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Some fun to be had for sure for sure |
| A place for connection, learning, having some fun, and hopefully improving my writing skills. |
| I definitely feel that to be true to who you really are is tough in the world we have created today. This one makes me ponder, it has me sitting here thinking, would it be the greatest accomplishment. I'm not sure, but I do believe it would be one hell of a one. I guess as I get older I do very much care less about what people think of me and I would say the majority of the time I am myself and not what others expect, think or want me to be. I'm certainly glad I grew up when I did and not in today's times. The kids have it so much harder, or do they? Seems to me that a lot of kids out there don't care who they are and act accordingly, which is not great, I'm not saying it's a good thing, they simply don't care. If they don't want to go to school, they don't. If they don't want to show manners to everyday people, they don't. Is this who they really are? Seems to me it is. When I was growing up, as were my friends, we had expectations placed on us like manners, trying hard at school, just to name a few. But these days that all seems to have gone out the window and the kids are exactly as they want to be. I know that I am more myself now than I have ever been. I'm not saying that when I'm at work or sometimes in a social setting I don't revert back to a version of me that is tempered by expectation, especially around people I have known for a very long time, who knew or know an older version of me. I feel sometimes like if I'm not the person they remember they may no longer like me, but honestly now, who cares? So I do think that if you can be yourself completely and not conform to everything else around you then it is an accomplishment, and very good one. Is it going to be my greatest accomplishment, maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell. |
| I do love the old time Christmas Carols. Not all the new fangled ones you unfortunately hear now at the annual Christmas shows, but traditional ones from long ago. I am a spiritual person, my beliefs are my own and I don't believe that people should try and ram their beliefs down people's throats, so I guess that's why traditional religions do nothing for me. However I grew up loving Christmas, loving the day spent with my parents and family in the days surrounding it and loved the Christmas Carols. My favourite is Once In Royal David's City. There is just something about the tune, the flow of the song that I find peaceful and calm and magical. My husband's uncle was a minister and he used to hold the loveliest Christmas Eve services. Once he knew that Once in Royal David's city was my fave carol, he used to make sure it was on the list for us to sing. I truly loved him for that. I do miss those days. He is in a nursing home now and my Mum, who used to love going to these services too, has been passed some 11 years. |
| Personally I don't believe genetics plays a stand alone part is how long we live for. I think life itself has it's own plans for us. There are so many factors that can come into play during the time we have here on earth. As human beings we make so many decisions that can affect how long we live for that has nothing to do with genetics. We can take up smoking, doing drugs, drinking, being overweight, not addressing medical issues and the list goes on. Cancer can come and bite you on the arse, which is what happened to my mother, who had no history of cancer in her family. Her mother lived until she was well into her 80's but Mum passed at 73. You can be wiped out in a tragic car accident, or any accident that could take our lives in a heartbeat. One of my best friends families genetics had them living well into their 70's and 80's but she was tragically taken way too young due to Legionnaires Disease after potting some plants without gloves on, using potting mix. The potting mix infected a slight cut on her finger she didn't even know was there and she died from this. So for me, life choices and life tragedies have more of a role in our longevity than genetics. |
| I am grateful for Thanksgiving is not a tradition in Australia, it is not a holiday we celebrate as a whole, even though I am sure there are families out there that do. However I do believe that in the territory of Norfolk Island here in Australia they do recognise it. I had an American Supervisor when I was a puppy raiser, she celebrated Thanksgiving and invited us all to celebrate with her each year which I really enjoyed. For me I tend not to celebrate or recognise certain things on an official date, but more so regularly when I feel it is important or I feel the need to. Like Valentine's Day. I myself prefer to regularly show and remind my husband that I love him, appreciate him etc rather than on a date determined on the calendar and when it becomes a hugely overpriced money earner. I am grateful for so many things every day, not just on a particular date. Ask me at any time what I am grateful for and I can give you a lengthy list. I silently give thanks, to no one in particular, for all the gifts and blessings bestowed upon me on a daily basis. It is a private thanks, that needs to be shared with no other, but I like to acknowledge it for myself. At this particular time: Wed 5th Nov 11.40am I am grateful for my life. I could bore you all with the lengthy list of things in my life that makes it just that: my life, but I won't. I have, and am living a life that I am very grateful for and all that it encompasses. |
Prompt: Have fun with these words: twig, leaf, flint, thorn, straw, feather and sunrise. Is there anything more magical than a sunrise? The beginning of a new day, filled with endless possibilities. The chance for a do over, to right some wrongs, to leave the mistakes of yesterday behind. The woods were cool this summer morning and the young woman took advantage of this precious time to herself before the heat of the day set in. She knows these woods like the back of her hands and they hold endless childhood memories for her. Twigs snap as she moves her way through the endless pathways that only the locals are familiar with. These pathways are covered in leaf litter and hide the footprints of those that have gone before. This is not only a sanctuary for this young woman, but the endless species of bird life that call these woods home. This morning their song fills the air with endless calls and birdsong, all vying to outdo each other to be heard. The stunning feather of a Palm Cockatoo descends from the trees as the bird takes flight, moving away from the woman as she approaches. She captures it in her hand as it sails towards her upon the slightest puff of breeze and she admires the inky darkness of it's colour. The Indigenous Australians believe the Cockatoo is a messenger between the human and spiritual world so she tucks in safely through a hole in her hat. As she runs her hands along it's silky length she pulls back sharply when a thorn, stuck in part of the feather bites into her finger. A small bubble of blood rises and she quickly locates and removes the thorn before it can imbed