“Each of us has the power and responsibility to become a rainbow in the clouds.” - Maya Angelou

GRATITUDE: We had a long weekend away with all the kids, including the eldest who moved out last year. I loved having everyone together. And I think the younger siblings loved having their big sister back. I am so grateful we got to do that, though I am sad because I suspect it was the last...

LOVE: The Jeffrey Smart exhibition in Canberra is well worth the visit. It's joyous and uplifting, it's funny (humourous) and it makes you look at every day objects and streetscapes in a new light. It really changed, at least for awhile, how I viewed the world, and I saw beauty in the strangest of places!

I love this one because I'm often on this road and it was instantly recognisable - though very differnet landscape these days.

HEALTH: So far, all good. I do feel it's only a matter of time, and probably when schools go back is when we will get hit.....We've not been eating in restaurants or bars but have been going to shows (masked the whole time). However, we did eat out in Narooma. I thought I might do a RAT this morning before my daughter's friend comes over as I've a stuffy nose (but I suspect that is more from the ice cold waters with the seals...see below).

CONNECTION: I have a friend that loves Hamilton and I am taking her on Australia Day as I won the $10 tickets. It will be fun seeing it with someone who is so into it.  I haven't celebrated Australia day the last few years as it feels false to celebrate when it is dividing the country....

APPRECIATION: We snorkelled with seals in Barunguba (Montague Island) off Narooma. It was AMAZING. I have a deeper appreciation for these wonderful creatures as well as how we humans are really such a small part of the planet (yet sadly the have a  destructive streak that impacts on a grand scale). Unfortunately, my camera has broken and the zoom won't focus so I missed a lot of fantastic shots. I am hoping a service will fix it as the same camera has gone UP in price, serveral hundred dollars. It's weird!! I had thought I'd get this fixed & give to my youngest and get me a newer one with better capabilities but the prices are bananas.

CARE:  A friend put up a meme that she thought was a speech her friend made - and one of the lines is 'You are not Atlas, you don't carry the world on your shoulders'. Everyone seemed to like that. My mother said something similar about not bothering herself with the troubles of the world. I am at odds with this. I understand you can't save everyone, nor can you change everything, but surely you have to try? Isn't it how we got into this mess by just caring about our own personal worries, rather than the big picture? Why do we only care about what impacts us? I am really surprised that no one seems to care anymore? I understand there's a futility in railing against things you can't change, but surely you have to at least try? 

"In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” -Robert Lynd

 

Because I'm an idiot, and thought I'd be back by now, but am instead taking the whole month off, I didn't reallise I'd closed #Allseasons. So this link up is open until the end of the month.

I hope everyone is having a safe but fun month. It is the weirdest time., and a difficult headspace to be in, trying to not catch coivd when the Government appears to be so reckless. And where the hell are the RATs?

Get the N95 masks and keep your distance - also if you caught covid, speak to your doctor about a booster as I think you are now still meant to get it because of Delta floating about there.

It's that moment where everything you used to know is now wrong.

In cheery news, I've been working on my bird photography. Got some corkers in the pipeline for you. But for now, here's a few....

Linking with #WildBirdWednesday

This #Allseasons will be open until the end of Jan.so come back once a week to add a post if you're around. Don't forget to look at & comment on a few others each time you do.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thaw

Not really back but wanted to share the photos from Thaw, a free performance  that was part of the Sydney Festival. 

A thought provoking performance on Climate Change, and a reminder we need to take action. 

Linking with #BlueMonday (ice) and #RubyTuesdayToo (hair) #MCoW #OurWorldTuesday  #PicturePerfectWednesday #WordlessWednesday #KeithsRamblins

It is sobering to think that we will now expereince it, and we've squandered precious time with greedy inaction.

But there is hope. There are better generations to come, if we don't mould them into our behaviours and mentality.

While the photo below isn't great, I do like you can see the ice melting.

Share Four Somethings - January

Still on a break but taking time to write this post as I'll be away swiming with seals when it's due. Hopefully, COIVD permitting...

Something Loved: Time to read. I'm on to my fourth book since New Year's. The week at the beach has given me plenty of time to do nothing. Such a rare and under-rated luxury these days. I fell much better for it. Tove Jansson's The Summer Book was perfect for the celebration of summer, with it's noisy insects and sudden storms. The book looks at ageing and memory amoung other things, through the eyes of a grandmother and grandchild's relationship, both with each other and the world. 

Irrelevant photo but no one really wanted a pic of dog's vomit...

Something Gleaned:  I returned from holiday to discover the dog had vomitted on the carpet. Bright yellow on a cream rug. Google discovered this method of removal - Bicarb to soak up initially (they say 15 minutes, I left it on all day because I was unpacking and running errands). Then vaccuum up. Mix of  1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid, one table spoon of white vinegar and 2 cups warm water - blot with this solution (I just rubbed it, to be honest) until absorbed. Then sponge with cold water to remober the vinegar solutin.  It worked like a miracle!

