What I loved (in the last week)

Today has been a bit frustrating – nothing major but lots of small niggles here and there, mainly at work. I was at a loss for something to write about, so today’s post is brought to you via inspiration from my lovely friend Diana and her weekly “Things I Love Thursday”.

It’s all too easy to moan, so let’s celebrate a random five things that were good, very good, in the last week. I’ve tried to choose from different categories…

Food and drink: French cheese – On our trip to Neuf-Brisach we promised ourselves we’d stop off at a French supermarket to get some really good cheese. We ended up with Camembert (from unpasteurised milk), Mimolette (which I discovered only a few years ago and is really hard to get here, especially the mature varieties) and Rocquefort.

Achievements: Getting to the top of the rock face – I am definitely the least experienced in the group of four that went climbing on Saturday. This is good on the one hand as it means I can rely on the experience of the others, but not always good in the sense that I don’t get as far or manage such challenging routes as the others. However, I made it without too much complaint, and I made it back down again (the beginning of the coming down was VERY scary, I have to say – leaning backwards over a precipice and trusting the rope is no mean feat).

Places: My creative corner – I must post a picture of this when it is a bit tidier. I have converted a corner of the landing into a secluded area for sitting and reading (there’s a big skylight and a comfy sofa) or pootling away on the computer (as is the case now). Soon there’ll be a bigger monitor up here so that the area can be used for watching films and editing photos.

Growth: New plants – Managed to grow some wisteria from seeds found on the street, and got a date palm cutting from friends. The wisteria is growing scarily fast and needs to be repotted in the next few days. A trip to the garden centre last week ensured that all the necessary bits and bobs are ready to go.

Accessories: Yellow glasses – My partner in climb(ing) and other things often wears yellow tinted (sun)glasses. I borrowed these the other day and WOW does the world look different through them. The mountain landscape immediately became magically golden and light, the rocks almost luminous. I almost expected to see a unicorn emerge from behind the next tree. Possibly a very good antidepressant accessory, I suspect.

There are actually many more things that I could have included here, so it’s been a good reminder that things have been really pretty good the last week.

Here’s a picture of me in said glasses (and wearing all the clothes I had with me (and some more) – at least five layers – as it was rather cold up the mountain.