Happiness is......on your face?

When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him; and you are torn by the thought of the unhappiness . - Albert Camus

Are you happy? Do you show it? What does your face say? What does your body display? Clive James, Australia's ageing wunderkind, is discussing this phenomenon. Miss Eagle is conscious, as Clive James has been made conscious, of what is conveyed to others.

Some years ago in a certain place of employment, Miss E was engaged in conversation with the singular and quirky Margaret, the cleaning lady. Marg mentioned that she had seen me around before I came to work there and thought how hard-faced I was. Miss E tried not to look shocked as Marg went on to explain that she knew me better now and that was not a true indicator of my personality. Phew! Coz Miss E regards herself as a generally happy, cheerful and optimistic person. But it appears the face may be giving a different opinion.

This reminds me of the one justifiable case of botox injection that I have heard of. This was a woman who had always had frown furrows between her eyes. She had a responsible decision-making position and realised she had to do something when, after she had read a business document, she was queried about why she didn't approve. This was not her view - and she realised how this had been conveyed. The disapproving look of the frown furrows. So to botox she went.

Happiness is much under discussion these days - and so it should be. The happiness of individuals; the happiness of communities and nations; the economics of happiness or the happiness of economics. Academic studies abound. Check here and here. And there is The Happiness Institute. Over here, they say their purpose is formed with the mutual mission to give your mind a peaceful break with a smile on your face. A positive mind is the first step to happiness. This site helps you get on board.

Over at yarnstorm, Jane Brocket often tells us about her happiness guru - and probably everyone elses's - Alain de Boiton.

And...just to get you in the happiness mood here are some quotes. And to put a smile on your dial, pop over to cheezburger!

Time flies - and it's heading out the door!

Over at Pea Soup, Suse has been catching up with us all on what she has been up to. We have missed her - particularly at the meet up which she helped to promote. But she has been busy. Miss Eagle hasn't kept up to date on The Trad Pad because she has been blogging her fingers to the elbow over at The Eagle's Nest. Now don't go there if you are not prepared for a rant and rave of the current affairs variety. This is why Miss E splits up her blogging interests. Not everyone has the same peculiar mix in their head as Miss E. This is why - and also for Miss E's own sanity - she tries to keep The Trad Pad as a rant free zone. You know the sort of thing, dear Reader, a place of prettiness, creativity and calm. Well, Miss Eagle tries.

Miss Eagle has to report, though, that she is feeling a bit chuffed to-night. One of her posts, she discovered in the subscriber edition of Crikey, has been given a mention. Miss E is all a-tingle with this attention and the consequent traffic appearing at The Nest.

But that's not all Miss E has been up to. Parish duties have called. Miss E in collusion with friend Phyllis have established a group for widows and widowers, named Dawn of Life at St Thom's at Upper Gully. Ten of us turned up and had a great morning. Now Miss E is up past her elbows planning a Prayer Vigil in relation to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for next week and all the while planning and preparing to take off for a few days in Ballarat to-morrow.

A church conference starts Friday - among a distinguished list of speakers, the estimable Veronica Brady will be doing environmental workshops. That woman just doesn't stop. Talk about nuns-a-go-go! What's the betting that Judith Wright will rate a mention? Short odds, Miss E thinks. Miss Eagle will be looking forward to meeting Veronica again. It is nearly six years since they met at the Shared Meanings Conference Retreat in Canberra. Miss E will be toddling off early to Ballarat to see the sights so watch this space next week for photographic evidence after a few days of Miss E being missing in action.

Have you noticed how some of our female blogging friends are into washing lines - different styles, clothing hanging thereon, etc. Suse has had a couple of her pictures used at this blog.

Dancing Leaf Farm is a very pretty blog. Miss E has no intention of trying to keep pace with this indoor/outdoor sport but is compromising with a previously posted picture of The Trad Pad's laundry.

