can close the door when I want to practice!

And just because I love my space so much, another gratuitous close up.

most of the OZ artwork is now in here

 

Then the living room which is a combination of our old living room, the hallway and the back room. We have the sofa and Doctor Who watching station on one side (you can see all our books from our Beginning Welsh course on the floor! More on that later!)

can you spot Opus wearing 3-D glasses?

 

Then by the window you can see the computer desk and Spiderman’s work area. Plus you can see what we’ve done with the bottles which used to be in our bay window. Lovely, innit?

hard to see because of all the lovely light from the window

 Then we’ve got the bookshelves Papa Bear and Baby Bear that used to live down the hall.

still getting rid of boxes (in the corner)

Then the spiders, safely tucked away from sunlight in a little alcove.

 

Spiderman cleverly rigged this up--since we are going to be as poor as Church Mice, here are Mr and Mrs Church Mouse and their tiny door and a stained glass window above them (they are Church Mice after all!)

 

Then if you go to the other side of the stairs you get to the bathroom (I couldn’t seem to get a good photo, but it has pink tiles and our bathtub is buttercup yellow and rather narrow. I like to call it the Yellow Submarine! Big bottoms beware!)  

 

Then the kitchen. I’d always dreamed of a bigger kitchen, but alas! It was not to be.

 

It is lovely kitchen, small but weirdly spacious. Too small for our fridge, so because of that more roomy, if that makes any sense. The oven is great! Our old one you needed to use blue tac to hold the temperature dial in place or all your food burned. No blue tac this time!

 

So if that is the whole of the kitchen, where’s the rest of it? Why next door in the dining room, of course!

 

We put all the food that used to be in the pantry and all the bulk dry goods and baking dishes that used to live down the hall all together. Plus things like tea towels that used to live in a kitchen drawer now live in a basket.  Up close--one side:

food in labelled containers make me happy

 

Then the other:

 

It works out fine. There is space to dry clothes as well and we have our little table set up (not in the shot) so we can have a lovely, civilised sit down meal together and not eat on the sofa like we used to. Bliss.

 So that’s basically it. 

 

We get lots of natural light which is really pleasant, it is not too noisy as we are set back from the main road and some of our rooms have wood floors which is extra nice. It is an easy walk to the shops and the library as we are close to town centre and the rent is £200 less than what we used to pay.

 

You heard me, £200 less. What a blessing. If we’re going to be as poor as Church Mice (and we are at the moment as I’m still looking for a job!) then at least we have a gorgeous, comfy (if slightly wonky) home to live in.