IF YOUR LIFE HAS TAKEN A TURN LEAN IN AND MERRY BEACH (2n May 2019)

If your life has taken a turn, remember to lean in. You never know what new opportunities might be waiting around the corner.

Ken Reid

from

3 Lies We Believe When We Grow Up 

I am waiting for something to turn up. I am hoping a new opportunity may be waiting for me around the corner. 

I was unexpectedly made redundant from my job 6 years ago at the age of 58 and I am waiting for something to turn up to take its place. I could have done some casual teaching at a local Catholic College, but just couldn't face it. In the past I have done enough casual teaching to last a lifetime. After many years I still have nightmares about it. And I have been out of mainstream teaching for too long to do any work in the state education system.

I had been working at a small 'last resort' school for year 10 students - students whose life circumstances meant they were unable to go to mainstream school. These were mostly kids who had been excluded from  schools because of their inappropriate behaviour.

I loved my work but I must admit that after 15 years I was becoming a little tired. Anyway, despite the fact that I had thrown my life into my work it was taken out of my hands and I had to finish. 

Since then I have tried a number of things. I have tried restoring old furniture; selling cosmetics; marketing on the internet which lost me money; and tutoring. For various reasons nothing really worked. Either a venture was just unsuccessful or caused me too much stress.

Way back in the 3rd century BC Epicurius said,  Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Should I just give up? Should I just accept things. But there are  are still things I want to do. I want to travel. I want to fix my house. My car has seen better days. I'm not quite ready to settle for things

My next plan is to try a more professional blog based on budget Plant Paradox compliant recipes for Australians.

In the words of Tony Robbins:“If you want lasting change, you have to give up this idea of just trying something, and you have to commit yourself to mastery. That means not just “dabbling,” but fully immersing yourself. Because your life is not controlled by what you do some of the time, but by what you do consistently.”And according to W.B. Murray,  “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.”

So number one is commitment.

I need to commit. And I need to believe. Author David Schwartz  says, “Belief, strong belief, triggers the mind to figure out ways and means how to.” On the other hand he says, “Disbelief is negative power. When the mind disbelieves or doubts, the mind attracts reasons to support the disbelief.”


 So I need to set out on my new venture with commitment and the belief I can do it and 'lean in' to what comes across my path. So keep posted for my new blog.

A Trip to Merry Beach

Meanwhile we have been away for a few days to Merry Beach on the New South Wales south coast. We went at a moment's notice when we realised we had a week without appointments or commitments. Peter's daughter and her husband and three little girls were there so we enjoyed our time with them.

We went to see the movie Dumbo and had a game of mini golf. We also spent time at the beach.

We stayed in our little caravan and there were plenty of kangaroos around.

Our caravan is about 20 years old but very neat and clean. We bought it a few years ago

We had a lovely few days. It was beautiful weather. We realised that it had been about 2 years since we had been away in our caravan. I had forgotten what was in all the cupboards so it was like camping in a new caravan. Poetry Robert Frost is one of my favourite poets. I came across this poem in my reading. I love it and thought I would add it.

Mending Wall By Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen them made or heard them made, But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbour know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls We have to use a spell to make them balance: "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!" We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of out-door game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours." Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: "Why do they make good neighbours? Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him, But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather He said it for himself. I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his father's saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, "Good fences make good neighbours."

Interesting sites  

1. Swedish glamping pod

Photo source

Nestled in the woods about 3 hours from Stockholm is this cute pod available for rent. Click here to read more.

2.  Over 30 uses you never thought of for WD-40

Photo source.

Click here to find about 30 uses for WD-40 that you never thought of.

3. The desert of ghost ships

Photo source

Thirty years ago the Aral sea was this planet's 4th largest inland water mass. Now it is bone dry and littered with ghost ships. Click here to read more.

JUST BE YOURSELF

This simple quote holds a lot of meaning. Conformity for the sake of conformity can crush the soul. You don't have to look like everybody else. You don't have to think like everybody else.

No point living a double life. No point pretending you're a round peg when you're actually a square peg. It takes too much energy. No point comparing yourself to other people.

I come from a family of square pegs and managed to produce a couple myself. I think the quote above is really good advice for everybody. Better to be a square peg than a sheep.
  

A piggy picture.

Peter had a birthday on the 9th July. It was also his son-in-law Ben's birthday, so we had a little family birthday party for them both at Berkeley.

