Come December 1, everything just kicks up a notch. Suddenly it's parties and catch ups and this december gigs galore as well as a couple of plays!
Dinners and lunches in restaurants to 'catch up before Christmas'.
It's like a month long celebration.
Vorfreude is the joyful feeling you expereince from thinking about future plans.
And it is definitely the season for that!
Then there's Christmas, New Year and Holidays. I for one am LOVING that Sydney now has a Festival Season!
#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week.
Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event. Please link relevant posts only.
Make sure you link back to this #AllSeasons post.
Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run.
For the record, I went so nuts when he did this - I LOVED that show when it came out! And NSFW because he doesn't have a shirt on but nothing pervy - and he swears once.
This is a really rough time for a lot of people. In Australia more than 1 in 3 famillies will rely on charity to get enough food to eat, let along to make it special. This is astounding (and shameful frankly) in such an affluent country (obviously we are not). While not of this solves the overall problem that needs to be addressed, here's a few ways to help if you can.
As we learnt in A Christmas Carol, if nothing else, Christmas is a time to give and remember the less fortunate.
My personal favourite is Wayside Chapel's Give a Plate Christmas appeal. They "urgently need to raise $1,650,000 by 25 December to make sure the vulnerable members of our community are fed and supported this Christmas". Do your bit to make sure no one is alone this Christmas.
Hampers of Hope Addi Road needs to pack over 2000 hampers for families in need. Note businesses can also donate items on this page too. But for most of us, there's a link to help pay for them.
I have been alerted to, but know nothing about The Man's Bag - like the Share the Dignity campaign, you create a bag for men.
Mission Australia has a campaign where they've produced this song - you can donate here.
Food Bank is also running a Christmas appeal - the food bank report is not a good reflection on us, with high numbers of families living with food insecurity. (see details here)
Check your neighbourhood facebook groups as there are always people or shelters asking for stuff. As my freind no longer organises the assisted living campaign that I used to donate to for years, this year when I saw the call out for a shelter for people trying to get over addicition and other issues, I go a box of gifts together for them. Last year I did the same for a different youth homeless shelter. I've just seen an individual in hard times offering to pick up all your cans for the return and earn (I already box mine up for a guy who gets them each week - please don't make people go thru your rubbish - separate them for them).
Lastly, because it is Australia, consider bush fire appeals - for WA there's a whole list here but please verify, I just found it on google. The Red Cross also.
The Sikhs are pretty active in helping the community in lots of ways - definitely a religion that walks the talk when it comes to feeding the poor or helping out in floods and fires. You can donate to Sikh Volunteers Australia or Turbans4Australia (In the 2019 bushfires I was dropping off pasta and canned tomatos to a tea importer wheo took one of his trucks off the road to fill it with donated food items to take to the relief centres to feed all the displaced people and firemen and women - that was my first discovery of Turbans4Australia).
There are devastating floods in our northern neighbours at the moment. A few ways to donate there - and please verify, again just googled. Caritas Australia, IFORCS, BlueDragon (Vietnam).
Christmas is a time for giving, and it's a time to strive to show love, kindness and hospitality to others.
So give what you can, where you can - and if you are really struggling, find the options of help available. There are plenty of food hampers or cheap food bank shopping all over the city.
And just as an aside, from a BP email "Since 2017, bp has proudly partnered with OzHarvest, donating fuel and funding to keep their vans on the road. From 19 November 2025 to 13 January 2026, when you purchase any of the participating products at a bp store,10 cents from every product sold will be donated to OzHarvest."
Feel free to link your favourite charities in the comments.
My dad often recited poetry at random moments, in conversation. It's part of that old English school boy education they had back in the 1950s. A lot of Kipling. But also this one - a line out of a poem from 1829, 'Come into my palour said the Spider to the Fly' by Mary Howitt. To this day it's the first thing that pops into my head when I see a spider. And then the Australian in me says "Is it a Funnel web?" (because they are really the only spiders Australians are scared of). I know that title quote is meant negatively but Dad's poetry is rattling around in my head, and pops out at unexpected times, which now is quite a sweet tie to him, and my childhood. They're not deep and meaningful moments, just part of him that is imprinted in my subconscious, a more daily interaction. Life is not just the big moments, but all moments. And those are easier to celebrate in lots of ways, and later, memorilise.
I do know that in this country, if a spider makes it's web inbetween trees, it's not venemous. (tho people that know about such things, correct me if I'm wrong). It's the ground ones that are dangerous or deadly.
