1000 Fields of Roses

Putting On My Dancing Shoes

It’s been a long but happy day.
On my birthday I like to take the day to go out somewhere, mostly to shop at op shops and have a good coffee somewhere. The last couple of years I’ve gone back to my past haunts, taking the train on my own, and getting back later in the afternoon. This year I didn’t think I’d manage the travelling, so my Babe took me in to have a look at some places I’ve seen as we’ve passed by on the way in to town but have never had the time to stop…
My morning started with a cup of tea and heart shaped chocolates in bed. My sweet boys got me another pop vinyl – this time Hedwig (I still need to get a Harry Potter!)

We went fairly early to start the day, while I still had energy.
It seems a bit superficial to spend my day shopping…
I tend to buy second hand for most purchases – I like re-purposing things, and you can find all sorts of weird and wonderful treasures. Today I picked up some books I’ve been looking for (yay!) as well as other bits and pieces.

Stopped for a coffee and a GF brownie (hadn’t had breakfast!)

We went down the road to another shop I’d seen often but never had the time to go into. No second hand stuff here, but lots of lovely handmade things! I splurged on some dragonfly metalwork.

with a little sweet sounding bell at the end!

Cake when we got home – another unicorn in my day 🙂

I found a little Harry Potter ooshie, so that can keep Hedwig company until I get a bigger version 🙂

And my Mum sent me a clip of “my” song…

It’s been a full day, and I kept going longer than I thought I would.
The world is well…
and now it’s time for bed!

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on February 4, 2021 at 10:46 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: birthday, Janelle

A Tale Of Two Vases

…and other random thoughts.

Today my Babe got me some flowers!

It’s my birthday tomorrow, but we’re planning to be out for the morning. He was off to the shops today, so decided to get me an early present ❤
I trimmed them ready to put them in a vase, but found the stems were too big to be able to fit in the vase available. I tried! Eventually I realised that I would hurt the flowers by squishing them in, so found another vase.
I prefer to use just the one, and get a full hit of colour all at once, but I think they look OK.

Here they are in their final home…

My other random thoughts?
More a wandering around the internet again…

I stepped back in time a bit to relive my love of Enya, even though that could be considered uncool…
I had a look at a Little Free Art Gallery, which is similar to a Little Free Library.
I listened to Seth MacFarlane sing a couple of Cyndi Lauper’s greatest hits in the voice of his characters – and in front of Cyndi Lauper!
And I listened (quite a few times!) to Reckless Whisper… 😆

Tomorrow I’m planning on more fun! 😉

Published in:

Music

on February 3, 2021 at 5:25 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Enya

A Day Of Small Things

I’ve been having a good run of things lately. Going down to the pool in the mornings, doing bits and pieces around the house… starting to feel like I might get back to “normal”. That’s until last night – pains that I haven’t had for a while, keeping me awake, and then in bed most of the day.
I’VE GOT THINGS TO DO!!!
😆

I’m not entirely sure why – lugging stacks of large, heavy books around yesterday may have something to do with it. I struggled with the “shoulds” today, then eventually realised it would be a day of resting, not doing much… small movements and small joys where I can find them!

I didn’t get to do the laundry, or finish organising my bookcases. I did do a bit of photography – little vignettes of my small things dotted about to make the place bright.
🙂

Little vases, with little bouquets…

A brightly coloured insect I fished out of the pool the other day

…and a single frangipani with a yellow-tinged feather!

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on January 28, 2021 at 5:11 pm Leave a Comment

Putting Out The Welcome Mat

Yesterday we finally got a new mat for the front door. It’s just cheap and cheerful, but we’ve been doing without one for a while, as the last one was years old and shedding bits into the house…

🙂

We like to think we’re welcoming, and enjoy having people over for a cuppa. Covid has changed things over this last year, but anyone is still welcome to come visit!
Today is Australia Day, a day that has various meanings for different people. I remember celebrating as a child without much thought, but have come to see that the date is not a celebration for many First Nations peoples. There are varying views on changing the date – it’s worth talking to people about their views, listening to what they have to say, and thinking about what the best option is for all Australians. Personally, I don’t see a problem with changing the date. Maybe I’m missing something, but I can’t see how it could hurt anyone, and I don’t see why it would be a problem. The day has had its changes over the years…
I’m all for celebrating what’s good about Australia. For remembering where we’ve come from – both the good and the bad of that history. Acknowledging the contributions of newcomers to our shores over the years, and working to help those who need shelter here. We don’t necessarily need to do that on the 26th January.

