Tag: Memories

Community

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What does your ideal community look like? How is it organized, and how is community life structured? What values does the community share?

I am a part of many communities. Each one is similar but different. Although their purposes vary, their interchangeable themes and values can be described in the following acrostic poem.

Communication, caring and creativity

Openess, opinions and observations

Managing problems together

Mindful of other people’s boundaries

Understanding and respect

Nurture and nature

Individualism and independence encouraged

Team approach

Yesterday, today and tomorrow—the building blocks of our relationships

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/idyllic/

Moving Forward

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When was the last time you did something completely new and out of your element? How was it? Will you do it again?

Moving Forward

I am regularly moving forward by stepping or often leaping out of my comfort zone to grow. Nothing exciting ever happens in our comfort zone. This time last year I was working my way up to begin blogging. And just to make it a harder I had decided to set my blog up on WordPress.org not WordPress.com. It took me weeks to get any views and after 2 months I had 34 views. I didn’t give up. I kept learning about the process, connecting with others and becoming more comfortable as a blogger. It feels natural now. I have had 12,250 views and am averaging about 50-70 views a day.

My latest journey out of my comfort zone is with Twitter. I don’t think I have any idea about its power but I am becoming more comfortable with it daily. Twitter for me is a double comfort zone as it has by name attached to it. Twitter is the next level of social media for me to connect with before I publish my book later this year. It feels a little more comfortable each day so I know I am moving forward in the direction of my dreams.

At the time I began writing my book my life was out of my comfort zone in many ways. I found Miley Cyrus’s The Climb extremely motivating and would play it loudly and regularly. This song describes the journey of moving forward and dealing with the difficulties faced during your climb to follow your dreams. It empowered me to do what I needed to do and see what happens. I am so glad I did. My life has changed for the better in so many ways and I am grateful I took the chances I did. Now when I need a shot of motivation I replay The Climb and re anchor the thought that I can do what ever I dream and that I don’t have to know how it will turn out first. I have learnt to trust the process.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/beyond-the-pale/

Share Your World 2015 – Week 17

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What is your most favorite smell/scent?

I don’t focus on smells I am more of a visual person.  Although at the end of a long day at work, I love to walk into the house and smell that someone has cooked dinner—I don’t care what it is I love them for it. My favourite perfumes are Beautiful by Estee Lauder and Opium.

Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself? 

I have never had long hair. My hair has always reached a certain point and grown out rather than down. It gets more puffy. Today, it is shoulder length as this seems to be the right length for me. If I want to put it up I can and it drapes well around my face to soften it.

Do you plan out things usually or do you do them more spontaneous (for example if you are visiting a big city you don’t know?)

I like a mixture of both. If I need to do something specific I plan it but I often just go exploring and see what gems I can discover as I go. My experience teaches me, the more I plan even a little the less time is wasted, but the less of the actual city I see as I am too focused on getting from A – B.

What is your favorite outdoor activity?

I love spending time with nature in any way. Different seasons different ways. Walking on the beach, skiing, bush walking, ice skating, swimming, sailing and cycling these are all fun activities I have enjoyed over recent times.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/04/27/share-your-world-2015-week-17/

Y – Yangtze River

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What’s your travel style? Are you itinerary and schedule driven, needing to have every step mapped out in advance or are you content to arrive without a plan and let happenstance be your guide?

My husband and I like to mix it up a bit. We are solo travelers who like to have accommodation pre-booked and make other things up as we go. If necessary and possible from Australia I will also pre-book transportation between our destinations and some special activities we know we want to do. In Canada however I booked internal train and bus tickets when I arrived in the city involved. It work well as their was no shortage of trips—China however due to the language barrier and time of year was a different story. This travel was arranged with some difficulty from Australia but worked well.

As solo travelers one of the great things is deciding on the day what you feel like doing. There is no rush as we allow ourselves plenty of time to immerse ourselves in each city as we don’t like to be rushed. The more different the culture I think the more important this is. Because we are getting ourselves around in foreign cities it makes us more mindful of our surroundings as we have to get ourselves back home to our motel.

When we first found out we were going to Wuhu we were so excited because it was on the great Yangtze River. We could wait. The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest river in the world.

  1. Nile
  2. Amazon
  3. Yangtze

The Yangtze is also the longest river flowing through a single country—China. It begins high in the mountains in Qinghai – Tibet Plateau and flows west to east into the East China Sea. We first saw the Yangtze from the 5th floor of our hotel. I couldn’t believe how wide and busy it was. So many boats and junks. A few days later we spent several pleasant hours walking along its foreshore—just the two of us and this majestic lifeblood river. On the bucket list now is to cruise the Yangtze—one day.

