View from the green sofa to the green of the front yard
For the last countless weeks we have been selling off and donating our chattels so that we can scale down our footprint from 116 m2 (on a block of 686 m2) to 85 m2 on the ninth floor of an apartment building among city lights.
Our two year retreat in the country is drawing to a close. An immersion in nature especially in being adopted by magpies have helped us to heal our hellish experience of life in a townhouse development.
Today our house goes to market with the first open inspection on 10 May 2025.
Coincidently, today, Saturday, 3 May 2025, Australia votes. Temporary polling stations across the country, emblazoned with party colours welcome some whilst worrying others. The reward of a Democracy Sausage, biscuit or cake afterwards turns the experience into an Aussie outing.
Here, it is against the law if you do not vote without a valid reason for being unable to do so. There is an admin fee of $20 to pay plus if you end up in court, a fine if convicted, and responsibility for the Australian Electoral Commission’s costs too.
I wondered if there is a free AI tool I could use to turn doodled concepts into smooth and tidy patterns. I tried a few online products with annoying pop up sign up ads.
The result was okay however, I was unable to move beyond basic tidying. Taking out a free one week trial subscription with Fotor and an app for iPhone, I was able to produce the more pleasing results below.
Box lid of mid century plywood jigsaw puzzle depicting a map of England and Wales with illustrations representing the industries of different regions
The DNA results are in with reassuring and surprising results. Knowing my maternal ancestors hailed from the Midlands, specifically Staffordshire, it was likely there would be a family connection to neighbouring Warwickshire.
With a maternal and paternal surname of Jones, I was thrilled to learn of Welsh roots. My father’s paternal family lived in Shropshire bordering Wales whilst his mother’s family lived in south east England, Kent.
Surprisingly, I have higher percentages of Scottish, Danish, and Netherlands heritages than Welsh.
Dog, Sue, toddler me, Big Nanny
As a toddler, I had platinum curly locks. Over time they straightened and darkened to mid/dark brown. I wonder if this is the Danish and Dutch influence.
Older friend, Stephanie, me around six or seven
Using the results, I experimented with AI image generators: Show me what a brown eyed, 61 year old male might look like with the following DNA: 73% England and northwestern Europe, 16% Scotland, 5% Denmark, 4% The Netherlands, 2% Wales. He is 1.7m tall and 10kg overweight.
MS CoPilotMS DesignerGoogle Gemini
This final image is the closest to my appearance, spooky!
When thinking of Norse god, Thor, I imagine thunder and lightening storms. Yesterday morning, in contrast, the journey to the station was gloriously lit by a light orange, pink, pale blue, wispy grey dawn.
Below a shot of one of my favourite views from the station. Glimpses of the heavens reflected in Saltwater Creek surrounded by silhouetted trees.
As the sky lightened with deeper reds and golds, I took a picture near Petrie station.
At the end of the day, whilst awaiting the arrival of the 4:20 to carry me home, thinking again of Thor, I captured a view of the platform, steel rails, and wall opposite.
This morning I used the double exposure filter to overlay the images in Google Snapseed to create the top image. I like the result.
Earth’s magnetism channeled through beings, Is it a catelyst for amassing? Maybe it arose after emancipation from a modest childhood And Mom’s mission of making do? Or perhaps a mammal’s natural need for nesting? Necessities and niceties for a fuzzy bunny to attract a big cat mate? Three score years of accepting, acquiring, accumulating. Even emigrating, moving interstate; a reluctance to release, relinquish and renounce as we ‘may need it one day’. As hour grains run faster, we the tiger and the rabbit reflect and act upon reality; The compulsion for conservation of capitalist commodities has contracted. Burdensome belongings bring joy no more. Deliberately we’re divesting, downsizing, disencumbering. With lightness of mind body and soul, We are distilling dreams to design a direct destination, Carefully eking out the remainder for our next stage of life.
Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne, illustrated by E. H. Shepherd was one of my first favourite childhood books. I won a paperback copy early in infant school for a hand painting picture. There was a commemorative ex libris inside the front cover detailing the award, my name, date, and class.
I was once described as being like Eeyore. The old gray stuffed donkey character. According to Wikipedia, ‘generally characterised as pessimistic, depressed, and anhedonic.’
I see myself more like Winnie-the-Pooh. ‘Despite being naïve and slow-witted, he is a friendly, thoughtful and sometimes insightful character who is always willing to help his friends and try his best.’ (Wikipedia)
Upon reflection, Pooh represents my usual optimistic self whereas Eeyore is an inner glum voice.
On Tuesday, my manager took me into a small meeting room for a ‘there’s nothing wrong’ discussion. I was momentarily lulled into a false sense of security. After a preamble of ‘change is a good thing’ and information I already knew, I learned of a reorganisation. In line with a company policy of a maximum of ten in a team, a need to build capability, and improve customer service, I was being moved to another team, the week after next.
I don’t operate well face to face when feeling threatened. Becoming a faun; externally, I appease and please, adopting a vulnerable and cautious stance despite inner turmoil. I expressed guarded displeasure then returned to my desk in stunned silence.
In the five and a half years with my current employer, I have worked in the same team, focussed on supporting clients back to state funded health roles after sustaining workplace injuries. During this time, I have experienced two challenging line managers and two wonderful ones. The uncertainty of a new manager, new team dynamics, and colleagues with limited knowledge and experience in supporting health clients felt overwhelming.
