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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 Adventure in 100% Pashmina
I bought a lovely shawl not long ago. It was labelled “100% Pashmina”, but I knew when I bought it that it was not “pashmina”.
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5 Shoe Fit Myths Busted
So I recently took my “go-to” boots to Toseland the cobbler to be resoled, and we were chatting about shoes and shoe fit myths (we should have gone to the pub for a couple of beers).
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Take a Little Time-out Competition Winner
Thank you all for visiting my site during the little things blog hop, it was a pleasure to meet so many new people. And now it’s time to announce the Take a Little Time-out Competition Winner.
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Importance of Free Will in Destiny
After the destiny post, I was accused of being depressing. Not what I hoped for, but it leads into a discussion about the place of free will/autonomy/human agency in destiny.
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What Makes It Your Destiny Anyway?
I have been thinking a bit about Destiny recently. I’m not sure why – some, or all, or none of the following:
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Take a Little Time-out for Yourself
Take a little time out, because it’s the little things that make life everything…
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I seem to have lost a week…
I seem to have lost a week, I put it down for a moment and now it;s vanished. It must be true that time won’t wait, I am flotsam in its wake.
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A Short History of Attitudes Towards Household Expenditure
I am intrigued in particular about how the attitudes towards household expenditure I’ve been reading about have changed.
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5 Simple Self-Care Steps for Body and Soul
This time of year, you’ll find a lot of people really committing to self-care, though they can’t seem to identify what exactly that entails aside from “eating well” and “running.”
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For Better or Worse, Life goes on
My Aunt’s funeral is over and according to popular wisdom I’ve said my goodbyes and should move on, but I don’t want to rush forward yet. Life goes on; and at this time of year, life is relentless.
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How Not to Regret Your Life…
My Aunt’s is the sort of thing that makes you think about your death and wonder how not to regret your life.
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2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 3
In part one, I talked about the basics, part two a wardrobe review, and now in the 2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 3, it’s time to refine the plan.
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2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 2
In part 1, I formulated the basic plan. Now, in the 2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 2, it’s time to get a bit more specific about the details.
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2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 1
After four years of unemployment, I must buy clothes for the life I’m currently living. It’s time to develop a 2015 Summer Wardrobe plan.
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How Wardrobe Reviews Make You Happy and Boost Personal Power
I recently watched a video where women talked about the life-changing nature of KonMari-ing their closets. How their wardrobe reviews boosted their personal power, and made them happy.
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How to Identify a Marriageable Man
This led me to wonder whether there was a time when men were mercilessly judged by women, and actually there was; as a marriageable man. It was about their suitability as husbands so perhaps more realistically the scrutiny came from girl’s fathers, but girls were given advice about what they should consider and this is what I am presenting to you today.
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Marie Lloyd Queen of the Music Hall
I followed a link from here to there to somewhere else entirely and found myself in the land of the Victorian English Music Hall, hot on the heels of larger than life Marie Lloyd, the “Queen of the Music Hall” (1870 – 1922).
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A Critique of Glamour’s “24 Fashion Essentials You’ll Need in 2015”
In a large nutshell, this is my problem with “fashion essentials”. An essential is something that you just can’t do without; the air that you breathe for example. Fashion is a customary or conventional way of doing something; in this instance, a way of dressing.
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Three Kinds of Capsule Wardrobe
I’m trying to get my book Build Your Signature Wardrobe finished, so a quick post about the three kinds of capsule wardrobe.
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Ruminations on Rodents
Wild rodents can carry disease (and other pests like fleas and mites), they are NOT diseased because they are rodents.
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How to Get Exercise Into Your Life
have been thinking a lot about exercise recently. I have acknowledged in my last few progress reports that I need to move more, but I haven’t actually done anything about it. Shame on me.
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The Pursuit of Perfection
Over a wide-ranging breakfast discussion this morning, Toseland described evolution as the pursuit of perfection. I thought that was a pretty interesting way to describe natural selection, but it’s true. It is the creatures that are best adapted to their environment that will survive long enough to reproduce.
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Happy Life
Given our recent trip back to Perth, you may have guessed that the happy life, or worthwhile life has been back on my mind.
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Mythic Hero Quest
I recently watched yet another gripping episode of Game of Thrones and it got me thinking about the mythic hero quest.
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How to Protect Yourself from buying counterfeit goods
Recently I had the misfortune to purchase counterfeit goods online. Owning counterfeit goods in Australia is illegal, let alone selling them. I found it very shocking – I thought I had been really careful, but once you click the buy button it’s too late!
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Dealing with Aging Parents
We just got home from a mad dash back to the town we grew up in, to visit our respective aging parents who have assorted medical problems, and are approaching the time when we don’t know when/if will be the last time we see them.
