Blogging woes and BeautyScope 455

 Hello my dears,

I have received a notice to say that Blogger will no longer be supporting the email feed I had. So until I can sort out a replacement we will have no emails for the dozen hardcore fans who signed up. Apologies for that.

And to add insult to injury I have managed to erase my sidebar while playing with things. So will have to work on that!

Here is a new BeautyScope for you.

how amazing that a splash of water

will open the door

between worlds

11/5/21

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Nearly a year in our apartment

Greetings friends.

So I thought it was time to give you an update on our apartment after having lived here for nine months now. Things are feeling pretty settled and although I would like to finish a few things and tweak things here and there, we are very happy living in this space.

 space.

I went around taking some photos with my phone to show my sister and thought the easiest way to share them would be in a blog post so she doesn’t have to download a massive email.

So please forgive the poor photo quality. It’s either this or nothing at the moment.

I seem to have trouble getting fingers to the keyboard if there are too many steps between!

My good camera doesn’t have fancy wifi connections.

 I wanted to show how cosy it is living here, so I deliberately left things as we live in them, rather than make it look picture perfect.

We keep it pretty tidy because small spaces demand it. (Apart from the dog hair, which is a never ending battle. Erk)

So this is the view as you walk in the front door. It has come out quite dark in this shot, but although we have no windows in the back half it receives a lot of reflected light and we don’t really have to put the lights on in the kitchen except for overcast days and at night.

The kitchen is to the right (you can just see the end of the bench) and we have a fold out dining table adjacent. This is handy for Cris to do his work and of course for dinners and card games.

Flowers for my birthday on the kitchen bench.

The view looking the other way towards the front door

I was a little disappointed the kitchen wasn’t more black but I may paint or decorate to increase the drama later on. Especially on the end wall.

Our bathrooms are lovely and black. Although it looks grey in this image. Floor to ceiling dark grey tiles adds great ambience when you shower by candlelight. It feels like a cave.

Our laundry in a cupboard. Which works perfectly. Even the tiny little sink. (Note the L and P plates magnetised to the sink wall ready at a moment’s notice for an impromptu drive.)

And here it is with the doors closed. You would never know all that junk..er.. valuable items were inside.

We managed to find room for my piano which I have been playing a couple of times a week so far. Much more than I did at our old house. Maybe because it is right there in front of you to remind you.

On the opposite wall we have our famous buffet where I used to take all my fashion shots in the dim distant past. Still going strong and holding everything from my music books to craft items, sewing fabric, dishes, books and candles.

We are very pleased with how the blue velvet chair is holding up against the dog fur. It really is a star in our room. Not just for looks but for a nice upright place to sit when you want comfort without slouching.

It also rounds out the sitting area so it feels like a conversation pit and not just a TV watching couch.

And here is said TV watching couch! A gloriously soft snuggly place to lie and watch the boats or talk to someone in the kitchen. We have even used it as a spare bed and it passed with flying colours. And it’s long enough for Miles to lie down flat!

Our balcony is a star. It houses most of our pot plants and is a lovely escape from the inside dynamic. It feels like you have gone into another realm with the double glazing and the city noises outside. But we’ve made it so cosy it feels like an outdoor living room. We spend hours out there. It also seems to keep a reasonably constant temperature except for cold nights when we have a fluffy blanket close at hand.

The view from our bedroom /office and studio during the day, never gets old. It’s always changing.

Collections from our life greet you at the front door on one side.

And on the other a fountain to help mask the city noises and provide a fun atmosphere.

I found this post in my draft folder from a few months ago. We are coming up for our one year anniversary in a couple of weeks. Can you believe it? No sign of wanting to move out yet, even though initially we committed to living here for twelve months. I’d say it’s a success. Yes!

The only two things I miss are having studio space and dirt. I’d love a little patch of ground to dig in that I can compost on and grow a few veggies. And I’d love space to spread my sewing and place to do dyeing and somewhere to spread paperwork and leave it. But that may come in time when the kids move out. But mostly we are set!

I hope you enjoyed this walk through. Things are always changing which I love, so no doubt there will be more cute changes in the future.

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

New artwork

Today I want to show you my latest painting. If you have been following me forever you may know I liked to paint art on my walls (and ceilings!) Since we have moved to the apartment we have been cautious about this in case we decide to move back to our house and rent out the apartment.

So, to scratch the itch I decided I needed to paint the bottom of our folding desk. This sits on the wall opposite our bed so was a perfect spot for eye candy.

I hope you like what I did. I just followed the artwork already in the wood. Paint by numbers without the numbers! We love it.

And a recent sunset in a field nearby for your relaxation.

