Category: Life

Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Photography, Writing

Feeling Friday

Posted on by Sharon

Yes folks, it’s time for another Friday post. I feel that the Fridays are rushing by so quickly that it’ll be Christmas before I’m ready. Again. Is anyone ever ready for Christmas? There’s a tangential path I do not want to go down, so let’s head to our regular three Friday questions and an F-word.

Facadism.

Yep, that’s my F-word for this week. Read on to find out what it means, or look it up in a dictionary to avoid the scrolling if you choose. If you do look it up in the dictionary, however, you won’t get to hear/read what it means to me.

The three regular questions that I respond to each Friday (since September 6 – yes, it’s been that long) are:

  1. What made me happy this week?
  2. What did I enjoy on social media this week?
  3. What did I work on this week?

I’m going to do my best to keep it brief today. Let’s see how I go with that!

  1. What made me happy this week?
    Warm days. We had some days through the week where the temperature was around 25C. It was blissful. I wore sandals to work! I know. And my feet weren’t even cold. I can feel pool weather coming on. Yay!

  2. What did I enjoy on social media this week?
    I have come across Dustin Poynter on Instagram. He’s ‘the flag guy’. He finds others’ reels where they’ve been behaving poorly or well and runs across a field with either a red flag or a green one. It’s interesting to get an insight into the way (mostly) men treat their partners and there’s some really lovely green flag moments (and some quite horrifying red flag ones). If only we could all be green flag people.

    3. What did I work on this week?
    I’ve been co-writing a literature review on co-design in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and maternal healthcare with my boss, Kerry, this week. It’s led to some really interesting conversations which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I have also enjoyed the process of re-structuring (I think just about every paragraph was the first one at one point), re-writing, reviewing, and editing. I even, weirdly, enjoyed putting the glossary in alphabetical order (thanks for the help Alison and Tim), and adding the full-stops and commas to all the right places in the reference list. It was very satisfying work!

Now to my F-word for the week: facadism.

I hadn’t heard of it either till I read something online. Okay, you got me. It was a list of words starting with F, but there are some very interesting F-words to be found! Many more than my limited vocabularly allows for.

The reason I chose facadism, which means the principle or practice of preserving the fronts of buildings that have elegant architectural designs (source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/facadism) is because Tim is doing a photography project on motels and hotels in regional Victoria.

We went for a long drive on Sunday and came across some interesting towns we’d never heard of, and in those interesting towns were interesting buildings. Tim took some really lovely photos of them.

None of them suffered from facadism. These were original old buildings with no new building growing behind their original facades. Wouldn’t it look awful if this had a highrise building protuding from the roof?

Two-storey hotel with wrought iron around the top balcony.
The Botanical Hotel in St Arnaud. Built in 1905.

My photo makes it look like it’s on a bit of a lean, but I can assure you, it’s properly upright.

So there you have it, a new word (for me at least) and an invigorated desire to visit more regional towns we previously hadn’t heard of to take more photos of buildings that do not suffer from facadism.

See you next week.

Posted in Family, Life, Mid-life blogger, Writing

Friday’s 3 questions and an F word

Posted on by Sharon

I’m excited!

Oh hang on. I need to do my three questions and my F-word. We’ll get to my excitement in a sec.

The three regular questions I respond to each Friday are:

  1. What am I proud of this week?
  2. What am I excited about?
  3. Where are the flowers?

My F-word is favourite.

  1. What am I proud of this week? I went shopping. In a shop. Not only that, the shop was in a shopping centre. There were lots of shops and heaps more people. And I spent well over an hour there and bought things, of the clothes variety. Now, that might not seem like a big deal for many people and not a source of pride, but for me, it was. Some time ago, can’t say exactly when, but in the last few years, I’d developed a level of anxiety that meant being in shops caused unpleasant physical and emotional distress. I can’t say why it caused this distress – something about feeling trapped is as close as I can get to it – but it was real, if invisible to others. I can go to cafes, and I can work in an office, but there is something about a supermarket, a department store, IKEA, a clothes shop, that causes me to feel severely uncomfortable. That caused me to feel severely uncomfortable (although just writing about it now is doing terrible things to my insides).

