The 7 Secrets of Happiness

Do a search on "happiness" and it looks like every Tom, Dick and Kardashian has the answer and has written the book to prove it. 

Earlier in the year I read "The Bhutanese Guide to Happiness" by Gyonpo Tshering and I love the idea that a country measures Gross National Happiness over Gross Domestic Product. Visiting the little kingdom of Bhutan in the Eastern Himalayas in search of the secret to lifelong happiness is of course on my list.

More recently I read "The 7 Secrets of Happiness" by Gyles Brandreth. I picked it up at the library 'cos it was short and I needed a quick read if I'm going to get my 50 books quota.  What did I learn? Probably not much, but sometimes a happy boost in the middle of winter doesn't go astray.

So what makes you happy?  According to Gyles the top ten triggers are:

1.  Laughter - stand up comic and making people laugh - tick
2.  Friends - even those that you don't see or speak to anywhere near enough
3.  Music - because a bit of reggaeton will always get the hips wiggling and put a smile on your dial
4.  Dancing - see above, although at Zumba last week my smile was more of a grimmace
5.  Sex - and it even burns calories
6.  Sunshine and birdsong - hence identifying birds is this months "learning"
7.  Children - even (especially?) if they are not yours or have fur
8.  Family - well, maybe not that weird Uncle Fester
9.  Drink and Drugs - bring on the bubbles
10. Food in general, chocolate in particular  - but of course, did this even need mentioning????

The book then meanders along talking about looking for and finding happiness before ending with the seven secrets.  So here they are:

1. Cultivate a passion - did you know that Rod Stewarts passion is model railways?  What's your passion? What's mine?
2. Be a leaf on a tree - unique yet connected. Unless it's winter and you've long ago been blown away.
3. Beak the mirror - Self awareness is good; self regard, not so much. Because lets face it, nobody is really that interested in you.
4. Don't resist change - variety, flexibility and go with the flow. But I still don't like white wine. Unless it's got bubbles.
5. Audit your happiness - If more than half of what you are doing in a day makes you unhappy, change it. So obvious, yet so hard.
6. Live in the moment - We hear this all the time. Carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero. I'd heard the first part Carpe Diem, Seize the day, but the rest fits. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.
7. Be happy! Sounds simple right? But I agree. Sometimes you've just got to fake it till you make it. Unless you need help and then there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help.

Theatre - culture or fun?

Go to three theatre performances.  Tick. I love going to the theatre. Actually, I love musicals and as much as I like the idea of seeing more serious plays and some of the smaller productions, I've come to the realisation, that they don't do it for me.  Bring on colour, music, singing and dancing, and I'm there! So for me, theatre is purely for fun and entertainment and the feel good factor, Shallow? Maybe.  Culture? Meh, not so much.

What have I seen this year?  Back in January, went along to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.  As with most films, found the play not quiet as good as the book by Mark Haddon, but still enjoyed it.  Actors were fab, especially the lead who played 15 year old Christopher. The staging was very clever with actors who also played part of the "set."  Saves on costs I guess.

In April, it was Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Fabulous darlings, just fabulous! Big hair, big shoes, big lashes. Colour, dancing, singing and FUN! Much more my style. 

Finally last Saturday went along to see Puffs at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda. Had never been there before, so that was a first.  It covers seven years at that famous Wizard School from the viewpoint of the Puffs, who don't get to save the world from he who must not be named and are well "average". It was silly, but a bit of fun and we had a few giggles.  Emi wasn't overly impressed.

My fave show? Has to be Aladdin.  With Hairspray and Kinky Boots right up there. When I leave the theatre, I want my cheeks to hurt and if I've pee'd my pants just a little, that's a good sign. Least favourite? Well, I've only ever not gone back in at intermission at one performance and that was CRAPS.  Sorry CATS.  Not sure why I thought I might enjoy 1984 - didn't. Would have left at half time, but there wasn't one and we were in the front row, so felt a bit guilty.  What with Big Brother watching an all.

