summer lovin’

#814 in the 1000 things to do in britain book – join the cloud appreciation society

(yes ~t,  i can hear you laughing at me from here)

as a fortune

Six Lanterns by angrytoast

Everyday
Take a lantern
Keep it bright
As the light source
Of your mind-
Again and again,
Take the inexhaustible fire
As the hopeful cord
Of your heart.

– komitas

life lessons

45 life lessons and 5 to grow on

by Regina Brett

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here’s an update:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

About Regina

Regina Brett is a columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. Her column runs on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Recently, Regina was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. She was also a finalist in the same category in 2008.

old skool cool

jean michelle jarre plays at the wembley arena (photo by nic)

fantastic even without microdots, fluro shirts and 80′s hair

postcards from prague

dear friends,

we’ve been tripping around quite a bit recently – the new spring weather has us creeping out from beneath warm feather duvets, flinging open doors & windows and venturing to new places.

last weekend, it was an overnight visit to prague. we travelled with friends (also originally from new zealand), to support our friend running her first marathon in prague.

prague is beautiful, virtually untouched by world war two. the locals are friendly, the beer cheap (and delicious)…

the weather was gorgeous and the main city areas are easy to travel on foot.

nic and i walked up to the palace through the gardens from the streets below

the city lay out below us, a beautiful bohemian city covering both sides of the river

sunday, we cheered our friend on as she ran… the layout of the marathon meant we could walk to different parts of the course to see something new and offer some more enthusiastic encouragement.the trip was far too short and we’d love to go back. with so many other places still to visit over this side of the world we’ll definitely have to plan for it – perhaps a visit in winter to go snowboarding!

with love and my thoughts of you…
x

postcards from london & paris

dear friends,

do you remember that feeling… the one where you have butterflies in your stomach… meeting someone new for the first time? someone you have ‘met’ through blogging and feel close to but you’ve never met in person?

we had a friend come to visit. one i have struck up a friendship with since a book swap we both participated in about 2 years ago. we’d never met before and i had quiet moments of anxiety, wondering if this person i only partly knew would be someone to call a friend in real life…

i needent have worried at all. she is beautiful, playful, adventurous…

she came bearing gifts of fabrics and coffee beans (i knew we’d be friends from this moment – hehe). she also brought with her my new polaroid camera (found on etsy).

we took her to mudchute farm for a picnic lunch

then, took her on a mystery train ride – a daytrip to paris on the eurostar, eating croissants and drinking champagne for breakfast on the way over. we visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery,

merci store,

and had a picnic supper of bread, cheese and wine under the eiffel tower

us girls went shopping at my favourite girls dress-up store (two floors of pretty things), where my alter-ego had a ton of fun and bought two dresses; then we met nic for a good british sunday roast lunch

we took a trip to kew gardens to see the bluebells in bloom (#2 in my 101 things in 1001 days list)

we laughed, we drank, we spent time in quiet companionship.

we had the *best* of times.

postcards from north yorkshire

dear friends,

easter weekend this year had us heading north by fast train to york (2 hours by train, about 4 in a car), then driving out into the countryside of north yorkshire

we’d found a small stone shed on the internet that we fell in love with and were so happy to discover it was free that weekend.

every single detail had been considered in this inviting place. from fluffly cotton bathrobes and crisp cotton sheets to the beautiful breakfast basket of goodies and a bottle of local wine that greeted us on arrival. we felt right at home…

we drove through the north yorkshire moors again and again. each time taking a new road, stopping for photos and to admire the stone crosses and grand views…

fields with stone walls lay out below us like patchwork quilts in shades of green

we found the local deli and had wonderful coffee. the lady in the store so cheerful and welcoming – just perfect for this kind of place…

we climbed up roseberry topping, then had a pint of the local lager in the nearby town where nic’s father grew up

we dined at the star inn, harome – a michelin starred restaurant (#9 in my 101 things in 1001 days list),

we explored the coastline, driving to robin hood’s bay

eating fish & chips down at the harbour in whitby

and exploring the beautiful tiny fishing village of staithes. shrouded in haar, staithes seemed to possess a beautiful and quiet magic.

we rambled, relaxed and explored, returning home feeling rested and rejuvenated.
thinking of *you* and wondering what new places you might be exploring

arohanui
x

fresh

e kore au e ngaro, he kākano i ruia ki tēnei whenua.
i will never be lost, i am a seed of this land

it’s new zealand music month again and this years hunt for new music has so far led to some fabulous discoveries. like rosy tin tea caddy (thanks marianne), the woolshed sessions (i grew up in the region where this album was recorded), hannah howes (another beautiful soulful artist), a great new track from opensouls and others.

there are so many fabulous musicians in this world. and yet, even in this, i still often return home.

enemies

daily prayers, pere lachaise cemetery, paris

disarmed i realised how easily you can lose all animosity towards someone you’ve deemed your enemy as soon as that person stops behaving as such.
- carlos ruiz zafón.
(from: the shadow of the wind)

—
the above quote got me… i read it, re-read it and have gone back to it over and over again.

it has me considering how I might be able to apply this in my own life… how I might be able to disarm others with my own behaviour by treating them with consideration rather than as an enemy.

it’s not that i specifically, or deliberately, do treat anyone as an enemy, more that i totally get what the author has written about being treated in a kind and friendly way; how when one response is expected, that another is disarming.