International Women’s Day

I wrote this several years ago, when my child was small, as a Christmas gift to my women friends. I’ll have to write an updated one, as I have yet more to be grateful for now!  But in the meantime, on this International Women’s Day, this one’s for the women:

Thank you, God, for the blessing of the women in my life.

Thank you for the ones who, when you are in tears because you have too much on your plate, won’t tell you that you need to plan better, but will come around and take your child so that you can have a break; finish the job; do whatever you need to do, to stop crying.

Thank you for the ones who will take your child for an unscheduled sleepover on a school night, just because you have been in hospital.

Thank you for the ones who spend four hours making cribs for homemade baby Jesus-es just because they are beautiful and the kids will love them.

Thank you for the ones who praise your gifts and overlook your failings.

Thank you for the ones who, no matter how spotless their houses are, never remark on the state of yours.

Thank you for the ones who understand that, when you don’t call, it’s just because life has got on top of you and not that you don’t care.

Thank you for the ones you invite you for dinner at the drop of a hat – and really mean it.

Thank you for the ones who actively like it when you drop in unannounced.

Thank you for the ones who cook like angels and don’t mind giving you the recipes.

Thank you for the ones who will drive your mutual friends out to see you, even when it is out of their way.

Thank you for the ones who bring food, rather than flowers, in times of crisis.

Thank you for the ones who bring flowers when there isn’t a crisis, just because.

Thank you for the ones who make you laugh – and who laugh at your jokes.

Lord, they say that women are like teabags – you never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.  What they don’t say is that there is no such thing as one woman in hot water – because when one falls in, you’ll find another dozen jump into the pot with them to cool the water down.

Lord, I am humbled by, and grateful for, the love you bring into my life through the women in it.

Thank you for the women.

I was amused to note, as I typed this, that I think I can still name the woman who inspired each sentiment.  How lucky am I, to have had and still have such friends?

What makes a man sexy? Part III

So what started as an off-hand reply to someone else’s blog post, has turned into a three-part extravaganza on my own little patch of the internet.

I promise I will stop after this one; not necessarily because I have run out of things to say, but because one really must draw a line somewhere and, well, people are beginning to talk…

Ahem. So, without further carry-on, here is my last set of manly characteristics that do it for me.

Intelligence.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

Imagine, if you will, a young girl, growing up poor.

Imagine that she has a chronic, undiagnosed anxiety disorder, a taxidermist father with a yen for roadkill and some very curious ideas about what makes a good puppet (and the time of night at which is appropriate to share said puppet).

Imagine she has a series of pets which… well, let’s just say that the pet experience is not entirely usual.

And all she wants is to fit in.

In the hands of Steven King, it would be a towering, terrifying horror story.  (At least, I imagine it would.  Growing up has not made me any more able to read Steven King’s novels than I was when I first encountered them as a squealy 11-year-old.  Loved ‘On Writing‘ though.)

Sunday is Showcase Day

I’ve changed my schedule a little. 1st Sundays is now for the Salon interviews and on the other Sundays, I will be showcasing people who I think have things to say.  It’s not that different, it’s just that, instead of me interviewing them, if they already have blogs and such, I’ll just let them speak for themselves.  Today, it’s the lovely Bella from One Sister’s Rant, who I found through the very lovely Amber from A Day Without Sushi.

Because Bella is a fellow WordPress blogger, I was able to reblog her post.  It’s below.  Enjoy!  Engage! Support the Sisters, because we are all much more than pretty!

Happy Sunday, Imelda

What makes a man sexy? Part II

So, after last week’s post on man sexiness, I was thinking about the topic some more as I was watching Doctor Who (colour me geeky, I can handle it!) and I decided that this week would be all about Rory.

For those who don’t know Doctor Who, Rory is an average bloke, who gets caught up in the time-travelling, trouble-seeking shenanigans of the Doctor, because he is in love with (and later, married to) the Doctor’s friend and companion, Amy Pond.

