I just love this boat!
It is drowned in the first light of dawn having crept up on it across the sand
Apparently olive trees never die! Even when they are cut down, the root system can literally regenerate the tree! The older the tree grows, the broader the trunk. Stories about olive trees go all the way back to Noah’s ark.
There’s something poetic about the ancient and abiding characteristics of the olive tree that I find quite mysterious.
When I am cold and soaked through from the Scottish winter, it’s images like this olive tree that help me believe spring is coming again… and then summer. Though the darkness is more prevalent than the day at the moment. In Scotland we get the long days and the early dawns in summer. This is something I look forward to! It feels like everything in Scotland has to reemerge or regenerate after the darkness of winter.
Summer in Scotland is like the root of an olive tree – regeneration of healthy lifestyles and park days and all that stuff emerges once the days lengthen. You notice it when the sun rises higher than your nose by noon. Those lovely long Scottish days, the beautiful sunsets and the ability to wear flip flops clears out the busy and hassled Scottish temperament in a girl, leaving room for some more desirable things – the compulsion to just sit still and be in the sunlight… the awakening of creativity, the atmosphere for going on long walks, having barbecues… rest.
This is the first winter that I really feel affected by the lack of sunlight in my days. I heard an Italian friend say that the skin turns green in winter because it’s so dull and dark. Not to let the weather get the best of me, I decided to play a wee trick on myself. Looking at holiday photos is good for the head and heart…
The day I took this photo in Italy was literally beaming with sunlight. I remember being so warm and almost blinded by the glare from the white gravel as I took this photo. But I can still imagine that feeling – sun, warmth and vitamin D in abundance!
Blogging? Been a while. This blog has taken a few directions. Half the time I battle because I want it to be somewhat of a journal, but – no offense- I don’t want folks reading my life story online. So then I make it tragically plain and philosophical. So in 2012 a change is afoot.
Oh go on, then… try blogging once again! Try to make it mean something to you and have an ounce of wit for any reader that should care to pause for it.
A friend shared with me today this verse from the Bible after reading a book by A.W Tozer:
Isaiah 45:3
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
She was particularly drawn to the idea of God bringing treasures out of our dark times. The world may think that the darkness is a place of hopelessness, but it is there that the diamonds are harvested (twee little summary, yet I reckon you can all imagine that picture now?)
So, expect a blog every once in a while from me to inspire you in anything musical, photographical, joyful or Italian.
sparpagliato…
A place to scatter thoughts and light.
The most relaxing thing to do on a dark, rainy evening like this, is scroll through some lovely blogs and wind down after a long day. I found these adorable kitten pics and they are just too cute. I don’t know the website, but I had to take a wee moment to coo over the kittens here and thought I would repost out of sheer appreciation:
The gruff farmer type by the rear end of the cattle – not so cute… but then you look down and see wee helpless bairns all struggling to get some fresh milk… and your heart melts.
I can’t even remember how life was before blogs, wikipedia and spotify. Lately I have been looking up loads of crafting, thrifting blogs to peruse for ideas in accessorizing my wee flat. There are realms of creativity and online-community-ness that I am only just now stumbling upon… and spying on! I love a lot of the cheerfulness and international friendliness that springs up amongst creative-y types.
Recently I’ve learned so much from online searching or scrolling. Much ado about painting furniture, about making ‘wreathes’ from household items or making your own logos and signs that say things like ‘mama said there’d be days like this’… plus there are so many, many retro-redeeming tutorials to spice up something from the recent past.
That idea of reclaiming/repurposing items might seem redundant to some folks – or even kinda vain because it’s soooo extremely popular and trendy. However, it’s a treat to see so many people in the Western world taking the time to work on something that isn’t immediate, but custom made, invested in and not brand-spankin’ new! So, I’m all for searching the streets of online stores and blogs to help keep me in touch with the olden days when folks toiled with their hands and not their credit cards…. Hey, even going back to the time when kittens sat by farmers and awaited a wee feed from the other udder.
It’s 6.53am and I feel like I’ve been in a fight, or through a war already this morning. I can tell it’s going to be a wild day outside so I’m still wrapped up in bed, soaking in sleep as the rain pummels the ground outside.
I just can’t shake my nightmares from last night. It’s been a long time since it happened, but I woke up crying from these dreams and now feel wounded from it all. Sad dreams about friend’s and loved ones are probably the worst ones. Though… They’re only your imaginations.
Lately I have been reading the book of Daniel. I love the way Daniel acknowledges that his dreams are often divine visions and not simply a mind work-out. The bible is littered with stories about dreams and visions- so you know that God works through the imagination and the night!
I will make up for my nightmares by daydreaming today. Nothing so lovely as to imagine… It relaxes your striving and planning mode- and when you’re moving house, there is a lot of planning to be done!
A favourite song of mine is Amos Lee’s Dreamin’. A smooth voice, unexpected vocal lines and lovely opening line:
“my soul is as open as the sky, most of the time it’s just as blue”…
Yesterday at church, as I listened, I drew the arms of a tree and scribbled tiny leaves on the tips of most branches. I was imagining being rooted like the tree in perfect love – God’s covenant of love.
When I got home I watched the C4 show which explores how beauty obsessives engage with folks with facial disfigurements. The one show that I watched proved to me that the seeking of ‘plastic’ beauty was a way of hiding one particular woman’s need for love and affirmation – mostly from strangers who would most likely nod approvingly at her unwrinkled 50-year-old face. The woman who had the facial disfigurement didn’t feel unloved or unlovely. She genuinely had a lot of love and life to offer.
So, with Ben and Jerry’s in hand today, I had a think about how amazing it is to know that you are loved.♥
I’ve been a part of Open Swimmer for a wee while now. I love singing songs, and I love harmony. I wanted to share a wee snippit from our facebook of late:
”This is the amazing new videoblog by HowWeSang. Open Swimmer were blessed enough to be the first ever installment. The song is the b-side of our forthcoming single: Sugar Bowl, released on the 28th of Feb. for download everywhere good.”
When we shot this video, it was probably minus 12 and faintly snowing. The cold had seeped inbetween our toes and we couldn’t breathe in through our noses for fear of sniffing on ice. There is a beautiful ‘still’ that the snow brings. Everything is white and eerie, but the air is clean and calm, as though lighter than usual. As we stood singing, the curls in my hair fell out and froze up. Our voices hit the bare trees without echoing, and our smiles were a little frostbitten, but it was lovely.
This song is a favourite of mine and is about the Kelvin River.
I hope you enjoy.
Sparpagliato 