So after peering into the wall of self-reflection, I'm not going to go and see any show that's "deep" or a "must see" and go to the theatre three times is coming off the list.  Because life is too short to watch or read something that you're not enjoying. And on that note, I think it's about time I took read 20 classics off the list as well. Don Quixote - I'm looking at you.

Thelma and Louise

That's it. We have officially become crazy chicken people.  I suspected that would be the case when we welcomed Coco, but today it became crystal clear when Emi sent me this picture.

Thelma's very first egg (on the right)

Two weeks ago, our flock increased to three when we welcomed Thelma and Louise - a pair of Hy-Line Browns (checkout my chicken knowledge).  We collected the girls from Talking Hens down in Main Ridge and were a little worried how Coco would react to having room mates. 

L-R Thelma, Coco and Louise

Not impressed, lots of squawking and she managed to get herself stuck between the coop and the wall, but a bit of prodding with the broom and she was free. After her fright, Coco was quick to ensure the two new interlopers knew exactly who ruled the roost and who was top of the pecking order.  So a bit of bully behaviour (hen pecked is a perfect term), but Thelma is a plucky thing and little Louise, just kept out of the way. 

There was a bit of argy bargy when it came time for bed, but eventually the three girls settled in for the night after a bit of cackling and all three were beady eyed and fluffy feathered the next morning.

Since then, they seem to have settled down and no sign of injury or blood loss.  Queen Coco continues to be the boss, but Thelma is very friendly and likes being stroked and Louise is growing and catching up in size. 

Coco has been laying an egg nearly every day - not bad for an 18 month old hen.  And today, Thelma laid her very first egg. So proud.  Figure they must be reasonable happy.  They certainly get excited and talkative whenever we head outside - they come running over to us to see what we've brought them!  They love roaming free and have made no attempts to escape - our own mobile fertiliser factory. 

Who knew that chickens could make such cute and funny pets?  We're pretty sure that if we opened the back door they'd come right on in and hop up onto the couch.  As for Lola, she's like their big  sister chasing away any other birds that pop down to steal the food.  So although she doesn't "love them" their her chickens, in her garden so she has to protect them. 

Never Stop Learning

But what if like me you don't particularly like studying?  Well nobody said you had to be a Master of Quantum Physics (what exactly is Quantum Physics? Yeah OK, I could go and google it, but I'm afraid I might not understand the answer) and nobody said what you could learn.  Just reading and being curious about the world around us is a pretty good place to start.

“The world is a university and everyone in it is a teacher. Make sure when you wake up in the morning, you go to school.” ―T. D. Jakes

However, I'm taking it one step further - and began a new list!  So starting from June 2018, I decided that each month I would pick a topic that I wanted to learn more about or acquire a new skill. Doesn't have to be deep, or technical, it just needs to be of interest.

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” ―John Wooden

Now I read a fair bit and not only novels, but I wanted to actually focus on 1 particular topic. Coming up with topics is the fun bit (I love lists) and there are no restrictions.  Nothing is worthier than something else - unless there is a pressing need to learn about something. 

Which brings me to my June topic - what was it? Keeping Hens of course. Although I started reading up about hens when Coco arrived in late May, now that Thelma and Louise have bought our flock to three, I've been learning a bit more throughout June.  So as the month draws to a close, I'm summarising all I've learnt about chickens.  Am I an expert? Absolutely not, but hey I know more than I did and I can tell my Australops from my Hyline Bowns.  Just call me Julia the Chicken Whisperer. 

