My Unintentional Break

It's been a while hasn't it!  Don't think I haven't longed to be able to pop in to say Hi!, to share our life's adventures.  I have missed being able to be here, missed you.  Yet life has changed so much since I started blogging and I just don't seem to have the time, space, words and mental energy to be here as often as I'd like.  There are many days I have had words forming in my head, a post ready to share, yet not the moments to sit and type before I fall in a heap in the evenings.  There have also been many days when I seem to have lost my words.

When I started my blog almost 5 years ago I had just had my second baby - by precious little Eee.  We were very settled in our home in Adelaide and I needed something new to stimulate and inspire me.  It was the inspiration of Ess Cox which gave me that final jolt to start my own.  As you can see, she has found busyness in other areas of her life as well.  Little Eee was a delightful sleeping baby.  She would sleep three times a day and all through the night.   I needed to be home with her to let her sleep. I was at home with her asleep, with my Ess at Kindy, I also had a bright and rested mind which allowed me to think and reflect and share easily.

Things are different now...

Now my third baby J is 20 months old.  She has been a delightful little one to care for but is very much more hands on than my Eee was as a baby.  She has not liked to sleep ever since we moved when she was 3 months old and just starting to sleep 12 hours overnight.  She catnaps during the day  and is very wakeful at night.  It has not been uncommon for my husband and I to be up every two hours and more to attend to her.  We started to take it in shifts to nurture her as I slept early in the evening and he in the early hours of the morning.  It was how we could cope with all that was happening alongside the other issues of moving and having to go to court to resolve our house matter last year.  Thus I have not had a rested mind.  I've been sleep-deprived with more demands meaning I needed to focus on my family first.  Now Ess is at home being educated as an 8 year old and my little Eee is enjoying emerging literacy - a crucial stage of her literacy development I must be mindful of.

It is only just now that it seems baby J is able to sleep for most of the night, only waking us once or twice for a few nights a week, other nights she still wakes numerous times.  So we are starting to be able to sleep when we need to and stay asleep.  I am noticing that perhaps I do have a little more inspiration to write.  My mind is perhaps a little more rested.

As well as that, I am not at home as much as I used to be with my baby Eee in the early days.  We have connected with two very interesting and functioning networks of home educators here in the capital and we always have things to go out and do.  I am home on Mondays and every second Friday but I have to work very hard to keep those days free of outings.  We are home on the odd Thursday as well but most weeks we are out over lunch time then.  When I am out socialising I lack the energy to do so again on my blog, such a serious introvert am I. ;)

Baby J exploring autumn leaves
Honourable Mention

I've also found another online community of people I really enjoy.  When my niece was born in Belfast last year I joined Instagram so I could see pictures of her as she grew.  I subsequently found a group of people sharing photos of great quality, photos which inspired me. I found my photos were enjoyed and I became part of a couple of groups and participated in challenges. I was delighted to receive an Honourable Mention recently after entering the Autumnal_Shades_in_the_Capital competition.  So I will continue to show my pics there.  Follow along if you'd like to see a pic or two everyday.  I'm @CeeLew. :)

So that is some of the change that has happened for me in recent times.  A little of the reasoning I give myself when trying to explain why this place I have so enjoyed remains vacant for many days in a row.

Here are some of the things we've been enjoying recently:

:: Finally getting to explore Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.  On our first visit with the Discovery Club (our home education friends) we walked the Birrigai Time Trail to view a Rock Shelter used by our indigenous people.  It has been dated to 40000 years ago (although indigenous people were here prior to then).  We then found the Discovery Playground which we returned to recently to share with Dad over a BBQ lunch.

:: Completing a couple of yarn projects.  An owlet knitted for my baby J and a capelet for my eldest, Ess.  She chose the pattern herself and loves it so.  I've really enjoyed sitting down to some crochet these past days.  My ripple blanket is still in progress, waiting its turn.  It'll be there a while longer. I can't bear to finish it.  I love the process so much.

:: Making plans for changes to our garden.  My Generous Gentleman would love to get his hands into some dirty work and has some great ideas to make our lovely new backyard with beautiful well established cold-climate plants into something more useable for our family.  Let's just say lots of digging and water seems to be involved.

:: Enjoying visits from both my Mum and my Dad over Easter and beyond.  They are both 70 years old this year.  They are both wonderful with my girls and enjoy their company.

:: Reading Stradbroke Dreaming as we journey around Australia on the Australian Book Traveller.

