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Wisdom
With a family history of dementia and Alzheimer’s in mind and the recent-ish discovery of the importance of ongoing development and use of our critical capacities, this is the place for goals on maintaining cleverness. Not just nous, but a bit of book smarts too. A little something to have my back when I am out in the trenches defending my point of view.
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Alexandria’s Adventures with daily energy accounting
Week six of Dr Amantha Imber‘s energy experiments brings them all together in a kind of sort of daily energy accounting.
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Alexandria’s Adventures with a stop doing list
On to week five of Dr Amantha Imber’s energy experiments. This week, and the stop doing list, was all about boundaries (links to the others are at the bottom of this post).
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Alexandria’s Adventures with Permission Slips
My fourth Dr Amantha Imber energy experiment was permission slips. The links to the others are at the bottom of this post.
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Alexandria’s Adventures with Energy Tracking
Energy Tracking was the third experiment of my contribution to Dr Amantha Imber’s new book. You can find links to the others at the bottom of this post.
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Alexandria’s Adventures with the Feelings Wheel
The Feelings Wheel experiment is the second of my Dr Amantha Imber energy experiments for her new book.
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Alexandria’s Adventures with a Project Pause
When I heard Dr Amantha Imber was looking for volunteers for eight weeks of energy experiments, I was all in. This week was all about the project pause.
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Modern Adulting
There’s a recent trend of blaming your parents for everything that’s wrong with you, so I thought I’d look at modern adulting.
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Ghosts of parallel lives
Just lately, I’ve been haunted by the ghosts of parallel lives. The choices my parents made which opened and closed opportunities, the ones I made, and those that were taken out of my hands.
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Changing time zones
It’s the time of year when the clocks are changing time zones. Half the world moves to summer time, and the rest moves to winter.
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Priorities and Posteriorities
I recently learned about the concept of posteriorities, though of course they’ve been around a lot longer than that.
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A change is as good as a holiday
The other day I found myself saying a change is as good as a holiday, and then I wondered, is it really?
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Light in the darkness
After a week of general rubbishness, a thought I saw the dimmest light in the darkness.
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Life Cycles
I’m a little bit sorry to say I’m one of those people who needs habits and routines to get through the day. Or to put it another way, life cycles.
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The Wind in the Trees
We’ve had some wild weather recently and I noticed that sometimes, the sound of the wind in the trees is like the sound of the surf on the beach.
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No man is an island
The poet John Donne was also the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, and it was in this role he said “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…”
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The good old days – a lamentation
It feels like every company on the planet wants a piece of me – more than I want to give them. Makes me miss the good old days.
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Refining your goals
Today is January 30th. The year is 8% over. It’s time to think about refining your goals.
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Saving not Spending
Christmas is over, the January sales are over, and credit card bills are starting to arrive. It’s time to start thinking about saving not spending.
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Have fun
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hearing people say, “have fun.” Which is not the usual thing people say to each other. Or at least, not something I usually hear people say to each other.
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5 ways to help save the environment
You may hold the opinion that it’s not your responsibility. But what serious effort have you seen Government or Business make to help save the environment?
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Deck Declutter
We’ve finally done a deck declutter, setting up a nice space outside to sit and drink coffee or relax and enjoy the quiet.
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The end of the year is nigh…
There are two weeks left until the end of the year. That’s two weeks to close out all those projects you had in mind as you started January. I have to say almost nothing I planned has come to fruition, and I admit to being disappointed by that. Though I wonder what it is that…
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Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday is an event in November which takes place between the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales to encourage people to shop locally.
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Quitting
Lately I’ve been thinking about quitting. In general, I’m the kind of person that just keeps moving on until the job is done.
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Slow and steady wins the race
The other day, I watched all 36 strangely compelling minutes of a carpet cleaning video in which a man cleans a Persian Carpet, taking it slow and steady.
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Planning for Chaos
The next four to eight weeks are going to be chaotic, with house finishing noise. So I wondered, how can I plan when I know there will be chaos?
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Five stages of dog calling
This morning as we were walking Clever Girl, I heard a woman going through 5 stages of dog calling, and it occurred to me they’re quite similar to Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief.
