Another day, more rambling

This gladness business is getting me down, well Friday was. Friday was a hard day to be glad...I really struggled to reflect on something from the day that made me glad. But I hope I've made up for it over the next few. Well let's not talk about Monday either at this point. Ok, so here's just some ramblings.

FRIDAY

I'm going to need to think.

Glad moment: My game, my rules, I'm not skipping today, I'm just passing for now.

EDITED - ok I'm back and I've got something. This made me laugh on Thursday night (and continued when I shared it with [I hope] a like-minded soul on Friday...Tour de France you are so close, I can't wait!

Having trouble deciding who to support at the Tour de France? Cycling Weekly has this handy guide.

SATURDAY

This is going to sound really odd, but I saw my favourite shoppers today, my 'Maltese Falcons' as I call them (apologies to Dashiell Hammett). Ok, stay with me while I explain. I am a creature of habit really and I love to grocery shop early on Saturday mornings. Less crowds, better parking, a reason to get out of bed and get to the growers markets early, all day stretching before you (and all of Saturday to cook!). In my years of shopping for groceries on Saturday mornings you start to notice the same people. It's like commuting, there's always the people you notice who do the same thing as you at the same time.

For me, there's the guy who puts the fruit out at Harris Farm markets (thanks for the tip on the ruby red navel oranges this week!) to the lady at Bi-Lo check out and then there is the shoppers themselves. Three of my favourites are a father and his two young sons. I don't see them all the time, but often enough they are there. He is tall, lanky and so very Irish with dark hair and killer blue eyes. I usually hear him before I see him, or should I say I hear them. The boys are I'm guessing around 7 and 4 and they are dark, Mediterranean looking (somehow I thought Maltese and it just stuck, how the falcon part crept in who knows, but stay with me). The boys are a delight, glorious in only the way that all little boys are rat bags really. Now they do tear about the shop a little but really Bi-Lo if you paint white and blue squares the length of the shop, any small child is likely see it as the ultimate hopscotch game. However, they are polite and a short sharp (though kind) remonstrance from dad usually brings them into line. Sweet and always smiling...they make me smile. I really want to play hopscotch too!

Glad moment: the future is not all bleak. Polite, well socialised and happy children do exist.

SUNDAY

Image: Anne Ferran

Earlier in the week, The Sagacious Friend and I were standing in a nondescript hallway and I turned around to see an Anne Ferran work on the wall. Anne Ferran is an artist I did a project on during my years studying Art History, she is an amazing Australian photographer and some of her work that resonated most with me was her images of movable cultural heritage objects from the Historic Houses collections that are both haunting and beautiful. It's been so long I don't even really remember what the I wrote about in my paper, all I can really remember is a trip to SCA to view an exhibition and an enjoyable research and discovery period. Perhaps it was this that sparked my interested in Australian colonial photography?

Anyhow...a fleeting moment in a hallway earlier this week, was recalled by a haunting image on my wall as the sun played with specs of dust on my window. I don't think Anne Ferran is in any danger, but reflected and refracted light is fun.

Glad moment: small things, small minds? A blast from the past?

MONDAY

I'm not going to be cynical. I'm not going to be cynical. Come on repeat it with me!

I am only going to say I am glad Australia has two more games to play in our group in the World Cup.

Glad moment: we all get another chance.

Singing and Nutters (and Mr Darcy)

Singing and Nutters (and er, Mr Darcy), yep that's what is getting me glad over the last couple of days

WEDNESDAY

At the place of toil are some lovely and caring people. One such person sings a little song each morning when he starts work to another very dedicated early bird (and night hawk) in our office. The pleasure of coming in early and witnessing this seemingly random act of song just puts a smile on the face.

Glad moment: Random acts of song, you know I love to perform them, but I love to see others do the same too!

THURSDAY

Sometimes a little praise goes a long way. Being told you're good at what you do by someone you professionally admire makes it even better.

Glad moment #1: praise is sometimes the best motivator. Finding out said person is also a nutter (like me) is a bonus!

Phowar and swoon. Those words make my heart swell...if you are not sure what it means ask yourself if Mr Darcy and Mr Thornton (or any literary hero from the 19th century for that matter) mean anything to you...