Something Braved: Trying to have a fun and relaxing holiday while COVID swirls around and the Government seems to imply that everything we learnt about COVID in the last two years is irrelevant. It's very confusing when the Govt says one thing and my doctor friends say another. I am off to the theatre for the first of my Festival shows so unsure if that's okay or irresponsible anymore.

Something Achieved: Written two super shorts for the new version of Furious Fiction, and will sign up for the New York Midnight contest again. Not writing as intended though - maybe this week?

A short post as I'm off to sign up to the writing contest for this weekend. Offline except Insta probably until the end of Jan.

Wishing you all a COVID free holiday with ease of access to RATS, the new luxury item...

Linking with #ShareFourSomethings #Lifethisweek

2021 - my year in review.

 

With Christmas now done, and many friends in isolation, I feel a little adrift from the year that was. I'm feeling like all my plans might be snatched away at any point. I'm wondering if heding off to a movie might be the stupidest thing I've ever done...what a world we live in at the moment!

One thing I like about the blog, is that it's like a diary, and I can, at a glance, see where my head was at in a point in time. So the annual year in review is probably more for me than you, if I'm honest.

I was off the blog for quite sometime at the start of the year, a hiatus in Canberra. I did write a lovely little story that has yet to gain success, but I loved the experience of it and the Intrusion of the character as he came into existance and demanded my attention.

With COVID still affecting the borders and interstate travel, while trying to work out a holiday, I coined my now much used saying 'May the borders be ever in your favour'. In April we had a weekend in Katoomba for the sculpture amd Night Lit Walk and at Easter a few days in Hobart and a near miss seeing Orcas but the travel blog fell silent after that. I hope to rectify that soon, but I'm not feeling confident.

The Opera on the Harbour was sensational as always and I'll definitely be going to Phantom on the Harbour this year. We finally used our vouchers from 2020 at iFly and the joy it gave me inspired me to purchase more for this Christmas, as I'm chasing that feeling and it's a sure fire way to get it! I was estatic as I headed to Summer in the Domain, even though at that point we still weren't allowed to dance. I've my fingers crossed Field Day goes ahead but I'm dubious.

I was reminded by my ageing body that I am not as young or agile as I once was when taking the kids on a ropes course. The memory still makes me chuckle, but enough time has passed to make me think I should try it again!

April saw one of the longstanding bloggers retire from the blogging world. It really shook me, to be honest. The landscape has changed so much and it felt like more instability in this fragile universe we live in at the moment.

In May I discovered Share Four Somethings, a monthly link up I really enjoy - a quick point in time recap. May also saw me take over the #Allseasons link up rather reluctantly. It's dwindled a little but there's a small core of regulars. For those interested, it's weekly usually, but over the break is open until my return.

We were lucky enough to have an night in Canberra for a wedding and while I couldn't spare the weekend away, I still got to the Gold Coast for lunch with friends. It was fabulously decadante and rejuevenating all the same.

I was quite philosophical not realising that we were about to have all our slowly gained .normality snatched away again.  Goodbyes, change, what nourishes me and motivation were all discussed.

And then in June, just as we hit the school holidays, lockdown smashed all our plans. I struggled to find my groove this time and the months of lockdown were quite grey and subdued in my posts. The abundance of  time and stillness invades daily life. The limitations and uncertainty really messed with me, probably aided by menopause ticking away. Of course some small surprises really buoyed my spirits - like the red balloon or mystery flowers and of course forcing myself to write Furious Fiction. Reaching out to friends became more concentrated.

There was uneasy jubilation as we inched out of lockdown again, and picnics became the new 'freedom'. The HSC was already a mess with ever changing rules and expected COVID disasters. Spring was heralding not just the warmer weather but all the hopes of COVID being under control. The uplifted mood in Spetember saw the start of my monthly rainbow post of gratitude. Lockdown seems to have heightned my awareness of ageing due to all the wasted time.

In October we started cycling as a family - it's a lovely new routine that I hope we keep in the future. Lamenting that 'lost time is never found again' I jumped in to all the galleries, concerts and shows I could. Then numbers crept up. We managed a covid safe party that was elating. a boat day and many other joyful occasions. However perhaps due to irresponsible decisions, or perhaps it would have happened anyway, we are in shambles again due to theis virus. We hit a very slippery slope in a period of two weeks.

So regardless of the rules, wear your masks and check in whereever possible. If they say 'do nothing but monitor for symptoms' do a home test before visiting friends or goiing to shows. Get your boosters. We need to get this under control as it appears the government might not be capable of it. Let's do everything we can to avoid another lockdown. If you have friends needing to isolate, make sure you check in with them and offer food drops. We need to get systems in place to help housebound people as it appears that is the new normal.

May the arrival of 2022 be able to be celebrated. That's as much as I'm prepared to wish for at the moment. 

Take care everyone, and may the borders be ever in your favour, may your flights be operational and may your tests all be negative.

Note the photos are from our weekend in the Hunter Valley for the Christmas Light Spectacular (on until late Jan). I'll be off the blog until late Jan but on Insta here. Linkiung with #lifethisweek #BlueMonday #RubyTuesdayToo  #SkyWatch   #OurWorldTuesday   #NaturesNotes  & #Allseasons for the pictures.