Clever Packaging...

Escaping reality...

Some days I just wish I could escape.

Love thy neighbour...

I live in an inner city suburb of Melbourne where old weatherboard houses are pushed in between blocks of flats and clinker brick commission houses of the 1930's. There are pensioners who grow veggies in their front gardens, living next door to city workers in townhouses. Couples with kids or dogs (or both) and couples without.

Many people greet each other with a nod or a friendly hello in the street, whilst others keep to themselves. Without doubt there are a few oddballs. Despite (or maybe because of) the range of characters, the area maintains a local feel.

There is a local milk bar on the next block which originally sold papers, stale bread and limp groceries, but is now a meeting place for a coffee and a chat. The old timers sit amongst the new comers and watch the world go by with little changing across the years apart from the inevitable turn of the seasons.

It's pretty quiet mostly, despite it's inner suburb location, though true to high density living, not much goes unnoticed.

Whilst out and about, I will sometimes say hello or briefly smile in greeting and mostly people are friendly... and yet there are some characters I tend to avoid. It's not conscious exactly, I just don't go out of my way to greet them. One such person lives across the road and is a pretty rough looking guy. He's big, generally goes unshaven, has wide shoulders and dresses in an oversized T-shirt and shorts, no matter what the season. I know he is there and I am quite sure he has seen me too, but he keeps to himself and I am quite happy with the situation as it stands.

So this morning, as Mal was unlocking his car (an original 1978 mini), he was taken a little by surprise when this guy called out from the other side of the road, trying to get his attention.

It seems a few nights ago, he caught a few young guys trying to flip over Mal's car (three of them on a section each) and he told them in no uncertain terms to piss off! Thankfully (and not surprisingly) he didn't get any arguments and they left post haste. "I'm a pitt bull, I am" he told Mal with a smile. A smiling pit bull.

They chatted briefly and Mal thanked him before he continued on his way, giving each each other a nod as he drove away.

Just one of those days...

It's a grey start to the day. I'm rugged up - still in my winter work-wear and it's nearly the first day of summer. I've made it to work, on mucky roads in impatient traffic.

I'd rather be walking on the beach, preferably in the sun, but even here would be ok...

Where would you like to be right now?

This web cam picks up the view of Bass Strait and Point Lonsdale back beach. Point Lonsdale is the town where I grew up. You can click on the link here and see 4 different views from the Lonsdale Lighthouse. Of course, it's a lot nicer on a sunny day.

Clever Packaging...

This is my favourite quote...

Whatever you can do,
or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

I actually used this quote for an earlier "This is" post, but I couldn't resist using it again. It really is great motivation for taking a leap into the unknown - being bold and seeing what might happen.

So what are you waiting for?
You heard the man! Begin it!
Go for it!

The theme for this weeks "This is..." came from Ashley at Strawberry Kisses. The "This is..." meme was started by the very creative Angela of Three Buttons fame.

I have other quotes I love too... just click on "quote of the day" link below to read a few more of my favourites.

Clever Packaging...

I was shot and I survived...

A few months ago, Mal needed a model for his photography course and so I (rather reluctantly) volunteered. I agreed to model for him on the proviso he was to delete any really bad pics and that he retouched out any spots or major wrinkles. I thought that was more than reasonable!

It actually went quite well in the end, thanks to some good lighting - Oh and Mals photography too! Once I relaxed, we even had a bit of a laugh.

He said he didn't have to do TOO much retouching, and at 41, I am happy to believe him!

You can go and visit his new web page here at PortraitPro...
It's still in it's early stages, but he already has some great shots. Go to his gallery and take a look!

Quote of the day...

Kind words can be short and easy to speak
but their echoes are truly endless.

Mother Theresa

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday.

71 today.

We celebrated together... seven of us in all. It was a special lunch of roast lamb, birthday cake and chocolate brownies shared with good company.

Happy Birthday Dad.
x

My favourite things...

This was one of my earliest posts and I had a lot of fun with it. I thought I might revisit it here today and get this little tune dancing around your head for the day. And sometimes it's just good to rembember there are good things in the world... and sometimes the simplest of things bring joy to your life.

So time to sing-a-long everyone! You know you want to!

