Looking Past The Testing Moment

Passed the house inspection today. We’ve also been given info on what needs to be cleaned to get our bond back – at least we don’t need to pay a bond cleaner.
We’ve been turned down for one place, and are looking at another next week.
It would be tempting to get a little panicky now.

My Babe sent me this to listen to, so now I’m sharing it with you 🙂

All things considered, it seems we’re right where we should be…

YouTube also threw this onto my suggestions page – not sure why, as I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the One Voice Children’s Choir before.
I love hearing children singing out, using their voices – the stated aim of the choir is to “to inspire the world through the power of children’s voices”.
The song gives something to think about.

I’m not going skydiving, though.

Published in: on August 8, 2023 at 8:08 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Perplexed, But Not Without Hope

Started packing a few things today.
Feels a bit weird – I could probably look back in this blog some months ago and see the same words – but it’s time to start again.
We have some questions as to why we have to move on…this place feels right to me, and we haven’t had enough time to recover financially from the last move, but I’m starting to feel a little excited about what might come next. We applied for a place today, although we haven’t yet seen it. The race for rentals right now is such that the agents want everyone to apply first so they can weed out those who aren’t eligible before the house is shown. We’re looking at a substantial rise in rent with every place we’re looking at (we have another viewing in two week’s time) but we should still be able to cover it. All the places we’ve asked about will have space for my Babe to set up his studio, and they’re close enough to public transport for the rest of us to get around.
I want to get good use out of the verandah here before I go, and I will miss the coloured glass all around!

These are our inside windows, at night when the hall light is on 🙂

Moving here has been good for my health, but I’ve been wondering whether spending long periods in strange light might be affecting my eyes. It will be nice to get back to good natural light.
Speaking of health…I ran out of one of my painkillers the other day, and hadn’t had a chance to get to the chemist. I’d been feeling not too bad, so thought it would be OK to skip a day while I had to wait to get the prescription filled.
Every so often I make the wrong choice.
I made it half a day (ish) before I was reminded why I take them 😆 I was also reminded that interruption of meds can mean a few days to get back on an even keel…
Anyway, we had to take Biggest Boy to an appointment, and there was a chemist near there. There was also a charity shop, and I found this little cheerful being.

😀
I’ve no idea what it’s for. It’s tiny, but there’s room for a tealight, so that’s what I’ll use it for.
I went to the Salvos across the road here this arvo, feeling a bit down about all the stuff still to do, and came across this little piece of encouragement.

Nice to know! ❤

Well, it’s on to new horizons for us.
If anyone wants to come round here for a cuppa, you’re very welcome, but you’ll need get here soon!

Published in: on August 4, 2023 at 8:58 pm  Leave a Comment  

Nothing Compares

Last year, I wrote about saying goodbye to some of the musical icons of my childhood.

Today, we say goodbye to Sinéad O’Connor.
I, along with many others, probably first heard her singing this –

It was, and still is, a great introduction to her.
(but if that’s the only song you’ve heard, listen to a few more!)

When I wrote about the icons we lost last year, it was with sadness and nostalgia – they were all considerably older than me, and seemed to me to have been around forever.
This is different. I knew, at the time, that she was quite young in the above song. Somehow I never consciously put that together with her being only a couple of years older than me.
It’s a sobering thought.

She was fierce. And fragile.
Famous. And sometimes seen as infamous (although, I think, unfairly vilified).
Often seemed to speak without thinking. But more often speaking (and singing) of things about which she thought deeply.
Flawed. Passionate. Authentic.

Thank you, Sinéad –
for baring your soul,
and for raising your beautiful voice.

Published in: on July 27, 2023 at 9:05 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Coffee Break

The universe revolves itself
and once again life changes –
possibility rears its head
and posits all the dangers.

These last days existential dread
and angst around me hovered.
Tomorrow clouds may throng my brain –
today, I’m “Cat-not-bovvered”!

Published in: on July 24, 2023 at 7:51 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Resigned

When we first moved into this house, we were told by someone we came across that they had been in consultation with the owner, that they were going to buy the house and that we would only have the six month lease here.
The real estate agents that handled the rental seemed to know nothing about it, there was no paperwork, and we heard nothing more about it. It still felt hard to settle in and make ourselves at home, but at some point we decided to enjoy whatever time we had, however things turned out.
The six months is coming up, but we were told earlier this week that we could sign a new lease – great celebrations! – and we thought we’d take a chance and ask for one year rather than a further six months.

