2009

I have been wanting to write a post for absolutely ages and the irony of my blog is that the times I am most likely to blog are the times when I have the least to write about. Let me elaborate: if things worthy of mention on a blog have happened in my life, they have usually left me so tired that I can't string words together in order to write about them! Flip that around and you'll understand why, so often, I ramble about the most random of subjects and not so much about things I've been up to! I am at my most "blog-able" (new word for a new year? ...maybe not!) when I have been doing very little physically. I can't believe it has taken me this long to make that connection and realise how very odd this blog is, but never mind, I hope you'll bear with me!

This time - for once - I have things to write about; nice things have happened. First of all, Christmas was lovely and chilled out, with lots of delicious food, quality time with family and friends, great TV, wonderfully generous gifts and plenty of REST! I hope that was the case for you too, especially the resting part - so important. More on that another day.

Secondly, we went away to a place which has been dubbed (by us) Narnia. It's actually a village called Llanidloes, in Mid Wales, but that doesn't have quite the same charm or ease of pronunciation as Narnia! This place was beautiful and such a gift from God that we even came across it online, only back in October or November. It certainly helped that were tucked away there during the cold snap we are currently experiencing in the UK! The cottage is situated in farmland up on a hill, overlooking the beautiful Severn Valley, a view which is particularly stunning when it's covered with a dusting of snow, or even a widespread frost!



When Vianney and I first arrived there we could not believe our luck! We didn't know the area and we had taken a gamble with what looked like a lovely cottage in a pretty area on the website; nowhere, however, is likely to advertise itself as a grotty hovel in unattractive wasteland so you can never be sure until you arrive! We knew as soon as we turned into the nearby village that we had struck gold because it was just idyllic, as were the cottages on both the inside and the outside. The owner was incredibly friendly and could not have made our stay any more comfortable. I would recommend this place to anyone wanting a break away from it all, whether that's a weekend or a fortnight. It's seriously reasonable in price too.

I particularly loved seeing all kinds of animals whenever I looked out the window, from rabbits and sheep in the fields, to gorgeous little birds flitting around, to pheasants, to the seriously free range chickens roaming wherever they pleased but always putting themselves away in their chicken pen at dusk, ready for the owner to lock them in and lock foxes out! However, the pièce de resistance for us was definitely the cabin in the garden which housed a fabulous hot-tub/jacuzzi, sauna and power shower: serious luxury for me!

Four days or so into our holiday we were joined for New Year/Vianney's birthday by Amy, Helen, Clare and Tom, a fab combination of people to spend a short break with - and not just because they brought mountains of food with them! Honest!

In all seriousness, we relaxed, played games (sometimes by the rules), watched films (sometimes singing along), talked about silly things and more serious things, and even ventured out into the ridiculously sub-zero temperatures together for a couple of walks (or in some cases - and not just mine - spins in the wheelchair!),* at one point being led in song by Clare. Thanks for that Clare! We were also very lucky to have fireworks at midnight on NYE, courtesy of the cottage owners, which was spectacular against the clear, starry sky - if a little scary when debris started landing on Clare and I! Special memories - and many photos - to treasure for a long time to come.

The reason I called this post 2009 was that I was hoping to be able to write 2009 words and be "clever" (!) but having thought about it, that would be an incredibly long blog post. Too long. Longer than some people's essays at University, so I won't inflict that upon you. The title can stay though because I can't think of anything better today, and this whole paragraph would be completely null and void if I changed it now!

On that note, here ends this post because my brain is unravelling quicker than my fingers are typing. Happy New Year one and all. Thanks for still reading!

* On this note, watch this space for a very amusing little anecdote to come in tomorrow's post (fingers crossed I will manage a post tomorrow) relating to another wheelchair passenger over the festive season...!

P.S. It's 753 words, if anyone cares!