The Perfect Day

After much teasing here it is...

I never thought much about what my perfect day would be. When you're a full time Mum juggling all the demands that are placed on your time and energy - there isn't a lot of time for dreaming. I also caution to say, that for a time I steered clear of dreaming because it was so far removed from the reality of my life, that it was depressing to see that huge gulf between where I was and where I hazarded, to want to be.

For a few months my beautiful friend Annie and my soul sister Karen had been plotting to get away by ourselves to see the Andy Wahol exhibition, while Karen was on holidays here in Brisbane during early January. It looked for a while like it wouldn't happen and then miraculously it did.

Saturday lunch time Annie and Karen were dropped here at my place and we began our adventure by stopping in at Handmade Naturals. Karen has had the joy of experiencing their products care packs from me and from internet purchases, but she's never been into the store - which is amazing in itself, with the colourful tied dyed baby clothes hanging in the window and all the beautiful natural and organic beauty and personal hygiene (gosh I despise that word!) ... and all the wonderful organic produce. So Karen was in seventh heaven and Annie not far off. With the brown paper bags clutched in hand, and organic chocolate melting in our mouths (and not in the 30 somthing degree heat) it was back in the car.

Next stop was the Lifeline Bookfest. Twice a year Lifeline (a charitable organisation that uses its thrift stores to subsidise its free counselling lines) has a huge book sale at the Brisbane Convention Centre - its something like 50 odd rows of books on trestle tables that run from one side of the hall to the other - its massive. Karen had never been, as it is usually held over the Australia Day Long Weekend in late January (which coincides with the beginning of the school year - and Karen is a school teacher). So when she accidentally found out that it was one while she was in town she was ecstatic. Dave and I always toddle off to the bookfair to come out fully laden with books for the next six months.

The best thing for me, is that the bookfest seems to be a good measure of my personal growth ... as whatever is clutched under my arm as I walk out is usually reflective of where I am at. This time around I didn't go anywhere near Family and Health .. and instead cruised the Science and Politics sections, along with oddities and my favourite "new age" which appeared for the first time ever. I left with a lovely collection of Goddess books!

After losing each other, and then finding each other ... it was time to haul the books back down in the underground car pack, find space for them all and then with much excitement and anticipation go on to the Andy Wahol exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (affectionately known at GoMA!) By this stage Karen was declaring the day her "Perfect Day".

The exhibition blew my mind, as prior to walking in I hadn't had a great deal of exposure to Wahol's work ... not any of the stories of the great man's life etc. I immediately lost Karen and Annie - which for me wasn't such a bad thing - I was happy to browse at my own pace. I was most intrigued as to 'how' he achieved what he achieved with his work ... and how he played with and pushed the existing technologies to produce what he did. In the age of computer generated images, photoshopable images and then rest - it good to be taken back to a time when it was a canvas and converted dark room equipment. I was in LOVE!! And I look forward to going back with Dave to see all of it (I missed seeing the films that were running and looking at all the memorabilia that was part of the exhibition) I also want to go and hear one of the many lectures that is on (a definite potential Artist Date I do believe) and more over - I'm inspired to give some of the art ideas that have been rushing around in my imagination for quite a while now - the light of day.

Karen and Annie with cameras in hand set about taking all our favourite types of 'I've been to the Andy Wahol exhibition' type photos and Karen went searching for a photo of the cityscape in the late afternoon sun.

By the end of the exhibition the chicken sandwich I had made Karen at my place, and the tomato and cheese sandwich Annie had made for herself at my place (yes I forgot to eat!) had worn off ... and it was off to the Bohemian elegance of The Three Monkeys in West End. Amid plates of Dianne cake, nachos, Betty Blue coffees (coffee from a tiny soup bowl!)and a ginger crush we had a chat fest. Then I dragged out the Sandra Boyton book that Karen had got me about love. I set about reading it out loud and after each page we tried to find a name/relationship to match each type of love.

Annie and Karen went to teachers college with each other about 20 years ago and have been friend ever since - Karen and I worked together from 2000-01, and then we lived together in 2002 and of course - have been friends ever since! So there's quite a bit of accumulated love history between the three of us to share, muse, be embarrassed about and a fare slab of laugther too.

With great reluctance we emerged energised from The Three Monkeys to make the trip home. The sun was so glorious hitting the cityscape that we took a quick detour to allow Karen to get one final picture of the city with the setting sun casting a perfect light on the sky scrapers. It was also a perfect stop for some final friendship shots ....

It was dark when I finally got home - close to 8pm and I was exhausted. But now I have the Perfect Day etched into my head and have this memory to carry around with me until we can create the Perfect Day II at some stage in the not too distant future. It's given me hope to begin to dream again and to have faith in the fact that dreams can come true!

More photos to follow later on today when Annie drops me off her disc of photographs from the day .. All photos here are of me, or I'm with Karen.