The POWER of JOY

That amazing still autumnal night when the moon rises looking luminously huge, having sat chatting outside a new art exhibition. Such a well behaved girl, can you tell she’s wistfully looking at her lap swimming river and wondering how come there was no Saturday swim? Meanwhile the moon does its thing and sprinkles moonbeams reflected for all to enjoy...

‘Tis the season for elderflower joy

Newest addition to the garden and a hint in the wall hanging vase in the kitchen...
Note industrial strength wall paper to guard against cracks! We might seek an alternate solution this time round.
House and garden restoration has been the ideal project to have this year. Nature brings so much joy in amongst challenges to adapt to.
Plant is Solomon’s Seal, named after King Solomon. Awesome for shady nooks and adding sculptural form to the dappled light of the understory. We have a few locations that fit that description!
Always thankful for garden gifts

How to enJOY life...
Behind these flowers with a story is a bookmark to a special poem that helps tell it:
“I wandered lonely as a cloud [clearly not in Lorne]
That floats on high o’er vales and hills, [those we have aplenty]
When all at once I saw a crowd, [main beach, summertime!]
A host of golden daffodils; [for these we thank dear neighbours on the weekend, and today for celebrating spring]..
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”
~ Wordsworth’s Poems of the Imagination XII.

When you go low
It’s a rainbow

They don’t always roll in like this on the coast
And here in Victoria, Oz, we’re on hyper-low-travel mode right now
Can’t go too far, nor fly too high
Have to find beauty right here on the doorstep

Did you manage to find the wonderment in nature?
Or has a delicious droplet of joy found you?
Sometimes it sneaks up when it’s all grey and gloomy skies
Then bing, bang, boom
A kaleidoscope of hues

So, colour my horizon rainbow
Paint the sky blue
Reach out to someone
And share the best of you

Why does Mother’s Day have me posting a flash back to how we spent Valentines Day evening? Mum found our lovely vet, ‘Andrea of Australia’ (check youtube for her videos) at the local Pet Stock store, and got talking... as she so often did! Andrea pictured cuddling Rose, became her vet (313 Vets in Melbourne).
This photo courtesy of Andrea is our farewell toast to Mum, each in our own way... a couple of people were pretty happy with the GlenFiddich! There was also holy water... we possibly should have added some to the water bowl Rosie slurped from.

So as we spend our first Mother’s Day without her here physically, I’m even more grateful for the wonderful network of people Mum walked and chatted amongst. Literally all walks of life, and she was always interested to know your story and what was special to you.

Rose and I both miss Mum dearly, yet we’re lucky to have each other, the rest of the family, and all our friends. The sun has come out, there’s a very high tide coming soon and one poochy-pie will get very excited about a walk... when she wakes up from her sleep snoring... 3,2,1 now!
Feel your emotions, give thanks for them (and for all the mothers Worldwide) and know that you can choose to bring your focus into the present moment and find the beauty. There is beauty in memories, and it is your choice to allow that to be your focal point.

Afternoon physically distanced concert on the nature strip for the nursing home... what a whole lot of joy for everyone involved... and it was their first ever gig🎶
Rosie enjoyed the music too ... or was that just all the pats?

Sharing our (post) sunrise beach walk with you (spot Rosie!). Grateful for today’s spectacular weather plus friendly smiles and greetings (at a distance) from those looking after their well-being by walking. The ocean is also very healing, and brings you into the present moment. At this time, a lot of us are starting to ponder what it is we really want in life. When you get clearer on that, you are one step closer to joy...

A beautiful morning and unexpected beauty... sometimes you can be blown away by the simple things in nature

Handpicked posies are awesome, especially when they come with home grown dahlias and seed pods for honesty... a lovely lady we know spoils us

This is Rosie, lover of colourful birds, bird of paradise plants, extended patting sessions, and lots of food. Her social life is more extensive than most humans right now, and somehow her early film training kicks in at times and I’m amazed watching her as she poses for photos... when she wants to

Life is simple when happiness = sunflower seeds 🌻

This is hands off feeding, yet words can’t express the joy I had late last year passing a handful of sunflower seeds to my Dad and then seeing him hand feed a red male... probably this cheeky dude with bird attitude! Some memories you simply can’t replace, like being there in the garden with Mum to watch something we never would have imagined happening.
🌻

Dahlia delights... when a walk is an act of beauty. Do you find joy even in the simple moments of life?

