The last 6 months in a blog post. Well. Everything has changed.
Except for the reliable cat flatmates I share with.
Thank goodness for these guys. Tom is still ensconced. We had a power struggle during the lockdown. He started to think he was the boss of me!
I felt bad for him so he’s back, but a bit humbler. Not stealing the couch from me so much or demanding that I get up every time I sit down.
Mind you working from home is a double edged sword. I don’t sleep very well at night and if I have a bad day at the office I have nowhere to go. I have started running though. And Pilates twice a week with Ann Dempsey. And Dance class with Cayisha Graham on Wednesdays. And I am now able to eat a decent dinner every night if I want to. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who has cleaned their whole apartment, experimented in the kitchen and turned their kitchen floor into a dancefloor.
The cats are very patient with me, they used to get breakfast between 7 and 9. Now it might be 12 noon. However Queenie has taken to loudly announcing her hunger on my Mam’s windowsill next door.
Put your paws in the airSnuggle like you just don’t careYou can’t leave without me.Surprise! Queenie is rarely home these days. But I open the window around 6 am and usually wake up to one of the boys at my feet. Normally Brownie who is quite possessive but occasionally Tom. Queenie is overdue a visit soon.
Since the lockdown started we’ve had the joy of home grooming and it hasn’t been easy. Brownie and Queenie have been very patient.
I think they are getting used to us being home all the time but I’m starting to get itchy feet….
Tom is after moving in – who would have thought it a couple of years ago!!!!
But we have a new neighbour – Sophie the puppy and she is anathema to poor Tom’s senior peace of mind so he’s currently snuggled up beside me as a regular guest on the couch.
Brownie and Queenie are as adorable and naughty as ever as ever as you can see. Queenie by name and by nature. Brownie missed me a lot and has taken to checking on me in the middle of the night!
Here’s a rare shot of all three this morning. It’s hard enough to get Sophie to stand still but you can see below she’s a fine dog. A lab and collie cross. Some fun on the lead! I am composing a poem about her antics in my head atm….
So it’s been a busy few months in Sarahland. I moved teaching jobs twice in the summer.
The great news is that I found an amazing Homeopath and I am really starting to feel more energetic and healthier than ever with my new diet and remedies. I have made more time for exercise and Reiki in my life too and I had the exceptional experience of working with my two amazing Reiki master friends Janey of Sage and Seer healing, based in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo and Claire Hannon who is based in her healing centre in the Canary Islands. I can’t wait to do more with these beautiful souls in the near future. Every encounter is magical. Check out Janey’s instagram here:
I have finally been making progress on 11 Poems (my next book) too. I am taking pre-orders now and there are ways you can support too as you see below.
I also took a well-needed break from work and went to Ibiza to relax and enjoy the sun and music. This was. really big deal for me as previously I could not leave the house alone, never mind the country. I was terrified of ending up back in hospital as a dreadful pain episode was a hard thing to predict and manage. So I got to travel alone, rest and relax, make new friends, practice my Spanish, write a few new poems and found a couple of new collaborators on the way, too.
As well as the new book coming soon; I also have a few recordings in the pipeline with a drum and bass outfit called WOB – check out their amazing work here –
Wob often work with the gorgeous Dubh Lee and you should check her solo stuff out too.
one of my new poems is going to be on the new e.p. coming out soon. Link to follow….
Secondly with the amazingly talented Brazilian trap rappers Guillherme and his brother on their upcoming single Fox; my poem is going to be on the intro to the song! Eeek I am so excited already!
Here’s a link to their latest work:
I have another surprise or two up my sleeve too – when the time comes all will be revealed!
Exciting times ahead no doubt!!
So if you want to collaborate or just order a book or even buy one of the current ones here’s what you can do:
If you donate to the publication of my new book ☆11 Poems☆ you get…
€100: Book 1&2 & 45 min free coaching sesh on how to use journaling and poetry to free your soul and heal yourself.
€85: Book 1&2 & Tarot card reading on self empowerment.
€75: Book 1&2 & 1 hour distance Reiki
€50: Book 1 or 2 & Bespoke poem written just for you by me
€30: Book 1 or 2 & Angel card reading via WhatsApp or Instagram
€25: Book 1 & stickers
€20: Stickers
€15: Stickers
€10: Thank you
€5: Thank you
If you just want to pre-order a book it’s €25 euros.
I’ve been eyeing the WordPress app on my phone for weeks. This has been a busy winter. Way busier than anticipated. I have been working hard at my other career – teaching – and I’m happy to say that I’m getting used to the routine – or lack of it, considering I still have no actual place to call home. I am taking a much needed rest this weekend and the kitties and I are relishing some quality time together. The vet told me that I’d have to groom them every single day and that’s the only way to keep the mats at bay. At least once a day. I feel so guilty but at the moment that’s simply not possible. I can only do my best.