    Telling myself to put my big girl pants on hadn’t helped – there is no shaming yourself out of anxiety – instead, I had psyched myself up in the days preceding the shopping trip (I didn’t tell Tim in case I couldn’t go through with it), and told myself there was nothing to fear, that I wasn’t going to be trapped, and that no one was going to hurt me. I practised a week before by going to the supermarket and despite having some wobbles I managed to do my first proper grocery shop in a very long time.

    So with my mantra ringing in my ears – no one is going to hurt you, there is nothing to fear, you won’t get trapped – I went shopping. Apparently, I still balled my hands into fists when I entered a shop, but enter it I did. I didn’t raise my balled fists in a defensive gesture when people came towards me as had become my unconscious habit, and so looked less like someone about to hurt others, and no one hurt me.

    If you’ve ever had anxiety, you’ll know it really is something to be proud of.

  2. What am I excited about? Chase is coming to visit this afternoon!! For those who aren’t in the know, Chase is my youngest son (second youngest child). He lives in Queensland and we don’t get to see him very often. Well, to be more correct, he lived in Queensland, until this week. He’s now moved to Victoria, and he’s coming to visit. What his move means is that once he’s found a house, the rest of his family will be moving down too, and that means, for the first time in 10 years I’ll have one of my children and two of my grandchildren living in the same state as me. It’s very exciting. I’d made up the guest room bed before breakfast, done a shopping list, and am psyching myself up so that later this morning I’ll be able to go to the supermarket to buy things to cook a meal for my boy. Awww!!

  3. Where are the flowers? Last week I suggested that I might take some photos of flowers on the weekend and share them with you in this week’s post. I didn’t take any photos of flowers, but I did take another photo for my black glove series. Of a dragon fruit. It was gross. But photographically interesting.
Thanks as always to Tim for donning the black gloves

And my F-word? Favourite. Guess who’s my current favourite?

Hahahaha.

Trick question! Mothers don’t have favourites.

That’s it from me for another week. I’m off to the shops!

Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Photography, Writing

Friday already?

Posted on by Sharon

I work in a very progressive company that has a 4-day work week, and I usually have Fridays as my day off. Not this week though – I had a meeting on Wednesday and so took that as my day off instead. It meant I had to work today and I didn’t get a chance to write my usual 3 questions and an F-word Friday post this morning.

It’s 6:30pm, and as I’ve just finished work, I figured now is as good a time as any to respond to the usual three questions.

The three questions, which are generally the same every week are:

  1. What made me happy this week?
  2. What have I been working on this week?
  3. What caught my attention on social media this week?

My F-word for the week is ‘flowers’.

  1. What made me happy? I had the absolute delight of meeting with two people I’d never met before to talk about teaching and student engagement this week. I had quite forgotten how passionate I am about teaching and how excited I get when I have the opportunity to talk about it with others who are just as passionate. In my current line of work there’s very little call – well, none really – to talk about teaching and so when the opportunity arose to share some knowledge and insights with others, I jumped at it. In preparation for the meeting I found old hard drives full of files (some from well over a decade ago) to re-orient myself with the sorts of things I (and a small but brilliant team of colleagues) used to do around Orientation and Engagement. It brought back all kinds of happy memories!

    The conversation was fabulous and energising and while I don’t ever want to work in a university again, I can see the appeal of working to support others in their teaching endeavours.

  2. What have I been working on this week? Lots of editing and reviewing and formatting of policy documents. That probably doesn’t sound as interesting as it is, but I like editing much more than writing, so when someone else puts words on the page, I am more than happy to clean them up.

  3. What caught my attention on social media this week? Scrolling through Instagram can suck hours from a day, but I do enjoy it when I come across something that’s a little bit unqiue and makes me smile. One such ‘reel’ did just that this week – James McNicholas (@jmcnik on Instagram) does dramatic monologues of songs. It’s an interesting way of re-interpreting them and I reckon it takes a fair bit of skill. One of my favourites is his dramatic monologue of Blue (Eiffel 65) – mostly because I like his hat – but here he is doing MmmBop.
It took me way too many hours to re-find this!


My F-word? Flowers.

Now that Spring is well and truly upon us, I’m looking forward to finding some flowers to photograph. Maybe I’ll do that over the weekend and have something to show you next Friday.

Enjoy your weekend!

