Give up or hold on?

Just when I thought I wouldn't have the slightest chance. Just when I thought I should just give it all up. Just when I thought my husband was only trying to be kind giving me all the encouragement. Just when I thought I wouldn't have it. Then it came....a new job!!!!

Do Animals Grieve for their Dead?

It was Tuesday. Jim and I were walking down Prince of Wales Road. He came to Norwich to have lunch with me. We were walking past an old building when I saw three grey pigeons sheltered under a window ledge at the side of the building. The one right in the middle was dying. Jim and I stopped walking and looked at them. It seemed that the two pigeons were protecting the weak pigeon – from the cold or from predators, I wouldn’t know. But they were there. Then Jim and I proceeded to have lunch. On the way back to where I work, we saw the weak pigeon on its own. Dead. One of the two pigeons were a few feet away and it looked like it was mourning. Eyes closed and head bowed to its chest. It looked grieving. It looked sad. The other was nowhere in sight. This made me wonder - do animals grieve for their dead? I think they do. A few days ago, I watched a film called ‘March of the Penguins.’ Amazingly, penguins behave like human beings when caring for their young. Due to the cold weather in the Antarctic, most of their young do not survive. When one passes away, the mother grieves for it. It cries and stays with the body as if still hoping it’ll come back to life. Not too long ago, I read something in the paper about a gold fish trying to comfort another gold fish that was dying. The writer described how it stayed until the dying gold fish was finally dead. Do they have feelings as well? Do they know how to get sad? I always observe how animals behave and when I was watching ‘March of the Penguins,’ I realized one thing – that animals do not go against their nature. They just do what they are here for – mothers care for their young and fathers provide for them. As with the Penguins, fathers and mothers are monogamous – at least for a year – until it is time for them to part ways again. The father cares for the chick penguin when the mother goes away to find food. I like how they seem to show love to each other when they reunite after a few months hunting for food in the sea. I was in awe how they protect each other and how they know that together - they survive, but divided - they all die. It’s amazing that even animals know how to love…and know the importance of family and togetherness. …and yes, I do believe they grieve for their dead. PS: I did not take a photograph of the pigeons as I know you wouldn’t like it...because it was such a pitiful sight.

I'm awestruck

There's really nothing to write about. I just want to post this lovely photograph of Big Ben. I really admire the intricate structural design of the building and this huge clock. When Jim and I went to London and I saw it for the first time, I just stood there, awestruck. I just want to look at it. It's beautiful.

When my husband goes to the kitchen...

Jim is a loving husband. When he is on his night off, he makes it a point to do something special for me. He tries to take my mind off from homesickness and worrying. Last Wednesday, he took me to dinner in a nice restaurant, which is unusual because he had to go to work at 8 p.m. and we were still in Norwich at 6:30 p.m. I was thinking this came about because I wasn't feeling very well the previous night. It was only a simple backache and it was gone in the morning but Jim, because of his loving nature, always tries to make me feel better. He thinks that sometimes I have these aches and pains because I am fed up with the everyday routine or I miss home or I miss my family. Somehow, he correlates what I am physically feeling to homesickness.

On Friday night, he cooked something special for me. Cottage pie. I watched him as he prepared all the ingredients. Onions. Carrots. Tomatoes. Beef stock cubes. Seasonings. Lots of ground black pepper. He said the more the seasoning, the tastier. Instead of using minced beef, he opted to minced vegetable meat which I prefer as well. I helped him slice the carrots then left him in the kitchen. I was in front of my computer the whole time. Then he came and told me that the cottage pie is now in the oven. I didn't know exactly how much time we waited for it to cook but he asked me to take it out of the oven. So, I went back to the kitchen. Uhhhmmm, it smelled really tasty, really good...and then my eyes widened in horror! Oh my God! What happened to my kitchen??? It was in complete disarray! Everything all over the place! It looked like cookie monster came and opened all the cupboards and threw everything all over! Breathe in. Breathe out. Cottage pie. Cottage pie. Clean up later. Just enjoy the cottage pie. I took the cottage pie out. It smelled really good. It needed a little bit more time in the oven. After awhile, we were sat at the dining table, enjoying the sumptuous cottage pie. Hhhhhmmmm. Yummy. I momentarily forgot the whole world.

My kitchen just before the invasion

My kitchen after the chaos


After having dinner, I was sat there, quiet. I looked at Jim and uttered a prayer of thanks. Thank you, dear Lord. For a very loving husband like Jim. For my happy marriage. Oh yes, for the cottage pie. And for something to keep me busy tonight - cleaning up my kitchen. Amen.

Yes, I know, I should have called this entry, 'Jim and the Cottage Pie.'

Lovely Spring!

I am really in awe at the wonders of nature. Although this is my second year in England, it's still such a beautiful experience witnessing the flowers blossoming, the trees growing back their leaves and how the colours are changing. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Absolutely amazing. With my mouth open in amazement, I marvel at nature's beauty.