A list in progress - Acquire one new skill a month (in no particular order):

1. Identify the 20 most common birds found around Melbourne (I fancy myself a bit of a "twitcher")

2. What is permaculture all about?

3. Learn about healing crystals

4. What's all the fuss with essential oils?

5. Learn speed reading

6. How to make Jam/preserves 

7. Become a better photographer

8. Lean all the types of pasta and make some

9. Learn to tow a caravan

10. Learn how to crochet a mandala rug

11. Learn the history behind the art silos and do up an article

12. Learn about frogs and and building frog bogs

13. Learn about Buddhism 

14. Find out what Quantum Physics actually is

P.S. For July, I've decided to checkout birds.  Time to pull out the trusty binoculars.  

Lunchtime terrarium making

Collins Square (my day jail) has recently been running several workshops including one on making a Terrarium, which I had on the list.  I also wanted to do the croissant making one (images of golden, flakey, buttery delishesness coming to mind), but missed out on a spot. Never mind, probably a good thing - more on that another time.

Maree and I headed down, green fingers ready to create.  Considering the very reasonable price we paid, imagine our surprise when we were greeted with a fish bowl size container waiting to be turned into our masterpieces.   

Our hosts, were the lovely people from Miei Fiori (My Flowers in Italian), a florist with a difference. Not only do they produce beautiful bouquets of stunning flowers and run a variety of workshops, but they operate on a 100%-net-profit-to-charity model.  With a focus on improving children’s lives and closing the poverty gap in Australia, they are currently supporting the Smith Family and are one of the growing number of social enterprises supporting the community. Yay team - love ya work!

They also operate on a zero waste model, so don't have a supply of flowers ready and waiting to be bunched up and cellophaned to within an inch of their life. But give them some notice and they can provide gorgeous bouquets that you know are super fresh.

Back to the terrarium making.  Once intros and basic instructions were provided, it was time to get down to business.  We grabbed out 3 succulents. Maree thought she had her 3 safe in her keeping, but it's a dog eat dog world out there and she found one being snatched out of her hand.  Crocheting is not that competitive - although I can imagine Maree fighting with hooks raised at a Morris & Sons 50% off sale.

Right then, glove on, first layer - small pebbles to aid in water drainage.  Check. Second layer Sphagnum Moss that stores water and keeps things nice and moist (I don't have an aversion to that word. In fact I quiet like it - moist, moist, moist).  Next succulent potting mix.  Now the fun part planting our chosen succulents.  Making a little hole, loosening the roots a bit and sticking it in.  3 little succulents sitting in a bowl.  Bit of gravel over the top and several delicately placed decorative pebbles and Voila! 1 terrarium ready for a light water spray and Instagram glory.

Don't over water!  Just a bit of a spray when the soil is looking dry to keep things MOIST. And that's how we spent our lunchtime.  My terrarium is now sitting proudly on my desk receiving compliments. As for Maree's, well she doesn't like succulents so gifted it on to someone who can appreciate and talk nicely to it.

Oh, and if you fancy becoming a flower arranging maestro - check out Miei Fiori's workshops.

Maree "I'd rather be crocheting" Ross

Lola the Explorer and her allergies

Lola the Explorer has always been an "itchy dog" and over the years we have tried many things. From special (read expensive) shampoos, special diets, portions, lotions and creams and of course medication from the vet. Her allergies continue and although we laugh at her famous belly scratching and spinning around on her butt, it can't be comfortable for the poor thing.

Most helpful is Prednisone, prescribed by the vet. However, being a strong steroid, we don't like her taking it all the time so only give them to her when her allergies are particularly bad. They do help, but she's always starving (nothing thin about Lola) and giving us the "feed me" look.

Allergies were particularly bad on our recent trip up to Metung and Merimbula. And of course we didn't have any Prednisone with us. So spotting a vet in Lakes Entrance, we decided to stop and say hello and see if they could give us a few tablets.

An old fashioned country vet they agreed to provide them. The only hesitation - what to charge. 14 tablets, "oh just give us $5." Was tempted to see if we could have 200! The cheapest trip to the vet EVER!