    Posted in Family, Life, Melbourne, Mid-life blogger, Photography

    Far out, it’s Friday!

    Posted on by Sharon

    Fridays seem to come around much more quickly since I’ve started blogging regularly.

    It’s time for another three questions and an F-word.

    This week’s F-word is fragility, but before I get to that, I’ll respond to the three regular questions.

    1. What made me happy this week?
    2. What was I most proud of this week?
    3. How did it feel to see a particular something in real life for the first time?

    I’m going to answer all three questions at the same time, because they all have the same answer.

    This. This is what made me happy this week. The publication of this book.

    It won’t come as any surprise to those who read this blog on a regular or semi-regular basis to know that I’ve been excited for some time to see this book in real life.

    Well, last night I got the opportunity to do just that. Last night, October 3, 2024, the book was launched by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. It was a packed house – standing room only – with loads of people eager to view and buy the book.

    In case you don’t know, the story of my (very minor) involvement goes like this:

    I was retired briefly in 2022 and part of 2023 and decided to join U3A (University of the Third Age). I joined two groups – a photography group with U3A Hawthorn, and a book club with U3A Deepdene. Both were interesting and educational and great for meeting new people and hearing new ideas and perspectives.

    The U3A Hawthorn group were invited by Richard Broome, president of the RHSV, to contribute images of Melbourne’s lanes to the society primarily for the purpose of creating a second edition of Weston Bates’s book published in 1994, titled Essential but unplanned: The story of Melbourne’s lanes. Sixteen members of the group eagerly scoured the city’s laneways looking for just the right angle and light and spark of interest. All up, we produced 3000 images.

    Of those 3000 images, one of mine was chosen to be on the front cover of the book.

    1. Seeing my photo on the cover made me very happy.
    2. I am super proud that one of my images was chosen to be on the cover.
    3. It feels great to be able to flick through the book, read about the fascinating history of Melbourne’s lanes, and see the fabulous images selected from the 3000 images that were contributed. The ones not used will be held by the RHSV in their collection to be used at any time someone is doing research on the city.

    It was a great project to be involved with. It was also really great to catch up with others from U3A Hawthorn’s photography group.

    And so to my F-word for the week: fragility

    While I’ve been feeling happy and proud, there’s also been an undercurrent of deep sadness in our household this week. When a family member is desperately ill, you’re reminded of the fragility of life.

    I’m not going to get deep and meaningful here or look for quotes on life’s fragility – but at the moment it’s looming large in my heart and that’s why it’s my F-word this week.

    Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Writing

    It’s Friday … you know what that means

    Posted on by Sharon

    In case you don’t know what it means, it’s Friday and that means it’s time for another 3 questions and an F-word post.

    Today’s three questions are:

    1. What made me happy this week?
    2. What am I looking forward to next week?
    3. What am I doing this long weekend? (Yes, in Victoria we have a long weekend because it’s the eve of the AFL Grand Final. Don’t ask me, I don’t know why that requires a holiday either … but I’ll take it anyway. Well, actually, I have a long weekend every week because where I work has taken the brilliant decision of having a 4-day work week and every Friday is my day off. But it means Tim is home today and that means we have plans. More on that later.)

    My F-word for the week: Fabulous. Read on to find out why.

    First, to the questions.

    1. What made me happy this week? One of the projects I’ve been working on culminated in a presentation this week. Tuesday morning to be precise. It was to be a 20-minute presentation that took many more hours to prepare than to present, but the preparation was worth it.

      I was confident, I knew what I wanted to communicate, I talked about assumptions (something I don’t get a chance to talk about enough these days), I was clear and, those in the audience (an Expert Advisory Group from the Victorian Department of Health) said things like, “thank you Dr Pittaway for your insightful presentation”. That felt good. I felt so good afterwards that I craved a biscuit with my celebratory cup of tea. Trouble is, I have a problem with supermarkets, so while I could present to an audience of over a dozen experts, walking into a supermarket was a whole different kettle of fish. But I was so happy I did it anyway.

    2. What am I looking forward to next week? This one has me so excited that I clap my hands with glee everytime I think about it. Which is often. When I was retired (over a year ago now), I joined a photography group through U3A. Every second Monday we’d go to a location and take photos, and the next week we’d show five of our best. The group had been photographing together for many years (as many as 16) but they welcomed me into their midst. I was part of the group for about six months before I stopped being retired.

