Taking Stock - July

Left the green dot to highlight the weird green reflected light on the bridge.
#WeekendReflection

Getting:  A bird feeder. After seeing all these fabulous photos in the linkies of birds feeding at a feeder, I've decided to get one. I doubt I'll get those delicate humming birds but I might get some colourful ones...Mind you, my bee hotel is useless so I might also get nothing. 

Reading: Just started Lessons in Chemistry. Friends raved about it and then someone picked it for bookclub so I was pleased for the chance to read it. But....it's sort of 'feminist lite' - a bit lecture-y in a romance novel (fluffy but pretending not to be). It's ok. But, may just not be my sort of thing and I'm guessing my bookclub will love it (they always hate my picks) so don't let me put you off. I am only 7 chapters in, so not even a quarter of the way....this opinion may change.

Sipping: Negronis and loving them!

Eating: Truffles - breaking my cholesterol diet at Noi in Petersham.

Thinking: It would be good if we could stop embarrassing ourselves. The carry on over the Manly rainbow jumper and pride round is just mortifying, when you consider it will make the world papers. All I keep thinking of is when Robin Williams made a joke that Australians were just British rednecks and everyone got upset, but seriously, this sort of thing makes it ring true. When will we grow up? We don't even seem to realise how embarrassing our behaviour is anymore. It's really quite mortifying. For the record, just consider how there are no gay footballers (one gay soccer player in the world), but there are a lot of gay retired footballers (or other sports) then that is why they need the rainbow rounds. Not to mention all the scared little kids feeling like the world will hate them if they come out. How nice to have someone stand up for you, saying they will defend you and even welcome you. Shame on us.

Linking with #AwwMondays

Remembering: 'The old days' Vettel just announced his retirement and it's really hit me. I was never a Vettel fan, so to speak, but I did always like him, even when everyone was booing him (I was a Kimi fan but now in the wilderness waiting for my new driver to come along). I have no idea why it's made me so sad. Maybe ageing is not you changing, but you losing your feeling of connection to everything around you - even in sport? (Someone else mentioned Patrese this week and I had that 'OMG, I forgot about him' moment. There seems to be more of those moments...)

Laughing: at my baby making friends (I just re-read that, I mean my beloved pup, not my baby-making friends....)

Looking: At art this weekend - finally off to Melbourne for the Picasso and Tate exhibitions, and a few more, I suspect. 24 hours with no responsibilities except looking after myself. I can't tell you how much I need this! 

Listening: R3hab and Andy Grammer keep popping up in my Spotify, so it makes sense they should pop up together. This song is lovely, musically and lyrically.  

Walking: Less than I should be but hopefully time will free up soon. Am walking to the restaurant tonight to up my steps....

Wishing: COVID will go away - the news just seems to be getting worse on the complications. 1 in 20 now having ongoing health issues from it. 

Wanting: My kid's passport. I am still chasing it 19 weeks after submitting it and 6 weeks after ringing and emailing weekly. They keep promising to  call me or email me or do something but nothing happens. When did our agencies become so hopeless?  Applied for it 22nd March. Been chasing it weekly since 15th June. No one will help.

Buying: Rainbow dumplings from Din Tai Fung....just for the colours and the crab!

Watching: Lazerus Project. I'm really enjoying it - it's very clever. And for silly fun, Only Murders in the Building and Loot - corny but very enjoyable.

Hoping: We get to Japan next year (passports pending!!) for my husband to run the marathon and get the Abbott Star (for running the World Majors).

Wearing: My furry jacket from Uniqlo. I never want to take it off, but I have to wash it so I've just ordered two more in different colours so I really can 'live in it'. On sale for $29.90 so perfect!

Following: Hair budda. I have no idea why. I don't do my hair in any style other than a ponytail, I don't go to a colourist or even a hairdresser very often since lockdown....but this is mesmerising for me. I think it's his accent to be honest. I don't know. (You need to watch the reels). 

Feeling: Excited! I got my ticket to Harbourlife so will be seeing Claptone (and J.Worra) so am stoked!! I'm not entirely sure if half his appeal is that I discovered him in lockdown and so have very cheery, mood boosting associations with his music, or if it's because I performed in a Commedia Dell'arte show at University....(His Masquerade is very much my sort of thing!)

