With thanks...
MARCH 2010
I am grateful for the energy of love and friendship, and a new project continuing to unfold...
With thanks... Monday March 1...
Today I am grateful for the beauty of the full moon, clouded though it is, and the cool change...
I am grateful that I got through a fair bit of work, despite a migraine - and I am grateful that I had five days without one :-) It’s always disappointing when I have to start the count again...
I’m grateful that my beloved came home from work and I could lie in his lap while he patted my head and soothed my pain...
I am grateful that I caught Peter Garrett on Q&A, where he was able to be as eloquent, intelligent and passionate as he really is, and not be taken out of context or berated. Chris Pyne actually spoke pretty well too :-)
I am grateful that I saw AC Grayling on Lateline too (thanks Nigie!). Such an interesting, learned man, with such a fascinating world view, and such politeness too, hee hee...
And now I am grateful that I can water my faery garden and go to bed...
With thanks... Tuesday March 2...
Tonight I am grateful for a fun and funny dinner with Mum, who’s here visiting, and Margie and Pete (and Juz of course). Lots of debate and history lessons and jokes...
I’m grateful for my brisk hour walk home from work, and the frangipani trees, which calmed my mind after a very stressy, migraine-plagued day at work...
And I’m grateful for the huge progress Lucy and I are making on our project!
With thanks... Wednesday March 3...
Today I am grateful to my beloved, who brought me cups of tea while I worked madly...
I am grateful that my meeting with Lucy was so productive, and fun, and funny. I’ve amazed and inspired by how well we’re collaborating and how easy it is all flowing. Not that the writing is easy, but lots of the other stuff is coming together so sweetly and smoothly...
I am grateful for the walk home, the cool breeze and sunshine, and the pretty flowers I stopped to smell as I walked past.
I am grateful for the still-fairly-full moon and its beauty and golden light...
And I am grateful that, though pumpkin hour is approaching and my eyes are getting heavy (pesky migraine medication), I’m signing off from the frustrating French magazine project and going to chill out with Cutes for a little while :-)
With thanks... Thursday March 4...
Today I am grateful that I got the three stories done and sent off (albeit at midnight). Gotta love those projects that you know could take two hours or two days... Of course this was the latter :-) There’s more to come, but at least I made the first deadline :-)
I am grateful that my beloved made me tea again while I worked. And very sorry that I had to work through our “weekend”. But I’m grateful that I took a break tonight so we could have dinner together, and chat, and watch Law & Order, and have a naughty ice-cream...
I am grateful that I didn’t have a migraine (although a little weirded out that someone called today to book my even more invasive scan - i’m guessing/hoping that she just didn’t get the all-clear memo from my neurologist)...
And now I am grateful for bed!
With thanks... Friday March 5...
Tonight I am grateful for the cooling rain, and the fun I had walking home from work in it, splashing in puddles, tasting the raindrops, occasionally not being able to see cos it got so heavy for a bit...
I am grateful for the beautiful bats I saw soaring overhead, far from their home tree, which was very interesting. Some were heading from the city to our favourite duck pond, and others were flying around above Redfern, heading back to one of those parks. Wonder what secret missions they were on? :-)
I am grateful that Luke and I got the magazine ready for the printer, and I am grateful to Luke for his hard work...
I am grateful that I managed to make a start on layouts for my new project...
And I am grateful for watermelon and sharing it with my beloved, home from work just before midnight... And now I’m off to collapse in a heap...
With thanks... Saturday March 6...
Today I am grateful for a very productive day - my project with Lucy is coming together beautifully and magically (and with a lot of hard work too, of course!) :-)
I am grateful for lovely new faery friends...
I am grateful for another day without a migraine...
I am grateful for a fun lunch with Juz and Mum - I haven’t seen her much on this visit, with her being here to help Margie and Pete (and racing off to the markets whenever she can!), but it was nice to catch up...
