penneylaneonline

How hard is it would you say to find the beauty in hardship? Very I would say. Hardship is just that way isn’t it, sort of like having to crack through the tough outer shell of a situation or even a person. It’s not easy. But to think that we might discover beauty somewhere in the mix is that just a pipe dream? Is the sense of empowerment that comes from the hardship where the beauty lies? Is that the beauty? Empowerment in a situation, those new beginnings that are the growing inner nacre that... Sign in to see full entry.

It’s astonishing how quickly we can fill our days with activities and these just two days into a New Year. Still, any activity at this time of the year is ambitious to say the least. Mind you, it’s the time of year too isn’t it? The time to try new things, or old things you’ve remembered you used to do and want to do again. Life can be so cyclical can’t it? New beginnings happen everyday without us even thinking of them in that way and yet, they are. We have this great opportunity for us to have... Sign in to see full entry.

So the old Coat-Hanger (aka The Sydney Harbour Bridge) looked four million bucks last night, she looked grand. She’s a noisy ol’ dame, a bit of a screamer for all her 75 years! A pyrotechnic delight even! She went off like a lizard flat out drinking. She was grand indeed. Dressed in all her finery and rivalling that other famous Sydney dame, Dame Edna! They both sparkle well. I’m inclined to think that today ought to be one for reflection rather than resolution. Looking back down the beach to... Sign in to see full entry.

New Year’s Eve. There’s a lot of fuss going on here in the Emerald City. That famous Sydney Coat-Hanger (aka the Sydney Harbour Bridge) has once again become the central focus for another huge pyrotechnic display. The Bridge itself will be 75 years old hence the “emerald city” tag. Things are abuzz. Molly and me are fairly laid back about proceedings. I mean, it’s going to happen. And its going to happen whether we are awake or not. That’s the thing about ‘time’ it just keeps on marching.... Sign in to see full entry.

Time flies doesn’t it. Yesterday it just seemed like the year was kicking off and now a New Year is kicking us in the pants and goading us to get ready for more new beginnings. And will they all be new? Maybe, maybe not. The possibilities are the most exciting thing wouldn’t you say. I’ve often wondered if given the chance and one might be allowed to see the future whether one might as a choice choose not to. I wonder if I would have the strength of my conviction to go through with it if I did... Sign in to see full entry.

Things feel so catch up at the moment. Catch up with myself; catch up with others I’ve seemed to have missed over an extended period of time. Catch up can make you feel frantic when there’s really no need to be. Well, so I say, the practise of it, well, that’s an entirely different other thing now isn’t it! Catching up at this time of the year is sort of like reparation I think, we regret that we’ve been remiss in keeping friendships vital (and all in the name of busyness) and yet, like all... Sign in to see full entry.

I love Sydney during the Christmas break. Everyone leaves. And suddenly the roads seem less full of bulging traffic lines along Paramatta Road, less full of mad impatient drivers going in the same direction but wanting to do so faster than the rest of us. It’s great like that at this time of the year. And people seem more relaxed and therefore more inclined to express a more convivial approach when they meet you on the street, so much friendlier! Sadly, that’s the exception rather than the norm.... Sign in to see full entry.

In this city, in whose eyes are reflected our silent, pleading demise no less, no more, beneath a portent whisper, this serial cry against sunburnt arms, indeed this sunburnt heart and face respite finally under this parasol of aloe vera shade and most tender embrace, this quieted lover before the dawn when shadows lift and so too, curses whispered in the dark this blood-red moon sits haughtily enthroned on her night sky waiting for my next move, impatient because I wait her out, out-wait her... Sign in to see full entry.

I love the sound of the wind as it ruffles the leaves in a tree; it can sound like the sea, the way it [the sea] whips across the top of the waves, catching its breath on the tips of waves full to bursting with glee as they race toward the shore. It’s a sound from my childhood. At night on ‘Mangarouhi’ (childhood farm) when the wind played reckless hide and seek in the pine trees at the back of my little bach (New Zealand name given to a self-contained house usually separate from the main house... Sign in to see full entry.

So Christmas has finally arrived. It’s cool and overcast here. The first time in nineteen years since I came to live here. It’s a first by all accounts. I like it this first cool Christmas. I think Christmas should excite me more than it these days. I miss Josh and Dan and Mede. There’s nothing that opens up the chasm-like distance between Sydney Cove and Aotearoa (colloquially known as New Zealand although this term specifically refers to the North Island of New Zealand where my family come... Sign in to see full entry.

