At Peace

Sundays are often busy days. My church is open for in-person services but is also available live on Zoom as well for those who for whatever reason can’t attend. For several reasons I have been doing the Zoom option, although I did attend some live services in the summer. There’s always a chance to chat to others via Zoom after the service - others who are also at home. I’ve been getting to know some people I’ve never really got to know before. It will be good to one day get to know them more ‘in person’.

I also seem to connect with other friends more on Sundays, either on the phone, FaceTime or on a walk. So it’s a day that’s very church and people focused. Which is good.

A lot of conversations today were about how we were all responding to the new Tier 4 restrictions in light of it happening just before Christmas. Thankfully, although many of us have had to change our plans and are somewhat disappointed, most seemed to accept it and were willing to establish a new and different kind of Christmas. I suspect that for many (maybe not for the most lonely, though), they will look back and realise that they actually very much enjoyed a slower, quieter Christmas in 2020. I wonder if it could even start a trend? I’m always for a more simple celebration.

It was a beautiful sunny day and I timed my walk perfectly this afternoon. I even brought a flask of hot chocolate and a Christmas ‘goodie’ and headed down to the lake. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there. It was VERY muddy after all our rain in recent days! The lake is high and it wouldn’t take much for the river Loddon to overflow its banks. There were a few families around. It seems that during our 3 ‘lockdowns’ that many people have discovered ‘my’ lake! I don’t mind - I will share! Just as this beautiful swan shares! Actually - he had his whole family with him, but I liked this shot just showing him alone. He seems at peace. As am I.

It was a bit breezy and those beautiful clouds were moving fast. The sky became quite dramatic. See Extra photo.

In other news:
I also squeezed in watching more cross-country ski races today. Today’s races were team sprints, in Dresden again, as was yesterday’s. They were very exciting and had somewhat unexpected results! See the video in the above link for a sample of the race!

Sadly, the British Men’s team were doing SO well again (after yesterday’s silver medal) but there was a fall in the semi-final which meant that they didn’t make it through to the finals. It’s a really tight course and there were lots of falls! There’s always a lot of drama in sprint races!