Reverb2011 - What was your most significant expense of 2011?

 

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”

Maya Angelou

Yesterday I really sat up and took notice, of just how wonderful, and full my life is. I am lucky enough to say that the most significant expense or rather expenses of this year, have allowed me to travel a great deal. Near and far I have been, this year, so much more often than is usually possible for me.

Unfortunately all of my photos of this year's adventures are on the other computer, and it is just too late to go upstairs to transfer some onto a memory stick and then come down again and start fiddling around on this dreaded laptop to add them here. No travelling for me tonight.

I have already shared so many of my travel photographs here, they are listed under "photographs" and "holidays."

Don't worry there are more to come for those visitors who enjoy looking at and reading about interesting places. One of my favourite things to do is to share travel stories, information and photographs!

Just to offer an alternative thought, I found this poem "Against Travel".

Against Travel

by

Charles Tomlinson

These days are best when one goes nowhere,

The house a reservoir of quiet change,

The creak of furniture, the window panes

Brushed by the half-rhymes of activities

That do not quite declare what thing it was

Gave rise to them outside. The colours, even,

Accord with the tenor of the day—yes, ‘grey’

You will hear reported of the weather,

But what a grey, in which the tinges hover,

About to catch, although they still hold back

The blaze that's in them should the sun appear,

And yet it does not. Then the window pane

With a tremor of glass acknowledges

The distant boom of a departing plane. 

 

Whilst travel is just one of my favourite things to do, in our busy, busy lives it is good just to stop moving once in a while. One of my other significant expenses has been made, over the past few weeks, when I have treated myself to some art/craft materials and tools.

I remember back in April and May after I was made redundant, I spent whole days just working on an art journal page. I had bought myself some paints, glue and pencils and just dived in.

Glorious days.