With thanks...
This week I am grateful for a magical new year, and a beautiful birthday celebrated with family and friends...
With thanks… Tuesday January 17…
Today I am grateful for a day working from home…
I’m happy that I got stuff done on the new book, and that it is swirling together and shaping up in my head, the disparate strands starting to weave together, new sections becoming clearer the more I work on it. I wish I had more time, but there’s no point lamenting that, I just have to steal moments when I can, make it a priority, get it done, avoid making excuses and just do it…
I’m so grateful for the sweetness of a migraine-free day!
And I’m grateful for a walk through our park with Cutes as the sun began to set, me with my camera, giggling at the swamp hens and the darting little birds, climbing the mini Tor and wandering around the lake, soaking up the golden sunset, the pretty pink clouds and the beauty of being outside… Hee hee, I’m enjoying experimenting with the new camera :-)
With thanks… Wednesday January 18…
Tonight I am grateful to my beloved for the ticket to see Wayne Dyer speak, which was part of my birthday present, as I probably wouldn’t have gone otherwise. And he was interesting and inspiring and heart-warming, and told some lovely stories…
I’m grateful for the beauty of Darling Harbour as I rushed down to the auditorium there, all sparkling and golden in the early evening light as I rushed there after work, and so peaceful and calming when I wandered outside during the break, with all the city lights looking so pretty as they rippled their glittering reflection in the inky blackness of the water. It was awesome too, to see the beauty in the midst of a concrete jungle, with two freeways clattering overhead, but underneath a garden paradise of ivy, palms, bromeliads and more, and tinkling fountains and the hum of waterfalls (all recycling their water, never fear!)…
I’m grateful for a busy but productive day at the office – and for managing to work on my book for two hours on top of that, before work and after it. Feeling good about that (but incredibly zonked – must be nearly time for bed…
I’m also very grateful for a pain-free head! Two days in a row without a migraine! Hooray! And the chiro wasn’t *too* mean today :-)
And I was so glad to see Cutes waiting up for me, so we could cuddle up on the couch together and catch up on our days :-)
With thanks…Thursday January 19…
Today I am so glad I got to catch up with an old friend, drink chai and share our lives…
I’m grateful to the café people for being so caring about my tomato allergy…
I’m happy I got a big chunk of the book done, although there’s still a long way to go. BUT, don’t look at how far you have to go, look at how far you’ve already come :-)
I’m grateful for a nice night with Cutes and the Diggers, baked vegies and yummy fruit salad…
Not so thrilled by the migraine, alas, but two days off from them was appreciated…
And now I am grateful for bed…
With thanks… Friday January 20…
Today I am grateful for the photography course I signed up for last minute, in preparation for tomorrow’s photo shoot… It was so lovely to walk around The Rocks, even though it was cloudy all morning. It’s so pretty down there on the harbour, all cobblestone streets and old sandstone buildings (old for Australia anyway). It was so nice to walk too – we walked for hours, stopping off here and there for specific little lessons, then moving on, up to Observatory Hill, down to the piers, under the bridge, around the foreshore, up to the Botanic Gardens (so pretty!), through the city, in and out of the Apple store (a nice glass staircase to practise one of the reflection tutorials), and back down to the Rocks… Such a beautiful city. And the sun came out just before we stopped off for lunch at a little market, and stayed out all afternoon. The course was good, maybe not my best way of learning, but I picked up some tips, and feel a bit more confident with my new camera…
And I’m grateful that Cutes met me afterwards, down at Circular Quay as the golden afternoon-into-evening light became so magical, for a mad dash to pick things up for tomorrow, a quick dinner, then home for cups of tea and downloading pics and getting organised and finally falling into bed…
With thanks… Saturday January 21…
Today I am grateful for a grand adventure with Cutes in the little pink car (thanks Margie!), away down south, camera in hand, secret mission to accomplish…
I’m glad it all went so well, although we were both a wreck by the time we got home, so sleepy, and so grateful for vegie pizza and no cooking…
I’m pleased I managed to stay awake long enough to watch Lady and the Tramp (for work – cute!), although the sequel will have to wait…
And I’m ever so grateful for bed…
With thanks… Sunday January 22… Dark moon blessings…
Today I am grateful for chocolate and choc chip cookies. Naughty I know, but I am sooo tired and drained, and it seemed like a good idea at the time :-)
I’m grateful that a second shoot was even better (secret squirrel for now), and amused that the fancy tricks I learned on Friday weren’t required…
I’m grateful for our little lunch and grocery shopping foray (oh yeah, hot chips – trying to get over my exhaustion-fuelled grumpiness, ha ha), for errands and getting things done…
I’m glad I managed to squeeze in Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure, which I had to watch for work. Very cute, although I could see parallels with the Lion King, with the music and the characters…
And I’m grateful for a quiet, subdued, sleepy night with Cutes, salad for dinner, and a little bit of reading (Memory’s Wake by Selina Fenech, which is really good)…
And I’m ever so grateful for a beautiful review of Seven Sacred Sites by wonderful author Felicity Pulman. I was so very touched that she took the time to write one, and that she loved it so much! xx
With thanks… Monday January 23… New moon blessings, and Happy Chinese New Year!
Today I wish everyone a magical new moon and an enchanted Chinese New Year, and a year to come full of love, joy and inspiration. It’s the perfect time to make a wish – new moon, new year – then take steps to make it come true. Wishes focus our attention and our intention, and make the path forward and the way to manifest them clearer – then it is up to us to make them happen. A book won’t write itself, a record won’t record itself, your artistic expression requires time carved out of your day to allow it to go from your heart to the canvas or the crafting… Place value on your dreams, and give yourself the gift of time to make them come true…
Today I am also a little surprised – it was on Chinese New Year 2009 that I began writing these daily gratitude notes, so it’s been three years of taking the time to gather my thoughts each night and think of all the things I was grateful for that day. Some days it was easier than others, but part of me thinks that it’s those days that are the most important, the ones where I had to dig deep and look hard for the good things. Because they are always there, if you look. Always something to be grateful for, even when you’re sad or disappointed or in pain. My bad migraine days are always a challenge, but I can always find something to be glad of – painkillers (ha ha), sympathy and healing pats from my beloved, cool breeze on my hot cheeks, the beauty of a jacaranda tree in bloom, the scent of frangipanis, a particularly delicious cup of tea, a letter from a friend, someone telling me they loved my book…
And even when I’m frantically snowed under at the magazines (like today), I am grateful that I got lots done, that I finished several pages, that something I was waiting on finally arrived. Yes I’m feeling swamped, with three magazines going to print on Friday, but I was grateful for watermelon, grateful I’d brought a salad so I didn’t have to waste time leaving the office, grateful for the luxury of time on the bus to read a little…
I am also grateful that Cutes met me after work so we could walk home together, grateful two packages he’d been waiting on had arrived, grateful I could do some work for Juz when we got home – plotting and planning and dreaming and scheming :-)
I am grateful to author Felicity Pulman for her mention of Seven Sacred Sites on her page, and that someone ordered four copies of A Magical Journey…
I’m grateful for a beautiful necklace from Mum and Dad, as a thank you for the photo book I made for our friends, and I’m grateful to my sister for dropping off a box of books to a store in Mandurah for me, especially as it ended up being a bit trickier than anticipated.
So, even though I didn’t get to spend any time on my book writing today, I am grateful that I fitted so much else in, grateful for my wonderful family and friends, and grateful to my beloved for our magical life together… (And to think this started as a very brief note!)
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Mermaid Magic, 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.
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