itself any deeper. "The cheeky bugger" she says quietly as she lifts her eyes to the trees to see if she can locate the Cockatoo. Moving quietly and quickly the young woman makes her way towards a small alcove set amongst the trees and clocks the small tendrils of smoke rising from within. As she rounds the side of a tree and comes upon the alcove opening, she smiles as she sees her best friend waiting and warming her hands by the small fire made from straw kindling and a flint they had found many moons ago on one of their many adventures. Sitting down, the two young women do not need to speak. They are there to listen to their ancestors who call upon them this day, to deliver messages from the afterlife to those they have left behind. The young woman removes the feather from her hat and holds it in her hand, feeling the life energy move upon her skin. Soon she stares into the face of her grandmother, gone from this world two years past. She feels a sense of peace and comfort and knows that her grandmother's spirit flies high and free within the Cockatoo. Wild and free, as she always was in life. She gives thanks for the messages her grandmother delivers this morning and lays the feather upon the stones that ring their little fire. There is no greater blessing than to recieve the messages of the loved ones. To be the vessel of communication between this world and the next. |
| Use these words in entry: meaningful, connection, art, grace, scent and tree. {{c:maroon}size:4.5} I really hate the way I feel about Christmas now. Where once I used to look forward to the day, first as a child growing up with loving parents who always made Christmas special, to when I met my future husband and was embraced by his family, who then in turn embraced mine and we ended up sharing Christmas Day's together. All that is gone now. My parents are both passed and my hubbies Dad died years ago from cancer, and so did Christmas with them. For me anyway. Being an only child and also not having children (which to be clear I do not regret one bit), Christmas without my parents, and without hubbies Dad who was larger than life, who invited every Tom, Dick and Harry around for Christmas Day and made it very special, the day is now just.....nothing. What used to be a meaningful day for our two families and now withered and died, and each year when it comes around, we find ourselves going through the motions but really not wanting to. If it weren't for having my 3 beautiful furkids, who I could not imagine not sharing Christmas Day with, hubby and I would be off in our caravan somewhere and we would probably just pretend the day was like any other and not celebrate. Just enjoy being together somewhere new and wonderful and be happy with that. But there is another part of me, that still loves all the Christmas fuss. The decorations in all the shops, going to Christmas farms where they have real living Christmas trees and that wonderful scent of pine or fir trees. The street art on display with people decorating their houses, their lawns, and entering into competitions for who has the best Christmas light show. The connections you make with people around Christmas time when the spirit of the season seems to sweep everyone up at some point or another, even with total strangers. The grace of a truly lovely Christmas service (and I am not religious at all) but hubby's uncle was a minister and we always used to go to his Christmas Eve services and sing the carols, light candles and just be swept up by it all. It truly used to be some very special times. But now I am more like the Christmas Grinch, and to be honest I just really want those days of family and friends, a large group of people coming together and sharing the day. But we just don't have that any more, and so I spend most of the day thinking about how lucky so many other people are. Spending the day with loved ones, playing the traditional Christmas Day cricket match in the back yard, swimming in the pool and eating amazing lunches. Opening presents, laughing and just being joyful. But that is gone for me. The best part of the day for me is when we give our furkids their presents and watch them open them and rip all the paper and throw it everywhere. But then I also feel mighty selfish for feeling this way, as I know, that I have so much more than so many other people out there who spend Christmas Day completely alone, living on the streets, or perhaps in hospital gravely ill. I have a loving husband, and loving furkids. A wonderful home and so much more, and yet??? |
On this day in 2018, Roseanne Cash released She Remembers Everything..In the lyric "I didn't know her then, My Enemy,My Treasured Friend. Outside this waking dream, she remembers everything. This for me is so poignant today. I have slipped down the rabbit hole a bit. It's a place I am way too familiar with and I don't want to go down any further. You know that old "you have a devil on one shoulder, and an angel on the other" Well my devil is the one that is with me more often than not. Pouring self doubt, self loathing etc into my mind. It's a dance I have done with him since I was a young girl and he has won more times than not. As a 50 year old woman I am over and done with him, or at least I'm trying to be. But today is not one of those days. Today he is winning and I am mad as hell about it. I've also had this overwhelming panic that my time is running out. That I am not going to get to do all the things my husband and I are hoping to. And it truly has taken a hold of me today. So these lyrics My Enemy, My Treasured Friend are speaking to me loud and clear today. I'm hoping for a more positive tomorrow. |
| Prompt: “The November wind has a sound different from any other, a low, dry whispering through the bare branches.” CCan't believe today is the first of November. Where did the time go?? Anyone else find it rushing past in a blaze of glory the older you become?? Today has many weather shifts here in Australia. Waking to a fine morning but with severe weather event warnings from our trusty (scoff) weather bureau for the last few days. Today will be the day to batten down the hatches. From a dry wind blowing the trees in the back reserve to the sudden temperature drop and darkness filling the skies, they could be right. That weather event has hit us for the first time now at 3.50pm, and judging by my little Rain Parrot app there is more on the way. I love a good storm I have to say. I don't want damage to anyone or their property, and certainly not ours, but there is something about a good storm that zings through my veins and brings almost a calmness. The Mother Goddess is having a say, she is whipping about reminding us who really has the power in this universe of ours, and so she should. The wet pavements, the plants and trees bowing and dancing in delight from a good drenching does the soul good. And those that fall have been given their due date, a date we all have waiting ahead for us, whenever that may be. We are not in control here. Mother nature, the universe, they hold all the cards, and we as humans are only guests in their world and it is good to be reminded. |
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