Got a phone call today.
Seems the owner is giving the house to the other people. It appears to have been a shock to the agents – they’re not open on Saturdays, but they got the notification today and rang us straight away.
We’ll find out Monday what the details are.

I think we don’t really know how to feel right now.
I don’t want to move back into some sort of colourless box, where there’s no room to move.

Colour (and space for books…) is important!

I really, really, don’t want to pack everything up again.
Eventually, we’ll be able to look ahead to the thought of finding somewhere better, somewhere more settled. Later, sometime…

I love this place. I don’t want to say goodbye. We’ll have two months from Monday to sort everything out (that’s past the end date of the lease, but they have to give two months notice to leave), and it feels like too much of a rush. Strangely, I also feel like working on some of the things I was putting off until we knew we were secure here – to use this time well in the spaces left.
Anyone know of any 4+ bedroom ramblers around? We don’t mind quirky layouts and architecture (although we don’t want decrepit!) – it’s the space we’d like. A reasonable rent would be good as well 🙂

Next week we’ll draw another breath, survey the situation, and look for where the light is coming from.

Until then?
Maybe just… sing.

Published in: on July 22, 2023 at 8:36 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Textures, Sunsets And Songs In The Wasteland

It’s been a week or so of leaden days, with a few shivering mornings as well.
The sunsets have been pretty good, though.

We went to the cafe the other day – we’re trying to make it a regular thing. It was so cold they had blankets folded on the outside tables for anyone brave enough to sit there.
That wasn’t us…
I like the mix of textures they have there (although we did briefly muse about the difficulties of dusting). There are interesting things wherever you look.

Lots of shells and seedpods.

Many friendly bunnies, strategically placed.

……………………………

😆

A whole display of shell necklaces (I have my eye on a couple, when I have some spare cash 😀 )

Painterly effects…

My world sometimes seems small in scope, and it’s tempting to drop into sadness. I love this house – a good thing, since I’m so often here! – but in some ways it should be more difficult. We’re on a main road and diagonal to a pub (potential noise), we look out onto shops and have no garden to speak of (but plenty of flowers!), our neighbours are very close (potential lack of privacy).
What could be barren can become beautiful…
and we can still choose to hear the music in the wastelands.

Published in: on July 14, 2023 at 9:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Question Of Identity

My Biggest Boy has decided he is interested in photography. He’s taken different types of photos to see what he can do, and we’ve talked about the importance of “seeing” what is there. I think he’s got a good eye 🙂
One of the photos he’s taken is a portrait of me.

I suppose any portrait of me would have to include books…

Neither of my boys have been at school for a fair while now, so I am no longer a homeschool mum.
We’ve moved in the last five months, and I am still not able to work.
Life moves on, and life events change us and our sense of identity. I’m happy with myself, but feel a bit like a drifter through time. That’s OK. I still think I’m moving forward! It’s just that there’s probably less time ahead of me than behind.

I like my portrait.
It may not physically be the most flattering, but it’s a snapshot of who I am, and a glimpse into my Biggest Boy’s possible future. That’s a lot for one image to convey.

Speaking of portraits – here’s one of a visitor outside my Mum’s place.

Cousin Itt – Australian version 😆

So – back to identity…where do I belong now?
Here’s a musical suggestion… 😀

Published in: on July 7, 2023 at 11:54 pm  Comments (2)  
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Shedding Light On Years Gone

It’s hard to believe half the year’s over.
This week has galloped past me – is it time itself speeding up, or am I just getting old?
I’ve been rearranging bits and pieces around the place, and admiring the light at different times of the day. At the moment afternoon light seems to make my room look sort of pinkishy-orange.

It also brings out the beauty in a woven bag.

…as well as the stack of baskets I have yet to find a use for.

I still go out to the verandah after dark to look over our part of town, before closing the door to the night.
I took some photos in the darkness – my phone seems to have a night setting!

