Share Four Somethings - March

I have no idea how we are here again already, and yet, here we are. It is almost April.

something we loved: It was our wedding anniversary and we splashed out at the Chefs Table (Omakase) at Ora. We have spent many of my birthdays or our anniveraries at Sushi e and later Ora with the chef Nobuyuki Ura. The food is sensational every single time and it is my favourite restuarant in Sydney. For a cheaper option, look at the fixed lunch offering from time to time. It's so delicous and so beautifully presented. We had never done the chef's table so it was a very special occasion for us. However, I felt even though we were the oldest, the other 8 guests seemed more blaze about it. Not sure if that's to do with some young people having more wealth, so it wasn't a big deal for them, or if Sydney dining scene has changed and people don't dress up like they used to and merrily look at their phones during dinner.

I have not been loving the weather of late but I have loved the spectacular light and reflections it's given us.

Pink clouds, rainbows, firey skies all come out along with the rain and the humidity. It may not be a silver lining per se, but it's something pretty spectacular.

obi UraNobuyuki Ura

Something that sustained us:  Twice this month my husband and I popped out on a Wednesday to see Clayton Doley play at small venues. Once at Butcher's Brew and once at Bar Torino. It was great to have these easy, laid back date nights. It was great to see live music, and such a talented musician. Both nights we were home by 9.30 so it was equally great not to be tired on a weeknight, nor the next day. I hope to carry it forward....but nothing planned as yet. However, how it sustained us, in the demise of Bluesfest that has hit us quite hard. We loved it, and it was a great way for us to enjoy music together and find new bands we both like as our taste in music is very different. All our sideshows cancelled, which as I feared is an indicatior that without the festival to help their costs, they just won't tour here anymore. Australia is very expensive to tour in, and a lot of smaller bands or independant musicians can't make the costs work for them. So seeing Clayton Doley, who we discovered at Bluesfest many years ago, was at least a reminder that were were still artists we could see and enjoy. So last Wednesday, while lamenting the loss that Bluesfest will prove to be, there was still a little joy to be found.

something we're carrying forward from this month to the next:  See above. I wrote 2 stories this month. They were short and not great but they were written. I have 2 more lined up to write so I'm hoping I can get that creativity back up and running, and begin to execute it a little better....the COVID years really stopped me in my tracks in a lot of different ways.

I also read you need to hand write for 20 minutes a day to help with brain function and avoid dementia (more complicated than that, obviously but it helps). So I am back to hand writing my short stories. I'm nowhere close to 20 minutes daily but it's still more than what I was doing. So I want to continue and increase that practice.

something we're making space for: Exercise. I really need to keep movement up. Whether it's walking distances or weights and stretches, plus dancing, a lot of dancing, my body seems to stiffen up without it so I really need to make the time every day.

Linking with #ShareFourSomethings

What's your dream?

 Walking to dinner, I stumbled across a few new works - well, new to me. I'd just not noticed them before.

I didn't realise the reflection ruined this one, so will attempt to go back and rectify at some point.

And there were plenty of this person along the way, but it was this question that made me pause.

Can you answer it?

Linking with #MuralMondays and #MosaicMondays

The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see. John Tukey

 Walking to dinner, I was very taken with the texture on this tree, and once I made ti B&W, I started to notice contrast everywhere. Isn't it funny how once you think about something, you see it everywhere?

Though this one didn't work as well as it should have.

Linking with #SundayBest #WeeklyWonder #WeekendinB&W

Take a leap of faith. You will either land somewhere new or learn to fly. Kandyse McClure

 Birds are funny to watch. They are just there, and a little awkward looking, strutting around. Then they are suddenly sleek and graceful.

They are a good reminder that there is something we do where we are in a more natural and comfortable state. Maybe it's dance, or running. Maybe it's writing or gaming. There's something we do where our inner monologue shuts up. There's no self criticism.

Do you know what yours is?

"She took a leap of faith and
grew her wings on the way down". David Brinkley

Linking with #TrafficJamReboot #GardenAffair #SaturdayCritters #WildbirdWednesday

Sydney's Seal

Whenever I go to the Opera House, or on a ferry, I always look to see if the seal (now seals, I believe) is there.

It never fails to give me a buzz if he is.

This week I was there for the choir - a drop in choir in a 75 min session.

It was great fun and amazing how quickly it all came together - songs in 4 part harmonies.

We did two songs, including this one. 

It was a really fun expereince, and short enough for me not to get bored, as I sometimes do at these choir things.

As for the season, I can see the time is changing. The mornings are getting lighter later, as we head to the big daylight savings shift.

Linking with #WeekendReflection

I love daylight savings, it's like a reward for life in winter. While winter tries to reward me with more sunrises, it's not the same as having hours of sunset to enjoy the evening.

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Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event.  Please link relevant posts only.

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The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing. Isaac Asimov

This week I went to Julius Caeser by Bell Shakespeare. It's one of the few plays by Shakespeare that I haven't read, so while I know the story, at least up to a point, it was delightful to watch the action unfold after in interval. There's a different engagement, and it feels different. It sparks a lot of different responses if there's no anticipation.

There was further delight when interval coincided with sunset.

While I'm not a big classical music fan, this week also saw me at the Jewish Temple in Sydney, watching Sergej Krylov play a Stradivarius that was over 400 years old - almost three times as old as the building we were sitting in. He was accomponied by Kostantin Shamray. Rachmonanov and Raval - but sounding surprisingly fun and like Gershwin to me. It was beautiful and it felt doubly special seeing a venue I never see inside of.

“It doesn't matter how cynical I think I am. I'm always delighted to find out that things in this life still have the capacity to surprise me.” Norm Macdonald

Walking to the Belvoir theatre, I looked up and saw this. The sun, the wondering if Alex saw the message, the initial surprise all delighted me, Delight comes out of nowhere, and that in itself is surprising.

A Mirror was for me, a very joyful expereince. Feeling the shifts in the action, the ending revealing what I'd not seen right in front of me. I was grinning with joy as we discussed it on the way home.

Delight is great pleasure but what sparks the feeling is often the unexpected. Out of nowhere something suddenly give you great pleasure - you weren't seeking it out, it just envelopes you.

My friend gave me a tea infuser and seeing it matehed my Moomin mug made me smile.

A burst of summer vibes on a grey day.

A simple sign reminding you there is good in humanity.

A small, sweet decoration on a cafe window sill.

It's not big or costs money. What's delighted you lately?

Linking with #WeekendCoffeeShare  #FloralFridayFoto  #Skywatch #Galleriahimeelsblick  #PictorialTuesday  #KeithsRamblings #WordlessWednesday #HappyNow #TforTuesday #NaturesNotes and #AwwMondays because the little car I at first thought was a small person's lost toy - but then I saw more around the cafe, and the sign made me go Aww too....