:: Spending many days out at excursions and picnics with our home educated friends.  There is so much to do in Canberra.  So much to do that we cannot do everything and have to choose regularly what we will participate in and enjoy.  We love Questacon and the National Botanic Gardens, the National Museum and Lake Burley Griffin.  There are always extra programs on for us to attend.

:: Enjoying a new church family and small group.  My big girls love going along to their kids program.

:: Having new friends over to lunch to enjoy a Roast Vegetable Minestrone with husband-home-baked spelt bread followed by home crumbed fish and oven-baked chips on a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

:: Exploring Lanyon Homestead with Mum who found it just like being back in the home of her youth.

:: Today we enjoyed holding a 1 day old chick, a little Chinese Silky.  See its little fluffy, feathery feet.

So do tell.  Have you missed my presence here in blogland? Would you like to hear from me more often?  What would you like to hear about?  I'd love to know, as I do so value your comments in this space.

Our New Place: Becoming home

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

Sunset viewed from our lounge room window

It has been a whirlwind: these past three months.

Yet we finally made it.

Some old roses discovered under the canopy
 of the weeping cherry.

We have finished the contract,

we have purchased a house, 

we have moved into it,

we are making it home.

Two of my cherubs pruning their natural cubby
 - a weeping cherry.

There are still many, many boxes to unpack, 

things to sort out and decide whether we really need and want.

After having lived in quite meagre situations this year, 

we have a renewed perspective.

A full rainbow viewed to the east - over our backyard.

Yet there are many things we will treasure and hold on to, 

many things we will use once again when we settle.

I am particularly missing knowing where all my craft things are,

so I can easily access my scissors, my fabric, my patterns...

It became a double bow!

As we sort and store, and rejoice in the discovery of things

 we have done without for most of this year, 

we make our home.

Sharing the unpacking days with the children

means little is achieved at once, 

but we make our home together.

Another sunset viewed from our front porch.

So enjoy these picture of the surrounds of our new place,

and if you are ever nearby, do pop in to say Hi!

Blossoms and Birds

Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms.  ~Ikkyu Sojun

There are a number of things we are truly enjoying in our new, albeit temporary, home.

We enjoy a visit from a pair of Crimson Rosellas every afternoon.

They are enjoying foraging in the apricot tree blossoming in our back yard at the moment.

I was fortunate to be able to capture them this afternoon, 

so engrossed were they in the myriad blossoms.

They leave a carpet of blossoms under the tree, 

aided by the sulphur crested cockatoos, magpies and other friendly birds.

These delicate blossoms are full of romance.

The little dancing ladies here remind me of the dancers of a mystical Swan Lake, 

tiptoeing delicately upon a lake of snow and ice.

Then they are transformed into a most beautiful ballerina dressed delicately in a beautiful pink bodice with billowing white skirt, layering upon tassels of gold and silver.

The Apricot Blossom - 

the current delight of my heart

and joy of my days.

Sounds like my precious little girls really.

 ;)

Treats

When one's tummy is growing

Along with a sweet little one inside,

One's level of exhaustion increases also,

Discomfort becomes common, experienced all day everyday,

Braxton Hicks contractions occur frequently...

A few little treats absolutely fill my heart anew.

:: roses from my Generous Gentleman waiting in our places

upon our arrival home late in the evening from Gymnastics ::

:: some Chiyogami paper from a sweet Japanese Shop

at the Adelaide Central Markets - Little Tokyo ::

We'll use these designs for a sweet pattern sent to us by my sister-in-law recently.

More to come soon.

Finally, we gather together as a family to enjoy lunch on a workday

Daddy, Mummy, our two little girls

at our favourite cafe

at the Central Markets.

A most precious treat for me!

Desiring to meet a new little one and become small once again,

Yet also knowing I have so much to do in preparation,

both mentally and physically in our home,

my brain is a bit mushy

my body is tired

along with my mind,

I wait, I rest, and take my time.

Autumn Planting

Plant a radish, get a radish, never any doubt.

That's why I love vegetables, you know what they're about! ~Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

We spent some time in the sunshine and warmth of this morning enjoying some Autumn planting. Here Ess is carefully positioning her freesias which we have planted year by year. We also planted some Asian greens - Mizuna, Mibuna, Tah Tsai and Mustard Greens, along with peas, Cos lettuce, radish seed and pansies, pink of course. I can't wait for them all to flourish so our garden will look fresh, green and cared for again. The month we were on the road took its toll on my garden, and while rain freshened much of it just before our return, many of my summer herbs were looking very very tired and dried. Many of them will renew, yet at present there are many dry sticks and twigs.

