wise words

'your vision will only become clear when you look into your heart.

who looks outside, dreams.  who looks inside, awakens.'

-carl gustav jung

wise words

'usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. if it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. if it is not, we say it is incorrect. in either case, we learn nothing.'

- thich nhat hanh

a change of scenery

is a change really as good as a holiday? i can tell you i've been having my doubts about that one...fun to have a new view to play with though.

wise words

'people are like stained-glass windows. they sparkle and shine when the sun is out,

but when the
darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.'


-elisabeth kübler-ross

long time no blog

most of you know why it's been a while since i posted anything here, but for those of you who don't, a few weeks ago now we had a pretty terrifying flood here in brisbane...the flood that 'wasn't supposed to happen' due to our white knight of a dam - wivenhoe - built after the legendary flood of '74. in the weeks and days prior to january 13 a series of tragic weather events began unfolding over the state (and in the weeks since, around the country) which culminated in the brisbane river breaching her banks and many thousands of homes being damaged or destroyed.

the lead-up to the time of the predicted peak was at once full of anxiety and full of absolutely beautiful gestures of friendship and support from all directions. people arrived to help us move the contents of the bottom storey of the house up a level...wonderful wonderful people. others offered refuge if we needed to retreat to higher ground. the phone rang so constantly for days with offers of help and queries from concerned friends all around the world. that part of this whole saga was incredibly precious.

how thankful i felt on the morning of reckoning as i woke to find the water had not reached the peak expected (approaching the bottom of our house) and we were still safe and dry. it was a bittersweet feeling though, knowing that even a couple of doors away houses had been swamped by the floodwaters. and knowing that so many people around the city were waking (if they had slept at all) to a very very different life and an overwhelming sense of shock and loss.

these photos were taken at dawn shortly after the predicted peak time, looking in opposite directions from the threeway junction that our road forms with another at the closest corner. below the water in the first photo you would normally find a street leading down to some sports fields and a park...all under water, along with parts of a few houses and a car - literally water as far as the eye could see from about a quarter of the way down the road. and in the other direction less water, but also a car under and damage to some houses.
(the third photo is available for purchase as a card - and other similar things - as part of a project i'll tell you more about very soon. if you can't wait until then, it can be found here)

i've run out of steam (am still very much recovering from it all) but there's more i want to share when i can about some wonderful things that have been going on amidst all of this. a bit to catch up on...

what a wet possum looks like...

it's been 'raining cats and dogs' here lately...and the odd possum too. thankfully we've avoided the worst of the flooding here (at one point half of the state was under water). i've been feeling very very sorry for the animals though - especially in the worst-hit areas - but also weather refugees like this who turn up on the verandah in the middle of the day soaking wet, and with a little bub to look after.

(the RSPCA is doing fantastic work in the flooded areas and has a special appeal going at the moment if you want to donate and help the animals)

dash robin deliciousness

most people who know me well know that i have a bit of a thing for trees. so it was not exactly a shock to find i was swooning over these little brooches by the talented kate allan of dash robin the second i laid eyes upon them (serious amounts of self-control required to resist buying the whole series). they were bought with the intention of giving one to a friend but it took me - literally - months to come to the point where i could bear to part with it! now it is finally with its rightful owner and i can at last share.

as for mine, i have grand plans...in my mind i have a sketch for a bag that is designed specifically to show off this (and other) brooches. watch this space.

wise words

'stay the course,
light a star,
change the world
wherever you are.'

-richard le gallienne

riot of colour (and a riot of noise)

the king parrots are in fine form at the moment...i suspect punch-drunk on the abundant flowering blossoms they gorge on all day. obviously not full enough to stop them from turning up at the verandah asking for more food though. yesterday they were at the back steps screaming for attention - what they got instead (and they shouldn't really be surprised by now) was a camera lens in their faces...didn't seem to perturb them at all with one just hopping up closer and closer.

i'm surprised by how much joy the birds have given me this year...yet another of those things that i really didn't pay much attention to until my life was forced to slow down so drastically. they have such personalities when you stop to watch - one of the big males in particular is plain nasty. he hogs all the food and attacks anyone who wants a piece of the action; last night i watched him chasing another male from tree to tree away from his female friend, eventually resorting to attacking his feet when he wouldn't give up and leave...ah,men!

wise words

'without the bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance all over the universe?'

- zen master dogen (quoted in 'how to be sick' by toni bernhard)