Places Archives - INSPIRING MAX

Life In The Villages

March 13, 2015 inspiringmax

If you were asked to spend a year living in a different location, where would you choose and why?

Back in the late 1980’s I had had enough of life in Australia. I wanted a change. The answer—I booked a flight to London and planned to work in mental health in England for at least 12 months. I needed something new in my life and I was going to get it. No staying in a rut for me. Then it happened. One night when I least expected it—I met my now husband and everything changed. After careful consideration I cancelled my trip and decided we would do it together some day—his job wasn’t as easy to come and go from as mine. Nursing is versatile.

This year we are coming up to our 25th wedding anniversary and are starting to dream of retirement. Besides living in St John’s, Newfoundland see Pacific to Atlantic post here, my husband and I would still like to live in the villages and more remote parts of England, Scotland and Wales. The types of places where everyone knows everyone and life involves the town—similar to the television shows of Heartbeat and Hamish Macbeth. This would greatly contrast with our life in Sydney Australia and teach us a lot about our ancestors ways of life.

https://youtu.be/v9zWX43pFdI

Sometimes dreams do need to be put on hold. However, I believe it is never to late to get back to them. This goal may be a long way off but you’re never to old to try something new, enjoy different experiences and change your life.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/study-abroad/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Orange

March 10, 2015March 9, 2015 inspiringmax

Time for another multi-photo challenge! Wow us with punchy pops of orange.

Orange isn’t a colour usually found in my photos however, most of these were taken on our recent trip to Canada. Surprising how much colour could be found intermingled with the sky’s grey. The cake and biscuits were made by my niece Laura for our family ‘Sunshine’ themed Christmas.

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

Our Home

February 16, 2015 inspiringmax

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

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/

Better Than Sliced Bread: Accessible Air Travel

February 14, 2015March 14, 2015 inspiringmax

Most of us have heard the saying, “That’s the best thing since sliced bread!” What do you think is actually the best thing since sliced bread?

Live has changed dramatically since 1928 when sliced bread was first sold. However most of those changes that have affected my world have occurred since 2000’s. For me, besides the obvious—accessible internet, Google and WI-Fi hot spots—I choose increased and affordable air travel. Today, you can decide to go anywhere in the world and there would be a way to get there. Years ago, this was not the case.

I flew for the first time when I was 12. It was a school excursion so there was no choice. It has also just occurred to me that I have never flown with either parent as my next flight was to Nouméa in my twenties. During these times air travel was rare and special—something most of us saved for.

My daughter first flew at 9 to Brisbane. It was 2004. While we were away she had her 10th birthday and a new airline was born in Australia—Jetstar Airways—bringing with them cheap flights throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. It was fascinating, when we landed at Brisbane airport all the check-in counters were Qantas. Then six days later, when we left majority of them had turn into Jetstar check-in counters. We flew back to Sydney on one of those Jetstar flights. This changed the cost of domestic travel in Australia. Suddenly people were choosing to fly instead of drive. A revolution had started. Because of this change, by the time my daughter was 12, she had flown so often she could check herself in and knew the procedure well.

International air travel has also reduced in price over time so the world is now our oyster. We can travel everywhere and everywhere can travel to us. Australia is now a truly multicultural country and has opened up as a major tourist destination for the world. A lot has changed since Paul Hogan made our most successful tourist campaign for Northern America 30 years ago.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/sliced-bread/

Share Your World – 2015 Week 6

February 13, 2015 inspiringmax

What was the last time you went to a new place?

At the end of last year, my husband and I left sunny Sydney Australia to spent 6 weeks exploring Eastern Canada. We were hoping for our first white Christmas. But no, unseasonably high temperatures meant we are still waiting. Many people in Quebec City—where we spent Christmas—because it was one of the top places in the world to have snow falling from the sky as well as snow on the ground— said it was the first green Christmas they had had. They had lived in the city for over twenty years. However, to my excitement, we did receive a very light snowfall walking home from Christmas dinner—so I made my husband turn around and walk in the snow until it stopped.

View over Montreal from Mont Royal

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels, other? And what type of genre would you prefer?

I am a writer. I am in the final stages of editing my non-fiction self-help book—Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder Recovery Is Possible. It has been along journey and I have enjoyed learning about every step. At some time in the future, however I would love to use my creative ability and write fiction—although I don’t know what genre I would write in although I would like it to appeal to both sexes like Janet Evanovich.

Out of your five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing) which is your favorite?

I am a visual person. I must see something to understand and remember it. I am attracted to the beauty of things, even the beauty of the less attractive things of this world.

