Others can help you observe things
Be in the moment
State facts
Enjoy your environment
Reflect on your journey
View your surroundings
Aattentively watch as the world goes by
Test a theory
I see—you see—remember it may be different
Opinions do vary
Notice the differences—celebrate the similarities.
#A-Z Challenge
Opened in 1912 the Lithgow Small Arms Factory was Australia’s first precision mass production factory. The Small Arms Factory was commissioned out of a need to make sure Australia was safe from invasion. Little did they know that world war would break out in two years creating a major demand for their product—Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifles for the Australian military.
Building the Small Arms Factory at Lithgow changed the lives of the town and many people as it brought employment and housing to the area. I was excited to visit this factory as my father had only recently told me that my grandfather had found employment there when he was a boy. Despite the family connection, it was not until I spent a morning in their fascinating museum that I realised the true important of Lithgow’s Small Arms Factory on Australia’s history. The museum built on the site of the original factory is manned by very knowledgeable volunteers—many of whom had previously worked in the factory and had many interesting stories to tell. We got lucky because it was a quiet morning the volunteers were happy to chat for half an hour and I was grateful to get some insight into my grandfathers life.
Between the wars the Lithgow Small Arms Factory produced an incredible array of commercial products and in their spare time worked on inventing new technologies and devices.
Have you ever had a mentor? What was the greatest lesson you learned from him or her?
Make the most of every opportunity—the good, the bad and the ugly
Educate yourself and experiment
Nobody is an instant expert
Trial and error allows you to understand the process
Open up and attempt new things
Respect everyone and the job they do
Instructions need to be understood—keep asking for clarification until you get them
Nutrition, nurture and nature—access them daily
Goal setting is essential—not an optional extra
You get some incredibly, amazingly, wonderfully fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?
I am assuming from this prompt that the incredibly, amazingly, wonderful fantastic news is mine to tell—if not I would keep their secret.
If it is mine, initially I would say thank you to my angels and spend some time enjoying the moment—connecting with everything I was feeling in my body and head. The more exciting my news—the more I would plan my sharing. Super exciting news requires time for self rejoicing, planning, dreaming and working out what it means before sharing my news with the world including my immediate family.
Once I had worked through my news, I would plan a special dinner that evening for the family and share my news with them in person. I love to see the responses on their faces particularly if the news related to something I know they thought I truly was dreaming about. I tend to be the believer in the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction and not everyone shares my thoughts. I love examples of it working in my life.
Once we had celebrated—with a fancy champagne—my husband and I would work out a plan to share my news with the rest of the family—parents and siblings. This would mostly involve ringing them individually or sending a text if time poor although sometimes a road trip may be in order to tell them personally.
Only after all of these options had been completed and if I decided my news was suitable for a public billboard would I post a status update to Facebook. My personal boundaries stop me announcing anything and everything to the world without careful consideration.
Through blogging I have become more comfortable with my online presence however I don’t want any surprises. If appropriate, to complete my celebrations and take it to a new level I would write a blog post and see where that takes me.The advantage of celebrating through a blog post is that you get to celebrate many times over as people read the blog posts in their own time.
Bring on the fantastic news—I love to celebrate.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/supercalifragilisticexpialidocious/
#A-Z Challenge
Well I am a day late however I have decided to join the A – Z April Blogging Challenge. It involves writing a post a day for the month of April going through the letters of the alphabet. For most people this challenge started on April 1 with A and concludes on April 30th with Z. As Sunday is a free day I will catch up to everyone then.
I am Australian and proud of it. Australians are an eclectic mix with people from all corners of the globe now calling Australia home. Although affectionately called Down Under and along way from many countries—there are many reasons we are grateful to call Australia home. Some of which are described in my acrostic poem—Australians.
A – Amazing animals
U – Unique characters
S – Sydney Harbour Bridge and other famous icons
T – Temperate temperatures
R – Rugby League and Rugby Union—two of our favourite football codes
A – Art and culture
L – Lifestyle choices
I – Idyllic beaches
A – A friendly bunch of people
N – Nature
S – Surfing, swimming and sports
My loving neighbours, married for 62 years had died within a week of each other. I was approaching the house to give the family my condolences, when I found an old tattered letter at the front gate. No-one was watching. I took a peek. Tears swelled in my eyes. The letter was written in response to a question asked of the loving couple the week by the local newspaper. It read.
Dear Friend,
Here are the secrets of our happy marriage. We hope they also work for you. Give them a go—you might surprise yourself.
1. Respect each other and yourself
2. Communicate
3. Compromise
4. Know your limits and what is important
5. Work as a team and rely on each other
6. Spend quality time together
7. Share the tasks and the glory
8. Laugh a lot
Love Mary and John
Day 5
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_assignment/writing-101-day-five/
On our recent trip to Canada I passed through Quebec’s Holy Door at the Bascillica of Notre-Dame de Quebec. The Holy Door was granted to the people of Quebec by the Pope to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the first Catholic parish in Northern America (Canada and USA)—at one time the largest Catholic parish in the world. The Holy Door opened on the 8th December 2013 and closed on the 28th December 2014.
