National Arboretum

 

I love all the patterns in this photo, and the colours as Autumn changed to winter....

Have a great week. Short and sweet from me.

Linking with #InspireMeMondays because I just love the composition of this photo.

Election Weekend

I was pretty despondent when I went off to vote, feeling much disappointment in the population and still stuck right back at a rape in Parliament House and feeling that I was the only person still outraged by that event and its handling.

Visits to China and Norway in late 2019 and 2020 had highlighted how far behind we were in even thinking about climate as a population.

So I did a whole lot of retail shopping to lift my spirits. Or should I say, supported the underfunded local primary school?

And I did very well. I, of course, had the sausage in a roll but the playground 'florist' was an excellent addition to the cakes and relish stalls.

No matter what your political leanings, you have to admit Australians need more accountability of their politicians, and regardless of which party, we need an ICAC so our tax dollars are directed into the right places.

 

At the Writers Festival, there was much jubilation, as you would expect from the educated Arts Sector, many of whom cover politics for newspapers or ran for Parliament themselves. Hearing all the rousing cheers of agreement when they raised the idea that the women of Australia had drawn their line on what was unacceptable made me realise that people hadn't 'moved on', they just weren't talking about it.

It was pointed out that the Anti Trans rhetoric of a certain party was just the updated version of the Tampa/Kids overboard trick by the Howard campaign but the public recognized it as such, and did not approve of being treated as fools. 

It did make me think perhaps the young people are so much smarter than we are. With the media distorting the lens, they still see what's important.

I listened to David Pocock yesterday and was impressed with what I hope is a new kind of MP. I'm not naive enough to think that corruption and power won't be an issue but I do hope the people of this country become the focus, or at least will be able to hold them accountable, and that alone might create better decisions on how our tax dollars are spent.

These people are public servants, and their role is to serve the public. Never forget that. More importantly, don't let them forget that.

Lastly, we really need some Media guidelines and punitive action for misleading the public with so much 'opinion' dressed up as news. It is being said the Australian journalists were asked to leave the press room in Japan because of their 'bad manners' so they also need to  'reflect on your behaviour' (as Mark McGowan said to the National Press Club). We are the consumers of news. We need to demand they actually provide it.

Linking with #HappyTuesday #FriendshipFriday #TheRandom  #FloralFridayFoto but delete if not allowed (not sure if it has to be solely about flowers) and #YourMoment

Australian Birds

In the Avery at the Zoo, we had a tour before breakfast on our stay, and it was quite wonderful. I will admit I was quite disappointed when I heard that part of the plan but the stories and then birds we saw in the stillness (and the show that the Lyrebird put on) were fascinating.

I'm not sure what they are beyond Australian native birds. 

I'll be away this weekend so will catch up on comments etc when I get back. 

Linking with #GardenAffair  #Awwmondays  #BlueMondays #WildbirdWednesday #DND  #NaturesNotes

 

The Secret Garden

Was at The Grounds and these reminded me of the opening scene of the theatre in Station Eleven, now overgrown by greenery...

There's almost an eerie quality to the photos with the clock and the chair, when over all, the effect is obviously sweet and cheery in real life, almost magical!

Sometimes it's the focus on detail that changes the picture, and sometimes it's the personal viewpoint you project on to it.

Linking with #Fridaybliss  #FloralFridayFoto #WonderfulWednesday #KeithsRamblings #WWOAT #ThruMyLens #SundayBest  #GardenAffair and 

Share Four Somethings - May

                                                            

I missed this last month because I forgot, so now I'm going early...

Something Loved:  It's Comedy festival time. I love that I can walk to both hubs and pop up for a 9.30 show without it impacting on dinner with the kids. Comedians are so clever and a really great gauge of what's going on in the broader community. I haven't been regularly since Giant Dwarf closed, so it was great to have 2 shows a week for the last few weeks.

Something Gleaned: Now this bit is a bit x-rated (not really x-rated but it might be considered too rude for some so just skip it if you think that might include you - it's about pubic hair, but more of a historical Margaret Mead tidbit, That said, just jump to the next section, it's not important). I love Dr Jen Gunter after reading the Menopause Manifesto so I was delighted to discover she has a podcast series and am slowly working my way through those on spotify. In one of her appearances on iWeigh with Jameela Jamil, she mentioned two historic facts about the fashion of pubic hair removal which I found fascinating.

