Microdosing

I have a group of friends I see fairly regularly, mainly because they are the 'yes' crew. Whenever I organise something, they say yes.

There is one in particular who is very easy going but very enthusiastic. We have a trip booked together for a very crazy 5 days in Europe, travelling about for festivals and a stint in Ibiza. We have gone to Ultra in Melborne a few times, each trip being slight longer than the last but not being more than 30 hours...so I am a little nervous about the extended time and pressure of travel on the friendship. I can be a LOT. 

This week, quite by accident, we discovered we were seeing each other 5 nights out of the 7! It was our second evening together and I asked her what else whe had on, as we made our way home from the Opera House. She rattled off some Writer's Festival events and I realised I had bought the tickets for those - but so long ago I'd forgotten who I was going with (that's today's job to get the tickets to the right people!).

I laughed and then said 'OMG. And then we have Hot dub together! You'll be sick of me by the weekend!'

She laughed and then I added "It's microdosing on me so you're prepared for our trip".

At the same time, while I was in the Fran Liebovitz event at the Opera House, my husband had sent me an article about friends who you stop seeing once you get sick of doing 100% of the effort. It talks of how without the structure of school or work to keep the friendship moving forward, you drifted apart when the person making all of the effort decided to leave it up to the other person to provide some balance, and that person never bothered to reach out. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it has to be tit for tat, but if you organised the last 5 or decade worth of get togethers and they don't organise anything when you finally wait for them to do so, you weren't really friends at all. That's been a tough lesson for me to learn. That said, a school friend who moved interstate & I fell out of touch with literally ran after me in the street last night and we've exchanged numbers. We used to visit them when the kids were little when we went up to Coolum but life just got in the way and we stopped holidaying in their town. I know that happens, and it's nice to get back in touch again. I guess the bottom line is to understand that's part of life and not take it personally, like the article sort of implies.

So while I'm seeing a lot of this friend this week, it wasn't organised that way. Just a string of events that were organised months ago all happened to fall in the same week. The structure to grow together was accidental but enjoyable all the same.

I guess this is the thing about friendships, they ebb and flow, but also circumstance can alter the dynamic. If there is no incident or bitterness, then the door is always open.

Some people notice the shift and reach out, and others don't even notice the change or maybe they're glad for it? Or maybe just life did it's thing and circumstances changed for awhile....but like my long lost freind, there's always the opportunity for freindships to grow again.

Have you had a big shift in friendships since you stopped work or the kids left school? (Or divorced?)

Linking with #TalkaboutitTuesday

The pics are a sneak peek of VIVID - lights on officiall this Friday!

Flower Market

I, like roughly 35000 other people, lined up for hours to go to C J Hendry's Flower Market. I discovered her when she put the pool in the desert and have been following on Instagram ever since.

I love her drawings best - they are amazingly life like but when I read this was coming to Sydney, I knew I had to put aside the day.

I did take my book for the line, assuming it would be at least 2 hours, but it was closer to 3! I didn't read houwever, as I got chatting in a small group and we had a fun time.

I had not realised people would go to buy the flowers to resell! I assumed everyone was there for the experience, and as life is now lived these days, to take photos for Instagram and clips for TikTok. However, a bunch of the already sold out natives, by the time I arrived were on ebay for $600 when I was instructed to look! Given they would have cost the person $25, that's an incredible mark up and I felt very naive. Individual stems were listed for $30 instead of the $5 they cost.

We discussed how there were 2 sorts of people in the line, those that wanted to profit, and those that just wanted to expereince it. I debated getting a second bunch to sell but in the end decided against it.

While I hoped to just buy one of each of the natives, I ended up with a bigger bunch of the other flowers.

They make me smile every time I walk past, so they are doing their thing.

The biggest treat (other than the free fairybread while I stood in line over lunch - thank you Pandora) was the 4 drawings she'd hung on the back wall. They looked so much like photos. It was a real highlight for me to actually see some of her works in person!

I do believe the real value of art is enjoyment but the commerical world proves me wrong again and again!

I believe Singapore is next, and you also get a Juju exhibition. Lucky ducks! Will be watching for those photos from afar!

Linking with #HappyTuesday as it made me so happy, even ith the massively long wait in line! 

