Hi Everyone,

Sometimes it is great to have a place where you can just have a chat about something not related to your mental health. So here is the opportunity to have a general chat about anything and to maybe find a "friend" to help make the day feel brighter.

Occasionally I connect with people on the forums and a lovely  friendship develops, but it may seem to others that they are not welcome to join in the conversation. This is not the case.

So here is an opportunity for new friendships to happen.

Maybe you would like to share your favourite holiday destination, or place you would love to visit. If you could have any animal as a pet what would it be? What is your favourite flavoured ice cream?

For me right now I would love to be somewhere warm! We have been experiencing some rather cold weather where even the chooks water is freezing over during the night! Somewhere with a beach and warm sea to swim in would be lovely!

My favourite ice cream flavour would be Jaffa in one of those crunchy cones! I would love to be eating one down at that tropical beach paradise followed by a lovely fresh coconut and maybe a beach massage as well.

I will be dreaming about this as I drive around today for work listening to Meatloaf. Maybe I should be listening to The Beach Boys instead, but I don't think I have any of their music on CD.

Hope you all have a great day,

Cheers from Mrs. Dools

dear Mrs. Dools, hi and it would be very untoward of me to welcome you to the forum, as you have been a consistent and vital person responding to help many other people with depression, so your contribution to this particular site has been limitless, so you're a well deserved member of Beyond Blue.

However I don't feel as though you are feeling well at the moment, and pretty lonely, or as you say 'to help make the day feel brighter', so firstly it's a real concern for me in particular, just as it would be for other members, but there are problems for yourself, such as on 6/7 you said ' Light at the end of the tunnel!'

I also feel as though you are missing something in your life, that you dearly want, and I do know that we all have this, and our achievements are not met, but that's us and not you, and I do love caramel ice-cream, puppies and roses. Love to you Geoff. x

Dear Geoff,

How very perceptive of you! My mental health journey this last year has been a real roller coaster ride! Since December I have needed to be hospitalised twice as my depression has been so overwhelming I have literally fallen into a heap.

But a bit like that song "I get knocked down but, but I get back up again" that is what I have been doing. I'm hoping the new medication I have now will do the trick and help to balance me out.

Yes, there are a few things missing in my life that some times make me feel so empty and sorrowful, like not having children and having a husband who is so distant most of the time.

I do try to make the most of each day, but like everyone suffering from a mental illness knows, sometimes the illness has more control over us than we would like!

 I keep soldiering on. I do have friends I can connect with, just when you are so depressed it is not always easy to do so. That is where this forum is so wonderful. It enables us to keep in touch with people no matter what time of day or not we connect.

So you like puppies, I think any baby animal is cute, but puppies are really so sweet aren't they. I enjoy living herein the country and watching the lambs frolic around in the paddocks.

Do you have roses in your garden Geoff and do you have any favourite varieties? I like the Mr. Lincoln, the perfume is delightful. I have one called
Just Joey" to remind me of a dear friend named Josie who was like a second Mum to me. She also loved that rose.

One of my favourite flowers is the orchid. On a holiday to Singapore we went to an orchid garden and I took hundreds of photos (well almost hundreds!)

I had wanted orchids as wedding flowers and a friend was going to provide them for us. We happened to have a massive hot spell before the wedding and all the guys orchids carked it, so I ended up with carnations! Ha. Ha. He only told us the morning of the wedding that the flowers had all wilted!

Thanks for your very caring thoughts Geoff. Cheers to you from Lauren

 Hi to you both,

It is definitely cold at the moment but I don't mind it. I rug up and make myself take my two dogs for a walk no matter what the weather.

I love flowers to and I have signed up to do a flower arranging course next week which I am looking forward to, well mostly looking forward to doing,you know what I mean.

Hope you are both doing okay this morning.

Hi Wendy Pendy,

Lovely of you to join in with the chat. I usually enjoy the winter, but this year it seems so much colder for me for some reason. I too enjoy getting out for a walk to help warm myself out. I went out the other day with so many layers on it was hard to walk. Ha. Ha.

I do a lot of cleaning for the elderly so they can stay in their homes longer. I take some out shopping as well. One lady has her house so cold I am thinking one morning I will find her frozen solid. Even after vacuuming and mopping frantically I still feel cold in her home.

Many years ago I attendee a flower arranging course and loved it. It was so amazing how arranging the flowers in different styles made you appreciate the flowers so much more. I hope you really enjoy the course.