Perplexed puppy
Who tosses rolls of Toilet Paper around like they’re not gold these days?
Not only was Main Street beautifully empty for our rare off property walk on Easter Sunday, it yielded a modern mystery ... the great poo paper conundrum. Did someone not know this fell out of their back pocket? I’m used to following puppy with p**p bags. Is she hinting she’d like her lil t***y wiped next time?? If she could blush she’d be saying No, don’t tell them I wipe myself on grass, even gravel ...
**perdooper **paper

All too often we lack the confidence to shine. Nature doesn’t hide its beauty. If you look it’s right there front and centre.
So why do we deflect with “oh, I don’t have green fingers” if we had a hand, or two, in creating the place and space for this divine vision?
There are grand plans to add to the display next year, as this photo, and comments from others, helped it sink in just how much the creation of beauty in the world can mean.
Meanwhile, those creative hands also baked and delivered a slice of pear cake with a side serve of Easter Eggs. Such a lovely surprise to receive from a dear neighbour, and it gave Rose and I our first go at socially distant walking as we conversed from one side of the road to the other. A disjointed conversation as a few cars did go past, yet we will all adapt to the times.

Someone put on her mud-boots this morning!
A version of dirty moccasins indicates puppy joy... no doubt she knows she can do better, and it’s only Autumn...

Do you see the following flowers?

Gladioli - tall to give height

Lillies - Oriental pink would be fantastic as a show piece, and if some white is a good complement, then white oriental lillies also

Magnolia - love of nature (if available) ... so we ended up with the leaves as greenery, a perfect solution

Irises - a favourite flower and colour

?Lisianthus (Gentian) - appreciation

Pink Verbena - Family Union

Blue Salvia - if in season (wisdom)

Gyposphola - if it can play a role would be special as my aunt had a bush she used for doing the flowers at churches for weddings in Tasmania

Blue Singapore Orchids - a frequent gift Mum would get me in memory of her visits when I lived in Singapore

Hydrangeas - as low puffball effect, and I was hoping for some of the amazing double hydrangeas

Greenery as you feel matches and offsets the arrangement.

Please NO
Snapdragon - not an appropriate meaning... don’t recall now, but LOL if you don’t set out what you would like, and what to avoid, it is hard for life to deliver your joy

And then it was back to business letting Rebecca of know the Venue Delivery TIME
Delivery is possible from 11am, and ideally before 12:30/1pm if that is a reasonable window. The service commences at 2pm so this gives time to tweak layout, and position the two tables.

Hoping this will be possible and again thank you for your caring discussion on Friday.

With our thanks, and that of all the guests who knew the flowers honoured in the best way possible the colours of Mum’s life oxox J

Hi Rebecca
It was lovely to meet you in February with my father, as we admired your floral arrangements in store. You might recall I was looking for flowers to honour my Mum, in celebrating her life. The subtle double flower hydrangeas in a small posy you had in your gorgeous shop were amazing (will have to source a plant to grow in our garden!).

You will also recall I sent you some ideas as a basis for the arrangements we wished to order in preparation, hoping you’d get to see the email before me! And you did.

Background Briefing
To give you a feel for the arrangement (as flowers can be like a story board), Mum was a doing person who volunteered gardening at Como House each Thursday and had her own vegetable garden complete with a raspberry cage (built by my bro). She loved flowers, adored colour (pinks, blues, purple and aqua) and often picked her own bouquets for friends and family from our gardens. In fact her last two arrangements were from a huge bush of blue hydrangeas that grow at my Dad's office.

Requirement
We would like to order two (2) large floral arrangements to be displayed for her Memorial Service at on 600mm diameter round high tables against the dark wood paneling of the west wall interior (you seemed to know the venue). As we changed our orientation of the set up, there can be a back to the display, rather than needing to be viewed from 360 degrees. Within reason and constraint of the flowers we are interested in requesting, the shape I am visualising is a tear drop (I'll think of it as tears of joy more than sorrow). Thus roundish up to a central taller focal point.

Flowers
There are a number of flowers I would love if it is possible to use, and please if there is a negative connotation to any for use at a Memorial Service, let me know ( I will do my best to further check flower meanings)... ..flowers detail to be continued in next post..what flowers can you see?..how do flowers evoke memory?

Sensory heaven with the scent of fresh produce... restraining myself from waxing lyrical. This is my Easter gift to myself and one that may keep on giving with effective seed saving. The smell, the taste, so much joy!
Thank you to Jules for having spare boxes this week and for the results of her love of all that is nature. Wow!

