I thought that as work has been a tad consuming I would record it.
Google defines commute as: to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb to a city and back again. My commute is from a seaside town to a larger market town, it takes 2 hours a day and I do it at least 5 days a week so I think it is a commute, albeit a more rural one.
It was one of the factors that I was most concerned about when I went for this job and to my utter surprise it has been a positive.
Fairly early on when I was researching how to get to work in the quickest and cheapest way I discovered that my bus company will let you become a mega-rider.
Well, now, i'm a mega-rider.
Other people don't know that i'm not a mega-rider of extreme roller-coasters; or of Shadowfax, Gandalf's pony; or a supercharged honda motorbike in racing neon yellow...
So for half the cost of the petrol, nearly door-to-door and, the most important bit, someone else driving, I knew I had to give it a go.
I don't mind driving, I love a road trip, but I don't love it as I used to.
I confess to snobbery, me-being bus-folk? It's not as mad as the tube, it's not as sleek and fast like the train. It's a bit doddery in comparison.
Oh my, but I was evangelical about it after my first few trips.
It's always a double-decker so I can look out over this countryside that I adore.
No-one talks to me, well, maybe sometimes, but the first rule of bus-club is that you never discuss bus-club or at least acknowledge anyone else.
Now don't get me wrong, I love a natter, I love nearly everyone I know, but I am super happy in my own company and with a job where you work with people, serving people and a family at home, you often have to wait for lights out for peace and quiet (and even then Ali knows when I am still awake in the dark). So 2 hours of uninterrupted time is not to be sniffed at.
I listen to podcasts; Paperclipping Roundtable, Elise Gets Crafty, The History Of English, The News Quiz (I do confess to laughing out loud once or twice at Jeremy Hardy this series, ah well, us bus-folk). I listen to music, some of my all time faves and some new stuff.
I read; fiction, work stuff, blogs. I write; blog posts (that I never get round to posting), wish-lists, never-ending next steps.
Probably twice a week I just gaze out of the window, especially if I have a front seat, and watch the scenery and how it is changing.
The A39 at Hidden Valley
So now if I am working a shift I drive, as the bus doesn't quite go early enough or late enough for me to be certain I would catch it. I drive up over the hills which takes me over the highest point in north devon, I can see Exmoor in one direction and just about to Cornwall down over the Taw & Torridge Estuaries in the other and the rest of north devon in between. I love that and often stop up there for a few moments.
Top of North Devon, Fullabrook Wind Farm overlooking the Taw & Torridge Estuary towards Cornwall (June 2013)
The Taw Estuary from the top deck of the bus
If I am on my default shift though I catch the bus, I wander (or rush, depending whether I have paid attention to the time, through the churchyard down to the bus stop and then at the other end I am two minutes from the shop. It goes every 15 minutes through the day and 30 mins in the morning and evening. Love it.
The stunning cherry blossom in the churchyard
I loved the swirls I used on my last layout and this time I decided I would stitch one, so I used the eclips to hatch cut rather than solid line cut and I was pleased with the result. Although I would cut smaller holes for the stitches next time. More paper from the Sprinkled With Love collection from Allison Kreft and the vellum and cork hearts are Studio Calico. I stitched beads on which I have seen my teamie Sue do in the past. I am not done with the swirls, there is one more to show you!
and Maria, I know Shadowfax isn't really a pony.
Thanks for coming by.