Owls and Orchids

My Zen Outlook 

I have just returned from my escape into a little peace and tranquility. I didn’t get very far, just the back steps of my verandah. I needed a little time to find my equilibrium.  Fifteen minutes of meditation during the hectic efforts of the day so far.

So far we seem to have been tearing things down , at the old place, (not my way to describe it), boxing things up and generally creating mayhem in one place so that we can move to another.

It’s got a beautiful outlook, I have to be the first to admit that. Waking up to the sounds of the ocean waves crashing and the new bird calls surrounding me was wonderful. One might be forgiven of saying divine!

Yesterday was a day which felt like a scene from Dante’s Inferno, scorching heat, humid, sore and aching muscles, head pounding and a hollow ache underneath my ribs – I was starving. Breakfast and lunch flew past barely noticed, but when it reached 7pm I knew I had ignored my human needs for far too long. I wanted FOOD!

The ingredients for a crock pot,  (The Yummy Chicken Crock Pot), carefully prepared and which should have been  cooking before midday, providing a nourishing and well-earned repast was still in cold storage. All our carefully made plans, our schedule, had gone completely awry.

If there was ever a time you didn’t need interruptions from phone calls this was it. You could be forgiven for thinking we hadn’t spoken to anyone in months. So we were not simply behind schedule, it was out the window and the door!

Of course chaos wouldn’t be happy without company. We finally arrived at our new home only to realise that each of us had presumed the other had picked up the keys and garage remote for the new place!  Nothing for it, we had to climb, aching muscles crying, back into my car and drive back to the Gold Coast and get the missing items, then the long drive back. It’s really not that far, only an hour in the car, it simply felt as though we were travelling to the ends of the earth.

We found the least offending ” bad food”, a place which made fresh burgers with really lovely crunchy salad, and partially filled that hollow under our ribs.  Hours later we had our bed set up and made up. All we yearned for was a hot shower, a cup of tea and to slip into a deep dream filled slumber.

The bedroom, the least chaos ruled room.

I’m cheating really, all these boxes are holding my treasures – my crystals, the ones I keep close by. I have a beautiful sun room which will eventually be set up as my retreat and have many of these treasures inside. But that comes later.

Today has been similar to yesterday, except my husband has an able-bodied helper. With the best will in the world I cannot lay claim to being much help. I can’t lift anything, can’t carry it, and bending in and out if boxes has proved to be crippling. I’m feeling cranky with myself for not doing more. I feel I should be doing more, and I’m annoyed my body will not let me do it.  So it’s great to have someone to help with the heavy work, or should I say work in general!  I am grateful, my back is grateful and life is really wonderful.

So rather than being ensconced in our new home, albeit surrounded by chaos, we have another day of the same to look forward to. Hubby and offsider are organised for another mammoth effort tomorrow whilst I am relegated to the bedroom! Out of harms way – of the workers!  I’m really mindful of the great fortune we have found in this beautiful  place.

My new sanctuary. The sunroom with a view to the ocean above.

So, another frenetic day to come. It’s times like these I wish we had friends to call on to help – and selfishly, help me to straighten up and hobble inside! No doubt we will look back on this in a few days/weeks and laugh about it. I think?

I return to the beginning and ask “When will there be an end?”  Which of course the Pope asked  Michelangelo during the painting of the Sistine chapel.  Lets hope this wont take as long!