Of Dried Roses And Dancing Waves

My birthday was weeks ago now. Seems like years, in some ways… I still have a lovely bouquet of roses that I was given. They dried beautifully – even kept a bit of their colour.

Today, I am still recovering from some surgical procedures from last week that didn’t quite go the way they were planned. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I had to be woken up, and still need to go back at some point to get things done again.

I feel almost like the roses.
Dry. Past their best. A bit more fragile than they were.
Still functioning to create beauty, though.

After I was woken up, they tried to explain some of what had happened. As far as I understand, any future anaesthetic could be dangerous for me, and I need to warn medical staff if it’s needed at a later date. Also – I still have the original issues that prompted the whole thing…
I think that all this isn’t likely to affect my daily life, but sometimes I still feel the fear of possibilities. I pray to, and trust, God to hold my life, and to do what’s best. There’s still those moments, though, when I am alone in the darkest hours, and the bottom drops out of hope and light.
Just for a second.

In the last week or so, this has been the song I’ve been listening to –

There’s always room for dancing, however high the waves.
And remembering Who I have to fall back on…


Published in: on March 21, 2022 at 8:54 pm  Comments (2)  
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Medals, Ukraine And Hidden Books

I am enjoying a bit of cool weather at the moment, while listening to a CD of lost songs of St Kilda (the island, not the suburb/team…). We’re apparently in line for storms later on, so I’ll enjoy having the windows open for as long as I can! The heat we’ve been having has knocked me around a bit – I’ve generally felt like a weary, expanding ball of inflammation. I have not been able to do too much, so I was pleased to receive some more medals from the virtual races I’ve been doing. These were for shorter routes, which I used for various exercise activity.

Here are the backs –

And the bits that come apart –

At the moment they’re doing a Ukraine challenge. This one has no medal, so that all proceeds can go to help NGOs that are already working there.
I’ve also just signed up to another GISH (mini)Hunt, with proceeds once again going to Ukraine. It’s also a “book bash” hunt, a scavenger hunt for readers and writers – yay! 😀

What about the hidden books, I hear you ask?
I’ve been doing a bit of tidying and rearranging, in fits and starts…
For some reason this place gets dusty pretty much as soon as you look at it. I’ve tacked up some curtains over my bookcases in the bedroom. Hopefully that will keep the dust off my books for a bit. They hide my books, but they’re pretty. 🙂

I’ve got some hospital procedures next week that I’m (not) looking forward to. There are various preparations involved, but one of those will be making sure I have a substantial stack of (non-dusty!) books within easy reach during recovery. I’ll have to get to the library soon, and there’s a whole lot of books I’ve acquired recently but not had the time to read.
What more could I want?
😀

Published in: on March 9, 2022 at 11:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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A Starring Role?

…or at least a couple of seconds in one of the slightly bigger boxes (amongst all the others!) 😆
Here’s the latest Couch Choir clip – an original song by Astrid Jorgensen.

Enjoy!
😀

Published in: on March 7, 2022 at 10:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Waiting In The Sun

Sun’s out.
The torrential rain has finished for the time being, at least round our way. We’re still waiting to see what will happen later in the week.
Our house was fine – we had to dig some trenches and redirect water, but that was more a drainage problem than a flooding issue. There’s a sort of a lull at the moment. There are still roads flooded in town, making essential shopping a bit harder. Supplies in the shops were running low over the weekend, and restocking might be a problem. We’re fine. There are many who aren’t, so we’re waiting to see what’s needed once the waters recede enough to be able to do something. We’re not much good these days for heavy lifting, but we can do meals/groceries, and we still have a bed and sofa for anyone needing them. 🙂

Last week I sent in my part for the latest Couch Choir. Not sure when it will all be put together, but here’s a Pub Choir clip (pre-Covid!) that seems to be appropriate. It’s probably been appropriate for at least the last three years or so!

It might seem like cold comfort to someone surveying the wreckage of everything they own, and of course there are long term effects that will need to be addressed. But we can all still pitch in as a community.
One of the good things I’ve found over the last few years (at least for me) is a sense of connection to places and people I would never have met or seen otherwise. It feels almost like we could go anywhere and see anyone we wanted to pre-Covid, but had got into the habit of not connecting. Perhaps we didn’t feel the need for community quite so much, and so were careless about it building and maintaining it…
I hope that in our future we can remember to maintain the nourishing things, and continue to keep away from the unhelpful things.

Speaking of futures – here’s a possible one!
Who knows? 😆

Published in: on March 1, 2022 at 12:50 pm  Leave a Comment  
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People All Over The World

It’s pouring outside – good to see the rain, but it’s meant a bit of digging to prevent flooding.
Elsewhere, it seems like the world is on fire.
Apart from global events, there are also personal losses and worries seemingly everywhere you look…

I’ve been looking for cheerful songs that make me feel like dancing. Here’s one –

Seem a bit flippant?
I think it’s important to remember there’s still the possibility of love.
Of course, targeted action is important, too – we all have a voice, in some capacity.

We also need to remind ourselves to see the ordinary people. The ones that are dissenting, even at great cost. The ones that are just like us, only in a dangerous situation not of their own making.
In my lifetime I have seen people causing pain and horror, whether for nations, families, or individuals. I still believe that the majority of people tend towards kindness. It doesn’t matter what someone else believes; it certainly doesn’t matter what they look like. We’re all people. We can look into each other’s eyes and see family. And we can care for and encourage each other.

