Westacre Day minus 34
We’re concentrating on getting walls ready for decorating and putting in furniture. Lots of wallpaper came off today. Plaster board closed off some partitions. Expanding builders foam filled some gaps. Will we get to the stage where we can put down lino on the kitchen floor tomorrow? Fingers crossed.
Whatever you are doing, whatever you are going through, keep breathing. We are all tempted to hold our breath in an attempt to protect ourselves. It doesn’t work. It just adds to the strain. Breathe. Let your emotions flow with your breath. Find ease.
Artex. Do you know the stuff I mean? It’s a skim of plaster that has been ‘textured’ and then painted. It looks horrible. It was popular in the 70s.
Roger’s bungalow has lots of it, on ceilings and on walls. Hilde has been attacking the stuff on the wall with a steamer. She started off with a product that claimed to be ‘artex remover’, which is entirely harmless to the user and the environment. Sounds good. Unfortunately, it is entirely harmless to the artex as well. Steaming and slow scraping seems to do it.
Meanwhile, Alex and Roger have been putting plaster boards in gaps in ceilings and partitions.
I am being taught about love. The part of us that loves is the most vulnerable side of us. It opens us to connection. Love for the beauty of the world and all with whom we share it makes us strong and is our greatest protection from injury and hurt. And our deep love connects us to our fellow beings and inspires us to give generously. Love holds the magic true connection.
Westacre Day minus 36
Hilde was quite impressed when she saw the progress at the bungalow since Sunday. The boiler is in and the central heating is working. Alex has put in a new floor in the kitchen. And Roger has made repairs to the ceiling mishap from last week.
In the meantime, contact has been made with a window company to put new windows in the Harrow house. And some more stuff has gone into boxes.
All good stuff.
We are so scared of being rejected, ignored and hurt. All of us build entangled webs of protection around our vulnerable hearts. Sometimes we draw that protection so tightly around us that the strain physically hurts. If we stay with that feeling, the tangles slowly unfurl and uncover our fragile hearts. Our vulnerability is our beauty, our potential for connection with the beauty of the Earth.
Westacre Day minus 37
While Roger was repairing the gap in the ceiling where there once used to be a partition wall, Alex laid batons and Celotex for the kitchen floor. And once there is a floor, who knows what other miracles might happen.
Hilde is counting down the days at City Lit (10 days to go, spread over 4 weeks) and is disappointed with the window company who have failed to get back to her so far.
Westacre Day minus 38
Alex took it easy today, with a shorter day’s labour. He repaired some damage done to the bungalow rafters by the guy who fit the boiler yesterday. Then he attacked the kitchen floor and took it back to the original concrete, ready for an insulated chipboard floor to go in.
Hilde called a window company with a view to replacing the rotten wooden windows in Harrow. She also interviewed a prospective German tutor for City Lit, and answered many e-mails.
Mother Earth, let me rest on you. Let me melt into your arms and sleep in peace.
Father Sky, let me stretch into your vast spaces. Let me find peace beyond myself.
Grandfather Sun, let me stand in your fire. Let the strain burn away.
Grandmother Ocean, let me bathe in your waves. Let your ebb and flow bring me peace.