We watched this last week, so I revisited it today…
Have you had a bad day?
Here’s Baby Groot dancing!
Enjoy! 🙂
Remember
 Today.
Anzac DayÂ
When we remember –
not to glorify war,
or some version of nationalism,
but to honour sacrifice.
To remember love.
Waiting, Far Off
A quiet roar
 one
he lays his left hand along the beam
hand that moulded clay into fluttering birds
hand that cupped wild flowers to learn their peace
hand that stroked the bee’s soft back and touched death’s sting
two
he stretches his right hand across the grain
hand that blessed a dead corpse quick
hand that smeared blind spittle into sight
hand that burgeoned bread, smoothed down the rumpled sea
three
he stands laborious
sagging, split,
homo erectus, poor bare forked thing
hung on nails like a picture
he is not beautiful
blood sweats from him in rain
far off where we are lost, desert dry
thunder begins its quiet roar
the first drops startle us alive
the cloud no bigger
than a man’s hand
Fed Up Days
Had a couple of days this week when I just had to vacate normal life for a bit – go off on my own and eat/spend money. I had every intention of throwing cash around, but in the end I got a DVD set that had been marked down to half price, a thrift shop CD, a half price craft set, and a random assortment of cups, plates and a teacup, which set me back just under $5… it seems I don’t do hedonism very well.
Aren’t my new plates pretty, though!
I ate lunch out two days running – I normally only have coffee and perhaps some sort of cake…
A house melt…
…and a bacon and egg muffin.
I wasn’t going for low calorie.
I had planned to have a day out on my own this holidays, but not really starting from a point of irritation and overwhelm. Makes it harder to get in to the mood I was hoping for, but I did eventually reach serenity to some degree. I walked more than I have done in a while… here’s a frangipani I picked up on the way.
Not sure why the top petals are that shape? I’ve never seen that before. Still smelled sweet, though.
I needed the break from everyday for a bit. Not long till we’re back into school term – not sure I feel quite that ready!
Here’s some flowers I got last Sunday, still brightening up our home 🙂
Bed soon – early start in the morning!
The Lady Burns
Twenty-five years ago I travelled through Europe, ending up in Paris before going back to the U.K., where I was living.
I remember going to see Notre Dame. It was a hot summer, Paris was crowded and dirty, with what I took to be smog rising into the atmosphere. Still felt the romance – it’s a beautiful city.
The cathedral seemed apart from the bustle, even though there were many tourists passing through – it’s on its own little island in the river Seine. The interior was quiet, with light shining through stained glass and illuminating stone. A peaceful oasis – majestic and beautiful.
Today I woke up to the news that it was burning, and the spire had already fallen. Nobody knew at that stage what would remain once the flames were finally extinguished. At this point, there is still structure left, and the possibility of rebuilding. Artworks and artifacts have been rescued. And thankfully, no-one died.
I am grateful to have been able to have seen it all those years ago. I’m not French – I only visited briefly in 1994 – but I feel a sense of loss, and can only imagine what Parisiens are feeling today. It’s always terrible when history is destroyed, and I imagine there is also a sense of national identity involved as well.
Hopefully, what is important will be recovered and rebuilt, as has happened with other monuments and landmarks over the years. Perhaps someday I will take my sons, or even grandchildren, to see what rises from the ashes…
Festivity
Had a busy day today, starting with bargains and catching up with friends, then off to the Ipswich Festival for a few hours of live music.
We got there half way through the set of a singer called Brooke Austin, who I enjoyed, but haven’t been able to find much info on…
We parked ourselves in the shade so we could comfortably listen for a while – here’s our view –
It was mid-morning – not so many people there yet.
Sweet Bean wandered – round town, but also had a go in the competition at the Heritage Bank tent. They were giving away squishy pink pigs if you got the ball in the basketball net – he won one, even though he could only use one hand!
Say hello to Pancetta Pig! 😀
We were really at the Festival for Wild Eyed Wonder, who we have seen before, and enjoy hearing. Took some footage of the end of a song (there were people standing in front of me, and I was enjoying the blue skies and clouds anyway, so that’s the background…)
Go check out her Facebook page and YouTube channel for more music!
