Some years ago, the time known as ‘my indigo days’ when I had my store, I used to hold special exhibitions to mark the arrival of new furniture or art. One night, in November of 2003, I was to hold my last exhibition. I was showcasing the work of a local photographer’s visit to India, and I had invested in a large collection of antique furniture from India as well as antique jewellery from Tibet. The opening night was a hit – the store was full to the brim. And one of the lovely people who came in that evening with her 4 young children in tow was Sophie Bouris.

I will never forget, because my store was not exactly child friendly. But these children were so well-behaved – surrounded by loads of strangers, in a frenzy of chatter and bustle as cushions, tables, clothes, and jewellery were being ogled and passed over the counter. Sophie and I connected on that one fleeting first meeting, and looking back we see that our chance encounter was perhaps, no chance at all.

I tell you all this because it is my meeting Sophie that led us both to meeting Tenpa, and both of us individually yet concurrently, developing a special connection with him and his family.

Fast forward to today, and Sophie and my other dear friend Leona, recently returned from an incredibly sacred journey to Tibet with Tenpa, his sister Thongga and their father who is known to many as Rinpoche, but who I call pala (father, in Tibetan). The journey was perilous as the risk of Tibetans travelling back to their own country can be fatal. I was distraught when they all left, and I sent them my positive thoughts every moment of every day they were away. I hung on to every email Tenpa was able to send me to tell me they were all safe, and I was a wreck when I would receive mail that sounded tentative and less than reassuring. But they all arrived home safely and live to tell the tale.

And here it is…

Sophie has compiled this incredible book filled with stories and events from the journey, including her stunning photographs and the journey details through the eyes of pala, Tenpa and Thongga. I have been lucky enough to have sneak peaks over the last few months as the book has been developing, and I will give you only five words to describe it: intimate, captivating, intriguing, heart-breaking and inspiring. A must read for not just those interested in Tibet, but anyone who has a heart.

I am so excited to announce that Sophie has given me the go-ahead to offer the book for pre-order. Just email me your name and contact details and I will put you on the list for the first books off the printing press in August. The aim of the book is to raise awareness of the Tibetan situation and hopefully raise some money from sales.

The book will initially come out of Australia but we’d like to offer the book all over the world, and in lots of languages – so if you are interested to volunteer translations or to help subsidize a print run here in Europe or America, please let me know.

Thank you Sophie, for creating such an incredible body of work, and for sharing it with us all.

Many mornings I wake up with pages and pages of some yet-to-be-conceived book being written in my head. Some mornings it is a script. and other mornings it is a series of images, most likely inspired by dreams. I look forward to waking. It is one of the most creative times of my day, and it the only time of the day that I just let it be. I nestle into the pillow, pull the covers around me and just let my mind play quietly.

In other news, apparently I do have one male reader. He emailed me yesterday to let me know. It was such a beautifully written email that I wanted to share it with you all and asked if I could write it as a comment to my post, but I had no reply. And I realised at that point, if he wanted to write a comment he would have. Silly girl. But hey, it’s not the first time I’ve scared a male away.

Speaking of males, the Dalai Lama is in town, but not this town. He has just landed in Sydney and will be giving a series of talks, check them out here. Of course I will not be attending since I am on the other side of the world, again. Happens every time he arrives in my part of town, somehow I am elsewhere, what is with that? My friends will be having some special private audiences with him and I hope to be able to share more about all that with you soon. There is also an awesome concert going on as well, this Sunday at the magnificent Angel Place recital hall. If you are in Sydney or near Sydney, do go, you won’t regret it.

In not so interesting news, my outfits du jour have been becoming a little crazy since I have put a ban on leaving the boat until I get my book finished. Yesterday I was wearing this peacock blue dress with gray tights and a cream aymara cardigan, with my hair shoved up on top of my head, dishevelled curls sticking out everywhere, a blue ribbon wrapped around it and one of Marie’s crochet pins in my hair. I was so tempted to show you, but I chickened out. Cooookooo.

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The above pic I took this morning, it is my little tea collection. Oh and a tin of Milo, it seems no one can take the aussie out of me.

I know I know, back to work already. I hear you.

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Well with Manda’s approval below, I am going to keep going, la pipelette is out of the box today. I suspect this could be another never-ending post.

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10:58am: We were all blown away when Australia finally said sorry. tears were shed. lost hearts were found and healing began. I was hoping with all my heart that it was going to be the beginning of a domino affect to spread across the globe. well guess what? it’s Canada’s turn. Go Canada!! I am so so pleased to hear this news, this is another momentous occasion for the survival of humanity.

