A Penguin Appears!

…and a splash of creativity graces the world!

I went to the library the other day – books are one of the necessities of life 🙂
The librarian who was on duty at the time saw me admiring the little blu tack figures on the frame of computer, and said that she made them when she had some time.

So cute!
😀

When I passed by today I noticed that there was a tiny baby penguin there as well.

We are lead to believe that “genius” is something that only a small group of people possess. We are often taught to seek the one “true” answer to something, rather than thinking outside the box to see if there’s a better one – every school generation seems to have a new way to do maths problems, and the old ways are no longer used.
I was listening to a zoom call recently, and we heard that genius is far more prevalent than we were told. The word itself seems to come from a root that suggests an “inborn power” that doesn’t seem to be reserved for the fortunate few. We all have something that we are born to do, and that we are good at.
That won’t necessarily be a blu tack penguin 😀

…but it may be –

a beautiful garden,
the best apple pie,
the ability to fix any car you come across,
making delicious school lunches, every day, for 12 years,
creating a home that people love to visit,
being the person who can organise the neighbourhood to have barbeques for every conceivable occasion…

or we could all be the person with a smile so big, and a heart so wide, that everyone knows they’re safe and loved and welcome.

What’s your genius?
❤

Published in: on November 17, 2021 at 5:03 pm  Leave a Comment  

The First Day After

Yesterday’s final exam excitement for Sweet Bean turned into today’s low key celebration…
There were errands to run in town, so we eventually met up at the Handmade Markets in the mall.

Had a look round.
Shared some chips.

I found a new friend at one of the stalls.

(I think her name is Mavis 😀 )

Did the shopping.
Picked up some nice food for a celebratory lunch.

So lovely to spend the morning all together as a family!
❤

Published in: on November 13, 2021 at 11:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Remembering…

Lest We Forget..

Published in: on November 11, 2021 at 12:59 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Waiting For The Wind

I quite like dandelions.
They are generally unassuming, but delicate.
Glowing golden in the sun, then fading into gossamer.
Just waiting to be blown by the wind to new adventures…

…often seen as weeds (and I know they can take over the yard!), but also good for health – and salads 🙂
Also, they are really quite beautiful ❤

And they remind me of this verse –

“Though I am lowly and despised,
I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is everlasting
and your law is true.
Trouble and distress have come upon me,
but your commands give me delight.”
Psalm 119:141 – 143

Doesn’t matter how insignificant you think you are…
you are still beautiful!

Just catch your breath,
and wait for the next fresh breeze to come your way…

Published in: on November 4, 2021 at 9:21 pm  Comments (2)  

First To Be Second

So I’m the first in the family to have had both vaccinations…
The rest have had their first – since they’re all adults now (and how weird that is to say!) they all came to the decision on their own.
I went in yesterday morning, felt OK most of the day. Got chills and shivering last night, a bit feverish today, but I figure I’ll just take it easy for a couple of days.

Treated myself to an almond croissant – not sure if I would be up to cooking – and had a lovely big cuppa tea with it. Much as I love coffee, sometimes tea is the only thing that works 🙂
I still have lots of books to read, and DVDs to watch…

Proof! 😆
That’s a bit redder and hotter today…

I think it must be time for another cup of tea!

Published in: on October 23, 2021 at 5:51 pm  Leave a Comment  

All The Pretty Things…

I love jewellery.
I don’t tend to wear it a lot, but I love looking at it. Each piece is like a miniature work of art.
Here are a few pins that I bought recently – I have been looking at them for a while, and I had some money spare, so I thought I’d treat myself.
A couple of arty inspirations –

…and a couple of “get through the day/it’ll all be ok” pins –

And just as a bonus – my new kittycorn nightlight!
Enjoy this video (sorry it’s a bit wobbly), or you can always get your own 🙂

Published in: on October 18, 2021 at 10:17 am  Leave a Comment  
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The Princess And The Jab