What's going on in your world this month?

Linking with #MondayMusicMovesMe for the Andy Grammar song....on being thankful.

(Note, just had to cancel Melbourne for the second time. 2022 is really destroying me.)

Taking Stock - June

 As an almost farewell to #LifeStories, after a good decade, or so it feels like, I thought I better get in a Taking Stock.

• admiring: Grace Tame. To keep fighting, and never shy away, no matter how terrible the media and some other people treat her is amazing in one so young. I'll admit now I would not be so fearless. And her Foundation is up and running to work on meaningful change in Abuse in Australia. You can read more here or donate.
• becoming: Increasingly nervous about COVID. I keep going to events where the people I'm with catch it. It is creeping ever closer....
• delighted : To be going dancing tonight at Rave Machine. The 10 pm start has garnered some criticism from one of my dance mates - sucks to be old - but she's still coming so all good!
• excited: About nothing at the moment, so I've dropped the ball in life. I usually always have something I'm hyped about. Must rectify immediately.
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• feeling: Like I'm in a life shift. Our core little group from one of the kids primary school days is beginning to fracture. One woman is moving to Queensland (that easing into retirement life) and another has her house for sale. I am seeing what must happen. I have noticed they tend to not go out as much so I've been doing that with other people, so I guess they have been saying the same of me....It's all good news for people but it does make me a little sad. I can see the 'family life' dissolves not just as kids leave home but in other ways...it changes your whole life.
• going: Nowhere. Need to plan something. Waiting on one kids passport. Been forever.
• questioning: How can Americans stand it? There have been 18 more mass shootings in the States since the school one SIX days ago.
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  loving: The Promise. What a masterful writer. Such exquisite images and ideas in so few words. I am not usually a Booker fan but this book is brilliant. I'm so glad I saw him at the Writers Festival as I would have never read this book otherwise.
  
• making: Time to visit VIVID. It's not the best VIVID but I do still love strolling around the city at night.
• observing: A shift. There are a lot of people a little happier with the new government. Nothing has really change yet so I think it's just people were psychologically worn down and now they feel things will be better. Let's hope so.

• reading: Under the Banner of Heaven - I've read it before but it's my pick for book club because I want to reread it before I watch the movie that's coming out (with Andrew Garfied).
• trying: To get back into exercise. All that rain and it seemed to stop. Now I'm just not getting round to it....that needs to change.
• viewing: I'm enjoying the new season of Hacks and I'm liking Station Eleven. Gaslit is good too but husband doesn't like it so I'm only watching when he's out.

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Welcoming: Friends from the US. We haven't actually met them, they are friends of friends in my husband's online running group from when he ran the NY Marathon. We are in this online group that chats all the time so it feels like we do know them now. So expect tourist shots galore on my Insta in a few weeks.

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• Congratulating: The Finnish Ice Hockey Team - I've loved watching the celebrations in Finland. Really made me smile.
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• Listening: It's an oldie but a goodie!
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• Lucky: To have got a ballot ticket to a show at Pheonix Gallery at Central Park. I've been so curious to see in there for a few years now.
• Farewelling: Denyse, who is the last of the longtime bloggers in my circle. Or the last to host a regular link up that built community. She and #LifeStories will be missed!

Thinking: Happiness is a negroni under the sails of the Opera House at VIVID. Cheers to you all!

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Linking with #MCOW #WednesdayAroundtheWorld  #LifeStories  #TrafficJamWeekend & #WeekendCoffeeShare #Friendshipfriday 

 because June means VIVID this year!

Taking Stock - March

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I felt like I just did one of these posts, but realised it was 2 months ago. The blog definitely makes me see the march of time!

Sipping: I've gone Euro mad and sipping on Tallinn. It's the perfect 'dessert'. Just a little shot to sip on....(from Eurodrinks - not an ad, I just buy from them).

Wearing: Jewellery made from recycled plumbing bits that I got in Hobart last week at the Salamanca Markets.

Wanting: The election to be called so they can start promoting policy. This bombardment of personality is insulting. These people are not our friends. We aren't meant to like them. We are meant to respect them and have faith they will look after the best interest of the population. This has been sorely lacking since before the last election. We need a federal ICAC to make sure, regardless of party, these people are accountable to us, the taxpayers, whose money they spend. Come on, Australia. We need to be smarter than this.

