As many of my readers know I recently have been watching clips of The Mentalist. I have been enjoying this immensely and it has made me wonder if there is such a thing as “real psychics “.

I do definitely believe that there are people who have a very good skill set in observing people and can read a person by their body language, gestures etc and that these people also have a great intuition and know what questions to ask to get a person to express themselves. So obviously I agree that highly skilled mentalists do exist. Whether they are true psychics and can do things like communicate with those who have passed over I remain sceptical about.

I think a lot of us have highly developed communication skills, and observation skills and can feel compassion and empathy for those around us. And yes I do believe in women’s intuition . There has been too much happen in my life, that it can’t be coincidence. Maybe as women we have some skills that a Mentalist actually have and maybe if we can concentrate and observe more around us, those skills can be enhanced and we can become like Mentalists.

I am going to give this a try and work on my powers of observation, to improve my relationships with those around me. Who knows, my women’s intuition may grow. Just don’t ask me to communicate with passed over loved one’s. That is not a skill I would particularly want to have.

Cathy Kelly would have to be my favourite author of modern day “chick lit” as it is known, that being literature for modern day women.

Her stories are always based around Ireland 🇮🇪 and makes me dream of one day visiting the emerald isle, because the villages where her stories are set all sound so charming, lovely friendly and community minded.

Her stories always feature a few female protagonists who are dealing with something in their lives and always end up in a better position by the end of the book than when we first meet them at the beginning. I love her message of growth and positivity and the fact that we as women don’t always need a relationship in our life to define us. Sometimes her storyline are romantic and other times the characters are dealing with allsorts of issues, from adoption, illness infidelity etc. She writes these characters in such a way that you really believe in them and want a good outcome for them. She never disappoints and she writes with such warmth that you genuinely believe her characters.

Cathy Kelly also does work for UNICEF and uses her role as a best selling author to highlight what UNICEF do around the 🌎 world.

If you are looking for good fiction to read I highly recommend 📚 reading Cathy Kelly. I have many of her books and read them over and over again

As I get older I realise how very important a sense of privacy is to me. It is something I as an adult haven’t always had and as part and parcel of my independence, it is something that I have had to fight hard for to achieve in my life

Right from when I was a small child I dreamed of having a place to call my own. I saw myself as a adult having a small home 🏡 of my own. This dream didn’t always include a husband, and sometimes it did include having children. The women I idolised were always independent strong women, who succeeded despite the odds, ie Helen Keller, Laura Ingalls and later on Janet Frame. I can remember as a young adult applying to the Ministry of Housing for a scheme to help people buy their first home. Surely this should have been a wake up call to some members of my family that I was seeking an independent life.

I moved out of home in my early twenties, like so many of my generation. Initially I moved out with friends, who had the same desire as me, to have some independence . I really benefited from this independence as it showed me the real 🌎 world of having to budget to pay bills, and have a sense of autonomy and privacy regarding my life. Little did I know that the onset of my mental health issues would result in certain people trying to take away and control my independence and my sense of privacy. Had I had a 🔮 crystal ball that looked into my future I would have fought hard to remain living the way I wanted to. To say that fighting at that particular time was way too hard and the judgement and stigma surrounding my mental health was overwhelming so it was impossible to stand up and reclaim the sense of peace that having true privacy gives you.

I can recall being treated with a total disrepect of my privacy and it wasn’t until I gained meaningful employment in mental health that I fought against such control of my independence and moved out to live on my own. It has only been recently as I reflect on my life that I realise that I had to ultimately regain my independence or I wouldnt be where I am today. Had I not regained my independence I shudder to think of where I would be today.

As I reflect I am really grateful 🙏 for the privacy I now have . Living with Lily is very peaceful, quiet and fulfilling. I may only be renting and probably because of life circumstances beyond my control I will probably never own a place of my own. Having good people around me who love me and understand how much I have had to fight for what I have certainly helps. I have learned to be both grateful and gracious for this support. There still remains in my life an element of some people who seek to control or restrict my privacy and my independence but ultimately they have minimal impact on me. I have fought so hard for the basic human rights in my life and those I have assisted in my career in mental health. I am strong because I have a faith that has led to some pretty amazing people sharing my journey. With a sense of privacy in my life, cones a sense of peace and happiness.