And I am grateful that Cutes and I spent a bit of time together after he got home from work, and ate watermelon and giggled and snuck in a Law & Order, before our eyelids started dropping and bed beckoned. It’s hard to get to bed at a reasonable time when he doesn’t get home til midnight... But now, off to bed perchance to dream :-)
With thanks... Sunday March 7...
Today I am grateful for a beautiful sunny day out with my beloved... And the first Sunday he’s had off work in months... I am grateful for chai tea and wandering through the city hand in hand, and for the beauty of Sydney Harbour as we walked to the Opera House...
I am grateful for two amazing events, the AC Grayling talk on the philosophy of ethics, morals and beliefs, and Richard Dawkins on the beauty of nature and the universe. It was so wonderful to be listening to such learned men, so polite and yet so clear, and so filled with passion for their chosen fields. It reminded me of the archaeologist who took us inside Stonehenge, then to Durrington Walls, and the awe and wonder in his voice, and the tears in his eyes, as he spoke about uncovering the knee prints in the earth where men had knelt 5000 years ago to light their fires. Dawkins especially finds so much joy in his work, so much wonder at the marvel that is our planet...
And I am grateful for our cute early evening, before Cutes had to go to rehearsal, and I spent the night working madly again, seeing my new project starting to take shape... Hooray! xx
With thanks... Monday March 8...
Today, International Women’s Day, I am grateful for the rights we do have. It’s not perfect yet, but compared to so many other countries and cultures, we’re doing pretty good :-)
I am grateful we got the magazine finished and ready to send, despite a nasty head...
I am grateful that my beloved came and met me after work, for a cute little dinner, then a long walk home as the sun set and the sky deepened through all the colours of pink-lavender-gold, then darkened into twilight, then night. I am grateful for the beautiful bats soaring overhead, and all the frantic, noisy birdsong, and the gorgeous trees that add magic to the city...
I am grateful for a hilarious at times, enlightening and fascinating Q&A show - although it sure painted one particular senator as a complete fool. It was a bit of a worry just how badly our parliamentarians came off in a discussion with Richard Dawkins, on topics ranging from religion to refugees...
And I am grateful for a long chat to Dad...
With thanks... Tuesday March 9...
Today I am grateful for the sunshine pouring in the window of my little purple office, the rainbows on the walls, and a frantically busy, productive day...
I am grateful for my Alice In Wonderland tea pot and chai tea...
And I am grateful for a beautiful night with my beloved, slices of watermelon and long conversations...
With thanks... Wednesday March 10...
Today I am grateful that the mag went to print on time and pretty, and that the publisher liked it and had less changes than usual (and a little shy that my pic is now in it)...
I am grateful for my long, calming and de-stressing walk home through the cool grey twilight...
And I am so sleepy that I am grateful for an uncharacteristically early night...
Sweet dreams! xx
With thanks... Thursday March 11...
Today I am grateful for sunshine and cool breezes, and a funny lunch with Mum, who’s over here for three weeks, and Margie and Pete...
I am grateful for the wonderful ease of my collaboration with the lovely Lucy, and how much we have inspired each other to get this book done, and have learned from each other, and how nice it is working together. I’m always a little nervous of such things, but it’s been so smooth and magical...
I am grateful for a fun/ny night with my beloved, and a great gig, and bats congregating over the venue (they must like Platinum Brunette too!), and new songs that rock...
And now I am grateful for bed... Sweet dreams! xx
With thanks... Friday March 12...
Tonight I am grateful for a fun night with my love, as he played an awesome gig at the Sando. The crowd loved them, they blew the visiting band off the stage, and they got offered support shows with a big indie band. Hooray!
I am grateful that Mum could come, so we could hang out a bit (between me doing hair and make-up :-), as she flies back home in a week...
And I am grateful that I got heaps of work done. We won’t have it ready for the Faery Festival next weekend, but we will be able to launch it at the Mind Body Spirit festival in May... Well, we hope!
And now I am grateful for bed!
With thanks... Saturday March 13...
