OK, so I’ve got to admit. Today’s source of gratitude stems from a little well-spring of concern.

Nothing crazy… nothing like the time I found my dad scouring the roadside ditches, wondering if I’d gotten hit my a car or anything… but a bit of (normal, rational) concern.

Today will be another bit of a “double whammy”, as there are a couple of things that I’m grateful for.

The first … is growing out in my garden here in France.

The second … has been “germinating” over the past couple years and the first “leaves” are just emerging today, from a garden in Florissant, Missouri…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…

Declaring income tax in one country is bad enough.

Having to declare in two countries is a nightmare and not without anxiety.

Today’s gratitude is rooted in the other side of the field, behind our house.

I’ve mentioned our various neighbours before, but our relationship with these neighbours is a bit more recent. It’s only been the past 2-3 years (since the confinement) that we’ve gotten to know them a bit more.

It doesn’t happen all that often that I get random messages completely (seemingly) out of the blue, but in the past week it happened twice; the second time today.

One was a voice from about 30 years ago…
The second from further back still… roughly 40 years.

Let me tell you more…

Today is Pentecost Sunday.

– day from which our churches take their name.
– day that was a turning point in the New Testament.
– day that a traditional religious mould was broken.
… the birth-day of the modern church.

… and we got to experience it again.

As I sit down at the end of the day to look back over the hours of daylight that led up to now, I’m stiff, sore and head-achy.

I spent about 6 hours at the church this afternoon with a bit of a laundry list of things to do that had been on the to-do list.

Let’s jump in…

Temperatures today have meant that once again, as yesterday, it’s more pleasant to be outside, than it is to be inside.

I’m back in the out of doors, listening to an orchestra of birds serenade the neighbourhood. Among them… I just now heard the cuckoo. He’s off in the distance, not close at all… but I hear him.

Before I get to today’s source of gratitude, let me show you the picture I took last night, of the setting sun lighting up the clouds…

Well, I’m ending the day, if not the way it began… the way the early afternoon went.

…on the patio.

The sun has dipped below the horizon, and the clouds to the south of the city are glowing pink, high above the tree tops. Distant sounds of a motorbike heading somewhere momentarily drown out the birdsong.

We regularly hear a cuckoo, but either he’s not around tonight, or it’s still too early. If I hear him before I finish, I’ll let you know… otherwise, let’s begin…

I’m going to start the month of June with a new series of posts, for a couple of reasons…

Firstly, I’ve not been great about posting for quite some time, so I want to jump start things again.

Secondly… I want to take a bit better notice of, and highlight, positive aspects of what’s going on in my/our life.

So… let’s go…