9: The stresses and challenges of moving out of a housesit and what I’ve learnt over time.

8: I talk about how much I love watermelons and whether I should name my staff.

6: I talk about what I did with a creative burst of energy when I couldn’t record my podcast.

5: A bit more detail about my housesitting life including streamlining, decadent spa hotels, kind sweet folk and hanging out with pugs.

4: Stories, information and ideas about my adventures as a housesitter.

You know, there’s something about dancing around flowers which makes my soul shine so bright. Everywhere I looked colour was there dancing back. A really joyous moment. I feel peaceful, happy, strong and open inside.

3: This may well be the beginning of my marching band career : )

In order to get decent internet, we may have gone to a weird ass cafe in a snow dome, we may have had to drink this green matcha latte (it tastes as good as it looks 😫), but having steady flowing internet is worth the sacrifice. Celebrate your speedy connections people!!!!

2: I talk about how I’ve learnt to appreciate the art of decluttering.

I read that when a Siamese cat looks into your eyes, you can see the love they have for your radiating out of them. I felt that today. It felt good.

Dinner time.

Another catto lives here too but he’s so elusive I’ve only just managed to get a photo of him now. Fetch the wanderer and Spooks my little imp fren.

A mischievous pixie being an absolute cute pest.

My incredible dancefloor.

Bright flowers I danced with today.

1: I’ve done it. Hooray. I’ve recorded my first podcast. Full of colour, a bit of history, a dance story, a catto. I enjoyed it very much.

I’ve been a bit lax lately. Been eating more sugar. More dairy. Quite a few ice-creams. I can feel the results. The biggest thing is a sore foot. It has left me not wanting to walk much the last few days. It’s inflamed. Alarm bells are going off. I need to fix this. And fast. I instinctively know it’s because I’ve been eating more junk. My diet has slipped.

Luckily it’s easily rectified. Thank goodness. It just requires willpower. So no treats this week. And wonderfully my body doesn’t want them. It’s been easy to say no to the vast selection of yummies in the supermarket. I’ve had so much decadence recently that I’m actually bored of it. No one ever thought that was going to happen. No one ever thought I’d be excited to eat porridge for breakfast. In the summer. Oh yeah.

There’s something else though about this pain. And my emotional state. There’s definitely a link. I’m exploring it.

I’m so excited to be in this new housesit. It has got so much SPACE. I’m in heaven. No clutter here. No hoarding. No mess. No trinkets. Nothing extra to the essentials. Just wide corridors, big rooms and well made furniture. Peace and calm. A place to give my brain a rest from other people’s stuff and get some clarity.

Last night I danced in a deliciously huge conservatory. I started on a yoga mat, kneeling down and practised some belly dance moves from there. It worked surprisingly well. Lots of hip slides. Knees got a workout too. I was still wary of my foot pain. In the end though the music took me and off I went soaring upwards onto my feet. The foot pain disappeared as I shimmied and sailed around the room. Lots of hip thrusts and leg lifts along the way. Arm stretches too. Since my recent sea swimming expeditions, my arms have gotten stronger and they very much want to be included in the dance mix.

So all of a sudden no more foot pain. Interesting. Music took me beyond pain. Into a realm a liberation and ease. And fun. When I dance, pain disappears. I’m happy. I feel connected to something bigger than me. I want to celebrate. I want to move. The layers of music build me. Bind me. Hug me. Hold me. Melodies and beats engage me. Make me vibrant. I’m in tune. I feel elated and powered and free. I awaken a bit more. I’m in love.

So when pain enters into me, I feel it’s because I’m not totally happy. Life is feeling like a struggle and my emotional pain manifests in different parts of me as physical symptoms. As traumas. In the past these emotional parts of me have manifested as migraines, a stiff neck, an eye twitch, throbbing body aches and pains (lumbar region especially) or a sore foot.

Dancing is a way to shake out all this emotional build up. I release fear and stress. I whoosh away the cobwebs of anxiety and worry. I energise myself away from boredom and lethargy. By moving to my favourite kind of music I keep remembering to be grateful for every opportunity I’ve been gifted and every positive idea I have.

I adore Estiva’s album Spectacle. Rainbow is a super happy sparkly shiny track.

The coolest looking thing I’ve seen all day (except for a catto with bright blue eyes anyway).

This is pretty much my dream come true. Holding and loving a sweet Siamese catto. The same kind of catto I grew up with. Amy was my partner in shine throughout childhood. She’s in his eyes, in his demanding meow, in his cheeky monkey spirit. I’m feeling so very hap.

What a beautiful catto you are.

This is Spooks. I’m totally smitten. I’m currently playing As the World Falls Down by David Bowie to him on the harp. Softly. The Prince needs his rest. 😻

Got taken out to dinner tonight by our new housesit family. What a super generous couple they are. I ended the evening with a snuggly cuddle with catto ‘Spooks’ having drunk a Butterscotch Espresso Martini. I totally melted when he looked into my eyes. Can it get any better?! 😻

Selby Power Station. The biggest one in England. Once a huge smokey blot up North. Now a forward thinking biomass production facility. Good work Selby. Love the nature around here too. And the juxtaposition it has with industry.

My last walk in York for a while. Old and new. Our car of blue. Ancient walls. Bye bye York. See you again soon I hope.