Gratitude three six five

31st December 2012

Dear Two Thousand and Twelve,

Thank you for your generous gift of three hundred and sixty six days. I feel such gratitude for the events of the year, for so many new experiences, for the love of family and friends and for the special new people in my life. I can honestly say that today I finish the year healthier, wealthier, wiser, happier (and fatter!) I'm filled with great anticipation and joy about right now and about the future.

To my Gratitude Three Six Five blog followers, thank you for your support and encouragement. There's definitely another blog in there somewhere...I feel it coming on...stay tuned.

Happy New Year and much love from Jo
X

jojobee

21st December 2012

Dear Kicks,

And there was a wave lapping, followed by delightful hummingbird flutters in my belly, and now the joy of real kicks and prods from an active infant boy, exploring his confined little world.

xx

jojobee

12th of the 12th of the 12th

Dear Special Christmas Edition...

The Twelve Statues of Christmas

Statue #1

At the office christmas party (following some inappropriate photocopying) Warren had thrown up on the dance floor and then taken some random bird home.

Statue #2

Unfortunately Pete had been watching his flock all night and wasn’t really in the mood for attention-seeking sons of God.

Statue #3

At Christmas, Sharon liked to get her left one out and wait under the mistletoe.

Statue #4

Betty’s new Christmas hat and brooch were the height of Paris fashion. It was such a pity about the bird shit all down her back.

Statue #5

Mary and Joseph were totally up for it, but the angel of the lord came down (disguised as a pigeon) and insisted on immaculate conception.

Statue #6

The three wise men adored the baby Jesus, even though the little shit had returned the frankincense and myrrh and demanded an ipad.

Statue #7

This Christmas, Eliza had carefully picked each gift.

Statue #8

Moments later it would become apparent that never again should Derek be referred to as the ‘LITTLE’ drummer boy.

Statue #9

By the time she'd received Ten Lords a Leaping, Janet thought perhaps next Christmas she might just ask for a Kmart voucher.

Statue #10

Jacob’s Christmas was ruined! Someone had stolen his penis.

Statue #11

In the frenzy of unwrapping so many Christmas presents, Marg hadn’t noticed the nasty paper cut she’d acquired.

Statue #12

In the frenzy of giving herself a little Christmas morning delight, Daisy seemed to have lost a few fingers.

8th December 2012

Dear Moment,

Amidst the rush of festive preparations, beyond the sun and sweat, away from the worries and To Do lists, there was a moment to be still, and there was our baby, floating, yawning, stretching...a precious little boy.

x

16th October 2012

Dear Pregnant Pause,

The pause in my gratitude blog has nothing to do with a pause in my gratitude. Au contraire! So dizzy with gratitude have I been that simple things such as thinking, concentrating or typing a legible sentence, seemed beyond me.

Don't get me wrong, my creativity hasn't dried up, in fact I've been very busy creating; creating a new human and all the parts that go with that (including extraneous bits like placentas and the like).

The realisation that I'm to be a mum fills me with the most intense feelings. On a daily basis I'm experiencing tidal waves of heart-expanding love, joy and gratitude.

So, all has been quiet on the blog front, simply because I've been speechless.

I think I've found my voice again now, though somehow it's different...

jojobee

21st August 2012

Dear Leftovers,

I think perhaps you don't get the attention you deserve. Granted you've been done the day before, but it shouldn't be overlooked that the day after, you provide a very practical service and fill a needy gap. So I say thank you. You should be applauded and savoured just like any newly created dish.

jojobee

20th August 2012

Dear Questions,

Should I thank you?

If so, why?

For what?

For your endless encouragement of curiosity?

For your pursuit of knowledge?

For your incessant ending of sentences in a question mark?

Ok, here's one for you, What is the meaning of life?
Does that stump you?

Can I ask you another question?

Can I thank you?

jojobee

11th August to 19th August 2012

Dear Eight Days,

Thank you. I've been so grateful for absolutely everything over the past eight days that life just became a general fugg of gratitude. I'm grateful for being alive and for all the blessings that nudge me and for the tree across the road and for belly button lint and for the crumb on the floor and for the word 'fugg' and for elbows.

Thanks muchly.

