Last Thursday I spent most of the day without the kids, which I welcomed, gladly. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, with El travelling a lot, school hols and lots of work. Sometimes a Mum just needs to be a person for a while and enjoy some time to herself, uninterrupted. Bliss!
I started the day with a much needed colour and cut (though one peek-a-boo reddish/purplish highlight turned into very visible and numerous PEEK-A-BOO highlights!!). Never mind, change is good. Later, when I picked up Sammy, he asked if he could have some red spray paint in his hair too ... Not quite the response I was looking for ...
My hairdressing appointment was followed by a late breakfast and coffee at one of Cronulla's finest cafes – which, remarkably, does not seem to have changed its menu in the whole seven years I have lived down here. Accompanying me was none other than Agatha Raisin. I am back to reading a few more of MC Beaton’s books. I think this one was the sixth or seventh in a series of 20. Fun escapism. Also a great excuse to combine my love for bookshops and the local library, which is happy to order books. I worked out that 20 books in my personal collection would cost me over 400 dollars!
Next up was a catch up with Jane (via Berkelouw, of course) and some much needed ‘me time’ at Miranda to shop in the sales. I’ve been feeling that my wardrobe is a tad too safe, so was out to find some more quirky bits and pieces. I was pretty successful! Although I have been disappointed with the quality of clothes from Witchery in the past, I found some interesting bargains and hope they will last more than a few machine washes. I also got some pants for ne and PJs for Zack from Country Road (did I mention safe? It’s a hard habit to break sometimes!). These pants did have some ‘tude though, I think …
After a few hours of shopping and nearing the end of my child-free day, I thought I’d have a croissant and hot chocolate at Lindt, which resulted in my desire to post this blog ... Whilst I was reading all about Agatha's latest adventure in the English countryside, rudely stumbling in to people's lives in a rather addictive manner, I savoured sitting quietly. People watching. Reading. Thinking about Easter. I happily sat and gulped my hot choc down - which incidentally was not that hot, hence the gulping - plus I did not realise how thirsty I was and that chocolate sauce is so velvety … Anyway, I then felt obliged to apologise to the elderly lady sitting next to me for my hasty drinking. She was lovely and did not mind at all. In fact, she got up to ask what was keeping them with her drink.
Anyway, it turns out that she was happy to have a little chat. As my friends know, I am always up for finding Shire grannies who like to knit and stitch! Alas, she said that she did neither, but she does create. Acrylic paintings (I imagine her work to be of landscapes, with a penchant for realism). I told her that I always had this dream, before I had kids, that I could be found in my artist studio in overalls, painting with my oils, whilst the baby slept on a bean bag. I seriously thought that I would be full of energy and have plenty of time to paint, create, and glow in motherhood. As I explained to Jan - I asked her name when she hugged and kissed me good bye - this turned out to be rather far from the truth. She laughed and said that there are many different ways of being creative.
Soul feeding, I call it.
For her, volunteering gives her great joy. She was even a newly appointed Board member of a Gymea community organisation (which gave me the excuse to tell her about some of my shopping bargains earlier, as she was not sure what to wear to meetings). She also spoke about how she likes to use vision boards, a tool for encouraging people to think about pictures and words that make them happy, cut them out and paste them on a board - a bit like a collage, I assume. Sounded a bit naff for me, but I liked the idea of it.
Anyway - then she mentioned Cameron, Julia Cameron.
Who?
I could see her searching her mind for the book title, and I was really hoping that she would remember, as I love a book recommendation! Luckily she did: The Artist's Way. I too remembered hearing of this book once before – when Jo mentioned it at book club a few years ago. So, Jan said that I should really think about getting it. That is was a great inspiration for people who like to create, especially if you enjoyed writing (I think I mentioned to her that I was thinking of writing a book inspired by my maternal grandfather).
So I just wanted to say, thank you Jan, for our lovely chat and your recommendation. I did go looking for it at A&R and Unleashed, but both did not stock it. I will find a copy though, and think of you when I read it! I was quite touched when she said at the end of our chat that it was meant to be, that we were probably meant to meet. I will take from this comment that I should seek more opportunities to take the bull by the horns when it comes to creating ‘stuff’ that makes me happy.
Which in fact takes me to the next thing I will be blogging about: my tendency to neither complete or finish a multitude of things I feel passionate about. Like daily blogging, for example! At least I seem to me achieving a monthly update!
Happy Easter Monday. I hope the weather improves enough for a jog and visit with the men to Cronulla Easter Fair.
So long for now.
Eeks
Note to self: Must think more about present and past tense when blogging/writing.