Still figuring out Fridays – my Babe goes in to uni for a full day on Friday, and I’m planning to go fairly regularly to a group on the other side of town. We leave early – he goes to catch the train, I go for coffee at my favourite cafe, a bit of shopping, then the bus to the group meeting. So far I’ve done the whole journey once… there have been other appointments to get to!
This time I was booked for my first Pfizer vaccination. I got in to town about 7am, but my appointment wasn’t until 10ish. Managed to while away an hour over coffee and a muffin, then had a look in the charity shop.
Had a bit of a chat with the nice man who manages the shop a few times a week. I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the jab (I don’t like needles!), although I don’t believe I was in danger of being injected with microchips, or other similar theories. I did my research 🙂 While I’m sure there is a risk attached to the vaccine (which is explained by the administering doctor/nurse when you get it), there’s also a risk to taking ibuprofen or panadol, or any medication you might need otherwise. For me, it comes down to assessing the risk/benefit ratio… I believe it is the right thing for me to do.
Nevertheless, I was apprehensive.
We discussed the possibility of another lockdown (which didn’t happen in the end) and I said I was off for my jab. He told me about his experience, which basically boiled down to explaining to the doctor that he was needle-phobic and worried about it hurting and when would it be done, at which point the doctor said they’d already done it while he was talking 😆 I’ve heard from others that it was a bit of a non-event…still, there’s a bit of sheer terror cowering away in the back of the skull about some things.

I get a lot of my clothes from charity shops. I also pick up beautiful bits and pieces.
As we were talking, he was arranging some jewellery in the glass case under the counter. I noticed a lovely crown ring, and then a couple of tiaras.
Did I need them? Well, of course not! But I decided that I deserved to feel a bit princessy that morning.

I got to my appointment a little early, so I was finished early. Didn’t really feel it – just a bit of a sting as the needle went in – and then I sat out in the waiting room again for fifteen minutes in case of reactions. Then off to the bus and home.
I hadn’t scheduled anything for the rest of the day (except some lovely salted caramel ice-cream – in case of fever 🙂 ) but didn’t notice anything much. Have had a bit of pain today at the injection site, and felt a bit tired and achey. That’s possibly just a normal Saturday for me, though.

Visual proof 😉
It’s a bit hard to get a selfie of your upper arm.
I’m not planning anything strenuous for the next few days…thankfully I am well stocked with books!

Published in: on October 3, 2021 at 12:10 am  Leave a Comment  
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A Sudden Blossoming

In my head, I know it’s spring…
When I stop to assess the weather and temperature, I’m not as sure.

There have been pleasant mornings – that crisp, cool spring feeling to wake up to. There have also been cold mornings, and afternoons that are so hot I’ve been tempted to put the air conditioner on.
Regardless of all this, the garden has quietly decided to fling forth flowers, in various types and sizes. My garden beds have started to look more colourful. Even the succulents are flowering!

At the front, the little plants are coming alive again. This has been helped by my finally tying up the lavender so it doesn’t suffocate them…

The little bright, happy flowers (whose names I can’t remember…) were just budding in the morning

but had fully opened by the afternoon. They do change throughout the day, though.

More red flowers in the back garden – again, no idea what they are. I’d even forgotten they were there, until they decided to make their presence known 🙂

My lavender is flowering beautifully, for the first time, I think. The rosemary also has lovely pale blue flowers.

Here’s where at least some of my lavender ended up. It smells better as it dries.

So there you go.
Spring snuck up on me!

One more photo, taken a few weeks ago now.
More like summer – colours, dry look about it, the fact it’s a weed (it’s been pulled out now). This is outside a shop we go to. I liked the composition, took a chance and took the photo…

I hope there are flowers coming to life around you, even if they have to break through dry, hard ground to grow…
❤

Published in: on September 25, 2021 at 3:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Thoughts And Prayers…

…and kindness displayed.

I was going to do a photo post today on spring (such as it is!).
This morning there was an unexpected earthquake in Victoria, and of course there are various disasters, natural and man–made, across the Earth right now. In everyday life it feels like people are biting and snapping at each other lately.