Come over for a cuppa and we can talk about it.
My new mat says hi!

Published in:

Thinking....

on January 26, 2021 at 11:01 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Change The Date

Catching Up

The holidays are drawing to a close, and I’m feeling the start of the new school year breathing down my neck…
Thankfully I’ve had a few good days, at least good enough to get stuff done! We’re ready to leap in to lessons again – me as well 🙂 I’ll be doing a year long online course, so it’s all students in our house this year.

My beautiful new dollhouse bookcase is now full, as is the bookcase below it. All my mysteries are there, apart from my Cadfaels and Trixie Beldens – they’re in the bedroom. I’ve also moved some of my stuffed toys and Pop Vinyls up to those shelves.

Sorry about the photo quality – the light got in the way.
Here’s another angle…

That strange looking red and green thing up the top is the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

I’ve also been receiving some treats in the mail – things I sent away for as a Christmas present to me, but that have been delayed by the present shipping situation (I’m still waiting for some things from the US that were shipped in November). One thing I bought from Ebay was a T-shirt that seemed to be something I could wear. Unfortunately, the company that makes it seems to think that a Women’s size M should be smaller than a Youth size M (which would probably have been OK). I can’t really send it back, as the original sale post did include measurements. I just drastically miscalculated…
Thankfully, I have a very large teddy that can wear it!
The design is based on Futurama’s heads in jars, but with “all the doctors” – see how many you recognise! 😆

I’ve already started some of my course, and also some other mini classes I signed up for before I knew I’d be doing a larger programme…
We’ve still managed to get some coffee, to enjoy some time together before everyone’s busy with other things.
❤

Latte, with the ever-present mask, ready for service…

Onward, to a new phase in my life!

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Thinking....

on January 23, 2021 at 8:05 pm Leave a Comment

Frangipanis, Unicorns, And A Dollhouse For Books

We weathered the lockdown, and have continued to wear masks when we’re out…
We’ve also been rearranging the furniture!
Sweet Bean decided to go through his cupboards and give away all the stuff he’s grown out of, or just doesn’t want anymore. This amounted to quite a lot of stuff. After giving away what we could, we took the rest down to Lifeline, and got our space back again…
The recent rain over the last few weeks meant that our grass grew quite quickly. We couldn’t see the planting boxes, and I couldn’t get to the hose on hot days because there was a jungle in front of it. Neither my Babe nor I could do the mowing, so we asked some friends, who have started a new business, to come over to do it. They worked really hard, and did such a good job, that now I can see my garden again! 😀

Such an expanse of space, inside and out!

I’m still trying to get to the pool each morning, and gathering the fallen frangipanis when I go. I have a collection of tiny vases which I don’t normally use, but are just big enough to fit one flower.

…and I can sit on the patio again with my smoothie for breakfast, and my unicorn mug with dandelion coffee, enjoying my garden!

I’ve been trying to tidy the place for a while – certainly wanting to get it done before school goes back! I can’t do strenuous stuff much anymore, and try to do things in bursts as I can. It’s frustrating…
For a long time, I’ve thought there was no spare space in our house for another bookcase. If you’ve been to our place, you’d know why – there’s certainly nowhere downstairs for one! I realised that we could fit one at the top of the landing, if we could find one of a specific size. There’s also the possibility of another one in the bedroom, but it would have to be narrow and not too deep. I looked for ages for the landing one, on Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace. Bookcases tend to go quickly!
Eventually we bought a half size bookcase that would fit in the area, and then someone posted about a dollhouse that had been sitting out for collection not far from us. We left it until the afternoon in case someone else wanted it, but when we went to have a look, it was still there. It’s large, but sturdy, and I thought I could use it as another bookcase. It fits really well on the other one 🙂
It was a bit water damaged, although the main structure is sound. I had to tear paper off and clean it down, and in some cases paste fresh paper over gaps and stains. It looks good, if a bit patchwork!

Now to fill it up! A bit at a time, as I have the energy…
Mostly my mystery collection – Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, P.D.James, Ngaio Marsh, Ruth Rendell, Colin Dexter, Kathy Reichs, and others.
Yay!