      One of the group members knew someone who knew someone who was the President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. The RHSV had the idea of publishing a second edition of a book originally published 40 years ago, focused on Melbourne’s laneways. U3A members were sent out into said laneways with the task of capturing up-to-date images for the new edition. I happened to be part of the group involved in that project. The book has now been published and is being launched on Thursday, October 3. That’s Thursday next week.

      And I’m SO excited. Why?

      I’m glad you asked. I’m super excited because one of my images is on the front cover.

      I’m more than excited. I’m chuffed. And proud. And I can’t wait to go to the book launch and see it for myself. And I’ve been told, by Diana from U3A, that there will be a copy waiting for me there!

    3. What am I looking forward to this long weekend? I’ve made a list:
      * Taking some more photos for my black glove series
      * Planting the rest of the snow in the summer plants that it’s been too wet to plant
      * Our annual Grand Final party. We don’t watch any football through the year (apart from the odd occasion I get to watch my grandchildren play football – rugby and AFL), but we started a tradition about 18 years ago of having a grandfinal party while actually watching the grandfinal on telly. One year we even went to the GF Eve parade and then to the celebrations the day after the GF because Hawthorn had won for the third year in a row and the celebrations were being held at the local oval (we lived near Hawthorn at the time) and it was on the way to the train station. It’s only ever Tim and I – although one year my friend Rosie attended too (well, she had to because she was visiting from Tasmania at the time) – but we really live it up! (Emma, I heard you laugh at that from here!!) I wasn’t here last year so Tim had to party on his own, and come to think of it I wasn’t here the year before either, but I’m determined to attend the party this year so Tim doesn’t have to party on his own for a third year in a row.
      * We’re also going out hunting for retro motels to photograph and I’ll do some drawing.

    All in all, a creative and lavish party weekend!

    So why my F-word of fabulous? Well, I’ve had a fabulous work week, I’m looking forward to a fabulous book launch, and who can say no to a fabulous grandfinal party complete with gourmet delights like cocktail savs and party pies?

    Not me, that’s for sure!

    Here’s a sneak peek of the image on the cover of the Laneways book.

    Hozier Lane, Melbourne Photo ©Sharon Pittaway
    Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Writing

    Three questions and an F-word continues

    Posted on by Sharon

    Hello. For the past two weeks I’ve written a post using the prompt above on a Friday morning. I didn’t write a post this morning because I was writing an ethics application instead. But the ethics application is done now, and I figured I might as well write a post as it’s still Friday.

    I have written these posts on a Friday because it’s part of an occasional series my sister does called Friday Feels, and I thought I’d get in on the action.

    The three questions – just to remind those who haven’t been joining in – are:

    1. What made me happy this week?
    2. What made me laugh out loud this week?
    3. What did I do this week that I haven’t done in a long time?
    4. And then I choose an F-word.

    My cousin Jen asked on Facebook if I’d thought about incorporating the F-word into my responses. As it turns out, I had, but I had resisted the urge to do just that.

    No resisting today though folks. I’ll choose an F-word first, and then respond accordingly (or not!).

    Frivolous/frivolity.

    1. What made me happy this week was not the frivolity that comes with your elderly (am I allowed to say that??) mother taking a tumble and ending up flat on the floor with blood pouring from her nose. There simply wasn’t any frivolity in that incident. What made me happy, however, was that she wasn’t otherwise hurt and the next morning was not feeling stiff or sore and did not have a black eye as we imagined she might. She was able to lift her (heavy) suitcase out of the car and wheel it all the way to the check-in counter (I didn’t help her because she’s an independent woman travelling independently – to the UK and beyond), smell all the perfume as she went through duty free, and then lay back in her comfy seat all the way to London. Fabulous. I aspire to that level of frivolity when I’m her age. Just not the falling over bit.
    2. What made me laugh out loud? Social media is a lot of things, but frivolous isn’t the first word that pops into my mind when I think about it. But some time ago I came across an account that is completely frivolous and I’m all for it. I am thoroughly enjoying Ben Fensome’s adaptation of the BBC’s 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy). You can find Ben’s adaptation on Instagram – his handle is @somebenfen. He plays all the parts and is amazing at playing the wet and ungainly Mr Collins and then smouldering as Mr Darcy. The episode I watched at lunch time had me laughing out loud. Pure frivolous delight!
    3. What did I do this week that I haven’t done in a long time? I went out. At night. To a show. A circus show. It was fabulous. And not at all frivolous. Second year students at NICA, the National Institute of Circus Arts, had developed a show titled Fall with Me and we decided to head along to opening night. What a treat! There were no clowns, and no bears chained up doing tricks. But there were a lot of very talented, strong, disciplined students who put their all into a very entertaining show. It was a testament to the type of education that embodies collaboration, care for each other, team work and dedication. They supported each other and worked brilliantly together. I left thinking that I need to get out and see more shows, and that there is a form of education left in the world that isn’t run by robots. And that made me happy.

