Happy Easter

You know you're in Sydney because of the dumped bike in the foreground

Daughter made Hot Cross Bun!

Hope everyone is enjoying this glorious sunshine and having a great break - religious or otherwise.

Linking this old post with #MakroTex because April is Easter and the School Holidays....

Life is short, the world is enormous - Moominpappa

As some of you may remember, the Little Prince went to Womad and never came home. However, I discovered Moominmama came home with us from Finland and likes exploring a bit too. I discovered her roaming around our Good Friday BBQ at Cottage Point...











Linking with #TravelTuesday
as these were all taken at Cottage Point and we had a lovely afternoon there on the weekend.

I heard an angel singing - a farewell ode to The Basement

As a regular live music goer, I'm very saddened at the news of the closing of The Basement - an iconic Sydney venue that closes this week after 45 years of giving much joy to it's patrons.

Over the years I've attended so many shows - tributes to Amy Winehouse and Frank Bennett's Rat Pack show as well as album launches by Saskwatch and huge international acts such as Babylon Circus, KT Tunstall, Jon Cleary and many others.

Earlier this month, I gathered a posse of 14 and we headed there to dance the night away to the Cotton Club Orchestra - for some it was the first time to the venue, but for many of us, it was just another night out, none of us realising it was our farewell.

One of the best things about the Basement, other than the luxury of an intimate venue, is that it is easy to get to, from everywhere. In the centre of Sydney, a short walk from Wynard or Circular Quay. Soon it will be gone. 

People of Sydney, with our music venues dying out, please make it viable for the few that remain. The price points are appealing, so grab a ticket to a show at Leadbelly, the Metro or Lansdowne. Take a punt on someone you've never heard of. Get a group together for a fun night out. What you don't use, you lose.

To the owners, I want to say thank you for a wonderful creation you made. I have many fabulous musical memories, and had so many fun nights out at your place. You offered opportunities for new and established artists, and for audiences to explore a broad range of music live. It's a huge loss for Sydney, and I'm sure you must be sad, but please be proud of what you created and gave this city.

I'll leave you with my favourite act, who I think we saw three times at the Basement over the years, the sublime Eric Bibb. 

Linking with #MummyMondays #Lifethisweek and #OpenSlather

Out my window I see...

Out my window I see a little brown dog.

Out my window I see the shining city.

















Out my window I see pink clouds and sunsets.













Out my window I see the seasons and time passing, with the rise of buildings and the fall of trees.

















Out my window I see promise, fun and adventure.
















Inside the window, here at my desk, I feel contentment and happiness, more precious than any view.












Linking with  #GardenAffair. This is the view of my garden from a different angle. Ironically this was written before the two years of lockdown where this view became the only view I saw for a long time.

Because I was too lazy, most pics were lifted off my Insta account. Sorry for being unoriginal...but the view never changes that much anyway!

We can't always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.

I've been having a rather difficult time with ailing parents and teen frustrations and a debilitating physical pain that seems to be either a result of old age or from when I fell down the stairs in Thailand (completely sober, wet stairs, fell down the whole flight and almost broke my neck back in October). As I got in the uber to see Big Boi, I almost burst into tears because I forgot my ear plugs and last time I went, he was so loud. Now clearly, even I could see in my 'woe is me state', it was not about the ear plugs. Obviously I was more overwhelmed with it all than I'd been prepared to admit. So I sat in the car, tears in my eyes wondering why I'd bothered going at all, when my back hurt so much and I was so tired.

However, I turn up at the venue, trying to push past the 20 somethings showing ID, when the doorman stops me. "I need to see your ID".
'Not mine.' I reply.
'Yes, yours too.'
'Dude, I'm 107' Fortunately I had it on me, as I had just grabbed a zip purse out of my main bag.
This exchange cracked me up, and lifted my mood a little. It needs to be noted, the fact that I still say 'dude' shows my vintage. My kids constantly tell me how embarrassing that is because 'nobody says that anymore'.

Once the music started, I was dancing all my blues away (and the carefully timed painkillers had kicked in, so I was unhindered, and working up an endorphin releasing sweat). It was just what the doctor ordered. There was more bad news this morning but I've been merrily smiling and singing along to the music, taking it all in my stride.



I think Bob Marley was on to something when he said "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."









As for the 'Dad Rap' I was about 30 years older than everyone else there - the audience seemed even younger than before! So technically I was the only 'Dad' there.


I have no idea what this was about but I found it hilarious and kept getting distracted by the random phone off stage...(I love than in the picture on the right it looks like it's spotlighted)

The title of this post is quoted on the internet and pinterest but no one seems to attribute it to anyone. If anyone knows, please let me know.



Linking with Midlife Share the Love #MLSTL

When did that happen?

I am the first to admit I'm no longer a spring chicken. I don't delude myself that I'm a 'cool mum' (they don't exist, and people that think they do are trying WAY too hard). I'm okay with that. I like what I like and I know how to have fun. I also know that I'm generally invisible where I go...