Recently I picked a large bunch of white daisies from our garden to put on the table. They looked glorious, but gee they have an unpleasant smell to them! I had to put them outside where we could admire them through the glass sliding door!

I've had a very busy day. My husband is watching the cricket, so I will have  abit of social time "Chatting" with people here on the forum.

Hope you have a good day and enjoy the weekend.

Cheers for now from Lauren

Hi Philip,

Thanks for a really interesting post with so many different topics to contemplate.

So what are your favourite ingredients for the Chai that you make up yourself? I can well imagine the combinations could almost be limitless and would depend on personal choice and maybe the availability of ingredients for some people.

Earlier this year we visited a lavender farm and I was a little surprised to learn just how many different varieties there are. My mind has forgot the number now, but there were certainly many. Unfortunately the weekend we chose to visit, was the weekend after their main harvest, so we didn't see the garden in it's full glory. They had 6 acres of various lavender plants.

I do enjoy some classical music but I have to be in the mood for it and do not know the name of my favourite pieces.

I also enjoy some of the CDs that are made with a combination of music and the sounds of nature.

Being able to play a musical instrument must be such a  pleasure, to be one with the music you are creating. I feel a little like that while I am splashing paint onto a canvas. I would like to attend painting classes but just don't seem to be able to find any evening classes and my work interferes with day time classes! Ha. Ha.

Water is something that soothes me. Even the stormy ocean pounding against the rocks covering me in spray or the stillness of a pond. There is something about it that feels healing and calming.

Thanks for sharing Philip.

Cheers for now from Lauren

Hi All,

Last night we had a long and steady shower of rain. It sounded wonderful on the roof and was very calming and soothing. For some reason as a child I always found the sound of the rain on the corrugated iron roof to be relaxing. Maybe it was because it drowned out the sound of my parents yelling at each other during the night!

This morning the garden looks so refreshed, cleansed and alive. I will wander down to the back garden later to see if our small dam managed to contain any of the rain. We might not have had enough for their  to be sufficient run off.

I also enjoy the sounds of the frogs down at the dam when we do have water there. It amazes me where the frogs come from and how they survive between the rains.

You were mentioning the guitar Philip and how you feel so connected to it. As a child, my parents use to care take a huge old stone house that was only used during summer holidays. We would assist my parents to clean up the house after the bats, bees, possums and rodents had been busy while the house was vacant.

Inside the house was a very old piano. The house was dark and dank after having been shut up for some long. I used to like playing the heavier notes  (not at all musically inclined to know what key they were) on the piano. The dark, empty, lifeless sounds seemed to resonate around the house.

It was always refreshing to leave the house and run down to the near by beach in the sun and feel the warmth and tangibility of life once again.

Memories are interesting!

Cheers from Lauren

Hello Lauren and Everyone

I have found this winter to be quite cold. I hope it means the summer will be mild as the heat and humidity is quite enervating. But then I do live in Qld.

My favourite flower is the hyacinth. It has such a beautiful fragrance and I love the way the tiny flowers grow and cling around the stem making one huge flower. Sadly Qld is too hot and muggy for this favourite, although I have tried many times to grow it. My favourite tree is the Jacaranda. The blossom arrives before the leaves and there is this glorious blue/lavender colour mass crowning the top of the tree. As the flowers drop off they forma a lovely carpet of blue under the branches and look like a mirror image in water. Fantastic. Just realised the two plants have similar colouring so maybe it's also my liking for blue.

I always wanted to learn to play the piano but for some reason my parents did not allow it. So I used to go and 'play' our piano in the front room. I have since had lessons. The guitar was another instrument I wanted to learn but did not get round to it. My sons both play as do my eldest granddaughter and grandson.

Lauren you congratulated me on my 1001 post but I notice on this post I have apparently only written 994. Very odd, but thanks for your congratulations.

Another major love is music. Very keen on classical music. BKYTH, did you listen to the ABC Classic FM countdown of the 100 favourite swoons? I was very surprised with some of the entries, but thoroughly enjoyed the weekend when the 100 were played.

Until I moved to my current home I have always had pets. Cats and dogs usually but also guinea pigs for the children and goldfish. I keep saying I will have a dog as they are such wonderful companions. Then I would need to take it for a walk which would improve my fitness. Still procrastinating.

Thanks for the invitation Lauren.