Not only that, but we were having a chat about using human antihistamines between courses of the Prednisone which they were very much in favour of. So they also provided us with a sheet showing which to use and the recommended dosages:

   

Piriactin	4mg tabs	Give ½ tablet 3 times daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Phenergan	10mg tabs	Give ½ tablet 3 times daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Polaramine	2mg tabs	Give ½ tablet twice daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Claratine	10mg tabs	Give 1/4 tablet twice daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Teldane	10mg tabs	Give ½ tablet twice daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Zyrtec	10mg tabs	Give ½ tablet twice daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Zadine	1mg tabs	Give ½ tablet once daily	Per 5kg of body weight
Telfast	180mg tabs	Give 1/4 tablet twice daily	Per 10kg of body weight

We've had some success with antihistamines, although we were just dosing Lola once a day. It's suggested using one brand for at least 10 days and then trying a second. Antihistamines have very little side effects, but don't always work in all cases. So we're going to try and switch things up a little. I did find a few articles talking about this to compare. Like these ones:

Dog Walkers Melbourne

Fairfield Road Veterinary Hospital

After my bit of reading, we're also going to give sardines a go. Over the years we've tried Fish Oil tablets and various different forms of Omega 3, but apparently 1 small sardine a day, can help keep the itches away!

I scratch on sand......

I scratch on grass!

Just a couple of Old Chooks

White, brown, reddish and black. They cluck, lay eggs, like to scratch around and taste good. Up until a couple of days ago, that was pretty much the extent of my chicken knowledge (other than a few favourite recipes). That was until Coco the Hen joined the family. Seemed like a good idea as any when one of Emilio's clients wanted to remove his coop and chicken.

From my crash course in all things poultry, I’m 99% sure that Coco is an Australorp (short for Australian Orpington). A good looking buxom bird, rather large with shiny black green tinged feathers, beady eyes who poops - a lot! Thanks to the good people at Talking Hens, I've learnt heaps.

What I didn't know is how entertaining and curious they are. She's actually pretty friendly, lets me pick her up without trying to peck my eyes out and hasn't tried any great escapes yet. We're hoping to be able to leave the door open whilst we're home so she can roam free. A few times when we went out to check on her, she would strut over to see what was happening and what was on offer.

Lola the Explorer wasn't overly impressed at first, but after a while they seemed to come to an amicable arrangement without the loss of any fur or feathers. Who knows, maybe one day they'll be dancing chick-to-chick, engaging in a little fowl play and watching a chick-flick together.

Like eager parents, we are now awaiting her first egg. Actually, she's already laid eggs - they do go "off lay" when stressed (let's face it who wouldn't be a bit stressed joining this fam). But she's settling in well. Now I feel my brain is scrambled and I'm turning into a crazy chicken lady for wanting two more. Feeling clucky maybe? But so many choices - do we want a couple of good layers or maybe one of those cute, fluffy Silkies?

Eggsellent Chicken Facts I've learnt:

1. There are lots of breeds, types and colours - Hybrids, Heritage, Purebred and Bantam
2. Some are better layers than others (much like women I suppose)
3. Some are calmer and friendlier than others (also much like women)
4. They start laying at around 18 weeks and after 18 months, their egg rate slows down (beginning to see the correlation here between women and hens)
5. A Pullet is a young hen and POL stands for Point of Lay - when they are about to start laying. So a bit like a hormonal 12 year old child
6. Chicks get vaccinated, mites are common and "dusting" them seems to be a rather unglamorous process where you hold them upside down.
7. Chicken food can be supplemented with other stuff. So far we've worked out that Coco likes grainy bread, muesli, oats, corn and grubs. Not that keen on banana, tomato or apple. We're working through the list.
8. The term broody is when a hen wants to hatch her eggs and raise chicks.
9. Did I already mention that chickens poop a lot? But hey, it's good for the garden.

So now that I have a chicken under my care, does that make me a chicken tender? Oh stop egging me on. Gee, we really are just all either Spring Chickens or Old Chooks.