Today I am grateful for a cute morning with my beloved, running errands, going to our favourite cafe and hanging out before he went to work...
I am grateful for a lovely afternoon with a dear friend, drinking tea, chatting and eating apricot square thingies :-)
I am grateful for the beautiful rainbow that lit up the sky after a sudden and short-lived downpour...
I am grateful for a late afternoon to after midnight super productive and hard working session...
(And perhaps if I’d written this a bit earlier I may have been more enthusiastic, but now it is certainly time for bed!)
With thanks... Sunday March 14...
Today I am grateful for a cute morning with my beloved, before he had to leave for work, and I locked myself in my little purple office and worked like a mad thing...
I am grateful that I got so much done on the new project - and amused that frantic mode has kicked in, with every minute devoted to it, at gigs, on the bus to work, in my lunchbreak. No naughty reading of books now... And I am grateful to my faery friends for keeping my garden so well watered (although I must admit, I do pop in here and there to return sprinkles and refill platters_...
I am grateful that I made it to 2am before I had to collapse into bed...
I am grateful to gorgeous Daniella and her amazing artistic talent...
And I am grateful for the beautiful sunshine streaming in the window, and the rainbows dancing around the room from my hanging crystal (well, at least until night fell)...
With thanks... Monday March 15...
Today I am grateful for the frantic faery frenzy in which I worked, and got so much done... There’s still lots to do, but it’s so nice to see the progress that is being made as the deadline looms...
I am grateful for the cute morning my beloved and I had before work, watching House from the other night, making cheesies together, laughing and drinking tea, empathising with our frantic weeks, and work...
And I am super grateful for how smoothly and well and easily Lucy and I are collaborating together, and the magic of us stretching each other and encouraging and inspiring and opening and learning...
With thanks... Tuesday March 16...
Today I am grateful for the beautiful sunshiney day, even though I was in a very tall office block all day... I am grateful that I went outside at lunch (after a frantic few weeks), and felt the cool breeze, and the gentle autumn sun, as I sat under a tree in the paved area of some courthouse or something...
I am grateful that I got a lot done, starting the new issue of Little Friends magazine, and somewhat bemused that I’m now editing another mag too...
I am grateful that Cutes came and met me after work, and we had a little chai before heading off for dinner...
And I am grateful for a fun night with Mum, and Margie and Pete, for Petie’s birthday, and a yummy dinner (it seemed odd that Petie cooked his own birthday meal, but he does love to cook, so we weren’t complaining :-)...
With thanks... Wednesday March 17...
Today I am grateful for the beautiful sunshine, and for the time I spent skipping through our pretty park with my beloved just before sunset, so he could take some faery photos of me :-)
I am grateful that I got a lot done on the book, in terms of layout, and I am grateful that Cutes didn’t mind me working all day on our usual day off, and that he made me cups of tea and came in to hug me every now and then :-)
And I am grateful to Lucy and Daniella, for the inspiration, and joy, and magical talents unfolding between us...
With thanks... Thursday March 18...
Tonight I am grateful for a last dinner with Mum, before she goes back home to Western Australia...
Sadly I am not grateful for the pesky migraine that plagued me all day and made it very hard to concentrate at work, nor for the painkillers which barely scratched the surface...
But I am grateful for the other medication, which is at least making them less frequent - I had almost a week without one, which was wonderful...
And I am grateful to my precious beloved, who has been lugging boxes of books down to the car in preparation for our faery weekend in Canberra :-)
With thanks... Friday March 19...
Today I am grateful for the little adventure with my beloved :-) After getting a bit of writing done, I picked him up from work and we headed south for the Faery Festival. The peak hour traffic wasn’t much fun, but we were listening to U2, and laughing, and happy to be on our way...
I am bemused by the terrible directions we got to get to Canberra, but the “scenic route” was incredibly beautiful, and we loved the winding roads and old trees and sweet birds (although going along the very narrow road up the mountain, with all its hairpin turns and steep drop-offs, was pretty scary).
