Desmond and Molly Jones - Connect the Dots

Ok, so I admit that sometimes I am a little slow......

I am working in at the Gabba currently managing a renovation project at the Princess Theatre. She is a beautiful old building, built in 1888, currently owned by Lifecity Church and seriously in need of a little love.  We want to make this beautiful building a more comfortable place for people coming into church but also to make it available for hire for events and ceremonies.  This will be a seriously lovely place for a wedding once the project is finished.  Everything we touch needs care and attention but it is a pleasure to see her come to life under the loving touch of the tradies we have contracted.  I am amazed at the skill and speed which these people do their jobs (time is money I guess).  The newly polished floor is truly a thing of beauty.  All the imperfections are still there but these floors now reflect all the experiences they have had worn into them over the years.

Anyway, I have digressed. I was talking about my slowness. Because I am working at the Gabba and because my day is starting at tradesmen's hours (6.45am), I am not having my coffee at my usual place.  Instead I have found a fabulous little spot called Desmond and Molly Jones, just around the corner from the Princess on 615 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba.  Once I have opened up the Princess for the morning and got everyone started I nip around there for a coffee.  It's a tiny wee shop front with a couple of outdoor tables and a couple of rooms out the back that work just fine if you want to stay and sit down to drink or eat.  There's always an interesting mix of people there, medical staff, patients (that's the one with the bandage around his head...?), back packers and well, tradies (that's me in my paint splattered everything).  I had a lovely cheary "hello you're back" the second time I walked in which added a certain sense of well being to my morning.  It's nice feeling the love from your barista. The food looks great and the fresh muffins smell wonderful but I have to admit that I have eaten nothing there. The coffee however was good and strong.  

Back again to my slowness. I was explaining to him who I live with just how fab this new coffee place was and how much I liked the name.  His instant reply was, "just like the song".  Totally blank expression on my face revealed I had NO IDEA what he was talking about so he burst into song.  Still, no idea why he was singing until he got to the appropriate words...... Oh dear! I am putting the lack of connection of the dots down to my mind being focused on other things but he who I live with wasn't so sure....  For those too young to understand, look up the Beatles song Obla di obla da.  Oh yes, and if you are passing, it's well worth stopping for.

Blackwork

I brought a book that caught my eye a couple of years ago.  After reading it once it sat on my shelf until recently when I decided I MUST do some of those projects, you know the ones that you will do one day. I finally decided today was the day and so I started, and finished.  I love the results! 

Blackwork is simply black stitching on a white background (or it can be white stitching on a black background - is that called white stitching?), it uses back stitch, running stitch and cross stitch, all simple, it's just the patterns that make it look so effective.  

What I liked so much about the blocks I did was that they were methodical and logical (well, I did have to unpick a couple of bits). These I would happily hang on my wall or give away.

The book I used, Made in France Blackwork, has simple instructions on how to create each stitch. If you are just learning to stitch, then buy fabric with a looser weave so that you can easily count the stitches.  That way you will not get so frustrated (possibly) with trying to learn something new and having to keep a track of counting.

I have been inspired to do more and have now started on a table runner.  I like this look because it is clean and fresh. It kind of goes with my minimalist approach to life....

100 Year Old Adventure Full of Belly Laughs

I can't wait to get to 100 if life is going to be as exciting as captured in the film The 100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared.  This is a seriously funny movie. We both loved it and so did the other 8 people in the theatre, I seriously don't know why the theatre wasn't full. Only the man at the other side of theatre never laughed out loud. The 6 ladies and us cracked up throughout the movie.Good belly laughs that had us still chuckling at dinner afterwards.

I tried some time ago to read the book of the same name but couldn't get past the first chapter.  I rarely give up on a book but that one just didn't hit the right note for me but the movie was an altogether different story.

The biggest lesson that I got from this movie was that you just don't know what impact your actions will have on others. Some of the circumstances in Alan's life impacted history. I wonder what impact my life will leave on the world I have lived in.  Will the ripples that I make on the water of life touch someone else and impact them in such a way that it changes the course of  history?  I hope so! That is why it is so important to do what you do with conviction and purpose.

I am at a strange change point in my life and some things that I do well just don't fill me with any excitement anymore, they seem purposeless and lacking life (even though they may be a means to make money) but other ideas make me sing and THAT is how I want to live my life.  It's not always easy and some of the decisions I am going to have to make to live in that purposeful place will possibly change the very way I live. I feel like ideas are germinating currently like this plant springing out of the mud and sand. I snapped this while on the beach at Cape Tribulation in North Queensland (a fabulous part of the world).

Don't get me wrong, I have moments of doubt and fear about what lies ahead in these uncharted waters.  I will need support from friends and family, and I will have to put my faith in God as I step out into the unknown. However, if  I don't step out then I'll never know what's there.....  Sort of like 100 year old Alan climbing out his window.

The Rabbit Hole

THIS cafe is a wonderful place for the gluten intolerant. REALLY! They have an amazing range of goodies, all oversized, but I'm not complaining. If you are nice then maybe you could share your helping.... or not.

The Rabbit Hole Cafe is just off the roundabout at Oatsen Skyline Drive in Seven Hills. It has indoor seating that is cosy and warm on a cool day and cool on a hot day.  One wintery morning when I was there, the next table was full of a committee of school mums having an hilarious morning together - I nearly asked if I could join in because I wasn't getting much writing done and their enthusiasm was magnetic. I hope their fund raiser raised heaps.  There are high and low tables outdoors at the front and the side.  The fake grass welcomes you inside and gives you that sense of coming home, and I just LOVE the Orla Kiely wallpaper.....

Today I took my friend Shaz to the Rabbit Hole for lunch.  We had the Macadamia Crusted Chicken Salad and it was yum and  the salad was massive; filled with loads of goodies.  The fact that the salad came with fries meant that I didn't have to order them so there was no guilt attached to eating them - I love that! Besides, today was the start of my being back at the gym.

Campos coffee is served here and I haven't had a bad cup on any visit. On a Saturday this place is jumping with neighbours and friends and you might be pushed to get a seat but it's worth a try.