In the picture

These popped up in my memories and made me smile. They're at the fabulous gallery in Singapore, Art Now. Don't miss it if heading there, it's wonderful.

Their SM seems to have stopped at the end of last year so I'm hoping that doesn't mean it's closed. It was a must visit for me every trip in recent years.

Linking with #WeeklyWonder and #SundayBest

Shibuya Stencil Art

 

While wandering the streets of Shibuya finding all the Toilets in Perfect Days, I came across rare street art in Tokyo. It was commissioned, as a guess as it was stencils of all the famous things in Shibuya. There were many in different colours decorating the white wall, but these were my favourites.

Story of Hachiko here.

Linking with #MuralMondays

More Street art in Shibuya here.

“The very best relationship has a gardener and a flower. The gardener nurtures and the flower blooms.” – Carole Radziwill

Trigger warning on estrangement.

There is a self proclaimed activist on Twitter and I happened to stumble across her post which read 'Feeling heart broken today about being judged, punished and banished by my adult children and grandchildren for the past 5 years [because of my activisim]...I'm standing up for HUMANITY....None of them [Her children] would exist in the form they do without me. The sacrifices mothers make to bring life into the world are sh@t on from a great height' I am keeping it vague and anonymous to protect her but I can't stop thinking about it.

I might be naive, but I can't believe someone would estrange themselves from you just for your political beliefs - they'd tell you to shut up about it when they were around. Or fight with you until you stopped bringing it up in front of them. The only reason they would cut you out of their life is if they or their child is the thing you are protesting against - gay, trans, migrant (I guess it would be one of her kids married a migrant and the grandchild's mother is a migrant). Whatever. If you are that oblivious to your insults and harm you might cause, or that insensitive, then you don't deserve to be around them. Full stop. Like Christians that do the unChristian thing of throwing out their gay child, they not only sin themselves in doing so, but punish them selves by showing their true colours. What kind of parent intentionally hurts their child?  I can not fathom that 'being right' would mean more than being able to love and grow with your family. 

The only other reason is if there is a litany of wrongs in their upbringing and relationship and either this was the final straw or she can't fathom any wrong doing on her part, and is assuming it's the activism. Given the wording of the post, I suspect this may be the case.

I can not stop thinking about the lack of self awareness. She centres herself - She's heart broken about 'being judged, punished and banished'. She is not heart broken about missing 5 years of her kids lives and not having a relationship with her grandchildren, not getting to know them in their formative years. She feels her kids owe her something for being born and the sacrifices she made for them. Not thinking the kids are her prize or most precious things in her life that made her life better because they were born to her. 

If it was me, I would be moving mountains to mend the relationship - and I know that is not always possible, though no fault of the estranged parent. We only get one version to the story, our own, but the wording in hers is telling. 

My advice to her was to get off twitter and do whatever she could to mend the relationships. I was ignored. But I still keep thinking about her. There's a sad, tragic character in a novel there (who am I kidding, in a short story if I'm writing it).  My kiddo moved out of home at 21, luckily lives nearby. I try to give her space as I resented my parents and in laws making visiting an obligation, and I'd never want my kids to feel that way about time spent with me. So we see each other every few weeks and I try not to text too much in the mean time. And that is hard for me. I miss her so much. But 5 years because they felt I'd done something? I'd be devastated and do anything to try and reverse that or build that bridge.

The worst thing in that tweet, was it wasn't really about the kids at all and the loss of relationship. It was to show how great an activist she was to forsake all else for the cause. But to me, it just seemed very sad and damaged. And honestly, nasty.

 “If you tend to a flower, it will bloom, no matter how many weeds surround it.” – Matshona Dhliwayo

So tend your garden at all times.

Please note, I am not saying in all cases it is the parents fault, nor is it the parents job to pander to the adult children at all times. I'm just saying in this case, the wording and presentation seems to be telling a different story, and I am relating only to that.

Linking with #NaturesNotes  #GardenAffair & #FloralFridayFoto just for the photos. #TrafficJamReboot

September Reading

My bookclub is doing The Bookbinder of Jericho. I listened to it, and to be fair it may be the same narrator as Dictionary of Lost Words (which I didn't get into at all) but I was an hour or so in and just thought 'Haven't we already read this book?' It just felt like a do over of the previous book, though of course it's set in a different time. My mum read it for her book and she really enjoyed it, especially as her dad was in WWI so a lot of the stories resonated with what he told her.

I listened to this on BorrowBox.

As an aside, a friend took me to the STC season launch - I thought it was a stupid thing to go to but was being a team player. However, it was really fun and exciting! A few years ago they did a very successful stage adaption of The Dictionary of Lost Words and there was a roaring cheer in the audience when they announced they were doing The Bookbinder of Jericho, so assume it's just me and my criticism is not valid, as I am definitely the odd man out on this book. Sydney people the tickets and dates are here.

This Jerome K. Jerome is a series of essays on life. They are at times hilarious. The one on babies was so funny and insightful - how everyone know the first baby requires so much more attention to look after than the sixth. He touches on love, marriage, work, money and more. At times he had surprisingly feminist views (unless he was being satirical and he thought those opinions ridiculous, but I took them at face value). He seems very modern though quite kooky in his humour. I listened to this on Hoopla.