Look at my poor perennial basil here, usually it is full of leaves and blossom attracting abundant bees. I have pruned it back by at least three quarters here to let some new shoots take hold, we'll see what happens. The lawn is just terrible also. Little Eee is helping us tidy it with her own scissors here.

We have been home from our driving holiday for almost a couple of weeks now. The time has flown as I've been establishing new routines for us. We are in a new stage in our lives with Ess now being homeschooled. It is a positive experience for our family yet involves changes in the way my day flows.

In many ways there is lots more freedom. I am now not bound to someone else's clock with another's demands imposed on me. The clock is ours and it is up to me to choose what to do when and encourage my children to enjoy their lives and their learning. As you might imagine sometimes this is easier than other times, as on occasion the children do not have the same idea as I do. Things are progressing well however and Ess is learning that she will have lots of free time to accomplish her own ideas as well as spend some time participating in activities which are guided by Mum. I am aiming for these to be in the morning while we all enjoy some freer time and rest time in the afternoons. Today it is going well...today!

Leaves are Turning

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of (March), and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Little Eee and I spent a moment wandering and enjoying the beauty of Autumn. I love Autumn. Tis a season which provides relief from the dry hot summer months and reminds us so visually of the pattern of continuity and change in life.

As the fresh green leaves of spring become old and change, their beauty is enhanced and the joy they provide increases.

Little feet cannot resist stomping and crunching their way through brightly coloured fallen leaves.

At the beginning of this year, which was touted to be a year of change, I sat back and pondered my/our life wondering what changes would be in store for us. My brother and sister-in-law are about to head overseas to reside in Northern Ireland. My sister and brother-in-law moved back to the town we all grew up in and I am delighted they provide some company for Mum.

Now I know there is quite some change happening for us also. I think now I am ready to share some of that after some weeks of thinking, praying and simply being exhausted. :) This week is my daughter's last week of school as we made a decision to provide her with home education. There are so many reasons we are choosing to do this, yet in summary, we want to provide her with a family-based education rather than an institutional one. She is very bright and we want to offer her as many life experiences as possible. She also finds school exhausting as there are so many people there and she needs lots of personal space. So we are making changes to ensure her learning continues appropriately.

Next year it is likely that we'll no longer reside here...well not in this home, as my Generous Gentleman's work is probably going to change and require us to move. This is a little stressful for him so please offer your prayers as you are guided. We will all appreciate them.

In the meantime we will be adding another delightful little soul to our family. Yes I am expecting which is probably the reason activity here has been quite sparse in recent months. All my creative energy has turned inward to nurture and create another person. It is exciting!

I'll try to pop in again sometime soon yet we have lots to do including some travel so please forgive me if my words are few.

First Steps

pitter, patter...

These tiny feet have taken their first steps.

It was a few days ago on Friday 13 February.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to take photos of little feet that are now on the move, very rapidly, albeit not always walking yet, but always toddling somehow somewhere? Finally I have managed to get a few photos which are not too blurry to recognise.  I  have the utmost admiration for people, like Kirsty of Appleseed Photography, who specialise in photography of children.   Her photos of newborns are stunning and she also captures the very special gentle innocence of young children.  Our walls are graced with her simply stunning photographic art showing the superb way she captured the essence of our family last June.

Little Eee, you strode out at about 5pm.  Fortunately Daddy was home and both Mum and Dad watched you take your first half a dozen steps, before Ess raced in to hug and applaud you as well.  You were so cute and so proud of yourself to be independently walking.

Not a lot of that has happened since, as you still like to scoot around on your bottom.  The scoot has become more of a bounce these days as you pick up speed.  So cute! 

These little feet will pick up speed as your confidence grows and I know that in no time at all they will be wearing through shoes as you walk and talk and grow just so quickly.

Ess Goes to School

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

Today is Ess' first day of school.  Such a momentous and an emotional time with feelings of pride, excitement, sadness and achievement all mixed in together.

She is very ready to go and was prepared at 8am this morning.  I am so glad that she is ready to learn and to meet new people.  It gives me a sense of achievement at the work I have carried out over these last five years.   Work which I value so highly.  It has passed so quickly.  It does not seem that long since we put your feet in these tiny little Baby Paws to pad around the place.

Then pretty little baby feet were fastened into these sweet shoes to wear with all those adorable little baby dresses.