But I am grateful for the beautiful moon, and its huge orange-gold sliver that seemed so close as we emerged from out of the darkness, which we probably wouldn’t have seen if we’d gone the right way. And the incredible sunset that washed the sky pink-gold-lavender and was so so beautiful silhouetting the mountains and forests that we were driving up, down and through. It was truly breathtaking, and I will remember it always.
And I am every so grateful to my beautiful beloved, for helping me cart boxes of books around, and set up the stall, and come away with me for our cute weekend...
With thanks... Saturday March 20...
Today I am grateful for a day of faery fun with my faery goddess friends Lucy, Lisa and Michele-lee, at the Queanbeyan Spiritual and Wellbeing Festival, which this year had a faery theme (hence my little crown and colourful flowy dresses)...
I am grateful that I could properly meet lovely Karen, and give her a big hug, and goddess Leonie, such a radiant, shining soul...
And I am grateful to my beloved, for helping me all day, and being so sweet, and for our wonderful night, walking down to the cafe for dinner, meeting the local ducks, and admiring the beautiful pink-gold-mauve sunset.
With thanks... Sunday March 21...
And Mabon/Ostara blessings to all :-)
Tonight I am grateful for a fun second day with the faery goddess girls at the Faery Festival, and with Thomasina, who was very sweet...
I am grateful for laughter and encouragement and sharing - and to Lisa for being a far better promoter of my stuff than I will ever be!
I am grateful to my beloved for his wonderful help and support...
I am grateful for a *much* shorter drive home from Canberra, the most incredible sunset blazing across the wide open sky and turning the clouds such an intense red-gold, and the cute little be aware of wombat signs along the highway...
And I am grateful we got home in time for House and could collapse in a heap on the couch...
With thanks... Monday March 22...
Today I am grateful for a beautiful sunny day...
I am grateful for a spur of the moment lunch with a friend from WA, and lots of laughter and giggles and fun, and *more* laughter and giggles when Lucy came to meet us...
I am grateful to Margie and Pete for their patience, and to Lucy for her sounding board skills and sanity...
I am grateful that I got some writing done, and sorted out barcodes and ISBNs, and continued creating our magical layouts...
And I am grateful to my beautiful beloved, for listening, and supporting me, and being so very sweet - and sensible :-)
With thanks... Tuesday March 23...
Tonight I am grateful for the breathtakingly beautiful sunset sky as I walked home from work, all lit up and radiant with all its shades of pink-gold-prettiness...
I am grateful that I got a lot done at work today, grateful that “my” first issue will be out soon, and grateful that I got some faery book work in on the bus to work, in my lunchbreak and when I got hom...
And I am grateful that there are workmen outside our windows right now, at 1am, fixing the water problem, since I just discovered that all our apartments are without water :-( Fingers crossed it’s fixed for the morning!
With thanks... Wednesday March 24...
Today I am grateful that I got so much work done, and that our magical project is manifesting into physical form before my eyes :-)
I am grateful that Cutes’s recording sessions went so well, although we were a bit pouty at being apart all day. But we are making our dreams come true, and following our hearts, and supporting and encouraging each other, so it is all good!
I am grateful that a nasty migraine was halted in its tracks this morning and dulled to a (just) bearable level with painkillers - seems that if I can get them quick enough it won’t entirely ruin my day, it’s just the ones I wake up with that are impossible to dent...
I am grateful for the DVD of Holly and Ben’s Little Kingdom, the cutest little TV show ever, about a faery princess and her friend Ben the elf, who has to ride a ladybird to cross the skies with her...
And I am grateful to Lucy for being so funny, warm and soothing as we share our very strange current situation, and for the ease with which we work together and make each other shine brighter through our collaboration...
With thanks... Friday March 26...
Tonight I am grateful that I got through my stressy day at work, and came home and got a lot more done on my other work :-) This magical project of Lucy’s and mine is coming together so beautifully, and I am so grateful that we are working together with such ease and trust and respect and joy, pushing each other a little, learning so much, and having so much fun...
