Busy season

It's the Christmas season and the party season.

For me there's a birthday and a graduation.

There's the annual spotify wrapped day (I don't listen to Murder on the Dancefloor so I'm questioning that got in there??). Note if you can, buy the digital album of small bands you like or buy their merch. Stream on spotify but know they get almost no money for that. 

But in the moments of quiet, there's the Spring planting sprouting season. I am trying to grow ice plants. Wish me luck!

Linking with #HappyTuesday because the banana skin still makes me chuckle...

#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week.

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration. 

Make sure you link back to this  #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Charlie Brown

I grew up loving Charlie Brown. Weirdly as a kid, I think you process it differently. While looking for quotes this morning, I wondered if Charlie Brown was depressed?  A lot of the quotes listed are really quite bleak, or at list down on himself. I wonder why I didn't pick that up as a kid?

My kids never really got into it, but I wonder if it's still has huge as it was, seeing all the anxiety out there in youth. It sort of should be.

I did love this one "In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back."

My holiday homework is to re read a Charlie Brown book. I can compare with how it hits as an adult. I shall return, no doubt with something to say on the matter.

I do think this sums up perfectly the ridiculous frenzy of extra work and deadlines we give ourselves as we scramble around at Christmas time, so that we are stressed over things that REALLY don't matter. I've been reading all these Elf on the Shelf complaints where parents are stressed or opting out mid way and fighting about who should be doing it. I am 100% thankful that idea didn't exist when my kids were growing up. The advent calendar was the every day countdown excitement enough, and some years finding time to visit Santa in the city got tricky (though always done). And I'm sure I've mentioned our tooth fairy often got so overworked that they had to come to our house the next day...

"Grownups are the ones who puzzle me at Christmastime… Who, but a grownup, would ruin a beautiful holiday season for himself by suddenly attempting to correspond with four hundred people he doesn’t see all year?"

Anyway, this was on a bin near us and I just loved it. It made me smile.

"Happiness is anyone and anything at all that’s loved by you."

Linking with #MuralMondays #TalkaboutitTuesday  #HappyNow and #WWOAT

December Reading

I picked this book because I liked the title and the cover. It's junk crime but I really liked it. It has a slight feminist edge to it (about shame among other things, so it made it really interesting on top of the crime story). There is sex act that keeps getting referred to so it's maybe not for people who like the prim murder mysteries. It's clever in the way the narrator was black out drunk at the time so she doesn't know what happened either as we move with her in real time....I read it in two days so definitely enjoyed it. Well worth a fun read.

I didn't like this book. Not really a fault with the writing, just the subject matter. I didn't want to read it but my kid wanted it for Christmas (having watched the movie) and I thought I needed to check the content first.

I get where he was going but i just didn't feel it paid off for me - as a mother or as a female. I didn't like the male lens on it all, which I also understand why but I just didn't like it. Skilled writer but not for me.

Night before Christmas. This popped up while I was looking to borrow a different book so I borrowed it as it was only 45 minutes. It's a short story, odd little crime and Christmas themed mystery, a sort of modern Sam Spade. It is what it is. I guess good for him getting it out into libraries...

I went to see Jon Ronson, because I adore his books, as you may have noticed - given I've read and reviewed them all....) and one of his guests was Mary Turner Thomson. She's very delightful but told such an incomprehensible tale, I needed to know more. So I picked one of the books at random, though I will see out the Bigamist too and read that shortly....

This book touches on what happened to her, but more on the aftermath, and his victims that came after. She outlines psychopathic behavior, the red flags and how to interact with one.

She talks also of an aspect of child sex abuse that never seems to get mentioned and has some good attitude to both child rearing and living - making the most out of life. So there is a lot of interesting aspects to the book beyond her personal story.

Because I didn't like the Anne Tyler book last month, I decided to listen to these audio versions. I didn't like the Homesick diner (too bleak) but I did really enjoy the Ladder of Years and The Amateur Marriage. So I feel like I probably would like other Anne Tyler books if I chose the right ones.

I am going early with this month's reading as I feel I was very negative in my choices and reviews last month. 

What have you been reading?

Linking with #WOYB #Bookdate #StackingtheShelves #TheSundaySalon #SundayPost #SeniorSalonPitstop #TalkaboutitTuesday #WowonWednesday #TrafficJamReboot

Timeless

 

While we had lunch the other day, I was mesmerised by a group of boys jumping off the shark net pool. They looked like one of those 1920 paintings on a Robert Drewe novel. I was desperate to take a photo but as they were shirtless and young, I felt it was a bad look - creepy old perv vibes. However when the teen fishermen came out later in the day, clothed, I did.

This Sydney is timeless. It's looked like this for 100 years (maybe not the cityscape in the distance).

Linking with #MySundayBest #WordlessWednesday #KeithsRamblings #WWOT #WeekendinBlackandWhite

The countdown to Chirstmas has begun....

My treat to myself is this Moomin tea advent from Pappa Sven  (a fabulous shop in Newcastle with all things Nordic), It's such a joy having cheer exotic teas with little messages and cute Moomin pictures. I've been putting santa chocolates in the little boxes once I take the tea out and will use them on the table at Christmas as decorations...

The Playmobil one is now in it's 21st year, I think, and still much loved. Each year I madly put it back together and my youngest creates the little scene as the days go by. I will be sad when we finally give this one away...

My nieces have little kids and I gave them the Lego advents calendars (previous year ones that I got on sale) and I love seeing the photos of them playing with them...

The Reverse Advent is done and delivered (I get too excited to do it day by day!)

I did not realise there were still so many public phones around. This campaign makes me notice them and brings a smile every time! I might even just ring Santa for a chat!

I wore my Santa party dress for the first time this season and discovered my Christmas bag (also from Pappa Sven a few years back) still had my Furnace Christmas show tix in it from last year....(another of my favourite Christmas traditions). Tickets for this year's show at the Enmore are here.

Are you counting down the days?

Linking with #MySundaySnapShot #TalkaboutitTuesday #TheRandom #HappyTuesday #WordlessWednesday

 The #XmasLinky is for Christmas themed posts, open Friday until Sunday night. You can share two posts, but please then comment on as many.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sale season

In Australia, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving (unless you have American connections) but we do Black Friday in a major, major way. It starts with Singles Day (a sale on the 11/11 which I think came from some of the countries in Asia), then we have 3 weeks of Black Friday sales for some reason, then actual Black Friday sale and then 3 days of Cyber Monday sales and then apparently, this year, on the Tuesday following Cyber Monday is Cyber Week Sales!

Even with our cost of living crisis, apparently Australians have been saving up to spend in the sales and it is forecast we will spend $6.7 billion in four days from actual black Friday to close of Cyber Monday.

I am beginning to this November is the weirdest month in Australia.

#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week.

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration. 

Make sure you link back to this  #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Australiana

 

Australians will know Mary Reibey from the $20 note, but for the overseas people, she was sent out as a convict (about 12?) for stealing a horse. She had runaway from the grandparents who raised her and was living disguised as boy (called James Burrow - I'm assuming for safety not trans). She married one of the ship crew at 17 and they settled into farming out at Hawkesbury. As the businesses evolved and grew they moved to Sydney. When he died, Mary, who had been managing her husbands business affairs while he was away, took over completely and grew the fortune. She also started many new enterprises, became a Governor on a school board and continued with her charities and church work, while also raising 7 children.

She eventually moved to Newtown and lived there until she died.

I hadn't noticed how much Australian themed street art there is in the inner city. 

This one (below) is the full mural that I talked about here. 

Linking with #TheRandom #KeithsRamblings #TalkaboutitTuesday & #MuralMondays