I like to get cozy everyday. Taking time for myself, alone with no other distractions, is something I like to do at the start of the day as well as in the evening. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have some added cozy time after work before I start my nightly routine.
For me, cozy time is sitting in my very comfortable lounge chair focusing on what I want to do. In the morning it’s thinking about my goals and planning out my day. At other times it might be reading, blogging or slowing my mind down by watching a movie on Netflix.
In the above photo you can see the love we have shared over time by the creases in her folds. She has been a dear friend for nearly 2 decades now and if she could read my mind the stories she could tell.
Sometimes it only takes 5 minutes but my cozy time is my favourite way to centre myself.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge plays a major role in all celebrations on Sydney Harbour. These photos taken during VIVID 2017 show her in all her glory from both sides of Circular Quay.
I love a soak in a deep, bubbly bath sipping on a glass of champagne whilst reading chick lit. It my total escapism. Unfortunately, it rarely happens these days due to my lack of time or access to a deep bath.
If you had an unlimited shopping spree at only one store, which one would you choose? Why?
As we are in the process of moving and redesigning our house I would choose a store that is Australian and covers electrical, computers and furniture that we like. So historically for us that would be Harvey Norman. Over the years we have shopped there regularly and we even have made a special connection with one of the computer department staff and he has never guided us badly.
If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what age would that be?
Age is a funny thing and I believe you are only as old as you feel. My life is great now, I am moving into semi-retirement and finally have some money if I wish to buy any thing or travel. My body could be a bit fitter but that is actually up to me as medically I have no problems. The other advantage of remaining at this age may be that nothing deteriorates any more. So a WIN WIN for everyone.
List at least five movies that cheer you up.
Movies that cheer me up are a bit tricky as most of my favourites are tearjerkers. So after thinking hard I came up with:
Suddenly 30
Father of the Bride
Parent Trap
The Lion King
Frozen
Yes! You could describe me as a kid at heart.
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 get my contract for my new job. This week I am looking forward to getting a start date and working with my collaborator as my book gets closer to completion.
These more intense detailed photos were taken on our mother and daughter photography excursion to Bare Island, La Perouse, Sydney, Australia. It was on this island that the French explorer compte de Laperouse landed in 1788 only days after The First Fleet landed at Frenchman’s Beach, La Perouse just around the corner. These historic rock formations were fascinating and so varied for such a small island. If you are ever in the area, it is definitely worth a look. You can discover more about the discover of Australia in the La Perouse museum situation between these two historic sites.
From memory, the view over the entrance to Sydney Harbour was also spectacular.
Zhengzhou is a busy city in east-central China. It is the capital of Henan province and has a very long history dating back to the 3,500 years to the Shang dynasty. We loved exploring this city and interesting mix of old and new China.
The Zhengzhou Memorial Tower was opened in 1971 and remembers the Erqi Strike of 7th Febrauary, 1923.
People’s Park Zhengzhou
Opened in 1952 the People’s Park was the first park in Zhengzhou. It covers a large area in the city consisting of gardens, statues, water ways, fountains, temples, open spaces as well as a theme park. We had a lovely afternoon exploring this surprise package.
Vincentia is a seaside town on the shores of Jervis Bay, 200 kilometres South of Sydney.Arriving at our B & B, we decided to take an afternoon stroll and found ourselves taking in the natural beauty of the White sands Walk along Blenheim Beach and Jervis Bay National Park. It was a glorious winter day and a great way to relax.
I love spending time staring at the ocean. It relaxes me and reminds me how vast the world really is. Over my life I am excited to have seen the top 4 of the 5 oceans of the world which in ranked order are:
Pacific
Atlantic
Indian
Southern
Arctic
Growing up I lived 20 minutes from the Pacific Ocean on the east coast of Australia and loved going to the beach. Whether it was for a swim, to build a sandcastle or go for a walk give me the opportunity and I would be there. When I was 16 I traveled across Australia and got to lookout and swim in the Indian Ocean. I remember this experience began to give me a sense of how big the world’s oceans were. Then in 2000, just as it was officially recognised as an ocean, I was able to look out across the Great Australian Bight onto the Southern Ocean. I remember thinking that at this point that there was nothing between me and Antarctica, which felt very special.
Then in November 2014, the next stage of my ocean journey was revealed, as from the coast of Newfoundland I saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. She was beautiful even in winter and the thing that disappointed me the most was that although it wasn’t far from St Johns, we couldn’t get to the most easterly point of Canada because it was winter. Personally, I would have loved to have stated that I had been to and possibly even dipped my toe in, the most easterly point of Canada as well as Australia.
One of these days I plan on completing the last two goals of my world ocean journey list — to lookout over the Arctic and to cruise across the Atlantic following a similar journey to the Titanic. I don’t know about you but for me the following Jacques Cousteau quote is definitely true. What do you think?
Old Quebec City has many murals however the first created, known as the mural of Quebecers is very special. It depicts life through the history of Quebec and its citizens. I could have looked at it for hours and still find something new. Cleverly disguised as part of the artwork on the building are:
Key historical figures
Architectural building and monuments
Coat of Arms
Physical attributes of the city — the wall and staircase
Cultural communities
Sports
If you ever get the chance to go to Old Quebec City seek out the Mural of Quebecers–its definitely worth a look.
This tree in the Shoalin Temple, China is the oldest living thing I have ever seen. Our guide told us it was 1500 years old, which initially left me speechless. I struggled to understand the changes that would have occurred in it’s time. However, once I grounded myself, I enjoyed spending several minutes in this grand old masters presence mindfully connecting with both past, present and future. I love trees, they give me energy, especially those that have been around for a very long time.
I would have to choose Nanny, my father’s mother. She lived with us in a separate granny flat until my early teenage years and was always good for a treat. She even let Santa know one year that we wanted a swing set, which he delivered on Christmas morning.
If you could be a tree or plant, what would you be?
As an Australia I love Wattle. It booms in early Spring and it looks glorious when in full bloom. Wattle is our national floral emblem as well as the colours of Australia—green and gold. For more information on see my previous post attached.
What would be your preference, awake before dawn or awake before noon?
Many years ago it would have been sleep to noon, however these days I get up early and a sleep in for me is 8 o’clock.
Would you like to sleep in a human size nest in a tree or be snuggled in a burrowed spot underground?
Being a bit claustrophobic I would choose the human size nest as long as there no wind to destabilize it.
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 got to catch up with a girlfriend of over 20 years in our annual date although this year we are working on making it more frequent. This week I am looking forward having a day off on Friday—my first for 2016.