As Christmas time and the end of this year draws to a close I find myself reflecting upon this year and the many changes and challenges it brought to my life.

Possibly the most drastic change was the passing of Susanna and everything that went along with that. You never stop grieving for that loved 😍 one but the grief gets easier to live with as time passes. I know I will never forget and never stop loving her and her passing brought other blessings into my life. The friendships I have made with both Kathryn and Susannas daughter Rebekah have been lovely and both fill a gap and fill me with joy. I feel Susannas presence in my life to this day, gently guiding me in all I do.

My writing ✍️ has also provided me with such joy and inspiration. Collecting and writing the stories for God Bless Our Dogs was wonderful and the goodwill generated from that little 📖 book has been pleasantly overwhelming.

If there has been anything I now realise, even more so now, it is that goodwill generates goodwill. My friends and family have been supportive of my writing . Writing gives me a sense of fulfilment, peace and contentment beyond compare. I plan to regularly continue my blog and put together my second book which will be about Susanna and her legacy for her family and many friends.

I feel this year I have gained more than I have lost and hope to continue to be a becan of positivity for my readers. I wish peace and happiness for those I love and those who regularly read my blog. Better tines are ahead for us all, I can feel that in my bones. Love and peace, Kaye.

I must admit there is something that I consider to be my guilty pleasure. I am only human, so I am as fallible as anyone

My guitly pleasure is that I love watching Simon Baker on screen, particularly in The Mentalist. When I was married I was a little too honest with my exhusband and made the mistake of telling him, that Simon Baker is a piece of eye candy 🍬. My husband was very insecure about that and would throw a tantrum when I would try to watch The Mentalist. I tried explaining to my husband that just about ninety-nine percent of the female population in Australia would consider Simon Baker eye candy 🍬. This didn’t seem to work, so I gave up watching The Mentalist as my husband was just so irrational about it. I couldn’t tell you what The Mentalist was about because I was forbidden to watch it.

Lately though I have found clips of The Mentalist on YouTube and have been indulging myself watching it. God it was a good series that worked on so many levels. It was witty, intelligent, funny and charming and God does Simon Baker look good in that suit. It is a guilty pleasure 🙏, like eating chocolate 🍫 in bed. I feel now that I missed put in the past because of my ex husband’s insecurities. I love watching these clips and I think if any man pulled the antics of my exhusband I would stand up for what I want to do. There is nothing wrong in indulging in a few guitly pleasures that makes us feel good, it is all just innocent fun after all.

Women of Australia let us unite 🙏 and enjoy watching Simon Baker to our hearts content. He certainly is eye candy 🍬.

As,I write this post I am watching a repeat of The Pacific In The Wake Of Captain Cook. It is hosted by one of my favourite people on this 🌎 earth Sam Neill.

Why do I call Sam Neill my Guru? Thriughout lockdown he just spread so much love, laughter, goodwill and humanity both online and on social media. He was deeply concerned for humanity whilst the whole world 🌎 was in lockdown and spent his time very productively trying to make humankind smile. And boy did he achieve that big time. From playing ukulele, reading 📚 kids stories and supposedly “cooking” all online he gave us all a reason to smile, laugh and enjoy being a human. My favourite is Sam attempting to cook duck, actually ending up having cheese and crackers with his own Two Paddocks Pinot Noir. It is comedy gold.

Also I very much envy Sam’s lifestyle, part time spent acting in roles all over the world and part time on his vineyard in central Otago New Zealand. What an idyllic lifestyle. What a beautiful part of the 🌎 world to return to, after a busy hectic time spent on his acting craft.

Sam just gets more attractive and enviable as he ages. He always was an attractive man, but now he has the attractiveness of wisdom, and a life well lived. I would love to share a meal, a cuppa or a bottle of wine 🍷 with Sam to just hear his opinions and knowledge and generally just chew the fat about life.