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May Reading

I found The Prophet in a street library, and as I'd never read it, I took it home. I quote it a lot and it's got many lovely concepts in it. However, it's a dip in and out book. It was a mistake to sit down and read it whole in my opinion. It just seemed a little daft and heavy handed. I don't think that's a fair reflection on the book, just on my expereince reading it. You should read the bits on the subjets relevant to the moment...or as I do, keep using single quotes of it. Perfect. Beautiful.

 

Once a year, the talented Anthony Horowitz rewards my patience and enthusaism with another delightful Hawthorn murder book. These are funny, meta, clever and charming. And always a good mystery.

I really enjoy them. This seemed over too soon....and now I have to wait another 12 months. Ugh! Start at the first book and read in order. This is the 5th I think.

I got this for my youngest who was in a big Michael Rosen phase. It sat unread for years. Maybe a decade. I decided to read it before I put it in the street library (which I was doing when I remembered I needed a photo). It was written (or set) at time when email was more prevelant than text, and those were the emojis. The days of dial up, not wifi. It's for young adults, early teens. It starts off very young but then tackles some pretty interesting concepts. I really enjoyed it.

I genuinely thought this was the Meg Ryan bookshop movie until there was a shift and it became a murder mystery. It's a series but I think one was enough for me. It's either your thing or it isn't. Those village crime books.

I am working my way through the Agatha Christie non traditional (for her) books, and this is historical fiction. It's  a good way in before it even turns to crime. I thought it was the story of the OG characters in The Mummy movie.It is Imhotep's family, but the concubine is a different one. There is a modernity to the characters even though it's set in Ancient Egypt. I really enjoyed it. She has a few tricks in it which I can't talk about without ruining it, but some interesting use of character and narration. I enjoyed it. (Review for her Spy Novel here)

We are doing this for book club. It's short, more of a novella really. Very poetic, and as literature so often is, flawed relationships and ideas that never get perfectly resolved, just accepted. I enjoyed it, especially as it's a daughter/mother trip to Japan, and I knew where there were most of the time, so I could visualise it perfectly. I really liked that the daughter only occasionally saw the real age of her mother - our parents are often frozen in time as our parents, rather than seen as frail and ailing people that they become. I also like the concept that because the mother had no one to tell her stories too (her history) the facts became fluid, or she forgot them completely. (That came up in the Trauma Cleaner too, so I'm guessing there is science on this with memory). I enjoyed it. I am guessing half my book club didn't...but it's a short investment of time, I think only 3 hours in audible version, so I'll probably go over it before we meet up to discuss it, as it's less about plot and more about relationships.

I talked about Ariel Gore in this post,  and how her books and essays were a big part of my early motherhood years. This book is her usual fabulous style, but it is dealing with the process of a parent dying, and a difficult parental relationship (so take that as a trigger warning if in grief or dealing with a drawn out death process). It's sad, it's funny, it's relatable on guilt, selfishness, exhaustion. I found it really honest. It's not the kind of book you say you enjoy but it's good, and interesting and very easy to read in spite of the subject matter. I think the main take away is that it's different for all of us, we don't know what to do most of the time but we do the best we can. And then we grieve, in one way or another. And it happens to us all. I would recommend, if the triggers aren't a problem.

Short and sweet this month. What have you been reading?

Linking with #TuesdayTwirl #TalkaboutitTuesday #AnythingGoes #TrafficJamReboot #SundayPost #StackingtheShelves #SundaySalon #IMWAYR #Bookdate

Sydney Comedy Festival

Sadly the Comedy Festival wraps up this week for another year. I have one last show on Sunday and unfortunately I think I have to give away my tickets to the 2 shows I was going tomorrow as a friend is coming to stay after surgery. Still got my fingers crossed her operation gets bumped (selfishly).

My friend and I repeated the fancy dinner at 20 Chapel before one of the Factory shows so I guess that's now our tradition to celebrate our festival run.

We went to Alright Hey's show at random, having no idea who he was. It was a sold out show full of huge fans and us. I had never even heard of him. He's talking about being flown first class to interview the Wicked leads in London, so obviously very famous, just not to me. He was very clever and very funny. We would both definitely see him again. That's the benefit of the festival, you find new comedians...

I love the comedy festival as it's lowcost, easy laughs and a great reason to get out of the house.

As they say, Laughter is the best medicine.

Linking with #TforTuesday

 #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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