tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72649694217659305912024-03-12T22:47:09.895+00:00Julie DawnThe Point of Vanishing & Other Dreamswobblyfrogshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097716349794990288noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-53609885678366842422017-03-03T15:57:00.000+00:002017-03-03T16:00:10.681+00:00How to Celebrate
One of the things I love about Germany, and this applies to most of Europe, is the centuries-old traditions they have to mark the beginning of things, the end of things, the middle of things, etc.
For example, recently in Bavaria, they have just finished Fasching, their name for 'Carnival'. The reason for Fasching was explained in our German class - in German, obviously. juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-61316806707664960882017-02-19T14:48:00.003+00:002018-02-23T15:43:08.077+00:00How shall we respond?
With everything that is going on in the world right now, like many others I've been finding it hard not to feel overwhelmed. I've found myself trying to distance myself from the news, unfollow Facebook posts that lead me into demoralising discussions with people who hold the polar opposite viewpoint to mine, or tempt me to read conversations by strangers across the world who are juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-62928666519274563602017-01-29T16:15:00.001+00:002017-01-29T16:16:44.431+00:00Cultural Diversity
I have
made some new friends, from my intensive language class. It's a good way to make the transition into a
new country, that's for sure. I love the
cultural diversity. Classes consist of
up to twelve students and in mine there was me, the only native English
speaker, a Brazilian, two Romanians, two French, an Italian, Portugese,
Filippino, Thai, Russian and a guy from juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-72472790403266677852016-03-25T16:12:00.002+00:002018-02-23T15:48:00.804+00:00In Unexpected Places
The other night I watched 'Wasteland'. It was one of those films which, especially once you know it's a documentary, feels a bit like having to eat all your vegetables before leaving the table. I make myself watch 'educational' documentaries' quite regularly, not purely for the sake of my edification, but because I know that if it's about something I'm interested in - however mildlyjuliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-29455926842194841032016-02-14T17:30:00.003+00:002016-02-21T15:15:29.184+00:00Valentine for a Crane
'All cranes engage in dancing, which includes
various behaviours such as bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing, and
wing flapping. Dancing can occur at any age and is commonly associated with
courtship.' Wikipedia
How wonderful is this:
There is a remote village in Rajasthan, India, where the Jain
monks feed millions of small cranes that migrate there every year.
The juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-62582702531398603592016-01-16T15:37:00.000+00:002016-01-16T15:37:59.505+00:00Curiosity and 'Rising Strong'
I recently read Brene Brown's 'Rising Strong'. I have always enjoyed her writing, but I got more from this book than from any of her others. In particular, there were a few pages on curiosity, which resonate with me not only because of my previous blogpost on the subject. I quote at length from her book here:
'Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because itjuliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-29715118170278574102015-11-21T15:48:00.000+00:002015-12-20T15:54:51.895+00:00Thriving in the Wilderness
I have always been fascinated
by the art of survival without electricity, shops, buildings, or any of our
modern-day comforts. I'm not sure
why. Perhaps this harks back to happy
childhood memories of being in the New Zealand mountains for weeks or months at a time with
no power or plumbing or nearby supply centre, and regularly tramping in the bush for days on
end in all weathers juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-4256434916537033922015-11-07T14:44:00.005+00:002015-11-22T14:28:45.726+00:00When Life Takes Over
I was struck by something
recently, when talking to a colleague at work.
She was discouraged and demoralised by her job, and due to management
decisions far beyond her control had ended up in a position where she could
not leave her job despite it becoming untenable in almost every way. Extremely demanding but not highly paid work,
it did at least cover the mortgage, but was juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-35550941460100366142015-10-18T20:07:00.001+01:002015-10-18T20:39:16.258+01:00Curiouser and curiouser
Curiosity.
This is a quality that
humans possess to a greater or lesser degree.
I seem to possess it to a greater degree. I'm increasingly glad about that as I
age. Curiosity was fostered in me as a
child, and is something which is easily overlooked in 'personal qualities which
we value most'.
Curiosity is the reason I
love to learn new things. As a child, it
was juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-58029970186820340222015-09-20T13:42:00.000+01:002015-09-20T17:11:49.898+01:00Sinking
We all have
different tolerance levels to stress. We
also all have different triggers. What
sets off one person will pass another by like a cloud across the sky.
My particular
triggers are always to do with emotion.
So, this past week has been particularly hard for me. Things happened at work, people got upset, I
found myself in the middle of it all, and juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-71028779885930276842015-08-15T12:30:00.000+01:002015-08-23T09:25:02.078+01:00Books with a Difference #4: CircusesBoth these books are about circuses. I am not a huge fan of circuses, but they can certainly lend an air of the whimsical and outlandish to a story that wants to be a bit different. Which is precisely what is achieved in these two interesting books.
Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book was discovered by my New Zealand friend, who gave it to me for Christmas one year, knowingjuliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-19410639122907208912015-08-01T15:24:00.000+01:002015-08-04T21:12:00.977+01:00The Sun is Inside You
How quickly I
forget the summer. We are officially
only halfway through it, but the last weeks have been filled with intermittent
rain and grey cloud, and the last three days have seen persistent heavy showers with
leaden skies and frigid temperatures.
Only in the UK.
