Claris in Paris

My kids didn't really know Claris, as the first book was published in 2018 though the youngest had a little stint with Angelina the ballet mouse books...my question, what is it with fancy girl mice books? Personally I'm a Hello Kitty fan, or Miffy so I don't get the mouse thing at all. Ha!

Claris has apparently taken the world by storm and even Bvlgari and Valentino have done collaborations.

The website is here with all the guff for those that don't know or want to look at the collabs.

We were having friends for lunch from Greece so I headed to The Grounds to pick up a pav, the quintessential Australian dessert.

I got the lasts snaps of the Claris laneway, as it was being dismantled the next day to be set up for Snow White. Not you have to have purchased something to be able to walk through nowadays, due to the crowds.

I have to admit it was very pretty and adorable to see the little girls all dressed up in their Parisian chic. And some of the parents too!

Linking with

"Prove yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish, and someday you will be a real boy"

The title is spoken by the Blue Fairy to Pinocchio.

While we were in Kingscliff, we went to the Tweed Regional Gallery. There is a very life like bronze statue outside, and I decided to make him real...

I brought him to life in the early 1970s...

but in B&W you really couldn't tell he wasn't alive.

And this is literally how my brain works. You're welcome.

Do you think he looks real?

Linking with #ThruMyLens

After the cyclone

The cyclone never really hit in full force, just storms and strong winds by the time Alfred reached land. And flooding.

I was surprised at Kingscliff how little damage there was, given the ferocity.

The coastal erosion was the most noticeable damage and some trees down.

Otherwise it was just excessive leaves on the ground and some roads flooded (& detours) were the only signs it had ever been rampaging through.

So Queensland was very lucky!

Linking with #NaturesNotes and #GardenAffair (nature)

Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us. Boris Pasternak

We had spent the evening at the Recital Hall and were making our way from the auditorium, discussing the talk we'd just listened to.

Suddenly the fire exit doors opened and we followed the trail of people to descent in the plain concrete stairwell....

However, as we entered, we discovered it was adorned with murals all the way down.

"Surprise is key in all art". Oscar Niemeyer

Suddenly I was joyfully snapping away, delighted that we were let in on this secret.

Sometimes I guess the discovery elevates the enjoyment of the thing we find... 

Linking with #MondayMusicMovesMe 

"Time will pass and seasons will come and go."

I'm away this weekend, as my book club takes it's annual road trip. We are heading to a cyclone destroyed beach. Hoping the food makes it back to the supermarkets for the people up there.

So comments may be MIA or not until next week.

I've been given the medical all clear to have the occasional drink - so a magnum with friends was in order! (There were 10 of us, less than 2 glasses each - still being boringly responsible)

Seasonal wild flowers and rainy sunrises are the season we are in it seems. Yet still better than Cyclone season.

#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. 

Make sure you link back to this  #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run. 

“I am still making order out of chaos by reinvention” ― John le Carre

We are constantly changing. There's a problem if we are not. We should be learning new things and gaining greater understanding and if we are fixed to the knowledge we thought we once had, we never grow.

So we are constantly reinventing ourselves.

Sometimes by choice, think about how your musical taste might have changed over the years?

Sometimes by force, the arrival of children, a divorce, a death. We are forced to reinvent our whole lives, even though we had intellectually nailed that life as our permanent one.

You are allowed to reinvent yourself as often as you need. As I wrote here, these new beginnings slip by unheralded.  You just keep marching forward and look back to see you climbed a mountain.

I saw this quote yesterday, and I think it's the most positive reason to reinvent yourself as you need to. "If you do not swim with the person you are becoming, you will drown under the weight of who you used to be".

If you don't like an aspect of your life, including who you are, work to change it. Reinvent yourself, follow that ridiculous dream, make the world the way it should be.

"At its core, reinvention is inextricably linked to hope: the hope that we can find another way, take another shape.” ― Vivek Shraya, People Change

Linking with #SeniorSalonPitstop #GMALinky #Tellusabout #SundayBest #TheRandom #ThruMyLens #TalkaboutItTuesday

#Skywatch #GaleriaHimmelsblick

Race season

It's finally back!