If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Despite my daily commute to work, I find my life and job very satisfying. I work with a great team helping people with recovery from an eating disorder, which is rewarding work. I spent my weekend with family or if I am really lucky alone doing the things I love to do—writing and blogging. Every holidays I get to travel and explore the world. For these reasons I think probably only about 10% would lead a more satisfying life than I. When my life doesn’t satisfy me for a period of time, I get to the bottom of it and fix the problem.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week we had two separate visits from extended family. It was great seeing them and catching up on the latest gossip.

Yesterday my daughter brought home a new member of the family—a kitten she calls Toast. I look forward to getting to know him and possibly coming up with my own name to match his personality.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/02/09/share-your-world-2015-week-6/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale

February 8, 2015 inspiringmax

This week, share an image that highlights a size relationship — make us pause and take a second look to understand the scale of the elements in your photo.

For more information on Canton Tower one of the world’s tallest building see my earlier post. It dwarfs people and is difficult to photograph due to its size.

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

Will I Go?

February 7, 2015 inspiringmax

Is there a place in the world you never want to visit? Where, and why not?

I love to travel.

If money were no object I would travel to more countries across the world. From my experience, more can be learnt about different cultures by getting off the usual tourist path—we have traveled recently to regional China and Canada in winter. Learning about a country through its history joins the dots on why things developed and are the way they are.

When my husband and I are considering traveling to a new destination, I ask myself the following questions to discover if it is a place we can visit now. Even if the answer is no, it doesn’t mean it is a place I never want to visit. Everywhere has something new to offer.

Will we be safe? This is particularly important as we like to get ourselves around places not go on tours where you may have a built-in safeguard.
Will we be able to stay healthy? Is the food and water safe?
What , how and where will we eat? What is it advisable not to eat?
How will we get around the city? Will this be possible? In Nanjing we thought we would catch a train however when we arrived at the train station it was literally packed with people. There no signs were in English, we felt claustrophobic so we quickly left and made other plans.
Where do we plan to stay?
What local rules or customs do we need to follow? Can we live with them for a couple of days?
What is the reason we want to visit the country or area? If this is strong enough it can change some of the other answers.
How do we get from the airport to our accommodation? Once we needed to pre-book a private car for a two-hour trip across provinces in China.
Are injections required to protect us from disease?
All things considered is the risk too great for us to travel to this part if the world at this time? YES or NO.

If the answer is yes, we reconsider visiting if the situation changes. In the meantime we will go somewhere else. We will never stop traveling—meeting new people and learning new things as it takes us out of our comfort zone and allows us to grow in ways we couldn’t imagine. Bring on our next adventure.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/no-thanks/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth

January 31, 2015January 31, 2015 inspiringmax

Whether visually or emotionally, this week let’s dig (or dive) deep.

This amazing old dead tree has been turned into a work of art. It’s home is the Australian Botanical Garden Mount Annan and it adds depth and character to an otherwise ordinary field. Painting the tree bright blue allows it to be special and blend into the skyline at the same time. The animals and birds can still use it for shelter also helping to sustain the environment.

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

Celebrating Australia—Songs

January 25, 2015 inspiringmax

This long weekend Australians celebrate our nation’s birthday. The 26th January was chosen from the date from which we were settled—January 26th, 1788. Over the years we have developed into a multicultural nation. Because of this the 26th January,sees people from all nations gather to celebrate being and living in Australia. Today I would like to share with you three songs that make me proud to be Australian. They stir emotion in me wherever I am.

John Williamson is an Australian icon and this song reminds me of my time living in country New South Wales connecting with the land and its people.

This song describes the development of our multicultural nation. I remember it being acted out as a play when my children were in kindergarten and it was even more powerful.

I can still remember clearly 30 years ago when we were arriving back to Sydney from a South Pacific cruise, how stirring it was when “I still call Australia home” played through the air—bringing a smile to everyone’s face.

Connecting With Naure

January 20, 2015 inspiringmax

Tell us about the last experience you had that left you feeling fresh, energized, and rejuvenated. What was it that had such a positive effect on you?

I love spending time with nature. It energises me, makes me forget my troubles and grounds me. Nature is everywhere. Living in the city doesn’t mean I can’t connect. There are many ways within 15 minutes from my house or work place I can connect with nature. These include:

Walking barefoot on green grass anywhere
Enjoying the flowers in a local park
Sydney Harbour
Wetlands
Swimming in the harbour beaches and pools
Parramatta river
Mindfully walk around the neighbourhood looking and listening for wildlife

If I wanted a day out I could travel to the beach, bush or the mountains. Both of these are favourites of mine and I enjoy both in all seasons. In one of my early posts I discuss getting back to the beach for the first time in many years in late autumn.

Other ways I like to energise myself is to get amongst mother nature herself. I love watching sunrises and sunsets, playing in the rain, watching thunder storms particularly over the ocean and recently in Ottawa walking in the snow storms. So when I feel I need for a little or big pick me up, I connect with nature, energise myself and get on with the day.