I personally think most spiders are our friends, and they stop us getting malaria....(I know that's an extreme jump but it is sort of true, maybe stop us getting Ross River Fever or just itchy, eating the mosquitos). Australians generally aren't that scared of spiders, or even snakes but the most universally terrifying creature is the magpie in Spring. Every single one of us has a trauma story when we were attacked by a magpie and we couldn't make it stop. (I'm not being funny. It's awful!)
Anyway, this one was so cute, I had to try to get photos. My phone couldn't zoom in enough but still cute!
And the yellow thing in the pics is an inchworm but I didn't realise until after I'd taken all the pictures.
And while looking up a quote for the title, I stumbled across this and it is your thought for the day to ponder "“In a World Wide Web, who are the spiders and who are the flies?” ― Blake Janssen
Back in the the start of November, I asked How early is too early? I was questioning any Christmas decorations could go up before the Melbourne Cup. Seems I am out of touch with the new rules.
The start date of 1 December is no more. The streets in my 'hood are festooned with gardens full of Christmas decorations and lights.
I am currently charging the solar lights ready to hang in the front yard but I will wait untin December.
It's sort of as if everyone is now getting in line with the retailers Christmas season. Or maybe it's a hang over from the Covid lockdowns and we just want to celebrate more.
When do you start decorating?
Add your Xmas themed posts here for #XmasLinky (old or new - but non xmas posts will be deleted). Share the festive cheer!
(Also linking with #WeekendReflection because in the Santa and the Snowman pics you can see the buildings opposite reflected in the windows)
READ I don't know if this is true but it sort of sounds true. I read that sea water resets your nervous system. Cortisol dropped in 32% while the vagusnerve activity spiked in a study where people swam for 8 minutes in the ocean. It mimics the body's 'safety signal', similar to babies being held on their parents chest. Apparently when skin meets seawater, pores release stress metabolites while absorbing certain trace minerals. It's the biochemical unloading that makes you feel 'lighter' after swimming. There is also a study that swimming in cold sea water reduces pain for arthritic patients.- apparently the pressure uniformity compresses the joints evenly. The sea rewires you. I do know I come out of salt water (laps at Boy Charlton pool on a sunny day, or a dip in the surf) feeling invigorated and happier than when I went in.
I'm getting to the end of Booth (books wise) but I'm slow going.
Had a lovely family dinner at Rosso Antico, Newtown
Was back to Lottie with friends in Redfern - the bonus being the whole menu is gluten free so perfect if you have friends with dietry requirements!
The food is delicious and beautifully presented.
WATCHED Been to a few plays - had a good laugh at So Young, I always enjoy Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - my favourite play. Also had fun at Calamity Jane but the winner was Pharlap. So great - if you get a chance to see it, even if you don't like horse racing (like me), it's so much fun. One of my friend's announced "That was the best thing we've seen all year" and when she walked out of a play at interval, she left saying "Well, it's no Pharlap!" so hopefully they bring it back for those that missed it.
Went to Running Man, which is a good remake and If I had legs I'd kick you, which is funny and well done but I found a bit depressing, probably more about me than the film, necessarily.
My themed handbag for Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?
On TV we are enjoying Pluribus, & Down Cemetary road except for the weekly drops. Madly watching the Iris Affair before my cancelled Stan drops out. The Beast in Me was devoured quickly and The Diplomat did not disappoint.
HEARD Parov Stelar has a new album out and it does not disappoint...if only they'd announce a tour here!
Fabbrica in Newtown has a Happy Hour form 3-5pm with $10 Negroinis and other drinks. We had a sensational meal there before Hot Dub.
We shared pastas (so we tried all of them) but lots of little nibbles before hand were individual, so everyone got what they wanted.
WORE Because of the endless saga with my feet, I needed some new shoes (other than sneakers and Birkies) to wear that I could actually be pain free in....Williams, of all places, had a sale and I ordered 5 pairs for the cost of one $$ pair of heels. Tested out the Hello Kitty shoes on the weekend and they worked a treat! So very happy with the price ($30) and the fit.
AND LASTLY Weekend away at Currawong was definitely a highlight, and I'm hoping Steve Aoki at Hypersonic is another one (but Claptone was so disappointing and I'd raved about him to my friends so it was just a dud all round...anyway, I don't want to jinx it!)
I have no idea how we are here already! I feel I just did this. Where did the four weeks go? But when I look at my Insta, it's been jam packed so I guess I've been busy. And time flies when you're having fun, right?