When I say 'little', nothing with Peter's family is actually little. Peter has 5 wonderful children who all have  great partners, and then there are 6 grandchildren. Ben's parents came as well as his 2 nieces and my 2 daughters came too. Peter has a small house. All in all there were 25 of us. But Peter's family all dig in and bring food and Peter does all the pre-cleaning and tidying, so this makes things very easy.

Peter doesn't see his grandchildren very often because he lives about an hour's drive away from most of them and they are all busy. So I always try to make it special to come to Grandpa's place. 

I am trying to make some traditions.

I decided to decorate with a woodland theme. I don't really think the photos do the setting justice. I was quite please with the effect.

These days when there are so many people we use disposable 'crockery' and 'cutlery, although I know this is not very 'green'.
I happened to have some blue plastic plates already so used these and it looked quite good.

I added balloons and flowers and pine cones. There were a few ceramic frogs dotted here and there.

I will add to these limited decorations each year.

The grandchildren decorated some hedgehog biscuits by dipping them in chocolate and walnuts and adding eyes and noses. I pre-made the biscuits and then provided melted chocolate, crushed walnuts and blunted kebab sticks to 'paint' on the eyes and noses. The only problem was that although the biscuits  were supposed to be shared for dessert, each child made two biscuits and wanted to eat both of these themselves.

The picture below was what we were aiming at but the kids did a pretty good job since the eldest was 7 and the youngest was 2. We will make them again next year. If you are interested you can find the recipe here.

I tried to do activities that all seven children can do as I'm sure that even if I chose more age appropriate activities for some of the younger ones, they would want to do what the older ones were doing anyway.


The kids also decorated the birthday cakes - one for Grandpa and one for Uncle Ben.

 Peter was extremely worried about getting icing on his carpet. But I spread a plastic tablecloth on the floor under the kids' table and they were very good. No mess at all.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of people as I was just too busy organising food to be taking pictures.


On Sunday we had a second celebration at Menai club. Megg cooked another 2 birthday  cakes.

Basically the same people attended as the day before, but with a few of Ben's friends added in.

The next day Peter and I headed off to Umina Beach for a short stay.

Peter and I spent five nights at Umina Beach in our caravan. Winter is a great time to go caravanning by the sea. There are very few people around and the rates are cheap.

Ours is the Hiace van still attached to our caravan.

While we were away I played around with some of the special effects on the camera on my phone. This was the walk down to Umina beach from the camping area.

Umina Beach at Sunset was very pretty.

Below is a photo taken at the same time as the one above and from the same position on the beach, but facing west. It almost looks like there is a bush fire behind the trees.

Peter and I visited Patonga, a pretty little village not far from Umina. It has a lovely little harbour.

This is the shadow of Peter and me looking out to the beach at Patonga

  


Patonga is a pretty little village not far from Umina. They make the best fish and chips. Lovely and crunchy.

After lunch Peter and I took a bike ride around the village. 

Here are some of the ubiquitous Central Coast ducks at Patonga
 

We visited Davistown a couple of times - once to see Peter's cousin and then again to ride along the foreshore. We always stop at the Little Teapot Cafe and I always have their delicious apple crumble and Peter has the burger with the lot.

The tide was low at Davistown as we rode our bikes along the shore. 

On the way back to Umina from Davistown we called at the pie shop at Ettalong which had been recommended to us.

It was a beautiful day so we sat outside. My spinach roll and Peter's steak and onion pie were delicious. We shall make this another regular stop on our trips to the Central Coast.

Sadly we had to come home on Saturday as I had to start tutoring again on Monday.
On the way home this car drove past us with a dog enjoying the ride. He had his head out and a pair of goggles on to protect his eyes.

Interesting Sites

1.

 World's tallest skinny tower

Photo source

The world's tallest skinniest tower is in Brighton, England.

 Click here to read all about it.



2.

 Coral reef sculpture

Photo source

Artist Courtney Mattison  has crafted a large-scale ceramic coral reef installation to celebrate the exotic beauty of coral reefs while highlighting the threats they face.
Click here to read more.



3.

Film to end tradition of slaughter of whales

Photo source

Sea Shepherd has been working to shut down the Grindadrap in the Danish Faroe Islands since 1983. The Grindadrap (literally translated as “the murder of whales”) is considered a cultural tradition in this small group of rugged islands located halfway between Scotland and Iceland.
Click here to read more.

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