I’m seeing Big Boi this week, and last 2 times I've seen him, I’ve been the oldest person there by at least 20 years. (No, that’s not what makes me feel old...wait for it). I decide I should listen to Boomiverse, presuming the new album is going to be the focus and I still hadn't made time to check it out since it dropped. It’s nothing spectacular but it’s solid however there’s a cute but weird Randy Newmanesque song on it, which I later discover appears to be an i-Apple ad jingle (that weirds me out a little but I think ‘oh well, good for him, he has a kid in college now.’ That in itself shows what an old lady I am...) However, it's sort of an odd song, so I decide to see how the critics reviewed the album, something I rarely bother with. If I like a song, I don't really care what the experts say. The gist is he’s done enough to root it in the present but stylistically it’s 'new old school' or ‘dad rap that can hold its head high’. Dad rap? I recoiled in horror, as the realisation sank in.

If he’s making dad rap, what does that make me???? 
Depressed, that’s what. 
When did that happen? Woe is me! I've shot past middle age and straight into old age, without even noticing. 

Always the optimist, I am now be curious to see if the rest of the audience has caught up to me in ancientness, and I’m no longer the oldest person there? Maybe I'll fit right in!

Anyway, long way to ask, when did you realise you were old? Or older than you thought?




Linking with #MummyMondays #KALCOLS #FortheloveofBLOG& #StayClassyMama

Make the world better

On Wednesday we saw the magnificent Lee Fields and the Expressions. He rocked the house full of twenty somethings (and us centenarians). I love that his career began in 1969 and continued successfully for a few decades, and then in 2006 a resurgence began and now he's huge again around the world, with a strung of successful albums and a global tour (Auckland  he's heading your way so don't miss him! Not to forget London Field Day this year. Only in Oz until the 12th).










I came across him via the Bliss N Eso song, Friend Like You, where his voice just blew me away. So I tracked him down and fell in love. Musically speaking, that is. Awed in the presence of greatness.






During the show he mentioned how he saw a lot of things in the world today, but he still had hope. Then he launched into his song Make the World Better. It's simple but it's true. We can make make the world better, and we do it by working together. We can't give up. We just have to act. Find your like minded people and start the change that's needed. When you watch the news and feel down, don't give up. Start the movement. One action can change the world.




As always, it starts with you, and it starts today.

Crappy photos courtesy of my hideous iPhone. Have I mentioned I really want a Samsung?

Linking with #LovingLifeLinky because I was filled with such hope and joy that night about life and our place in the world. I know that seems silly but it was presumably similar to the uplifting of the soul that gospel music has on believers.

Linking with #WednesdayAroundtheWorld  #WordlessWednesday #TwinklyTuesday  #PhotoTunes #MondayMusicMovesMe 

 & #GlobalBlogging

Book of Mormon opens in Sydney

As you know, the much talked about Book of Mormon finally opens in Sydney tonight. Last week we took in a preview at the Lyric theatre.

You can buy tickets here - not one for the kiddies, or if you have a little time on your hands, head down to get your name in the ballot for the $40 tickets each night.

Linking with #WordlessWednesday #PointShoot #ThruMyLens #OurWorldTuesday, #SundayBest and #MySundayPhoto

Loved playing with the mirrors for #WeekendReflection

What I learnt from the Olympics

I adore the Winter Olympics, the skill and grace of the skiiers and boarders defies description - at least my clumsy attempt at describing their aerial highjinks. For two weeks I become an expert on sports I'd never heard about.

There were three high lights for me. The first, as I settled down to watch the Men's Final of the Halfpipe as my lunchtime break, while riding the exercise bike, an acquaintance in the US tagged me to see if I was watching it live. With the eleven thousand kilometres between us vanishing in real time, we facebooked our commentary of what we were seeing and if we thought the scores were fair. It was as if we were in the same living room watching the events unfold. What could have been a lonely experience for two people was shared. The world is indeed smaller than ever before, and that gives me hope for humanity. Perhaps we can see a little more how what we do impacts others, and how we can help those around us, after all, they may be only a few clicks away.

The second was from a tweet by Daniel Dae Kim, on the South Korean Women's short track relay. Early in their race, one of the women fell but the team kept pushing and made it from behind to break a record and nab a spot in the final - which they later won. Kim's tweet was merely "This is why you never give up. This is why it's not how you start, but how you finish." If you are stumbling or feeling out of your depth, it doesn't mean defeat is inevitable. Perhaps you need to make a few changes, or perhaps you just need to persevere. When the going gets tough, just remember, it's not how you start but how you finish!

Lastly, I learnt that if the country is not a traditional 'winter sports' country, then an athlete might decide to take up a sport the year before and go to the Olympics. So I'm deciding what won't be too scary or dangerous, as I'm too old to break bones and then I'll hit you all for funding to send me as the Oz rep of some random sport we don't compete in. I've got about two years to work it out, so start saving everyone!

What I learnt most of all, is that I miss the Winter Olympics. I'm counting down the days until Beijing, 2022!

Linking with #OpenSlather  #KCACOLS #StayClassyMama #FortheloveofBLOG #TwinklyTuesday, #GlobalBlogging & #Dreamteam

Share My Snaps! Sydney, but not as we know it.

I've been cramming a lot into my month since we got back. Just the way I like it. Sydney has been putting on quite a festival for the Lunar New Year. There's been plenty of reasons to hit the town, with and without kids. That's a reason in itself to love life!

 These are all popular spots in Sydney, but from a different angle or just not usually the focal point of the place.

Everyday, there's something new to see, even if you never leave your street. Just look closer!

 Linking this old post with #MCoW
and #WednesdayAroundtheWorld as in lockdown and not a lot of the outside world getting in....






If you don't already, see more of Sydney through my eyes on Instagram