Three men in a boat reviewed here. Jerome K. Jerome ghost stories here. 

I read this on my phone, borrowed from Hoopla - it's another in the graphic novel series. It's vol 24 but the library only has 3 I can borrow. I enjoyed this one and will try to source more, however, as they take about 45 minutes to read, I'm reluctant to pay the $$ to buy them. I do like that you can get comics online like this, while at times I have to enlarge the pictures to take it all in, which is disruptive a little to the flow, I'm getting a broader range of comics and I always have something to read while waiting, even if I've not carried my book with me (I am a paper reader, not kindle, so there is a downside there). I thought this one was a little better than the first one I read but I did work it out well before the end).

The first in this series I read discussed here.

Back on my Josh Silver crush. He talked about this title at the Writers festival so finally got to it. I think Happy Head is better but I did enjoy this too. A little darker but I felt more menace in Happy Head. So if you haven't read any Josh Silver, start with those. If you have, you won't be disappointed. I listened to it on Audible.

Happy Head discussed here, and Dead Happy discussed here. Josh Silver at the writer's festival.

I don't really know why I thought I wanted to read this. I realised after I started it, I didn't love American Marriage. This is good but I don't love it (nor do I hate it), I'm just sort of rolling through it. It's interesting enough, and there's a few pretty awful segregation stories so far, that we find pretty shocking over here but I guess we ignore our own segregation history as we didn't call it that. Still a bit to go, and it could also be my mood (as I have a lot going on) so I'd go with someone else's review.

Linking with #SundayPost #SundaySalon #StackingtheShelves

Share Four Somethings - September

 

Here we are, back at the end of the month. This year is really flying!

 Something I loved  Having all the family over for a Graduation celebration, and we ended up watching a movie together, at the grad's request. It was like old times, when we all lived in the same house. It was so heartwarming for me. I miss those days. And with just the final exams pending, my baby has finished school. I have NO school children after 21 years of being a school parent.

We went and saw The Shark is Broken - it's very funny and very clever and well done. I had expected it to be a spoof but it's a proper play - if you can still get tickets go. I haven't watched the move in 30 years but it didn't matter - I remembered all the references, so it was really interesting how BIG an impact that film was at the time. It's on in Sydney until the 4th of October and then it heads to Melbourne. Don't miss it! Tickets here (or on TodayTix)

Very late to the party, but Spotify threw me this song. It reminds me of a song I used to listen to in my late teens or 20s but I can't for the life place it. Anyway, I was very disappointed to discover they toured here in January, as I missed it!  I find the dancing infectious!

Something that sustained me More family time with Father's Day - we went to Future Brewing for their pizza that everyone is raving about and it's def worth a visit. In fact we went back for takeaway two week's later! But more to the point, I just love having the kids all together.

Something I'm carrying forward from this month to the next My Sunday afternoon Mah Jong got cancelled but my husband and I played bananagrams in the sunshine instead. We used to play nightly before or after dinner but that's stopped. I'm going to get us back into it, as I realised I'd missed it.

Something I'm making space for Unfortunately, Mum is back in hospital. So back to cancelling plans to make space for looking after people who need me. Life is tricky at times. But making a bit more 'free time' can take the pressure off.

Linking with #ShareFourSomethings #MondayMusicMovesMe and #HappyNow because a few little things here made me very happy!

A moment of peace

It had been a hectic two weeks of travel, jammed packed with magnificent activities and experiences. I loved every minute and I really loved being able to travel at my own pace, instead of slowing things down to accommodate everyone's needs.

I had time, however, before heading to the airport to stop for a final cup of tea in Tokyo at the coffee shop, Shibrewya, in the base of the Hotel Indigo, Shibuya. 

I gazed aimless less at the cherry blossom tree shadows - and then realised they were painted on.

A gorgeous piece of street art right before my eyes that I'd passed many times but been too busy to notice.

It's funny that in one of the busiest parts of Tokyo, the biggest city on my trip, I found the quietest and most peaceful moment, proving I guess that we bring most of the energy to an experience with us.

"The day is always full of miracles if you have the eyes to see them" Paul Coelho

Linking with #WordlessWednesday #KeithsRamblings #TforTuesday #MuralMondays #SundayBest #WeekendCoffeeShare

I am slowly adding some of the trip so other posts are:

Inakadate Rice Paddy Art (Japan)

Towada Art Centre (Japan)

Bear season (Japan)

Shinagawa Japanese Garden (Japan)

Torodoki Valley (Japan)

Shibuya Street Art

Japanese Vending Machines

Pics from the trip (global)

Nantes (France)

The Little Things -pics from trip (global)

Travel Reading - pics in Tokyo (Japan, art in Paris)

Poetry (pic in France)

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” ― Virgil A. Kraft

The flowers all over the neighbourhood are definitely making me forget the woes of the world at least for a few moments in the sunshine as I tear down the street for the bus or amble about with the dog.

What can make you happier than a new burst of colour suddenly appearing?

It's like a little journey of discovery that changes almost daily.

Even the roadside strawberries are getting ready for harvest (though I'm not sure about eating inner city verge produce??)

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”
― John Muir, The Wilderness World of John Muir

Linking with #NaturesNotes  #GardenAffair #FloralFridayFoto

#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week. 

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