Tuesday 18 March 2008

Being habby.

First of all I would like to point out that I did not mean to lie yesterday when I put as one of the facts about me that I have seven sisters - I don't, I meant to put that I am one of seven sisters! Maybe from now on I should read through the things I write before posting them? Right, moving on....


All the talk of the sea in that post made me feel the need for a breath of sea air, especially as the sun was shining so brightly. Typically, by the time I had finished working on orders and Isabella was awake from her nap the sun had gently left the sky for a nap of its own, hence the pictures I took are not as vivid as they would have been earlier in the day. Never mind - it was still beautiful to see as the last lingering rays played on the water and Isabella chattered away before we collected Lucy from school.

"I habby," she announced to the world at large, repeating the phrase with the regularity of a toddler pleased with having something new to say. This is the latest in a list of phrases which changes daily and is preceded by such comments as 'not want it, no' when my over-tired little girl feels the need to assert her right to choose (hmm!) and the frequently uttered 'hug me' (pronounced hog me!) whenever she hurts herself, is naughty or knows she has pushed her mummy too far... dear of her.


This latest phrase is the one which has made me think how far she has come in discovering her world. To be habby - or happy for those struggling to understand - is a difficult one to teach; happiness is one of the more ephemeral emotions after all, not tangible in the way that being sad can be as it is so often accompanied by tears or angry if accompanied by a cross voice and matching visage. Though a smile may be worn for habby it is still harder to explain to a child not yet two with limited though rapidly growing speech. Isabella appeared to discover her own habbiness in much the same way as her mother finds it - I handed her a plate over-flowing with cauliflower cheese and carbonara (odd combination I know, but I was desperate for both) and there it was...

" I habby," and she devoured the meal in minutes. Food gave her the key. Bliss. Yesterday it was the sight of the sea that made my water baby habby, again much like her mum and also her dad who is more at home in the water than on land. We drove around a peninsula of land in Falmouth known as Pendennis Point where one of Henry
v111's fortifications sits overlooking the bay and jumped out at various places to explore. The air had grown chill, but it didn't matter as I pointed out St Anthony's lighthouse on the Roseland Pennisula across the harbour opening...





and then looked down at the waves hitting the rocks below first on one side of the Point





and then the other





on toward the seafront where the sun spread its light across the bay like a sheet of foil shimmering as it shook and swirled over the ripples on the surface...




and finally past some determined surfers on Swanpool Beach as we headed back up the hill to Lucy's school.




"Bye boats," Isabella hollered to the ships dotted on the horizon.

"Bye woofs, " to the dogs scampering on the sand.

Glancing in the rear view mirror I could see this little bundle of energy looking sleepy with fresh air, her cheeks coloured by the wind and her hair a mass of windblown curls. Best of all was the look of utter contentment on her chubby face, a look of all being right with her world.

"I habby," she mumbled as she drifted gently to sleep. Me too Isabella, me too....



Have a lovely day x

18 comments:

  1. What a super blog. A truly habby blog.

    For me, right now, habbiness is watching the lambs on the field skipping and hopping in the sunshine.

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  2. How cute is that? I habby today too!

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  3. Oh lordy, that's got me sobbing again.... Just so lovely, lubbly, whatever. And who wouldn't be habby with those views - I could almost smell the sea air.
    Sorry I haven't read blogs for ages, shall try to catch up.
    jxxxxxxx

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  4. Oh that is such a lovely blog, both visually and the words you write.
    I do envy you living by the sea.

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  5. Pipany, you and beautiful Isabella have given me a wonderful start to my day. Thanks to both of you.

    You always seem able to capture an atmosphere that has sun in it, even if clouds might be nearby. Your little girl clearly has this same gift.

    xo

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  6. Fabulous pics, fabulous habby blog. I habby now too.

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  7. And I am extra habby to see the gorgeous Cornish photos. Thanks Pipany.

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  8. Oh and reading your blogs makes me Habby too - even if I do miss my own children and never more so when I am reading The Poltisko Memoirs.

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  9. perfect x
    thank you lovely girls for making me habby today x
    t x

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  10. I habby too reading that blog! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

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  11. Ooh, I think a plate of cauliflower cheese and carbonara might make me habby, too, right now - sounds just the ticket.

    What a gorgeous blog. And how lovely to spend the time as you did with your darling little daughter, simply being habby.

    I know St Antony's - remember visiting a dear little church there once. Wonderful coastline all around, and the fabulous Helford River just across the fields.

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  12. Ooops, read too quickly - you're near Falmouth, so not the same St Antony's at all - sorry.

    Looks lovely, anyhow.

    xx

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  13. You and Isabella have given us all a new word for the day - we'll be a habby bunch for Easter! What a lovely blog!

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  14. Hi Pipany! Love seeing your bit of Cornwall.....I'm just back from walking to Marazion and back, so so cold and windy, you wouldn't want to be there today!! Wait for a warm day when the sun is gleaming on the sand! x

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  15. Coming to your blog full of photos of cornish beaches and days out makes me feel so at home. My dad / step mum / brother have only lived there perhaps 6 or 7 years but i really do feel 'in my element' when i am down there.
    I enjoyed your 'habby' blog, i would also be very habby on the beach with my hair blowing in the wind, no matter how bedraggled it got (i have very long hair) but now i wear a headscarf whenever im out i will never have that feeling again. Its one of the only things i miss! A simple pleasure and one to take for granted, but the feeling is still one of the best ever!

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  16. Sigh.....blue skies and sunshine this morning, so welcome after the grey and windy easter! Have a great week Pipany. xx

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  17. What a fabulous blog pipany. You and Isabella made me smile. Lovely photographs too, thanks for sharing your day.

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  18. Thank you for the beautiful photos of Falmouth Bay. Every year we holiday on the Lizard Peninsular and I can see St Anthony Head from our little beach.It's made my day!

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