It's perfectly ok to NOT be ok.

Churchill Park on a cloud filld morning!

 "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." 

~ Pablo Picasso

Parnell Rose Gardens

It’s perfectly ok to NOT be ok all of the time.

Bumping into my doctor this last week reinforced that sentiment.

She understands my struggle at this time of year.

I find Christmas difficult.

I find it lonely, despite oft being surrounded by a myriad of people

Memories of happier years past sneak out of my eyes.  

They trickle down my cheeks.

Obscure my vision.

Make it difficult to speak.

If only ....

Point England Reserve

As Christmas jingles fill the air and fairly lights twinkle from every direction, 

it’s hard not to feel that Christmas has been hijacked by unbridled consumerism. 

If only he'd had his tail feathers spread

 Everyone’s buying for Christmas, 

no matter their faith, culture or ethnicity.  

Helping me eat breakfast

I’m not alone in struggling during this so-called SILLY season.

Many of the folk I’ve conversed with this past week feel the same.

It’s a more than emotional time of the year.

Adventures into the country always yeild interesting finds.
This little foal and mom were galloping around the paddock so I just HAD to stop and take a photo.

SILLY season for a reason.

A "Lily" pond

As I juggle shifts at the shop with markets and fairs.  

I’m grateful for the distraction that a full schedule brings.

Rambles have been a tad haphazard and rushed.

Not that the hound minds.

She more than makes up for any tardiness on my part with her enthusiasm for ANY adventure, no matter how short or infrequent.

And of course, she has her paddling pool

.... and balls in all shapes, colours and sizes

If you don't take your eyes off the ball ....

you can CATCH it!

I can do no wrong in her eyes

and I love that.

There are moments during our rambles when my heart skips a beat.

When time stands still.

When just for a second, this world in all it’s imperfection, is perfectly perfect.

Christmas and all.

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, 

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? 

It came without ribbons. 

It came without tags. 

It came without packages, boxes or bags. 

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. 

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. 

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. 

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

~ Dr. Seus

Merry Christmas one and all

Disturbing the universe.

 
“Do I dare.  Disturb the universe?  

In a minute there is time. 

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” 

~ T.S. Eliot

There are moments when happiness seems far removed from the bigger scheme of things.  

Christmas celebrations come to mind.

Particularly this year’s celebrations.

Ours are usually low-key. 

Family orientated.

Focusing on the simple
rather than the elaborate.

The sharing of time with one another.

A sharing that happens so seldom
in this busy world we inhabit.

Busy by choice of course.

Busyness ensures less time 
to dwell on thoughts.

For the first time though, 

in the two and a half decades that the lemmings have inhabited this world,

ONE of them will be absent from our Christmas festivities.

As will be the SO.

I’m trying to get my head around it.

Trying to be brave.

Distance has separated many 
families from loved ones in the past.

And still does.

And they cope.

So why am I struggling?

Because just sometimes

I don’t want to be as flexible as I should be.

I don’t want to accept that some things,

no matter how unforeseen or unexpected

can’t be changed.

But I have to.

Bouncing over the road-bumps is part and parcel of the journey

and I've learnt that I bounce pretty well.

Christmas is a state of mind. 

It’s about loving ... abundantly.

Giving .... freely.

Sharing .... generously.

I have FELT that love and I've been the recipient of so MUCH good will.
So to one and all
I wish a very BLESSED Christmas.

Guilty pleasures .... NOT.

I had the most fabulous day at Mission Bay Art and Craft Market on Monday. 

Exhausting but absolutely fabulous. 

It had everything a good market should have.

The most amazing selection of stalls, marvelous organisation and plenty of friendly punters.

Best of all, it DIDN’T rain!

Despite the exhaustion I’ve been grinning like a Cheshire cat.  

Tigger was very definitely IN the house AND bouncing.

Doing a bunk on Tuesday sounded like a seriously sinful idea.

Yes, there’s work to be done.

And NO, after THIS market, I don’t feel guilty about bunking.

With two hounds and a partner in crime in tow, 

we escaped suburbia for the delights of the Botanic Gardens.  

The overcast and drizzly weather deterred all but the most stalwart of ramblers.

They don’t do rain. We DO.

NOT that it rained.  

Threatened maybe, but didn’t make good on it.

Long rambles have been in short supply this last week so the hound was delighted.

In her excitement to get underway though, 

she forgot to relieve herself before leaping in the car. 

On arriving at Julia’s  she jumped out looking for a patch of grass.  

Julia’s home is at the end of a long concrete driveway with no garden or lawn to speak off.  

In the middle of the driveway are  two tiny patches of grass

 ... each no bigger than a 20cm square.

It’s not every day you get to see a large chocolate brown Labrador squatting over a 20cm square of grass.

It was the most magical of mornings.

An overload of scents, sights and sounds.

The rose gardens are always my favourite.  

Not just for the delicacy of the blooms and the amazing colours, 

but the scents too.

I MISS my rose garden.  

More than what I possibly realise.

Spring flowers are out in abundance. 

A kaleiodoscopic riot of colour everywhere. 

There might not have been much sunshine in the sky 

but there was no shortage of sunshine around us.

Food for the soul doesn’t get much better than this.

"Wherever you stand, be the soul of that place."

~ Rumi