Who knew that weighted blankets were a thing and how to travel the world in your own city

Good day to all my new ‘serendipitous’ readers. I hope you are cozy and warm. Winter has well and truly arrived in Australia and today the snow is drifting down on the mountains nearby. It’s reported to be Sydney’s coldest day in 40 years, the sort of day where you really want to be inside curled up by an open fire enjoying a warm mulled wine or masala chai. I’m lucky enough to be slurping the latter right now.

Today I smiled for the first time in a long time. Since my brother's unexpected death I have lost my mojo. I’m tired and I have little motivation to do anything. All I can think about are the missed opportunities to do things together with him into the future. It’s a hard pill to swallow. I guess it’s tied up in the feelings of grief. I went for my walk this morning, something I do every day, however today it was different. Instead of dragging myself around the neighborhood slowly putting one foot in front of the other and simply going through the motions, this morning I started to bounce along again. I was listening to a poddy and I actually heard the words without being distracted by other thoughts. It was cold, it was wet and even that didn’t seem to deter me. I felt like ‘me’ again, like the fog I had experienced for so long now might’ve finally been lifting. I felt calm.

This talk of calm brings me to the next topic of this post, calming or weighted blankets. Have you heard of them? I hadn’t heard of them either until one day when I was out walking, someone had placed a handmade sign in their front garden. It read something along the lines of ‘do you want to have a better night's sleep, weighted blankets available here!’ The promise of a better night's sleep pricked my interest, however, I thought ‘another gimmick’ and walked on by. Soon after my daughter purchased one. Telling me how great it was she suggested I try it, however once again I passed. It now transpires that apparently they are a ‘thing’, the latest craze with a cult-like following. Not only are they a ‘thing’ they are also a topic of conversation where the weight of one's blanket is compared between converts! “What did you get? Oh mine's 6.5 kilo, what do you have? Oh I have 14.5 kilos.” Could you imagine being pinned under a 14.5 kilo weight? It would be like doing a gym workout every time you had to lift it off you?! I do feel like I am a late comer to the party. Do you have one? Let me know what you think.

The COVID pandemic throughout the world is now well and truly into its second year. None of us could’ve ever imagined that travel abroad to new and exciting destinations would still not be possible well into 2021. This begged the question, how could we take a journey and experience the culture of foreign countries without leaving our own shores? What sprung to mind was to go on a culinary journey within our own city and to seek out authentic food from different cultures. Alternatively we could visit a spice merchant such as Gewurzhaus and collect a range of spices from different countries and cook up a storm at home. Are you in? I’ve vowed to go travelling with food without leaving Australia and to visit one new cafe or restaurant once a month to experience authentic cuisine from a country of my choosing. First up I’ll be heading to tropical Thailand by enjoying the cuisine at Boon Cafe in Sydney’s CBD. If you’d like to join me on this culinary journey to seek out authentic food from cultures near and far, a great place to start and to get inspired is the @seasonedtravellerhq They have an extensive list of authentic Melbourne cafes to try and will be hitting up Sydney very soon.

This week I visited the Art Gallery of NSW to view the exhibition of Archibald Prize finalists and winners. The Archibald Prize is the most well regarded portraiture event in Australia and an icon of Australian artistic endeavour. Peter Wagner’s portrait of 100 year old Lane Cove artist Guy Warren was a worthy winner and a choice befitting of a prize now in its 100th year. The exhibition will be on display at the Art Gallery of NSW until the end of September.

‘Portrait of Guy Warren at 100’ painted by Peter Wegner

Until next time may your days be both serendipitous and enjoyable.

Eugenia