At times, ploughing through the mass of memorabilia, I wonder whether I should throw more stuff out.
Then I find myself looking again at tickets, receipts, letters and postcards from my journey through Europe when I was 25. I remembered more than I thought I could (and startled a largely uninterested son with reminiscences, when he had just come in to ask me a question…)

Disregard Frodo staring out at us.
Pretty much everything is in as good a condition as it was then. That plastic bag at the top contains my hair (which Biggest Boy thought was creepy…). I kept it because my hair had been quite long at the time, but Europe was so hot that I got it all chopped off very short, and didn’t want to just throw it all out. I’m not sure what to do with it now!

I also kept bits of currency, which is no longer used in the countries I visited in Europe.

The Netherlands 10c piece is the tiniest I have. You can see that the Eire (Ireland) coin fits in the hollow of a film canister lid – it’s roughly the size of an Australian 5c piece. The Netherlands 10c is tiny, and very light as well.

Bits of paper.
Random coins.
It all seems fairly useless.
But I can hold them in my hands, and once again feel the cold of a wet Irish night, or the heat of baking Roman stone. And I can remember younger me, heading out to see the world, still able to hike any amount of miles with a huge backpack on my back.
Life is strange, sometimes.
But still sweet.
❤

Published in: on July 2, 2023 at 12:11 am  Leave a Comment  

When The Garden Smiles Back

Winter seems to have made up its mind.
At least in the mornings.
I’ve unearthed the unicorn onesie and sock monkey hat, although sunny days are still too warm to wear those for long.

My Babe is still working out the shape of his music/recording business, which means that routine has been a bit patchy lately. We’ve been able to get a cuppa at a cafe a couple of times – checked out one we haven’t been to for a while.

Our view.

…and our food (and hot chocolate 🙂 )
They do some nice gluten free snacks there.
We originally went to check out their tea – we’re trying to source some nice leaf green tea.

We haven’t forgotten our favourite cafe!
The chocolate butter for my banana loaf was showing me some love…

…and the wall art was giving me advice!

I’m still tinkering around with my living space.
There’s a lot of “stuff”, but also a lot of space to put it in. Also – not much in the way of dust accumulation…
There are inspirational/joy-inducing areas.

Still unsure about the line between clutter and “enough” 🙂

❤ 🙂

My collection of badges, and some beautiful earrings, which I can’t actually wear (my ears aren’t pierced).

I treated myself to a cute chair.

I can use it as is, but the wooden base of the seat has, shall we say, led a hard life. I’ll try to replace it soon. I thought about using a lazy susan, so I can swivel the seat. We have one downstairs, but it’s too big.

So – why is my garden smiling at me?
It’s too cold for it to be doing much at the moment, although there are a lot of bougainvillea flowers about.
Yesterday I was hovering while a repair bloke did some work outside, and I looked through some random stones that someone, sometime, had thrown into the dirt beside the carport.
I found a quite happy looking combination of various stones and a stud thingy.

A further search produced a huge grin.

All things considered, this is a happy place.
😀

Published in: on June 24, 2023 at 10:51 pm  Leave a Comment  

Incompearable

Another pottering kind of day, with a couple of forays into the charity shops around here.
It was sunny and warm, the walking was easy, and I found some lovely things to take home. I also just missed out on some things I’d had my eye on and went back to pick up – once in each shop – the item was either just being paid for, or literally being taken off the shelf as I walked up. I tend to look at some things and go back later when I’m sure. If it’s gone, I assume I was never meant to have it. Having the thing picked up just as I’m about to reach for it seems a bit much, though (but what does it mean?? 😆 )
I didn’t get what I went there for, but I did get various things I didn’t go for.
We can’t have pets here, but I thought we could do with a guard dog.

I liked this, and brought it home to put up in my studio. It reminds me of what I’m here for 🙂

I have been listening to this the last few nights –

I think that we all have “something wild”, where the wonder comes from. Sometimes we just forget.

Speaking of wild…

Struggling in the middle of concrete and stone?
Maybe you can still grow!
❤

As for the “pear” in the title…
the Salvo’s over the road often has free bread, and sometimes fruit and veg.
Today, in the middle of the greens, was a small, bright, perfect pear.

Yum!
😀

Published in: on June 13, 2023 at 8:40 pm  Leave a Comment  
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