In engaging with change, I remind myself of Pooh’s sunny disposition, a source of comfort and inspiration. While uncertainty looms, I’ll lean on his resilience, turning negatives into positives and crafting strategies to adapt. Writing this post is my first small step toward accepting the shift and embracing the unknown. I still have a job, and I will navigate this chapter with optimism and determination. Change may be daunting, but it’s also a powerful catalyst for growth.
Horse and Groom public-house, right of the mansard roofed building
I find it strange, as a youngster, we only seemed to spend time with my grandparents, and Mom’s brother and his children. I assumed we were from a small family. From researching the family tree, I have found many relatives lived locally in Birmingham, UK and farther afield.
When Mom met Dad in Bridgnorth, Shropshire she was working in the office of Tangyes Ltd., a company making hydraulic and general engines. Dad learned his trade as a tool-maker through an apprenticeship. He went on to learn gas fitting and central heating installation. I guess travelling around may have been how he met his second partner.
Mom told me she got together with my stepdad because he was nice and she was in financial dire straits. I believe he did his best, having a wife packaged with two step sons.
I remember one payday, after my stepfather had gambled most of his cash pay packet away on the horses at the smoke filled bookies, also known as the betting shop and turf accountant, he drank the remainder at the Monarch pub before returning home.
My mother’s protestations were met by his fists causing her to fall down a flight of stairs. A catalyst for Reverend Kerr of Saint Boniface Church to arrange for our escape to a battered wives home in Sparkbrook.
I came across the following newspaper report while researching Mom’s maternal family. It is transcribed from the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Monday 06 October 1913
SMASHED WINDOWS. WOMAN’S PROTEST AGAINST A PUBLICAN’S ACTION.
At the Birmingham Police Court on Saturday a married woman named Mary Ann Edmonds, aged 34, living at 65., Birchall Street, was charged with wilfully breaking two plate-glass windows, of the value £3 10s., at the Horse and Groom public-house, Digbeth. William ‘Henry Phipps, the licence-holder, said that at six o’clock on Friday night, just after he went into the bar, defendant’s husband came in and called for half a pint of beer. ” He was practically ‘ sober, ” said witness, ” so I served him with half a pint of beer. “ Immediately he was served, witness continued, defendant caused an obstruction outside, causing a crowd to assemble. Witness went out with the intention of getting her away, and immediately after she threw two half-bricks, one at each window. Defendant in the dock admitted that she did the damage, but said she was driven to desperation. Her husband spent all his wages at this house. They served him until be could not stand, and then had practically to carry him from the house. On Friday night, as soon as her husband enteral the house, she asked the landlord not to serve him, and said, ” You see the condition he is in.” Phipps, defendant said, ordered her out of the house as they did not want her there. Defendant added that she knew she did wrong, but she had four little children starving at home, and in her madness she did not know what she did. Mr. Hobbis (chairman), recalling Phipps, asked him what he meant by saying defendant’s husband was ” practically ” sober. Witness: He might have had a little, but he was not drunk. The Chairman: When yon speak of a man as sober we understand he is sober, but when you say practically sober it is a different thing, and we want to know what you mean exactly. Was he under the influence of drink? Phipps: None whatever. He walked straight into the house, as if he had come straight from work. The Bench came to the conclusion that the defendant had cause for great exasperation. They believed her story, but that did not excuse her for breaking windows. They had come to the conclusion that the case would be met be imprisoning her for one day, which meant that she would be at once discharged.
We are extremely happy to be home with no damage. Previously, we sat in the house anxiously watching as the local creek water gauge rose up above 3m.
At 4m our house is inundated with 0.5-1.0m of water. A 1 in 1000 year risk, it happened in 2015 and again in 2022.
The forecast on Friday last week was for worse flooding than 2022. This time rather than waiting to be told to go to an evacuation centre that would not take Stan, we lifted as much as we could off the ground, turned the power and water off and left. We resigned ourselves that if it flooded we are insured with 40 weeks’ temporary accommodation covered.
Our fantastic friend in Brisbane put us up for three nights in his one bedroom apartment, he slept on the floor on sofa cushions.
Unfortunately, while we escaped the worst of the rain, to the south, the Gold Coast lost metres of sand from the beach, sustained flooding, and lost power for days.
One winter Wednesday, wee wan Willy Weasel whistles wistfully, Why’re wide-eyed whelk, Wellington’s waist worn white wings waving without wind? Wellington, Wellie-to-friends, wobbles wildly, whizzing, whirring, wending To Wollongong wedding of Wendy Weevil to Willow Winkle. Wendy’s award winning women’s weaves once won, way-beyond Willow’s winding wastewater wicking widget. What a wonderful wardrobe they’ll wangle! Wander welcomes welterweight Wombat, Walter wearing weather worn wafer-thin western wove wheat-sheaves. Wicked waiter, Wilfred watches whilst wading in the weeds, Whittled walnut water-raft whooshes in Wembley Womble Witch and Wakefield Whale Wizard, whispering worthwhile words to witty Wandering Wolf, Winston. Winsome Wensleydale Wench, Winnie has the where with all to warn of a woefully wavering weighty wonton wagon whisking towards the waterfall. Wow, wiggling Worcestershire Worm, Winona get’s to work on the wailing wheels with wooden wedges. Willy Weazel whiffs the scent of wafting wedding whisky, wondering whether the weather will warm.
Bored with the mundane of copy paste updating and repetition that could be completed by optical character recognition and coding
Solving problems by identifying, sorting, and organising filaments of information into threads to plait into a rope to hold on to as we take steps toward a goal
theINFP 