    What else?

    My book is out!! I have held it in my hands. And it feels fabulous to have something that took a year to develop, now available for others to read and cogitate over and use as fodder for their own teaching practice. I’m seriously quite chuffed that it’s out in the world. The book is called Enacting a Pedagogy of Kindness and even though it’s directed at those in higher ed, I reckon it’s a good read for all teachers.

    Here’s a photo of my co-editor and friend Airdre, holding her copy.

    That’s my Friday Feels for another week. I give myself an F for failing to incorporate my F-word more fully, and Jen, I hope you can forgive me.

    Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Writing

    Friday’s 3 questions and an F word

    Posted on by Sharon

    It’s Friday again. Not sure how that happened, but here we are.

    Last week I wrote my first ever 3 questions and an F word post and because no one read it (apart from my sister) I thought I’d send another post into the void.

    The premise is, that you respond to three questions and then choose a word beginning with F and write about that. The three questions are:

    1. What made you happy this week?
    2. What made you sad this week?
    3. What are your plans for the weekend? (I think. I can’t actually remember, so I made that up.)

    What made me happy

    Work. Yeah, I know, strange answer, but there you go.

    I’ve been working on a project about perinatal mental health screening, specifically in Indigenous communities in Victoria. The Department of Health are updating the screening guidelines and basically wanted to know what would make the screening process more culturally safe. So they asked me to ask some midwives, maternal and child health nurses and others of that ilk, as well as Aboriginal parents how the screening process could be improved.

    On Friday last week, I went to a playgroup to talk with some parents. One little fella, 14 months old, toddled up to me and put his head on my knee as I introduced the project to the mums. He then reached his arms up and so I picked him up for a lovely cuddle. He came back later for another one.

    Now, I’m not a hugger but cuddling babies is a very different kettle of fish. I highly recommend it.

    And then this week, I finished the report the Department said I had to write, because apparently, just talking to people wasn’t enough. I finished it – wait for it – one whole week early! Some big days of writing and editing, but the draft is in and now I’m waiting for the feedback.

    So work was good this week.

    What made me (really) sad

    I was scrolling through Instagram last night and one of the posts I stopped to read made me really sad. Disturbed. Concerned for where we’re headed as a society.

    Tarang Chawla is a Melbourne man whose sister Nikita was murdered by her boyfriend in 2015. Tarang speaks out strongly about men’s violence towards women – you might have seen him on TV or follow him on Instagram like I do.

    Last night as I was scrolling, I saw this post.

    Source: Tarang Chawla’s post on Instagram

    I swiped to read the other slides and was horrified by what I read. You might have seen this story on the nightly news or online. Apart from giving voice to the horrendous violence of this act, Tarang’s wider point is about media reporting.

    Source: Tarang Chawla’s Intagram post

    I won’t include the next slide in Tarang’s post, but the Australian media reporting of Kristina Joksimovic’s murder is deeply disturbing.

    Tarang makes the point that women’s lives have become clicks. More clicks = more revenue.

    Source: Tarang Chawla’s Intagram post

    What views are being shaped by the grotesque reporting of Kristina Joksimovic’s murder?

    Whose views are being shaped?

    There were other reports I read on women’s murders this week, and on the dehumanising treatment of women – see the MFW Facebook page if you want to read more – and they all made me sad. Not only because of the treatment of women, but also because of how this treatment is being reported in our ‘news’ media, and how our views are being shaped by this reporting.