1. In the 1400s (or middle ages -date fact not important) they used to shave off pubic hair to get rid of lice BUT then they realised you could see the Syphilis so they created the merkin to cover it up...(merkin being a pubic wig)

2. The current fashion of removing pubic hair is not from some weird almost pedophile inclination origin that became mainstream fashion as I thought, BUT in America, the definition of nudity was about seeing pubic hair so in the 80's in the strip clubs. they started removing more and more hair so that they could legally show more skin and were still not 'legally' in breach of the public nudity laws...,

Obviously, I have no appropriate picture for the above so here's my #WeekendReflection

Something Braved (or Saved):  Or should I say, to be saved. Australian Forests. Australia is one of the worst offenders for deforestation. We deforest at the rate of third world countries and of the worst offenders of those, we are near the top of the list. We lead the world in mammal extinction. There are more of the unimpressive facts here. Our weather problems are only going to get worse if we don't start finding less environmentally damaging ways to do things. Find your way to take action, and demand your government does better. You can donate or petition. We already know that by 2030 half the houses in the country will be uninsurable and are already seeing the rising food costs due to climate disaster. We need to start joining the dots as to the cause. Someone posted a quote once about 'you don't keep wondering about the dead bodies that float past in the river, you eventually have to go upstream to see why they fall in there in the first place" We are running out of time to take effective action. It's time to go upstream! (Has anyone noticed we are beginning to frequently be near the top of the lists you don't even want to be on, and sinking to the bottom of lists you want to be at the top of? When did we start getting it so wrong as a country?)

Something Achieved: I have managed to get all my family to be available to see my MIL for her birthday - as long as no one has to isolate in the next two days....because my 100 year old Nonna is also in attendance so we have to be super careful! This has become increasingly difficult with two adult children and even Mother's Day for me was over 2 days to see them all....

(As it's getting colder, the Thylacine coat I got at Salamanca Market is the latest fashion to hit the streets. You can also get them online here. And yes, I'm trying to up my PG rating in case people didn't like my medical/history fact)

Hope you all have a great month, and I'm adding my own category:

Something Shared:

Linking with #AwwMondays for my beautiful baby (the fur kind) in her fancy coat that is meant to make her look like a Tasmanian Tiger.

Hungry Rainbow Lorikeets

I was pulling out of my mother's driveway when I saw this little bird (and some of his friends) eating the flowers.

I stopped the car and took photos through the window - regretting I didn't have my camera with me!

Joy burst forth inside me and I regretted having to get going as I had things I had to do. I could have stayed watching for hours. 

Sometimes the smallest of things will create the biggest moments of happiness.

"The very best gift... is that anyone can experience those unexpected twinkles of joy that make a magical moment. At these moments, you feel true, deep joy because of a great new insight, a beautiful prospect, or a glimpse into the radiance of another soul. They are the magic moments when life seems better than you ever realized." Richard M. Eyre.

Linking with #PictorialPotpourri #KeithsRamblings  #SundayBest  #WWOAT #NaturesNotes #WildbirdWednesday #BlueMondayand#RUbyTuesdayToo 
#DND #GardenAffair #FloralFridayFoto (becuase I have a question - is the flower it's eating a Banksia? Or what is it?)#FridayBliss

What's on my bookshelf - May

The links in the titles are not affilate links, I'm just making it easy for anyone who wants to buy a copy. Shop local where you can, because for the little bookseller it is a matter of use it or lose it. I've really enjoyed my reads this month - a number were not my usual kind of thing but I was very pleased to have read them.

 The Light Between Oceans - M. L. Steadman I looked at the cover of this when it was given to us at bookclub and thought "This is going to be the worst!" But I was delighted I was wrong. It's a very interesting book, where people do wrong things but you understand why. Or you can reserve your judgment. It's complex in how it presents people and their actions. It is not my usual thing at all but I really enjoyed it. My bookclub found it overly sentimental but I didn't. I've not seen the movie though, and most were reading it for the second time.