My Favourite things...
Snowflakes in winter and bluebells in springtime,
Family board games, you time and me time,
Hot open fires and glasses that 'ching'
These are a few of my favourite things...
•
Sweet jaffa ice-cream and drinks in tall glasses,
Show-offs and posers that fall on their asses,
Old eighties music, that friends and I sing,
These are a few of my favourite things...
•
Steaming hot chocolate stuffed full of marshmallows,
Long stemmed red roses from my favourite fellow,
Christmas time presents, that Santa will bring,
These are a few of my favourite things...
•
Confrontation!
Indignation!
Leave me feeling mad
So I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don't feel so bad
•
Long walks in summer on clean sandy beaches,
Fresh river swimming (just minus the leeches)
Slow Sunday breakfast with vegemite toast,
these are things that I treasure the most.
•
Broad smiling faces of children in wonder,
Summertime rainfall with lightening and thunder
Kookaburras laughing, a canary that sings
These are a few of my favourite things...
•
Long converstaions with giggling girlfriends
Christmas and Easter, birthdays and week-ends,
Good wit and humour - the laughter it brings,
These are a few of my favourite things!
•
Crowded spaces
Tear stained faces
Leave me feeling sad
So I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don't feel so bad
•

You may even want to give it a try yourself and make up your own version. If you do, come back and let me know - I'd love to sing along to your version.

Word Verification Interpretation...

Is it just me, or does anyone else have issues with word verification?

I have a ridiculous amount of trouble with word verification when posting comments on blogs. It is not unusual for me to have to try a few of times before I finally get it right. I have even lost comments when I screwed up too many times! (By the way, if my comment on your blog lacks wit, the first one was better!)

Maybe it is my eyesight. Maybe it is my typing (a high possibility). Maybe it is because some of the letters just seem to blend into one another. Whatever it is, I really don't know. I just know there are days when I struggle to get it right.

BUT. Something has changed.

Has anyone else noticed that lately they have become easier?

Some almost read like real words.

And mostly I have managed to get them first time. Ha!

Oh and some are just a little bit funny.
I just had to add this one... a giggle for all the 9 year old boys who drop by my blog!

And finally. Do you believe I have just created an entire post on this subject?
Good grief.

Most days I feel like I'm still in my 20's...

Yes, today is my birthday. Most days I feel like I'm still in my 20's, so finding that I am now 20 years past my 21st birthday somehow comes as a bit of a shock. Seriously. 20 years ago I was 21. Gheeesh!

I'm 41.

Don't worry, I can't believe it either.

A welcome laugh...

I was sent this pic sometime ago, and being that I like to share a giggle, I have been intending to share it with you for sometime. Of course with everything that has been going on... well... It's a bit later than planned. But a smile is better late than never.

So...

To everyone who has emailed, called, sent me messages of love and support and left me a comments on my blog over the last few weeks, and to every one who has been touched by recent events in my life (and maybe wanted to comment but didn't know what to say)... Thank-you all.

Your thoughts mean so much to me.

I have been told, laughter is the best medicine, so, have a laugh and stay healthy and happy.
And maybe leave the bells and pepper spray at home!

Spring has sprung...

Hellllooooo Springtime!

Well, winter is now officially over and I am so so SO happy to say good-bye to winter and hello to spring. The last 2 months have been horrendous for a number of reasons (I may well fill you in sometime) and with the first days of Spring it feels like there may well be hope in the air.

Flashback Friday...

This is me (again) with my two older brothers. Summer tans and barefoot freedom. Fantastic.

I think it's Lake Eildon in the background. It is pretty full here, but now 35 years later, and after a stretch of years of drought, it is currently at 19% capacity. With 515 km of shoreline, it stores six times as much water as Sydney Harbour at full supply level. That's one hell of a lot of water!

We're going to need a lot of rain to get back to those levels again!

Just sitting... thinking...

I found this on FLICKR today here
Does anyone know if this is OK re use of photos viewable to the public on FLICKR? As long as I give credit to where I found it... is this OK?

One word...

I first saw this on Curly Pop's blog recently and since then, here and here too.
Thought I would join in the fun. I can't resist a good list afterall.

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Your significant other? Mal
3. Your hair? Brown
4. Your daughter? None
5. Your son? None
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? School
8. Your favorite drink? Water
9. Your goal? Creativity
10. The room you’re in? Studio
11. Your church? Everywhere
12. Your fear? Grief
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Tropics
14. Where were you last night? Calligraphy
15. What you’re not? Tech-savvy
16. Muffins? Mmmmm
17. One of your wish list items? Peace
18. Where you grew up? Point Lonsdale
19. The last thing you did? Email
20. What are you wearing? Nothing*
21. Your TV? Hidden
22. Your pets? None
23. Your computer? Apple
24. Your life? Rollercoaster
25. Your mood? Mixed
26. Missing someone? Daily
27. Your car? Mini
28. Something you’re not wearing? Make-up
29. Favorite store? Art
30. Your summer? Glorious
31. Like (love) someone? Yes
32. Your favorite color? Pink
33. Last time you laughed? Yesterday
34. Last time you cried? Yesterday
35. Who will repost this? Ames

*I am really - just checking you were still reading...

