Here’s my beautiful Sweet Bean ❤
Today is his 18th birthday…
There are now officially no children in our household.
He “celebrated” by doing his Physics mock exams 😆 but we also had a Toblerone cheesecake for his birthday cake.
Very soon he will have finished school completely, and who knows what will be next for him!
So proud of my gorgeous young man ❤
I have documented my Gishy adventures here before, and this morning just signed up for next year’s hunt.
I also took the chance to have a look at other people’s entries. Here’s a link to check out the wondrous variety of GISH!
GISH Hall of Fame 2020
Those are some of the items for last year. There are also sections for previous years.
Enjoy! 😀
People are amazingly creative. And weird.
I started off just scrolling through to have a quick look, and ended up laughing, crying, and simply being amazed.
Right now, as I type, there are terrible things happening to innocent people. A lot of those things are because humans, somewhere, have behaved badly. And, unfortunately, whenever you happen to be reading this, there is likely to be some terrible thing happening somewhere in the world.
Some people may think that taking time out to be silly, or create beautiful and strange things, is time wasted.
I don’t agree.
Yes, just making something new and beautiful in the world is a good thing in itself. But seeing others doing that as well – reminding ourselves that there are good people – funny, thoughtful, weird, vulnerable, loving people with hearts that see brokenness and seek justice?
That’s priceless.
We (humanity) are the problem.
We are also the hands and feet that bring the answer to the hurting and broken.
Let’s walk together.
Earlier this year I had the chance to contribute to a GISH-related online choir. I’m sad that I never sent my part in, but enjoyed watching the result.
Sing along (and look for the rainbows)!
Not sure what’s happening with winter…
Lately it’s felt like spring, and sometimes even summer. The last couple of nights have seen the return of a slight chill, though, and the duvet has made a comeback
I’ve been doing a few hours of work – I came in late, so didn’t get a lot done, but it was nice to earn a few dollars 🙂
The job was, basically, making calls online to other people. Pretending to have a conversation about various topics with certain keywords, particularly geared towards an Australian accent. Over the last week I’ve opened various bank accounts, taken out loans, bought a tractor (and a farm!), stocked an organic herbal tea shop, and set up a fish farm. No wonder I’m tired! 😆
I’ve always had problems with phones. There was a time, years ago, when I yearned to be allowed to use the phone like the grown ups, but now I’m happy to text. Over the years I’ve learned basic “scripts” to cover most phone calls, but this job involved an undercurrent of low level terror each time I did a call.
I survived!
Today was meant to be a catching-up day, but plans can get a bit wonky. I roamed through various sites, and stumbled across this reminder that all is well – even when tiptoeing over the terror to get to the end of a phone conversation…
I didn’t get out much last week.
When Saturday came around, I thought it might be a chance to enjoy a quiet coffee in my favourite cafe.
Seems like everyone else had the same idea…
This Sunday’s sermon mentioned something about “souls crying sideways” – when we don’t acknowledge pain and hurt, stuff it down inside, it tends to come out in other ways. That may be physical illness, mental instability, or maybe just crying copiously in public. Who knows? We all have our idiosyncrasies.
When I go out by myself for coffee (and cake 🙂 ) it tends to be a big deal for me, both because I generally have to spend a fair bit of my energy reserves to get there, and because I just enjoy the whole experience. I’m also not very good at suddenly changing plans.
Saturdays are very busy. My favourite cafe is very good, but I’ve come to realise that Saturday morning is not the best time for one person to be able to sit inside and enjoy a leisurely breakfast…
I had already had some problems with wobbly legs and shaky hands while walking down the street to get there, and the tables outside can be a bit wonky (there’s a bit of a hill). I had ordered a filter coffee, which I hadn’t realised didn’t come with milk. I couldn’t ask for milk easily because I couldn’t carry everything inside, although I did eventually get a small jug of milk. My cosy morning out was turning into a bit of an ordeal, which tipped over into chaos when I managed to tip the whole cup of coffee into my lap (shaky hands/small jug). Cue the crying!
I don’t identify myself exactly with the sideways crying scenario – I don’t think it was a case of stuffed emotions – more probably my energy levels just suddenly dipped into practically non-existent. The crying was definitely disproportionate to the event, though. Thankfully I can cry quietly 🙂 One of the other patrons did notice, and asked if I was OK. I took myself around the corner to calm down a bit, then went back to my table to try to finish the coffee that was left in the pot. It had, of course, been tidied away. 😆
My morning finished better than it started.
I got back in line to get a takeaway latte, which was given to me free, along with a lovely lemon slice. That kindness almost undid me (again) – none of it was the fault of the cafe, but they showed grace to the weeping twit in the shadows, when they would be well within their rights to ignore me.
I did some therapeutic shopping in the charity shop down the road, then spent some time in the library. No-one seemed to notice the huge coffee stains down my front, and they’d dried by then.
I haven’t got any deep philosophy to impart from all this, but I was reminded of an important truth while I was watching the last scene from the last season of House.
Time’s moving on…
The other day I treated myself to a magazine.
I remember getting the Big Issue when I lived in the U.K., and I’ve bought it from time to time here.
