A spot for me to blog on life in my garden, where I grow things, read things, drink tea and ponder. An important principle for me is living a simple life - to live simply so that others may simply live
Dog bed is ravaged by winds and pot plants have hit the deck!
I have been drafting two other posts during April, but they haven't been finalised, so I thought I'd post the reason why. I had a family wedding in Adelaide April 18th so I had a couple of days off before that and my husband and I enjoyed a little RnR in South Australia.
However, that was the end of the RnR... we returned to NSW admist massive wind and rain storms. Our plane circling for more than an hour before getting permission to land in Sydney.
When we did finally return to home base in the Hunter Valley - we found our place had see the impacts of the winds.
Banana plants have blown over
a bed of storm blown and torn leaves cover my lawns and meditation decks.
But before long, we had our orange State Emergency Service (SES) uniforms on, and we were out volunteering in our community. Only to discover our blown over banana plants and pot plants were NOTHING.....
Here, my team assess a large tree leaning on a two story home and the damage done to the roof.
On another house, we climb up to repair the damage done by tree's to the tiles. Here's we're placing plastic over the problem area by tucking it under the stronger tiles.
Here my team are involved in ferrying isolated community members back to higher ground - which soon became nick-named "mainland".
Since Monday 20th April, We've been volunteering 8 full and long days.
The effects of the massive storm are slowly being cleaned up - while today another massive weather event hits our northern east coast capital, Brisbane. Thoughts and Prayers to everyone already affected by storms this month, and those feeling it come down on them tonight!
This post is as much for me as it is for you - I believe I have read more in the first three months of 2015, than I've read in recent years (my reading list). I'm not intending to offer grand reviews, just a few reflections of my own about the books, movies and shows I've read or seen this past month or so.
Books Read
SE Hinton
Earlier this year I was talking with a friend about people who re-read books - I don't usually - and she said if you enjoyed something the first time, you might enjoy it differently the second time. So I thought about what books I have enjoyed enough to re-read. SE Hinton wrote lots of books, as a teenager, for teenagers. I remember devouring TEX and RumbleFish and the Outsiders as a kid. They might have been the first novels I actually read. So, I downloaded a couple of Kindle - and re-read them. The Outsiders, Tex, RumbleFish, Some of Tims Stories and Taming the Star Runner. Loved them again.
Marikami
Searching for something easy to read one afternoon on the train, I found Marikami's Strange Library was available for Kindle. I have to say I think this is the first of Marikami's novels that I didn't like, and wouldn't recommend. The story was just plain stupid. It was frightening, lonely, pointless. Needless to say, I am hoping that my next Marikami novel will be more to my liking. I have the Elephant Vanishes to read on my holiday later this month.
Halligan
Last month we had the Newcastle Writers Festival. I couldn't go to any of the presentations, but several of my friends went. One of them went to hear Marion Halligan speak. An Australian Author who has lived in Newcastle, and writes Australian Stories. I have previously read some of Marion's books including The Fog Garden (based in Tasmania) and Valley of Grace (based in Paris), and decided to look at something available on Kindle. I found Shooting the Fox, which is a collection of short stories. Described as....'on love and loss, sex and death, food and gardening ... a new collection by Australia's most assured short-story writer', this collection of short stories were descriptive, engaging and meaningful - about women and our roles in life and relationships. Normally I don't enjoy short stories, but Marion is a clever author - not surprisingly she has many awards to her name.
The Healthy Chef
While I don't know Teresa personally, her name is spoken in my house weekly... she's my advisor and companion in the kitchen. I follow her blog, love her recipes and her food philosophy fits for me. When this book was made available for Kindle, I had to have it. She's such a sensible chef and nutritionist. Check out her website, and if you're interested in food and health, check out this easy book - describing common digestive problems, offering a common sense approach to digestive health, and providing a great collection of recipes.
Theatre
James Morrison and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
My partner and I have been fans of James Morrison since we were young. He's an absolutely amazing Jazz Musician who can play an amazing collection of Brass and other instruments. To see him play with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the Sydney Opera House, was an extreme delight for the both of us.
Bell Shakespeare Production - As You Like It.
Many years ago I decided to go and see some Shakespeare Productions because I hated reading when I was younger, and didn't study any Shakespeare. I felt I was missing out on something - all those quotes and references people refer to and I had no idea where they came from. So I decided to go and see some of the Bell Shakespeare productions. John Bell is a brilliant director, and is retiring this year for new things. So I wanted to see something before he left. As you like it was quite different to anything else I had seen. People told me it would be lighter than most other Shakespeare pieces, and it was. Very good. I especially enjoyed the music interludes in this one.
Absinthe
Invited by a friend to see this show, which he said would be amazing. We went with a small group of friends to see this apparently 'burlesque - style' acrobatic performance. Loved the acrobatics, didn't necessarily enjoy the Gillionare and Penny's script. This show is apparently from Los Vegas and has been getting rave reviews here in Australia.
French Film Festival
I truly enjoyed my AFFF this year. Sadly I didn't get to some of the movies I had selected (ran out of time), but of the ones I did see here's my top favourite to least favourite.
