Lately ...

A month has gone by since I last posted.

Life has been busy, and few photos taken.

But  ... ready? 

Here I go - one month in one post:

The term is drawing to a close,

and once again I am feeling that I haven't

achieved anything.

Instead, we've been taking each day as it comes.

Laura has been suffering from daily migraines,

sometimes with nausea and overheating,

and ongoing vision problems

(which may or may not be related to the migraines).

She has missed a lot of school.

They are not bad migraines, 

often just a mild headache,

but she rarely has a pain-free day,

and when nausea hits 

she just needs to be home.

The two of us have spent a lot of days together this term.

She is too tired or sick or sore to go to school,

and there's not much she can do but 

watch TV.  

Reading is not possible, 

and she can't ever get back to sleep.

The traditional advice is to take aspirin 

and "sleep it off", but this has no effect.

But hopefully the end is in sight,

tomorrow we have a long-awaited appointment

with a doctor who has ordered

all sorts of interesting bloodtests

to find triggers,

and we have also been seeing a physio who specialises

in the Barral treatment, which might help over time.

 The girls and I have also been together a lot on the weekends.

Steve has been involved in various music performances lately,

playing in a musical, and a chamber music concert 

most recently.

On Mothers Day he had to be at an all-day rehearsal.

However he and the girls gave me all sorts of lovely presents

and we girls enjoyed a walk in the sunshine,

when most of these photos were taken, 

with my phone.

A neighbour's pumpkin growing on the sunny side of the fence.

I've been doing some casual teaching, 

when not at home with Laura,

and the weekly round of piano teaching

and the girls' activities has continued,

all not leaving me a bit time-poor.

The weather has cooled down,

keeping me close to the heater

a little too often.

Mum had her 70th Birthday party last weekend.

It was a lot of preparation for Dad and I;

we organised games and I made

invitations, nametags and placecards.

The party was a great success in the end

and lots of fun,  Mum loved it,

the stress of getting ready for it was all forgotten.

*

When I look back on the last weeks

since our Tasmania holiday

and wonder where the time has gone,

I see that I have "achieved" some things.

I cared for my sick daughter,

researched and went to appointments;

I helped Dad with Mum's party;

I provided food for family,

and sometimes even clean laundry.

I led bible study,

ran a Stampin' Up! party,

earned income by teaching,

and a few more things besides.

Really, when I list it out like that

I don't know why I feel frustrated.

But I do.

I guess the term just didn't turn out

like I planned it to.

Saturday night's sunset as we gathered around the campfire.

This last weekend the girls and I went to

our church's annual weekend away.

The speaker commented on our 

achievement-driven culture and 

our quest for freedom.

People around us want to be 'free

to do what they want, in the way that they want',

and that "freedom" normally boils 

down to trying to achieve one's desires.

*

The Bible doesn't call us to achieve anything,

but to love God, to obey and trust,

and to love and care for and encourage other people.

Yes, I have responsibilities

- dinners still need to be cooked,

the house cleaned, money earned - 

I am not supposed to be a loving syrupy fairy

with a head full of fluff -

but achievements are not to be my main focus.

This is a hard call for me.

"Coincidentally" I've come across 

a few great blog posts this morning that made me think

along the same lines, here and here, both worth reading.

*

I wonder what would happen,

if I stopped focusing on my lists and my plans,

and listened to what God wants me to be?

Perhaps it's that kind of freedom

that I'm craving, 

rather than a ticked-off list of my projects.

*

So these are my thoughts today,

as I sit at home, 

with Laura home from school again.

*

What are you thinking about?

Satisfaction

A few hours together

at last to call my own ...

and the satisfaction of getting

my craft room tidy again.

Lovely with the winter sun

shining in ...

Scarf Weather

The weather has turned cool

and it's scarf weather.

Time for wearing a scarf

or for crocheting one.

Using Heirloom 8ply Cotton

 Something to look forward to on cool nights 

while watching Gilmore Girls 

for the fourth or fifth time ...

