Positive vibes

Today has been a challenging day for the hippie-happiness project.

Even though I reviewed all the laundry and ironed for 15 million hours yesterday, I only finished half. At 5 am I woke for the millionth time because of a snoring husband; decided that moving to the sofa was better than crying (good thing we have a sofa-bed-sofa) and woke at 1o am with a superb view of the laundry yet again. Then we received a letter from the real estate agent that they will inspect the premises on 13 January - this never seizes to piss me off; I fail to understand this Australian practice (another blog, another day) and then, well then my faithful husband looked at his sour, smelly, greasy-haired wife and said "I think I will go out for a bit". Thanks!

Ironing took more than just Bobsy Marley's complete Greatest Hits (twice), it also took The Very Best of Peter Tosh, Buena Vista Social Club, Cabo Verde by Césaria Évora (expanded version), half of Amor Tobin (not that great for ironing) and BOTH albums by The Heavy. I did one little dance to Short Change Hero which started me thinking about the hippie-chippie-project.
After much thought, I settled on this for a generous act of today: even though my husband snored the shit out of last night, even though he left me alone to the glory of housework, I decided to mend all the items in the "need to fix this" basket that belong to him!

And am I glad I thought that up, because not only did he come home with groceries, he came home with sushi for his wife. Right this second you could convince me that "send out positive vibes man and they come back for you" but I might have listened to "Legalize it" by Peter Tosh once too many.

It doesn't change the fact that we kissed 'love yas' before he trailed off to work and I suddenly went from this:














To this:















Woop woopti doo. Now I can bring out the good old Phaff 213 - and I'm not just being retoric; look the colour and where it is made.

Laundry Love

Well, after a day of cinnamon happiness at work, I have returned home to this. The positive thing to say about it is that we did do laundry in the past months... we just didn't do so much more about it.

I hate laundry so I am trying hard for love here! I have found a small grain of humbleness which told me that I should be grateful for having so much wealth that I can create this amount of laundry. That made me puke so I have tried harder and put into force 6 things that I absolutely DO love, which WILL assist, if not cure.

First and foremost is the tea cosy - the design is totally planked from a tea cosy my mother bought in a second hand shop in Sweden and then modified to fit my teapot. I LOVE tea cosies and have no idea why Australians don't use them. They bring love to any home, I promise. There! I have blogged about one of my own creations!

The second is the teapot. It is also from Sweden, from Höganäs Keramik. I had left it back home when I went on my world journey, but out of LOVE (and to shut me up) my sister-in-love cleaned it up so nicely and my mother shipped it to Australia so I can love it here. It arrived 3 months ago after 9 years of absence from my life.

The third thing is Monk Pear Tea from T2, a company that heals broken souls.

The fourth thing is a new love, in fact I'm still in the initial phase of falling in love: the cup! Sent by my mother for Christmas, made by my amazing friend Tina, it carries love like no other thing I own.

The fifth thing needed for embarking on Laundry Love is Bob Marley (One Love ooohh oooh oooh) on the stereo.

The sixth is a new found Cairns love, which I'm still getting used to: air condition. She is a deceptive misstress; she costs a bucketload of money, but I'm starting to understand that she may be worth it. She is the first one I have ever known as we are cool enough where I come from. She is essential for laundry love.

And now I will get started...

The Happiness Project

One more blog of written words only and then I'll get started with showing what my creative self has done recently - most likely you will think it is ugly crochet by an old colour blind person, but I live in the happy persuasion that I have a streak of funkyness in me.
Anyway! In my last post I encouraged you to go visit Pip on http://meetmeatmikes.com/
I still think you should. The thing is, Pip has caught onto this thing called The Happiness Project
- a 2012 challenge to make yourself and others happy.

WELL - did that get my knickers in a knot! I have been tossing and turning and grinding my teeth about this. It turns every cell in my body. I turn split personality! One part of me is cynical, pragmatic and vomiting at this happy chirpy hallelujah crap. How convenient to sit in one of the richest places in the world and think happiness is created by poaching eggs (sorry Pip). BUT then the other part of me is totally in tune with the thought. I ABSOLUTELY believe in love; it's the core of all my beliefs - together with kindness, friendliness, goodness, generosity and happiness (and all their good cousins). My husband is 75% cynical and 25% kindness and he thinks I'm slightly naive, which has led to 12 years of explaining that "naive is when you don't get it - I get that people are not necessarily going to be nice, just because I am, but that is not the point. I can still choose to be nice"

SO HERE GOES - I am going to join The Happiness Project and I will report, like Pip, on the things I have done each day out of love, to make people happy. I already see the mower of tall poppies going crazy, spilling our chirpy blood in a frenzy. I know it is indulgent - self indulgent - "clap at me, I'm good" self indulgent. BUT it is a basic truth that love grows love, just as violence grows violence. I can only be in charge of my near surroundings - I cannot fly around the world and cure people with love - and in these surroundings of mine, I'm going to spread the love!

I will start with 1 January 2012 and in retrospect list the following loving things I've done in 2012:

1 January: I spent 3 hours on the computer writing emails to people I love and care about, wishing them a Happy New Year, with lots of hugs and kisses (this is a Danish thing I will need to blog about at a later stage - we hug and kiss a lot). I also made breakfast for my husband and kissed him out of bed.

2 January: I bought myself a TV. We haven't had a TV for heaps of years because we felt it generated too much hate and despair in our household, so in hindsight I don't know if it was a good idea... but I did it out of love to myself as I imagine that I will sit on my sofa (which I made out of love for everyone who enters our household see blog on sofa-bed-sofa) watch movies, while I crochet lovely things.

3 January: Now this was a good day for love. I got up early and baked the most fantastic cinnamon rolls for breakfast. My husband behaved in the best possible way, pretending I hadn't woken him with all the noise and rose to the breakfast table in delight, kissed me and told me that I'm the best wife ever. HELL YEAH!! THEN! I shared the recipe with three friends and let my husband take rolls to work and they all loved them and now want to make them at the restaurant. THAT my friends is now love returns to its original source!

4 January: today. Well, them cinnamon rolls have a lot of love in them. I brought a box of them to work to share. I am currently spreading the love!
Update on 4 January; this is an email I received from Mandy after leaving a cinnamon roll on her desk: "Thank you for the yummiest Danish I have ever tried!!! I downed it in 5 seconds flat….. Much appreciated!"
How is that for cinnamon flavoured love!