FCT #16: songs (+ serendipity + solace)

Sometimes ya just gotta go, get out, escape, leave town. And when those times hit, ya gotta be grateful for friends to go to.

Most days I feel grateful for friends but today even more so. Today I needed to make that escape and C+J dropped everything, said "we're here" and "this is your home". I needed help and they had help to give.

When I grabbed for a first disc to play on the drive it was - completely coincidentally - a compilation that C made me many years ago now. And the first song? Well it was exactly what I needed to hear... 

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If Love Was A Train

if love was a train i think i would ride me a slow one

one that would ride through the night making every stop

if love was a train
i would feel no pain

and i would never get off

if love was a train i think i would ride me a long one

hear me talking, i'm talking fifty boxcars long

aw, what's the use?

most trains these days ain't got no engine

much less no caboose

if love was a train i'd throw my body on her tracks

if love was a train i'd throw my body right down on her tracks

if love was a train 
i would feel no pain

as she rolled right down my back

but love ain't no train, more like a broncin' bull

the most you got's 15 seconds in the saddle

and even if you manage to ride, you are all shaken up inside

and it's gonna be a long (long long long) time

before you ride that bull again

Michelle Shocked

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FCT #26: canberra spring (blossomberra)

FCT #25: busting da blues

Personal post alert. Be warned, o ye of non-personal posting preferences. Avert thine eyes.

Life feels like a bit of a shitfight right now.

I don't know what it is. Well actually, I probably do know what it is. I'm still recovering from the rough start to the season. Being the utterly psychosomatic person that I am, this has meant feeling very average physically. Recurring cold sores, lingering sniffles, patchy sleep, that sorta stuff.

Canberra winter. Not enough friends in close proximity. My complete inability to stay in touch (via the modern invention of telephony) with friends further afar. General loneliness.

The everyday elements that conspire against us all. A cracked windscreen and a parking ticket and a flat battery all the space of 24 hours - for example - and that's just the car. No money, too much study, not being in my own space.

Lack of resilience, feeling fragile all the time, prone to tears for no reason. Selfish, irritable, grumpy, a bit of a cow to be around really. The worst version of myself. General head-up-my-own-bum-ness.

Good googly moogly... it appears that this Whinge List could go on forever.

I never know quite what to do when these patches hit. Just hang in there and wait for the wind to change I guess. And spend as much time as possible hanging in the sun under the nearly-spring-sky.

FCT #24: turkish halal pide house

Yarralumla is one of Lulu's old haunts and now a favourite spot of mine. Nestled up against the lake in a hidden corner of the inner-south, it's more of a nature-bonanza than a suburb. Although it's a nature-bonanza of the Canberra-kind, with gentrified parklands that back onto the Governor General's Residence and encompass a nursery, sailing clubs and a mini train. (Because let's face it: every city needs a mini train.)

The parklands - and specifically Westbourne Woods - are beautiful and have a significant history which I'll explore some day soon. But today I'm here to talk to you about the Turkish Halal Pide House, which is surely as significant as a bunch of old trees. Or at least as delicious.

I'm not a food reviewer and I'm not going to waffle on. It's enough to say that this is an excellent Turkish takeaway joint. AZ and I had a pre-wander lunch of kabak kebabs, which boast zucchini fritters in place of felafel. The kebabs are kept simple, with fresh salads, good sauces and amazingly fresh bread. All the bread is made on site and is scrum-diddly-umptious. We also had a side serve of fasulye. I'm surprised that Lulu managed to keep the fasulye a secret, given that it very closely resembles one of her favourite Italian dishes. Green beans are stewed in olive oil, onion and tomato until they are soft, rich and scrumm-diddly-umptious.

We'd started scraping the plates before I could get the camera out, so you'll have to trust me when I tell you... it was scrum-diddly-umptious. 

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Turkish Halal Pide House
47 Novar Street, Yarralumla
T: 02 6281 1991
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FCT #14: leaving (radelaide)

FCT #23: early mornings

Pre-dawn airport drop-off. Offers up a light mist, marauding hordes of taxis, carolling magpies and the most serious of cyclists. Rewards with earl grey, toast with raspberry jam and the first hint of daylight.

Inspired to write.

Maybe I should do this more often.

FCT #22: canberra winter

 

It's taking me some time to warm up (haw haw) to the topic of the Canberra winter. It's quite simply NOT my Favourite Canberra Thing. And I've had a rough start to the season due to personal stuff that I'm determined not to jibba jabba on about here. I know, I know. I can barely believe my restraint either.

It's a challenge to find a positive focus for something so bone-bitingly cold... but many peeps manage it... or else they lie quite convincingly. There's talk of 'cozyness' and 'sunny winter days' and 'the opportunity to slow down'. I would prefer the opportunity to remain consistently warm. But I'm here and I have to make the most of it. (And yes, I do realise that we're not talking about Alaska or Siberia or Pluto.)

So how best to do that?

Clearly comfort food, Nana's bedsocks and some good quality teev are crucial. (AZ and I have been working our way through Game of Thrones, Archer, Episodes and Man Stroke Woman - all excellent.) However, as tempting as it is, bunkering down in bed with a season's supply of hot chocolate, hot chips and hotcakes isn't going to work as an ongoing survival strategy. Just imagine the crumbs between the sheets for a start. 

Broader options include...

--Time outside. Unlikely unless it's 8 degrees as a minimum, I'll admit, with at least a splash of sunshine.

--Time with friends. A challenge given that I still don't have many here but definitely something to aim for.

--Time escaping. I'm heading to Melbournio later this week and I CAN'T WAIT! There have been plenty of short escapes too. Day trips to Bungendore and Braidwood, a choir excursion to Wagga and Albury, and a few days at the coast the weekend before last. It all adds up to time somewhere slightly sunnier.

--Time creating. There's not a lot of creating going on. Let's be honest. But it does help when it happens.

--Time adequately attired. My winter wardrobe SUCKS! A couple of ratty jackets worn with 15 layers of t-shirts. Winter must be easier when one is clothed in a decent coat and a woolly jumper or two. Hopefully lazy-broke-me will get it together in time to test this theory next winter.

--Time with eyes open. Remembering that there is always something special out there to be noticed. Even if it's the long legs of frost on my windscreen in the morning.

Reviewing this list, I realise that it captures strategies to work on rather than strategies that are actually working well. It's good to have somewhere to start, right? Whaddaya reckon? Do you have any favourite winter warmers to share? What keeps you defrosted throughout the winter?

In other news: the king parrots came back to the bean tree this morning and put on a spectacular show. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture the 15+ of them, crimson bellies flashing and tails fanning. They reminded me that there is beauty everywhere - even in the grey - if we take the time to connect with it.

They reminded me that winter will be okay.