Tuesday, 26 November 2024

The dog walk in bloom



 Spring has well & truly spring. The flowers are abundant. There are baby birds learning to fly and all other joyful signs that the world is in renewal.
My daily dog walk never fails to bring a smile to my face and some peace to my mind.










People on the street seem happier, or at least chattier. So the weather and the sudden visual blast of colours definitely has an impact.


I finally got to tell the lady who grows them how much I love her roses. The smell is like nothing else, and I always detour to take in a big lungful! She beamed happily, and agreed. (I actually discovered I'd already done this! Opps! My memory is a shocker!)


I guess this is the reverse of the S.A.D mood disturbance that people in the Northern Hemisphere can suffer from.


Do you get affected by the seasons?

Linking with #FloralFridayFoto #GardenAffair #WordlessWednesday



Monday, 25 November 2024

On the Harbour



Last weekend was my annual pre NYE practice run with Hot Dub on the Harbour and Harbourlife the next day.


It was glorious weather, not too hot but lovely and sunny, however this time, one of the kiddos needed a midnight pick up from their year 10 formal so my Hotdub night was cut short and sober. Still a fabulous night dancing my heart out with friends in a spectacular setting.


The next day we returned mid afternoon for more dancing....that stretched into the night.

My feet hurt and I hobbled home, happy and exhausted.

   








I did cancel my early morning walk with a friend, which was smart as I would have been pretty slow first thing! 

Each night I danced the equivalent of 20 kms, so less than normal on that weekend, but a great workout non the less.










It's my favourite party tradition! Here's to many more!














That's #WBOYC. What's been on yours?
















Saturday, 23 November 2024

November Reading

 


This book is hard. It's sad, there's a terrible sexual assault and then disordered eating but also covering all the difficulties involved with a body of size, plus the way society treats a person with that body. I have to say I learnt a lot in terms of being aware of careless words I might say (well meaningly) and maybe I need to reorder some of my thinking. I did also keep thinking of how Mia Freedman must not have even read the blurb of the book to write what she did. What a shocker that was!








I am finding this very hard to read also, to be honest. I'm very slow going as it's about a young person with depression. It is, indeed, quite the downer. In my mum mode, it just sort of breaks my heart. The comic form does lend itself though to literally show depression as a distortion of the mind or person's view of themselves and the world around them. So in that aspect, it's very clever.
I loved the play. I saw it in the theatre knowing nothing about it and it was so impactful. So bare that in mind, I felt the book didn't add anything. I think if you want to read it, get the script of the play (which is a monologue) or watch the film. Or see a production. However, if the novel is your chosen format, and you've not seen the play, then the book is worth a read. Very powerful and important topic. Lots to think about.
This is junk crime. It's interesting enough, about an author whose world comes undone with online haters targeting her book...that concept is interesting & fresh, so made for a good start. Overall, it's ok. Not a must read but you won't be too bored.


I actually read this for bookclub a month ago but forgot about it. It sort of sums up my feeling about it. Wasn't terrible, wasn't great - just got to the end and thought 'what was the point of that?'. To be fair, might have been my mood and perhaps I didn't give it the 
attention it deserved.











I read this because I started listening to their podcast while working. Initially as a way to help support a friend of mine, and then just out of interest. I had a 5 month stint of not drinking for health reasons this year, so I guess it was also of interest. This book is a memoir and jumps from her childhood and early 20's to her parenthood and starting to become sober. Some of it is very interesting, especially her travels and the tsunami. It's interesting to see how we normalise so much drinking and stigmatize not drinking.
Obviously, I feel this is changing, especially with all the non alcohol options out there now.

The podcast is here if you want to check it out.
















My bookclub is reading The Bruny and I've read that already thus less fiction in this month's list....
That's been my month's reading. What about you?

Linking with #IMWAYR - both The Haters and It's Lonely at the Centre of the World would appeal to older teens (16+ in my opinion, though both for aldults)










Friday, 22 November 2024

Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves. Julia Morgan

The Apple store in Singapore is a gorgeous structure, a ball floating in the harbour. We strolled through just to look at the building, not the products.

It reminds me of a great Spanish restaurant we went to there, also in a ball building but on the other side of the harbour. many years ago.






Linking with #WordlessWednesday 

Wednesday, 20 November 2024

“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” ― Louisa May Alcott


While it wasn't the perfect blue sky sunny day, the sky still put on a great show in the still water. Instead of sparkling glints of light in the waves, the turbulent clouds were mirrored on the surface. 

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky" Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

I start the morning each day in a great mood but then something in the news will set me off, in anger or despair. I'm not sure how we got ourselves to this state but we seemingly hellbent on destruction. So I'm using the beauty around me to right the ship so to speak - at least my mood.


“I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl






Linking with #WeekendCoffeeShare #Skywatch & #GaleriaHimmelsblick for the sky reflected in the water shots  #WaterThursday



Share Four Somethings - November

It feels too soon to be writing this but here we are...a month until Christmas!! 

Things I've Loved/Disliked  There is of course, the obvious one but for everyone's sanity, I'll skip it. Focusing on what I loved instead, I'll go with Max Frost doing another round of the battle of the covers. Follow his Insta and join in the voting. He's such a talent and it's a free, fun game. It puts a gleeful spring in my step every time he posts another round.

Took my birthday present (from back in Feb) out for the first time at Currawong. Had a really lovely early morning (but late enough for the sharks to not be feeding...no dawn and dusk people!) paddle board. Am on the look out for more opportunity to use it.

Things I need to Improve I am constantly feeling stressed and time poor - but I think I'm just mismanaging time. I do have a lot of obligations at the moment and my work is suffering a bit. I need to maybe get myself better organised, though I sort of resent all the extra work Christmas creates at the moment (I know by mid December I get to enjoy the rewards with all the socialising but for now I'm a little bah humbug).

Things I've Accomplished Half the Christmas shopping. Though one kiddo has literally nothing from Santa at this stage. Even sorted half the food (ordered not arrived, obvs). So for me, that's feeling very organised....yet I still feel I'm not! 











Things I've Noticed Australia seems to be the tour haven at the moment - heaps of authors, bands, Djs and comedians are all turning up. My Nov-March is getting very full already! And my bank account is getting very low....great for me but do we go into a lull after April? Obviously if you were from Northern Hemisphere you'd be keen for a bit of Summer but has the Australian promoters just decided we need more entertainment or is everyone who put it off in COVID decided to come now? Not complaining but it is noticeably busier...(Maybe my tastes have become more commercial?)





The photos this week are from my bay run walk, but I've decided to flick some upside down because you may remember I like to do that (other times are here , here and here) If you want them right side up, look here.

Hope you had a great month too!