I was a part of 'March in March' Yesterday!

This was the view from the middle of the march - my position.
People as far as you can see ahead and behind!

Yesterday I attended the Sydney 'March in March' demonstration against the Abbott government.  I braved the pouring rain, thunder and lightning to be there because I feel strongly that the current Abbott LNP government is irrevocably damaging Australia. 

The issues I feel strongly about and wanted to represent through my participation are:-

• Protecting the environment - Including a price on carbon, protection of the Great Barrier Reef and supporting climate knowledge and funding.
• Education - The Gonski reforms - which Abbott and the LNP pledged to support in full before the election and then dropped or watered down substantially - are essential if we are to have equality in our education system.
• Human Rights - The right to a fair and liveable wage, equal pay and opportunity for women, protection of medicare, marriage equality, advancement programs for indigenous Australian people and the rights of those seeking asylum from oppression are vitally important.

To see a full list - with supporting documentation - of the Abbott/LNP wrecking ball through programs working in favour of or for the issues above (and others) please click on this link Tracking Abbott's wreckage.

The crowd represented a microcosm of our society ... faces from all walks of life were present as well as booths & pamphlet distributors representing specific organisations/beliefs/issues.  I even saw a Marxist booth on the outskirts of the initial gathering!  They must feel like they're really marginalised in this day and time when there are so many conflicting thoughts and ideologies.  

The "Marches" were held across Australia over Saturday and Sunday with tens of thousands of people coming out in both regional and metropolitan areas to show their displeasure with the policies of the current government.  Melbourne was the biggest yesterday with an estimated crowd of over 30,000.  Sydney is reported to have had over 12,000 marching.  I'm sure it would have been bigger if not for the black clouds and rain during the event's first hours. 

To me the big WOW factor in the whole success of the weekend was the fact that these events started as a grass roots idea from a group of people on Facebook who were fed up with seeing one injustice and broken promise after the other and having nothing happen.  No one - in the press, on TV, on radio, even within the political opposition party - were calling the government on all the lies and broken promises!  They decided to organise a nationwide weekend of protest open to everyone without alignment to any political party or organisation.

I believe - hope - the marches were successful ... at least in raising awareness of the community's unease at the current direction of the government.  But you wouldn't know if they were or were not from the press coverage.  Only one of the news stations covered the event sof Sunday on the 6pm news - the ABC.  The coverage in the Newspapers - in print and online - was meagre to say the least.  You had to search sites to get even one photo or mention available.

As the issues continue to grow I believe/I hope there will begin to be a louder and louder voice from the community demanding to be heard.  I hope.
  

 

One of my favourite places

'Southern Belle' as seen from the campground at Coasters Retreat - also known as The Basin - in Pittwater.

We're back.  Arrived home yesterday after a lovely few days on the boat with just the 3 of us in the beautiful Broken Bay National Park/Wilderness Area including Pittwater.  For more information Click Here.

I've talked about this area a lot in this blog because it's always been one of my favourite places - ever - in the world.  And now, even since the big trip up the eastern Australian coast and out through the Coral Sea and the Louisiade Islands, this beautiful part of Sydney still inspires a sense of awe and grandeur whenever I spend time living amongst its beauty.

I love the peacefulness of the place ... the majesty of its size and the rugged and seemingly impenetrable wild terrain on its shores.  I love the waterways that bend around corners to reveal hidden bays with untouched beaches halfway uncovered by the tide or opening out to a broad inviting seaway with other boats sailing or fishing or underway to another destination.  I'm fascinated by the fish and bird life that appears, surprises you and then moves rapidly away as if they never existed ... like the stingrays and fish at low tide or the birds of prey with their shrill calling as they circle above looking for their supper.

Well .. you get the picture.  This is a place where you can have adventure, quiet times, social fun or just soothe your soul.  We did all of the usual while away there - eat, drink, read, go ashore and throw the Frisbee for Molly as well as just sit on the back of the boat and stare up at the stars.  Lovely!  So here are a few pictures I took while there. 

Enjoy.

Wish you were here too!

Broken Bay - Yeomans Bay from the beach (sand and mud flat) about to be revealed at low tide.

George, Molly and Frisbee on the bit of beach exposed. 
Molly would do this until she dropped dead I think.

Wet, happy dog on the way back to the boat.

Broken Bay - Looking down towards the little township of Cottage Point. 
Nice little restaurant and good coffee and muffin stop in the morning.

Deep in the Broken Bay park - looking towards the inlet of Jerusalem Bay. 

Pittwater, the Basin campgrounds - Wallaby and the walking track signposts. 

Pittwater looking back at the entrance from the ocean (off to the right out of the photo)
 and Lion Island - named because it looks like a lion laying down.
This view is on the way to our permanent mooring in Pittwater!  We are so blessed!

