I killed my notebook this week. My gorgeous Gloria Petyarre notebook that my Mumzy-in -law gave me for Christmas. I was just sitting there in a meeting, playing with the spiral spine and then the next thing I knew, the whole book had fallen apart.
Now I have no trippy Utopian art to gaze at during meetings. Instead it will just be a bull dog clip filled with book pages. This really messes with my chi.
Sob.
I never thought it would happen, but I seem to be falling out of love with City living. I think the City and I need some time apart, time to think things through, to decide whether we can make it work again.
I’ve always loved the City. Ever since I can remember. As a kid, I’d be here quite a lot. We’d have trips to Sydney to see a show, visit friends, have yum cha. I always knew I’d end up living and working down here and I have now for almost 12 years. I’ve loved it for so long. But lately….
I’ve been feeling smothered by the City. The air feels dirty. The crowds feel intense.
As I get jostled about in the morning when I’m doing the daily commute, I no longer appreciate the energy of the other people around me but feel a strong desire for much more personal space.
The vibrancy of city living is conflicting with my need right now for quiet and peace and solace. I don’t know where these new needs came from. They snuck up on me and caught me by surprise.
Our flat feels small and cramped. I’m tired of guests that have to sleep on the floor, of having to remove 8 items from a cupboard, just to reach the sandwich press, of lugging bags of groceries up three flights of stairs.
I’m tired of walking through Darling Quarter, a million children screaming, squabbling, laughing. It seems so loud now, when it was once a delight.
I’ve felt upset lately and when I contemplate reasons why, it all seems to come back to this feeling of being cooped up.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe here.
And yet.
There is energy here. Bustling crowds of people, mostly in good moods, all on their way to something fun. There are nights out, every day of the week, festivals every weekend, new restaurants opening every month.
There’s spirit here. And diversity. Multiculturalism like no other place I know.
This feeling typically comes every January. After the quiet peace of time with family over Christmas, coming back to Sydney life always jolts me. But then I settle back into a routine and feel glad to be living in a place I love so much.
This year, that feeling didn’t come. I’ve been sick of Sydney, sick of the grind, sick of commuting. Wondering if I can do this every day for the rest of my life? Can I do this? This thing that we all need to do? Every day?
People come from all over the world to see this beautiful city. And it is beautiful. But maybe right now, it’s just not for me.
Some Wednesday whimsy if you will, my friends.
Let’s marvel for a moment at the ridiculous looks of the dachshund. They are such amusing little creatures that literally appear as though they’ve been stretched in a sausage machine. Which I guess is why they get called sausage dogs.
When I look at animals like this, I always think about what a good sense of humour God must have. Either that or he had an experiment or two that went wrong.
Everything about dachshunds amuse me. The short legs attached to the long, elongated body, the way they trot about looking so important, despite being so teensy tiny. Their elegant posture and proud chests make me laugh. It feels like in their minds, they are Dobermans – they have no idea how small or funny they are.
Apparently Hockney, Napoleon, Picasso and Warhol all had dachshunds. Perhaps their whimsical looks acted as something of a muse?
Such funny body shapes.
I think I want one.
I have found the cutest Etsy shop in the world. In the world I tells ya!
Um, hello….have you ever seen such adorable little darlings? Oh woe be on me, the price is insane. But I shall admire from afar.
For one week every month, Husband and I get insomnia. There’s no pattern. It doesn’t regularly happen in the second week of every month, or during full moon. Although that might mean we were werewolves which would be pretty cool. But it’s randomly timed.
There doesn’t seem to be any real reason either. We aren’t particularly stressed right now, we haven’t been spending more than the usual amount of time online. Who knows what it’s all about.
It’s good if we both get it in the same week but sometimes it doesn’t happen that way and then it’s even less fun.
One night this week I was tossing and turning when Ian woke up and looked at me. I was hopeful he’d want to sit up and talk but he rolled back over and carried on sleeping. Half his luck.
Instead of carrying on with my flip flopping and tossing and turning, I got up and got online. Which is probably the worst thing I could have done because it got my brain all over active and excited. I didn’t get one mite more of sleep that night but I did find these lovely items below in my Googley Reader. So all round, I’d say it was a successful insomniac’d night.
Featured here were these sweet wooden earings from Each to Own. Wood + love hearts + polka dots! Goodness gracious, what was life like before Etsy? I’m sure it couldn’t have been that good.
I also adore these little love heart dishes that were featured here. If I was a scientist, every petri dish I’d use would look like this. But since I’m not, I’d say that they’d work nicely for holding rings too! Pity they cost $50 each. 
And then. THEN! This cute card shop. Oh my goodness. I want every print they sell. Here’s a few of my favs.
And now it’s time to try and catch some Zzzzs. Wish me luck!
Lookey, lookey at all the nice things I’ve found on the interwebs this sweet afternoon.
There’s this lovely sign that seems most apt, given my post on quietness the other day.
And in Rifle Paper Co’s online shoppe there is lots of quirky things.
The picture of the monsters in the bushes really amuses me. I love how the girl is just walking on past with not a care in the world. If you look closely though, her dog is freaking out! I also love the doggy coasters. I’m in need of new coasters! And that little book worm reminds me of one that Leigh and I used to mimic when we’d watch the Huggabunch as kids.
These whimsical pieces of jewellery from Rare Indeed on Etsy are so much fun! A circus tent brooch!!! Paper plane earings! Ooohh. Delightful!
Quolial, also on Etsy has some lovely, leather, arrow necklaces. I spotted them on this blog earlier in the week and I’ve been day dreaming about them. I think Alissa would look good in one too :)
I also found these weird little softies featured on the same blog. And like them I do. They’re stuffed toys that have been taken apart, reversed and then sewn back together, eyes and all. They look so sad that it makes me want to take them all in and love them!
And then there are these products from Ham. I honestly get such amusement from animals doing human like activities! I mean seriously, a pig mowing the grass? Imagine if you came home and actually found one doing that.
And lastly, stickers for your light switch? Hells yes! You can find them at Molly Meg’s cute online kids store.
Have you stumbled across anything cute online this weekend?
Now if this isn’t a nifty business idea, I don’t know what is. In the US you can sign up to a whole bunch of monthly food clubs. You can then receive a cheese of the month or a brownie of the month or a whoopie pie of the month.
There’s also a wild food of the month club where you can be sent a hand foraged item every 30-ish days.
What a fabulous gift idea! I hope this idea catches on down under! Check it out here.
Saw this yesterday and decided to share. It certainly doesn’t hurt to think through these things before you speak….
Thinking before you speak:
T – Is it True?
H – Is it Helpful?
I – Is it Inspiring?
N – Is it Necessary?
K – Is it Kind?
The sound of silence soothes my soul.
I like the TV to be off. I like driving without the radio. I like walking to the gym in the morning when it’s dark and quiet and the only thing I can hear are the footsteps of all the other people heading to the same place.
I like a distant hum of sound. Lawn movers at a house, two properties over. Cars swishing through puddles in the rain. People clicking away at their keyboards.
I don’t like it when people speak loudly. I don’t like it when my microwave, car and washing machine beep repetitively. They’re trying to tell me something with all their beeping. I wish they’d whisper instead.
This world we live in is a noisy place. But the silence, it’s so refreshing. And it makes me feel calm. Peaceful. Like there is snow inside my mind.
Shhh.
I mean is she cute or is she cute?
The random musings of Neen 