Bewitched in the bleak midwinter at the winter solstice

Yesterday, was a trip ten minutes up the wind-y windy road to Sassafras and the beautiful blue Dandenongs to some lovely jollities. Well, the beautiful blue Dandenongs were not blue. It was the bleak midwinter Dandenongs, the coldest place in Melbourne, at the time of the winter solstice. At the bottom of the hill, Upper Gully was overcast and cloudy but clear. Sassafras was in a shroud of thick pea soup fog. With village shops and Miss Marple's presence in the main street, it could have provided the atmosphere for an Agatha Christie novel.

However, back to the jollities. Miss Eagle was there to meet Brownie of Bwca Dysthymia - who has been sojourning for a few weeks at Kalorama - and that well known amateur thinker, JahTeh of CopperWitch at The House of Coffee who had visited from the Inner East to survey the mountain tops. The conversation was wide ranging, the laughs were plentiful and the getting to know two fellow bloggers a warm and joyful experience. Luvved ya, gals!

And the clever CopperWitch had brought a gift of her own making. This delightful work of art, embroidered in the teeniest, tinyiest stitches mounted on velvet. Note the mounted deep blue gemstones on either side. And all mounted on a beautiful, beribboned cushion.

What a delight!

And, next door to the House of Coffee, at Antiques at Sassafras, Miss Eagle made a purchase. You will recall, dear Reader, Miss E's recent visit to Sassafras. She remarked - and photographed - at the time on the Paris rubber stamps. She resolved on this visit to bring them home with her if they were still available. They were there. Now they are here at the Trad Pad. Herself thinks they are wonderful. Gift wrapping and carding will have a Parisian flavour for quite a while, methinks.

Daydreaming cat

Photo Friday: Dream

Rose the SpartaCat: Daydreaming

Blogging company

I am sitting in the office/work room at the computer. But Miss Eagle has company.

Rose has esconced himself on some wadding on the worktable.

FootFoot is on my lap in front of the computer. Currently he is spread out on my lab with his chin snuggled in the crook of my left elbow. He is alseep and snoring.

A Sunday in Melbourne: Part 2: Bloggers meet

Call Miss Eagle a female chauvinist if you will, but one has to say - aren't women interesting creatures!

Miss Eagle joined a number of other female bloggers in the city this afternoon. Present (and, dear Reader, you will have to find out which was which for your very self) at the meeting were:

• an architect
• a tap dancer
• a printer
• a policy analyst
• a production manager
• a primary teacher
• an ex-librarian (there were two others there as well)
• a public servant
• a community activist

Individual doings included:

• preparing for the imminent birth of a child
• preparing to return to work from maternity leave
• preparing for a photographic exhibition
• crafting all manner of clothes and objects
• devising knitting patterns
• participation in a book club (there was more than one participant)
• preparing art work for the Sacred Space at a local hospital
• designing and printing business cards (more than one)

There were nine of us as can be seen - and that was difficult enough to get to know one another and each other's interests.

Blogs represented (besides Miss Eagle's) were:

• Clementine's shoes
• muppinstuff
• fripperee
• Stomper Girl
• Girl Printer
• soozs
• Only books all the time
• Turning Japanese

A Sunday in Melbourne: Part 1: Brenda Blethyn

Miss Eagle was off to an early start this morning to fit everything into the day ahead. It was the 8am service at St Thom's here at Upper Gully instead of mooching around and doing the 9.30am. Then zooming along the Monash Freeway into Toorak and the Palace Como to preview Brenda Blethyn's movie, Clubland, with Brenda herself doing an interview and Qs&As afterwards.
Clubland is a tour de force for Brenda. If she was starting out on her career, Brenda Blethyn could use this film as a portfolio of her work in various genres - comedy, drama, pathos, sentiment. While Brenda carries this Australian movie, she has a wonderful cast of well-known and experienced Aussies supporting her: Frankie J Holden, Rebecca Gibney, and Phililp Quast. The movie is a showcase, though, for up and coming talents: the fair and beautiful Emma Booth, Katie Wall, the brilliant Khan Chittenden, and do character actors really come as young as Richard Wilson.

