This is... my favourite thing from nature

1. macro water drop, 2. ~ Water ~, 3. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 4. water abstract, 5. Land & Water - vol.I, 6. Blue Water Splash, 7. Symposium of water and ice, 8. just water, 9. Silky Water

Water. Maybe it has something to do with being a Pisces, but I just love water. It makes me feel relaxed, rejuvenated, refreshed, renewed. It helps me sort my thoughts and clear my head. Be it the sound of waves crashing and the smell of salt air; watching it tumble over rocks in a river; the feel of hot water running down my back in a shower; a body of it caress me as I swim through it; the weightless of it as I float in a floatation tank - I love it all.

Ironically, I don't drink nearly enough of it.

Thank you to Beth for this week's theme and to Angela, the fabulous hostess of This is...

This is... my favourite quote

I'm not sure about favourite, but I have one that I read on, and have now borrowed from Fuji Mama's blog. It says much about my life in Japan and the feelings of reverse culture shock that I get whenever I return "home".

"The emigrant's destiny: The foreign country has
not become home, but home has become foreign." - Alfred Polger (d. 1955)

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about moving back to Australia next year, but a good part of me is nervous and sad. I'll be very sad to leave this country that I love, this country that I left once and needed to come back to again. The last time I moved back to Australia, I went through nine months of horrible reverse culture shock, far worse than anything I felt moving to Japan in the first place.

When I move back next year however, I'm hoping it's going to be different. I hope that moving back with a purpose (business, home, family plans), will ease it all.

On a cheerier note, here are some others that strike a chord with me;

"You must be the change you wish to see in the
world." - Ghandi

"If you have built castles in the air, your
work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under
them." - Henry David Thoreau

"My religion is very simple. My religion is
kindness."- Dalai Lama

Thank you to Strawberry Kisses for this week's theme and to Angela, the fabulous hostess of This is...

This is... what I'm surprised I like...

... well kinda like... well OK - trying to like...

yoghurt.

"The earliest yoghurts were probably spontaneously fermented by wild bacteria living on the goat skin bags carried by nomadic people." From Wikipedia.

Really, it sounds so appealing... no wonder I didn't like it..

I've hated yoghurt all my life. I've decided that now I'm an adult (well have been for many years now), that it was time that I learnt how to eat yoghurt. I'm sure I'd like it a lot more if I could add berries to it, but I'm allergic to them...

So for now, I'm eating a little tub of yogurt every month or so. Yesterday I added a few sultanas (raisins) and Special K to it and made it the whole way through the little tub. I was so proud of myself.

Thank you to Victoria for this week's theme and to Angela, the fabulous hostess of This is...

This is... how I like to spend my weekend

1. Hello Kitty Sleeping in Bed Plush, 2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7568749@N08/2319737333/, 3. A cup of tea anyone, 4. [ death of cinema d'essai. ], 5. Inspiration, 6. My morning cup of tea, 7. Using Silver Clay, 8. On Fire, 9. I guess this is love

Well, Sundays are my eBay listing days, so Saturday is my wonderful free day to do what I like. It sometimes involves ..

... sleeping in...
... a yummy breakfast, bacon and mushrooms are often on the menu, or yumcha if I'm back in Australia
... maybe a wander around some markets
... catching a movie if something good is on
... flicking through some inspiring books and magazines
... some quiet time, preferable with a good cup of tea, to just relax and let the world go by
... some creative time
... maybe a festival if something is on
... catching up with friends (or family if I'm in Australia).

Of course, all that stuff would happen over the course of a number of weekends.

Thank you to Bird Bath for this week's theme to Angela, the fabulous hostess of This is...