“And don’t be afraid to fail. It’s not so bad to fail, because then you know what you’re good at.” Carla Zampatti

The title quote is from her speech at UOW when she received her honorary doctorate.

I loved the detail on her dress at Fleurs de Ville Femmes exhibition, but I really adored the shoes.    

The exhibition is magnificent, so make sure you get in there this weekend before it finishes.

I liked the quote because I think we need to reassess how we view failure. It's not something we need to be scared of as I've discussed before. It's just a learning tool. It is a shame when we're young we avoid it so much. We limit our options when we do...

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end."  – Denis Waitley

Linking with #CuratedByJennifer on Fashion Icon Carla Zampatti #WonderfulWednesday #PicturePerfectLinky  

“Learn from flowers – always angle towards the sun” ― Maureen Joyce Connolly

 

I've actually had a pretty great week (except the ongoing missing passport - which clocked in at 5 months since I applied and 1 month since the Passport Office found it but still no progress on creating the passport and sending it to me - my weekly attempt to contact them and find out what has happened is becoming quite distressing).

Linking with #RubyTueesdayToo and #BlueMonday

I went to AJR who were absolutely fabulous. They were almost video performance art/theatre so it was delightfully engaging as well as the music - which the audience treated as a loud singalong. Think if Blue Man Group could sing...I really loved it and left elated.

Caught up for dinner with a friend who I haven't seen properly in along time - she's been going through a lot so it was good to hear whatever she wanted to share and just connect again.

I have done a heap of walking this week, and even managed time in the botanical gardens for the magnificent Fleurs De Villes  Femmes. It ends this weekend so get in while you can. It's a stunning exhibition. There's even live music and lounges in the cafe so it's really worth allowing time to stay awhile.

In short, I guess friends, the city, music and beauty are making me happy. And I guess the lesson is when I'm down or overwhelmed, seek out these things for a boost.

Linking with #GardenAffair #FloralFridayFoto #DND #ThruMyLens #WonderfulWednesday #HappyTuesday #Allseasons

What's made you happy this week?

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Share Four Somethings - August

 

Something Loved: Lost Frequencies can do no wrong at the moment - I adore the disco inspired Chemical High but his gospel(ish) Sun is Shining or the uberbanger  Where are you know? are still on high rotation. He  doesn't seem capable of a dud if he tried. He is still on the Rise (see what I did there?) Now I just need him to come out here!!

Something Gleaned: I learnt two things this week. Firstly, people use more than one serum in their morning skincare routine. I only just started using serums after I was gifted a facial and the therapist was so horrified at my dry skin that she gave me a pile of free serums to use...now I discover I'm meant to use more than one at a time! Did people know this? 

The other thing I learnt was that Bombay Duck got it's name because the fish was moved on the mail train (Daak) and that got changed to duck in the slang that evolves...Long story as to why I needed to google this but there you go!

Something Braved or Saved: Not listened to it yet as the new Hawthorne crime book by Horowitz is out so I'm savouring that but I've bookmarked this talk with Sisone Msimang  and this panel from the Writers Festival 'What if My Mum Reads This?'

Something Achieved: Been super busy but don't feel like I've achieved anything. Just bouncing in reaction to mini dramas. We have this family tradition of playing putt putt on the kids birthday because my dad was a golfer and it was something they could all do together. My mum would always choose not to play and to keep score. She's been reluctant to go out because of Covid but not only did I manage to get her to agree to go out for lunch, she decided she would play putt putt too. She did not come last and she had a good time. So I feel that was quite an achievement. There were lots of laughs and given she lives alone now, I think it would have been a very therapeutic experience for her. Why do you think she waited for dad to die before she decided to give it a go? (I don't want to ask her as it might make her self conscious but I am very curious)

This is on a very busy street in the inner city. What do you think that's about?? (That's outside a pub...?) The other pictures are a Physio that's gone into an old church.

Linking with #WeekendReflection for the last shot 

“Let us find inner freedom in each lucky moment that we encounter, like a sun-basking butterfly that finds peace on a cherry blossom petal.” ― Erik Pevernagie

 

I was delighted to see the first cherry blossom in bloom on my dog walk, only to walk then meet a friend for coffee and discover the streets were full of them and the season had been going for weeks. A lesson in that sometimes it's just our small corner of the world that distorts what's actually happening....