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Minimally Viable Morning
Trades are visiting so early, I’ve been more or less in my pyjamas and bed hair getting them started, so it’s time for a minimally viable morning.
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Sometimes you just have to start afresh
Looking at what remains of my floor, I’m reminded that sometimes in life you have to cut your losses and start afresh.
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Use it or lose it
The other day I went to my local post box ony to find it wasn’t there. It’s disappointing on so many levels, but guess the old adage “use it or lose it” applies more widely than musculature.
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Being Grateful
Someone, somewhere, more or less, said when life get tough, think of stuff you’re grateful for. I know I’ve written about the little things, for those who worked through Covid, and for being alive. I wanted to write something else
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Easing Back into the Swing of Things
When you’re done with the break, even if you haven’t finished all the tasks you set yourself, you have to get back to into the swing of things.
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Taking a Short Break
I wish I could say we’re taking a short break vacation, but sadly, I’m just taking care of a crap-tonne of pre-renovation stuff behind the scenes.
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Reciprocity, Relationships, and Power
I’ve been thinking more about respect, relationships, and reciprocity. Mainly, as I mentioned, because we’ve started looking at updating the house.
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Freak Situations
In one of a number of freak situations, we recently endured a major power outage/failure/interruption caused by wild weather. Fingers are pointing, accusations are flying, and we’re ducking recriminations all round. More than half the state of Victoria was affected.
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Is It Reluctance or Agoraphobia?
were subject to the lockdowns, I used to joke I was in danger of becoming agoraphobic. And given Melbourne may have endured the longest lockdown on the planet, or the most consecutive days in lockdown, or if you compare a very small number of cities…
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Iceberg Dead Ahead
Do you sometimes think about what’s coming. Perhaps with a mixed feeling of excitement and dread, all the time thinking there’s an iceberg dead ahead.
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Decluttering and Creativity
We’re in the process of sorting ourselves out for some home renovation. Clearly there’s decluttering involved. And some decluttering creativity as well.
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Thoughtless Shopping and Life
Recently I’ve been thinking that shopping can be a metaphor for life. Not so much the shopping itself, but why we are so thoughtless about the shopping. And living.
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Reset and Take Control
There’s four weeks to Christmas, and five until we greet 2024. It’s time to start thinking about a reset and take control of your life.
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The Defeat of Winter
rching something else, and came across the quote by Robert Haddon (see below) I’ve paraphrased in my haiku – the defeat of winter is necessary for the coming of spring. Very appropriate given we’re at the changeable part of the year – one day summer, the next winter.
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Wonderful Habits and Routines
I’ve been thinking about habits and routines. I’ve written many times about morning routines, and each of these routines are actually long chains of habits.
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To mastectomy or not
While I don’t need to explain or justify my mastectomy decision, it makes a good opportunity to talk about how (and why) I made my choice, as well planning and long-term thinking can be useful.
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Life Altering Experiences
I’d planned a different post, but life, and life altering experiences, have caught up with me. In particular, I haven’t shaped or trimmed my fingernails for a while, and recently cut one of my fingers with the nail of another.
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The Problems of #GirlMaths
I recently heard about #girlmaths, and it doesn’t make me happy. It involves specious calculations to reduce the cost of clothes/shoes/accessories to free…
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The Phantom Chicken
Haley Joel Osment may have been able to see dead people, (The Sixth Sense), but seemingly, I see a chicken that isn’t there.
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Life Raft
r some reason, my mind turns to Titanic style life boats, along with the cutting edge cork life vests. Little boats tossing and turning on the dark and stormy seas of life.
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Three Types of Beauty
According to my loosey-goosey blog schedule, today’s post is supposed to be about Beauty, but I really have very little idea what to write about. So, I do what I always do in these circumstances – a random internet search to see what comes up. Here, in order of listing, is what comes up in…
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What to do next?
Lately I’ve been finding myself tired. There’s so much stuff going on I have no idea what to do next.
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The Quest for Peace
A quest for peace often sends you away. Sometimes to a forest or jungle retreat, sometimes to a spa, and sometimes to a city depending on the kind of peace you’re looking for.