Jo
X

jojobee

10th August 2012

Dear Moment Frozen in Time,

Sometimes an unexpected moment happens and you want to freeze it in time.

jojobee

9th August 2012

Dear Short Term Memory Issue,

Now, um, for what exactly was I going to thank you?

jojobee

8th August 2012

Dear Convenience Store,

Wow! Thanks! I can't believe how convenient you are! If I'm running low on milk on a lazy Sunday morning, I can just run on down the street and there you are, all convenient and full of milk! Same goes for toilet paper or toothpaste. In fact any last minute items can be conveniently purchased from underneath your cool, fluorescent interior. Eggs! Yes, eggs too - how convenient is that!?

I can see exactly why they call you Convenience Store.

Thanks,

JoJo

jojobee

7th August 2012

Dear Rainbow,

Thank you for your coloured smile,
stretched across the sky, from sun to rain.
Some say your crock of gold is a crock of shite,
but I believe in you.
Somewhere over the rainbow...

jojobee

6th August 2012

Dear Friend,

In the midst of dreaming
an angel peered through a crack in the cloud
Her whisper was the breeze
"I have a gift for you" she said
And the gift?
A friend called love,
a wise friend,
like she's lived one thousand times before
Her hug injects souls
with hope so real, it flys
And silver tears touch my cheeks,
my knees fall to the sand
and I look up
I have so much thanks
as she smiles and holds my hand

jojobee

5th August 2012

Dear Lamb Roast,

Super-succulent, your edges sizzle
as I add mint and a gravy drizzle

Melt in mouth, your slow cooked meat
I can't get enough of you to eat

I love lamb - forget Tom Cruise
Mum's roast is always what I choose

jojobee

4th August 2012

Dear Nomadic life,

Thanks, you certainly served a purpose, but now I'm glad you've gone.

What thinks me of my life?
Nomading about like this
Somtimes I feel at home
but then it's time to go
and I'm shaken like a snow dome
It takes
a while
for the flakes
to settle.
Someone elses knives and forks
Someone elses pillow
Fumbling with a thousand keys

jojobee

3rd August 2012

Dear Daffodils,

I've seen you lined up and ready to bow. You've always been my favourite, so sunny in your yellow bonnet, just offering a glimpse. You'll soon be gone. But you'll pop up in a wild English garden sometime in April, and then I will see you again next winter.

jojobee

2nd August 2012

Dear Olympics,

You've been keeping me up at night and waking me early and I'm feeling like I've run my own marathon! I'm exhausted (and I have no gold to show for it.)

God it's good though!

jojobee

1st August 2012

Dear "The Surfers"

Thank you for becoming a poem...

THE SURFERS

The ocean speaks
through ums and aahs,
Keeps rolling in
Licks toddlers toes
Rushes
to dance with surfers,
splashes waders
bashes some,
paints the rocks,
pulls the moon

The Surfers balance
on long boards,
fibreglass islands
Bowing in the mouth of a wave
Gliding
to finish on its tail
and jump off in the shallows

Dolphin-like, they slither
back onto their boards
and paddle like baby turtles

jojobee

31st July 2012

Dear First Day New Job,

Thank you for always surrounding me with warm, friendly and fabulous people. I feel blessed.

jojobee

30th July 2012

Dear Inspiration from an Old Bell,

(Thank you.)

Old bell
that has dinged
and donged
for the happy weds

Free from its rope now
Not long gone
from tolling the slow procession
of death

Chiming public news
across the green;
the announcer
the messenger boy

Pealing in song
with other bells
in other rhythms
until the ritual dies
and the graves are full

jojobee

29th July 2012

Dear Champagne,

I love your fizz from bottom to top. I want you on a Sunday morning, bubbling up my nose, celebrating everything and nothing.
You fit perfectly into pre-dinner, or with dinner, and post dinner, or night cap. You complement bacon and eggs at breakfast, boredom at morning tea, salmon at lunch time, joy at aperitif time, mushroom risotto at dinner time, dancing at midnight.
I like you from a tall glass. I'll put up with you from a cocktail glass. If unavailable, straight from the bottle will do. Thank you for being fizzy you.

Jo xx

jojobee

28th July 2012

Dear Open Melbourne,

Thank you so much for that little peep of you. I felt sneaky and cheeky (like I was looking up your trouser leg.)

You allowed me inside your grand buildings and because you opened up to me, I now know more about you and I love you even more.