Rory’s normal-ness is important here, because last week, although I was talking about smiles and focus and such, I did illustrate the post with pics of David Tennant and John Barrowman, which some might have thought was cheating (I’m looking at you, Kez), as they are easy on the eye.  Arthur Darvill (who plays Rory) isn’t bad-looking, but nor is he stunningly handsome (sorry, Arthur, but the whole point of Rory is that he is normal).

But enough of the ordinary: onto the sexiness!

Anzac Day: Lest we forget

Today, the 25th of April in Australia we observe Anzac Day.

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and is an acronym that has its origins in WWI.  It is particularly associated, in our national memory, with the terrible loss of life at Gallipoli in 1915.  (If you would like to read more of the history and the modern-day memorials beautifully maintained by the locals on the Gallipoli Peninsula, see this site.)

But Anzac day is an opportunity to remember and honour all the men and women who died in the service of their country.  Those who will not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.  We honour their memories, not to glorify war, but lest we forget.

The verse above, familiar to anyone who has ever been to an Anzac Day service, is taken from a poem called ‘For the Fallen’, which was written by an English poet, Laurence Binyon, in 1914.  It was written for England’s lost soldiers, but I reproduce it after the cut in full, as some of the imagery is beautiful and the terrible loss of war is something all countries share.

Sunday Salon Honours its Origins

This is a reblog from the Storytelling Australia (Victoria) blog, because

1. Stories are awesome
2. Storytellers are even more awesome
3. It is advertising a SALON about FAIRY TALES and that is so awesome that I think my head might explode.

Apparently, the whole concept of a Salon started with 17th Century women in France who gathered in their ‘salons’ to write, read, perform and discuss, Fairy Tales.  We never hear about these women, but we apparently owe them the term ‘Fairy Tale’ and they played a hugely important role in the spread and popularisation of folk tales among the upper classes.  They also wrote new tales. (For a fascinating article about the period, see this site – and if you are in Melbourne, go to the Salon!)

I can’t believe I didn’t know this already, but now that I do, it seems like fate.  This blog is all about fabulous, active, subversive women, writers, stories and storytellers and the sharing of all of those things (not least in Sunday Salon).  When I found out about this, so soon after starting this blog, well, let me tell you, it felt like a SIGN.

The repost from the Storytelling Australia (Victoria) site is after the cut.  Please have a look!

ALSO, please note that the Salon itself is in June, in Melbourne, but they are calling for papers and they want the submissions by 26 APRIL 2012.

What makes a man sexy?

Recently I was reading a blog post by the lovely Paula Roe, romance writer, on fellow romance writer’s Maggie Nash‘s blog about what is (and isn’t) sexy.

I commented and thought that was the end of it (famous last thoughts).  But then I got to thinking and thought it would make a good blog post.

Then I got to thinking some more and thought it would make a blog series – it seems I have a lot of ideas about attractiveness!  So, for what it’s worth, here’s my first set of musings on what makes a man attractive (at least, to me).

First up, I love a good smile.

Wednesday Review Takes Tea

On the weekend, I went out for Tea.  Please note the deliberate capital ‘T’ in Tea, for this was not just the beverage, which I can have at home, and do, on a regular basis.

This was Tea, or High Tea; a glorious collection of little sandwiches and cakey things, accompanied by leaf tea, in a pot, taken in elegant surroundings, with one’s favourite people.

Sunday Salon is Serious Women’s Business

I haven’t been out here in the blogsphere long, but I have already ‘met’ many lovely fellow bloggers.  Recently, I came across Stella Marr (pictured, left), who has a blog called My Body the City: The Secret Life of a Call Girl.

I’m sure anyone who has read my blog will guess that this isn’t a salacious tell-all.  It’s a story about survival.  It’s a story that moved me and I wanted to share it.  With her permission, I am reprinting here the letter she posted on her blog that she wishes she could have sent to her younger self.