Just lately, I’ve been haunted by the ghosts of parallel lives. The choices my parents made which opened and closed opportunities, the ones I made, and those that were taken out of my hands.

I’m a little bit sorry to say I’m one of those people who needs habits and routines to get through the day. Or to put it another way, life cycles.

The poet John Donne was also the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, and it was in this role he said “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…”

It feels like every company on the planet wants a piece of me – more than I want to give them. Makes me miss the good old days.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hearing people say, “have fun.” Which is not the usual thing people say to each other. Or at least, not something I usually hear people say to each other.

The other day, I watched all 36 strangely compelling minutes of a carpet cleaning video in which a man cleans a Persian Carpet, taking it slow and steady.

The other day I went to my local post box ony to find it wasn’t there. It’s disappointing on so many levels, but guess the old adage “use it or lose it” applies more widely than musculature.

A quest for peace often sends you away. Sometimes to a forest or jungle retreat, sometimes to a spa, and sometimes to a city depending on the kind of peace you’re looking for.

I’ve been watching Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen, in which Dr Lucy Worsley OBE tells us that Mrs Christie is not the person we all thought she was.

Recently, I’ve been a bit short tempered and snappy. Prone to watering eyes at the oddest of occaisions. Thinking enough is enough!

And like many vaccinated people, I’ve been watching the protesters on the news, trying to work out what they’re fighting for. It’s not easy to understand.

I find I’m forgetting a lot lately. And I’ve been thinking a lot about how to expand my memory, in part to recapture some of what I lost after the stroke.

Lately, I’m wiped out by about lunchtime. I put it down to all the decisions I’m making. It’s like all the small decisions take just as much brain space as the big.

I admit it. In fact, I proudly declare it. I am a “bleeding heart liberal.” It’s probably because I grew up poor. The seemingly dumb luck of it. I mentioned in the dedication to Holistic Personal Finance that my mother saved the one and two cent pieces for herself. She saved the 5c for me.…

I’m writing the books people will need to take their next steps into whatever new normal is on the way. So my point here, is this will pass. Life will move on.

There’s a lot to be upset about at the moment, most of it we have no control over, but there’s still a lot to be grateful for, so here’s my Trifecta of Thanks.

I have to start by saying this is not the post I set out to write, and if you’re not fond of clowns, you should immediately shut the page down and move on to something less frightening. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now. I’ve written before about appropriateness in clothing and a little about…

Bearing in mind my friend Katy’s concern about her favourite blogger, I thought I’d post a picture and let you know I’m fine just behind.

When times are tough (like now), it can help to acknowledge the good things we’re grateful for. Some days are harder than others, and on those days, I try to focus on the little things I’m grateful for. The everyday ones that I would suffer without.