Hi, Goingnorth, hope all is well. Thanks for the shout. The Spanish holiday was very, very good. I did things differently on this holiday, and it worked far, far better than I ever could have expected. I'd like to tell you about it if you can bear the mortifying agony of hearing someone self-indulgently re-live their holiday: "....and then I went there, and then I did that, and then this happened, and then so-and-so said blah-blah, and I said look at thingy, and I stayed at doings, etc, etc...".   

 

And how are you, did you manage to re-create that egg butty?

It's great to hear from you, Lotty!  You know how it is when somebody travels . . .  A person always wonders if s/he got there and back in one piece, and all that jazz. 

 

I'm happy to hear that you had a good time. 

 

I haven't been cooking much, Lotty.  Moved into a new apartment.  AND I have one plate.  ha ha ha  When I left the xnbf, I left EVERYTHING behind, except my cats and my gym shoes.  Well, I was dressed and I did take some clothes with me too. 

 

Anyhoo . . .  So far, I have bought ONE plate.  So, if you come over for dinner, we'll need to share that plate.  :-)  I spent so many years serving as The Chairwoman of the Entertainment Committee, I will probably never hostess again.

 

Yes, sir.  You bet I'm ready to hear about your vacation.  Tell us all about it. 

 

GN

P.S.  Glad you're back safe and sound.  Thanks for responding. 

One plate. I like that idea. It is like a way of taking control. I can understand that.

 

I do not have an online facility at my home. I used to use the public library, which is a stone's throw from my place of work, but I can no longer cope with the feeling that those machines are full of disgusting gems. I have seen one or two things and I just can't do it anymore. But I have a friend with whom I share things, us seeing that there is no point us paying for two things when between us we only need one. I have some things, my freind has others. We share a car, for example. So I only get in front of a machine about once a week, in the natural course of things. Hence my posts can be a bit spaced out.

 

I have been feeling much better lately, and am certainly making great strides forwards. For the last two years I have been drained and exhausted. I am self-employed, with only myself to worrry about, and I am very small-time at what I do, just ticking over on the absolute bare minimum, with my work and living costs stripped right back, and bearing in mind your 'one plate', I think you would respect what I have achieved. The result is that pressure has been taken off me, and I have also created time to myself to sort through the problem, and to heal. When I came back from holiday, it was such a belting holiday that it really did do me a power of good, and although I am still a bit fragile, I have gently and slowly gathered myself and I can actually say I am feeling much better, and stronger, and much wiser and aware, and I have started enjoying my work again, and I am exited about doing some work tomorrow. I really do feel I have turned a corner.  I don't want to drone on, but I never realised how being devalued has such an effect upon a person, it operating deep and subliminally. I never realised how disordered people can be (and there is a very lot of it about). So I have much still to learn and unravel, though much of this will be out of interest for the subject rather than just for my healing. But things are certainly looking bright.

 

Anyway, the holiday. Essentially, the holiday was a fly-drive for two weeks, touring the southernmost area of Spain, an area called Andalusia. I had never been so far south in Spain, and had never done a fly-drive. And my companion, B, had never even flown!

 

The plan was to fly from England to Malaga (all and everything we booked ourselves, of course), and hire a car at the airport. Then we would drive about where and when we wanted, with no other plan than to travel in a clockwise circular route, taking in Gibraltar, Granada, the Sierra Nervada desert, the film sets where many of the sphagetti westerns were shot, and checking out the coastline and places along it.  Accommodation was to be a tent. I'm an old hand at camping. For this holiday the idea was to take only the very bare minimum: a simple, smallish dome tent, self inflating sleeping mats, sleeping bag, inflatable pillow in a nice cotton pillow slip. No cooker, no pans, no lamp, a plastic bowl/plate each, a plastic mug each, a knife and spoon each (no need to be encumbered with a fork), just enough shampoo for two weeks, in a special small bottle, just enough soap (a quarter cut off a bar), a towel just big enough for the job, 5 t-shirts, 2 jeans, 2 shorts, 5 pairs socks, 1 pair shoes, 1 lightweight packaway-to-nothing rain coat, 1 hat, 1 pair sunglasses, a bar of laundry soap with a length of para cord and some lightweight clothes pegs, one book. I took no music. I just took basically all I have listed here, and this strictness in taking the very bare minimum is important to this tale, because it frees you up. Stuff causes you stress and bother, and so it is key to the enjoyment.

 

I have to go now, but will post again with a bit more. Probably a few posts, to tell the tale right.  See you later. Cheers, etc, etc............

Hi Lotty, 

 

Your post was good news to me. 

 

It's so good to hear of your progress.  They say that it takes all kinds, and it would appear that we here on the board have run into some of them.  It always reminds me of a drive-by shooting:  You're just standing there, and BAM! 

 

I'm happy to know that life is improving for you. 

 

As for "stuff" -- I left everything I spent my life accumulating when I left the n.  Of course, I kept the kids' photos and other family photos and other personal/sentimental things.  And my clothes.  And my cats.  But the remainder of it -- GONE.  (Ask me if I care.) 

 

Your holiday sounds perfect!  You and I are on the same page when it comes to traveling light now.  The less, the better, as far as I am concerned. 

 

Andalusia:  Is that where those fine horses come from?  They sure are beauties.  I've never been to Spain, but I kinda like the music.  (LOL  http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=dm6qw_yeo6o  I have been to England, though, and  on the Beatles.)

 

So, what did B have to say about flying?  Was s/he nervous about it?  How long is the flight from Heathrow to Malaga?  (I'm just assuming you flew out of Heathrow.) 

 

As far as being on the coastline was concerned, was it the kind of coast (and weather) where you could go in the water? 

 

The Spaghetti Westerns were super.  I guess I always pictured them done over in Italy -- because they're called Spaghetti Westerns.  It's always so interesting to see how the terrain varies from region to region within one country (or state). 

 

I envy you the ability (and youth) to sleep in a tent.  Oh, I suppose I could do it, but you'd need to pack a supply of muscle relaxers and pain pills for me if I were to sleep that close to the ground. 

 

Well, I'm just as happy as a clam that you had a good time and that you're feeling better in general.  Those vacations can sometimes be the best medicine.  I'm hoping to get back down to my son and his family within the next month or so, and then out to Chicago to my daughter and her hubby sometime soon as well. 

 

People want to complain about Chicago, but I have to say:  There's nothing like a walk (with a Yorkie) at about midnight in December, on North State Parkway, with the Christmas lights fired up and sparkling.  One night (in summer) I was walking my Yorkie in Lincoln Park, right at the area of the Chicago Historical Society.  There was a concert going on at the back of the Historical Society.  (I assume it was a fund raiser.)  Anyway, I was sitting there, on Abe Lincoln's bench, looking at the beautiful garden, listening to a woman singing so beautifully.  I thought, "I know that voice.  Who the heck is that?"   http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=HVFZ4GrKcRM)  They can complain from now 'til the cows come home about Chi-Town, but I gotta tell you, it's not a bad place.  The weather can be pure h-e-double, but we need to smell the roses wherever we find them.) 

 

Lotty, I hope you're going to move to the new site.  You might want to sign up if you haven't already done so. 

 

I'll look forward to your next post.  I'm in total agreement with you on sharing the computer.  Sharing makes good economic sense, and it does the heart good. 

 

Best Regards, Lotty,

GN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goingnorth, I've posted for you at the new site. See you over there.