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Expectation
Expectation is a way of thinking about the future. You’re expecting a particular outcome from the actions you’re taking. Maybe you’re following a recipe expecting for a delicious meal.
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What’s a Good Book Like?
I’ve been reading a lot about book marketing and branding lately, asking the question, what’t a good book like? I even asked friends and colleagues, “how does a book make you feel?”
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More Morning Routine
I’m not sure whether it’s because this is already an unusual year, but I’ve been thinking more about my morning routine. Perhaps because there’s been so little else to pin the days on, and the lazy, langourous, sleepy sense of nothing much happening lasts for about 87 hours per day.
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Injured My Hand
I injured my hand gardening over the Christmas/New Year break – couldn’t type, hold a pencil, paintbrush, or mouse for several weeks.
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Agatha Christie
I’ve been watching Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen, in which Dr Lucy Worsley OBE tells us that Mrs Christie is not the person we all thought she was.
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The Smell of Woodsmoke
The other day, we took Clever girl for a walk around the neighbourhood. There was a beautiful blue sky, and the temperature was warm, but not too warm, with just a lazy wind. And the smell of woodsmoke.
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Christmas is coming
I saw my first Christmas decorations recently, and I suddenly realised Christmas is coming. It came as quite a surprise.
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There’s been a Data Breach!
“There’s been a Data Breach!” (please imagine the grizzled voice of Taggart’s Detective Chief Inspector Burke).
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The Wisdom of the Crone
One of the major fictional archetypes is the crone. She may be the grumpy old woman you want to steer clear of in case she curses you.
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Little Seal Pup
We managed to get away and took Clever Girl for a long walk along the beach. While we were there, we saw a little seal pup.
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Is Your Home Your Castle or Prison?
Recently, I’ve been wondering whether my home is my castle or prison – does it keep me, or do Ikeep it?
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Too Late Now!
I admit it – now and again; I get annoyed with Clever Girl and want to send her back. But I recently realised it’s too late now. We can’t let her go.
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Leaving a Legacy
Just recently, the notion of leaving a legacy keeps coming up again and again as I research and write blog posts and stories. For example, during research for a recent story, I discovered a large oak tree near here (which I’m particularly fond of) was planted sometime around 1870. Planted specifically to shade the house…
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In Case of Doubt
I recently came across an emergency alarm – “in case of emergency, break glass”. A clear and simple instruction, along with a clear and simple action – break the glass.
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When Enough is Enough
Recently, I’ve been a bit short tempered and snappy. Prone to watering eyes at the oddest of occaisions. Thinking enough is enough!
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The Virtues of Leadership
Way back when I was studying for my Masters in Project Management, one of the core (compulsory) units was Leadership. Mainly because Project Managers have to unify short-term teams of people. Most often while they report to a permanent management structure that doesn’t include the team leader. Show them the way, so to speak. I…
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Life With Dog
Check any dog owner’s instagram, tiktok, or whatever feed, you’ll see any number of cute life with dog pictures of dogs doing adorable things.
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Time, Time, Time!
Did you ever wonder how it is that time seemed to last forever when you were young but now you’re old it’s gone before you know it?
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What Was the Question Again?
So much of life involves answering a question, usually presented in an either/or situation. You can choose the red pill or blue pill, not both. And no variants of purple, pink or aqua pills. Only red or blue. But as I recently discovered while searching for creepy images of a woman on her own walking…
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Who are you?
I had my hair cut today. That neatly generic old lady in the mirror didn’t feel like me. “Who are you?” I asked myself.
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Money, Time, and Health
As far as I am concerned, there are three aspects to wealth: money, time and health. As I say in Holistic Personal Finance, the value of money
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Adulting, Accountability & Responsibility
Not long ago, Katy asked for adulting tips, and I made a smart comment about social media. She scornfully suggested no one plans to waste an hour on social media, and that was kind of the point I was messily trying to make.