    I was going to apologise for bringing the mood down, but I won’t. This is happening, we consume this reporting. What’s it doing to us?

    Plans for the weekend

    Mum arrives tonight for a weekend visit, and I had thought we might go to the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival.

    I just checked the forecast though and tommorrow’s high of just 8C and up to 8mm of rain isn’t inspiring me to get outside.

    So we’ll see.

    What I’m really trying to say is that we have no plans.

    Sometimes those weekends are the best.

    [Breaking: I just this minute received a text message reminding me of a dental appointment tomorrow morning. I’ve already put it off once, so I’m thinking I should get my big girls pants on and just go.]

    F-word

    Fancy.

    Yep, that’s my f-word for the week.

    We’ve had some more painting done inside and the place feels fancy.

    And looks fabulous.

    Love this colour: Bean Counter (Dulux)

    So that’s it. My 3 questions and an F-word.

    Thanks for reading Deb!

    Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Photography, Portraits, Writing

    3 questions and an F word

    Posted on by Sharon

    As regular readers know, I have an older sister. Not much older, just over a year, but older is older, right? Deb, my slightly older sister, is a blogger over at Deb’s World and the other day she wrote a post, which led me to writing one in the same format. It felt strange and strangely uncomfortable because it isn’t the kind of writing I generally do, but I did it anyway, because … well, because boundary pushing is sometimes a good thing to do.

    So here I am, about to start writing another post copying another format she sometimes uses – the 3 questions and an F word of the title of this post.

    The three questions are:

    1. What’s made you happy (I’m not sure if that’s ever, or this week, but I’ll work that out as I write).
    2. What’s made you sad (ditto)
    3. What’s made a difference (again, I could go back to her post and check out what this is supposed to mean, or I could do what I’m going to do and that is make up my own mind about it. It’s my blog after all!)
    4. The fourth thing is to find an F word that has some meaning to me (possibly mis-remembering this bit of the prompt … but, my blog and all that).

    Deb has all the details on her most recent post: Friday Feels: 3 questions and an F word. Not sure what the Friday Feels bit is about, but it’s Friday, so I’ll go with that.

    So, what’s made me happy?

    Family. My eldest son came to stay and we drove a few hours to spend a few days with my mother and sister and it was fabulous to be together. We laughed, and we cried, and we watched my granddaughter’s footy grandfinal on the telly and heard her mother yelling from Tasmania. One of the best bits was getting my photography studio properly sorted and getting to try out the new lighting set up on my son (who did all the sorting).

    In this shot we used the beauty dish as the lighting source.

    And what’s made me sad?

    Goodbyes. Not, I hasten to add, that I’ve had to say any permanent goodbyes of late, but there’s always a twinge of sadness when we have to say ‘see ya’.

    What’s made a difference?

    Wallpaper and paint. We bought a house just over a year ago and have been taking our time in working out how we want it to look. We had the loungeroom painted earlier in the year. Clouded Sky. That’s the name of the paint colour. A few months ago, we added some wallpaper to the family room, and yesterday we had the little sitting room painted. Bean Counter. That’s the name of the paint colour. It’s made such a difference!

    An F-word

    Face-mask. I had never used a face-mask before the weekend, but Deb said we needed a ‘glow up’ and so bought us both one to apply. It was slimy and cold and felt disgusting for the fifteen minutes it was on my face. I was distinctly uncomfortable and I think Deb was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t the relaxing experience she had imagined it would be.

    After peeling the slimy wet thing from my face and gingerly rubbing the leftover gloop in with my fingertips, I have to admit that my face was glowing. It has continued to glow in the days since. So much so, that I’m considering doing it again sometime in the next 60 years.

    So there you have it: 3 questions and an f-word. And no mention of my newly published book Enacting a pedagogy of kindness, available now from the Routledge site (as well as loads of other sites that sell good books). I did well not to mention that, didn’t I?

    Posted in Life, Mid-life blogger, Writing

    An A-Z of goings on

    Posted on by Sharon

    My sister posted on her blog today a post titled Taking Stock Checkup #3. In it, she used one word prompts to get her thinking about what’s been on her radar for the past few weeks/months. It’s the same words each time she posts (this is her third post using this format this year) although I’m not sure if they’re her words or someone else’s.

    No matter.

    As I’m having a day off today, I thought I might use the same prompts, just to see how it feels.

