Eleanor Roosevelt Made Me Laugh Out Loud

"I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall."- Eleanor Roosevelt

When Im Sick

Usually when I'm sick I want my mum. Last night I did this scribble drawing and this image appeared when I asked the question "what do I need to get over this cold?" Its dad holding his first baby. He quite often refers to me as his first baby and he always says it with an Aboriginal accent which is really gorgeous. It makes me laugh and he has a downward grin after he says it. I felt really emotional while doing it.

Home Made Chicken Noodle Soup

Id have to say this is the best chicken soup Ive ever made. I'm sick with a cold at the moment and when you take this soup you just know its good for you. I'm also showing off my concept of replaceable crockery by having the black and white theme and pieces that gets smashed can easily be replaced with something in the same colours and not look out of place. And I am now a fine bone china fan.

Is/Was

How quickly these tiny words exchange. Micheal Jackson on Wikipedia..... I wasn't really a fan although I do admire his talent. I found out from my Friends status on Facebook. Then the jokes started and then dumb reports "his next concert is under serious doubt" Wha?

Taking a step back, he died of celebrity. Celebrity is no good for the soul. Its no good for peoples faces either. Look at Kylie and Nicole. Jacko was extreme in his surgery and so was his celebrity. Im not surprised, it would have been stressful doing all those concerts when you had not interacted with reality for so long. Not surprised it was his heart - where is the love? Apparently Madonna is struggling with grief. More like struggling with the mortality check.

Hot Flushes

Friends I have to explore this here. Why do blokes say "too much information or that's inappropriate" when I say I'm having a hot flush. I don't understand their refusal to acknowledge it. I only say it when they look at me strange when I'm red or fanning myself. Is it ok for a young chicky babe to be "HOT" but not a middle aged woman to be "Hot Flushing"? To me its like saying gee its HOT outside.... Can any one fill me in on the issues at play here? I don't understand. I thought it was the modern world where anything goes.

Searching

Art Therapy this week was about searching. I woke up about a week ago in the lounge room searching through my coat pockets for something in the middle of the night. It was the cold that woke me up. When I finally come too I said "get back to bed, wanka". Its so inconvenient all this night time action because it takes so long to warm the bed up again. So Aileen asked me what was I looking for and I didn't know. So she asked me to do a scribble drawing and this image here came out. It turns out that this is me at Edith Falls looking for my mums wedding ring that I lost there about 2 months after she died. What Ive managed to put together so far is that unconsiously Edith Falls had become my favorite place on earth after loosing that ring there. The ring is round, Edith Falls pond is round. For me round is safe. Safe is my mother. Safer is me in my mums tummy encased in water. And the most exquisite spiritual experience in the natural world Ive ever had was right in the middle of pond at Edith Falls, when it was raining heavily. Ill never forget it. Its like the ring was supposed to be lost there so I can enjoy this lovely spot. I always call in there when I go past and get into the water and feel really at home. I have this feeling, unlikely as it seems, that I will find that ring there one day. And for the past 3 weeks I have been wearing my mothers yellow Sapphire on my wedding ring finger because it feels "right" there. I don't care that its the wrong finger any more.

Chalk Animation

For some reason I find this very relaxing. Maybe the clapping is in time with my heart beat.

Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year and is brought about by the Winter Solstice. So from the 21 st of June the days become longer and in ancient times was celebrated as the birthday of the sun. Looking back today, on my 12 year anniversary of baptism I feel allot of stuff started to sort out from that day way back then. Like a new light arrived, and the best thing is that all the nasty wrong stuff I did or didn't do along the path was cleared away. Like a kind of line in the sand. Now I see that with out that line, I would not have been so committed to keeping my word on a number of issues that are and have been beneficial, especially for peace in my soul. Its given me strength, that action of pouring water over my head and tonight with my candle that was given to me on the day, gently flickering as I write this post,I can see clearly the connections, meaning and value of that action. Thanks be to Godde.

Canon Ixus 980

Yesterday I purchased my new camera. I'm feeling happier now I can take snaps again. Photography is a great way to express yourself and I particularly like being able to capture things that require impulsiveness. Such as my Misty Morning photo on the heading of this blog. If I had not decided quickly to run inside and get my camera that morning I would not have a record of that awesome sight. Its taught me allot that photo. That when you see an awesome moment in time that you should sit with it until is fades or passes. Don't worry about who or what you should be doing instead as these moments are a gift that we should unwrap carefully and slowly.

Karak

This piccy is of the Milne girls and us just before sports day. We are in our teams uniform, Karak - the black crow. I reckon its about 1970. I love the fact that my mums shadow is there amongst us too and all the important things as well, like the hose, the wagon wheel and the dog, Nicky Milne. Dogs actually replaced families for us in the early days and thats why we were very formal in calling him "Nicky Milne". A smile comes to my lips right now at the thought of that first dog catcher in Katherine (poor bloke) who picked up a neighbours dog on Christmas Eve and had it in the cage to take to the pound, when the owner confronted the dog catcher and the dog was released and the dog catcher (sporting a black eye) was secured inside the cage himself. The key had been flung away. The police had to come and release him. I think the dog catcher was the most hated man in town for many years.

Balance

Art Therapy this week was about my Minieres. Ive not had a spin out since 2007, I reckon. Aileen got me to draw the feeling of the disease in my body and then went on to explore what balance feels and looks like to me. Balance is really effected when I have an episode and normally puts me to bed totally dizzy for at least a day. This image here came out of a scribble drawing to explain balance. Ive worked it out now. My nutrition is out of balance as Ive been on the weight loss shakes for 6 weeks and I think my body needs real food to balance it out again. Thats why I had the nasty attack on Sunday.

Laksa

Sherrees Laksa.

2 x 270 coconut milk
1 x 225 bamboo shoots
1 x 410 bean sprouts
1 x 210 valcom red curry paste
500g of diced chicken

Place all that into the slow cooker until chicken is cooked.

Place 2 x 100g vermicilli bean thread into boiling water for 5 minutes and then add to Laksa.

Place broccoli and bok choy in a strainer and pour boiling water over it twice. This way it stays nice and crisp. Serve as side dish to Laska or place on top when serving.

Another Inpiring Quote

"Stung by the splendour of a sudden thought" Robert Browning.

Todays Art Therapy Class was exploring the issue of stalking. I was asked to draw a scribble drawing in a colour that represented this action to me. I was surprised that a black dog appeared. At first I thought "Depression" but then Aileen helped me unpack it and I came to the real meaning of the black dog. Its about a beast following me around.

Ive also come to the realization that I don't think this therapy needs to go on much more. I'm feeling the happiest I have ever been.