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11:06am: I’m listening to him. And my favourite song is down the line.

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5:43pm: is 5:43pm too early to pour a glass of wine?

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6:54pm: yes, i’m still working. i think i can see a light at the end of the tunnel. i mean, i think it’s a light. oh wait a minute, ah yes, the brightness button on my screen has been bumped to full capacity. oops-a-daisy.

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7:12pm: i made this today with my dying peonies and astilbes (did I get it right this time? merci à tout!) – a bright little still life for a dreary weathered day…

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7:54pm: French Boy has gone out to hunt. straight to the local indian diner for takeaway. just to give you a clue of what is in the pantry: no bread. no cheese. that about means starvation for me.

and just in case you were wondering, there are now only four days left to send in your submission. just FOUR…

can you tell i cheated today? yep, i just erased the apple core via photoshop.

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and i promise this will be the last entry of the day. i bought jose’s album because it is just that good. and i’ve decided it is not enough to just send you to his myspace, so i have brought you the video of my latest favourite song right here. i advice to turn it up loud as i have been doing all day.

Have a lovely evening, and thank you sooo much for your awesome comments today, i shall respond tout de suite!

Gather kids, it’s story time! Seriously, gather your kids if you have them, as this post is for the little ones and the little ones at heart. It’s a treasured childhood book of mine and I found a you tube reading of it to share with you which (again, with the peeing in the pants) brightened my day so much so that I now need to wear shades.

This book is called tikki tikki tembo, and the story is set in ancient China. It’s written by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent.

I adore this book, although my 30 year old copy is in Sydney, I can still bring it to you right here, thanks to technology. It is this book that first captured my imagination and sent my heart wandering East. It was through my constant yearning to learn more and more about China that I soon learnt about Tibet. I was devastated to realise that right at that moment, a country and people I cherished were destroying and torturing it’s neighbour and themselves. My wandering heart bled. That was about ten years ago. and at that time I was at Uni studying art, so I went to a Chinese calligraphist in Sydney who taught me the Chinese character for ‘love with suffering’, I was told it is a character used often. I still continue to use this symbol in my art.

But as some of you may know, thanks to all of us pressuring to bring this situation to the headlines and hearts of thousands, Tibet and China are talking right now. This is positive.

My post about my Tibetan friend Tenpa gathered some great and controversial comments, check them out here. And as I mentioned in my last comment on that post, I will not only be showcasing Tibet on my blog, but everything that is connected with it, and that includes China. So why not start with Tikki Tembo! It begins a little something like this…

The illustrations captured my imagination as a little girl. When Mum read me the book I was instantly taken to the little house at the top of the hill, or resting with the old man and his ladder.
And it is now one of my niece and nephew’s favourite as I have been reading it to them since they were toddlers. Their faces beam when they hear me say tikki’s name and they join in with pure delight.

I highly recommend you buy a copy as the printed version is definately the best. But for those who just can’t wait, here is the very awesome retro video reading. Make yourself a tea, take a break and a deep breath. And enjoy…

And just for laughs, here is a chipmunk version of tikki’s name!

it’s a hat. and i spotted it in the window of paris’ very first tibetan store which opened over 32 years ago. there are tibetan boutiques and restaurants all over paris, not to mention a fabulous collection of tibetan flags flying from haussman apartment windows all over town. i have had my camera handy and have been snapping shots of the flags at every opportunity. right now my friend tenpa is finishing a three day protest walk sans food, along with some of his fellow tibetans in australia. here is a little interview he did before the walk. i hope he is doing okay right now. meanwhile i am in paris eating my heart out. the world is a funny (not funny ha ha) place.

When I came across this story, I wanted to skip the writing and go straight to the little images at the bottom of the page. And so I did. But when I opened the photographs they captured my curiosity so much so that I had to read the text to understand the meaning of them. Then I found myself wanting to skip paragraphs of the text to get to the meaning as quickly as possible, but each time I skipped a paragraph it didn’t make sense so I found myself going back where I left off and reading through. It was worth it (and proved to me once again how impatient I am). And now I have read and viewed the images many many times, completely enchanted by the author’s experience. I would be in disbelief that there lived a girl this beautiful in such a place, except for the fact I have heard many similar encounters time and time again from friends who have traveled to this incredible country.

This is an inspiring short piece written (in English) by Dutch author Tim Krabbé. Take a 5 minute break, with cup of tea in hand, and click on the link below, it will truly enhance your day.

there was once a young girl who wore a green scarf…