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Showing results for tags 'Happy happy happy! Joy joy joy!'.
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To prove there ARE still things around that can make you happy Ridiculously happy to have my own home-made jam. 1) Fig tree in the back garden, good for at least 10 Kg of figs per year. This time, I made fig jam and spread the love around to neighbours and co-workers. Ready for shipping! To finish off the jelly sugar pack, some fruit jam - blueberry, raspberry, blackberry & strawberry: Next up: something with apples...
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While it can be cathartic to get things off your chest, how about a thread about those things that bring a little joy into our lives to redress the balance? I don't mind getting the ball rolling. The backstory: I have a brain that doesn't know when to stop. As a kid, I'd occasionally have fits. This ended up with me in hospital, hooked up to an EEG machine. The doctor told my parents that my brain was hyperactive and would overload when things got too much, resulting in the fits. These fits subsided as I grew older, but the over active brain is something I still have to live with. It makes it hard to concentrate on anything, almost impossible to relax and getting to sleep can be tortuous at times. As you might imagine, I'm an insomniac. Over the past decade or so the Mrs and I have been spending more and more time out in the countryside or at nature reserves. I've always loved nature ever since I was a kid, thanks to a junior school which encouraged us to take the time to look at the wildlife. When we are out in the wild, with little in the way of man-made sound and only the local critters to keep us company, I find that the "white noise" that is usually blaring away inside my head fades away and suddenly, I can truly relax. It's an incredibly profound experience and I always come away feeling as if my batteries have been recharged, so to speak. Although the long walks can wear me out for a couple of days (I also have ME), I always feel so much better in myself afterwards. It's no wonder that we are planning to move somewhere much more rural than we currently live. I have found that my favourite places are looking out over reed beds. I doubt that I've ever been happier that watching the sunlight dance across the top of the reeds on a balmy summer evening, watching marsh harriers, barn owls, kingfishers and, if you're really lucky, a short eared owl or some bearded tits (no sniggering at the back!). If we are at Lakenheath Fen, the occasional F-15 or V-22 will also bring a smile to my face. Noisy, yes, but they're aeroplanes, so are exempt! How about you? Cheers, Mark, hoping someone else gets the Ren and Stimpy reference.