Have a great day everyone! If you want to join in, copy and paste, enter your own 'one word' answers and post on you blog. Have fun!

Overheard conversations...

On the week-end, I was visiting a friend in hospital and arrived just at the end of the rest period. The friend was still asleep, so I made my way to the patients sitting room to wait for a while.

I took a seat on the sofa and opened a magazine which did little to hold my attention. There was an elderly couple sitting together talking. They both sat at the only table in the room, facing each other with their hands resting together on the table between them. He was obviously a patient (being dressed in a flannelet dressing gown and slippers) and she was his wife. I know this because I had seen her arrive at the hospital a few days earlier with his walking frame and as she wheeled it along at a brisk pace, she informed us it was for her husband.

It was impossible to ignore the conversation. She spoke quite loudly and he spoke with a very proper English accent, not unlike what I would expect of an army Colonel. Their shared conversation bought a smile to my face. The first thing that got my attention was his distinct voice saying (without a hint of hesitation) that "the only thing that is keeping me going, is the strength of my love for you my darling". She smiled at him and squeezed his hand and commented about the view.

She continued with her talk of getting older and how, now that she was 84, she had to limit herself to only one visit a day. He agreed wholeheartedly, saying she was not to exhaust herself. "It's not like I'm 80 anymore you know" she replied with another smile and another squeeze of the hand.

"I do love you, my darling" he said later in the conversation and she smiled and they were silent for a moment in each other's company. She did not return his words, but she continued to smile and her face glowed. That their feelings were mutual was without question. They were there for one another and no-one could intrude on their time together.

The above image was created using WORDLE.

I am a gold girl...

You Are A Gold Girl

You're dependable and hard working. You never miss a deadline - and you're never late. You have a clear sense of right and wrong. You're very detail oriented. You get frustrated when your friends are sloppy - or when they don't follow through. You're on top of things, and you wish that everyone else was!

What Color Girl Are You?

This is my trade secret...

Whatever you can do,
or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

If you want to be creative.
Get going and live creatively.
Get on with it...
This is my trade secret.

Do not procrastinate.

If you have a dream.
Start living it.
If you aren't sure what it is you want to do...
start the ball rolling and do SOMETHING!
ANYTHING to start the momentum.

Things grow when they are cultivated and given a little TLC.
If you want to follow a different path or make a change, you can't do it standing still.
Be Bold. Be Brave. And as Goethe says in the above quote... begin it.

The theme for this weeks "This is..." came from Amelia at bollewangenhaptoet. The "This is..." meme was started by the very creative Angela of Three Buttons fame.

This is the winner...

Congratulations to Melbourne based jeweler Kate from The Monday Project who is the lucky winner of my first blog giveaway. I will be dropping by tonight to give her the good news. Drop by and say hi too. Kate and Sophie (Sydney based writer) set a new monthly project on the first Monday of every month and they invite everyone to take part. Hey guys - that's tomorrow! Go for it! I'll see you there!

It seems we all love the art of blogging.
Sharing of ideas, support, inspiration and a sense of community were all sentiments that were repeated in all of your comments. And I can't agree more. It is a creative outlet that continues to motivate and inspire me and colour my life. So thanks to you, for all your blogging goodness and for all your lovely comments too.

Flashback Friday...

This is my Mum at two and a half years of age. I love this photo. Believe it or not my Mum has almost dead straight hair.

I imagine she spent the night before in rags to make those gorgeous curls. I am amazed they managed to get her to smile for the photo as I imagine she would not have slept too well!

I haven't been blogging at all this week as I have been unable to access a computer. I will be back next week. Thanks for all your comments, I'll come and say hi soon I promise. Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to take part in the giveaway on the "This is" post. There is still time.

See you Sunday.
Have a great week-end everyone!

This is my gift to you...

In February last year I started blogging. It was something I had been contemplating for sometime, but true to form, (being a great procrastinator) it took me sometime to sit down and just do it! EVENTUALLY I created my blog using a Blogger template, added a couple of personal touches and in no time I was hooked. I have never looked back. In fact, I often find myself creating new posts in my head and could easily spend hours visiting other blogs. Mal regularly complains about being a blogging widow!

