How fast has January gone?? It always goes fast I find as I am on school holidays. After some elective surgery I have been resting at home for the past 3 weeks. I kid you not this is the first time in my life I have stayed home for so long willingly, and on top of that I am really enjoying it. Well for the most part. I am starting to feel like I want to go back to work, earn some money and get back into the swing of things. I am sure it won’t be much longer now, and then I will be reminiscing the glorious extended free time I had!

I feel like I am in a waiting period. An interlude. An intermission. A rest period. I also feel like the sling of life is being pulled back slowly and surely, ready to be shot forth again into an unknown direction of adventure and fun. Well fingers crossed! My life was so full of road trips and adventures last year, mere memories for me now. My restlessness is abated for the time being. I have enjoyed my temporary grounding, I have been busy in the garden and with some home renovations. My bath installation is almost complete, very exciting, a plan I have been concocting for well over a few years. I will be in the suds with relish in the next day or two, finally! Let the bathing and relaxation begin! In my last few teaching contracts I was lucky enough to have a bath to enjoy and I really made the most of it. For someone who finds it hard to be still, bathing in essential oils and salts and suds is a sure fire way to help me relax and enjoy the moment. Bring it on!

My garden is progressing nicely in the last few months since I have been home to tend to all her needs. Daily I am out there moving things around, pruning, pulling weeds, filling bins with dead debris, and generally tinkering about to achieve garden perfection. A rare thing to achieve as the next day there always seems to be something else to do! I have recently planted some sunflower seeds, many blue salvias, and a new pink wisteria, among other things. I wanted to create balance on the back patio, hoping the new pink wisteria will climb and kiss the purple one to the right. Then they can become a blended pair and drip cascades of blush pink and bright purples, for at least the brief season of flowering. I traded out some of the furniture on the patio too, and now have two comfy green velvet armchairs from which I can admire the garden in all its glory. I have also been busy with some mosaics, embellishing some of my pavers, my bird bath and a few other things. I love coloured tiles, and have become quite obsessed of late collecting as many beautiful tiles as I can.

I recently came across a really interesting artist called Ted Harrison. He was a Canadian artist expressing whimsical bright colourful landscapes. I love his vibrant colours and splashes of tiny humans and their pets looking happy, frolicking somewhere in his scenes. I was immediately drawn to replicate my own version, here are some examples of his beautiful work. I love being inspired by other artists.

I have had the joy and time to read a few books during my time of rest, and one of the good reads I had recently was called “Elsewhere” by Rosita Boland. A very interesting Irish writer, traversing the globe one chapter at a time to far flung places such as Pakistan, Bali, Iceland and Antarctica. I loved it. Her sense of keen adventure is so admirable and bold. She loves travel for the sake of travel, often on a budget simply to experience as much as possible. My wanderlust was ignited from her tales, I too wish I could jam a few threads into a backpack and just vanish into thin air across the globe, backpacking and exploring and enjoying all the simple pleasures of being in a foreign country. New food, customs, beautiful places, galleries, gardens, and the chance to meet locals. In these frustrating Covid times, being locked away behind a closed border, makes me feel even more trapped than normal. Here in Perth we literally can not even leave the state, well we can, but it is challenging, and we need permission to return with a special pass and a clear Covid test. One day again soon hopefully we can return to airport runs and overseas adventures. In the mean time I can simply dream and read about them. It is hard to say how this year will pan out. It feels all very unknown. Normally I have a pretty good plan up my sleeve but I realise the older I get the harder it is to plan. Plans change. All the time. This year I will take things as they come along. I will remain open minded to new possibilities and aim to give myself more rest and relaxation time. Recharging my soul and rejuvenating my spirit are priorities for peace and wellbeing. I am still having grief waves coming up every now and again, most recently just a few days ago. It’s tough losing your immediate family. I bury my head in the sand often, and do not like to remind myself that I am here in Perth riding solo. Luckily I have lots of really good friends around me for who I am very grateful. I am pretty good at distracting myself too. But sometimes, it all becomes just a bit too real and honestly I do not like it. But I have to accept it. Acceptance. Fortunately I still dream of them and feel them around me quite often, which comforts me like a warm fuzzy blanket. And I do love a blanky. They are so comforting. Hey if you don’t get daily hugs then at least you can cocoon yourself in warm soft blankets of bliss.

I hope this finds you well and happy. And if not, then I hope you can find the courage to do something about it, because let’s face it, happiness is an inside job. And if not, just go get a warm cosy blanket, trust me they are a life saver!

Anita xx