Admiring: those fancy new five dollar notes firsthand.
Drinking: real tea at work. Finally. Both caffeinated and herbal.
Wearing: shorter hair and a favourite scarf tied differently.
I went to the hairdresser yesterday and lost a few inches, zillions of greys plus at least a kilo of hair. I am loving wearing my hair down.
Doing the dishes with: this gloriously scented special edition Morning Fresh. It’s got a white tea fragrance and a touch of magenta colourwise. Anything to add some joy to the dishes. I’m not entirely convinced about the ‘Fast Dry Tecnology’ claim though. But maybe I’m washing my dishes wrong.
Listening to: Dolly and the Pentatonix’s acoustic version of Jolene. Make that listening, re-listening and downloading from iTunes.
Could it be even more perfect than Dolly’s original solo version? Even more haunting and evocative? The song was first released in 1973 and was already timeless. This reworking featuring new harmonies will ensure the song will never disappear into obscurity.
Collaborations like this between different generations of musicians fascinate and inspire me. It’s wonderful seeing music being a universal language that brings generations together. Each learning a bit from the other, the older and the newer combining to make something even better.
Reflecting on: Magda Szubanski and Jimmy Barnes’ team effort on QandA Monday night.
To be Australian is to have a little place in your heart for both Szubanski and Barnes. Their contributions to our cultural identity, their open disclosure of difficult times in their lives (for Magda it related to her sexuality and for Barnes his decades of drug and alcohol abuse and its impact on those who loved him) and now, their unified stance in opposing the non-binding plebiscite bill on same-sex marriage that our Prime Minister is putting before Parliament.
I will confess my ignorance of the implications of the plebiscite right now. It sounds like a good thing marriage equality on face value except that its result is non binding and would only guide future discussion in Parliament rather than changing existing laws. There is the potential for the community debate leading up to any ballot being fuelled by bigotry and hatred. Which would do little for the cause of marriage equality.
It’s going to cost us as a society to the tune of $160 million dollars that could go to fund programs to help Australians in difficulty through illness, disability or domestic violence. It is also money that could go towards other services and facilities that would benefit the general community.
Realizing: that life is not perfect for anyone. I’m in my forties and I’ve seen a fair bit of life’s ups and downs. But I still need to be reminded about we are all only human. Undoubtedly, some of us are more beautiful, talented, wealthier, intelligent, altruistic, patient and stronger than some others of us. But we all face the same challenges in life. Marriages end. But life needs to and will go on and children need to be loved and raised.
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It’s the lucky majority of us, though, with our non spectacular and obviously imperfect lives that get to deal with our problems in private.
Did you watch or listen to QandA Monday night? What are your thoughts?