“In The Right Light, At The Right Time. Everything Is Extraordinary. ” ― Aaron Rose

The light hitting the puddle (and the glow of the cloud) looks better on my phone, but it's still a reminder there is beauty in everything if you are really looking.

May the sun be shining through the rain. May you be warmed by those around you.

And may you share joy and comfort wherever you go.

Linking with #HappyNow

Purple Snow

 I mentioned we were in Jacaranda season, but as the purple flowers litter the ground, we refer to it as snow.

Like snow, over time it causes slushy brown muck that you might slip on.

Linking with #NaturesNotes #FloralFridayFoto #GardenAffair

"It's not how old you are. It's how you are old." - Jules Renard

 Following on about last week's post about squeezing back into my wedding dress...I did indeed squeeze back into it. I did my make up and then went to put on the super high shoes before walking out the door, only to discover they didn't fit. At all. It was like the ugly stepsister trying to squeeze her massive feet into the dainty slipper. They could not even go in. I wore them to a wedding in 2019 and they were fine.

So this is an age or menopause thing.

What it was, was depressing. I found another pair of shoes that had to do.

I sat in the uber googling what was the cause of mystifyingly enormous feet.

Possibly menopause as the estrogen affects the collagen production (a building block in the connective tissues. Feet get wider (but not longer). It explains the foot issue after jumping too much at gigs that I complained about here. It may not be the Converse's fault. Just the old lady's fault for continuing to exist in her less than newly minted body. The old lady's fault for trying to keep doing what she's always done, against the wishes of the ravages of time.

I will say this again, when kids are taught puberty, they need to also be taught menpause. I did HSC Biology and I still keep getting unpleasant surprises that feels like my body is decaying from within, only to discover it's all perfectly normal.

Apparently we need to get our feet measured every time we buy shoes once we age....

I feel increasingly alien in this body of mine - it's no longer the shape it always was, and my face is weathered & worn. While I'm working hard on unlearning the beauty standards wired into me, this surprise attack of the feet has set me mentally aspin.

I'm sure he was meaning this in more complimentary terms but this speaks volumes to me at the moment.

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.”
― Robert Frost

I feel very much unsuspectingly ambushed by time. It's both physically painful (literally at times) and mentally uncomfortable to know 'With every year, my personality becomes more inappropriate'. However, it is better than the alternative...

Linking with #Stylewithasmile 

A neighbourhood in pictures

This collection were taken on my dog walk.

I love the street art that is constantly changeing.

This for #BlueMonday & #RubyTuesdatToo

I love the reflection of the people that live here (and there's a strong feeling of solidarity in this community)

The art might just be decorative or it might be political.

There's always something new to notice.....

Linking with #KeithsRamblings #WordlessWednesday #MCoW #WednesdayAroundtheWorld

(This last shot is in Darlo but adding it in anyway)

Share Four Something - November

Gearing up to the end of the year and the party season. First Christmas party isn't even in December! So things have been a little crazy of late.

Something I'm loving: Dancing. I had a huge weekend of dancing last weekend, and then a great night at Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls this week. (His support was Mom Jeans). I love the feeling of getting lost in the music, throwing myself around with abandon. It's so energising and joyful. I leave the venue still feeling the buzz of it all. And I'm off to dance class this morning (and exercise class rather than learning a skill) which I haven't been able to do for a few weeks so even more dance on the cards...

Something I'm learning: That my groovy Converse are not working for my jumping at gigs. My ankles the next day are in agony. After a good decade of wearing these shoes (or a variation) when I go out, it's a sad indictment on my ageng body that they will no longer suffice. So I'm on the scout for new concert shoes. Any suggestion for cool shoes but with arch support and cushioned soles?

Please note this clip has some nudity (butt) and smoking weed so possibly NSFW.

 

Something I'm reading:  The Good Fish Guide to try and work out which is best to eat. It lists the better choice for sustainable seafood. 

