About

Hello and welcome to Glowing Grey.

I’m Jo, a 50 something inveterate dabbler in much but master of little, and I like it that way. I’ve been married to my husband Andrew for 35 years and we have two grown sons, Matt and Mitchell, and a very spoiled fur baby named Asha.

My Story

I come from a small close-knit family and am the middle child of 3 girls. Yes, my father was definitely blessed and I’m nearly positive he would also agree with me. I grew up in the bayside suburbs of Brisbane, Australia and I still live close to my childhood home and have no plans to make the move to anywhere else.

I have a corporate background in Administration, Finance and HR and spent more than 15 years in an executive role that excited and challenged me but eventually left me feeling broken and burned out. Recovering from years of chronic stress has taken longer than I ever anticipated but the lesson learned is that no amount of money is worth my health and wellbeing.

Life has now taken on a slower, simpler pace since our boys have left home. I still work in finance but on a part time basis and with a lot less stress. I have more time now to focus on myself and what I’d like to achieve as we begin the transition to early retirement.

Creativity

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been a creative person, favouring drawing and sketching and a little painting. But for many years daily life, work, motherhood etc came first and my creativity was put on hold.

Lately I’ve been pondering my view on what creativity is and the impact that it has on my health and wellbeing. I’m enjoying discovering different ways that I can rekindle my practice and bring this into my life on a daily basis.

I currently love:

Art – drawing, watercolours, painting or just playing in my art journal
Photography – still very much an amateur/hobbyist but I love exploring with my Fuji X100f 35mm digital camera and my Canon FM 50mm film camera. These feel just right and I haven’t found the need to change or upgrade.
Writing – a new love that I am exploring through this blog and creative writing classes.

Things I’m Passionate About

I probably get a little excited and talk too much about:

Positive Ageing – I have a goal of ageing with health and vitality well into my 90’s
Health & Wellbeing – particularly since being diagnosed with a chronic illness and reaching middle age
Mindfulness – I’m still learning to reduce habitual stress and anxiety in my life
Creativity – expressing myself through my art, photography and writing as well as discovering other ways to bring creativity into my life on a daily basis.
Travel – getting away from the city and into nature as often as possible

What to Expect

As a very private person, blogging seems an unlikely avenue to pursue, but the idea has been marinating in my mind over the last few years and subsequently refused to go away. Only now have I been brave enough to put my thoughts on virtual paper.

Writing is my way of processing my thoughts and feelings as I try to make sense of an ever-changing, often chaotic world, and my place in it. Glowing Grey is also my ode to middle age and all the wisdom, confidence and self discovery that this time of life brings. Far from feeling old, I wish to showcase the adventure and opportunity that I see in the future, and bust the myths and pre-conceived ideas around ageing.

I don’t know that I have a particular style or feel the need to stick to any specific subject matter but I will endeavour to write posts that are at times thoughtful or humorous in nature, short or lengthy in duration.

Posts are currently published every Monday but sometimes I am living life and may fall short on this goal.

How to Stay in Touch

There is no social media linked to this website and that is a conscious choice on my part. No doubt my reasons will find their way into a post at some stage in the future.

To keep up to date with the latest posts, consider subscribing below. I can also be contacted at: hellojbfien@gmail.com.

I would very much appreciate your feedback on my posts and whether they have resonated with you in some way. Your comments are always welcome.