    Appreciating: My latest book, Enacting a Pedagogy of Kindness: A guide for practitioners in Higher Education has just been published. I’m appreciating a few things:

    • my friend, Airdre Grant, who invited me to co-edit the book
    • the work of each contributor in telling stories of how they enact kindness in their practice
    • how good it feels to have it out in the world (although I reckon it’ll feel even better when I get my hands on a physical copy)
    • how hard it is to promote an academic text (I keep asking myself who wants to read it … I think every academic/teacher should because it’s a great book!)

    Bingeing: I am currently bingeing the Happy Wall website. I am obsessed with wallpaper at the moment and spend way too long looking for one that’s ‘just right’. Loads of great designs, too few walls.

    Cooking: Porridge for breakfast.

    Doing: (Barely) promoting my book, searching through wallpaper designs, eating porridge.

    Excited: Next month, on October 3, I will be attending a book launch at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. They will be launching The story of Melbourne’s lanes: Essential but unplanned. The reason I’m particularly excited by the launch of this book is because they have chosen one of my images to be on the cover!

    Feeling: Appreciative.

    Going: To see Jesus Christ Superstar with my sister as a birthday treat next year.

    Hoping: That Jesus Christ Superstar will be just as good as it was the first time we saw it in the early/mid 1970s (with Marcia Hines, Jon English, and Trevor White).

    Important: Appreciating the good things is important. Particularly when the good things are simple things like cooking porridge.

    Joining: I will be joining others from U3A Hawthorn at the Laneways book launch on October 3.

    Kudos: To the paralympians.

    Loving: Using my newly set-up photography studio. It’s fabulous to have light modifiers on the wall; somewhere to hang backdrops; and to have the lights set up so that I can get creative quickly and easily.

    Managing: To get work done with all the distractions of book publication, the other book’s upcoming launch, my photo studio set up, wallpaper sites to trawl through …

    Need: To choose paint colours.

    Observing: The delivery man out the front at the moment. His truck won’t start and it’s interesting to watch him try to identify the problem.

    Preparing: For yet another severe weather event. I don’t know what this one will be, but I guess I’ll find out when it hits.

    Quirky: A word I used to search for homewares last week. Didn’t find anything I liked.

    Reading: Tea leaves.

    Smiling: Because, you know, my book … porridge … photo studio

    Thriving: My garden is thriving because Spring is here. I can see buds on the weeping something tree outside my window, and blossoms on the trees that line the street.

    Uncomfortable: At the idea of promoting my book.

    Visiting: Soon I will be visiting my youngest son and his family. For the first time in 10 years I’ll have a child and grandchildren living in the same state as me and that means frequent visiting.

    Wearing: Too many visits to my youngest son and his family might get wearing – for them at least. Not for me!

    Xploring: Ideas … photographically.

    Yes: Please.

    Zero: No more words.

    Posted in Life, Writing

    Stories

    Posted on by Sharon

    There’s a car parked across my driveway, blocking me in.

    It’s not actually a car, it’s a van. The pool man, come to check the chlorine levels, and clean the filter. At least I hope he’s come to clean the filter.

    It’s grey out and raining. Miserable. A day for staying inside, curled up in a comfy chair reading a book Alison just told you about: Smart ovens for lonely people by Elizabeth Tan. She scanned one of the short stories and I read it and loved it as she knew I would.

    When the van is gone, there will be no excuse not to leave for work. I like my work, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say about all the jobs I’ve had. The one before this one was the worst of all, but it led me to this one and it’s one of my favourites. I get to write and interview people and co-design workshops and listen to people and be warm with the heater Kerry, my boss, brought in for me yesterday.

    It’s a warm workplace and I am the oldest there. By a long shot. It feels strange to be the oldest, to feel the store of stories welling up inside me every time we sit down for lunch together. I mostly refrain from sharing. Because … you know. Old people and their stories.

    I listen to old people and their stories. Stories of removal and disconnection and abuse and am thankful for the warmth of the workplace. It provides a blanket to shield me from the hurt and pain of others’ stories. I write about them, these other stories, in a report for the client, wondering if anything I say might make a difference. Wondering how to say something that will help make a difference.

    The van is gone. My path is clear. I’m off to make a difference.