This movie is both a passing of age and coming of age movie. Brenda's character, Jean, has seen better days and is trying to reclaim them. Her sons, Tim and Mark, are making their own individual ways to manhood: Tim battling his shyness and Mark grappling with his brain-damaged-at-birth hurdles.

The post-movie interview was conducted in expert fashion by Peter Krausz, Chair of the Australian Film Critics Association.

The director of this movie is Cherie Nowlan who also directed another brilliant rite of passage drama, the multi-award winning mini-series Marking Time, in which Katy Wall (Kelly) had a role. Marking Time is a great favourite of Miss E.

Boxes of craft

Miss Eagle, dear Reader, is not the craftiest person in the world. However, she does have a bit of a penchant, an affinity from childhood even, for paper and the stuff that goes with it like glue, and pen & ink. This was a box which held a container of tulips a few weeks ago.
This is it now. Pretty and useful.

I covered it with some very pretty scrapbooking paper purchased when Val came over and we went to Craft Fair after lunch. I used some gift tag hearts as well.
The interior was lined with gold gift wrap which wasn't the best quality for gluing. It went wrinkly in an interesting way. It reminds me of gold leaf. So this very pretty box sits in my craft room with my glues and brushes in it.

This tissue box cover was acquired by Herself - in a swap, methinks. It was a bit on the scungy side.

Miss E dipped into the fabric stash and came up roses.

So this is what the tissue box cover looks like now.

Miss Eagle is well pleased with her efforts.

Feeling the frosty mornings

FootFoot, our 13 year old miniature fox terrier, is feeling the cold.

Pea soup in Upper Gully

To-day was the second frost in a row at Upper Gully - and fog. The sun did not penetrate until noon. The thickest Miss Eagle came across was on Burwood Highway near its junction with Mountain Highway - one could barely see the Burwood Highway overpass of the new freeway. These pictures were taken at 8 a.m.

Wot's a wot hotel?

Miss Eagle's funny bone was tickled this morning with the subject heading of an email in her in box saying Wot's a Wot Hotel? Many of you will be familiar with wotif and their marvellous accommodation booking service. Miss Eagle stayed in a wonderful unit in Adelaide last year at a very good price courtesy of the wotif service. So wot's a wot hotel? According to wotif deals at luxury hotels that are so good they won't put their name, just descriptions, to the advertising. Don't they want the competition to know? Will it spoil their image if they are seen to be doing bargain basement rates? Will the nouveau riche not come to stay? Miss Eagle remains amused.

A crop and a cat at The Trad Pad

The backyard Lemon Tree is cropping. This is the first.

With the addition of a little mint, some sweetener and water, this emerged.

This white painted basket with its cheerful gingham liner sits on the floor beside my desk. It is waiting to find a home or a function that is not yet clear. There are a number of cat baskets at The Trad Pad - large, commodious and warmly lined. Yet, in yesterday's cold, Rose the SpartaCat decided to curl up in this. One could never have imagined that he would fit - but fit he did. Perhaps - in spite of this basket being lined only with a simple cotton fabic - it was warm because he could curl himself up tightly into the nearest resemblance of a ball that a large, fat, contented cat can manage.

And this morning, he went nuts. In the pre-dawn dark, as I am sitting in the next room at my computer he is rampant in this chest of drawers in the midst of refurbishment. In, out, roundabout, scratching, on the move, noisy. Mad cat, Rose! Are you training for cheezburger?

Books into birdhouses and bookshelves and bookcases

Miss Eagle is indebted to Barb, our beloved Woof Nanny, who - at Dog-eared and Underlined - drew my attention to This Into That. How wonderful, how clever...and how inspirational!