Something I loved I have wanted to see Jeremy Loops for a long time and he finally turned up here again. I bailed on Harbourlife to get to the Hordern for his support set (to Ziggy Alberts). He was wonderful. He even did a bit of looping. He was everything I wanted him to be. It's joyous and clever. He is uplifting. It was just magical. The best part, he's coming back for a full band tour. In June. So watch this space and get tickets when they go on sale. You do not want to miss it!
We also managed to get to Eugene 'Hideaway' Bridges in Cronulla, at Brass Monkey - a great little venue like the old Basement. It was an afternoon gig so we got a group together for lunch so we'd have seats for the show. The food was good (you can by show only or meal and show but there was plenty of choice for the mains). It was a really special afternoon. There was this moment when he gets the venue manager to come and Always with him and I got a little emotional, to the point of tears. My first thought was 'what is going on? This must be some kind of Negroni comedown from the festival weekend' but then I decided 'it's just one of those fleeting special moments that the beauty of live music taps into' so I just revelled in the emotion and then it passed. When I later openned Insta to post my clips, the very first thing I saw was a meme that said "Concerts are where you realise how f&*%ing beautiful it is to be alive in this world." and THAT was what I was feeling. I was so overwhelmed with the beauty of it all, and the fleeting nature and the magic of what was created and we all shared. (Clips of his performance are here).
If you have stopped seeing live music, please give it another go. Even a free pub band, a concert put on in a park, a music school recital. There is something lost in recorded versions, and something lacking when listening at home alone. There's something in sharing it with the crowd and the performer.
Something I learned
My broken feet were becoming too much so I have finally gone to the podiatrist with them. (Well, I can't go without my feet, can I?). He made me bring all the junk I've been buying off the interent to fix them, and my shoes. We tested them out on the computer treadmill and I was honestly surprised at the results. The winners were my Twoobs with the Steppers inner sole...but next was, wait for it....my Converse with the weird ebay gel thing. I thought it was the arch support but it's actually the gel band that holds it in place protects the boney thing on the top of my foot causing the pain....so I can keep wearing my many pairs of Converse for festivals and stop buying more expensive shoes that I then chicken out of wearing if I have 6 or 8 hours of dancing to do....My podaitrist did also say I should keep jumping and going to festivals as that will stop my feet from getting worse....so Doctors orders!
Something that went well I listened to the pay day super webinar, and as we already pay super monthly, it's not going to impact us much at all, except to find a clearing house. So it was worth listening to it so that I feel more confident about what I need to do. My only thing would be for ethe ATO to make compliance 14 days because 7 days is not enough time if the payment bounces back to get it into the right account. This has not happened to me ever but it still worries me that it could happen if an employee changed funds....Even using the ATO clearing house it has taken over 5 days from ehen I transfer the money to them and one Christmas, I put it in 7 days before their shut down date and they didn't transfer the money until Jan. So 14 days would be fairer than 7....as long as the emplyer put the money in on the payday.
The lesson for me is not to worry about something until you have the facts. I was getting quite stressed about all the talk but as I got the facts, I sat there thinking 'oh, we already do that'.
Something I let go of Comments. Or keeping up with the comments. I'm really trying but I'm just chasing my tail at the moment. Sorry. I'm hopeless at the moment. It does weigh on me a bit. I just haven't had time at the weekend to catch up.So I will go and sit in the naughty corner. I do intend to get back to you all over the course of the week but then it just falls apart.
This weekend is my favourite weekend of the year. It's my New Years Eve/New Year's Day as now I rarely go out New Year's Eve but do party at Field Day to bring in the new year.
For the last 4 years I've been at Hot Dub on the Harbour and it's my fifth Harbourlife the next day (the first time I went to Harbourlife, Hot Dub hadn't 'borrowed' the set up. I did notice that Olivia Dean borrowed the set up on the Thursday night so it's becoming a bigger annual tradition...good to see!
For the first time, instead of managing sweltering heat, it rained. Literally rained on my parade.
However, still a good vibe!
Claptone, one of my fav Djs who was so brilliant the first time I saw him was bitterly disappointing but D.O.D saved the day and really was Good Vibes Only!
Danced for 40 kms over the two days and slept a heavy, happy sleep!
It is an annual tradition that I really adore and look forward to.
And it heralds the start of the festival season for me!
(Note this one does have a lot of kissing and he takes his shirt off so I'm not sure if it's suitable for work or not - it's tame but depends on your work rules)
#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week.
Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event. Please link relevant posts only.
Make sure you link back to this #AllSeasons post.
Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run.
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