The joys of living simply

Hello Dear Reader,

Can you imagine what first time readers thought of me when I blogged about cleaning my vacuum cleaner? I'm sure they must have thought of me as a tight fisted miser. To a certain extent, I am and I wring every penny until is cries in pain but really, life is truly wonderful. I want to remind everyone how joyous life is, even if you live on very little money and you have to count every penny. The more I strip away the complications of life and just live authentically, and by that I mean how I really want to live, the happier I become.

When we go anywhere, there's no rush. We don't have to get to shops before they shut, the restaurant early enough to get a table, to the pub to beat the crush or the cinema to get the best seats. If you've ever seen an elderly couple, who park their car by the sea front to sit on a bench just to enjoy the scenery. Well, I'm not waiting until I get old and my eyes dim, I want to spend as long as I like gazing into valleys or out to sea and I want my eyes to wander and take it all in. 

I don't go to spinning classes, I never wear lycra and I take my journeys on the miss-marple-mobile very leisurely. Everyone else over takes me, sweat spraying off them whilst I ride along with a piece of foil wrapped cake and a flask of tea in my basket. I take an age as I often stop at a bench and just sit and say hello to people riding by.

I like to root in the sand for oyster shells to take home from my holidays and don't need tourist tat. This is a genuine Breton souvenir and the touch of it reminds me a chilled white wine and oysters from an old shack up an estuary. No fancy restaurants on our holiday, just a fisherman's catch which he opened in front of us and a glass of wine and some bread. It's the simplest of treats but I can smell the estuary as I write this and remember the warmth as we lingered in the sun that day and just lay on the bank reading. 

I can take time to hang my washing on a chilly winter morning and delight in it drying the 'worst of it'. Bringing it in and 'finishing' it in front of the fire and they ironing crispy air dried clothes. I'm not throwing clothes into a drier to run up a bill or run down the planet. My laundry can have a two day turn around and it's a simple old fashioned method that I'm happy enough to be content with.

Cornwall is filled with tourist attractions, golf courses, adventure activities, you can sail, mountain bike, abseil, kayak but I am at my happiest in my walking boots on Bodmin Moor. You can climb to the highest of rocks here and just sit and breath in the peace. It's the simplest of things that nourish my soul. 

I don't have much money and the cost of living makes an experiment  a challenge. The little bus stop in Fowey reminds me, every time I see it, that you can take the simplest experience, such as waiting for the bus a joyous one. Not every bus stop is this lovely, not every walk is to the Cheesewring, not every lunch is oysters and life isn't all about a gentle amble on the miss-marple-mobile. Taking time in our lives is the greatest luxury. I have time to cook, to sew, to make gifts and to look after my family and home. The simplest things really need to be enjoyed and if you change just one aspect of your life, I would love it to be that you slow down and have more time.

Until tomorrow,

With lots of joyous simplicity,

Froogs xxxxxxxxxxxx