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

 

Mother’s Day Secondhand find and wings

Hello folks!

I am attempting to reestablish communications across these vast distances of time and space.

Maybe I will be able to maintain contact if I do very short posts.

So here is a find I had on Mother’s Day as my son graciously took me over to the secondhand shop to by some saucers for my new pots.

I walked out with this Von Dutch beauty, hand painted and studded, complete with piston. (and the saucers)

Around my neck I am wearing my new scarf Cris gave me for Mother’s Day.

Here is the scarf in all its glory. I have wings!

It also makes a great skirt.

I hope you are all well. I am struggling with a sore shoulder at the moment and trying to find new ways to sit and work. Wish me luck!

Til next time, we will try to keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

 

Old chest, new wreath, beans and poem.

Greetings folks!

What do you do when you find an old asian linen chest near your rubbish bins? You open it of course. And gasp when you find it still contains embroidered linen which hasn’t been used. Some sheet sets, pillowcases and napkins. About six sets of napkins. No one uses them any more, 

So we took it upstairs and made it work in our lounge room where it brings some gravitas and interest.

We plan to move our linen into it and use the linen closet shelf for my craft items.

I am madly planning what you can make linen napkins into.

We removed the old faux carving and polished it up.

I made a new wreath for our front door out of some old jewellery wire, some leftover beads and some random feathers I collected. I love it. It is very me.

Here are some of the beans we grew on our balcony this year. The poor old plants were beaten to death by the wind, but the moth eaten plant produced some lovely beans. Doesn’t this photo on our bench with side light from the window look like an art work? The bench is a handy colour.

And finally I wrote a poem about my trees, so I hope you enjoy.

I love walking the lake

Amongst the trees

While they chorus

With the wind

And catch the birds landing

On their strong limbs

Seeing them dance

Wooden trunks bending

And swaying

Providing safety for creatures

Like cicadas

To change their clothes

Doing it with grace

And beauty

With calmness

Which they spread

To all around

May I be like a tree

18/12/20

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack 

Apartment catchup

Greetings one and all!

It always feels like a momentous occasion when I finally sit down to write a post to you all.

It IS a momentous occasion :-)

I thought today I would fill you in on goings on around here in our Republic Roost high in the sky.

We are settling in well into this city life. We are coming up to 6 months already on the 3rd of December!

How time dashes by.

We have had the first of our repair requests dealt with today, and another tomorrow.

We had the first 90 days to check the place out and then send in a report of all the defects. 

Today the man came to look at the façade. Outside in the air next to our deck, we have some screws that didn't look properly inserted. Instead of going into the slats that shade the deck, they were going beside them. The guy looked at them and pronounced it safe as the screws were just there to support while they installed it properly. I was relieved to find out we would not fall off the building if we leant heavily on the slats! Phew! One problem solved.

Here is a photo of our beans growing up these same slats. Of course I didn't think about the repair when I planted them. I was worried I would lose my beans today just as they are flowering, because they needed access. But fortunately all was fine and the beans can stay to twine another day.

Oh Boy, this post is taking forever to write. Now I know why I don't do it more often.

I have a very slow laptop I am trying to incorporate into my writing routine, to somehow get things done. But in order to get the photos uploaded from my camera, I had to deal with a whole year's worth of footage I had stored there! Of course I made some error and managed to put folders within folders and lose half the stuff and then duplicate them. Argh!

Anyway, deep breath. All done now, and I'm back to writing to you.

I have no idea what to talk about. Maybe I will just upload some photos of some of the changes we have made since the last time we spoke.

One of the biggest changes is that Cris has officially early retired from the Australian National University.

The kids and I made him a little banner and wrote on some balloons, and had some flashing lights and music, as well as a nice dinner to welcome him home that night.

He enjoyed it as no one from his work bothered to do or say anything. I was shocked. The only person who invited him out for drinks was his ex boss.

Time to move on to pastures new where he is appreciated.

Although he did receive a lovely note from a former student who was shocked and saddened at his departure.

Our garden is looking happy with all the little seeds germinating away. I have some tomatoes, some herbs and some butterfly plants with a butterfly house. And finally a camellia which will probably become our Christmas tree this year.

We have installed a new fountain in our entrance to give Winter a fancy water dish, and also to be gentle relaxing white noise. Unfortunately Winter doesn't like the taste, so we still have to provide another water dish! The plant is going to alternate with the plant in our bedroom to give it more light.

We stood bottles under the water flow to dampen the sound and to look pretty. 

I have rooted some offcuts from our miracle plant and they now will reside in our windowless bathroom, and in our bedroom. Also being swapped around for light. This is my attempt at not having to use plastic plants. Let's see if I'm successful.