... and something to remind me

of all the rainbows we saw 

in Tasmania. 

Chalk Paints!

After many months of waiting,

I discovered that Annie Sloan Chalk Paints

are now sold in Australia!

I ordered a beginner's bundle

from here on Friday,

And look at what just arrived on my doorstep!

Woohoo!

Much faster than I expected.

I can't wait to start painting.

These are the main candidates

for a chalk paint makeover:

our dresser by the dining table,

currently a honey pine colour,

still in good condition but 

I think a painted piece would 

make for a calmer living room.

This will be painted in Old White.

I'm planning to get some pewter knobs

and distress it a little.

The hutch in my craft room

was always going to be painted.

I've just been waiting for the paint!

This was an ebay purchase

with help from Linda.

I think this will be painted in Duck Egg Blue

and I have some fun knobs already to use on this.

First we need to work on the little 

doors at the top, they are a bit tight

and need to be cut down a little.

*

The bundle above cost a small fortune,

as do all craft supplies here in Australia.

  

But from all I read, it's worth it

in the savings on time and products

normally used for preparation,

not to mention in the quality

of the finished job.

I'm looking forward to getting started

on these two projects that I've been 

dreaming about for so long.

In the meantime, I have a few little 

projects to do first

to try out the paints.

Stay tuned!

Tasmania - Beaconsfield & Beauty Point

On the second day of our Tasmania trip

we woke up in our cottage to more lovely sunny weather.

Penfold Cottage in Launceston 

was clean and impressive,

newly-renovated, but not so cosy.

I never realised how much 

a lack of soft furnishings

makes for a noisy, unfriendly space.

It was well-priced, though, being in an industrial area.

We talk a walk down the street to Kings Wharf.

Next we headed up the Tamar River to Beaconsfield.

Beaconsfield is a mining town

and the scene of the Beaconsfield mine rescue in 2006.

We loved visiting the Mine and Heritage Centre,

which focuses on both local and mine history,

and has an exhibit featuring the rescue, also.

It was good to recall some of my high school geology,

learning about how mining is, and was, carried out.

These buildings were built to go over the mine shafts.

Now they are eerily empty.

We loved that the exhibits were so "hands on"

We girls got to try writing the old-fashioned way

with pen and ink.  

We played an organ and made some of the old mine equipment work.

We saw miles of scarves knitted by women 

all over the world after the mine rescue.

The girls were fascinated with the telephone history exhibit.

Laura's first time in a phone box?

Oh how things have changed.

It's a great museum, well worth the drive from Launceston.

After a picnic lunch in the nearby park 

we drove north to Beauty Point

and visited Seahorse World.

It was fascinating to learn about seahorses

and to see them at their different stages.

When we came out the weather was growing cold and windy

so we headed back, stopping again at Beaconsfield

where I put a piece of agate at a gemstone shop.

That night we ate out at a Thai restaurant at Launceston.

Yum.

Tasmania - Launceston

First in a series from our Tasmanian trip.

In which I will probably record 

more than you want to know,

just for our own record.

*

We left Sydney on an overcast day,

but the clouds cleared over Bass Strait and we flew

over Tasmania in brilliant sunshine,

low enough to see the details,

I could even almost pick out our accommodation

in Launceston.

We picked up our rental car and headed for the city,

where we were amazed by the 

Victorian architecture everywhere.

We just couldn't believe we were

finally on holiday

and in Tasmania!

Launceston is a beautiful city.

Although I have to confess that we got lost

every time we headed out in the car.

Those one-way streets were too much for us,

we spent much time driving round and round 

trying to reach our destinations.

One of our favourite destinations was the City Park.

We visited in the late afternoon

and had the whole park almost to ourselves.

We loved the open spaces, 

the variety of trees and ornaments

and the cool autumn sunshine.

A beautiful way to start our holiday.

 Because we visited the park

so late that day

we missed seeing the monkeys,

so we visited again before leaving Launceston: