The way it is according to moi

Morning all, thought I would say hi while Emma sleeps for another hour. Once she is up we will go find some breaky. Yesterday was simple day. No live music until 8pm and so we walked, talked, ate and drank.  What I noticed the most about yesterday is how friendly and kind people are at Glato. I don't think it was do with being drunk or stoned either.  Everyone is in a good happy caring place and well... You can see it. Yesterday morning on my way get a soya hot chocolate there were 2 guys asking some attendants for directions to the car park. I knew where they had to be so I helped. The attendants were on their way somewhere and so they carried on. The boys and I were talking and they showed me a wallet they had found. They wanted to find the owner and give it to him so they could see his happy reaction. Both of their mobiles had run out of juice so we used mine and tweeted @glastoinfo. As we parted we said our goodbyes and then one of them added, you have a kind soul.  I...

To many this picture might just be of loo roll in a plastic bag.  But really it's much more.... I was packing for Glastonbury and it finally hit me. Not only was I going to the best music festival ever... But I'm also middle class.  I've had internal debates with the class system for donkeys years.  What am I? What are my folks? What was I growing up? And what were my folks growing up? Working class, middle class, upper middle, lower middle, skint class, plain out poor? You get the drift.  I don't actually have the time to go into this for too long but the picture sums it up. Ikea good quality plastic bag with velvet quilted loo roll. And this will be used at the middle class festival.  More pictures to follow.  This is the view the people in the queue to charge their mobile phone. (I'm am also)

Well.... Work is pretty bad as mentioned in earlier posts.  It's affecting my sleep and well I can't really sleep past 3 hours. Raccoon face is probably in full swing. I'm avoiding looking at mirror at all costs. Either way I have enough colleagues that will kindly tell me I look like shit! Oh the joys.... Anyhow! I've been up since one. I styled in bed until 2 and then came down to prepare the BBQ food for Monday nights BBQ. All are welcome. It will be at Michales Mead camp ground in Glastonbury.... The best place in the world! I'm praying that for the next 6 days I don't think about work at all! I went to yoga tonight and man can you see the stress in my body. My shoulders are so high and my poor neck is feeling the brunt of it. I really must learn how to not let stress manifest in my body. Enough of the misery.  Here is pic of the food. I'll try and post loads while I'm away. I quite like this blogging jazz. Be good and be kind to one another  xx

There will be moments when I won't blog, particularly because I find all the thinking exhausting. I also don't want to loose my limited readership. I might bore you beyond  belief. What I will do is let you know what I'm listing to.  Music is the only thing that ill ever need need.  There might be other things I want, but music is need. I'm really started to get super hyped about Glastonbury. It's a blessing really seeing works is pants.  The 3 best songs of the day were At last by Etta James  The Greatest by Cat Power Every time the sun comes up by Sharon Van Etten

Today has been a bad day.  Work is a bit crap and I'm not sure how to fix it. Those that care about me and that includes some management want to know how they can help me. What do I want to do? What would I like with my future, career prospects etcetera. What do I enjoy doing? Listen up folks! I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE!!!! I am very capable, smart, intelligent and most important I get things done. All good qualities that have kept me in respectable employment my entire life.  Despite this it hasn't produced an enlightening career. (Just a good pension) Today someone asked me if I want to be a bus driver? He was only helping. He has 3 sons and just started listing things off. No disrespect to the bus drivers out there but that's one job that I know is not for me.  Then there is the whole malarkey of school and going back into education and re qualifying. Aside from the the fact I don't know what I want to do I also have a mortgage. Yes I'm grateful for the roof over my ...

Is missing a verb? I’m pretty sure it is. I can’t actually believe how much I miss Steph and vice versa. We both spent today feeling really sad. The boys at work were worried about me. Sad Leena is very very different to normal Leena and even more of a change to happy Leena. (Work is also getting me down big time)  Steph and I can go almost a year without speaking. We just send whatsaps and emails, but we have a Skype date tomorrow. I’ve always been a misser. I wouldn’t say that I live in the past, I live in the now. Despite this I still miss so many people, things, moments, memories, parts of my past. Some days I miss them more than others. Missing must be like love because it feels different every time. Do I miss her, the time we spent together, how she made me feel, how I made her feel… I think I miss it all. On a slightly different note but still relevant, is our perceptions of ourselves. Why are we so hard on ourselves? I’m always going on about being kind...

So I've been trying to figure out what Chris Martin has been wearing for months! Some kind of button but what is it??? Well after some googling I discovered it's the love button. Check them out folks. I orderd them from the US.  Here are some pics. The card was so touching... I'm a sucker for kindness or anything mushy xx

I miss my friend and I’m sad. I’m even too sad to send her a whatsap as I know she feels the same way. When I landed I looked at flights to go back next month but they are too expensive. I would even fly a budget airline but still pricey. I should probably be telling her this and not you (people on the web). I’m quite a wise one and I know Steph got a lot out of our chats. She had a load of light bulb moments, epiphanies and realisations.  We both kinda ran away from our former lives, and I love that we have known each other in our former life aswell as the current.  She also gave me one the best compliments of my life. I really should actually tell her this. The other night she told me how I have such great awareness of myself, my life and others. Its true and its taken bloody long and hard to get here but I’m in a really good place. Its nice for someone that has known me most of my life to see this and to tell me straight. It amazes me how sometimes I ...