#A-Z Challenge

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-happy-wanderer/

W -Wuhu # A – Z Blogging

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Wuhu China is off the usual travellers map. It is an isolated rural city on the Yangtze River in Aunhui Provinence—one of China’s poorest. As we were travelling to this university city in Golden Week—the national Chinese holiday week we needed to arrange a private car from Nanjing airport. Our four days in Wuhu were well worth it. The hospitality of the people was amazing as they rarely see white people as they called us and we were instant celebrities. Wuhu was our first experience with the Chinese culture and we loved it. With only 2 million people it was easy to get around.

V – Veiled Virgin # A – Z Challenge

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She is the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen. The Veiled Virgin, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is crafted from Carrara marble by Giovanni Strazza. In 1856, she was brought to St John’s  Newfoundland by Bishop Mullock—the then Bishop of Newfoundland. He described her as ” this perfect gem of art.” I had the pleasure of viewing her at the Presentation Motherhouse in St John’s where she has resided since 1862.

The Veiled Virgin can only be viewed by calling at the Motherhouse between certain hours and these change according to the season. To be able to see her, my husband and I needed to come back again as we were originally told the wrong day—disappointed we thought we should return but nearly didn’t, as we were not really sure what we were going to visit. We were well rewarded for our effort, seeking refuge from the snow spending half an hour in her company.  Her thin veil of marble is exquisite, the detail in her crafting incredible and I was fascinated by the way it looked like her eyes follow me around. It was a humbling and inspirational experience to see the Veiled Virgin and learn about the history of the Motherhouse, from the Sister showing us through.

 

T – The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

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Today marks 100 years since the ANZACS landed in Gallipoli. To me this song written by Eric Bogle in memory of these brave heroes says it all. The addition of footage from Gallipoli reminds us of the extreme reality of the situation. Every time I hear this song and remember their sacrifices, it brings a tear to my eyes as I am grateful. Today, on this special anniversary, my feelings are even stronger.

Thank you to all who have fought for freedom—not only for Australia but around the world. Without their sacrifices the world as we know it could have been a very different place.

# A-Z Challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion

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We had a great afternoon  with the motion of the waves sailing on Lake Taupo New Zealand. The snow-covered peaks in the background, the rain that created a beautiful rainbow and ending with sunshine it was a memorable journey.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/motion/

R – Reginal Express (REX) Airlines

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Last month I fly to Lismore, Norther New South Wales with Rex Airlines. To me it was just another small airline and the only way for me to get where I wanted to go. Boy was I wrong. REX is Australia’s largest independent airline and services 52 destinations around Australia—South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.

REX was born in Wagga Wagga 2002 after the Ansett Airline collapse shut down the ability of people in regional areas to fly. The people of Wagga Wagga had been able to commute to Sydney daily prior to this with Hazelton and Kendall Air. We had actually lived in Wagga Wagga until two weeks after the 2001  Ansett collapse and my husband had flown to Sydney regularly with this work. I cannot imagine how frustrating it would have been in the six months before REX began flying and people needed to drive for 6 hours to do business in Sydney.

Move forward 12 years and the airline that was born out of need is rewarded for its efforts. In December 2014, REX was awarded ‘Best Australian Regional Airline’ in the Australian Traveller People’s Choice Awards. To my surprise REX has also been recognised as a top performing regional airline by Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine in the world for the past 6 years and is one of the top 5 carriers in the world.

My experience with REX was very pleasant and even the delays which were out of their control were handled well. Nothing was too much trouble and I do believe they deserve their standing in the industry.20150330_154733

 

#A -Z Challenge

S – Self-nurturing

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Who doesn’t love a list? So write one! Top five slices of pizza in your town, ten reasons disco will never die, the three secrets to happiness — go silly or go deep, just go list-y.

Self-Nurturing, by definition, is taking care of yourself and doing things to improve your wellbeing. This is a skill often omitted or lost when we get busy with life and needs to be replaced to help manage our stress. Self-nurturing goals need to be simple and daily.

If necessary— plan your self-nurturing activities. Aim to practise two to three activities a day depending on what they are. Bigger goals require more effort so fewer are needed each week. Create your list of things you enjoy and that work for you. Some examples include:

  • Alone Time
  • Blogging
  • Drawing
  • Going for a walk
  • Having a facial
  • Having a foot rub
  • Having a massage
  • Having a shower or bath
  • Listening to music
  • Make a phone call to a friend
  • Meditating and relaxing
  • Painting your finger and toe nails
  • Playing games
  • Playing with children or a pet
  • Putting on makeup
  • Reading
  • Sitting by the beach/lake and watching the water
  • Smelling or picking some flowers
  • Socialising with friends
  • Swimming
  • Treat your to a manicure or pedicure
  • Using moisturiser
  • Visiting the library, art gallery or museum
  • Walking barefoot on the sand
  • Watching a comedy show or movie
  • Writing

Of the above list I think my favourite is walking barefoot on the beach and smelling flowers. They use more than one sense so to me this feels more intense. What is your favourite way to self-nurture?

012 - birthday girl getting wet feet

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-satisfaction-of-a-list/