Spot the #WeekendReflection (hint table) and #RubyTuesdayToo

Loving: That the Biennale has started. It's free so I can pop in on the way to other appointments if I'm organised. Discovered the Marys diner in the Cutaway so will try to time my return visit better for lunch/dinner or a drink at the bar. The Animal Orchestra is great but I only had the time for one location. Want to pop back and experience the ocean one at least, if not manage all of them over the next few months.

Buying: New Shoes. Nonsensical sensible shoes.

Enjoying: The Wes Anderson-esque travel photography exhibtion and bar at David Jones Level 8. Use it or lose it people.

Hoping: People pay attention to the policy platforms. Was complaining to Mum about the $2500 we are going to have to pay for a colonoscopy this week, that was previously covered by Medicare and she was shocked the rebates had been gutted. Morrison was upfront before the last election that he wanted a health system more like the American one, so how did she not know that? She reads a newspaper every day (albeit The Australian). I am stunned people vote without understanding the most basic part of the platform. How did I know and she didn't? How can we make policy clearer to people prior to the election? Sadly, whatever has been cut - cardiac, hip, shoulder and hand surgeries among others, will probably never come back regardless of who gets in, but I'm sincerely hoping I'm wrong on that. Realistically, start saving. I also did a comparison of my private healthcare because I think the one I'm with is hopeless and after 25 minutes on the phone, the health check guy came back and told me that the one I'm with, and the policy I'm on is actually the best for my family. I can't imagine how this is going to effect people because ours covers barely anything. Yes, it gives you something back but $25-$73 back on a $300 bill is useless. 

Cooking: Not much. In fact, going to great lengths to avoid it. Lockdown really killed that for me....but I did get my daughter this Gudetama macaron in Galeries Victoria. 

Reading: Still reading Violeta and Queer Stories discussed here. Prior to that, I listened to All Saints Hotel and Cocktail Lounge, read by the author (who is neurodivergent and uses minimal editing in the audio). It's an entertaining book but a real insight to see the world viewed through the millennial lens. You can see why they are angry and lost faith in society (and expectations). Parents should read it because the world we see is not the world our kids are seeing. As an aside, my youngest started talking about interstate housing prices yesterday (she knew the average in all the capital cities) because she's never going to be able to afford Sydney. She's 13. How do you deal with that? Apparently, her friends all talk about it. This world weighs heavy on the young.

Thinking: That this formatting glitch needs to fix itself soon because it's doing my head in. Apologies for the visual mess.

Listening: To the happiest beat you'll here at the moment from the ever fabulous Max Frost - and if you aren't following him on Facebook (Insta?) he regularly does songs by one artist in the style of another artist - it's AMAZING. There's no one cheerier on SM to follow! 

Wishing: Covid and the war would go away. Want to stop thinking about it. 

Watching: Sextortion on SBS. Funny comedy out of NZ and feels pretty applicable in this election time....And also Our Flag Means Death is kooky and gorgeously funny. A cast of who's who of the acting world as a bonus.

Appreciating: Being out of lockdown.

Walking: Not as much as I should. But I did get out to my old lockdown 5km radius walk on the weekend and it felt good to see the people about and businesses buzzing. 

Hearing: A lot more F1 talk now that this podcast has appeared. Good to get more in-depth sports chat than I get off the socials. Looking at booking Singapore this year but still waiting on the whole COVID fiasco to decide...If you are wanting entertainment in the Sydney traffic now that Coronacast is weekly, check out the Idiots of F1.

Considering: An OS trip. Thinking Iceland or Japan, trying to work out the when, and just worried about the covid implications if one of the kids gets COVID there - will we be split up? What happens? Husband off to Boston for the marathon so won't do anything until after that, in case that reveals some unexpected hurdle to be managed.

Feeling: Confused about Covid. Going out and doing a lot of stuff but still masking in crowds. Nearly everyone I know has had it or their kids have had it. It seems to be ripping through schools which means it's only a matter of time before it walks in our door. I am very nervous about seeing my nieces' little babies at Easter. I will RAT beforehand but still. It's a concern.

Pining: for my camera to be repaired. It's been 2 months. I really want it for the school holidays!!!

