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Tag:

pandemic

Travel

A Tale of Two Christmases

by belinda January 3, 2021

We’ve been in The Netherlands for over a week now and I’ve spent much of it decompressing. Undergoing a release from the most intensely stressful few days before we actually arrived here. Remember when I wrote this? Well, that was nothing. Covid yanked the pressure switch up a notch, for everyone around the world really, but the timing was such that the switch got yanked just around our departure date.

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January 3, 2021 5 comments
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Writing

Ruin is a Gift

by belinda July 30, 2020

It’s not like I haven’t been writing, because I have. Just not here.

Little poems have come to me in fragments, repeating sentences in my brain like a bird knocking on the inside of my head, desperate to be let out. They aren’t necessarily good poems but the good thing about my current stage of life is that I’ve started to care a bit less. I still seek affirmation, but that is now infused with a healthy dose of not trying to please absolutely everybody, all of the time. This feels intensely liberating.

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July 30, 2020 0 comment
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Family

Corona Guilt

by belinda May 19, 2020

I’d like to talk about a feeling that is quite difficult to articulate, so forgive any rambling while I get there. My brain is not firing on all cylinders lately, and so finding the words is harder. It takes longer. This is hugely frustrating for a writer. Or any creative really. I feel a bit useless.

Like when someone designs a teapot, an item which is meant to make and pour your tea. But then when you try and actually pour the tea out, the spout doesn’t work properly, so the hot tea goes everywhere but where it’s supposed to go – in the cup. Your hands are burnt from the hot water and it’s a huge frustrating mess. Because what is the point of a teapot that doesn’t make tea properly? I’m that teapot at the moment.

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May 19, 2020 5 comments
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Writing

Birds on a Wire

by belinda May 3, 2020

So many feelings, but so difficult to express them. They sit bundled up beneath her skin, like flies trapped against a window. Like a tangle of white cords, with nowhere to plug into. Is this how non-writers feel? What do they do with these feelings, if they don’t write them down? Do they disappear back into the body, like a pimple that isn’t popped? Poison sent back down into the self again, because the carrier does not have the means to release it.

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May 3, 2020 2 comments
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Writing

Grieving Lost Things

by belinda April 14, 2020

It feels like we’ve reached a phase in this pandemic where we have nothing much to say to each other. We started out all cocky and optimistic – things were a novelty. Let’s bake guys! Let’s exercise! Help others! Share memes! But with the end of the long Easter weekend, everything just feels extremely…meh.

We’re starting to get on each others’ nerves. We’ve watched all the things we wanted to. Read all our good books. Work may be trickling in, or not at all, and we’re starting to worry about what the future holds. And then enter home schooling, which began for me today, bringing with it a whole other set of frustrations and challenges.

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April 14, 2020 10 comments
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About Me

About Me

Belinda Mountain

Writer. Blogger. Overthinker.
Likes to eat/read/exercise.
Asks good questions.
Cannot tell a lie.
South African currently in The Netherlands.
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Instagram Corner

belindamountain

Home schooling & lockdown totally kicked my ass th Home schooling & lockdown totally kicked my ass this week (limping over the finish line here). But the sun is shining and the sky is blue. And the PM here says it is their “highest priority” that primary schools go back on 8 February - so we live in hope.
I’ve been wanting this book of poems by @katejba I’ve been wanting this book of poems by @katejbaer since it was released last year but could never find stock in South Africa - really excited to finally get my hands on this🙌🏻. Poetry is having a renaissance lately, from the inspiring words of Amanda Gorman at the recent US inauguration to poetry simply being shared more increasingly on social media these days. I read an article saying how during this pandemic, “poems are springing up like daffodils”. In difficult times, it seems humans rely even more on the redemptive power of art (if you’re a reader, I also recommend following @baerbooks for Kate’s great book recommendations📚) #poetry #whatkindofwoman
I think it’s fair to say that we’re all strugg I think it’s fair to say that we’re all struggling a bit right now, even those who are lucky enough to have not suffered severe losses due to this pandemic💔. If our lives used to be these whole juicy oranges, a solid & comforting sphere in our hands, they’re now full of gaps. There are so many missing segments. Maybe it’s the segment that was time with your best friends, you know those catch ups where they nod along at everything you say & tell you your hair looks great? Maybe it’s the segment that was traveling to a new place, the thrill of discovery, the wonder of something new? Maybe it was simply laughing (in person) with a colleague about something that happened that day. Or just an hour to yourself, for reflection & rest. We’re all incomplete oranges right now. We’re all feeling pap. So don’t beat yourself up if your life doesn’t feel juicy. It’s not a full life right now and this is so much bigger then we think. One day we’ll be a bit more like this orange again. One day we’ll be a bit more whole. Until then though, get your vitamin C & go eat some fruit😊🍊
A dreary day weather-wise, so this beautiful produ A dreary day weather-wise, so this beautiful produce is cheering me up (I didn’t realize that the Dutch are the 2nd largest food exporter in the world & are known for their innovative agricultural techniques). I plan to eat everything.
A poem about what I can see from my bed right now A poem about what I can see from my bed right now (yes I know I need to get up😆), but also a poem about colour & country. #poetry
Overexcited Saffers in snow! First time for the ki Overexcited Saffers in snow! First time for the kids❄️ #snow #thehague
“So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay “So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.” (The Fault in our Stars)
Bright eyed & bushy tailed. #haagsebos Bright eyed & bushy tailed. #haagsebos
New yellow raincoat to counteract the grey 💛. I New yellow raincoat to counteract the grey 💛. Is it frivolous that I miss my clothes? (& my books). I can’t help it, they’re like my friends 😆. I packed spectacularly badly & only have 3 pairs of jeans, 2 jerseys & some exercise gear. Everything else is on the ship & will probably get here in March/April. Meh, at least I am warm & dry 🌧
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Popular Posts

  • Pesso wedges Win R2000 with Pesso Shoes posted on February 7, 2020
  • We Need to Stop Making Things Easy for our Kids posted on January 29, 2020
  • Grieving Lost Things posted on April 14, 2020
  • Our Age Shouldn’t Limit Us posted on March 4, 2020
  • The Light Years & the ‘Beautiful Awful’ posted on October 9, 2019

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Recent Posts

  • Biking, Farting & Lighting: 3 Weeks in The Netherlands

    January 15, 2021
  • A Tale of Two Christmases

    January 3, 2021
  • Moving Countries (as a Feeler)

    December 2, 2020

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