Tag: Memories

Share Your World – 2015 Week 10

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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/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wall

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Share an image of a wall that reveals something about a place, people, or you.

Mural of Quebecers

The mural of Quebecers has brought to life this wall in Old Quebec City. It is the most amazing mural I have ever seen.  Painted in 3D by several artists in 1999—it includes all significant events, architecture and people in the city’s colourful 400 year history.

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

Tree Change Dolls

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What would you put in this year’s time capsule to channel the essence of our current moment for future generations?

Yesterday I discovered Tree Change Dolls—remodeled, refreshed and re-styled—rejected Bratz dolls by Australian artist Sonia Singh from Tasmania. Bratz dolls are everywhere. They are styled on high rock fashion with heavy make-up. The look alone was enough for me to refuse to ever buy one for anyone. My other problem is the name Bratz. It is not something I want to encourage in anyone. For the same reason, I could never buy the clothing brand No Rules.

Sonia decided to redesign the dolls into something her children wanted to play with, because of her love of playing with dolls. She found the rejected dolls in the second-hand shops and breathed new life into them. The result is beautiful natural looking dolls that children can associate with as their faces remind them of friends and people they knew. The photo below is the same doll—originally harsh looking, bordering on scary then given a new make-down—looking soft, gentle and angelic.

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Sonia’s transformation involves removing the original makeup using nail polish remover. She then paints on new eye brows, eyes and lipstick. Her mother knits little tops for each doll and sews some pants or a skirt—giving each doll an individual homemade feel. When the outfit is complete Sonia then moulds boots for their feet that match their outfits.

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Below is a sample of Sonia’s Tree Change family playing in the great outdoors—where kids used to play.

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Since Sonia created a Facebook page and Tumblir for her Tree Change Dolls in a no time they went viral. Everyone wants their own natural doll—the problem is she wasn’t expecting this level of support and isn’t sure what to do about it. Personally I think this is a great way to move froward.  Reverting back to kids being kids and not the sexualised images of the original Bratz dolls. It has my support and is the reason I would put it in my time capsule today.

 

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/time-capsule/

Unique

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Write a post about anything you’d like — in the style of your favorite blogger. (Be sure to link to them!)

Back in 1980 my 6th form English teachers wrote on my high school reference, Max “has a unique personality.” I was so proud.  The statement showed he understood me and wasn’t trying to make me fit a mould. It was this reference that 6 weeks later, as an 18-year-old helped get me a traineeship in psychiatric nursing. 35 years later I still work in mental health. It suits my unique personality. All those years ago, if I had copied others because that was the normal thing to do—I wouldn’t have found my calling.

Finding your own personality, believing and following  your own style is important in developing your own confidence. It is this confidence that allows you to achieve your goals. Imitation is observing and replicating another’s  behaviour—something I am not interested in doing on any level—even for fun. There are many other bloggers who think similar to myself and whose blogs I enjoy however, having a different style of writing changes the feel of the post and in my opinion isn’t being true to either style.

I am all for learning and adding new forms of writing to my blog—my latest addition being poetry. But in my own unique voice. Being true to myself is a personal value of mine which leaves no reason to copy others. Believe in yourself and develop your voice. Copying others will keep you not being true to you.

Be unique. The world need more uniqueness—not more imitators.

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

Dreaming In Action

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You’re having a nightmare, and have to choose between three doors. Pick one, and tell us about what you find on the other side.

I don’t usually remember my dreams. I am sure I have them as part of my natural sleep cycle, but they don’t wake or disturb me. Occasionally if some thing on my mind—even on my subconscious mind—it will cause me to awake from my sleep through a dream. When this happens something—needs to be done about the issue. No problem is waking me twice.

During my dreaming process the answer to what needs to be done is clear. I don’t need three doors—I only need one. The practical one with the action to complete the task. If I can’t decide on a solution I will deliberately sleep on it. Suddenly, in the morning or during the night the answer will come. To help explain how dreams work I have included a video—it puts a little clarity around the mystery of dreaming.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/just-a-dream/

Goodbye

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You have the chance to write one last post on your blog before you stop blogging forever. Write it.

 

Greetings friends

Open your hearts

Open your minds

Direction helps with desire

Blogging is your community

You can do it—look for the positive

Even in tough times continue to follow your dreams

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/last-words/

Blue Mountains – Australia

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What’s your dream tourist destination — either a place you’ve been and loved, or a place you’d love to visit? What about it speaks to you?

The beautiful Blue Mountains are located 60 kilometres from my home in Sydney. For this reason I don’t take my annual holidays there but like to visit for a weekend getaway with my husband. I love the peace and ruggedness of the area that includes rare and endangered flora and fauna. Blue Mountains are also home to some of Australia’s greatest writers and photographers due to the serenity and beauty of the area. People find it truly inspiring.

The mountains get their name from the colour they appear to be when the sunlight mixes with the oil from the eucalyptus trees that cover the area. There are 91 species of eucalyptus trees here—13% of the global total. This is one of the many reasons that in 2000 UNESCO appointed the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site—14th in Australia. This area encompasses 7 amazing and individual National Parks some of which I have not yet explored—Blue Mountains National Park, Wollemi National Park, Yengo National Park, Nattai National Park, Kanangra-Boyd National Park, Gardens of Stone National Park and Thirlmere Lakes National Park.

