Such A LOVELY Day!

I sometimes wonder if I use the word “lovely” too much.
It can be seen as one of those words that are a bit too twee, maybe insincere…one of the lazy adjectives.
Occasionally, I will use “wonderful”, or veer off into the “spectacular” type realms.

But, mostly, I think “lovely” is the only appropriate word.
The dictionary seems to associate it with “delightful” and “charming“, and that’s how I see it – a sweet flower, or a cute puppy, or a wide-eyed child taking in the wonders of their world – what else could I say? ❤

There seems to be a sort of soft, squishy inner me (my mental image is of a cartoon granny – apple cheeks, grey-haired bun, little round wire glasses) that notices the delightful things in odd corners, and coos, “Ooooh – lovely!”.
And then totters off with a wistful smile.

Yesterday, I enjoyed loveliness in different guises.
Off to town on the bus in the morning to browse the charity shops, and relax with a hot chocolate and an unexpected treat.

A cruffin!
(not as sugary as it looks 🙂 )

I sat by myself at a tiny table for one.
Facing the wall, but with an off-centre mirror to see the world pass by.

Self portrait, with blue.

I was overlooked by a drift of feathers.

Time to move on!

I finally remembered to see the exhibition that is on at the gallery at the moment –
Leonard Brown, an Ipswich artist who paints both abstracts and icons (in the traditional manner).
In the context of my day, I will still say “lovely”…but I will also break out and add “beautiful”, “amazing”, and “inspiring”.
The exhibition is called “Painting the Celestial”, and is on until 14th June.
Go have a look!

One section of the abstracts.

…and some of the icons.
Neither photo does justice to the paintings. They’re best seen live.

My day continued with a selection of leaves, alive –

and dead.

Lovely! 🙂

The skies were a bit dramatic.

And then it was time to go home.
But not before treating myself to a t-shirt, which I didn’t need, but couldn’t resist.

Well, we all have to have a hobby…

Published in: on May 2, 2026 at 10:49 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Slowing Down To Fast

It’s been a good day.
I took the 7.25am bus into town, got a (yummy) coffee-and-hazelnut croissant. Browsed the Handmade Markets (which I’d thought were on last Saturday), then sat with my cappucino, chatting with a lady who was also waiting for the library to open. Shopping after, then home (all before lunch).
That’s the sort of morning I want to be having more often!

Picked up a little duck tea strainer in my travels.
Here it is, providing a lovely cup of hibiscus tea.

🙂

Also – here is the cabinet I was faced with this morning.

Reckon I’ll be back.

Today was a day of good food…
Our church has been talking about fasting lately.
It’s a discipline that I haven’t done regularly for quite a while, but one I’m enjoying getting back in to.

I’m not doing long stretches of fasting – I take medication that needs to be taken with food – but I’m using the time to stop, still, and focus on God.
That encompasses prayer, Bible reading, sometimes other reading or writing.
The last time, I was praying and I felt God was saying to me, “Have a sleep”.
Not what I was expecting.
But a persistent thought.

So, I had a nap.
It was lovely!
And when I woke up, something that had been frazzling my nerves seemed to have unraveled, and I could start on a path to sorting that thing out. I’m still figuring out each step as I go, but I don’t feel bound up by it now.

Every day has the potential to be an adventure!
And every fast has the potential to bring about breakthrough.
The best bit, though, is the stillness, and peace with God.

Surely a good day – every time!

Published in: on March 14, 2026 at 10:57 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Muted Week

It’s been pretty quiet here, with flashes of “doing” – appointments, housework…
We did manage to go out for coffee, and share some cheesecake.

White chocolate mocha?
It was nice 🙂

I bought a car.

😀
That’s about the size and price I can handle…
It had a conversation with my clock snail, and now lives in the art room.

The week is nearly over (again).
Some things I have done well.
Others, maybe not so much.
Hoping for a good sleep tonight.

And – remember!

