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Patio Weather

Our little baclony came as a great asset this weekend. Belfast was hit with beautiful sunshine. And we didn't have to leave our house to enjoy it.

Although we did, wandering around the streets of the city centre, amongst the shoppers and families who were also enjoying the day.

We stumbled across some live music, as well, as part of a festival put on by the BBC. For two weeks, they are featuring live artists in various venues around the city. What a great way to get to know some local bands...and pubs.

And, around 3:00 in the afternoon, we made it home in time to catch the sun rays off our balcony. Me, with my wine spritzer and D "in his Carlsberg years" bottle of beer.

We sat and we chatted. About things that had been bothering us. About ideas that we wanted to cultivate. About actions that we had not yet put into plans.

And I finally felt better. Was it the sun? Maybe. Was the spritzer? Well, I was relaxed. I think it was mostly him. Being able to sit with him and be really honest about my fears, my disappointments, my frustrations, my worries, my enthusiasm for things that have not started but that I had no control over.

There are so many things I want to do. There are so many wishes that I am having. There are lots of "if onlys". If only I had a computer. If only I had a gym membership. If only I was already working for a publishing company. If only all those media jobs we see in the paper weren't in London. If only.

But I felt much better because I was reminded why we chose Belfast. It's smaller. It has a many different kinds of companies but not massive amounts of people. It has the sea side not too far off. It has beautiful hills. It has friendly people. It's new.

This is important. IT IS NEW. Anything new will be an experience - whether good or bad. Things are working out differntly then they did when I arrived in Leeds but they should. I'm a different person, in a different head space. And this is a different city, chosen for different reasons.

I'm so glad I have someone like D to remind me. I'm so glad after all these years, we still have the best conversations, 'good talks', as he likes to say.

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