Dangerous minds

When you choose, or lose the ability, to keep your most random thoughts on the inside, people and society deem you crazy. All have these thoughts. Hundreds if not thousands of pointless wonderings flit across the mind daily, but we keep them in, least someone we know well changes their opinion of us.

What's done is done

I have rock climbed with 10 other nationalities on a single wall

I have rock climbed over fathoms deep of water

I have floated down a river, drunk on beer, flipping on swings, knowing no fear

I have had the meaning to life shared with me on mushrooms

I have taught children whose smiles taught me even more

I have bathed with an elephant

I have sat in teaching with the Dalai lama

I have trekked the Himalayas

I have peed off the back of a moving train

I have seen out a day, watching the setting sun sinking below the horizon, lying on a beach

I have awoken on a different beach to see the sun rising around me

I have danced the night away… and danced in the next day

I have lived, marooned on a an island for 5 days

I have got drunk off 7c beers

I have been bitten by a snake

I have totaled a motorbike and walked away unhurt

I have snowboarded between countries

I have been robbed

I have gone 10days without talking

I have lived

(yeah, will sort this post out later)

Who said it?

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!!

It’s the little things in life… (Lost post from March)

I stood today and caught snowflakes on my tongue. The sun shone down and a little old lady walked past and smiled at me.

I woke up this morning and sat for 10 minutes of meditation. When the others came for breakfast I was ready with a serving of smiles.

I am still using the same shaving cream as when I left NZ 10 months ago! And I share it with Jo…

Lost post from Easter...

Easter has snuck up fast! We go tonight to buy chocolate eggs (describe to make it sound pointless) to help spread the spirit. Who remembers these days what it is all about? I had hoped and planned on spending my Easter in the Vatican City and listening to the Pope give his annual Easter speech (supposing he does) but it has caught me unawares and so I shall spend it instead, painting the skirting boards of a four stoy flat complex filled with German teachers, one german bum, one german artist and a german metal chemist. Ah well, life goes on and in two weeks i will be travelling once more (o:

Lost post from Feb...

On another note, how has everyone enjoyed the recent season? It must be getting into Autumn if you are in New Zealand? Here it is spring. Today is the day it turned. The cold embrace of winter has retracted for another year as the warmth of spring returns to thaw out toes sat on the door step in that little pocket of morning sun. Hedgehogs sniffing the air. Birds building new houses. The daffodils are out in the garden outside. People walk with a confused air about them, no doubt wondering about the inward happiness they are experiencing. And today it truly fitted as a change of season too.

Awakening to a clear blue sky, I found my breakfast shared with a welcome visitor. The early morning sun joined me in companionable silence. I bid goodbye as work began, casting a brief glance outdoors to capture one last glimpse of warmth to see me through the day. Instead, the glance found me the lone audience to a magical dance. Snowflakes, some drifted lazily to the ground as if trying to prolong their momentary span of existence, whilst others swirled high up in the air to land gently on the roof tops and highest branches of the tress, had come out to enjoy the sun too and were seemed unable to constain their happiness, their sparkling was so bright.

If not for the slightest of chills added to the air and the briefest of blemishes left upon the window panes, it could have been mistaken for a swirl of passing dust. But the sun, gladdened by the sight of so many old friends, returned in all its glory, setting off an orchestra of bird call and opening a sea of colour across the outside lawn. The proud yellow blooming of the daffodils outshone only by the clarity and majesty of the simple blue petals of their neighbouring pansies. Resplendent in their modest form.

Our morning tea break, set to sit in the midst of such happiness was instead interrupted by a volley of rude hail stones, pattering the roof top like a thousand ill timed birds on the march. The wind rose and the birds fell silent as the sky slowly darkened to a soft blue. But the flowers kept hope and eventually, the return of the sun’s rays signaled time for lunch.

Then as the sun set and the sky grew fit for a murder, with the winds whipping the branches off the giant oak tree next door and the sky booming on its new toy drum, a sudden stillness arose. Darkness settled over all until the stars came out, ready to guide home the last of the nights miscreant wanderers.

Stuffs

To get to Tolva we hitched. Got a lift in a police car and when he dropped us off, he gave us his cell number and told us to call him if we ever had ANY problems. Sweeeeeet! Then next was something I have wanted for a while; a lift with a trucky! Nice Romanian guy. Rest were usual.

And today we went for a wander in some canyons and I was chased by a urethra fish! Lucky to get out of there with my urethra in tract! Maahahaha, what a pun (o:

Very shitty work

Mike Fenton, our host met us in the town centre. Straight up he was obviously a very english sort of english chap and of the good sort. Took us back to the flat we are staying at in town until the castle, Masia de fals, is ready for habitation, fed us with home cooked meals! and then we slept, ready to see what the next day had for us.

It has now been two weeks since then. We have built stone walls, smashed lots of old stuff (troughs, walls etc) and shovelled tonnes, TONNES, of 500 year old goat poo.

We work about 4 hours a day and they keep telling us not to overdo it and make sure we are enjoying it. It is easy as pie work really. No, easier! Making pie can't be that easy. More like easy as cheese on toast.

In between the drive us around all the local villages to sightsee, go out for dinner if Paul doesn't whip up some gourmet dinner himself like fresh cooked garlic prawns (delish!), wander the surrounding countryside (they live surrounded by protected land) and otherwise relax with a book or movie. We have been geo-caching, Jo made a pavlova (second actually as our first burnt) and there is again all the food we can eat. I put on three kilos in the first week!

There are golden eagles nesting across the valley the castle is on and we have a telescope to see them (visible to the naked eye too and they often fly over top as we work). They also have a chick.

Our hosts are two guys Mike and Paul. 50 50 share in this castle and house place. 96 hectares of land and a heap of ideas. Really relaxed guys too as i think i have said.

And now Sam is flying over from home in 2 weeks (1st July). I head off at the end of this week to southern Spain and will stay there through July at least working on a property with a daughter who runs a surf school! Needless to say, the surf is why I am going there...