A Passage to India - E.M. Forster This was a book club pick and I initially thought 'snoozefest' when it was chosen but I really enjoyed it. It's not as harsh as Seige of Khrisnapur in judgment but it is the start of the fall of Empire books. When the event happens I was very engaged and it got me thinking about a lot of things, my own bias in particular which I will do a separate post on). I was surprised most of bookclub didn't really get into it. 

The Mother - Jane Caro This was my pick for pleasure as I'd heard some good feedback and she's campaigning in our electorate so I see her photo everywhere and it brainwashed me, apparently. It's what I would call a junky beach read (but that's not an insult, just that it's easy, quick and engrossing). I enjoyed it and finished it in 2 days, whisch is also a compliment.

The Loved One - Evelyn Waugh This was next month's book club pick. I enjoyed it though most of the people had read it and weren't looking forward to revisiting it as they didn't think much of it the first time. I found it funny in that kooky sense and not what I was expecting. Quite frivolous. 

Missed Her - Ivan Coyote This was another for pleasure pick. Ivan is a magnificent storyteller of very short stories. As a writer there's a lot you can learn, and as a reader, there's a lot of emotion tapped into in a very clever way. They are funny, sad, and interesting - windows into life expereince. Almost finished it, really enjoying it.

That wraps up my month in review - what's on your bookshelf?

Linking with #WOYBS  #Dreamteam #WeekendCoffeeShare #WonderfulWednesday #TrafficJamWeekend

What I learnt from Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Well, not a lot to be honest. But it did raise some questions.

No spoilers here (or in the comments please).

Credit:WikiCommons :Cdt PatrickCaughey
Courtesy of U.S.Army

What I learnt? Well, that the COVID lockdowns have really changed a lot in us. When Patrick Stewart appeared, instead of thinking of X-men or his Godot with Sir Ian McKellan or any other aspects of his huge acting history, what popped into my mind was his Sonnet a Day in lockdown and the lovely comfort it gave me. It meant so much having something enjoyable to look forward to each day in that first lockdown where it was all so endless and weird. I learnt that Patrick Stewart, in particular that soothing voice of his, is a bigger superhero than Professor X ever was.

As for the questions?

There is a line in the film "Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever". 

It got me thinking. Where do we go with this - if trust is a problem, or someone is battling addiction or some behaviour that is not a one off?  Ideally, I'm 100% yes, what a lovely sentiment (which was why I wrote it down) but as the film wore on, I kept thinking 'but what about if they'd...'. So I'm curious what other people think of this? Yes in an ideal world, and yes we should try to forgive and assume the best BUT...does that happen? (Interestingly, in Made for Love, one of the characters says ''There's no such thing as starting over. It's a fantasy. But there's moving forward." Are they expressing the same sentiment, just from different view points?

We went for Mother's Day in Lux and the middle child who hasn't been to a movie with us in over a year came and I was so happy. So when my husband complained about the film choice, I pointed out that our son came and so it was a great film! I learnt that the company and others' pleasure is sometimes half the pleasure of the experience. That and you can now get a Negroni at Lux so that helps. 

The thing with Marvel, I have so much affection for Stan Lee and the concepts, that I'm committed regardless.

Lastly, I would watch movies set in half those Multiverse, including the paint one, which would make for an awesome art installation where you sit in a room and it's projected on all the walls around you. Just throwing tha idea out there for someone...preferably make it happen in Sydney so I can go. 

Linking with #LifeStories #TrafficJamWeekend #FriendshipFriday

A little party never killed nobody - The Everleigh

 I went to the opening of The Everleigh, the new events space for The Grounds, because I'd seen some sneak pics and it looked perfect for a Gatsby party.

 And it did not disappoint.

Just walking in the room made me realise how wonderful a party here would would be.

Alas, it may never happen but it did give me all sorts of wonderful things to think about.

If you are planning a wedding, it is worth checking out.

Below is my shot for #WeekendReflection 

Linking with #WWOT #WordlessWednesday #HappyTuesday #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #SharonsSouvenirs #FloralFridayFoto and #FridayBliss