But what
amazes me is how, when the sun is out, and the days balmy and evenings light
and long, I always juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-75124121635890766602015-07-26T15:00:00.000+01:002015-07-26T16:40:15.072+01:00The Amazing Ancient Concept of Wu Wei
Perfectionism,
which by its very nature includes 'striving', used to be the bane of my
life. I'm not sure why this trait
developed in me, but I know that it grew and hardened in me as a result of the
school I attended, where expectations of outstanding levels of achievement in
every area were the norm. It coloured
every aspect of my life, from the orderly state of my bedroom to my juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-21811596464613140522015-07-12T12:48:00.000+01:002015-07-12T12:48:32.355+01:00The Middle Way
We live in a
culture that has a real problem with walking the 'middle way'.
A
culture that celebrates extreme fashion, extreme behaviour, black-and-white viewpoints
and strong opinions - preferably controversial ones. A culture that hero-worships people who are
impossible to live with but by gum, they make great television, radio, and
best-selling biographies, which juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-27350189610071737272015-07-08T18:07:00.002+01:002015-07-26T12:16:28.365+01:00Paradise Found
I have just
returned from a very special week in France, at my first-ever writers'
retreat.
It was a week
filled with poetry and prose, interesting conversations with like-minded
people, and the kind of atmosphere that is so conducive to being creative.
The setting consisted of everything I love most: creaking verandas
overgrown with wild lavender and jasmine; secluded gardens juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-74557464161669082132015-06-27T16:26:00.000+01:002015-08-14T12:02:34.297+01:00When the Old Life Haunts the New: Poem
What shall I
do?
When I pick up the broom
he leaves the room.
When I fuss
with kindling he
runs for the yard.
Then he's
back, and we
hug for a long juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-57733960414268859492015-06-21T15:39:00.003+01:002015-08-14T12:02:43.582+01:00Viruses (not the electronic sort): Poem
This was me, the last week:
'Viruses are
my sister's children
who have come
to stay at my place
for the
weekend.
They try to
get into the cupboards.
They draw with
thick crayons
on the back of
my throat.
They run up
and down inside of my head
with small hands
covered in marmite and jam
which take
forever to get off the walls.
They bang pots
and pans on juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-71528713789891392882015-06-13T17:48:00.000+01:002015-08-14T12:00:55.392+01:00Books with a Difference #3: Cultures
The Paper
House, by Carlos Maria Dominguez
This
intriguing novella tells a story within a story, of a booklover slowly driven
made by his passion, gradually overwhelmed by his 20,000 volumes, and what he
did next (no spoiler alert here).
Beginning
with a Cambridge academic's death, the story follows the investigation by her
colleague after he discovers a book in her house encrusted juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-81067710740466546142015-05-30T16:30:00.000+01:002015-08-14T12:01:12.667+01:00Books With a Difference #2: Islands
Okay, so here are another couple of books I've read that I think worth mentioning.
The first is The Girl with Glass Feet, by Ali Shaw (winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize)
This has to be
one of my favourite books. Possibly not
to everyone's taste, it is a unique blend of magic realism, love story, and
painful human relationships which evolve, and then dissolve.
It is
juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-81421712277855159382015-05-16T15:45:00.000+01:002015-08-14T12:01:45.145+01:00Books with a Difference #1: Childhood
I've decided,
from time to time, to review a few books I have read which have made an
impression on me for one reason or another. Many of them have themes that resonate with my own stories; some of them are just plain curiosities. Usually they will be fiction; occasionally non-fiction. If you have also read them, or they remind you of something you have read that is juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-34651891018969553782015-05-09T16:05:00.000+01:002015-08-14T12:03:14.019+01:00I Am the Song: Poem
I am the
song that sings the bird.
I am the
leaf that grows the land.
I am the
tide that moves the moon.
I am the
stream that halts the sand.
I am the
cloud that drives the storm.
I am the
earth that lights the sun.
I am the
fire that strikes the stone.
I am the
clay that shapes the hand.
I am the
word that speaks the man.
Charles Causley
juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-58063434657069739302015-05-02T17:54:00.000+01:002015-07-10T15:38:23.123+01:00There's Something About Trees
Trees.
There is just something about trees.
It is no coincidence that most of the stories I have written in my collection The Wishing Tree and Other Dreams features trees in one way or another. I would have liked to feature a tree as the central character or plot point in every story in this collection, or hidden them as secret symbols, rather like in Where's Wally juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-52663883534316087912015-04-25T17:31:00.000+01:002015-08-14T12:03:30.766+01:00The Collector: Memoir
My maternal
grandfather flew from Britain to New Zealand when I was eleven, and never got
off the plane, thanks to a heart attack.
My grandmother was waiting to greet him in Arrivals, little knowing she would never speak with him again.
He
was an interesting fellow, my grandfather.
We called him 'Bim' and my grandmother 'Mim', and I still have no idea
why. I barely juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-4963380923012265422015-04-18T18:27:00.002+01:002016-02-25T20:49:18.020+00:00Beyond the Unimaginable: the Seadragon and the Seahorse
Surely there
is no other creature as outlandish and wildly imagined as the sea dragon or the
sea horse. I simply had to find a way to
put one or both into a story, and eventually they made their way into 'The Sea Urchin', an unsettling tale about a waif child born of the sea who lures a boy
into her watery world, never to be seen again.
The sea dragon and the sea horse barely juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264969421765930591.post-17796962903633347502015-03-15T15:31:00.000+00:002015-06-13T15:04:24.017+01:00Unromantic Romance
You may have noticed how none of my stories are about romance. Given that many of my readers are probably young adults, this may come as a disappointment to some of you. The truth is, romance has never interested me. Not reading about it, not searching for it, and definitely not writing about it. I realise I am probably an anomaly in this day and age.
I am happily partnered, juliedawndreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06990301636000238364noreply@blogger.com2