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Crepe myrtle
Originally posted on Blogger 6 January 2012 I had never really noticed Crepe myrtle until I moved to my current home. Once someone pointed it out to me I discovered them scattered all over the suburb where I live and quite probably it has been elsewhere too but I’ve just not seen it. How could I not with its striking colours? Because there are many species of Crepe myrtle the best I can do is give the genus of Lagerstroemia. The trees are native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia and parts of Oceania, so again I have a plant that is not from around these parts! The…
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What to do with unwanted presents…
Re-gifting? Originally posted on Blogger 4 January 2012. I found a story in The Age about a tweet that Alexander McCall Smith had sent out at Christmas about what to do with unwanted gifts. He had an interesting take that you can give away, throw away or sell but no earlier than one month after Christmas. I realised recently that I didn’t want to be involved in secret santa with work because I didn’t want to end up with new clutter. I did receive one gift from someone which was meant as a gag gift but I still don’t see why they would take the time to find and gift…
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Jade blooming
Originally posted on Blogger 2 January 2012. When I first moved in 6 years ago I took a cutting, a small stem of jade plant that was in my back yard and planted it into a pot that I plonked by the front door. I can be brutal when it comes to caring for it. A quick search of jade plant (thanks Wikipedia) and I find it’s name is Crassula ovata. It is a succulent that has small pink or white flowers and is native to South Africa. Watering it every 10-20 days over summer is fine – Oh, so I’ve not been too cruel! Phew! The thing that surprised…
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Movie review: The First Grader (2010)
Originally posted on Blogger 29 November 2011 The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick, is set around 2004 when the Kenyan government announced free education for all. Of course they meant children, but an 84 year old man, Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge, took them at their word – free education for all. Maruge (played beautifully by Oliver Litondo) has received a letter from the government, but since he can’t read he would like to know exactly what it says. At one point he remarks to journalists that he would like to know what is really in the bible as you can’t completely trust the preachers. He wants to learn to read as…
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I get confused too when they do it
Q: Why is it the grocery store thinks they have to relocate the isles now and then? A: To confuse the pirates? Originally posted on Blogger 5 September 2011
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Birthday SMS received in 2003
A birthday haiku is a wonderful thing it’s a pity I can’t count From dear friend Tony Originally posted on Blogger 28 August 2011
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From the electronic photo album
Originally posted on Blogger 27 August 2011. Photos from my Nikon Coolpix 8700 bought in 2004.
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Escape Velocity
Originally posted on Blogger 24 August 2011. Escape velocity is when you’re going to leave them and they know. For example, you’re set to marry the nice guy and Mr Poison gets wind of it and phones up; about to go on an important business trip and your husband suddenly needs you for no real reason; about to leave a bad job and you get a raise. The whole trick is to evade the test. We all draw to us the one test that’s our total nemesis. In order to achieve escape velocity, we must learn to keep our own counsel, to move silently among doubters, to voice our plans…
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Friends worth more than their weight in gold
Originally posted on Blogger 23 August 2011. I have a wonderful friend. She is the type of friend that when you tell her something, she’s there cheering you on. I’ve seen what happens sometimes when she says something that most people consider to be outlandish and they say so: ‘Oh, is that wise?’ Maybe this is why when I said to her that I’d found something I wanted to study but the teacher was in the US so I’d have to go there to study, she didn’t ask if I had the money or did the teacher have the qualifications or was I being realistic. No. She said, ‘Fantastic!’…
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More from: Your Heart’s Desire
Originally posted on Blogger 22 August 2011 The good news is that you don’t need anyone’s approval to succeed. What you do need is to protect yourself from demoralizing, dream-damaging, disapproving saboteurs. Sonia Choquette – Your Heart’s Desire Page 86 My thoughts: I found it interesting that in Focusing Ann doesn’t follow the usual theory of our internal saboteurs, instead welcoming them because they are the part that gets to direct our actions, something that really needs time spent with it. To push our own saboteurs aside is to encourage the behaviour to continue. I found this aspect of Focusing thoroughly enlightening. This post was more about our own success, playing…
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From: Your Heart’s Desire
“I have noticed in some of my clients a tendency to intentionally imagine the worse case scenario instead of their Heart’s Desire. This seems to be a convoluted way of protecting themselves from experiencing the pain of disappointment. Oddly, it is as through they believe fearing the worse at the onset will prevent letdowns later on. Little do they know that this actually doubles their pain – first by anticipating disappointment, then by attracting it.” Sonia Choquette – Your Heart’s Desire Page 60 Originally posted on Blogger 20 August 2011
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Saturday mornings
Originally posted on Blogger 18 August 2011. I’d like to introduce you to my Saturday morning routine of the last almost two years. At 9am I ring a dear, dear friend and we chat for a couple of hours then I get on with the rest of my day. Doesn’t sound like much does it? But it is the most important event of my week. If I don’t make this appointment my week no longer feels right. A couple of months ago I commented to this friend that I’d rather cut off my own arm than miss these calls – yes it was melodramatic but oh so true. No,…
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While I’m on the flower theme
Originally posted on Blogger 16 August 2011. Being an aromatherapist has its advantages – actually it has lots of advantages. One is realising that the best type of geranium to have in the garden is Pelagonium graveolens (Rose Geranium). They smell beautiful and have a delicate purple flower Mine will probably flower in a few months. What is flowering now and I love, love, love is Jasmine (Jasminum officinalis). It seems to be easier getting a macro photo of the geranium rather than jasmine. I love getting colours, textures and the like in photos. I’m a bit nutty like that!
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Dare to dream
Originally posted on Blogger 15 August 2011 It was about 11 years ago that I sat down and started my first real goal setting exercise. I had done some sort of goal setting before, but this was the first of the genuine heart and soul into it kind of goal setting. 4 years on and quite a number of the things on that list had happened, even some of the big items. It would be another year before I would redo the exercise, this time my goals seemed to be so far out of my world that if I was doing the exercise in a class, the instructor would…
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I can’t believe this is winter!
Originally posted on Blogger 14 August 2011 It’s winter in Adelaide and today we have a lovely 20 degrees C. I managed to get out and do some gardening, until I ran out of energy (it seems I can only manage about 30 minutes before something says, ‘screw this, lets have lunch!’) One of the reasons I did some gardening (aside from the knee high weeds) is that the camellias are flowering and I pulled the curtain back from the window behind my computer to have that colour come into the lounge. I realised that if I stand to one side I can see the tall, tall weeds as well.…
