Meditating on meditation

I have always had an interest in meditation but I have never been very good at it. Perhaps I am missing the point? You're not supposed to 'be good' at meditation, are you? It's about the journey. What I mean is, I have never found a great sense of calm or peace in it. Now, more than ever, I would like to find that sense. I think it would be lovely to have a 'quiet place' to go to every day. Does anyone else meditate and if so, do you have a favourite practice?

Winnie Pooh

I discovered this yesterday on You Tube - a 60s Russian version of Winnie the Pooh. I have no idea if the subtitles are accurate but I just love the look of it - the colours, the different style of Pooh and of course his little song with the affirmative 'Da!' at the end. Beautiful stuff!

There's an App for that

As much as I love my blogs, email, Facebook and Etsy, I sometimes get a little teched out. Do you? So today's cartoon from Harold's Planet seemed very appropriate!

Springy Sunday Sunshine!

Apparently Sunday was the first day we have had over 20 degrees celsius for something like 100 days!

Spring and Autumn

Wishing everyone a lovely Spring or Autumn Equinox, Ostara or Mabon, depending upon where you are in the world ~ but joined together by the beautiful story of Persephone and Demeter.

Of David Bowie and Fairy Tales

David Bowie has been my soundtrack this last day or so as I've been having a little burst of creative energy - doing some writing and making some new cards. I especially love this song - "The Man who Sold the World". I was hoping to find an original 70s clip of it but this one is pretty good anyway. I had no idea either that Nirvana (another fave of mine) had done a version. So here they are :) Love that opening guitar riff!

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I am also reading The Fairy Tale Series of books which are adult rewritings of traditional fairy tales. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean is my favourite book ever and I found Briar Rose by Jane Yolen and Fitcher's Brides by Gregory Frost in the thrift shop yesterday. I love the surreal world of fairy tales so I am thoroughly enjoying these. Do you have a favourite fairy tale?

Bits and Pieces

I am reading Untangling my Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi at the moment and really enjoying it. She went to Kyoto in the 80s to learn a specific style of cooking associated with the tea ceremony. We were in Japan in 2008 and I just loved it. So beautiful - especially Kyoto.

So I am keenly interested once more in all things Japanese. We are hoping to get back to Japan later this year on a mini-break (it's only about 10 hours from Australia) and this time I want to go prepared! I doubt very much that I would ever become fluent, but I have just bought Japanese for Busy People at the thrift shop, so perhaps one or two phrases might eventually embed in the brain cells! I also found a Japanese cookbook so if I master anything out of that, I'll show you. Has anyone else been to Japan?

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I have to say Blogger is being a bit naughty loading photos at the moment. Or perhaps it is my computer? Is anyone else having problems?

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On the David Attenborough documentary Life, there is footage of the Yemeni island archipelago in the Arabian Sea - Socotra. So beautiful! Apparently much of the flora and fauna there is found nowhere else on Earth. And one island is not inhabited at all. I loved the Dragon's Blood trees which reminded me so much of the Baobabs in The Little Prince. Has anyone else heard of Socotra? Or, better yet, been there?

Like a bear with a sore head

Ever woken up feeling like a bear with a sore head? (does this Australian expression translate elsewhere?) That's how I felt this morning. Sunshine disappeared behind cloud before 9 a.m., not feeling 100 %, mildly irksome news via email...blah! I have gradually eased my way out of it as the day has progressed, though...somehow. What do you do when you wake up feeling like this?

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Have you see the 'Happy Inside' Ikea ad? I discovered it a couple of days ago and it's so beautiful! I tried to upload it but that didn't seem to work...so here's the link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7vXP3tHzhA

Ports in a Storm

Bob T. Bear over at http://bobs-diary.blogspot.com/ let me know that September 9 is National Teddy Bears Day. Or was it International? Well, if it wasn't international, it should be. Because Teddy Bears are the unsung heroes of our everyday lives. Who else can we cry to, hug and share our secrets with and still receive unconditional love in return? Even at the ripe old age of thirty-...ahem, I still look to my bear, Woolley, for comfort. And I receive it, unfailingly.

Do you still have a teddy bear? Or do you have some other form of comfort for those darker moments?

Spring!

Yahoo!

Dandelions

I love dandelions and we let them grow freely in our pleasantly unruly garden, even though this annoys my parents no end when they come to visit. They're weeds!, they protest. But I reckon they're lovely. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what I can do with them? Does anyone drink dandelion wine?

Rainy days and Mondays

Lots of natural activity at the moment. All sorts of things popping up in the garden - and almost all self-sown. The yellowy-cream flowers are cowslips, I think, and they were originally planted by my grandmother many, many years ago. I love to see them come up every year - they are a beautiful, organic aide-de-memoire that my grandmother made her mark here and that she is still here.

Wild skies too. One minute refreshingly blue and then the grey clouds crowd back in. Lots of wind and rain and considerable areas of the country are in flood. It bodes well for summer, though, and the potential fire risk if water storage is up and the ground is saturated. The great cycle rolls on.

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I am trying to The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas at the moment in an effort to read more and to read widely in order to hopefully assist my own writing. It has won a number of awards and although I can see that it is certainly a good story (and I guess that is what it's all about), on the whole I am finding it very depressing, bleak and ugly reading. So much misogyny. What are you reading at the moment?

A Song Outside My Window

I woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I heard was a song outside my window.
- "Chelsea Morning", Joni Mitchell.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Catllectables... sorry!

I bought a small statue of Bast on the weekend and when I was looking for somewhere around the house to put her, I realised how many cat statues I actually have! Now I just have to convince my DH that we need to adopt one of the real thing...! What do you collect?