Glad moment #2: finding other phwoar & swooners in the world...(hiding in the strangest places!)

Bend and stretch!

Are you sick of me being glad yet? Are you? If you have no idea what I'm talking about see the earlier post. I'm on a mission of noticing and recording one thing each day for six weeks that makes me glad. Glad to be alive, glad to be where I am, just glad really. My impetus? Well, why not? Surely it can't hurt? This might be my alternative to organised religion. Who knows...I'm just out there doing and being and seeing the glass half full rather than empty (as I normally would!)

TUESDAY

So in today's glad tidings is yoga. Yoga at work. Now twice a week, now every Tuesday and Thursday at 1pm you can catch me downward dogging with the best in the boardroom. I've been doing it since February but today it just clicked. Here is 1 hour a week (now 2 hours a week!) where it's just about me. And breathing. And moving. And mostly dying and not believing I can wrap myself in knots and pretend to be a pretzel but holding on for a few more breaths. I haven't done yoga in a class format properly in years but boy I am enjoying this. And you should see my plank.

Glad moment: Me, yoga, boardroom, lunchtime...

Glad tidings...

The gladness continues...

SATURDAY

The monthly pilgrimage to the Pyrmont Growers Market. Sunshine after a week of rain, finally lolling out of bed very late (in market terms) and still managing to get most of the purchases, and a discount on Rowie's Cakes! Sunshine, puppy dogs and bacon & eggs rolls.

Glad moment: All of the above, plus a tall ship against a Sydney skyline.

SUNDAY

Friends of friends influence your life in amazing ways. Catching up with friends (and their friends) for a movie and realising you can have things in common with veritable strangers (no more!). A movie being more than a longish, boring product placement vehicle, now that is gold.

Glad moment: a sweet film called Boy, if this get general release, see it! (and watch the trailer now...)

MONDAY

Glad moment: it's cold. That is all.

A week of Pollyanna-ing...

So, yes I haven't had a chance to jump on here properly and fill you all in my week of gladness, but that doesn't mean I wasn't thinking glad!

MONDAY

Gladness was just a stroll to work, only to reflect I've missed Autumn. Somehow I have managed to wile away those precious months when the trees change and the temperature cools. Autumn is my favourite time of the year, but somehow Autumn and I didn't connect this year? Are the trees late? Was I walking about blind? Was there not a chill in the air? Did I miss the season of mist and mellow fruitfulness entirely?

Glad moment: a huge Autumn leaf across a path, far too big to be dampened by the rain, bigger than two hands and gloriously rusty.

TUESDAY

Glad moment: urban pets. Pets that aren't yours that just don't mind a pat as you walk past their place. Snapped on Belvoir Street.

WEDNESDAY

I didn't intentionally mean to have an urban pet themed week. Nor did I mean to sit in a park on Wednesday lunchtime and feed the last bit of my Bourke Street Bakery lamb and harissa sausage roll to a friendly labrador. But hey, those eyes!

Please note this is not the actual labrador in question (forgot to bring my phone with me!)

Glad moment: feeding a random labrador in the park.

Urban pets rock.

THURSDAY

A new colleague started today, working on a project for the place of toil. She is someone I truly professionally admire, a real hero of mine...and I get to work with her!

Glad moment: inspiration now works in my building.

FRIDAY

Imagine you are having lunch. A Sagacious friend rings, invites you to a movie (with a choc top thrown in) after work. It pours and you get drenched (feet have never been wetter), but you know what, rain, movies, friends and choc tops make it worth it.

Glad moment: no one knows if your shoes are wet in a dark cinema. Conjuring up images of having to buy new shoes because the current collection just won't cut it through a rainy Sydney Winter. Burberry, Choo or Hunter wellies for me?

The Pollyanna project

How to explain the Pollyanna project? Well the above is Pollyanna...and if you don't know who I am talking about, I'll let Wikipedia fill in the rest...

Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same outlook...Pollyanna has been adapted for film several times. Some of the best-known include Disney's 1960 version starring child actress Hayley Mills

That Hayley Mills version is the only one I've seen, and before you ask, no I've never read the books. I took an instant dislike to the character Pollyanna, she's all sunshine and lollipops and I'm afraid that's not an outlook that I often inhabit. However lately I'm come to the realisation that life is much more than the daily grind to get things done. That buried somewhere beneath the toil and the everyday motions are 'moments'. Pure, simple pleasures, the work of an instant that somehow make this 'thing' of living seem worthwhile.

Yes I realise some of you may be aghast that I've only just worked that out. And that's not true, we all know it innately don't we? But so often I feel caught up in the everyday that those moments just wash over, unappreciated, not noticed in amongst the little petty cares and hurt we all wear. When that hurts border on the bitter, I'm sure a tiny bit of one's soul is chipped away. Does anyone else feel that way?

So here I am, attempting to save those tiny bits of my soul I guess, one Pollyanna 'glad' moment at a time.

I've decided to not get mad or even (well I might keep those thoughts somewhere as I do like to keep score) but mostly I'm going to get 'glad'. I ran into a neighbour this week and we were talking and she said that a friend passed on advice to her 'I'm not going to get mad, I'm going to get amused...' Look at the title of this blog. Can you imagine what impact that little comment had for me. So gladness is seems is the new black, well at least for me.

So back to Pollyanna. She gets glad. Most of the time she gets so glad that (previous to my new glad period) I would have said the whole community where she lived probably would have been glad to see the end of her. But instead of the ending I imagine (something to do with stapling things to her head) I've decided to walk a little in her, well, glad rags. So I present the Pollyanna project.

Six weeks...(that's about as long as I can see myself keeping this up!) six weeks of daily posts about being glad. Not that I probably will have a chance to post each day, but taking the time to reflect and posting when I can is what I am promising. And what are the outcomes? I will probably be glad it's over, but hey...what harm can it do?

I leave you with a line from the book, thanks Ms Porter...

"When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will."

...a Masterful day

It's all over red rover! My graduation for my Master of Arts was today, and so good to see staff and students that I actually knew! Also thanks to The Sagacious Friend, the extended family and all those who have sent well wishes...not sure I would of made it through some of those years without you all....[end soppy speech] now someone pour me a champers...I've put my life on hold for 5 years...it's time to party!

Thanks to The Sagacious Friend for the lovely paparazzi pics!

A rabbit story...

One of these rabbits is me...(hint: I'm not tall one). Yes I went to my friend's office dressed as a rabbit...but so did the Sagacious Friend! Yes I sang a version of 'Happy Birthday Bunny Boy'. Yes the birthday girl was suitably impressed I hope. Yes this birthday stunt was inspired by the movie 'Beaches'. Hey what are girlfriends for?

Facebook makes me feel like...

a shitty friend

But that got me thinking, all those people who are on Facebook are also on another network I use every day. It’s called the internet.

So why do I think I can connect and interact with them on Facebook but not anywhere else? Because Facebook made it easy. So now I have to wonder am I only staying in touch with those people because it requires absolutely zero effort on my part? What kind of a person does that make me? What does that say about how much I value their friendship? I feel like I’m saying “Oh hey there, I’m so glad I can see what is going on in your life so long as it’s wheeled out in front of me and doesn’t require me to actually lift a finger because if I had to do something like, type out your e-mail or go to your own website or *gasp* pick up a phone to talk to you that would just be too much.

Nicely said Mr Bonner!

The no-dig garden update...

Did someone say I planted a no-dig jungle? My no-dig garden is doing wonderful and has provided a bounty that has kept me cooking for weeks.

So far, a million different version of salads, trays of eggplant parmigiana to use up the basil, a day of pizza dough making so I could pluck off and pile on, herb omelettes for weekend brunch...can't wait for winter roasts for the rosemary! Oh and the radishes are almost ready. Plus more marigolds than you could of ever imagined.

A no dig garden + farmer's market = an afternoon of cooking!

The herb potato salad

Yet another tray of eggplant, basil and buffalo mozzarella parmigiana

It's even more of a jungle now than in these pictures from last week. Yesterday I spotted a ladybug as well. However...the caterpillars have arrived...not too over the moon about the meal they have made of my lettuces and also the pak choi! Oh well, you live and learn. Hopefully tomorrow a day of sowing more seeds and harvesting something new...pure bliss!