Cheers

Mary

Good afternoon!

What a lovely topic :) I am smiling now!

We had a beautiful day here with temps in the 20s!

I also love listening to classic and instrumental music, my favourite is the piano. I am listening to piano jazz at the moment and there are some nice uplifting songs! I never learnt to play an instrument, but if I had the choice jow it would be the piano.

I love walking and have just come back from a walk through the country side. Now I got a glass of wine and sit on my favourite brick pier overlooking our garden and fields - we have plenty of chairs and benches, but I love my brick pier ;) Sometimes I sit here in the morning eating my breakfast in the sunrise. I watch our sheep play and the parrots in the garden. 

I have a pet rainbow lorikeet who is always with me when I'm home. He is climbing around on me at the moment, exploring the outside and nibbling me from time to time when he wants a cuddle.

One day I would like to get a dog, a dog that I can take running and that is always next to me, I love to have a Weimaraner, Jack Russel or South African Ridgeback. Better all three of them :)

I also love water, I would love to live at the ocean. I grew up at a big lake in Switzerland, only a few hundred metres from the waters edge. When I was a teenager I used to meditate at the waters edge. Here we have a beautiful little pond with goldfish and a waterfall, my husband build a little paradise for us.

My favourite flower is "bird of paradise" - a symbol for a very happy time in South Africa where I lived in my mid twenties. We have them in our garden.

My favourite ice cream used to be Straciatella, but I don't think you can get that in Australia and I am now lactose intolerant so I eat frozen fruit instead :)

I will go back inside now and do some colouring in at the fire.

Thanks for making me smile! I wish you all a wonderful evening! x

Hello All,

I really loved reading this post and it made me smile.

I love listening to classical and instrumental music, especially the piano. I used to work weekends on classical concerts and I always had the opportunity to meet the musicians and listen to the concerts. I never learnt playing an instrument, but if I had the choice I would learn the piano.

My favourite flower is "bird of paradise" and my favourite ice cream used to be Straciatella, but I don't think you can get that in Australia. I have a pet lorikeet who is always with me when I am home. One day I would like to have a dog, a Weimaraner, Jack Russel or South African ridgeback - or all of them :)

I grew up at a lake and I love being at the ocean. I love mornings at the ocean, when the waves are high and drown out any noise and the tide has just gone out and I leave the first footsteps in the sand. It reminds me of winter and leaving the first footsteps in the snow, something that I always found special.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend x

Hi Mary,

yes I agree the Jacaranda is one of my favourites, the long extending branches full of beautiful blue flowers is just magical. And when seen in mass is breathtaking.

i find that having flowers in our home lifts my spirits the vibrant colours reminding that beauty is constantly in front of us I have just planted 3 azaleas and look forward to seeing the grow and blossom.

ive always wanted to do a floristry course but never quite had the nerve to do so. Maybe one day. I love to garden wether it be flower or vegetable it's so relaxing and seeing or eating the fruits of your labour is awesome. When you spend a lot of time thinking finding beauty in colours and shapes, heavenly scents are what makes me smile and means so much. 

I too enjoy classical music well music in general, Vivaldi four seasons is some of my favourites, music and nature mixes so well don't you think peaceful, non intrusive and calming throughout my life these two things alone have brought me through many tough times and throw in chocolate  or a blissful cup to tea and I'm in bliss.:) it's great to be reminded what makes me happy.

thanks everyone

Hello Everyone,

This certainly is a refreshing chat! I too like the Jacarandas. There are some streets in Adelaide that are lined with them and they look gorgeous when they are in full bloom.

We moved to our current home just over two years ago. It was a wonderful surprise to find that three very small trees in our garden are actually Jacarandas! We have a few different types of grevillea as well. Some of them have such amazing flowers, when you view them close up they are so intricate.

Thanks to some local farmers, we now have some sheep on the property as "lawn mowers". The farmer will check now and then to see how the grass is holding up to ensure his sheep are still being well maintained. I went down to see them this morning. I'm hoping they may become a little friendlier if I keep chatting with them!

One of my clients listens to a classical music channel rather loudly! The sound reverberates through his home as I am cleaning and assisting him. Some of the music is wonderful. I don't really have much of an idea as to what I am listening to, but do enjoy some of it.

I'm not into some of the operatic music and singing, more the singing! Some of that hurts my ears. Ha. Ha. A bit like some of the Asian music and high noted singing. Maybe it is just that particular pitch that my ears don't enjoy!