Saving: For the aforementioned colonoscopy. Thanks, Australian voters. Well done. 

This post has turned into yet another downer. Really hadn't intended that. Got a few treats in store this week so I hope my next posts are less angry and gloomy...what's that saying? We can't expect to go through life unaffected by the world?

*I did tell her not to worry about it yet and just enjoy being at school and all the fun things offered, and that things will be different by the time she leaves. But really, I suspect that all fell on deaf ears. What a world we have created. Shame on us (and our parents).

Linking with 120f12   and #YourMoment

Taking Stock - November

Linking with #MuralMonday

Making :  Plans. My January is booked flat chat so I only have three nights left available. I still have some Sydney Festival shows to book so will fill those quickly. Fingers crossed our numbers stay low and all can continue for a bit.

Cooking : A friend started a business Made By Lou and I gave it a go. The meals are very vegetable heavy (but cleverly hidden so my meat eating kids didn't complain) so I re-order a stack of meals for the freezer from the 'build your box' option as we have a number of nights out in the coming weeks. It allows me to feed the kids nutrious meals which I can pop in the oven while getting ready to go out. I don't have a mess to clean up but I'm not resorting to take-away either. (Note the boxes change weekly, and with the build a box, there's a big list to choose from). Website is still being built. Meals serve 4. So in answer to the topic, I am not cooking. I am reheating....and that makes me happy!

Drinking : Lychee Martinis when out, Negronis at home. And my beloved Christmas Gin. Already one bottle down. My second bottle is being delayed openning because I can't justify another one soon!

Reading:  The Railway Man by Eric Lomax (on Audible).. A very poetic and enchanting book while being also awful with the war experience. Loving it. 

Also started some Shirley Jackson short stories in The Missing Girl. I've been sending these little books out to people in lockdown because we needed a pick-me-up in that strange and horrible time.

Looking: At Art. I went to Doug Aitken at the MCA (which I LOVED!) and off to Matisse on Friday.

Linking with #WeekendReflection

Wishing: I had more time in the day. I just seem to never get enough done. 

Enjoying: Nude on SBS. It's completely absurd. You have to get past the first episode where I was just distracted by all the nakedness. Then you become a bit like the characters and you stop noticing. But it's very clever and I found it hilarious. Especially the bit about 5 episodes in that 'shocked' me, and I found it hilarious that something could be more shocking than all the nude bodies. Ha! Proving we become desensitised to everything eventurally if we see it enough.

Wondering: What kind of exercises the actors did to become so comfortable being naked all the time? Also were the crew naked in solidarity, to make the actors less self-conscious? Will I ever be able to watch a man jump again without that image in my head?

Wanting: A second season. (I need to say, I'm not really a big fan or nudity - I know, I'm old and went to a girls school, that stuff gets wired in, so I find it  hilarious I liked this show so much. My husband I thought it was stupid, I think. The kookiness appealled to me).

Loving: The smell of this. Makes me very happy every time I inhale it. 

Buying:  Christmas presents. 

Watching: Movies. We watched The Trip which is funny. Also SBS. And Priceless which leaves SBS in December).

Pondering:  Why do we pay for three streaming platforms when we always end up watching SBS?

Hoping: That COVID goes away and we don't go back into lockdown. Bad news out of Germany and Finland and so many other European countries. Just depressing.

Smelling: Fresh laundy. I've found some old perfumes and I use them in the laundy. They smell a little different to the original perfume but I like the way they make the clothes smell.

Wearing: Winter clothes again. This weather sucks.

Sorting: out stuff. When my eldest moved out, there was a lot of stuff to get rid of. This has sent the younger two in a tidying frenzy. So I am finding places to recycle 20 years worth of toys and books and clothes.

Getting: Excited about pending concerts. 

Disliking: Australian Politics. It's getting worse. All parties. And what does that then say about us?

Opening: packages.

Feeling: Worried that we are not out of this COVID fiasco yet. Madly doing all that I can while I can, but not booking OS - though worried I might miss my chance.

Listening: to this 

Wondering: Do I donate my reverse advent to Foodbank or the Refugee Centre or do I put it in the street pantry? Which do you think will be of more use to people?

Hope you are all having a great month. Enjoy the party season!

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Linking with #MonthinReviewwithSue