It’s an initiative started in London, which has spread out to other countries – as you can see, 25 years in Australia!
Vendors come from the homeless community, or are otherwise vulnerable or marginalised. They buy the magazines, then sell them for a profit, and the money earned can make a big difference. It’s a job, and a chance to get a step up by their own endeavour.
The magazine itself? It’s professionally written and printed – not a “pity” purchase, and well worth the price.
The vendor in our city sits outside the library. At the moment it’s cold, and sometimes wet – the wind whistles through the area and can make it feel colder still. It’s the best place to catch foot traffic here, though.
Most major cities, and some smaller ones, will have vendors somewhere on the street.
The magazine is published fortnightly, so there’s probably still time to pick up the celebration issue.
If not – do yourself a favour and get the next one.
It’s a good read!
One of the bright things in my life at the moment is the opportunity to start my day with coffee and a muffin before diving into the challenges. It’s not an everyday thing, but on days like Tuesday when it’s cold and pouring, it makes things a bit sweeter.
Blueberry and lemon, with just a bit of syrupy density at the bottom…yum!
Another fun endeavour has been a minor overhaul of my wardrobe.
I’m not necessarily known for drab clothing, but recently I’ve been realising that some of my clothes have been sitting waiting for the “right” time to be worn. Recent events have reminded me that the right time is generally now…
When it’s cold and I want to be comfy, why not choose to be a unicorn?
It’s a onesie I bought a few weeks ago. The sudden freeze seemed like a good reason to test it.
Here’s the other end –
It has a tail and wings!
The rain’s gone, for now.
But I still have the unicorn option, whenever I feel like it…
😀
The last few weeks have had their challenges, and I feel like I’ve stumbled through most of the time. Some days have been a bit of a blur, some have dragged on relentlessly…colours merge and almalgamate into grey.
But sometimes – there’s a rainbow.
I’ve always enjoyed rainbows.
They’re the reward after rain, and they carry a promise.
You can sing about them, make art about them, even bake them…
and in life’s greyest moments they turn up unexpectedly, to shine a bit of hope and happiness.
There may not be a real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but there’s always the possibility of tripping over treasure around the next corner.
Hope always rises.
Love always prevails.
Tomorrow, we say goodbye to a beautiful person.
When I think of her, I think colour, joy, dancing, and exuberant praise for her God, Whom she loved unreservedly.
Our lives may be greyer, with a sense of loss
but we will have the memories.
…and there will still be unexpected rainbows,
glimpses of gold waiting to surprise us,
and a promise to come.
On a day when I was feeling weary,
when there were things to do, and not much strength to do them,
I came across a series of flower gardens in our town…
Poppies!
I do like them, and I’ve never been able to grow them.
Almost unassuming, but a variety of colours, and delicate petals that let the light through. They look like brightly coloured fragments of crumpled paper…
Also – bees! 🙂
❤
I wrote here a few days ago about being in my favourite cafe without anyone else around – it was “empty” for a good period of time.
Here’s a view towards where I was sitting.
It occurs to me now that this is obviously not an empty room – it’s just empty of people.
I was talking to my Biggest Boy this morning about unconscious bias – he’s studying screen and media, and has been learning about storytelling and scriptwriting. We discussed the fact that we all have prejudices and blind spots. We come from our own unique backgrounds and experiences, so the way we see the world will not be the way the next person sees their world. To a large extent that just creates variety… but sometimes it allows cruelty and offensiveness towards others. We just don’t see where our blind spots are obscuring another’s reality.
The cafe dining room was full – cluttered, in fact. There were many obstacles to my chosen seat (the couch at the back) but I was able to navigate there safely because I could see the chairs/tables clearly, and I have been there often enough to know my way around – I don’t really “see” those other things anymore.
What else am I not seeing? What unconscious biases am I letting slide because I don’t realise they’re there?
As Maria and Captain von Trapp (and also the Bible!) say – “Nothing comes from nothing…”
What am I unconscious of?
As it’s the weekend, and you probably need to sit down and have a cuppa, I’ll just share a couple of songs that came to my notice today.
🙂
❤
Today has been a busy day.
Due to various circumstances, I spent part of the morning picking up groceries that we hadn’t had time or opportunity to get to before. For me this means buses and walking, which was quite nice this morning, in the fog.
I started off early, having breakfast in my favourite cafe – I was the only one there for a time 🙂
It was like sitting in my own lounge/dining room, except with more chairs…
Off on the bus to Market Organics after that, then wandering back to town – bits of shopping, library, then the bus home. Everybody seemed chatty today – people I knew, people I didn’t… there’s always time for kindness, whether given or received.
I finally got the bulbs in the ground the other day, where they will sleep their winter sleep and hopefully emerge in spring, looking like this (but less cardboard-y)
The sage is now safely gathered in – past its best, but quite abundant.
I’d previously frozen the basil in olive oil, and yesterday chopped half the sage into olive oil to freeze as well. The rest of the sage went into honey to steep for a few weeks, when it will be ready for sore throats and medicinal tea.
Tired now, but happy!
I think tomorrow will be a quiet day at home…
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 