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Revisiting Just-in-Time Delivery
The concept of just-in-time delivery is essentially having ZERO stock on hand, ordering it when when you need it. In 2015, when I was long-term unemployed, I wrote a post about developing the virtue of Wealth. Essentially, it involved: But, times are changing… In the good old pre-Covid days, it was possible to buy as…
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Ma’aming Me Elderly
Only weeks after my Woman of a Certain Age post, I’ve reached a new miletstone in the race towards elderly, and I thought I’d share it with you.
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What are They Fighting For?
And like many vaccinated people, I’ve been watching the protesters on the news, trying to work out what they’re fighting for. It’s not easy to understand.
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Where did all your friends go?
One of my friends asked me what happened to DB, Katy and Toseland. And as it turns out, it’s a good lead in to a post I’ve been trying to write for a while. Because the answer is a little more complex than it would otherwise seem.
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A Woman of a Certain Age
Some where along the line, I became a “Woman of a Certain Age.” That is, the age at which it becomes unnecessary, and possibly impolite to query further.
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Time and Tide Wait for No One
Time and tide bring to mind the story of King Canute commanding the tide to be still. But tide is also an Old English word, meaning a period of time, such as Yuletide, (good) tidings and (woe) betide for example.
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Monk’s Evening Routine
Having been intrigued by the Venerable Nick Keomahavong’s morning routine, it’s only a small step to wondering about a Monk’s evening routine. Similar to morning routine, most evening routines are focused on increasing productivity the next day. But the Monk’s purpose in their evening routine is to bring the mind back home to stillness and…
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Monk’s Morning Routine
Not sure what I was searching for when I came across a new to me take on the morning routine – the Buddhist Monk’s morning routine as demonstrated by the Venerable Nick Keomahavong.
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The Significance of Sighing
DB commented the other day that I’ve been sighing a lot. I had no idea. But now that he’s mentioned it, I’m noticing I do it all the time! So I decided to find out why.
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The Day Seems Bleak
We’ve had FIVE covid related lockdowns. Full of long, bleak days. So many that even I, an introvert who works from home, has about had enough.
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The Time Flew By
Have you ever lost yourself in some kind of activity and wondered where the time went? You say, “oh my gosh, the time flew by, I have no idea where it went!”
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Liquidambar Leaves Falling
This time of year, liquidambar leaves are falling, though I only just noticed them. I mentioned before, that we take Clever Girl to the local park every day.
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NBN Outages
Over the last few days we’ve seen been severe storms and power outages across Vicoria. Some people have been warned not to expect the power back on until June 17th.
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Silent Walk in the Park
We take Clever Girl to the park every day – because if I want to get anything done, it has to be done. Recently, it’s been a silent walk in the park.
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The Miracle of Rain
The miracle of rain is that it happens at all – drinking water just falls from the sky. It supports all life on this planet, and literally falls fall from the sky! That’s amazing.
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Forgetting and Remembering
I find I’m forgetting a lot lately. And I’ve been thinking a lot about how to expand my memory, in part to recapture some of what I lost after the stroke.
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Puppy has Sharp Teeth
It’s hardly groundbreaking news for anyone who owns a puppy (or is owned by one), but they have sharp teeth.
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Decisions Big and Small
Lately, I’m wiped out by about lunchtime. I put it down to all the decisions I’m making. It’s like all the small decisions take just as much brain space as the big.
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It’s Not All Just Dumb Luck
I admit it. In fact, I proudly declare it. I am a “bleeding heart liberal.” It’s probably because I grew up poor. The seemingly dumb luck of it. I mentioned in the dedication to Holistic Personal Finance that my mother saved the one and two cent pieces for herself. She saved the 5c for me.…
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I’m Losing My Mind (I think)
I think as well as rats (of the flying and furry kind) we are infested with mischievous pixies. Either that or I’m losing my mind.
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The Cost of Money
Wealth is worth more than the cost of money. Wealth is an abundance of something, whether that’s time, money or physical wellbeing.
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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Something I’ve learned since becoming a dog owner again is that it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie. When they’re sleeping they are quiet.
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Taking Pleasure Where You Find it
Taking pleasure is largely a matter of choice. Sometimes the things that bring you pleasure are the things you have to work for.