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Silence in the Garden
I noticed silence in the garden is lost too, with unwanted noise in the form of car alarms, leaf blowers, and “doof-doof” music.
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Misfortunate Life
Today has been one of those misfortunate life days that never really got off the ground, where everything went a little wrong and took a hundred times more time and effort than it was really worth to fix it. One of those days where you would just have been better off if you took yourself…
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5 Ways to Show Your Sick Friend You Care
I have some experience as a sick friend, so here are five things to help you show your sick friend you care.
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Would You Sell Your Soul?
After a Supernatual marathon I’ve been thinking about what people do when they really want something. Sell your soul or do the work?
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About Anzac Day
Saturday 25 April is Anzac Day. Along with Australia Day, it marks a key date in the development of both our Australian national character and calendar.
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What is the Inherent Nature of Waste?
They’re buying new comfortable things and discarding old uncomfortable things – piles of stuff waiting to be collected by the council’s hard waste removal contractors.
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Observations on Easter
While I was christened an Anglican, my family wasn’t deeply religious so I don’t know much about Easter, but I know for a lot of people it’s a significant event
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Appropriating the Spaciousness of Silence
I’ve always spent a lot of time alone inside my head, and the silence of my alone time is where my creative ideas come from.
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More String Theory
I was having so much fun with the Fates that I wanted to talk about more string theory; last time was old old school mythology so why not go ultra modern this time with the cutting edge of physics theory.
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My version of string theory
In previous posts I have referred to my life as being like a tangled ball of string – I wasn’t specific at the time, but I imagine it as the kind you get when you give a cat a ball of wool to play with. When you try to unravel it, you pull one strand and all the…
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On International Women’s Day
I just found out that March 8 is (was) International Women’s Day. I only found out because I’m catching up on my reading (now that Stress Free Dinner Parties is on the market), and one of the services I subscribe to commented on a political party’s choice to have their formal “celebratory” dinner in a men’s club…
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Life is Like a River
I was thinking that in metaphorical terms, my life is like a river flowing from birth to death (I’m staying away from what happens next for the time being).
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Short List of Annoyingly Long Productivity Suggestions
This time of year is productivity central. Annoying productivity suggestions in the form of lists of tips and hacks and apps are coming in thick and fast. I mean really…
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Young Spirit v Older Body
I received a not-for-profit solicitation in the mail the other day. It’s an organisation that I believe does worthwhile work in the local and international communities. I have supported it for many years with donations of money, and more recently with my time and services. But, the solicitation really disturbed me – it made me very uncomfortable on a number…
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Perfidy of Modern Life
I am exercised today by the perfidy of modern life. That whole “We can get a man on the moon, but we can’t do x.” kind of thing.
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Ten Ways to Make Guests Turn Up for Your Dinner Parties
Most people want to know how to make guests turn up. They are a great deal more interested in this than making them leave at the end of the party.
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How to Manage Employment Misery
After hearing about some of Toseland’s workplace issues this morning I wondered whether I might in fact, be the lucky one. No employment misery.
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How to Manage Unemployment Misery
I’ve talked before about the perils of long-term unemployment, and full-time unemployment (and unemployment misery) continues to rise…
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5 Life Lessons Confirmed Through Painting
We’ve had some warmer days so I’ve been taking a break from the garden and catching up on some inside work instead. And learning 5 life lessons while I’m at it.
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About Australia Day
Today (26 January) is my national day; Australia Day. On this day in 1788, our first Governor Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Cove with the First Fleet to establish the first British Penal Colony.
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Amazingly Unlikely Birth and Death
As you know, I’m working in the garden. Observing birth and death, but mainly just weeding the last few days… Which led to the appalling discovery that I can’t see well enough to weed properly without my “reading” glasses. Might need to get some prescription sunglasses made up for just that purpose… Anyway, I found a pansy…
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My kidney transplant
I received a kidney transplant in 2011. I was so sick for so long I wanted to stop treatment and let the end come. There was nothing more to do…
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Who are the Home Grown Heroes of My Beautiful Garden?
When I first laid out my garden vision, I mentioned a need to develop habitats for native species – my home grown heroes.
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What Wisdom?
What wisdom? I see it as a very practical kind of everyday thinking. A little book learning, the capacity to read a situation and the ability to use that information to make a wise decision.
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The Virtue of Wisdom
So, wisdom huh? 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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The Wisdom of Choice
Today I am taking a quick detour to talk about expectations, reactions and the wisdom of choice (or free will).
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Eek! There’s a Spider in the Bathtub
A little off topic, but I had to share this. I recently watched BBC4’s Spider House, and it was absolutely fascinating!