Something I've not been reading enough of is the blogs in the link ups. I appologise to everyone for my tardy commenting. I aim to address that and catch up.

Something I'm eating: I've been eating a lot of Mexican of late - which is weird because I normally don't but we dropped into Ricos Tacos before seeing a play at the Belvoir and I also went to Mami's  when catching up with a friend out from London. Had a great meal at Fontana this week with friends. However, have not taken any photos of food or even cocktails this month. Which is odd. So my last pics I can add is of the sensational Japanese I had at Amuro. Walk ins only, you will have to wait in line. But so good. I loved everything we had and am very keen to go back.

That's my Four Somethings, what are yours?

(Note the roses are on my dog walk, not relevant but pretty none the less.)

Linking with #ThruMyLens #WeekendCoffeeShare #FloralFridayFoto #PictorialTuesday #ShareFourSomethings

"If you love something, wear it all the time." Vivienne Westwood

We have a formal event on the weekend. My go to outfit for this kind of dress code is my wedding dress. The last time I wore it was 2019  and the intervening years of lockdown eating and menopause have not been kind. My bodyshape has changes.

I read somewhere that the ideal weight is the one when you stop worrying about it, so I've tried to think like that (or not think, more accurately) but when I tried on the dress is was very tight and looked curvy in all the wrong places. 

I do have a back up outfit that looks okay, but I think I'll stick with the dress (unless I catch a glint of horror in my husband's eye - he would never say I look terrible straight to my face, but the thought might sneak across his face). I'll try to chanel the confidence of these ladies, and the great lesson I learnt that night becuse the dress is so beautiful and it might just be the last time I get to squeeze into it.

I am hoping the luxury of wearing the dress, it's beauty and the magic of the all the memories woven into it's material is enough to carry me with confidence and more importantly, feel beautiful.

It holds not just the day of our wedding, 24 years ago but a dinner on the Eastern Oriental train on our honeymoon, countless nights of merriment at Mayorall Balls, wearing it to a formal dinner when newly pregnant and smiling at the sheen of the curve in the velvet on my previously flat belly, dancing the night away to great music with at a family wedding, and most recently, wearing it after a long hiatus at another wedding and feeling so very happy it still fit.

I will be sad when it no longer fits, as it's as beautiful as it first was, and timeless in style and looks brand new. 

So wish me luck that I can enjoy the dress on the night. For that is what this dress is made for. To feel beautiful and to party....

“Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them” - Marc Jacobs

Do you have clothes that are special to you?

Linking with    #FineWhatever

End of Spring

 We near the end of Spring and it feels like summer. The heat, the storms and lots of lovely bees doing their thing.

My kiddo and her friend did a school project many years ago on the importance of bees and delivered little packs of sunflower seeds to the neighbourhood. One neighbour liked me to pass on information of the plants progress and there are a few gardens now with sunflowers and I wonder if that's because of the project or just coincidence....

“Where there are bees there are flowers, and wherever there are flowers there is new life and hope.”
― Christy Lefteri, The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Linking with #InspireMeMonday #AwwMondays #NaturesNotes #SaturdayCritters #GardenAffair

“Dance is the joy of movement and the heart of life.” — Anonymous.

For the second year running, I've had a practice run at New Year's Eve & Field Day. A group of friends head off to dance the night away at Hot Dub on the Harbour and I back it up the next day with Harbourlife, this time for Meduza.

For those overseas, a stunning festival is set up right on the harbour looking onto the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

There is something wonderful about dancing as the sunsets, even though this year was a little cloudy to get the colourful disappearnce of the sun.

The city lit up and sparkled.

The next day, instead of a sore head, my heart was bursting with excitement in anticipation of the pending repeat activity.

All up, I danced the equivilent of 31kms and felt so fabulous all weekend.

“There are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one of them!” ― Vicki Baum, Ballerina

Do you love to dance? Do you get to do it enough? (I know I don't!)

Linking with #HappyTuesday because I just got my tickets for this year's Harbourlife and I'm very excited!!