Years ago I attended some classes where we learnt all sorts of relaxation techniques, one being visualisation. I was surprised that my mind took me to a still pond and not to the ocean which I loved so much as a child. I am hoping to return to some mediation and relaxation techniques. It has been so long since I have made the time for such activities.

Three days a week I try to visit the local swimming pool. Sometimes I have the 25 metre pool to myself. I love the calming feel of the water as I huff and puff my way to the other end of the pool! Ha. Ha.

I hope you all have a good week.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools or Lauren

Hi everyone

hope your week is going well.

Lauren how lucky to have 3 jacarandas in your garden I can imagine tree lined streets in jacarandas how beautiful! At the moment I am doing mindfulness techniques online with A great teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn he has some very simple online video classes that have really helped me in doing meditation. Likewise music while cleaning the house has been great to lately I've been listening to the pan flute or music I haven't bothered about in years it certainly creates a lovely atmosphere and takes the mind off worrying or overthinking all the time.

I woke early this morning while laying awake i listened to the wind in the trees and the birds waking to another day how simple yet beautiful .

have a great day everyone 

find something today that makes us smile :)

Hello Everyone

I wrote a reply here early today, then clicked on to another page before posting and so I lost my words. Cannot believe I did that.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a great teacher of mindfulness. I have several of his books. To me, mindfulness and meditation go hand in hand. Have you read his book, Wherever You Go, There You Are. Good stuff.

Today I have lazed around. Wrote some replies to people at BB, bought a birthday present for my grandson, Pictionary as he asked for it, read some Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. He was the last Emperor of Rome and wrote a remarkable book. His sayings are so relevant and modern. Amazing.

How do you folk go watching TV programs and films? I used to enjoy watching Cold Case and seeing the old wrongs solved. Made me feel good and that people cared about justice. Now I just get upset because I find it becomes far too personal. Is this silly? Do other films etc do this to people?

Mary

Hello All,

Mary, I don't like watching a lot of TV either. Anything that is too realistic and scary for me, I do not watch anymore. It makes me feel bad.

It is very interesting that you mention Marcus Aurelius. I learnt Latin in school and we spend a bit of time translating, but I have rarely touched literature from that time since. I do have a few old books in my library though, I might dust them off and have a look inside.

I was thinking about nice things to do to keep me occupied when driving. I bought an audio version of "The best German poems" and a Italian language course. Even if I spend 10min a day thinking of something else that interests me, it will be a great start!

I love jacarandas as well. When we moved to Australia I was amazed to see those amazing trees, a sea of blue flowers! I love all colours and flowers and also the colourful parrots in this country!

Have a lovely day, Yggy

Hi Everyone,

We have some very interesting conversations going here!

Thanks for the information about the ingredients of Chai tea BKYTH. I might have a go at creating some flavours for myself. I do like the idea of the pepper in it to give it that hint of "Bite". I wonder if a splash of paprika might be a bit too much!

You are also right about the Jacaranda trees, they may be a bit of a problem all clustered together as they grow. Time will tell.

We have experienced some very damaging frosts here lately. I had a look around the garden on the weekend only to discover my lavender plants have been totally destroyed by the frost as have some of the succulents. Gardening conditions here are so tough. Our land is open to the winds as well.  In summer everything gets scorched.

I will look up some of the names given here for authors and ideas on meditation. I would like to create more time each day for both of these pursuits. Achieving a balance is difficult some days.

Yggy, I like your idea of using your time in the car more productively. I had thought of that myself recently but did little with that thought. I spend quite a lot of time each day in the car.

I need to dash off now and check on the sheep we are borrowing and the chooks then prepare for the working day.

Cheers to you all, hope you have many bright moments in your days.

From Lauren

Hi Yggy and Everyone

I like listening to CDs in the car when travelling. The trouble is I just bought a new car and discovered to my horror that there is no CD player. At least if there is I cannot find it. Very disappointed as we are not all up to USB sticks and whatever. I like, well used to like, listening to books, on CDs of course. It's OK at home but I enjoy being read to while I am driving. Also like listening to talks by various people

Philip, I have rescued down and out plants. I like to soak them in a seaweed solution for a day. It is amazing how the plants come back to life and can then be planted out. When I cleaned out my garage I found a bag of bulbs still in their packets from the nursery. No idea if they are still viable but I planted then anyway. Wrong time of the year but it's still cold so they may do OK.