PhotoFriday: Purity

Woolworths, Safeway, Liquor and Fuel - but not food

Miss Eagle has sent the following email to Liz in Victorian Regional Office of Safeway (the name used by Woolworths in Victoria). It is self-explanatory. If you, dear Reader, agree with Miss E, please feel free to write to Woolworths in your state. If you are writing in Victoria, please send to ejamieson@woolworths.com.au.

This afternoon, I was in the Safeway store at Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully (not the Mountain Gate store). I was stunned to see an advertisement stating, that if customers purchased $60 of goods from Safeway Liquor, they would receive a 20c a litre discount on fuel.

I am amazed at the ethics of such a campaign. I have been told by Kerry in the Area 5 office that this was part of a national campaign organised by the Marketing Division of Woolworths. M

The campaign has certainly not been well thought through. It sends very mixed messages to the community:

1. Alcohol is more valuable than food because it attracts a larger discount on fuel at the bowser.
2. $60 worth of alcohol far outweighs in value at the bowser any amount large or small spent on food.
3. The campaign links alcohol to driving in an encouraging way - in more or less the same way that large car parks at suburban hotels encourage a drink and drive mentality.
4. Woolworths, whose income is derived - in the main - from families, encourages a significant slice of the family budget to be devoted to alcohol.
5. The campaign seeks to encourage a significant amount of spending on alcohol which is the root cause of violence and road deaths in our society and ties the name of Woolworths/Safeway to it.

I would ask you to immediately withdraw this marketing campaign from all Woolworths and Safeway stores and to refrain from any similar type of marketing in the future.

I also wish to complain about the way complaints are handled within Woolworths and Safeway.

I am told that the Woolworths system means that someone in the local regional office will email someone in Sydney but that the system does not allow for me to be cc'd. So I have no way of knowing the accuracy of material forwarded to the responsible person regarding my complaint. I have rung the corporate office in Sydney who referred me back to the local regional office. Sydney refused to give me the name of the person with responsibility for the campaign. I then asked for the title, the phone number and the email of the person responsible for the marketing campaign. This too was refused. There is clearly no way for the customer to be in direct contact with the person with corporate responsibility. I am told that the matter will take two business days and I am familiar with the time limit that Woolworths sets itself to respond.

I fear that the manner in which Woolworths deals with complaints means that the complaint will not be acted upon in a positive manner leading to the withdrawal of the campaign and that Woolworths will go on its merry way regardless.

Yours sincerely,
[Name supplied] [address supplied]
Email: [supplied]
Phone: [supplied]
Blogs: Oz Tucker at http://oztucker.blogspot.com/
The Trad Pad at http://tradpad.blogspot.com/
The Eagle's Nest at http://eaglesplace.blogspot.com

We'll wait to see what - if anything - happens.

Martha, the Glitter Fairy, and Table Talk

For those of you who are fans of the Glitter Fairy - she will be on Martha this afternoon at 4pm on Foxtel in Australia. GF talked about it on a post on Wednesday - yesterday Australian time. Now Miss Eagle knows that Martha comes to Australia 24 hours after the USA - but she only knows this with her head and not her heart. Now she believes. Miss E read about it on the GF and she has now seen the promo this morning on Martha's 10am show on Foxtel. The way it works in Australia is that the latest Martha is shown at 4pm AEST on the How To channel.

Martha's most recent program had as special guest Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi has published a children's book titled Whoopi's Big Book of Manners. The purpose of the book is to teach children manners - the pleases, the thank yous, the excuse mes, - that are missing from modern life.

At question time from the audience, a guest got up and asked Martha a question about blackberries in restaurants - and she was not talking about fruit. Well, the polite and evenly spoken Martha had a spray about people watching television in restaurants and similar behaviour.

What about - said Martha - conversation, what about the food. Martha said that this was the sort of thing Whoopi was talking about in her book. Martha said one day she might do a program about America to-day. Perhaps she could organise an international program series - UK To-day and Australia To-day as an instance.

As you know, dear Reader, this topic of tabling is rather dear to Miss E's heart. Our lack of understanding of food and the culture surrounding it is working its way outwards, like ripples in a pond, into civil society - with wide ramifications.

Please, dear Reader, do your bit: a lovingly and skilfully prepared meal, a nicely set table, discussion about interesting doings of the day - sans television and computers. Go for it!

Chai and browsing in Sassafras

Miss Eagle did coffee with a friend at Ripe in Sassafras yesterday. Miss E has posted on Ripe before. This time Miss took some photos to show you. Because Ripe has no sign outside to tell you it is Ripe. There are an ice-cream sign and some tables and chairs so you might think it is just a cafe/ice-creamery not a fully-fledged eating establishment reviewed and blogged here and here. Miss E and friend did chai: chai latte for friend, black tea-based for Miss E. And passionfruit cheesecake. Miss E does have to comment on the predictability of dessert and pastry cake offerings at coffee and cake time across Melbourne. Time for a re-think and re-jig if some culinary brains could be set in motion on this dilemma.
Before going home to Upper Gully, Miss E popped into Tea Leaves because she was nearly out of chai at home. This time she is trying a green tea based chai. Tea Leaves is wonderful - wall to wall teapots and everything tea. Stacked and packed on shelves.

In the window and beautiful settings.
And then into another favourite place, Antiques in Sassafras. A delight to eye and spirit.

And these give a whole new meaning to "getting the blues", don't they?
And then the signs.
But, if Christmas really was in July and Santa could be expected on 25/7, here is what I would be seeking. Paris stamps! Everything from the Eiffel Tower to a post mark!
And there's news!

Antiques in Sassafras will soon be opening a home and giftwares establishment across the road behind Quirky's, the funky clothing place across from the plant nursery. Miss E expects it will be as beautiful and spirit-lifting as AiS.

Cats, Cheezburger, and hitting the headlines

If you love cats, if you are a fan of I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER, you will love this cute bit of business that is doing the rounds. Miss Eagle has picked it up from Lucy at Sorrow at Sills Bend where you can get details. What a link to this does is generate random cat macros with your post titles on. You will note, dear Reader, that the words above are the title of Miss E's previous post. Have fun!

Leunig: The path to your door

Michael Leunig is one of Australia's great cartoonists. Michael is a spiritual man and insightful in his art, his text, his comment. Miss Eagle is currently listening to Billy the Rabbit which the gifted Gyan has set to music. The CD comes beautifully packaged with a little book of the poems which have been set to music. Here is the last, but not least:

The Path to your Door
The path to your door
Is the path within:
Is made by animals,
Is lined by flowers,
Is lined by thorns,
Is stained with wine,
Is lit by the lamp of sorrowful dreams:
Is washed with joy,
Is swept by grief,
Is blessed by the lonely traffic of art:
Is known by heart,
Is known by prayer,
Is lost and found,
Is always strange,
The path to your door.

Whatta place - Howey Place!

On Friday night, Miss Eagle was having a wander in the city and found herself in Howey Place. Aaaah!

Howey Place is a laneway of lovely shops off Little Collins Street. The circle on the map above marks the spot.

Dear Reader, if you are living overseas, you should know that Melbourne is the shopping capital of Australia. It is also the artiest city in Australia and the most European. Mmmm...

At the entry to Howey Place is Oroton on the left...
and French Connection (FCUK) on the right.
Special occasion elegance is in the window at Stellini...
and the latest trends at Jason Grech.
Accessorising is done at Glass Tree ...
... and sheer class comes from Andrea Yasmin.
David Medlow Chocolates are a recent addition...
...with fruity delectables...
...and liqueur choclates.

And then there is Miss Eagle's favourite - Alannah Hill.

Miss E has written about her before.

Funky, feminine elegance...
...mixed and flaunted...
And in the door Miss Eagle went, dear Reader...
...into the luscious foyer...
...with the glowing red portholes and signature Alannah flowers...
...and more flamboyant fashion...

...under red canopies of light.
All in all, a stimulating walk, daydreaming, musing, enjoying.