I am grateful to my wonderful faery friends, for their lovely messages and kind hearts.
And I am grateful that my beloved had a tiny bit of time together, after he got home from work at midnight, and I had left early in the morning for work. It’s been a sad few days, with hardly any time together, but I treasure every moment that we have together...
With thanks... Thursday March 25...
I was too disappointed, angry and upset to write this one on the day, but I am super grateful to my dear friend Lucy for her support and love, and to my precious beloved, for hugs, and reassurance, and love.
I am grateful that I got quite a bit done on our wonderful project...
I am grateful that I also got a lot done on the French magazine editing job...
I am grateful that Cutes had such a wonderful time recording his new EP, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Prettier. So fitting, in so many ways :-)
With thanks... Saturday March 27...
Tonight I am grateful to my love, for sharing Earth Hour with me. We went across the road to our beautiful park, and climbed our mini-Tor, and looked out over the city. The moon was beautiful peeking out from then hiding behind the scuttling clouds. It was so pretty up there, and so peaceful, and so nice to see that some others had trekked up there too, to watch the skyline and gaze at the sky. Then we went down the other side of the hill, and walked around the huge duck lake, so pretty and illuminated, with shadows cast by the moon’s brightness, and bats soaring overhead. We chatted about our dreams, and the challenges and obstacles to achieving (which are never what you expect), and pondered going inside the faery forest, but there are some pretty big spidies in there :-) Then we came home and lit my pretty dragons blood candle, and ate watermelon, and are about to crash out...
Today I am grateful for getting my French magazine subbing project finished (well, this batch), and returning to my faery book, laying out chapters and editing a couple of others...
And I am grateful to beautiful Lucy for her strength and support, and my precious beloved, for wisdom and truth and love...
With thanks... Sunday March 28...
Today I am grateful for my beautiful friends, for their kindness and generosity of spirit, their patience and love, and all the laughter we share. I’m always grateful, but even more so today...
I am grateful to my beautiful beloved, for his strength and support and encouragement and love...
I am grateful for plans coming together, and magic being woven...
And now, so sleepy, I am grateful for bed...
With thanks... Monday March 29...
Tonight I am grateful for all my beautiful friends, and the lovely supportive messages, and kind words. I appreciate it all so very much...
I am especially grateful to Lucy, and to my beloved...
On this full moon eve, I am grateful for endings, and for new beginnings...
I am grateful that I am no longer distracted, and can dive right in to our magical faery book - the deadline is super close, which is exciting yet slightly terrifying. But I do always work best under pressure :-)
And I am grateful that I finally tracked my sister down to wish her a happy birthday in WA - the fifth call was the charm :-)
With thanks... Tuesday March 30...
Today I am grateful for a fun night with a friend, for catch ups over dinner and sharing the beauty and wonder of Alice In Wonderland with our funny glasses. So pretty (the movie, not the kooky glasses!)...
I am grateful for the sweetness of walking in the lightly falling rain under darkened full moon skies...
I am grateful that I got so much done before work, had a productive day at work, with Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh, and did a little more when I got home...
And I am grateful I could curl up with my beloved when I got home, and eat watermelon and share the triumphs and the frustrations of our day :-)
With thanks... Wednesday March 31
Tonight I am grateful - and proud - that I worked like crazy all day, and got this batch of French magazine layouts done! Of course just as I was about to send an email saying they were ready, I received two more, but still :-)
I am grateful that my precious beloved was at home for his day off, and made me cups of tea, and came in to hug me, and at one point curled up around me on the couch and had a little nap...
And I am grateful that the last interview I was waiting on for the magical new book came through overnight, and I wove it together and laid it out and it looks beautiful... So glad it’s coming together so well, since the deadline is so close! xx
To return to the With Thanks homepage, click here.
The Book of Faery Magic, Seven Sacred Sites and A Magical Journey are available from bookstores across Australia, distributed by Brumby Books, and through this website.
Send Serene an email.