Some days are heavier than others.

These days I hesitate to say that my thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering and weary, with those who need help. It’s a phrase that has often been used as a way of distancing ourselves from actually doing something – of sounding pious and compassionate without having to prove otherwise that we are.
It’s unfortunate that the words evoke those meanings in people. I will continue to send my “thoughts and prayers” for those in need, because I truly believe that bringing those needs before a loving, compassionate, kind God is a powerful first step to healing and renewal.
But…it’s still a first step!
I do acknowledge that some of us are physically or financially unable to be hands-on with a lot of things. In that case – pray on! It does make a difference 🙂
There are still meals to make, cards or phone calls to send, finances to release, gardens to weed, cakes to bake, houses to raise, kids to love and mentor…and maybe even justice and mercy to extend, laws to change, or conventions to be overturned.
Prayer provides the blueprint, and then we build.
(Having said that, if your mental and emotional state right now means you’re unable to do any of that – it’s OK!
You don’t have to “do stuff” to be worth loving ❤ )

I can’t encompass the whole world, but that’s why we have community. Everyone has a place to sing hope into!
I’m going to think and pray, and spend time asking my Father what to do and where.

Here is where my heart sits today…

Published in: on September 22, 2021 at 2:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Forays From The Fairy House

Our Anniversary – 27 years! – was on Wednesday, so we decided to go away. Sweet Bean was at school camp – we dropped him off, then continued on to our (sedate, not quite riotous) adventure ❤ .
We stayed in Bardon, at the Fairy House. It’s apparently a landmark, and is also on airbnb. We rented the studio. There is also a loft (above the studio), which I would imagine is a good size for one person. Everything in the studio was compact, but well laid out, and there were touches of luxury everywhere. The bed was very comfortable, and the towels and bath mat were thick and, well, luxurious! Toiletries were provided as well, so we didn’t have to pack much.
It’s on a major road, and there’s no on-site parking, so it’s a good idea to pack smaller bags rather than one big one. It’s not too far to walk – there’s parking in a side road – but you have to cross the busy road without a crossing or lights.

This is what you can see from the road – the door is to the loft. The studio is down a fairly steep set of stairs.

Looking up – there’s my God heart (yay!)

The balcony outside, which we never got around to using, and the doorway to get inside. Yes, it is as narrow as it looks – yet another reason to pack smaller bags! I measured it with a normal sized tea towel – the width of the door is narrower than the length of a tea towel.

The dining nook and compact kitchen are either side of the door as you come in, and the bed and living area are in one long room further inside.

Yes, that is a very large shower. It’s built for two – each side has its own shower head and taps. Interesting 🙂

We were very comfortable, and it was surprisingly quiet for being on a noisy road.
There are a lot of places to get food around the area, and the buses are fairly regular. We left the car parked down the side street and took the bus in to Paddington the next day. My Babe went to the Guitar Shop to get some accessories and try out a bass guitar or two, and I browsed the shops along the street. We had coffee/tea at Lil Gypsy.

It was their second birthday so there were free cupcakes!

We spent a few hours out, but were very tired after a while – how can spring be so hot?! Took the bus back, had a sleep, watched a bit of Netflix…
One more night, then we had to pack up and leave. Check out time was 11am, so we took our time.
Had a lovely lunch on the way home at the Goodfolk Cafe. I’m not a vegetarian, but I enjoy vegetarian food if it’s cooked well and delicious 🙂

Mushrooms in a butter cream sauce with sage, lemon, a poached egg and crunchy maple kale on sourdough spread with goat’s cheese. There were supposed to be capers, but I didn’t see any. Not sure where the maple was either… still, it was very satisfying! I had a kid sized chocolate ganache milkshake as well, since there was no way I could have managed an adult sized one.
We took our time and enjoyed the experience. By the time we’d finished, it was time to pick up Sweet Bean from camp, then home to unpacking, washing, and sleep!

😀

Published in: on September 18, 2021 at 10:38 pm  Leave a Comment  
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