Far From Men - (Viggo Mortinson) - based on an Albert Camus novel, l'hote) this was set at the start of the Algerian War, and includes one of Cumas famous lines about himself - in France I'm Algerian, in Algera, I'm French.... the movie was suburbly crafted, and captivating. Must see! (better seen on the big screen).
The Connection - About the French Police and their role in uncovering French drug lords and the exports of drugs to the USA in the 70's. Fantastic movie!
Diplomacy - based on a play, this was set in one room, and it was about the role of the 'diplomat' to convince the Germans to not blow up all the Parisienne bridges and famous landmarks. Needless to say, the 'Diplomate' won.
Almost Friends - Comedy
Breathe - Young Adults coming of age
Three Hearts - kind of a 'sliding door' movie
Get Well Soon - comedy - of the makes you smile kind.
The movies I didn't get to see, but really want to - Samba, Famille Bellier and Gemma Bovary
To close, I wanted to share with you these clip from Far from Men.
Still one of my favourite places at the end of a working week!
Sunset at Lake Macquarie.
I knew March was going to be a month of madness for me when I signed up for 8 French Films at the Alliance Frances Film Festival, on top of already being signed up for a weekend course for my voluntary role in the State Emergency Services, and entering the Loop the Lake cycling event (90km round our lake). I said no to alot of things this past month, but perhaps not enough..
Still I made it to the end with a smile on my face. Friday night I got off the train from my week in Sydney, to be greeted with a bottle of bubbly, picnic basket and a trip to the Bay for free music in the park. Now that's what I call coming home.
I can now report that I did very well on my bike ride, I am still pretty chuffed with my results. I like to get a PB every now and again - it makes all that training worth while.
I can also report that I made some time for socialising during mad March too. Last weekend I hosted a Moroccan Feast with some lovely friends. I enjoy the challenge of preparing something different for presentation, and I think it all turned out pretty well. I did
So now Mad March is settling into Autumnal April, I will post soon on my recent reading and screening adventures. This includes an epic reading adventure of SE Hinton's novels, returning to Murakami, and Marion Halligan.
Easter next weekend is planned time for personal rejuvenation, spiritual reflection and rejoining with my loved ones locally.
It's the Alliance Francais Film Festival here in Sydney. This years program is amazing. I have selected 8 movies to see in the next 3 weeks, but I'm devasted I cant see more. I'm going to see..
These girls are happy. They live together at the Barathi Girls Hostel (ages 13+ years) and the KGBV Primary School (ages 8 - 12 years). They are part of the the girls education strategy delivered by ODAM, the Organisation for Development, Aid and Maintenance, in Tamil Nadu India. They are happy to be at school and love being taught. Many of the girls would not have had the opportunity to do this without the help of ODAM.
This is the charity I support. I see these girls as my girls. I am so very proud to see them growing up, moving through primary school to secondary school and some of them go on to vocational training. Check this out to hear their stories....
In Australia I am part of a group of ODAM Supporters. We undertake to raise money for the school and hostel each year. This year we're looking for some new ideas for fund raising.... We traditionally hold a very successful trivia night and have held fun and fruitful movie nights. We'll do these again I'm sure. However, we'd like to consider new ideas.... have you got any? I would love to hear your thoughts....
I am conscious that I am blessed. I am also conscious that I have been supported by special friends in the past, and that I too have the capacity to support others. Last weekend I had the opportunity to help out a friend. After a divorce, and a period of boarding while she studied, my girl friend has moved into her own apartment. She hasn't had a steady income for a while, and I wanted to help her get the new abode started off a little cheaper.
I went through the cupboards and found duplicates of items - so many duplicates. I can't imagine why I ever needed three manual orange juicers! We had a cutlery set we've never used in 20 years, sets of glasses we didn't remember we had, and multiple tea pots, cups, mugs, bowls, cake tins.....
All packed up into a couple of boxes, along with our spare microwave (who needs two of those!) and the spare bed, a couple of chairs and lamps......
You know what? I'm ashamed to say, with all of these things gone, you can hardly notice the gaps they leave.
Decluttering is mentioned in many books about the simply life, as having both a physical and mental benefit. Physically, there are alot of things in our homes we just don't ever use, need or like. These things could have a more productive life with other people. Once the house and living space is decluttered, one finds that there is more space in your mind for creativity, compassion, and genuineness. Another philosophy that promotes declutering is that of mindfulness.
I've recently read a chapter about interdependence, relationships, and community. I was reminded that in todays world, objects are used to define us - the car we drive, the shoes we wear, the handbag that matches... these objects are used by others to put us in relatable boxes. We then build relationships with those objects because we know they help define us. So what happens if you don't have objects to relate to.... you find out more about who you are. And what if we remind ourselves that many objects are purposeful - they have a function - and that's why we have them.
The function of squeezing oranges is not improved because I had three objects, all the same, to do that with... Tea will not be incredibly different because I gave a teapot away..... in fact someone else will enjoy some tea too.
I started last year to focus more on simplicity in my life - and the challenge continues this year. I have much more decluttering to do, and some big decisions to make about purchasing items - life sofa's, a new car, bikes etc.... hopefully the principles of simplicity, community, and mindfulness will play a big part in those decisions.
Update from the recipient: I've just been to see my friend settled into her lovely little place. She still needs a table and chairs, but she's settled in and all those unwated things from here have a new home and new jobs. (21.2.15)