Even so, this day may just be too much for you.
Sleep.
Wake up to another day.
Those of us who are able to can hold things up (in prayer, practice, encouragement) when you just can’t in this moment.
❤

Published in: on February 25, 2022 at 3:47 pm  Leave a Comment  
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To The Heart Of It…

Valentine’s Day today!
❤
My Babe is cooking a special meal for this evening (steak and mushrooms, followed by icecream). He’s out this morning, and we’re not planning wild shenanigans to celebrate the day. I haven’t got anything as such for him – sometimes just getting a box of chocolates is not quite the thing (most times it is – let’s not get silly here!) Instead, I have chosen some songs which feel like they reflect parts of our journey, and sent them to him.
❤

…and if you haven’t yet got a gift for your significant other, here’s some hints 😆

Published in: on February 14, 2022 at 11:58 am  Leave a Comment  
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Roses, On The Road

It was a big week last week – at least the last few days. I celebrated my birthday on a few of the days 🙂 , and there were other appointments to get to.
Unfortunately, this week has started off slowly, with fatigue and pain… there are still more appointments to get to in the next few days, but for today, I am resting.

One of my birthday gifts was a bouquet of roses, from a beautiful lady from church. They smelled lovely too!

❤

I’ve been too tired to even do much reading today (although I’ll try again later!), so I’m listening to a Home Free playlist.
They sing more serious songs beautifully, but today I was more in the mood for Fun 😀 – whether simply musical enjoyment,

embracing technology in the midst of quarantine

…or just a bit of 80s nostalgia!

I was going to question whether we really wore stuff like that, but then I remembered – not only did we, but somewhere out there, there is photographic proof 😆

I hope your day is pain free and full of energy.
But, if it’s not, I hope you can still hear some fun music in your heart…
❤

Published in: on February 8, 2022 at 3:33 pm  Leave a Comment  
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53

Another year round the sun, and another day out in the Big City!
Every year my Babe gets me to decide on an itinerary, then chauffeurs (and bankrolls 😀 ) me through the day.

I decided to start this birthday with breakfast at a place I haven’t been to in many years. The Pancake Manor has been around since 1979, but I didn’t get there until the early 90s. It’s open 24 hours (as it was then), so we got there early to miss the rush hour traffic into Brisbane. Back in the Old Days 🙂 , I used to sometimes go after a night shift – lingering over fluffy pancakes, in all sorts of flavours, at 2 or 3am. The building used to be a church, and it’s still got that sort of style. The life size knights are still at the door as you come in, but I couldn’t see the huge throne-like chairs that used to be in the centre of the room. We sat in the pews against the wall…

❤

These days, my journeys tend to be planned around fatigue, so we didn’t plan to stay long. We had a look around New Farm – browsed (and bought from) a charity shop there, then picked up a Hero panini for lunch from the New Farm Deli – another place I went to 30 years ago. I lived just up the road, so I was a more frequent visitor there than at the Pancake Manor. The food is still amazing, and the Deli has grown considerably since then. Definitely worth a visit! 😀

By this time I was running out of steam, but so pleased to have made it that far! We got home about lunch time, and I’ve not been doing much since.
My sweet boys both got me pressies, which they went out of their way to find for me. I love how they put such thought into it, and how their choices reflect who they are ❤
I didn’t really feel like eating a lot of cake, so we picked up some Unicorn (fondant) Fancies. Just big enough for a candle, and a taste of birthday cake…

Yay for today!

…and now there’s only one thing left to say.

🙂

Published in: on February 4, 2022 at 11:01 pm  Leave a Comment  
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In The In Between

…we will still sing

Published in: on January 30, 2022 at 11:22 am  Leave a Comment  
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Picking Flowers

…or photos of them, anyway 😆

I’m back on the Centrelink treadmill, supposedly trying to find work. There’s lots of jobs for doctors. Or Uber drivers. Or maybe labouring of some sort…
I’m not much good anymore for 8 hour days, especially when you figure in travelling time as well. When I was younger I could work 16 hour days/6 days a week, hauling mail bags that were sometimes up to 25-30ish kilos. That was a long time ago.
When I told my job provider that I would find it difficult to do full time hours, they sent me back to Centrelink, who sent me off with medical forms for disability. Turns out I have a chance 😆 , although I’ve heard from others about how difficult it is to qualify.
I now have a (double) appointment for the doctor to go over the form with me. This is separate to the appointment I had already made with the doctor over something different, which meant I had to reschedule the appointment with Centrelink to discuss the form that would not have been filled in before the appointment that had been made initially. That rescheduling was surprisingly easy. Turns out Centrelink are more flexible than my doctor!
This morning I had another appointment added, this time for a hospital check up that’s been working its way up a referral list somewhere – I can’t even remember how many referral lists I’m on now.
I’m hoping to go out for my birthday next Friday, but we’ll see how much energy I have left!

Anyway – while I’m in a sort of holding pattern, I have time to share some photos of flowers that I’ve taken over the last few months 🙂

More flowers, but this time on the wall 🙂
(sometimes, this is how I feel…)

Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll start to see what’s growing…
❤

Published in: on January 28, 2022 at 5:10 pm  Leave a Comment  
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