What continues to surprise and please me, is how many creative, wonderful people are out there and the number of people that drop by and say hi! There are many bloggers I like to visit regularly and then so many new ones I keep finding! You all colour my internet life.

In September last year I added clustermaps to my blog, to track how many visitors I get. This week, I reached a grand total of 10,000! Yes, TEN THOUSAND visitors to my blog! That is amazing to me and is definitely worthy of celebration. And so, as the "This is" theme for this week is of our own choice, I have decided to make it my first blog giveaway in honour of the occasion. This is my thank-you for your inspirational blogs and comments.

So, post a comment by midnight next Saturday and you will be in the draw to win. What do you love about blogging? What is your latest blogging find? What inspires you? Who inspires you? On Sunday of next week, I will draw the lucky winner and post it on my blog.

This is what the lucky winner will win. Can you tell I like pink and that I have a 'thing' for notebooks? I made the Snugglepot and Cuddlepie badge. I plan to add a couple of other bits too, but I will wait now until I see who wins and go and take a look at their blog to see what might be suitable.

Good luck everyone, have a great week and thanks again for visiting.

Flashback Friday...

“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”
HELEN KELLER

Apparently all good adventures require a funky handbag! You know... so you can carry all those adventure requirements... a compass, a pocketknife, a bar of chocolate!

Have a great week-end everyone.

Recipe for Jacinta...

The Recipe For Jacinta

3 parts Talent 2 parts Pride 1 part Wisdom Splash of Giddiness Finish off with a squeeze of lime juice

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

I found this on Helen's blog... Weary Words Go take a look and say hi while you are there!

Have a good day everyone.

The only one...

I saw this clip on Boobook's blog way back in February. I love it. Hope you do too.

This is what makes me happy...

1. Window Seat, 2. Beautiful bedding, 3. Frangipani 4, 4. Jump, 5. Sunny smile, 6. Scrabble Dreaming, 7. Full bowl of maltesers, 8. Deserted Beach, 9. Beautiful Shells

It seems to me, that we sometimes forget to acknowledge even the simplest of things that make our lives more pleasurable. And often we spend so much time pondering on the battles of our lives that we don't even realise how lucky, or happy we are.

I have been thinking about it a little lately. Trying to be more aware of the things that bring joy to my life. More often than not, it is the small things that make me happy. So I have made a list, for a couple of reasons... A good list makes me happy and, I have decided to list only 10 things, so I have time to go and visit everyone else's "This is" posts for this week. I hope you have all enjoyed the theme... and you have a happy Sunday.

This is what makes me happy...

A free table in the window of my favourite cafe makes me happy.

Slipping into a freshly laundered bed after a long day makes me happy.

The smell of frangipani on a warm summer evening makes me happy.

Living a creative and adventurous life makes me happy.

Summer smiles make me happy.

Using all my tiles in scrabble on a triple word score... makes me happy.

Curling up, with a good book and a full bowl of maltesers, beside an open fire makes me happy.

A walk on a deserted beach makes me happy.

Beautiful things make me happy.

BUT. ABOVE ALL.
My family and friends makes me happy. When everyone is healthy and happy - so am I. I am happy when spending time in their good company, sharing stories over a healthy meal, laughing. Being happy together. THAT is what makes me happy.

Thanks again to Angela for creating the "this is" magic

Dance a little...

Celebrate people - it's nearly the week-end.
It's time to dance...

As written in The Age

...A goofy dance started in a Brisbane office block has taken the world by storm and its creator, Matthew Harding, to the four corners of the globe and most places in between.

Harding, 31, is the latest internet celebrity to ride YouTube fame all the way to the bank, but, unlike the transient notoriety most web video stars enjoy, Harding's 15 minutes of fame have been going on for three years.

Over the past 14 months, Harding and his girlfriend have been on a tour to 42 countries for the sole purpose of filming him dancing badly at various international locations and in front of some of the world's most famous landmarks.

The result is a 4½-minute video clip, published at the end of last month, which has already attracted more than 6.5 million views on YouTube and more than 1.5 million views on Vimeo.

You can read the rest of the Article here.

This is... the theme for this week.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it is that makes us truly happy... It is so so easy to get buried under the daily battles and forget the simple pleasures that bring us joy... the love we have for our family and friends, the tune of a favourite song, the beauty that surrounds us daily, the sounds, the visions and the smells that colour our world.

And so the theme for this week (I hope you enjoy it) is...

This is what makes me happy.

Thanks Angela for asking me to suggest the This is theme for this week.

*I have used this photo before and you get to see it again today, because I love it and it makes me happy! Have fun everyone and see you on Sunday.