❤

Published in: on February 19, 2026 at 11:31 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Thundering Through The Raindrops

I am thoroughly enjoying the drop in temperature.
Almost wintry!
Yesterday I took the bus into town, wandered about, and came home again on the bus.
It’s the first time I’ve done the whole trip since we’ve been here, although I’ve caught the bus home a few times. Not enough rain to get drenched while I was at the (ingoing) bus stop, but needed the umbrella.
I was reflecting, while gazing through the rain on the bus window, on what someone recently said to me – that I had a “child-like excitement”. On that occasion, it was referencing my enthusiasm over our street library odyssey last week (books! who wouldn’t be excited?) but I felt it yesterday as well.
It’s all new, and wonderful, if you look at things that way.
I was sifting through past selves, as well as enjoying the moment.
I used to ride the bus to high school, although I don’t have major memories of that. Mostly, my internal movie screen was taking me back to my first journeys in England, when I didn’t quite know where the bus was taking me, but anything was possible. There were bus trips across European cities too, but not as much rain…

So I sat, and smiled, and remembered.
Drifted through the city centre.

The flowers were also reveling in the rain.

Tried out a pink latte, in honour of Valentines Day.

Something to do with white chocolate and strawberry?

Contentment!

Contemplated an interesting question.

And treated myself to a small etching and aquatint snail.

I looked up the artist – she’s based in the U.K. Looks like her work generally goes for a bit more than the $2 I paid!

I got home not long after lunch, hurtling through the rain-swept streets until we reached the bus stop down from my place.

Tired. Hungry. And very happy.
❤

Published in: on February 14, 2026 at 9:13 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Feet Up!

It was a lounge chair, feet up kind of day.

We had nowhere to be today, so I caught up with some work at home.
Feeling a bit weary, although not entirely sure why. The days have not had quite the same shape as they usually do, so I may have been doing more than I normally would.
Today, I slept in. Read a bit. And finally finished off some mending that’s been sitting waiting for me 😀
I’ve done most of the time sensitive things – at least for this week!

We went to our favourite cafe yesterday.
Haven’t been for a few weeks.
There was Christmas in the air…
A tree of lights, a few poinsettias in pots,
and a “sugar plum” flavoured cappuccino

Vaguely fruity/sweet?
It was quite nice.

Tomorrow there will be more errands to run.
Today was a time to recharge.
❤

Published in: on December 11, 2025 at 11:17 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Cats, Cappuccinos, And Two Happy Feet!

It’s been a busy week – out on the town a few times, and feeling energetic as well! I even went out last night, for the first time in weeks 🙂
Today came crashing down a bit. Pain, so couldn’t sleep (finished off a book, though…). Lethargic and slow moving today.

Overall, I am doing well.
Getting hit with the pain, after a good day or two, can sometimes feel harder – the contrast feels greater. But I just have to look at the wider picture, and see how much more I’ve done this week 😀

Yesterday, we went out for a cuppa – another thing that’s been infrequent for quite a while.
I enjoyed the cappuccino break I had the other day so much, I decided to reprise it…

Different place – back to our regular cafe!
We sat on the sofa, with a cute little plant pot beside us –

and surrounded by leather and leaves.

We talked of many things…
❤

Of course, because I haven’t been out much these last few weeks, I had so much to check out at the charity shops around town. I found some things that I have needed for a bit, which is always helpful.
I also found things that I hadn’t realised I needed… 😆

I’ve had the blue-flower cat for a long time, and it has held some of my rings. I can only put so many on its tail before it starts to tip over. The new cat will help out, when I find where I packed the rest of my rings 🙂
There was also another cat, who will hold my favourite rings.

Today has been a bit hard, and the level of discomfort hard to take. Ideally, of course, every day would be full of energy and ability. But if this season has to include the pain, for some reason, then I am glad for the Very Good days!
One thing that I caught up with this week was replacing some worn out or missing items – the things you don’t need right away, so they just keep getting put on the back burner. My unicorn slippers have steadily been getting shredded, to the point where the holes in the sides are so big, I have to grab the slippers with my toes when I walk. Otherwise my feet stick out in all the wrong places…
So, I got myself some new slippers. Yay!
I know it’s getting hotter, but these floors can be hard, especially first thing in the morning. I need a bit of padding sometimes.
Behold – my happy feet!

