Dry Smiles

After all this rain, the whole city is happy and excited for the sunshine.

I even enjoyed finally being able to wash the sheets and hang them outside. Seriously!

We finally got a good sunrise!

Walking the dog, everyone you passed would smile and nod or we'd chat about how great it was to have the warmth on our face.

Even though I didn't stop going out and about in the rain, I now FEEL like I've been making the most of our city!

For those of you that don't believe how much rain we've had, that lake below is normally a car park....

I got to walk to dinner at the fabulous Cafe Paci with friends.

I had dinner at the Opera House outdoors with the kiddo, before the fun of The 39 Steps. (While never watched any of her TV shows (can you believe it?!), I have to say Lisa McCune was excellent and definitely the highlight and the scene stealer! (It is on in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne and Brisbane - book tickets here).

There was dress up dancing and frivolity at Gatsby on Tour with a group of friends, preceded by dinner and cocktails at the delicious Don't Tell Aunty! Good vibes!

My costume with feathery fan, but alas with 'sensible' shoes....

 

This is on fire but hard to see

This weekend I am taking some of the overseas visitors to the Blue Mountains, and then we have 20 of them on a boat on Sydney Harbour. Hoping the good weather complies.

August has been a great month! With plenty of hoopla! (boomtish)

What's been on your calendar?

Linking with #TforTuesday

#WeekendCoffeeShare #WBOYC  #MCoW #TravelTuesday #TalkaboutitTuesday #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #AwwMondays 

#muralmonday (this is painted on the wall at the entrance to the Cat adoption place)

Water Logged

More in this series here

This guy before the rain set in here.

It has been great the rain finally stopped this weekend - All of Sydney seem to have mentally struggled with the month long downpour.

For those OS, Sydney just had the most recorded rain in a month.

Fingers crossed Spring is here with a burst of blue skies and warmth.

NARRATOR "But the rain did not stop...."

Linking with #WeekendReflection #WaterThursday

Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond. Hunter S. Thompson

I posted a quote on my Insta shared by Jillfit and written by busayo_joan that read "I don't know which friend gave you PTSD, but you never have to hide your good news from me neither do you have to downplay your wins around me. Even when I'm going through a rough patch in my life, your joy doesn't offend me."

A friend commented that it was very generous of me, which took me aback as I assumed it was normal.  We discussed that a bit as I had written this piece about not hiding your good news when I was having a very stressful and  difficult time. I loved to be able to get hyped about other peoples good news, because it was like a little escape out of my headspace and stress, even if just momentarily.

She said "A lot of people can't bring themselves to celebrate someone else's good fortune". I am genuinely surprised by this. Though I will admit I do know a few people like that.

I'm not saying I'm perfect though, I am probably more the reverse. If I have a big problem, and you share a problem, while I'll be understanding, I might be thinking "That's not a real problem like mine is". Which is unkind and illogical as I know pain and grief aren't gradable - it impacts us as it impacts us. I am however aware of this and hope I pull myself up if I find myself in that situation and being unempathetic.

So all I'm recommending, if you are having a bit of a bad time, or feeling down in the dumps, jump on other people's joy and success as if it's your own. Celebrate and get excited. It will do as much for you as it does for them.

And we all need to feel good more often.

As Robert Kiyosaki said "The good news is that it doesn't cost much money to change your thinking. In fact, it can be done for free." And that is good news!

Linking with #HappyTuesday #HappyNow #TrafficJamReboot #TalkaboutitTuesday#YoureTheStar  #2ndontheSecond

More August reading

I have mentioned previously that I'm not really a fan of Anne Tyler, but I persisted and now I am. I've found a book of hers that I really enjoyed. This is the story of family and ageing and our lifetime evolution. It looks at how we might push away from family but still be entwined regardless, how we might live a life different to family expectation but still fall into the patterns on our own. It follows a couple and their lives from youth to great grandparenthood, and their children to grandparenthood. I did find it quite sad, which was not the intent of the book, but more a reflection of my stage in life and diminishing role as a mother. There is a beautiful part where one couple get to look after their grandchild during Covid, and when the family moves back to normality, one spouse asks if they'll be better at the empty nest stage a second time around. It really struck me that it's not necessarily just a single stage in life. Lots to recommend in this book, I found it engaging and enjoyable. I listened to it from the library on Borrowbox.

This book is a mystery thriller style book and we know as much as the main character and narrator. Her husband disappears after a strange text message (and something else - no spoiler) and she sets out to track him down when the police won't help. It is not a brilliant must read but I was interested and engaged and it's light entertaining fun. I listened to it from the library on BorrowBox. It was perfect to make the 2 hour drive to & from the hospital each day fly by.