Cockatoos get the (cooking) apples and make a mammoth mess during their declared January harvest time ... stew the cockatoos?
Last year King Parrots delighted in sharing the nectarines ... works better in one for you, one for me mode, rather than their idea of let’s go halvies!
This year, more watering diligence meant there were nectarines worthy of a net, tho somehow in Feb they became a total net loss.
Now I’d wondered about a bandit possum, someone suggested fruit bats, but there was a net and no mess. Even Rose (pictured here) when she harvests from Apple, pear or nectarine trees makes a mess, and we know she has had (probably more than) her fruit quota. So the fruit elephant in Town was apparently more two legged!
And while Rose is on two legs here, she’s just demonstrating how to pick strawberries 🍓

Out of the house by foot for the first time in a fair few weeks the other day for a walk with Rose (5 yrs old still a puppy). Found I was greeting many other people out walking/running than would usually interact. It seems people are more open (and perhaps feeling deprived) so they welcomed a smile, hello or wave from a safe socially distant space. We went on the Pier, probably Rose's first time exploring there carefully, only to see a day later the Pier has been closed. So happy I'd had the nudge to go for a walk and actually enjoy going out on the Pier! Gosh we are being taught to value the freedoms we had in our lives without, for the most part, so much as a thought or hint of gratitude, until now. There’s even contention over fishing. The history in this area is of gathering food, whether we’re talking indigenous seafood collection, or the couta boats and crane on the old pier. We face a brave new world and I wonder how long before we’re allowed back at the end of the pier.
Grateful for exercise
Joy = nature and Rose puppy

Starting to move toward Social Distancing...
3 Years Ago we highlighted a technique, the Hug Without Touching, that now requires greater refinement... a 1.5m, or 2m, or greater gap, for now, to be safe

Can you be present with someone?
Really present, and sense their energy?

We have new experiences to explore!
Embrace the challenges,
but not the people outside your immediate household.

Our world has shifted ... it's a global reset in 2020

The art of hugging without touching ... demonstrated by
I love a good heart hug yet am also learning that you can share energy in many ways, and if you understand the aura around the body, then it makes sense that it is entirely possible to connect, whilst appearing not to.

I've fully embraced heart hugs over the years (still do much of the time) and a number of my friends specialise in them. As I have stepped out on this journey though, I have also met many, many more people, and have found some of them close in on my personal space quickly, keen to sample the somewhat unusual energy, and sense of peace I carry these days. I actually find people, very shortly after we meet, reaching over to touch my arm repeatedly. I'm observing this more and more.

So, in one part for moderating physical energy theft, yet also more crucially for extending your connection into the spiritual, and divine realm, the hug without touching is a paramount experience.

To step up your hugging experience:
- Step into the embrace without any physical contact
- Quiet your mind
- Feel into the space and sensations
- Wait until you feel the heartbeat

You are now connecting at the divine level with the other person.
Whilst some are working to connect on the physical level, which is essentially in the material world, hugging without touching is in effect an extension that moves into the spiritual realm. It is exactly the same format, embracing fully, yet without touching.
Just as people push for immediate gratification in other areas of life, the hug without touching actually forces you to slow down and feel into the energy of the almost embrace.
You can't rush this experience. In a life where many seem to be rushing everywhere and indeed rushing into everything, this experiment will slow you down.

We are here to express our divinity and this method is taking hugging to a different level.

Hi All, Myself (Karen Bradford) and the lovely Sarah O'donnell are going to be running a 6 week FREE Online Live Mindfulness Based (with EFT) course called "Building Resilience and Strengthening your Immune System"
We are offering 3 different time slots starting next week on 24th March Tuesday evenings 7-8pm, Thursday mornings 10-11am & Sunday afternoons 4-5pm. All Live and all Free for 6 weeks.
We are covering lots of interesting topics and sharing really powerful Mindfulness and EFT techniques, we plan to make it fun, interesting and interactive.
As it is an online course via ZOOM we have capacity for up to 100 people for each time slot.
Our intention is to empower as many people as possible to reduce stress, anxiety and fear. To teach people how to quickly and effectively calm their nervous system and then enable them to refocus on what is really important. We just want to share a bit of happiness in these troubling times.
Please share this with as many people as possible as we would love to have full courses. Thank you
To find out more and book your place please go to www.perfectlybalancedlife.com.au

If you can't fly like these Pelicans can... An early morning walk by the water is equally uplifting

Splatt fairy lamp art
Creativity and child's play
We're all children at heart with a Leo Solar Eclipse coming tomorrow

Water landing with Peli-Air
When you venture off the usual track you have more chance of unique encounters.
One of the more hidden boat ramps in Narooma, NSW