27 Tuesday Mar 2018
Posted in all about me, one with nature
We had a fun day today, introducing our grandson to some local Aussie animals at “Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary”.
Wombats
Tasmanian Devils
Kangaroos
Our daughter also enjoyed meeting kangaroos when she was a few months older than her son is now …
26 Monday Mar 2018
Posted in all about me, weekly photo challenge
Right now, my favourite place is being at home, watching our grandson, as he practices his crawling and standing skills.
This week’s photo challenge is Favorite Place
21 Wednesday Mar 2018
Posted in 100 word challenge, all about me
Later today, a very important visitor will arrive, to spend a week with us.
He is travelling more than one thousand kilometres, taking his first ever flight.
This visit has required some additional preparations, some specific equipment.
A travel cot and high chair have been borrowed, a baby car seat hired.
Supplies have been purchased, including a few small toys and books.
Our apartment is now “baby proof”, ornaments and books moved out of reach, our driftwood tree relegated to the communal hallway.
Yes, our seven month old grandson is coming to stay 🙂
11 Sunday Mar 2018
Posted in all about me
As I have one daughter in Australia and one in the UK, I get to celebrate two Mother’s Days.
This is the fabulous card I received from my younger girl in London. As well as the # on the card, there have been numerous other hash tags in conversations and messages …
#youturnedoutamazing
#properadult
#arrivedintime
#putitinyourdiary
#proudmum
#mykidsmakemesmile
Also a message from my Sydney girl this morning… “Happy UK Mother’s Day !!! 😘 your card’ll arrive in May 😉”
Love you girls!!! xxx
27 Tuesday Feb 2018
Posted in 52 challenge, all about me, more to life
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I’ve just ticked off one of my “18 things for 2018”. I’ve experienced a floatation tank and I loved it.
“Floatation therapy helps calm the mind and body with the experience of zero gravity.”
The floatation pod was like an enclosed bath, but large enough to lie in a star shape without touching the sides. The water was at body temperature and contains 500 kg of Magnesium Sulfate in 1,000 litres of water, replicating the sensation of floating in the Dead Sea.
The pod can create a sensory deprivation environment once the lid is closed. Soft music played for the first ten minutes and restarted during the last five minutes, while the remaining time of the hour-long float was silent. There was a button to switch off the soft coloured light leaving the pod in darkness.
Just wearing ear plugs, I naturally floated in the water. As my ears were below the water line, I was conscious of my heartbeat. It was easy to relax, follow my breath, switch off my mind, let thoughts just float away.
The benefits can be physical, spiritual and mindful – easing pain, lowering blood pressure, alleviating stress or anxiety, improving sleep, increasing concentration levels, improving consciousness, eliminating effects of jet lag.
After a shower to wash off the Epsom Salts, a cup of green tea in the lounge area helped me acclimatise back to the outside world. It was certainly an experience to relax, reboot, recharge.
14 Wednesday Feb 2018
Posted in all about me, remembering / musing
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This is a “guest post” written by my daughter.
As background, our first grandchild is almost six months old and he is now on the move! Since birth, he has thrown back some of every feed, just like his mother, his auntie and apparently, his NanR!
I had a message the other day, “I now have a mobile spewing machine!!!”
Then she posted this ….
You know those mornings when the only option is to cry or write a poem…
#babylife
#poeticgenius
#thiswasbefore9am
#pleaseletmefinishmyteatoday
He spewed with the sparrows
In the bed, on the floor
He spewed while she weed
And then twenty times more
He spewed while she cleaned,
Spewing and smearing
Then looked in her eyes
Somehow endearing
He spewed while she changed him,
Once then again,
He spews with a dummy,
Still comes out all the same
But there she thought
“How lucky am I?
To have this little boy”,
With a tear in her eye
How he laughs and smiles,
Cuddles in for a pat,
And watched as he…
Shat on her thrice cleaned yoga mat!