Lessons in perspective are everywhere....

And in a few weeks the pink petal snow will fall...

Linking with #SaturdayCritters (Bee) 

If you’ve never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden. – Robert Brault

One of the few entertainments I kept up from lockdown is the continual planting without purpose. I will plant for the sheer joy and entertainment of watching something grow. If it takes off I will move it into the garden or plant it on the nature strip out the front.

I've had to give away my idea of chickens because of the lead all over Sydney but these little gems, as not really eaten (or never producing enough to really eat more than a tiny bite - and from a pot so not in contaminated soil) bring a smile to my face as they begin to flower.

As I'm a little careless with the seasonal rules, I am feeling this is a sign Spring is coming...given the chill still in the air at times, I'll take what I can get.

What are the signs for you that the season is changing?

Linking with #GardenAffair #DND #FloralFridayFoto

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. — Lord Byron

 I was lucky enough to see both Chris Rock and Aaron Chen this week. While I adore Chris Rock, and rate his Never Scared show as one of the funniest shows you can see (used to be on DVD so I'm sure you can stream it somewhere), this show seemed it still had a little way to go. It was the hassle of going out to Homebush and the weirdly cleansing experience of sitting for an hour (what felt like an hour as we had no access to clocks) without our phones.

Linking with #WeekendReflection

Aaron Chen was at the Comedy Store - we zipped over for the early show and was home in time to put the kids to bed. I used to go more regularly when Giant Dwarf was open,  and I was reminded how much I miss it. To be entertained and laugh constantly and hard. It does indeed have a medicinal effect. You feel rejuvenated.

So the one small thing making me happy this week is laughter. Plenty of it. Also the reminder that has sparked some determination not to be so lazy and start heading to see comedians more often.  (And possibly try to spend some 'waiting' time not looking at my phone. There was something cleansing about that too).

As soap is to the body, so laughter is to the soul. — A Jewish Proverb

What's the #OneSmallThing making you happy this week?

(I didn't take photos at either venue, so these are just reflective shots I took at Strike Bowling in King Street Wharf while my youngest had a bowling and karaoke party.

Linking with #WordlessWednesday #TheRandom #OneSmallThing #HappyTuesday #KeithsRamblings #  #InspireMeMonday

What's on my bookshelf - The Gifts of Reading

 I am struggling through Eden by Candice Fox for bookclub. It's sort of an ugly crime book. The characters are misogynistic but I find the whole book just feels crude and offensive. Maybe it's me. It's just a long, ugly read. It's set in Sydney though, so I guess that's why the library picked it. The author has won some awards and a couple are being turned into tv series. She's quite prolific, many of the titles are best sellers and published by Penguin so what would I know. Maybe just not my thing....

What I did read this month that was so truly delightful that I've ordered a copy for my mum, another for a gift and posted one to an author friend of mine in the US. (He is in this anthology and if you can get your hands on a copy it's well worth it!)

This book is a must for anyone who loves reading and books. It's a delightful collection of essays on what books authors like to give as gifts (I've also made a shopping list of books and authors to read next from it). Also discussing how to choose a book as a gift - because it reminds you of the person, or because you loved it so much and need to share it. How access to books changed a life, what reading meant to people both as a child and as an adult or mother. Even if I didn't know the author, every essay was enjoyable. The odd one out is Jan Morris, who felt she couldn't write a new piece at that stage but donated an unpublished speech on her Everest dispatch. It's a fascinating look at that point in time, and the herculean efforts newspapers used to go to for getting the news out in a timely fashion.

It raised many ideas for me - should I send books to authors as thanks for the books they've given me (so to speak - I've paid for them, but they created them)? Should I books while travelling for a taste of the country rather than buy them on the country before I leave? (I read fiction set in the country or city I'm visiting while travelling). Should I reconsider how I choose books to give - I am definitely in the Roddy Doyle camp, that I love it and that is all that matters (but in my head, I just can't understand anyone wouldn't love it - though given how unpopular my bookclub picks are, I should definitely reassess that!)

I adored this little gem and can't recommend it enough. And it is a charitable tome so you doubly give with it, raising funds for Room to Read.

What's on your bookshelf this month?

Linking with  #Bookdate  #StackingtheShelves