I’ve moved up on the housing list, but it’s still a ways to go. I wonder how they will cope with going from being country cats to living indoors only? I wouldn’t even consider moving them until I have my own postal address and key. I don’t think Brownie would mind that much, but I’d feel awful if anything happened to them outside in the city and I don’t think Queenie would tolerate being indoor-only. Although she might surprise me, if she was faced with a life of fancy food, beds, litter boxes and twice-daily grooming!
Little Ruby told me the other day that she thought Gandalf was ‘probably dead by now’ – such candour and stoic wisdom always to be found in the mouths of the young. She is 9 now and she had already forgotten Gandalf’s name. I still find it hard to believe it’s nearly two years since he went missing. I got a lump in my throat when I went to collect Ruby from school the other day; it brought back memories of searching the neighbourhood for his furry self.
Ironically that cat-hunt led me to the man who introduced me to the HAP Homeless services. It’s been an arduous and thankless task trying to find a safe, clean place to rest my bones at night in the city but at least there are some agencies purporting to help. A lot of landlords it seems, are not willing to register their premises with the PRTB as a lot of them are not paying taxes. I’ve tried more or less everything I could think of and staying positive is top of the list, though not always easy, especially when I am constantly having to monitor my behaviour to fit in with other people’s expectations in their space, constantly exhausted and anxiety has become almost a way of life. Next week I am going to visit a city councillor who helped a friend of mine before, my friend was homeless for a while and this guy helped me sort himself out with a place.
I would be lost without my friend, he’s just been a lifesaver, helping me as much as or more than an angel could, but this situation simply can’t go on. My health is suffering too now due to the ongoing situation, much as I hate to admit it.
I swear when I am homed and housed, I will help as many people as I can, many others are in this situation. I try to give something to charity every month, even just 20 euro. Whether it be mental health, homeless services or animal shelters – the poor furries who have been dumped or made homeless due to landlord’s demands is absolutely heartbreaking. I have performed at many charity events around the city for the disenfranchised and voiceless.
Next weekend there is a march / demonstration in the city to demand proper attention is brought to this ongoing both tragic and disgraceful issue of the lack accommodation in the city by the powers that be. Walking around and seeing these fancy new ‘student-only’ accommodation blocks is actually chilling. It makes me think of 1984. Get people into institutions, keep them fit and healthy going to the gym, not partying, and definitely not thinking for themselves. Is this a build-up to a new war? I really hope the new level of awareness that the internet has brought around can at least give us a semblence of balance otherwise us poets will have to go deeper underground. I still believe the revolution must be peaceful, in spite of – or because of the current status quo. And I still believe it starts within, so that’s why today, it’s time for me to rest and recuperate after several crazy weeks and to count my blessings, which are many, and about to expand beyond happiness into blissful joy!
In spite of what may seem as pessimistic thoughts, I really do work with the Law of Attraction. I believe in better things. However, I take no creed without keeping an open mind, and that tells me to not ignore the current reality, despite what many teachers or proponents might say. If I don’t acknowledge what is, that is not acceptable, then how can I start to make it better, or change it, for the better??!
Answers on a postcard, always expanding my knowledge…enjoying debate and questioning….peace out :0)
We can’t wipe people out of our lives
Just cos we feel bad about a thing they said or did
Without examining our own consciences, triggers and secret sensitivities
Subconscious, semi yes I said semi
Consciousness has a lot to answer for
Forgive as much as you can
Retreat to heal like a cat
Protect your self space
By all means
But don’t hide
Talk it through
Trust your gut
Your heart your soul your thoughts
But don’t let them control you
Trust your ancestors for help but don’t project your intuition outside
You are an essential cog of the universe just like everyone and everything else
We all belong together
Love is the only cure
Unconditional as possible
But we are only human.
And forgiveness is incomplete
Like compassion
If it does not include ourselves….
As usual in the morning when I open the door Queenie runs up mewling and chirruping a greeting; stands on my feet to hug me with her little furry forelegs and until I sit down she is climbing me. Not afraid of being picked up at all; she’d climb me like a ladder if her claws were not so sharp. She usually behaves like this when she’s been out all night. Now she’s in a purring ball on my knees. I am not complaining as it’s bitterly cold and my knees ache!
I am glad the snow came finally though as now there’s a reason for the cold.
Brownie came running in too but he’s less interested in being petted than turning my yoga mat into his play zone and now wash area. There’s a ray of sunshine stretching from the bedroom window towards him so he’s happy enough at my feet.
❤ ❤ ❤
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