Sam you are my guru. A gentleman, who is just so talented and wise. Kia Kaha Sam, you are one of the lucky Kiwis who bring a breath of fresh air to a worn out weary world. A true Guru.

Last week I lost a friend. Yes it is really sad and unfortunate, but as I said in a previous post, everyone comes into our life for a reason, and for some it is only for a season.

I am sad and mourn the loss of that friendship, but I think that it was a friendship with a use by date, because recently that person had showed me that they were becoming more and more possessive of me, and not taking it well when I occasionally had to say no to this person, because of other commitments and relationships in my life.

If life has taught me anything it is that no one gets to “own” me. I am a bit of a free spirit who walked away from a controlling, possessive husband, who ended up cheating on me. It took alot of time and effort, to move on from that, but I did. The friendships I have now, with males included are on a whole different level, we ❤️ love and trust one another and there is no ownership of one another. We respect boundaries and are there for each other. The whole pandemic made me value my friends even more, because of the extensive lockdowns we had here in Melbourne, so I value my long term relationships even more, because absence mskes the heart grow fonder. Lockdown did make me aware of that

There is only one person in my life that gets to be possessive of me, and she has fur, four legs and a tail. Lily can be as possessive of me as she likes, because the sort of way she is possessive is just soo cute, in a dog. Yes she is actively possessive of me and I just love ❤️ how much she loves me. She owns me and is my little best friend.

Wanting to own someone is cute in a dog 🐕, but wanting to own another human being can be a bit too needy or uncomfortable to live with in the long term.

The season of that particular friendship may have come to a sad end, but it has also made me realise I maintain several wonderful friendships that bring me great love and joy, and I value that lost friendship of having been beautiful whilst it lasted. As spring moves into summer, so does my life progress and change.

Today the 9th November would’ve been my Dads 88th birthday. He passed away back in 1997 from cancer. I miss him terribly.

I have inherited a lot of Dads qualities. I’m 100% certain that my creativity comes from him. For several years of my Dads life he dabbled in oil painting, and although I have not used oils I have dabbled in other meduims, such as silk painting, pastels, watercolour and jewellery making, but my main passion has always been ✍️ writing. I know my father would be very proud of me, now that I having been taking my writing to a whole new level, with this blog and self publishing God Bless Our Dogs. I feel he is watching over me, gently guiding me, and bringing wonderful experiences and people in my life. He is one of my guardian angels, I truly believe.

Like Dad I believe in being punctual, and I love it when our family gets together. I always felt Dads love and I know I always will. Today I am thinking happy thoughts and happy memories as no one we truly love every really leaves us.

God bless you Dad. I will be forever your loving daughter. ❤️.

Wouldn’t we all like to wake up happy every day. I am again inspired to write this post by my dog Lily, whom although she does like to sleep in some mornings, always gets out of bed happy and eager to start a new day. When she does finally get up, she comes racing into the living room, darts to where I am sitting on the couch 🛋 and reigns 💋 kisses on my face. This is normally straight after I have had my shower, and Lily loves licking my face, when it is cleansed and moisturised, and I have applied flavoured lip 💋 balm. Normally straight after this, Lily either has her breakfast, or I take her for her daily walk.

Lily’s enthusiasm is like that of a small child. Each day is a potential new adventure and I love my daily walk with her. It is the best time of day, when the day is young and fresh and full of possibilities.

It is the simple things in her life that brings Lily the most 🙏 pleasure. Dogs truly are naturally grateful and optimistic. They love us so unconditionally and love being in our company. No wonder they are humankind’s best friend. Pethaps when we are feeling jaded and pessimistic about life, we need to find the optimistic enthusiasm that our dogs have and try to wake up happy every morning looking forward to the new adventures and possibilities that each day brings. Each day is an opportunity to start afresh and leave the negative past behind us. Be like Lily and strive to wake up happy.

I’m writing ✍️ this brief blog post to let my readers know that I have self published a collection of my short blog posts 📫 about dogs called “GOD BLESS OUR DOGS. It is available for $20 Australian currency. It was so enjoyable to create and will appeal to those who love dogs and believe in angels 😇 💖 💗 💕 ❤️.