Free at last!!!

So... I quit my job!!! Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Honestly, I can't tell you the liberation! And actually the prospect of frugal - and more mindful - living is kind of exciting me too.

Why I'm pleased:
Not having to do the 9-5 grind, not having 'an office'. Not having all those associated office politics (of which there were A LOT in my place). Not having to travel on trains and buses for hours and hours to get there to do something I don't even really enjoy.

Focusing on my family, creative pursuits - knitting, drawing, playing, learning - just living life at a more local level, a slower pace. Yes, I'll still be doing the lecturing, with it's associated piles of marking etc. but that's something I can control. I can choose which days I want to work. I can choose how many hours I want to take on. I can take on more one term, less the next. And if I run out of money I have to be creative about where I find some more.

I'm thrilled!!

Picture by Picasso, which I'm thinking of having as a tattoo to mark this occasion!

Lovely words

Isn't this a beautiful print by artist Lara Harwood? I love words that make me smile and this print is inspired by the word 'gaudiloquent', which means 'speaking joyfully or on joyful matters'. It makes me feel joyous, just looking at it. It's from a brilliant exhibition called 'The Art of Lost Words' , which showcases design, typography and illustration inspired by forgotten words.

My friend Alison and I used to look up new words in the dictionary when we were at school, and we'd deliberately try to fit them into conversation, or into our homework. My favourite words at the moment are 'thrilling' and 'darling' (as in, 'isn't this a darling teapot?' - more on teapots tomorrow) and I shall try and squeeze them into conversation/writing as much as I can. I think they're ever so 1920's. Lovely words make me happy. What's your favourite word?