On our doorstep

Our family has been on quite a long journey this year, both literally and metaphorically. The road has been pretty rocky for one reason or another, and we still have just a few more steps before we feel like we're really settled again. In a lot of ways I'm grateful for the fact that we've just made it through some testing times, and as previous entries will testify, we are now privileged to live within reach of some fantastic places. However, I can't say I'm always very fair to the immediate area around where we live. It is a looooong way from pretty much anywhere, which means its an even longer way from family and friends. It's also somewhat less attractive than the natural splendour of the scenery up the road. But lately I've realised that I'm not really being fair to the place, not giving it a chance to be lovely because I'm too busy thinking of what it isn't. Here's an example- a Sunday afternoon full of sunshine, and with a ten minute car journey we can fill the hour before tea time playing on a huge clean stretch of sand, surrounded by dunes and overlooked by those magnificent hills. Sometimes you just have to appreciate what's right under your nose.