The Little Things - June

 Halfway through the year? How is this possible. And yet here we are.

READ I am getting rid of books on ebay and in the street library - I have thousands. I had recently read About Eve by Ariel Gore and noticed that she had got me through my first child years with Hip Mama Survival Guide and The Mother Trip, and now is writing about the death of a parent, while I too have been in that stage of life. I feel I've travelled my life in a parallel time line - though with a very different lived expereince. As I came across these Mama books, I started flicking through the Mother Trip and have decided to reread it before passing it on. Less on raising children and more on being a person who raises children. I'm finding a lot of it is good reminders, not just through the lens of being a mum, and more on just every day life.

WATCHED We are still getting through The Bear, and just started the new seasons of Sugar and The Agency. I get very scared of things and don't watch horror at all, so while I enjoyed the comedy of Widow's Bay and found it hilarious, I did get scarded and have to keep my eyes shut which provided my husband with no end of amusement as apparently it wasn't scary at all. I did also ring him and crossly tell him I got scared in the hotel in Hobart that the clown was coming for me...and THIS is why I can't watch scary movies! Something Scary (dance) at the Opera House and Izzard's Hamlet were both excellent and the theatre highlights of the month. 

HEARD I am getting less new music without daily drive feeding me songs. So I need away to rectify that. I've been listening to terms & condtions for a quick pick me up (saw Bless at Field Day this year) and Alle Farben who I'm countng down the days until I see - thought the news of the cancelation of Defcon1 is making me nervous...

MADE Dinners. I'm kind of sick of it.

WORE My heavy coat and beanie while stomping around Hobart. It's fun to rug up when we usually never need to...

Also, while at Hotdub I got hit in the head with a beach ball and it sent my glasses flying. I am blind without them and it was terrifying, worring how I would walk home without them, even guided by friends. So now in the most un-rock'n'roll move I now wear them with a Nana necklace attached. Hopefully that will prevent it ever happening again....

No longer wearing: - this tee shirt. It breaks my heart I'm just too big. Boo hiss menopause body shape change. I need to say, it's about 37 years old so I really can't complain too much.

Wish I was wearing: These divine hats and fascinators in the hat shop in Salamanca. I did purchase hairclips there and some bracelets but would love to get round in some of the hats...

MY TOP THREE MOMENTS FROM THE MONTH GONE BY 

My first Dark Mofo. I was only three 2 nights. I will go for longer next year. Already getting a crew together! 

Going to the University open day and seeing my youngest see her life there next year. It also reminded my husband and I of our Unidays. It was a really fun real time reminisence. 

Lastly, the World Cup! All of it, but watching in the pub and getting through was great, though stressful fun! 

I'm off the blog now until the end of July. My Insta should be interesting, if all goes to plan. You can follow along here.

Have a good break and see you all on the flip side.

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Share Four Somethings

I will be on a break for all of July. #Allseasons linky will be back at the end of July. Have a great month all.

Something we loved: The World Cup! Loving the civilised time zone - watching at breakfast and a half hour at lunch! Sad to see Korea go. Love their style of play. Hoping we can ge past Egypt!  Anyway, it's great getting out in a crowd to watch and there's always something to talk about with people! My insta feed is a lot of happy stories. I love this event! And love that it's free on SBS.

Something that sustained us: Been spending time with friends, family and lots of outings. VIVID, Dark Mofo and theatre and dining...it's been a really great month!

Something we're carrying forward from this month to the next: I have been getting rid of a lot of stuff this month - finding new homes for books, clothes and other items. I want to keep on that roll...a life time of stuff builds up around us...a lot of it is 30 or 40 years old! 

Something we're making space for: I'm heading off in less than 2 weeks. I need to finalise the company reports and then I really, really need to finalise all the bookings for my trip. I'm very excited and trying not to worry about how much I have to do between now and then!

Super short and to the point this month as I completely forgot about it! This month really ran away on me.

How was your June?

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Paint the Town Red

 From 4pm onwards, there is a red glow around town during Dark Mofo. The shops and buildings, whether officially part of it or not, get in on the action. It makes it a lot of fun to walk from one event to the next, regardless of the hour.

I loved the strange figure watching over us. One of the many decorated buildings around Hobart.

The art installation locations are obviously spectacular too.

The boats on the harbour are into it, and this year the large Spirit of Tasmania ferry lit up the water as well. 

Wherever you looked, something caught your eye!

The red glow warmed the spirits, making the amble home in the cold seem elating as we caught reflections everywhere.

My favourite shop window was the bookstore - well played, Fullers Bookshop!

The hotels were equally festive....

Tho on the first night my hotel switched it's red for Green & Gold for the Socceroos game at 5am the next morning...

Dark Mofo can be enjoyed with or without the ticketed events. It is in the streets, pop ups around town and of course a lot of free events! 

The red glow helps the newbie discover with ease....

Red is for revelry, and so is Dark Mofo.

Have you been to Dark Mofo? Did you love it?

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Hobart from my Window

I stayed at the Grand Chancellor Hotel Hobart because of the location for Dark Park and Winter Feast - and would have also been good for the Purge and Oogh-Oogh Parade had I still been there. I booked using Hopper as I had points and credits so got myself a suite for the bath, which I ended up not using. If your credit card is with CBA, you get points to use and cashback so check it out through your netbank. (Not paid, just got a number of free hotel rooms this way - you have to pay for breakfast but in a lot of places, you want to hit the bakeries anyway).

It did however give me lovely views of the waterfront and all the activity outside.

I could lie in bed and watch the sunrise.

I could watch the red glow at night as I made my tea.

And of course, I had an early start for the unfortunate Socceroos game. (Fingers crossed for today tho! And to clarify, I thought I took a picture of the Australians in play but didn't check the pic and notice I'd got the sub instead. HA!)

Light makes all the difference - the foreground stays the same but its the background that changes every time you look. It touches everything.

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

And here lies the lesson - things may look like they are staying the same, but moment by moment, there are almost impercetible changes and difference, you just need to pay attention. So when you feel stuck, don't be discounraged that change isn't noticable. Look for the tiny shifts, notice the little things - and the might colour your whole outlook!

May the hues of change be enough to keep you motivated!

“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

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