for the love of dogs, travel and plant – based food…
The Sunshine Coast is renowned for its beautiful weather but not so a few days ago when I awoke to find a morning reminiscent of a winter’s day in France, by mid morning however, the uncharacteristic layer of fog had lifted and the sun shone once again.
Life is a juggle don’t you think?
I definitely do, particularly this last week as I’ve had to finish 8 photography assignments for uni, be a mum and ensure the ever present and faithful Stanley has his 4-legged needs met.
So as its turned out, my challenge to myself to try and ‘postaday’ has fallen to the bottom of my priority list. However with a few moments spare before I dash off to classes (with 8 finished assignments in hand), I thought a small post documenting my last few days work would suffice.
Feel free to comment as I warmly welcome constructive feedback, which in turn can only serve to improve my photography. 🙂
At times taking a backward step can be similar to putting on a comfortable pair of shoes. A sense of familiarity prevails and when you first start walking you feel good, happy and glad you returned to what sits well. But after a while blisters start to form, negativity manifests and you wonder why you ever chose to wear what you thought had once fit perfectly.
That is when you realise it’s time to throw those old shoes away and start anew.
So you run barefoot.
Into the new.
Across hard stones.
Only to find yourself standing comfortably.
Maybe there are a few scratches, maybe it hurts a little, but the overwhelming feeling is one of joy and contentment. Contentment in knowing you have shed those shoes, and you realise they no longer fit.
You. The person you are and the person you have always needed to be.
I now walk barefoot without need for a new pair of shoes.
I’m just walking.
Barefoot and free…
A few posts ago I wrote of having to say goodbye to a dear friend. But I was wrong in thinking that, it wasn’t goodbye, just a momentary lapse in our ability to share time in the same place.
For although she is in another part of the world right now, through her words, her being and her love of exploring life we are still sharing, irrespective of distance.
It’s quite simple really, friendship has no borders. We can still bathe in a friends light and share thoughts, moments, fears and foes from afar. Distance is of no consequence.
Right now she is bathing in the calm seas of Koh Tao, Thailand.
Her blog is aptly titled A lifetime of lessons, Take a look at her journey, you may enjoy sharing her time too.
I thought I’d dedicate today’s post, which I wrote last year to my beloved Kiri aka Sausage, who passed away last December. She is missed but when thought of, brings smiles to the faces of those who loved her.
For those of you who love your four-legged friends, I hope you get a giggle from this little ditty.
For most dogs the rattling of a lead, or the mention of the word walk, sends them into a wild frenzy. Some do circles, some bark excitedly, while others run for the front door before you get a chance to change your mind.
Not Sausage. The mere mention of that filthy word was enough to send her high tailing it back to her sleeping bag, slip through the opening, bury herself at the end and not be seen. After all she believed that if she couldn’t see you, then it was very obvious you couldn’t see her.
I tried to get her excited about a walk, to no avail. I once tempted her with a piece of cheese, one of her great loves, which got the lead on and us both out the door, but a few hundred metres down the road she stopped and no amount of pulling, dragging and kind loving words would budge her. Nope, and living in fear of the neighbours reporting me to the RSPCA for cruelty at seeing me pull a small, grey fuzzy and extremely stubborn little dog down the road, I resorted to carrying her. Once in my arms, I was showered with slurps, not a particularly pleasant experience as Saus’s breath was questionable to say the least.
She may not have liked walks, but she still loved to get out of the house. Remember I mentioned about dogs’ who go into a frenzy at a mere rattle of the lead? Apart from cheese, a mere rattle of the car keys saw Sausage in a frenzy and for one with little short legs, she could cover some serious ground with lightening speed when the mood suited. Once at the car, there was then the ritual of getting in. For some reason unbeknown to us humans she’d only get in from the driver’s side and as she was short, getting in was a two step process. Firstly, a few moments of rocking back and forth on her haunches, similar to a high jumper working up to the big jump was performed, followed by swift forward leap onto the floor and as she’d become quite good at this manoeuvre, she always avoided injury on the pedals by ensuring her landing was precise.
Once there, another few moments of rocking preceded a deft leap onto my seat then one final leap over the centre console saw her finally sitting proudly on the left hand passenger seat, a place I’m sure she felt was hers and hers alone.
If the boys had friends in the car and in her seat, she’d throw herself on the floor and as a mark of disgust, pant her fish-infused breath in their direction. But the madness in all of this was that once we reached our destination, she’d run for cover under the seat, as no way would she get out and walk anywhere. Following was a perfect example.
Living on the Sunshine Coast, home to some of Australia’s most beautiful beaches, the boys decided a late afternoon bodyboard was in order. Of course the moment the keys were rattled, Sausage was at the back door before the rest of us had even made it down the stairs. And on that afternoon she did just that and looked very pleased and contented as we drove to the beach.
On arrival, I smiled at her sweetly as she eyed me suspiciously from her special spot (there were no friends in residence). I held up the lead and with that she launched a perfect dive bomb under the seat, which in turn lead to me having to find the best grip in order to manipulate her firmly wedged little body out from under the seat.
Of course amid this madness, the boys’ were egging me on with shouts of, ‘come on mum,, you can do it’!
I finally won the battle, placed the lead around her neck and set off to the beach, although not accompanied by the sound of little paws walking alongside. Nope, she was in my arms, and if dogs could actually smile, I believe hers would have been wider than the Grand Canyon. And as we sat watching the boys surf, and although she would never have admitted it, secretly I think she quite enjoyed lazing on the boys’ towels, watching other dogs walk along the beach.
In contrast though, he says, a walk? Yes please, but I’ll also take the car! 🙂
One stormy day I took my boys to Queensland’s beautiful Mudjimba beach.The cloud formation was incredible as were the spirits of my children, free and full of fun.
I said a sad farewell tonight. For those of you who cherish real friendship, you will understand my heartache.
A special woman who has shared many moments with me is jetting off tomorrow, to see where the world takes her.
She is special, she is beautiful, she is strength personified, but more than anything, she is a friend and one whose presence in my everyday world, I shall miss. Terribly.
I’ve not thought about it until now, funny how we do that. We tend to think we will be ok, but when the reality of a moment sets in, we know we are not ok.
I will miss her.
We do not live in each other’s proverbial pockets, but we are masters in the ability to dissect our problems and we have spent hours analyzing where life should or would take us. Over countless bottles of wine we have solved the world’s problems while strumming guitars that give melody to well thought out lyrics that only we can understand.
We know. We hear.
That is friendship.
I will miss that.
Travel safe my friend and continue to share your wondrous journey, for through your words and ‘Kevin’ I shall travel it with you.
If you want to travel with her, follow Ames @ Â a lifetime of lessons
xoxo
stanley & bear 