Published in:

Thinking....

on January 16, 2021 at 9:06 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Right Look Property Maintenance Ipswich

Chaos Before The …Storm?

Today was our normal scheduled fortnightly shop. There’s usually no dramas – we go in, get what’s on the list, go home, have coffee. Today just happened to coincide with the hours before the three day lockdown for Brisbane and surrounds.
Notice that it’s for…three days.

Thankfully we tend to get there not too long after the shop opens, so that we still have the rest of the day to do stuff. It was a bit busier than usual, but we got a parking space, and there was still plenty milk and toilet paper. By the time we got to the checkouts there were lines stretching towards the back of the store. Trying to get out of the car park was another story… there were lines of cars circling, waiting for a space. Someone offered me money for my trolley as she waited in her car for us to vacate our space (I refused, as we use a token that I wanted to get back). I could see here point, though, when I got back to the trolley park – there were none left at all!
I really enjoyed that coffee once we got home…

This lockdown goes until Monday night. I presume it will be reassessed when there’s more information about the possible spread of the new strain of COVID, so perhaps it will stretch for longer than Monday. I’d be surprised if anyone is likely to starve within those three days, though. Especially if you can afford to fill trolleys full of …stuff.
Still, I can’t really talk. We have a full fridge.

The uncertainty of 2020 looks like it will pop up throughout this year as well. I hope we remember the lessons learnt last year, of giving to those in need and taking care of the vulnerable, of simplifying life and relishing the quiet spaces.

Here’s a bowl of frangipanis.
Because the trees are still flowering.
❤

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on January 8, 2021 at 6:07 pm Leave a Comment

Moving Along

After musing a bit gloomily yesterday, it’s time to brighten up the first week of the new year by crashing a Muppets Zoom call (Messenger chat?)

Because there’s not a lot that can’t be made better with Kermit and a banjo…

Edited to add –
I wrote this last night, and set it to post this morning. With what’s been going on in the US today I wasn’t sure if it might seem a bit flippant. Ultimately, I decided it was still a good time to be looking at moving right along…

Published in:

Music

on January 7, 2021 at 10:38 am Leave a Comment
Tags: Muppets

Musings From A WOMI

I’ve been reading.
Mostly cosy mystery type books – they’re easy, quick, and helpful for those days when you just can’t muster up the energy for too much…
Which brings me to the book I’m reading at the moment.

It’s an interesting read.
The author is writing from the perspective of a WOMI (Woman with a Mysterious Illness) and her long fight to find out what’s going on and what to do about it. I haven’t finished reading it, so I don’t know yet how that turns out… She comes from a family of doctors, and has great respect for doctors as a whole, but there’s the acknowledgement that mainstream medicine has no protocol for the myriad of “mysterious illnesses” that are suffered mostly by women, and therefore tends to dismiss any mysterious symptoms as psychological or just “women’s stuff”.
I was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia, although I’m not sure what that actually means in my case – I’ve been dismissed from the hospital clinic that gave the diagnosis as they can’t do anything for me. Whether the medical establishment mean it or not (and in my experience over the years, some definitely do mean it, and verbalise it freely) these types of symptoms/diagnoses come with a mental eye roll and a sense that you’re just whining and need to sort yourself out.
In the bit I was reading today there was a list of common symptoms found in WOMIs, some of which I hadn’t realised could be linked to the others.

I can check off 50 from that list.
Thankfully they generally don’t appear together, and not necessarily severely – some more than others. There never seems to be a time when I’m not experiencing some combination. Some days are really bad, some are bearable – and I think over the last year or so I’ve learnt how to ignore some things enough to function. I’m certainly not in as dire a state as some people I know, and I am grateful for how well I can function.
But sometimes, I get tired…
And it’s very discouraging, when you’ve had stacks of tests and you still feel generally horrible, to be told that – good news! – there’s nothing wrong with you!
Yay? 😥

The book discusses nutrition and alternative medicine, and sees it as a positive thing. I know that watching what I eat and keeping up with vitamins/herbs etc helps me quite a lot. These can be restricted by cost and sometimes the difficulty in using them (if something requires preparation and it’s a bad day, it’s not going to happen). I would recommend finding a good practitioner. But also realising that there’s no magic pill/herb/concoction. Sometimes, it’s just a balancing act.

I’ll have to finish reading to find out how it ends…

Published in:

on January 6, 2021 at 10:24 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Sarah Ramey