And now…
let us dance.
❤

Published in: on October 16, 2025 at 10:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Shaping Up

We’re pretty much there.

A box here and there to sort.
A few wardrobe/cupboards to buy and fill.
And some bits that will wait a bit longer to go in a glass case (which is not as high a priority as other things, so who knows when that will happen?)

It’s been quite a few years since we’ve had this up.

Who are those young things? 😆

I took this photo a few days ago, but it gives an idea of our space.

We’re hoping to sort out most of our storage tomorrow, which leaves one (linen) cupboard to get. It needs to be 60cm wide, and enough space in shelves for duvets and blankets, which makes it harder to find.
Of course, all this searching needs a coffee (hot chocolate?) break.

❤

And we were only provided with three sets of keys, so I thought I’d go bright with my set.

😀

My art room is the last place for me to tackle.
I can see the shape of it – I can see me working there!

And I will.
Soon.
❤

Published in: on August 22, 2025 at 10:37 pm  Leave a Comment  
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How The Dust Settles

The sofas are in place, and most of the bookcases.
We just have to wend our way around various boxes to get to them.

It’s been a good week.
A tiring one.
But good.

I had an unexpected trip on Monday, and banged my head against the back door. No big deal, really, but it’s slowed me down a bit. We also woke up yesterday to the rain coming in through the entryway roof, but that was speedily resolved by a call to the real estate agents and a visit from the plumbers. The entryway light bulb doesn’t strobe now, so that’s a bonus! 😀

We’re steadily getting the hang of this place.
The bedrooms are carpeted – something that we haven’t had for a while – so I’m waiting to see if it attracts dust. Haven’t noticed it happening so far.
I’ve got up to date with our washing (and you know you’re getting older when that makes you feel both excited and accomplished…), but the boys – not so much. This has meant they’ve both had occasion to improvise when going into the outside world – one wore pyjama trousers to pick up stuff from Target, and the other wore a full length dressing gown to Coles. They’ve worked hard putting furniture together and in place, though, and the dishes have all been washed ❤

It’s a bigger space here. And we’re in a part of town we’ve not lived in before. Lots to see and get used to!
Here’s the view outside my bedroom window.

There’s a shed outside, and the (flat) roof is just under our window.
There are heaps of leaves dotted about on it, and a pair of plovers seem to be frequent visitors. Here’s one of them.

Maybe they’ve decided to set up home there?

It’s been a good week.
Managed to enjoy a cuppa out, amongst the greenery.

A good week – but tiring.
Time to have a rest.
❤

Published in: on August 9, 2025 at 9:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Curls. And Cake!

I noticed today that my hair is curling.

I’ve been letting it grow out, but haven’t really been looking in the mirror much.
Could do with a bit of a brush, though. 🙂

We’re at that stage with moving where things look a bit of a mess, and a lot still to do, but when you actually look properly, it’s not too bad.
I had a bit of a frog in the throat earlier in the week, and I still feel a bit bleah – not sure whether it’s dust, or virus. I never know quite what to do with going out when I’ve got a cough/sniffle. Haven’t been going out much, anyway, and thought about giving our fortnightly cafe date a miss (mornings are hardest to get going), but went in the end. Even though there’s people around, it’s not too hard to keep my distance.
So – a quick trip out, then back to boxes, dust, and the occasional unearthing of things I’d forgotten.

But at least there was cake!

🙂

Published in: on July 25, 2025 at 11:12 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Get Packing

We’ll be moving (again) in around two weeks.
After the initial flurry, it’s getting a bit exciting now… 🙂

And I’ve been steadily filling boxes. Some days I ache, and some I’m OK. It’s all good 😀

Most days have been stay-at-home days, but we’ve also been out and about. Yesterday we had a look round the new neighbourhood (we checked out the shopping centre up the road – nice bakery!)
And we still made time for a cuppa and cake.
Or in my case – hot chocolate and cinnamon cruffin.

I’m presuming it’s a cross between a croissant and a muffin.
Sweet. Light. Just enough sugar to not be too sickly.

A bit like life at the moment?

Published in: on July 19, 2025 at 10:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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