The Woman

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I have been

the daughter

for 57 years

the wife

for 38 years

the mother

for 33 years

the woman

the friend

the teacher

the counsellor

the walker

the gardener

the maker

the creator

the seeker

and the finder

who am I now...

all of those above

and yet much more...

who are you?

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thank you Jeanne and Moddy

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Five x Five

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Five x Five

A while ago
the lovely Jelica from Budapest Bits
tagged me for a meme
where you quite simply
write five things
about five things...


Jelica's meme came with five topics:

books
songs
films
crushes
and random things



However
my list,
in order to reflect me,
is a little different...

Let's start with books:

These are only a scant few
of the many many books
that I have loved
or learned from -
or both of the above




Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Memories Dreams Reflections by Carl J. Jung

This Much I know is True by Wally Lamb

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

and now for songs:



Summertime Van Morrison

It's a New Day The Nitty Gritty Dirt band

A Whiter Shade of Pale Procol Harum

Beautiful Vision Van Morrison

Ave Maria This is a nice version by Celtic Woman

and my next set of five
is that of pastimes :


walking
reading
writing
collecting images
through photography or otherwise
and wondering






then we come to words
those most valued of gems

Words that are rolling around
in my head at this time include:



confluence - thanks to Steven
discombobulated
pneumataphores - thanks to the mangroves
malleolus - thanks to ankles
and
fortuitous

and my last group
are the so called random selection:



I have floated on the Dead Sea
I have eaten roasted crickets in Japan
I have walked the Cinque Terra
I have experienced an earthquake in New Zealand
and
I have walked on the shores of the Sea of Galilee

I tag anyone who is interested
to pick up this 5x5 meme
and run with it
in your own way,
and in doing so
reveal a little more
of who you are
behind your blog persona



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Honestly...

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I can't lie around
sleeping
and reading
all day long
It's time to do some creating


Honestly

This Honest Scrap award,
which I recently gave to Dan,
originally came accompanied
with a request to
share 10 honest things about yourself
to the blogging community



#1

As you know
I was born in New Zealand
and travelled across the Tasman Sea
to Queensland over 31 years ago


At that time we had one son.
Later another son was born,
followed soon after by a daughter
and then after an interminable wait
we were blessed with another daughter
but this time
a gift, an adopted treasure
from Korea

We have been blessed four times over









#2

You probably also know
that I love walking
but for 5 weeks I am housebound
bootbound
with a broken ankle
I am itching for a walk
but am endeavouring
to face this challenge
as an opportunity
to do some mental and
spiritual housekeeping
and explore activities
that I have previously placed
in the to do later basket...








#3

I prefer flora to fauna









#4

I have been a teacher
working in New Zealand
with primary school children initially
and once in Australia
as an assistant in Remedial Reading school
I have a diploma in Swedish massage,
one of the many courses I took
whilst the children were growing up.


I created and facilitated
with a friend, for many years,
women's self discovery - personal growth
classes and workshops
and together we wrote
a number of books and manuals
for this purpose.


I felt called to learn
more about one to one counselling
and undertook a three year course of study
and established a private practice
serving this community








#5

I love icecream
especially caramel macadamia nut









#6

Every day
I find many things
that fill me with an awe of nature









#7

My name is Welsh.
My parents though
are descendants of English
and Scottish immigrants to New Zealand









#8

I am a simple person
with simple needs,
in love with the natural world
and the wonder of words
and imagery.








#9

I have one coffee a day
at morning tea time,
and look forward to it immensely.
It is termed a flat white:
mine is made with soy milk
and it is halfway between a latte
and a cappuccino
but stronger
made with good Italian coffee...
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
I can smell it now...









#10

I was apprehensive about
joining the blogging world
In the beginning encouraged by Alden
and then unstintingly by Dan
I began posting
and soon fell into a pattern
of writing and taking photographs
establishing my walking theme.

I love snapping the pictures
and then creating the little vignettes
but also love the interaction
that this process has generated
with people from near and far,
the sharing of ideas and knowledge
and warmth and empathy.

Thank you to my blogging friends
new and old
and I would like to tell you,
honestly,
that I always appreciate
your contributions and sharing
but especially at this time
when I am limited in my wanderings
and meandering...



I wish you all
Happy Days









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