Welcome to justthoughtsnstuff

I started posting to jtns on 20 February 2010 with just one word, 'Mosaic'. This seemed an appropriate introduction to a blog that would juxtapose fragments of memoir and life-writing. Since 1996, I'd been coming to terms with the consequences of emotional and economic abuse that had begun in childhood, and which, amongst other things, had sought to stifle self-expression. While I'd explored some aspects of my life through fiction and, to a lesser extent, journalism, it was only in 2010 that I felt confident enough to write openly about myself. I believed this was an important part of the healing process. Yet within weeks, the final scenes of my family's fifty-year nightmare started to play themselves out and the purpose of the blog became one of survival through writing. Although some posts are about my family's suffering - most explicitly, Life-Writing Talk, with Reference to Trust: A family story - the majority are about happier subjects (including, Bampton in rural west Oxfordshire, where I live, Oxford, where I work, the seasons and the countryside, walking and cycling) and I hope that these, together with their accompanying photos, are enjoyable and positive. Note: In February 2020, on jtns' tenth birthday, I stopped posting to this blog. It is now a contained work of life-writing about ten years of my life. Frank, 21 February 2020.

New blog: morethoughtsnstuff.com.

Sunday, 5 February 2012

snow, saunter, wander, walk, catching up



















The snow came as forecast yesterday afternoon. Today it looked pretty before near enough melting away by evening. The sky was overcast and the landscape seemed smoky for most of the day. The sun burst through briefly at about three.

Tufty loved the snow, including a saunter along the freshly whitened pavements to the Horse Shoe last night and a wander round the village at about midnight. We all had a great walk this morning.

The hazel catkins in the Millennium Wood, shown above, emerged during the warm spell in mid January. Some appear to have been burnt by the cold but most look alright. Meanwhile the recent frosts have helped to break down the ground on the allotment. Only some chard and beetroot remain to be harvested--though the spuds, onions and challottes in store are holding up.

Felt exhausted yesterday afternoon and at times today. I think the reality of the last couple of weeks is catching up with me.

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