Far and Away

I have always been the same way @Appleblossom Even as a child I did not have dolls or frilly dresses (when I was old enough to choose my own clothes). I loved being outside, had every sporting ball or bat I could have and would make things even at such a young age. My Mum loves telling a story of when I entered the Regatta Girl parade (in a dress 😮) and then jumped straight on my bike to compete in the BMX final ...I didn't win either lol

There is such a sense of achievement when we can do things for ourselves. When I worked at a women's refuge I used to teach the women the smaller things such as changing a fuse or a car tyre - things that do not seem very significant but in their lives made so much difference. It was about not relying on the 'men' in their lives and therefore finding a way to break free of the violence knowing they could do the things that often held them back by themselves.

I love it @Faith-and-Hope As you know - I am a very visual person so I can see things in my head and then work on that plan. The cuts in the pavers are not all very clean or straight (which would normally annoy me) but I don't have the same steady hand that I used to. I have probably used a dozen or more pavers than I should have because of that but once it is all filled, it should look better.

I think it is like anything Hon - the more you do, the better you get at it - so I have no doubt you could do the same ...and @Appleblossom @Eve7 @Former-Member etc.

Hearing you about the importance of sharing those practical skills. @Zoe7

We have come a long way from when women rarely drove cars.

I kind of like seeing young women in boots and high viz in various typically blokey jobs.

I was much more alone in it, and nowhere near as good at stuff as you or my new neighbour. Not sure it really came naturally but through necessity.

There is still a role for distribution of tasks within the family unit, based on biology, and there can be a problem of trying to do everything and doing too much and self whipping cos we cannot do it all. So much depends on unique circumstances of each individual.

I had fun at church coffee yesterday with a group of 5 ladies, so loosening up all my earlier hangups and just being present and sharing. Then had serious theology & congregational with 2 ladies in more positions of power. Owning different sides of me. Light hearted and serious and beyond the binary. Feeling more hope for the new year.

💕 @Eve7

“Feeling more hope for the new year” - good to hear @Appleblossom ….. 👍

Hearing you @Zoe7. That was a smallish part of my situation, but still present.

Hi and a belated Good Morning @Former-Member 😊 dragging the chain a bit here today. nothing on anyways and public hol guess. Hope your day is going okay

@Zoe7 … I know you can “hear” I am still flat, so I wanted you to know it’s not from anyone here 😔. Just a 👍will tell me you’ve got it.

..guessing you made 1 wheel from 2 .. not going to try and tell you how to do it lol @Zoe7 as govt apprentice when things where quiet I made a lot of trolleys for oxy acetylene cylinders. Had good instructors to get designs from , so they looked pretty flash and most of all, the postioning of the axles made them well balanced and easy to use.

So. got used to axles and ordering wheels from catalogues etc. Was fun. So o much easier with decent tyre, did a lot of labouring over the years and good wheel barrow can make impossible possible lol.

@Faith-and-Hope 👍

@Appleblossom You have so many skills in so many areas - one of them definitely being in meaningful conversation. I love the times we connect here because of that. We have talked about this before but sometimes (most of the time) 'small talk' bores me. I don't really see much sense in it to be honest. I would rather have a genuine conversation about things that matter or say nothing ...so suffice to say - I don't talk much generally. I get frustrated in meetings for example, where someone takes 10 minutes to say what could have been said in one sentence ...sometimes I get they are trying to get their thoughts in some order but sometimes it is just wasted time.

@Faith-and-Hope Hearing you sweetheart ...love you 💖