I have many memories of tying the laces of these gorgeous little Elefanten boots on your chubby toddler feet.  Particularly after all our Kindermusik Our Time lessons with Mr Geoff.

These little boots, of course in your favourite colour pink, walked you to Kindy last year.  You were quite surprised when the new shoes for this year's education could not be pink.  No complaints however - such is your motivation to be at school and hence wear your uniform.  I am so glad.

Shoes have a special way of showing the passage of time.  I have many images of your growing feet in these various shoes participating in so much over the few short years of your life.

Now school has commenced and we are walking off to education again, in uniform and sandals. I hope the motivation to wear it doesn't wane as it is now very easy to choose what to wear in the mornings.

There is a heat-wave here.  The whole week is due to be over 35degC at least. Yesterday the guage at the Central Markets (celebrating 140 yrs coincidently), and on my car, read 45degC at 3pm.  Today is forecast to be 44degC.  It was 39.8degC at 10am this morning after I arrived home at 9.30am ready for my second shower of the day.  No worries about any hot water this morning. The cool was definitely needed.  Overnight it dipped only to 27degC.

So against my principles, but going with my better judgement, I will drive to collect you this afternoon and hope your cheeks are not too red as they were when I left you this morning.

Enjoy your first day, my dear girl, I know you will.

New Year Musings

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Nabbed from here.

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars 
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity 
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis 
10. sang a solo 
11. bungee jumped 
12. visited paris 
13. watched a lightning storm at sea 
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in Italy 
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill 
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb 
26. gone skinny dipping 
27. run a marathon 
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset 
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise 
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors 
35. seen an amish community 
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing 
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant 
44. visited africa 
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling

52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud 
54. gone to a drive-in theatre 

55. been in a movie 
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies. 
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter 
69. saved a favorite childhood toy 
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square 
74. toured the everglades 
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london 
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle 
79. seen the grand canyon in person 
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper 
85. read the entire bible 
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox 
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous 
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby 
95. seen the alamo in person. 
96. swum in the great salt lake. 
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

It's good to reflect.  Maybe I'll have done a few extra things by the end of this year.  I will certainly have watched my children grow and grow - a year brings so much change especially in a baby heading towards toddlerhood.

I am hanging out to kiss in the rain.  Rain down please!!!

Entering Macdom

You have not been hearing much from me of late as we have made many changes to the way things are running at home.

It was time for a new computer and we were becoming increasingly annoyed with regular system crashes so upon recommendation of my brother and sister-in-law we decided to buy a new Apple iMac 20" and are very happy with it.  Lots of fun, very user-friendly and the price was only a wee bit more than a new PC system.  The Choice Shopper Service is excellent. I found what I thought was a great price and they were able to better it.  I did it all from home (which is great when you have a baby - not too fun dragging them around computer stores).  We only needed to go out to collect our goods.  I am also very happy to read that the iMac is a bit "greener" than some.

We have also finally entered the world of broadband and I am very happy to recommend our local service provider Adam Internet to anyone surfing in South Australia or the Northern Territory.  When I choose a new service provider I look for a company which offers great, supportive and friendly service.  These people have been excellent and I'm afraid I have to give Telstra the big thumbs down!  Telstra tried to seduce me into expensive plans with bundling discounts - none of which were straight forward.  They also tried to tell me VoIP was simply software that you download, not so (well maybe Skype is, but I wanted more).  The Adam salesman told me all about how he also used MyNetFone (which I had previously researched would be the service we'd use) and which modem would suit my needs best. All this despite the fact that Adam also have their own VoIP service - AdamTalk.  I am very happy!

Our VoIP phone service with MyNetFone is excellent.  The calls are clear and we pay so much less.  Our plan costs us $0.00 per month with calls costing 12.5c untimed nationwide and 1.9c/min for most International calls.  If you join MyNetFone you'll be able to call us for free (no they didn't pay me to say that).  If you have broadband you'll be able to cut your phone costs and use MyNetFone's service.  The only thing you may need to do is upgrade your modem. The next thing we'll do is 'go Naked' but we are still unable to in our exchange here.  Sadly we are still having to pay for our landline to run our ADSL service.

So sorry for all the tech talk but you can see where my head has been in all this research.  All my already limited computer time has been about getting our new applications sorted out and also learning how to use our iMac. Not hard, just a bit different.  I do enjoy residing in Macdom or Mactopia as I have also seen it referred to.  Yes this is pretty good.

In Mactopia I'll stay!