JoJo x

jojobee

27th July 2012

Dear Little Shoes,

Thank you for holding the little feet that pitter patter across the floorboards, the little feet that sometimes trip over each other, the little feet that curl at night.
xx

jojobee

26th July 2012

Dear Ernest Hemingway,

Thank you for 'A Moveable Feast.' You took me back to my favourite corners of Paris, you showed me artist-type, quirky characters, but best of all you took me into your writer's head and I related so much; Feeling rich one minute and poor the next; rich with ideas one day, dried up and failing the next; writing prolifically one week and hardly able to hold the pen the next. You made me smile.

JoJo
X

jojobee

25th July 2012

Dear Winter Coat,

I cannot even count the years we've been together. You’ve kept me in your warm clutches for so many winters, and our friendship has been a faithful one. I remember one year when you almost couldn't button up around me, but together we persisted and you still held me through the cold months.

Thank you for all those years. It saddens me to see you in tatters now. Of course, it's only me and you who are privvy to that. On the outside you still look as fresh as the day we met, but your lining has torn and your insides have unravelled and you’re not quite holding it together.

Sure, I think we’ll possibly make it to the end of this winter, but I know I’ll then have to say goodbye. Let’s go out a few times before then. Let’s walk in the cold, dodge the rain and rug up on a park bench somewhere. I promise to make the most of you.

Thank you. I’ve loved you

X

jojobee

24th July 2012

Dear Remote Village People,

Thank you for showing me how you keep life simple.
Thank you for your generous smile,
with eyes lit up and small chin dimple.
Thank you for letting me stay a while.

Your thatched rooves shade you from the heat
Water fetched with buckets rusty
from the river where you bathe your feet
from walking paths all cracked and dusty...

jojobee

23rd July 2012

Dear Monday Off,

You and I have become such close friends, that it might be hard to let you go. I love the 'slowly waking up' together, the pot of tea in bed and the indulgence of writing for as long as we like. Because we're not hurried, we can have pancakes with music, coffee on the balcony, catch ups with friends, and long, slow runs. Today we're blessed with a soft glow of sun so let's go out and make the most of it together.

Thank you for the good times.
X

jojobee

22nd July 2012

Dear Winter Vines,

The interview

Me: Thanks for hanging in there. You look a little sleepy right now, a bit disinterested?

Vines: Well, to be honest it's not much cop out here these days. I'm bloody cold, my feet are wet, and my mates are all twisted - look at them! You try hanging out here through the winter.

Me: Fair enough. Spring is just around the corner though.

Vines: Can't come quick enough as far as we're concerned. It's been a long winter. We've had no visitors since you came in March, and all you did was poison our weedy brothers and pour shit on us!

Me: Oh, sorry, I didn't realise you felt that way.

Vines: You never asked.

Me: Ooh, bit sensitive I see.

Vines: Well, what do you expect? Where's the love? Here you are again, devoid of any social niceties, straight into attacking us with pruning shears!

Me: Well it's winter and that's how it is if you're a vine. You should know that by now.

Vines: We know that, it would just be nice, occasionally, to be recognised for who we are, not what you can get from us.

Me: Ok, I'm sorry! I appreciate you!

Vines: That wasn't very sincere. I know you're about to cut our limbs off. We put a lot of energy into growing those, you know.

Me: I understand that, but that's exactly it, they require too much energy. I need you to focus on getting your core bits stronger. We'll be back in Spring. Then I promise you some "love".

Vines: It just hurts, that's all we're saying. (And quite frankly I'm sick of hanging around a bunch of grapes).

Me: Look, you're doing great. Don't worry so much. Everything will be fine.

Vines: It all seems like so much effort, just to end up an after thought on someone's cheese platter. Or even worse, remember what happened to Barbera and her bunch last year? They were left to rot in the fruit section of Coles.

Me: Oh...um...I...um...wanted you to think, um, more, um...I wanted you to think more along the lines of, um...more in terms of 'Wine'.

Vines: Wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That wasn't discussed! How can you....Oh, that's crushing! That's really crushing!

jojobee

21st July 2012

Dear Xmas in July in Gippsland,

Thank you for living up to all 'silliness' expectations. From fake bums to pink wigs and cowgirl hats, you were a riot! Thanks to soccer stars, angry birds, to great dollops of trifle, to BBQ'd pork and sparkling red and to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang played on the recorder, and a small dose of 'Sweet Home Alabama' with Crostoli.

Merry Xmas (in July) X

jojobee

20th July 2012

Dear iphone text auto correct,

Oh, thank you for the laughs!!!

