Poetry and dogs...

Well, last time I blogged seems a long time ago and, at the time I said I would write more often but it wasn't to be. Life somehow seems to go at such a pace, and reminds me of a poem that I loved as a child by Robert Louis Stevenson about the view from a train called From a Railway Carriage...

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever! 

I loved the rhythm of this poem and the excitement of a train journey - not something that I ever did as a child - but it sounded so ... breathless with excitement. Now it matches so much to how fast the days go by, especially the last line, and reminds me to try to appreciate every moment of life and see if with the same excitement as if I was seeing it from a railway carriage window. 
I love train journeys, although I prefer them if the train isn't packed and I can have a window seat I have to admit, and that feeling of watching things and people as the train goes on still makes  me feel like the child who discovered this poem.

I feel like reminiscing for lots of reasons. The Queens Jubilee gave us all the opportunity to look back at the last 60 years (not that I can go back that far), my son got married recently to his American fiancee and they are now going through the complex process of applying for an American visa for him so that they can move out to the States, my Mum's dementia advances and all of these mark the passing of time. 


The wedding was fun, even though it was at very short notice in the end. They had been engaged for a little while and moved in with us at the end of February so that they could save some money ready for their move to the states, and within a few days of moving in they announced their wedding date - 3 weeks and 4 days later!!! As her folks live Stateside, I become not only mother of the groom but honorary mother of the bride too, and did you know it is almost impossible to get a wedding cake made by any professional in less than 3 weeks as all the professionals need more notice than that. So I learned a lot of new skills in a very short time, one of which was decorating a wedding cake and I don't think it turned out too bad considering I have never done anything quite like this before!!

I learnt where to hire a full Scottish kilt outfit, how to make floral table decorations, how to cater for a wedding, how to be sociable with ex husbands and family, what Cannolli are (not sure about the spelling though but for anyone who doesn't know they are Italian delicacies that taste yummy and probably have 1000 calories in each) and how to help a bride choose a wedding dress as well as the cake making and decorating. All things considered the day went really well, and I'd like to say thanks to the family and friends who managed to make it to the wedding, despite both the short notice and the fact that it was on a weekday. I know that the happy couple really appreciated everyone being there to share their special day.

The happy couple remain with us at the moment, which although we love having them with us, hasn't always been plain sailing. It's nearly 12 years since he moved out, and since then, apart from the ever loving Spaniels, we have been on our own. Having people in the house for longer than a few days has meant compromises on all sides, but it's well worth it for us to be able to spend this time with them before they leave the country. 

Speaking of the spaniels, here they are in a picture taken last summer. He's the black and white one, only 2 years old and typical mad Springer Spaniel, she's brown and white and is now about 13 or 14, but behaves just as mad as he does! They're both rehomes (like rescues but in both cases we know where they came from) so we're not exactly sure how old they are. We've had her now for 11 years or so, and him for well over a year and they are just fabulous to have around. They are always happy and can always lift your spirits if the days been a bit hard going.

I have done lots of sewing and promise pictures next time... The Goth bride doll is finally finished, and just waiting to be mounted on her stand. She just needs a Steampunk Groom now, so I guess that will be the next project, in between some vintage style dresses. The sewing room has never seen so much activity....
Until next time relax and enjoy life. Live in the moment and enjoy everything that life shows you.