It is one of only seven Holy Doors and the first Holy Door opened outside of Europe—four in the Vatican, one in France and one in Spain. The door itself is made of bronze and weighs about half a tonne. The external side of the door has Christ on the front and the internal door has Mary sculptured into it. Upon entering should you choose you place your hand in the hands of Christ and pause mindfully for a moment.
The Holy Door must be entered from the outside in and leads into the small chapel at the side of the Bascillica. After its closure on the 28th December 2104 the Holy Door was sealed to be opened again in 2025 when the next Holy Year was expected. However on 17th March 2015, Pope Francis announced that a Holy Year of Mercy will begin on 8th December 2015 that will close on the 20th November 2016. During this Jubilee all seven Holy Doors around the world will be opened.
The brochure stated “this door is open to all persons of good will. For Catholics it is a pilgrimage, a sign, a passage, a kind of spiritual preparation.”
Despite not being Catholic I found passing through Quebec’s Holy Door quite a spiritual experience. Although it was not the purpose of my trip to Quebec City—it was one of my highlights. The fact that I entered on Boxing Day—the day after Christmas Day made it more special for me. If you are traveling in an area next year that has a Holy Door consider adding it to your travel plans. Once closed the Holy Doors will all be sealed again until the next Jubilee Year possibly 2025 as originally expected.
List 2 things you have to be happy about?
I am happy that my family is happy and healthy.
Today I printed of a draft copy of my book and it is starting to come together nicely. I must admit however I am very surprised at how much time the editing process takes.
Do you prefer ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise?
I do not prefer any of the above chooses. My favourite sauce is chilli BBQ—a combination of chill and barbeque sauce. It has only been in Australia for about two years but I am eternally grateful.
If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colors would you use?
A picture of my childhood would use a mixture of dark and light colours. It definitely wasn’t all sunshine and roses—there were many thunderstorms. My experiences were varied however they pathed the way for a bright adult life and gave me a great base for my work in mental health.
Do you prefer a bath or shower?
I shower daily that is out of necessity. When time permits and I have access to a spa bath I will indulge myself. Many years ago we had one in our home and it was a great way to relax on the weekend complete with a glass of champagne.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
Last Sunday I traveled to Newcastle and caught up with my extended family. I only get to do this about 3 times a year due to the number of people involved and their busy lives. The older I get the more important this time is.
Next weekend I am looking forward to traveling to Lismore in northern New South Wales to get away for the weekend with my husband. I cannot remember that last time I visited the area so I am sure it has changed.
http://ceenphotography.com/2015/03/16/share-your-world-2015-week-11/
When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?
I personally would prefer to use candles, however my husband has a fear of them so torches it is. We actually keep three of them on the bookcase at the front door so they are easy to find if needed. Fortunately we rarely need to use them.
You are given $5,000 and the chance to exchange it for one of two envelopes. One envelope contains $50,000 and one contains $500. Do you make the trade? Why or why not?
I would definitely make the trade. The $5,000 was a gift so I believe it is okay to risk it. At worst I am $500 better off than I was before the gift and at best I have a large windfall. Life is full of risks and sometimes you have to take a chance. After all—nothing ventured nothing gained. I would also use a lot of positive thinking to will the preferred envelope into my hands.
What’s your first memory?
I can’t remember what my first memory is. I have several blurry memories from about the age of three but I am not sure which ones are triggered from photos. My early years were spent living in the managers cottage of a coal mine isolated from the rest of the suburb. We had no neighbours and had to entertain ourselves. At times we had wild animals—snakes, brumbies, dingoes, foxes and possums come down and visit the surrounding bush. There was no hot water to the house and I can remember on occasion going over to the coal mine to shower—a special treat—hot running water.
What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? Do you count sheep, toss and turn, or get up and try to do something?
It is rare for me not to be able to sleep. Usually the only time I have a problem sleeping is if I have something on my mind that needs sorting out. Therefore, the answer is simple—make a plan and solve the problem. Once I have done this I can easily return to sleep. If it is somebody’s snoring is the cause of my sleeplessness, I rip up a tissue and block my ears with it. Viola—I can sleep.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
Last week I was grateful to have a day off on Friday which allowed me to catch up on jobs that needed doing including getting my hair cut and streaked for the first time. This week I have no plans so it will be a go with the flow week—something I haven’t had in a while.
http://ceenphotography.com/2015/03/09/share-your-world-2015-week-10/
There are 26 letters in the English language, and we need every single one of them. Want proof? Choose a letter and write a blog post without using it. (Feeling really brave? Make it a vowel!)
Today I have written my first concrete poem. It was a challenge to get started but worked in the end. I think the title of the poem speaks for itself. Without the letter the title of this blog is Inspriring Ax—to easy to be wrongly used and interpreted.
One day there was a
letter of the alphabet that
could not be spoken. She was
special. Living in the centre.
Lots of words were
never able to be
re cog nised
with out
her. After
all adult
lady of the
group doesn’t
sound okay.