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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18!

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 ❤

Published in: on September 10, 2021 at 7:15 pm  Leave a Comment  

How The Other Gishers Gish!

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)!

Published in: on August 25, 2021 at 12:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Held

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…

Published in: on August 19, 2021 at 8:33 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Crying Sideways

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…

Published in: on July 19, 2021 at 10:47 pm  Leave a Comment  
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What’s The Issue?

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!

Published in: on June 23, 2021 at 5:53 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Blueberries In The Rain

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…
😀

Published in: on June 18, 2021 at 1:25 am  Leave a Comment  

Tripping Over The Pots Of Gold

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.

Published in: on June 12, 2021 at 10:52 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Poppies, Unexpectedly

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! 🙂

❤

Published in: on May 25, 2021 at 9:39 pm  Comments (2)  
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