Being Flexible and Mindful

We’ve been on the boat for a few days now.  Instead of staying in our usual places around Pittwater or around the top of Broken Bay we travelled way down into the national park out of internet and phone range and, for a while, in blissful solitude.  Then the weekend came & brought the boaters out in force to every little bay and inlet.  So we’ve started our trip back up to our mooring and home but still taking our time.

I really like things – anything – to be as good as possible whenever possible.  I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘control freak’ although friends and husband George may contradict that from time to time.

 

So as we were standing on the beach at Clareville with the dingy inflated and just about to load in the groceries for the week away I shouted a 4 letter word beginning with F rather loudly.

“What?” George said startled by my outburst.

 “We didn’t get the clothes bag sitting on the bed!  That’s got all our clothes, my books, our glasses, toiletries, my camera and things for blogging!  Everything is in it.  We have to go back home.”  I shouted while peppering my words with even more expletives beginning with S & GD & F and then the same all over again. 

I was really pissed at myself for forgetting this all important bag.  In fact I was almost at the point of trying to blame George.  You know how it goes.  You can’t believe you were that stupid so it must have been someone else’s fault.  But I didn’t go there.  After all he has his own chores.  My responsibility revolves around food and personal effects.

George looked at me knowing that I truly did not want to go away without my “stuff” but also knowing that the drive home is 45 minutes to an hour there plus the same back and the trip back would put me right bang in the middle of 5:00 traffic.  In somewhat uncharacteristically calming tones he laid the options out for me and, when done in an unemotional sensible way, I knew going home would not be the best choice.

“But what will we do?  Everything is in the bag.”  Moving from the “Oh Shit” mode to pitiful.

“I told you not to take so much off the boat when we got back!  We’ve got some clothes still on board and spare glasses and I’m sure there are plenty of books.  You’ll just have to make the best with what you have”, George told me staying in super sensible mode.

And that’s what I’ve done…. And the reason why there are no photos with this blog.  I’ve been so flexible I’ve amazed myself.  I found a couple of t-shirts left.  I even found 1 pair of underwear, a spare toothbrush, some gym leggings, shampoo and a jar of moisturizer all left on board.   And all this week I’ve enjoyed every minute.

As I approached retirement I promised myself I would relax much more and practise being flexible and mindful … Take it easy and live in the NOW.

When I left work at the end of June 2012 it was a busy time.  I travelled to Atlanta to spend time with Jae and friends there and then came back to our many tasks getting ourselves, the house and the boat ready for our trip last year.  All that activity was followed by the absolute WOW factor of the trip north and the Louisiades so, all in all, it’s only recently that I’ve been faced with down time.  I’ve found flexibility and mindfulness don’t come automatically.  It’s something you have to work at.  Letting go of wanting everything to be your own idea of “perfect” is hard but once you do the world doesn’t fall apart. 

Reluctant Senior and other adventures

In my mind I probably see myself a bit like this.  Still.  I think Jae must have taken this photo of me sometime in the 1970s when we were roomies in our little house on Marlbrook in Atlanta.

There I am early 20s, sans makeup and, apparently, self assured ... never actually thinking about getting older and certainly never contemplating being a "senior".  Heaven forbid.



Turn the clock ahead another 40 years (holy crap!) and I find myself actually a senior - albeit a reluctant one - and I have the official documents to prove it!

My Senior card and parking permit.

Mind you the card does have it's benefits and that's why we - George and myself - applied, met the criteria (you have to be 60 and over - groan) and obtained our own.  I was always against it.  I felt that, as a self funded retiree who went to the gym and still believed in social justice, equality and the Rolling Stones I didn't actually qualify for the card - yet.  But while we were on the cruise up to Cairns one of the captains of another yacht had one and he always got great deals on transport while we were in marinas so George insisted we apply for our own.  I think I may have mentioned this in a previous blog - can't remember (hopefully having "the card" isn't prematurely ageing my mind!).

Anyway I was hit with the paradox of my senior-ness yesterday as I pulled into the seniors parking at the local grocery store with Jimmy Hendrix blaring out of the car stereo.  I couldn't figure why other patrons were staring until I realised the volume was up to a window shattering level.   The irony made me laugh.

Paradox indeed.  More like a new paradigm.  I've always thought - along with the rest of the baby boomer generation I guess - that as we age we will most assuredly redefine what "getting old" really means! 

In other news .. this week has been busy.

On Thursday I had a very enjoyable lunch with my friend Sarah at her house.  We had a good ole talk about life, husbands, children (her two boys), work and chickens!

Sarah has two very nice looking chickens and she tells me they lay very nice eggs on a regular basis. I must say as we sat at the kitchen table talking the soft clucking of the chooks in the backyard was very soothing.  I liked them!  The only real downside I guess is they are indiscriminate shitters.  Left to run free they are a bit messy.  I had a wonderful time with Sarah catching up...friends are good for the soul.