The above photos are from our last visit and are from the Mt Wilson area—six weeks after devastating bush fires had raged through. We were excited to see that new life was emerging.  Internationally Australia is known for its beautiful beaches but just as important is its natural bush land very different to other parts of the world. If you ever get the chance come and spend a few days exploring any part of our beautiful Blue Mountains—they are so large you won’t be able to cover it all—do so as you will be greatly rewarded.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/tourist-trap/

Life Changing

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Write about anything you’d like, but make sure the post includes this sentence:

“I thought we’d never come back from that one.”

It was 10.27 am on 28th December, 1989. Suddenly I was woken from my night duty slumber by my house shaking violently. I didn’t know what was happening, although the realisation quickly hit—Newcastle had been hit by an 5.6 magnitude earthquake—I thought we’d never come back from that one.

But Newcastle and I both have. See more detail in my earlier post here.

The following week changed my life forever. Not only did my beloved city look like a war zone but, I got engaged—it definitely was a new decade and new life for me. On one hand there was the destruction including my house and on the other hand their was the excitement of what a new life had to offer.

The lessons I learnt working in mental health in Newcastle during this tragic time have never left me—13 people died and most of the city was effected. I learnt anything can happen to anyone at anytime. It’s how you handle it that makes the long-term difference. I know with support I can and will get through anything and when I need to I follow St Francis of Assis’s advice.

St Francis of Assisi quote

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/use-it-or-lose-it/

Our Home

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What do you display on the walls of your home — photos, posters, artwork, nothing? How do you choose what to display? What mood are you trying to create?

Over the years we have gradually decorated our home with a mixture of things that have meaning to us—either as individuals or as a family. There is no theme. When we were married my husband had a collection of Australian paintings that he loved and I had a miniature alcohol bottle collection. These two items have formed the basis of our lounge and dining area decoration in the 8 homes we have lived in.

A small selection

A small selection

Special photos  have a pride of place in our home. We have photos of people, places and activities that have were special to us. I enjoy occasionally studying them closely and letting them take me back in time—bringing a smile to my face as I remember the details surrounding the photo. This is more important when our loved one is no longer with us.

I love collections. For me there is something about having a group of similar things. It allows you to continue to make an area unique without spending a lot of money. My belief is that if you gave ten people the same 4 items to start their collection and told them to grow it to 20 items within a six months period—each collection would be different.

We currently have four collections are working on.

  • My little bottle collection that started with 4 bottles about 30 years ago.
  • My Mickey Mouse collection that I have collected for years, however, was only put together in one place earlier this year. It now sits pride of place above my desk and helps me write while at the same time bringing joy to the room.
  • Our cat collection
  • Our travel collection—this collection includes something special from each country we have visited. It is still only a small collection however, I plan on expanding it over the next few years.

For us decorating each of our homes was never a planned thing. It was always a work in progress that took on its own life. I like it this way and it seems to work for us. However you decorate your home, I think they reflect strongly who you are. This is true for us—a fun, happy eclectic mix ready for anything.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/wall-to-wall/

Back To Childhood

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Tell us about a sensation — a taste, a smell, a piece of music — that transports you back to childhood.

In today’s world there are many new smells. At times, they converge together  and in some ways diffuse into each other. When I was growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s things were different. In many ways, life was simpler but with a lot less opportunity. Smells were stronger and often less environmentally friendly. So which smells do I remember from my childhood. There are many—some memories are good, the others not so much, but they are still mine.

  •  Fresh salty sea air made complete by the smell of seaweed—growing up we lived in coastal Australia. We were never far from the beach and many holidays were spent there. They were fun times. Today as I no longer live by the ocean I receive a pleasant surprise when I return. One of my earliest blog posts,  Calm Action is on my latest trip to the beach as an adult.
  • Cherry medicine smell—made to taste like cherry to make it easier for kids to swallow medicine. I am still unable to drink Dr Pepper as it instantly takes me back to my childhood and the not so pleasant taste of this medicine—my husband is the same and our kids think we a making it up.
  • Mud—our house was on slope and not landscaped, so every time it rained we had a lot of mud, clay-like solid mud. It had a particular smell and was slippery when wet.
  • Fairy floss—as a child this had a much stronger smell than the pre-packed fairy floss you can buy today. I found that similar smell in the freshly spun fairy floss we found being sold on the street in China.
  • Aniseed lollies—I was the only child in my family who liked these licorice flavoured lollies, so I could guarantee they were not stolen. On the odd occasion as an adult I have bought these lollies I have been disappointed as the smell and flavour is not as strong as it used to be.
  • Eucalyptus smell of the Australian bush—growing up I spent many hours going for bush walks with my family exploring. It has a unique smell and these days unfortunately it is only on weekends away that I get to re-experience my memories.  Although I do live in  an area filled with individual gum trees—the Australian bush is different.
  • Mothballs—back in the day clothes were packed up at the end of the season and stored to make room in the wardrobe for the next seasons clothes. To stop moths and silverfish eating holes in the clothes, two or three balls made of naphthalene were added to the storage container. These had a strong smell and when it came time to change the clothes back again for the next season, it took a long time for the clothes to lose the smell.
  • Epoxy resin—as a child my father made many things as he is creative and talented. I loved it when he worked with epoxy resin—I loved the smell and how quickly it worked. I am sure it wasn’t good for me but as it wasn’t an everyday occurrence it wasn’t a problem.

I have enjoyed remembering my childhood smells. I will keep this post as a work in progress continue to add smells as they come back to me. If you are from a similar era—what smell do you remember? I would love to hear about them.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-transporter/