Christmas Eve has a way of seeming so much longer than the twenty-four hours leading up to that all important Christmas day doesn’t it. Well, I think so, in many ways it makes the lead up to the actual ticking over of the clock so excruciatingly agonising. Like pulling teeth. I don’t know about you, but I find it’s an extremely bitsy kind of day, almost a nuisance really. A bad juggle mostly because one rather feels like they ought to be going when infact one is coming and depending on the time... Sign in to see full entry.

The city is beginning to slow down, there’s still the festive madness of last minute shopping and all that, an element of Christmas madness we never seem to get out of the habit of doing no matter how many years we’ve been given to practise it! Odd that. I love Public Holidays here in the ‘coat-hanger’ city, everyone leaves, it’s great. The streets are quiet, main roads less congested and despite the Boxing Day sales the day after Christmas, this chunky conurbation they call Sydney reverts to... Sign in to see full entry.

There’s something deeply satisfying about watching some of the ‘older’ blokes of music on centre stage. I was thinking this very thought when I was watching a performance by Cream Live at the Royal Albert Hall. The thing you notice about Eric Clapton is that he’s a very cool guy. Tall and cool, refreshing like a Vodka Lime Twist. There’s something entirely joyful and soul-lifting about watching a guy enjoy sharing his music the way he does. There’s something to be said for a life lived. It’s... Sign in to see full entry.

In New Zealand, deep in the heart of Central Otago, back in 1993, a couple of mates brought a couple of paddocks side by side (only one of them eventually kept the titles to both patches of land) and they had it in their heads to grow some grapevines on both patches of land. To all intents and purposes, they succeeded. I love their story, you can read about it at www.twopaddocks.com my point is that should you ever find yourselves in an establishment that stocks their wine, buy it and drink it.... Sign in to see full entry.

Do you ever just enjoy doing something for something’s sake? Sometimes? Rarely? Never? That’s a shame is all I can say. That and, well you should make a pact with yourself to change that during the Christmas break. It’s really kind of liberating. There’s a lot to be said for ignoring the ‘voices in your head’ and just going your own way about doing a thing. I find that all the time! Surprised? Well, neither am I! But you always knew that about me right? I have certain friends who would... Sign in to see full entry.

I love this time of year, you get to read a lot. I always associate the Christmas season with a cache of newly acquired books and the chance to read uninterrupted through days at a time if one felt so inclined. It’s heaven. The best part of all is that if your favourite author has written a sequel to last year’s novel there’s a good chance you’ll be picking up where you left off with old character friends in some delicate plot to save the world or them and with just the right amount of twists... Sign in to see full entry.

My favourite vegetable is corn; I could eat it till the cows come home. I love it cooked and eaten right off the cob, I love it popped and I love it done in the old fashioned maori tradition, as kaanga wai. “This literally translates as ‘corn water’, but means a water cured corn dish. Maori food has its roots in their tradition and culture, also out of necessity; making use of foods readily available, in season or finding ways of preserving them for future use. ‘Kaanga wai’ certainly comes under... Sign in to see full entry.

I love watching children blow bubbles, their eyes light up as if it were singularly the most magical moment in their lives, and perhaps it is. Right then. I love the single-minded way that they go about their lives. It’s so here and now. We adults could learn a thing or two from living like that. I just love the lit eyes. It’s so in the moment. Nothing else matters. Not the moments before and not the moments after. It’s sincerely priceless. Tell me why it is that living in the moment seems so... Sign in to see full entry.

At the top of One tree hill on Te Tui Station you can see a long long way away. It’s funny how just that little bit of height can give you a perspective you wish you could see from down in the valley. I have a confession. I scrambled up *Himself (my name for the macadamia nut tree in the backyard) today. I needed the perspective. Getting up was no problem as even a fleet-footed cat will tell you, getting down, well now, that’s a whole other story again. But the things you can see up there. Over... Sign in to see full entry.

From time to time it can feel like every day runs seamlessly into the other. Nothing wrong with that I suppose but I can’t say its mind inspiring. I like the bumps in the road, I like the way they cause havoc and make us adapt quickly to circumstances in order to overcome the unforeseen difficulty. Edgy is good. I’ve just finished reading Eric Bishoff’s book called “Controversy Creates Cash”. For those of you unfamiliar with his name. Eric Bishoff was the former President of WCW, the... Sign in to see full entry.