It's the funniest thing and so often the egg because you Australia and then it back fireplace orange between your sins. But don't disappear because all snot loss nasal effort and post items before you camel. And that just about dog hair, unless Europe have any supper or comestibles.

jojobee

19th July 2012

Dear Old Work friends,

How lovely to catch up and spend an evening with you. Time with you was sooooooooo good, that I didn't get time to write a proper Gratitude Blog entry.

Oh well, I guess sometimes you sacrifice things.

Thank you for a fab evening.

jojobee

18th July 2012

Dear Please fill in the blanks,

Thank you for the ______________.
It's been a ____________ way to spend a ___________. In fact I will most certainly _____________
when I get home (as long as there's no __________).

I would like to ______________, because you're so _____________ (and I don't say that to ____ _____ you know).

So, just ___________ and we should be ________________. I really am forever ____________.

Thank ___.

Jo X

jo_bee

17th July 2012

Dear Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,

Thank you for being my favourite childhood film. Even now, I still watch you occasionally and it takes me back. I always wanted to be "Truly Scrumptious" and I loved the sweet factory with the whistle sweets. I still sing along to "Toot Sweet" and then hide under the blankets when the evil child catcher shows his ugly face.

jojobee

16th July 2012

Dear Secrets,

Thank you for your mystery, but...
Imagine a world where all the secrets were suddenly set free. It would be like releasing billions of caged bees. Oh, there'd be chaos and much pain! And some nasty stings at first...but once things settled, perhaps calm would prevail...because the truth had been realised and no longer did anybody have to carry the burden of their own (or someone elses) secrets. Knots in shoulders would unravel in an instant. Grey hair would change back to auburn and frown lines would smooth. Imagine that world...

jojobee

15th July 2012

Dear Power of Now,

Thanks for being a powerful reminder of how liberating letting go of the past and future can be. When one focuses on Now and Now only, one is freed from so much potential burden.
Try it. It works.

JoJo
X

jojobee

14th July 2012

Dear Memories of Paris on Bastille Day 2011,

Thank you for the experience. This is how it was:

Ms Eiffel, dressed in nothing but diamonds, has been cheekily winking at her adoring fans all evening but now she graciously takes the substitute-bench while Sir Night Sky performs. He’s already done an amazing Monet-style sky for us, a little earlier; a duet with Ms Eiffel, but now he’s back, looking very serious in his purple, black. The audience is silent with anticipation.

And then the sound of champagne corks popping, as hundreds of hot rubies and emeralds are catapulted into the night. They leave pink and green smoke smudges in their wake and, as these subside, handfuls of golden needles are thrown to the heavens, trailing silver threads behind, sewing palm trees in the sky.

The audience whistles and applauds. The exciting smell of gunpowder lingers in the air. Sir Sky aims and fires dozens of shooting stars, each one exploding like bullets of rain on canvas. They reach so far that a new galaxy forms and then just as quickly disappears, each star switching off like the lights of a city preparing for sleep.

Blazing chandeliers appear in the darkness, floating momentarily and then parachuting into the river below. And other colours smash across the sky, as if all the stained-glass from all the cathedrals has been crushed, for this momentous occasion, and blasted from canons.

There are shots of star dust and glitter, and whizzy whirly things cart wheeling and crackling across the sky for almost an hour, each explosion more colourful or wonderful than the last, drawing oohs and aahs from the audience, until the grand finale, where the bursts of fire come constantly, one after the other and the audience are squealing and clapping and camera clicking!

Then silence, as the gun smoke clouds settle. Sir Night Sky dusts himself off and slowly slips away, leaving the stage for Ms Eiffel, who enters from the right, to light up once more, with her diamond couture, oh so gracefully.

jojobee

13th July 2012

Dear Sun on my Balcony,

Thank you for taking a seat at my outdoor table and making everything shinier. Thank you for hiding winter from me for just a few moments. Thank you for lazing with me and not quite waxing lyrical.

jojobee

12th July 2012

Dear Little Bit of Nonsense,

Thank you for the fun we had on the page. It went like this:

Can fat cats who take cat naps, do belly flops while wearing flip flops and nap sacks through cat flaps?

jojobee

11th July 2012

Dear Jamie,
Thanks for the inspiration to play in the kitchen...