Dipped into a Miss Marple Christie - as a kid I read the Poirot and others, but for some reason veered away from Miss Marple. No idea why. All the charm of the other Christie books, with a meta moment when a character mentions the famous author Agatha Christie in a list of celebrated novelists, which made me chuckle.

I am listening to this in the car to brush up on my French - rather unsuccessfully. I understand a bit but seem to get lost quickly. I know some of the words they test you on. It's little discussions on places and events in France, like a film festival etc, and then they ask the meaning of words that were used in French, and then ask in English the French word for something. They're short little block lessons, so good for driving about on errands. From the Library on Hoopla.

Lastly, on books. At the hospital, they had a huge borrowing library, which given all the waiting around time for both patients and visitors, I thought this was a lovely idea. It did amuse me that one set of books needed to be returned. Obviously the donator was still attached to them.

We are funny about our books....

The brilliant charity Room To Read is matching donations this month so it's the perfect time to make a bigger impact. Donate here. Nothing to do with me, just great cause. Change lives with education.

Linking with #BookReviewLinky #AgoodBook #MonthlyWrapUp #Bookdate #StackingtheShelves #SundaySalon #SundayPost #MonthlyBookworm #TalkaboutItTuesday  #SeniorSalonPitstop

Upside Down

 As you know, I'm a fan of flipping images upside down - seen here and here.

This bay walk collection were seen right way up here

and the carpark here.

Linking with #TheRandom #ThruMyLens #MySundaySnapshot #WaterThursday #WordlessWednesday   #WeekendReflection

Little Loves - August

This may be the last official Little Loves, so I'd like to thank Rachel Swirl for the format - I will keep doing it as I find it a shorter version of Taking Stock, which I find a little too long.

READ I saw this post on the Jindo Path and became obsessed with understanding the science behind it - how only twice a year if it's related to lunar cycles? 

I am also re reading Fahrenheit 451. It's such a great book. Opens with a description of a fire that is both the fire burning but also the fire inside the man, that eagerness that lights up fuelled with power and hate - and you see both clearly. Extraordinary writing. It also has the most beautiful description of effects of depression, without ever mentioning it. It's the paragraph that surrounds this line  "Two moonstones looked up at him in the light of his small hand-held fire; two pale moonstones buried in a creek of clear water over which the life of the world ran, not touching them." I am savouring the rereading of it, not for the story but the beautiful imagery. If you haven't read it, the story is engrossing and a terrifying look at our current life, where we feel connected with strangers on the internet but disconnected from those at the dinner table. Astounding that is was written in1953! If you don't have a copy, you can also listen to it through your library on Hoopla. (Read it, and listen to. There's so much in it to savour!) 

WATCHED I went to see three short Tennessee Williams plays, one of which had the line "the past keeps getting bigger and bigger at the expense of the future" which has been haunting me ever since. 

We also went to the kooky When Night Comes as the start of our Sydney Fringe Festival. There is an easily recognised Shakespeare speech but at another part, there is a speech that ends with "behind me I heard the tapping of a blind man's cane" and it's driving me nuts as I can't place it. I initially thought Poe but I can't think which one. So maybe Frankenstein or The Invisible Man (H. G. Wells not Ralph Ellison). If anyone knows, let me know.

On tv I'm watching Vice Principals (which is a cringe fest) but really nothing worth noting seems to be on at the moment.

HEARD I couldn't get tickets to Alex Warren so I've been playing him on repeat at the moment, making myself jealous of all those lucky ducks that got to go to what I'm sure would have been a fabulous concert.

 

I did get tickets to Chane Pena so I'm beginning to play him so that my husband wants to come too, as I know he'll like him. This is not his best song but it's filmed in Iceland and I want to go there so it's a visual treat for me!

WORE Sydney's endless rain is doing my head in. So cocktail dress with rain boots is the go!

AND LASTLY I love looking at the month to pick my three favourite things. It's hard to narrow it down! And that is a blessing. Listening to the fun my kiddo had at their birthday party - singing, dancing & laughter - all round good vibes. Sheng Wang was very funny and I keep getting a bit in my head every time I see berries at the supermarket, which makes me chuckle out loud, resulting in strange looks, which makes me laugh more. After a short music drought, I've seen gigs every Friday night so that always makes me happy. The high lights for elating fun with friends, has got to be the line dancing, the singalong and many meals out with friends. It's been a month of lovely catch ups! I am also beside myself with excitement at how my ice plant is progressing. I can't wait until I can eat it!

As always, my Insta is here and linking with #LittleLoves and #WWOT #WWWhimsy#TuesdayTwirl  #WeekendCoffeeShare #FloralFridayFoto #TforTuesday