I'm a little off all the driver line ups and rookies - no idea why, just a bit meh about it all so not listened to the off season podcasts like I usually do.

I need them to start racing to get hyped again...

Though seeing these as I walked out of Melbourne airport made me smile.

I'm not booked for Singapore because we were going to do a reno. Now we don't have the money for that so I'm eyeing off if I try and go. Elton John definitely adds to the appeal....

Linking with #WWOT #WordlessWednesday #MySundaySnapshot #TheRandom

Little Loves - February

READ In January I read the Convenience Store Woman and stumbled across this loved little ode to Convenience Stores in Japan by Pico Iyer. Worth a read if you have a few minutes. Very lovely.

WATCHED  Conclave - again. I went to see it when we got back from Japan and fell asleep almost immediately due to jetlag. I was glad when my friend suggested it and I loved it. I thought it was really interesting all the political machinations of how the church has distorted from it's original intentions. And a great film for now as it feels like we are watching it in real time. Interestingly my friend found it a little boring. It's funny how we can sit next to each other and watch the same thing and experience two very different things. I guess there's a lesson in there somewhere.

HEARD This is my new favourite song. I'd LOVE Don Diablo to come out. 

As an aside, I also love his Avicii song... (Maybe don't watch this if prone to epilepsy, flashing festival stage lights)

WORE Orthotics, flamingo feet and arch stretching compression wraps on my feet. I am also trying to wear in a pair of shoes I bought about 5 years ago and never wore because they give me blisters. They are perfect for a wedding in a month. My dog walks have fancy footwear involved at the moment. Ha!

The photo however is of one of my lovely Kitten D'amour dresses. 

LASTLY My top three moments of the month? Very hard to narrow down as there's been a lot of fun outings with friends and lovely little moments of joy. I will go with my day trip to Melbourne which was sensational and my weekend with friends in Hawks Nest and at Currawong, our last time in the big house...

I had initially thought "I've not really done much this month" but when I look at Insta to prod my memory, I then find it so hard to choose which three topped the list. And I guess that is something to really appreciate.

So that's about it for February from me. How was your month?

Linking with #WWWhimsy #WWOT #SundayBest #WeekendReflection  #TalkaboutitTuesday 

February Reading

 The Bee Sting - I started reading this and got very annoyed and bored with it. It's very long and the library needed it back when I was 3/4 through. I got back in the queue and it took a few months to get back. It seemed to pick up a bit so I don't know if it was me who changed or if the book was hitting it's peak so the pace was better. It's quite good by the end but just too long to carry the story in my opinion. Good story, plenty of menace but just diluted in the lengthy telling of it. 

Star Spangled Jesus - Someone on one of the blogs recommended this, and as I recognised the author of Insta, I thought I'd give it a go. It looks at the rise of Christian Nationalism in America (something that to those of us outside of the States seems very UNChristian and against most of Christian values. It's ok to be Christian and love your country but when that comes at a cost of helping the poor and the sick and persecuting people, there's something very, very wrong with it). The book gives a clear insight into how it came about but where this book differs, is she used to think all these things. A lot of her quotes and examples are her own tweets or essays (or even songs she wrote and performed). She uses her own misguided behaviour as examples, so it helps you see how it happens, and not just write it off as crazy or nasty people. I've recommended to a friend already, so I guess it's a thumbs.

The Group - Someone also recommended this. It's a strange book. Maybe translation makes it odd but I did like it. It's got a bit of a nasty edge and is a little uncomfortable at times (but that might be my age). An easy to read, and only took me a few days, so I guess that's a good sign.

The Reflections of the Queen Snow White - The concept is great but I struggled at times with the execution. Snow White was a little annoying and the sex scenes were really ick to be honest (maybe it is my age??). The idea is interesting but not a must read.

The Intruders - This is a little comic about a returned soldier with PTSD. It's very melancholy and a little surprising. I found it very sad. It's super short, I read it on the train to the city. It sort of stuck with me so I guess that's a good sign.

Linking with #SeniorSalonPitstop #StackingtheShelves #SundaySalon #SundayPost #Bookdate #AnythingGoes #TalkaboutitTuesday