It’s strange, but, as soon as I let go of my old home online, my vision for a new home became clear.
There will be books, there will be knitting, there will be music, there will be art, and of course there will be a border terrier.
There will be just the one project – I couldn’t let go of my 100 Years of Books Project – but there will be nothing else like that – no grand plans, no lists, no targets. I found them difficult to resist in the past, but I took on too much, and I tried to be too many things to too many people.
So now it will be simply what I want to write about, what I want to share, at any particular point in time.
I don’t know how often, or how regular, that will be – time will tell.
What I really want to to catch the interesting things on life without losing my closeness to those things
I’d love company – and one of the main reasons why I’m still here is that are so many people out there I’ve never met, and may never meet, but want to keep in my life.
Thank you for that.
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You may be wondering where my new name came from.
It came from a lovely poem by the Cornish poet Charles Causely, and when I read it for the first time in a long time, a few months ago, I knew that it was right.
I hope that you’ll think so too.
They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden Rock:
My father, twenty-five, in the same suit
Of Genuine Irish Tweed, his terrier Jack
Still two years old and trembling at his feet.
My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress
Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat,
Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass.
Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.
She pours tea from a Thermos, the milk straight
From an old H.P. sauce-bottle, a screw
Of paper for a cork; slowly sets out
The same three plates, the tin cups painted blue.
The sky whitens as if lit by three suns.
My mother shades her eyes and looks my way
Over the drifted stream. My father spins
A stone along the water. Leisurely,
They beckon to me from the other bank.
I hear them call, ‘See where the stream-path is!
Crossing is not as hard as you might think.’
I had not thought that it would be like this.
Eden Rock, by Charles Causely (1917 to 2003)
* * * * * * *
That’s a beautiful poem Jane. It is lovely to see you’re not gone, just moved to a new home and a new start 🙂 I too about 2/3years ago cleaned everything down and started again. Same blog but a much simpler format and I’ve never looked back. I hope it works for you too.
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I wasn’t sure what I’d do when I stepped out of my old home, but I feel much happier now that I’ve put the history and old ways behind me to simply focus on the things I love. You were wise to do the same thing.
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I’m glad you’ve found a new home, Jane! I love the name and the poem.
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Thank you. There were too many things I loved and people I would have missed to let you, so I think a new home and a new outlook is my best way forward.
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A beautiful poem, I love the look of your new place, I hope you are happy here.
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Thank you – it was time for a change of outlook and environment.
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It’s wonderful to have you back though I didn’t know you were gone! I wish you all the best here in your new space and I look forward to reading with relish.
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It was a very brief ‘I might be back but I might not’ kind of departure a week or so ago, but I realised that I’d miss the books blogging community as soon as I pressed ‘post’. I’m so pleased that you’ve found your way over here and that we’ll still be in touch.
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It’s a lovely new home, Jane, and I am so very, very happy to see you here. I think I will have to find a copy of that poem. I have been thinking of my mother so much in the past couple of days, so it really speaks to me.
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I’m delighted that you found your may over here, and I look forward to you adding more books to my shelves and my wishlist. The poem spoke to me for similar reasons; I find Causely’s work a little variable, but when he gets it right he’s brilliant.
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Hooray – it’s lovely to visit you here in your new home, and I hope you’ll be happy and enjoy your blogging. I look forward to hearing what you get up to and reading about whatever you read that you feel like reviewing.
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Well, I think I’m going to be happy here, but I’m very aware that I need to keep my inner list-maker and project-planner in check, and learn to live in the moment a bit more. I’m sure I can do it!
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You can do it!!!
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What a beautiful poem for such a lovely new home – wishing you every happiness and a place to relax and be yourself 🙂
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Thank you so much – that’s exactly what I hope to do.
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I’d only just found you, so I’m glad you’re back!
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Thank you.
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Congratulations on your lovely new home – I will enjoy visiting.
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Thank you – it’s lovely to see you here, and I hope you’ll continue to enjoy visiting.
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Books, knitting, music and art. And lots of the dog, please! I think I’m going to like it here.
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It’s lovely to meet you, and I do hope that you will enjoy it here.
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I love the poem Jane, and your new home too – I’ll look forward to seeing your posts here.
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It’s lovely too see you here; and to know that you appreciate the poem that I love and that was the spark that made me start over.
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Loved the poem, thank you for sharing it. Really glad to see you are settling in happily in your new home. Looking forward to seeing you and Briar thrive here! 🙂
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Very belatedly, but lovely to see you in your new home! I’ve been so busy lately that I missed your original ‘goodbye for now’ post, which I’m glad about, as it would have filled me with anxiety!
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Thank you – it was never going to be goodbye for good, but I needed to step back so that I could pick up the things that were important and let go of the things that weren’t.
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