She’d placed him on his play mat, facing the opposite direction. Oh the memories, I’ve been there, done that, worn that t shirt. But I don’t remember writing a poem about it. Love my kids!! xxx
18 Thursday Jan 2018
Posted in all about me, one with nature, weekly photo challenge
13 Saturday Jan 2018
Posted in all about me, remembering / musing
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I have just started my third, 3 year “sentence a day” book. This is my 7th year of recording a sentence or two about each day.
One book is titled “The highlight of my day” which more accurately reflects what I write.
I don’t follow the prompts for each day. Sometimes I write about what I’ve done, where I’ve been, what I’ve seen or read. Sometimes I mention world news, but not often. Sometimes it is just an ordinary day.
I enjoy looking back. On this date on previous years, we’ve been tourists in London, we went to an ice sculpture exhibition, we spent the day at The Old Bailey, observing cases in the law courts. We visited a Music and Arts festival, and after a day at work, I searched for a mural that I’d heard about. Back in 2012, I commented on the global financial crisis, which was relevant to my job at the time.
A new idea that my daughter shared is “my year in pixels”. I’m recording a colour for each day in excel, while she has coloured pens and is recording in her diary planner. We will look back on each month, on the overall trend, within the context of our current life, her as a new stay at home mum with a teething baby, me currently enjoying a period of summer non-employment and daily beach walks.
10 Wednesday Jan 2018
Posted in 52 challenge, all about me
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My focus this year is about heath, wellbeing and happiness.
I began with “7 things” idea from dayzeroproject.com
Learn to … a new skill or hobby?
Start … develop a habit
Stop … break a habit
Take a holiday to … where you’d most like to go
Find … what are you looking for?
Try … one new thing you want to try
Be more … a personal characteristic to improve
However, I struggled to choose just one for each task so I have selected 18 things.
Learn to …
~ relax
~ take charge of my own happiness
~ become ambidextrous
Start …
~ moving, being more active
~ eating smaller portion sizes
~ eating mindfully
Stop …
~ making excuses about my health and weight
~ making unhealthy food and drink choices
~ overthinking
Take a holiday to …
~ New Zealand
~ Tasmania’s Maria Island
Find …
~ A job that I enjoy which has good work/life balance
~ Inspiring and positive things to read, blogs, books, articles
Try …
~ something new each month to improve my wellbeing
~ floatation tank
Be more …
~ health conscious
~ creative
~ accepting of myself and others
I also want to continue 18 things …
~ connecting with nature each week
~ maintaining strong relationships with family and friends, near and far
~ being the best NanR that I can be
~ taking photos
~ blogging
~ sentence a day
~ photo a day and other weekly photo challenges
~ exploring Tasmania
~ developing new friendships
~ challenging myself
~ paying it forward
~ decorating our driftwood tree
~ trying new things
~ supporting local events
~ enjoying Hobart life
~ walking on the beach regularly
~ knitting and crochet
~ being happy with my life and my choices
06 Saturday Jan 2018
Posted in 52 challenge, all about me, days out
Although we have lived here for two and a half years, we continue to explore new places in Tasmania.
Here are some of the places that we’ve discovered in the past twelve months….
Roaches Beach
Tasmanian Transport Museum
Rosny Farm
Improved Hobart airport, including cute sculptures of Tasmanian Devils.
Wooden Boat Museum
Circular rock formation beyond Taroona Beach
Meadowbank Lake
Lake Dobson, Mount Field National Park
Art Farm at Birchs Bay
Fingal Valley
Scamander on East Coast
Regular vintage car gathering
Hastings Caves
Narryna House built in 1830’s
Cornelian Bay Cemetery
City murals
New MACQ01 Hotel, restaurant, bar and tours of 114 Doors
Zoodoo
New Town Rivulet Track
Lady Franklin Gallery
Inverawe Native Gardens
Government House
Some of these places were days out on public holidays, which helped complete 2 challenges on my 2017 list.
✔9 – Do something memorable on nine public holidays.
✔17 – Discover seventeen new places in Tasmania that we haven’t yet visited or explored.