Mish Mash
Waffle toffee
Sliver
Slither
Slice slice
Splash juice
Crunch ripe
Cider press
Pinch, dribble, drop
Chop, lop, toss
Fuss
Finger flick
Lick
Shake
Spin stir
Bubble froth boil broth
Bake cake
Jamie make
Flake, peel, curl, twirl...
Then eat it

jojobee

10th July 2012

Dear Little Bird,

You dart in and out
of that hole in the brick work
opposite my window-view of the world

You're framed beautifully
and I wonder what you're doing...
Building a nest I guess

Your own safe place in the world
Home for you and your little ones
Gathering precious objects

You're free to fly
wings flutter by,
to anywhere in the world

But home is where you choose
to keep your tiny heart

jojobee

9th July 2012

Dear Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding,

On any day (but especially on a day when I have a rotten cold and am feeling sorry for myself), you complete me. The juicy mouthfuls of meat, and the airy bites of batter bring great joy to my slightly sleepy taste buds. I savour you, and don't want you to end. I lick the plate.

jojobee

8th July 2012

Dear Twelve Kilometre Run,

How delighted I was to meet you on the track today. I must say, I was a little nervous at the suggestion of you, but as it unfolded, you were quite easy going and certainly nothing to be feared. I loved your enthusiasm as we hit that last edge and was surprised at your ability to steam ahead, right to the end. You helped me feel like I'm back in the game. Thank you! Fourteen km, here we come!

jojobee

7th July 2012

Dear Special People in My Life,

Thank you for being prepared to move my shit, store my shit, and put up with my shit.
Thank you for devoting your precious Saturday to me (and my shit).
Thank you for being so wonderful.

Shit, I'm so lucky!

JoJo xx

jojobee

6th July 2012

Dear Telephone Booth in the Middle of Nowhere,

Thanks for causing a giggle. I wanted to paint you dark blue - surely you're the tardis?

Jo x

jojobee

5th July 2012

Dear Soft Melbourne Sky,

Not sure why I like to write about the sky, clouds, weather and elements so much. Maybe its because I'm a daydreamer (head in the clouds type.) Anyway...thank you soft Melbourne sky tonight.

Soft sky
layers of silk settled over Melbourne
Obscuring the detail
of commuters dashing,
filing in, spilling out
of offices and trams

Etching shapes of trees
pencil in the twigs
Black on blue and gold
Building blocks
just starting to twinkle

jojobee

4th July 2012

Dear Wandering in Nature,

Thank you for your dewy grass, tickling above my gum boots. Thank you for your warm, earthy incense. Thank you for your rough paths across fields, for the soft squelch beneath. Thank you for your rustle of leaves from tiny birds scratching, hiding, nesting, and your early morning bunnies, your freshly showered ducks.

Jo x

jojobee

3rd July 2012

Dear Contemplation...

jojobee

2nd July 2012

Dear Sally on Collins,

(I hope you'll be OK. Thank you for letting me write about you.)

Caved in mouth.
I wanted to hug her all the way to "OK."

But maybe it won't be ok
for her
Coffee breath
lipstick blur

Torn,
on the outside
and in

She's here
in this big city
Disregarded
By them
On their way to OK.

jojobee

1st July 2012

Dear Brand New Financial Year,

Thank you for arriving on time. I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, so I can visit the tax man and get a big fat return...

Hopefully.

(Stay tuned for a "Dear Tax Man")

jojobee

29th and 30th June 2012

Dear Last Two Days of June,

Where the hell did you go?

Thanks for all the stuff I must have crammed into those two days...

What ever it was?

jojobee

28th June 2012

Dear Surprises,

The great thing about you is that you are so unexpected. Sometimes I think I know, but then something or someone surprises me...and then they surprise me again and the discovery is delightful.
Thank you.

Surprise!
X

jojobee

27th June 2012

Dear Stripey Man,

Thank you for fitting so nicely into my camera lens. I couldn't take my eyes off you and your crooked, ticket-writing hands.
x

jojobee

26th June 2012

Dear Watch this space...

jojobee

25th June 2012

Dear iphone,

Thank you for coming into my life. Please don't be too great though, because there are other things I need to do and people I need to see and I have a life to live.
To be honest, I've found you a little attention seeking. Back off a little, yeah?

JoJo

X

jojobee

24th June 2012

Dear Princes Park (and Pazzo),

Thank you for getting me through my first 10km in quite a while.
Calves working well...and heart in VERY good condition.

X

jojobee