The companionway steps for the boat are finished.  George, as expected, did a superlative job on them.  They're lovely.

We'll probably wrestle them into the back of the car and down to the boat tomorrow.  He's finished the sanding and varnishing of the inside of the companionway and it'll be nice to have the boat back in one piece again.  We haven't spent much time on it lately and I can see a 4 or 5 day break coming soon.

Yesterday we found a second hand lawnmower for sale on the local version of ebay and drove almost to Parramatta to pick it up.  George hates gardening.  Passionately hates it.  And gardening in his book also includes lawn mowing.  Our old mower had given up the ghost long ago even though it could be coaxed into doing the yard with care and a small degree of frustration.  A few weeks ago it kicked the bucket altogether and lately the growing grass was becoming difficult to ignore.  Out of the blue George called me in to show me the online page with the advertised mower.  I hadn't even been "nagging" him about it.  We called and now it's in our garage... and the yard is once again lovely.

New mower.  Not much to look at but it does the job - so far.

And its only 4 weeks and 2 days until I see The Rolling Stones!!!!!!

Rain, Boat Repairs and the Price of Socks

Someone would rather play in the house or on the porch than get their paws wet.  '
Can't blame her I guess - I don't like wet feet either.

This morning started out slow.  As my husband was making the tea - in a not-so-quiet way - I was trying to pull myself out of a deep altruistic dream.  In my dream I had just landed a job with the RSPCA and, in shades of my past marketing glory, I was already asking to see their communications plan on dog rescue saying, with great authoritarian certainty, that this was the area we should focus on.  Well, duh, of course that's the issue they focus on!

Anyway I dragged myself out of the dream and crawled out of bed.  No tea made for me by the way! 

The weather was overcast with ominous major thunderstorm and rain event warnings due to start in the early afternoon.  Of course just the day for George to decide to go to the boat and do some upkeep work.  Our companionway steps are in need of sanding and re-varnishing after living on the boat for over half the year so he decides today is the day to go get them off.  The steps are heavy and very awkward and really a 2 person job.  Also, he planned to rub the companionway down with sandpaper and give it a coat of varnish before coming home.  That way it will be ready when the steps go back in.

My ultimatum at 7:45am was, "I'm going.  It will be nice to have some help but if you want to stay here...".  How could I refuse?  Oh and, "We'll go to Sam's on the way to grab a coffee".   In answer to my silent eye roll about not having a morning cup of tea.

So off the 3 of us go.  Up to the boat, launch the dingy, out to the mooring, unscrew and then wrestle the steps out of the companionway and into the cockpit and next .... he forgot the sandpaper.  And with the clouds becoming darker we decide to take the steps and come back home.  Good decision since the sky opened up not long after we loaded everything in the car for our trip back home.

Sanding underway. 
One thing I can say for my Captain is he is very very good at working with wood.
 The steps will be beautiful when he's finished.
The washing machine off the boat is home as well - not yet repaired but waiting for inspiration.

The Price of Socks
While putting on my socks and shoes this morning I proudly announced to George I had bought new socks at Woolworth's grocery for $2.00 a pair!  Being Scottish and always looking for ways to save I thought George would be amazed and congratulate me on such a canny deal. 

Instead he looked me in the eye and said, "What country's slave labour did they come from?" 

Gosh, I hadn't given anything but the price a thought.  Unfortunately its true we in the "developed" world take so much for granted and don't even think about the people slaving in adverse conditions for a cent or two a day just so we can have cheap stuff.   I promised myself then to be more mindful of where my "stuff" comes from.   Can't say I'll not wear my bargains - they'll probably disintegrate in the wash anyway - but I won't buy them again unless I know how they're made.  Best to stick with Australian made if I can find any socks made locally!

The Weather and Aspirations Update

The lime tree doing very well and our massive water tank hidden behind the bushes.

Climate change, or just plain outrageous weather, is creating havoc all over the world.  Here in Sydney we've had it easy - Very Easy. 

While my sister & brother-in-law in Ireland hunker down against the tempest of cyclonic winds and driving rain ... my friends in Atlanta are defrosting from their second ice & snow storm of the year ... and there are parts of Australia that have experienced unprecedented sweltering temps for days on end ...  those of us here in Sydney have been experiencing a period of no rain since December. 

We installed a huge water tank in the back yard during the last drought in the hopes of being self sufficient and ecologically responsible.  Until the last few weeks we succeeded.  But 2 weeks ago the 8,000 litre tank (1,800 gallons) dried up.  Not a drop left.  And the yard was looking pretty brown and sorry for itself. 