I love live music. We haven’t been able to get to the Festival for the last few years, so we’re planning to enjoy what we can this year. I love watching the tiny beans running and dancing (and turning cartwheels) across the grass while their parents look on. This morning there were two girls who couldn’t stand on their own, but were able to dance by being held up by their carers, who danced with them. There weren’t many people when we were there (I expect there were more later this evening after the parade), but those of us there were able to lose ourselves in the vibrancy for a few hours, each dancing in our own ways.
Also, there was bacon and cheese loaded chips, and iced chocolate. Can’t be bad!
We also listened to The Lighthearts
Sunshine and cheer…
After them were Dezzie D and the Stingrayz – 40s/50s style – but we didn’t stay for their whole set. We’re hoping to spend a few hours at the Jazz and Blues Festival tomorrow, so it was off home for a rest.
Had a look at the classic cars outside – I’m not very mechanically minded, but they were beautiful. Then we said goodbye, as the sun shone down on us…
Casting Beans For Future Growth
Spent the morning with Sweet Bean, finally getting an x-ray so we could see what’s going on with his elbow.
It’s a minor fracture (a small non-displaced avulsion fracture of the radial neck), but is still painful and needs to be immobilised so it can heal properly and return to full function… puts a crimp in his holiday plans, but on the plus side – no dishes to do for 2-4 weeks! 😀
We picked up a chiller for him after all the doctory stuff – it took a lot longer than we’d thought to get it all done (x-ray, waiting for an available doctor, then getting the plaster cast put on), and he was tired and achey by the end. Now to figure out fun things he can do for the next few weeks!
Skating On The Edge
Yesterday was the first day of the holidays, and Sweet Bean went skating for his Youth Group breakup. He hasn’t done much skating at all, and unfortunately gravity did its thing…
There didn’t seem to be swelling or bruising, but after a night of little sleep from pain we decided to go get him checked at the Medical Centre… the likelihood is that it’s not a major thing, but he’ll be x-rayed on Monday to check. Not the start he was hoping for today!
He did manage to get some sleep/rest this morning, so we were able to go to the markets – some good bargains to be had!
A whole box of nectarines for a fiver 😀
Some of these are for eating, and some are being stewed and frozen for later use.
There’s always the possibility of amazing pastries at the markets, although we don’t normally get them. This morning we had a tired, grumpy Bean to cheer up, so we got a couple of different pastries… the plan was that he would have one and we would share the other. It was too hard to choose, so we all had a bit of each.
Almond croissant and raspberry crumble brioche – enough to cheer anyone up! It’s been a day of reading and watching cheerful TV.
Hopefully we’ll all get a full night’s sleep tonight…
Love Story For The Ages?
Last day of term today – yay!
Sweet Bean has worked very hard, with the result being that all his assessments were in on time and today we were able to watch “Romeo and Juliet“, his English text for next term. The link he was given wasn’t very useful, so we ended up watching a BBC adaptation from 1978. Here’s the balcony scene…
It’s nearly three hours long, so we made popcorn and brought out the bikkies. I inadvertently put the subtitles on, but that ended up helping us keep up with the dialogue.
What did I think of it?
It’s the play most people think of when they think of Shakespeare, and the epitome of doomed love and great romance. And yet…
Perhaps I’m getting old. I found myself getting irritated by all the teenage emoting. When I was apparently meant to feel the weight of their great love through flowery speech I just felt like shouting “Get a grip!! Where’s your sense of PROPORTION!!!” I also may have shed a tear when Juliet’s parents (and nurse) find her “dead” on the morning of her wedding to Paris – that affected me far more.
On the other hand, I do appreciate the poetry and artistry involved, and that there are layers to the play. All in all, it was worthwhile watching it, and interesting to discuss later. But… young love? More like an infatuation of less than a week, with six people dead by the end of it. Hardly a story to aspire to.
Well, tomorrow’s the start of the holidays. Sweet Bean’s excited about being able to sleep in (and so am I!) Lots of books waiting to be read!