Yggy, I gather you were not born in Oz. Neither was I. I come from the midlands in the UK. I became a naturalized Aussie on Australia Day 15 years ago. May I ask where you come from? At a guess I would say Wales or the English border counties. I found it hard to adjust to living here at first but after my first visit 'home' I realised I would not return permanently for quids. Still, it is difficult when the rest of your family live there.

Enjoy your day folks.

Mary

Hi All,

Lauren, I was amazed to listen to some of the poems. There was one particular one that I memorised in school, “Die Buergschaft” from Schiller, and when I listened I realised I never heard the story before. It is a great story about friendship.

Mary, I understand you. I still have a lot of CDs, but recently I entered the new age and am actually quite happy with my iphone. I have a vast selection of audio books, and they are all on my phone, something that continues to amaze me. You are correct about me not being born in Oz, I grew up in Switzerland. That is also where all my family and old friends still are. It is sometimes difficult to have the rest of the family overseas, but I am happy in Oz, although I have not even been here 10 years, this is my home now.

Philip, I love Goethe and Beethoven. That era created so many great thinkers and composers! I have never read any of the literature in English – is there much that has been translated?

Have a great weekend, Yggy x

Philip,Thanks for the recipe it sounds very yummy, I try it for sure.

yes I too rescue down and out plants, currently looking to take cuttings off my hydrangea plant any ideas of when's the best time to do this? I saw on Google to take cuttings off rose bushes you cut then insert into a potatoe then plant very interesting will try and see how it goes do I sound like a beginner green thumb? Yes you would be right lol but now I have the chai recipe at least I can relax afterwards while reading my gardening magazines and dreaming of lush colorful gardens lol

stay happy everyone :)

Hi Mangof,

I had never heard that idea for growing rose cuttings before! All the best with your gardening.

A couple of years ago we moved to a different area where I have found gardening to be a bit of a learning curve! The soil is so different around sections of the garden.

We have a lot of strong wind quite frequently, heavy frosts in the winter that kills of certain plants and then scorching heat in the summer. It is a challenge to learn what will grow and flourish here.

On one side of the house the geraniums have grown beautifully, but on the other side, geraniums I planted at the same time are only about 20 c.m. high if that and have a single stork to them and a couple of leaves!

The weeds flourish all through the garden, so maybe I will just cultivate those! Ha. Ha. I do like the bright colour of the sour sobs and then the lovely purple of the Salvation Jane.

A lady at Church told me the nut grass that I was caring for as I like the pretty flower, is actually a noxious weed! Oh dear! I do have a few things to learn about the plants that pop up in our garden! Ha. Ha.

I too like the recipe for the Chai tea!

Cheers form Mrs. Dools

Hi Yggy,

I hope you have managed to find new friends here in Australia. With all the modern communication techniques available these days, it is a lot easier to stay connected with loved ones no matter where they are.

I have a dear friend in Holland whom I have known now for 30 years. I have been to see her three times and love Holland. It is so very different from many parts of Australia.

It is certainly different from Switzerland as well. We travelled through there on one of those whirl wind European bus holidays!

My Dutch friend used to send me Dutch music. A lot of the songs were about the sea. Some were so haunting about the sailors never returning home. She also sent me quite a few Dutch poems. It is interesting to read stories, poems and information about different cultures.

I don't have a smart phone at all, I have enough trouble trying to use a computer and the modern televisions. Ha. Ha. At least I have worked out how to play a CD in my car!

Cheers for now from Lauren

Thanks for the Chai tea recipe and instructions on how to make it. I can imagine that preparing a cup of Chai tea for you may almost be like a Japanese tea ceremony with all the ingredients carefully planned, gathered and then prepared in an almost regal way for want of a better word.

It certainly beats plunging a tea bag in a cup doesn't it!

Recently in a second hand shop I purchased a tea pot that sits on a ceramic holder that contains a recess where you can light a tea candle. That is a good way of keeping your pot warm.

Once at a restaurant, a man was walking around with a coffee container that had a very long spout. He was able to pour a cup of coffee from a great distance with the liquid flowing out of the spout and into the cup perfectly with out a drop being spilt.

He didn't have to lean over your shoulder at all to pout a cup of coffee, he could do it with ease from the other side of the table!

Have you ever been to a lavish tea serving ceremony?

From Lauren