This photo is of the view from the balcony.  I'm writing this one from the plane on my journey home.  I'm missing Steph and the boys so much! This morning I got up early while they were all in bed. I had a shower, got ready, emptied the dishwasher, and stripped the bedding. Then the the 2 year old woke up and once he is up the rest of them followed.  Most young kids are funny but hers are a hoot. The 4 year and I had a chat this morning. I told him that it's been a great visit and I'll miss him. He replied with. Yes, Leena I had fun, but now it's time for you to go. :-) So my ring.... I have it and it's on my finger. I still took the nice jewellery box and bag but I had to put it on right away. Unfortunately it's too big. Real bummer since we (Marco my jeweller) measured my finger on Saturday. Next time I'm in town he'll adjust it for free. It's quite a stunner. It's massive. Picture to follow soon. Other than the welding the whole ...

Wow! I cant believe I’m going home tomorrow. Its been such a great visit for both of us, for so many reasons. (us being Steph and I) Our lives are sooo different in so many, many ways but despite this we are both going through similar things. She is married with 2 children while I on the other hand am single with 2 flatmates. We are both trying to do our best in this world for ourselves and our people. When I use the term our people, I’m meaning our children, friends, family, society etc. What I find fascinating is for the last few evenings we have had different conversations that are all about: Our past, our parents, our kids, being a kid, being a daughter, being a daughter in law, watching our loved ones die, living for someone who has died etc. I suppose you could say its all pretty heavy stuff but really, its life. Its just the way it goes. You can’t really avoid these things in life. You just have to live. One of my favourite little saying sayings is, Its just th...

I’ve never been a girly girl. Even now when I make an effort its really just for fun. Getting dressed up is a bit of laugh. Sometimes it puts me in a good a mood, sometimes its for meetings or sometimes its just because I have the time that morning to make an effort. Additionally I can go weeks and months without dressing up. When I say it’s a laugh its really can be. I’ve lived with this body of mine my entire life and I actually know how to live with it. I know what my assets are and I know my not so great parts too. Cleavage and legs good. The parts in-between… not soo good. Luckily I’m of a normal ish size. I can fit into airplane seats! No really. I’m just normal. Now back to the laugh sometimes my dresses are a little too low or they just produce cleavage. The funniest thing ever is when I’m talking to men at work and they are so worried about looking that they then don’t actually look at me when speaking and focus on something else. Its just funny. Oh and something my mom said ...

(As mentioned in previous posts, I'm visiting a good friend and her kids. Staying in their home and not at a hotel) As a adult we really don't get that much insight into the way other people live and how they manage their homes and family.  When we were kids and we stayed over at our friends house for sleep overs, that might have been the first time that I realised that other homes operate in a completely different manner.  Now as adults we rarely see others in their homes. Going over for lunch, a visit or even a BBQ is not the same. It's once the door is closed you see the differences between your home, they way you grew up and the way others live.  I'm not passing any judgement. Unless you are in that person shoes you can't really know what it's like. Almost everyone I've ever met is just trying to do right by the people they are surrounded by. Most often my their off spring. All I'm really saying is it's really interesting so ...

Firstly can you believe it! This is my second entry on day! I don't think this has ever happened before. (this should have posted on (12/06/2014) I spent so much of last week talking about my blog, now all I do is write. Unlike having the normal think about a topic, I seem to now narrate thoughts in my head that would read well! Help!!! As a child we would only ever fly British Airways and Air Canada . Nothing else would do for us. (but really they were the only 2 airlines that flew direct Montreal to Heathrow) Those were the days, would would dress up and we all felt kinda special.  Since my childhood budget discount airlines have made their mark and although flights are cheaper than rail in the UK the flying experience has lost it's pizzazz. I've flown countless flights with Ryanair and sleezy jet.  I'm not a very good daughter if you were to measure how often I make the effort to see my folks. I do speak to them at least weekly and in my early years ...

In a few hours time I will be reunited with my bestie. Steph and I have been friends since the ripe old age of 7! Can you believe it, we are still friends after all this time.  I often wonder what keeps us together or even what it is that keeps us in each others lives. I left Canada when I was 21 and Steph moved to Italy when she was 24. None the less I've gone to see her many a time regardless of where she is. She also spends part of her year in Abu Dhabi due to her husbands job. Back to my question at had. I'm pretty sure I know the answer and have also had a conversation last week with a colleague friend who spoke of similar things.  Without sounding too dramatic, it's big dramatic, often life changing experiences that either bring people closer or further apart.  Steph and I were both 11/12 when our respective mothers popped out another turkey. We each had new brothers. Mine is my only brother while this was Steph's second brother. (I also have a sis...

Do you ever have one of those moments when you want to shout just to let it out? I’ve never been a shouter or a screamer. I’ve always just been a walker. Instead of shouting it out I would just walk it out…. If I still feel like this in the morning I’m going to walk to work. This is good for so many reasons. I’m off to Italy on Thursday morning and I feel like a Canadian moose. I actually think I might even resemble one right now too. It’s tough being a girl especially when I love food and have a fantastic wardrobe that happens to be about a dress size or 2 smaller than what I actually am. Luckily for me I can loose it quickly enough if I put my mind to it. Back to walking, it’s also a fantastic time to think. One of the things I need to decide is, when am I getting back on to my yellow brick road. (The Camino de Santiago) I want to do the whole thing again. Originally when I walked it the first time I told myself that I should do this every 10 years. I thought that sounde...