Another addition to our decorating is our two guitars. We decided to hang them on the wall to encourage us to play them, and also to get the cases off the floor. It will degrade the guitars minimally, but what good are they perfect and never played? And they look pretty cool.

I have installed a yoga cushion on the floor in my bedroom in the window. I call it my window seat and I will regularly be seen gazing at the world going by. Sunset is a favourite time, watching the light change across the lake and the trees.

And finally, I have bought myself a lovely cheap mat to dissipate the effect of the grey box and add some colour to our lives. I love how it makes the room feel cosy and brings in the colours of the furniture. It also hides the dog hair (apart from the dark brown square in the front)  

In case you were wondering, here is a very bad selfie to let you know how I look these days. I cut the legs off a jumpsuit the other day to make this little romper. It is brilliant on super hot days!

My computer is doing my head in, so will leave it there for now.

Oh, exciting news, Aiden can now jump three steps on his scooter and land it. He did it first try! It has been a goal of his, a New Year's resolution which had to be fulfilled before the next year. And Miles got into a University bridging course for next year to start the process towards studying Engineering.

He is currently studying Physics online and having a blast.

Til next time, 

keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Personal story - Gender/sexuality/autism update

 Dear friends,

Today I return to discuss a topic that is very personal.

Let’s talk gender, sexuality and disability! Why not?

I thought I would do an update on how this area of my life is panning out, in the hopes I might encourage anyone else in my boat.

First of all I’d like to acknowledge my absolutely adorable husband, who is staunchly by my side through thick and thin. We have been married for (can it be?) 32 years now!

I am a complicated being inside. Unravelling what is what is not an easy task for the one inside the body, let alone those outside it.

Lately I feel a need to consciously step into my identity again. 

I identify as a genderqueer lesbian autistic menopausal person, who is married to a man.

How does that work you ask? Good question!

I don’t want to go into too many personal specifics here, but it is a juggling match between my gender feelings, my attraction, my libido and my autistic sensory issues. I have come to realise that these categories can overlap and influence each other. I am not the easiest person to be close to, but we try to make a closeness in our lives as much as possible. We need to navigate the issues I mentioned above, and these can and do change from day to day, and moment to moment as life moves around us.

I don’t even really know half the time what is causing me to feel or not feel a certain way, let alone try and explain it to my loved one. 

Why am I writing about this on the internet? Because I have had feedback in the past that by sharing my story I have encouraged others who are in a similar place and feel stuck.

I don’t have any answers for you really, except to say, keep on trying to connect in any way you can.

My husband and I love to decorate together, which feels like a joint artwork.

Lately we have been doing some of this in the setting up of our apartment.

We have also started going for walks together every morning to our local cafes to walk the dog, and catch up on our days and discuss the world around us...mini dates if you will.

Look at that cheeky grin!

Due to my autism (or my abrasive personality!) I am realising how often I react without thinking, or critique a small point instead of allowing the other to change the programming. So I am feeling the need to go out of my way to be kind, and allow him to be right sometimes. Shock horror! This is a way to gain closeness surprisingly.

We also love just sitting together reading and occasionally sharing a quote or a laugh. We do have exactly the same sense of humour, when my autistic mind doesn’t get in the way! So that is a point of communion.

I suppose I would like you to take away from all of this, that there are ways to have a meaningful life together which is more than just brother and sister. It is a conscious way of being together, feeling our way into the other’s world and cherishing it...and them.

When I first came out as a lesbian (I had already suspected I was autistic), I was counselled to leave my husband and start again. But I had two children by then, I loved my husband and was compromised in my ability to support myself.

My beloved being the magnificently generous being he is, has stayed by my side. If I didn’t love him already, this alone would have made me melt.

I always knew he was kind to his animals and those vulnerable in his care, and so I should not have been surprised at his immense love.

This man is loyal to the core.

I have backed away slightly from taking a stand and announcing my identity to all and sundry as I did in the beginning. It’s a lot to take in, especially as I don’t seem any different from any other wives you would encounter on the surface.

I now am allowing that veneer to stand until I know you better and /or I am in a queer/disabled environment where they would understand.

My kids know my story and are really great advocates for gender and sexuality issues. I am proud of them. Hopefully they will grow to be men as wonderful as their Dad is!

This post has ended up being more of a love letter than I expected, and less of a personal story. But that is probably all I need to say right now.

If you have questions, I am happy to answer them.

Just leave a comment, or send me an email. If I am shouting into the void and no one is there, then that’s fine as well :-)

Til next time, 

Keep on creating!

Lot of love,

Jazzy Jack

See how my pants match my coffee?