Finally we got some rain over the last day or two.  But Robert, our brother-in-law, in Ireland is still working on cleaning up the mess there.  He's having a hell of a time!  Over 10 trees have blown over around their house.  One even unearthed the water main and created a geyser in the front yard.  To make matters worse he ruptured his Achilles tendon (yes, the same injury as George) and is hobbling around in a orthopaedic boot!  Goodness I hope their weather - and all the UK - clears up soon!

In my last blog I talked about the goals - aspirations - currently at the forefront of my mind - finding a Job and losing 3 Kilos.

Well the job front isn't happening so far. I applied for a job with WWF 2 weeks ago and, although I check my phone and email with annoying regularity, there's been nothing from them to date.  I suppose it was inevitable I would expect to get an interview from the first application - and I was so SURE of it.  The fact there hasn't even been a "thank you for your application but.." letter or email pretty much says they weren't interested.  Not to worry.  I'm not one to give up.  There will be more applications - I'm sure - until the right one comes along.

The weight front is much better.  I've lost 1 kilo!  That may not sound like a lot but in a week and a half it's not bad. The gym is beginning to be enjoyable again which is good.  I really hate that start up period when the legs and the body feel like they're made of concrete and it's hard to imagine how you're going to live through the session.

I WILL get there on both goals.

An old friend of mine, Jo Pillmore, lives in North Carolina and has a wonderful website and mindset coaching clinic.  Not long ago she posted a great quote on Facebook from Paulo Coehlo, "Because ever since your goal found out that you were travelling toward it, it has been running to meet you".   It's good to look at it that way, makes the task not seem so tough.  Have a look at Jo's website - it's terrific - just CLICK HERE.

Aspirations - Pain - and Deep Dismay

A spectacular morning at our mooring on Pittwater.
Calm, beautiful blue sky, why want anything more?

My BFF in Atlanta, Jae, sent me an email on Sunday and the first words were, "What's happened to your blog?"   It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post... sorry Jae.  She always has a way of snapping me out of self-indulgence and bringing me back to reality.  Jae can read my mind too.  Guess that's what you get from being best friends for 40 years!

I haven't been able to write.   I've got/had a bad 'blog block'.  Every time I sit down at the computer I feel overwhelmed at how mundane and insignificant anything I do or think seems.  I'm stuck.  It's all due to 3 things - Aspirations - Pain - and Deep Dismay.  Let me explain.

Goals - aspirations - are driving me at the moment and are consistently at the forefront of my mind.  Two in particular. 

My first goal is to find a job.  We were at a monthly "cruisers" dinner at the yacht club last Friday and George took great glee in telling our retired friends from the Cairns cruise that I was looking for a job.  They all looked at me like I had sprouted two heads and horns.  "WHY?", everyone asked amused.  "Because I can't stand housework and I feel like my brain is corroding!", I said.  The men gave George that, "so she's doing the housework mate - nudge nudge", look.  And the women gave me that shared smile of, "I'm with you there sister!".   I spent days at the end of January putting my resume together - after not needing one for the past 30 years.  It was a mammoth task but I'm pretty happy with it.  And I applied for a job!  Got the application in right on time and, unfortunately, no response to date.  But it's only been a week.  Anyway at least I've started and already past the first hurtle.

The next goal is losing the 3 kilos I stacked on since returning from the Louisiades.  Turns out losing weight after a period of much socialising is bloody hard!  There's a lot of bad habits that need breaking all at once.  And that's where PAIN comes in.  I met my first week - well 2 days actually - in the gym with a major level of commitment and enthusiasm.  And then spent the next 4 days in agony.  The back, knees, feet, arms, legs ... you name it ... were all killing me.  Nothing much was spared.  This week is better.  I've managed to get through 2 gym days and can still walk so progress is being made.   Wine has also been dramatically curtailed as have the potato chips.  *sigh*

Finally, and probably the biggest stopper, is my deep dismay at the absurdity of the current political antics being carried out by the Abbott government.

I know that political comments make so many people turn off.  I apologise.  I promise this will be short. 

So much of what's been done and legislated against leaves me alarmed with real dread for the future. But the biggest issue coming is the way the current government - and their backers - are leading our economy down the supply-side, trickle-down, market fundamentalist views previously held by Bush, Reagan and Thatcher.  This economic strategy has failed wherever it has been tried and, more importantly, it expands and puts in motion crippling inequality.  The sad thing is no one really cares that much.  We Australians have a "She'll be Right Mate" attitude to most things and this seems like its just another case of those loud pollies making a lot of noise - nothing much to worry about.  This freezes my ability to blog happily about my great life more than anything.  It bothers me.  I've seen it before - George also experienced it while in Thatcher's Britain.  If you feel like it have a read of this terrific article from the Australian Independent Media Network for a good sense of what is and can happen.  It's called, A Society for the common good.

Anyway - enough of that.  It looks like my "blog block" is well and truly broken.  Here's a picture of Molly with her new toy - just to be really banal!  See you tomorrow back here, I hope.