making memories

seasons

we have been home from playgroup for an hour and the weather has changed. it was sunny and crisp outside earlier - perfect weather for playing. now as i sit here, the wind is blowing - trees in our yard are moving and clouds have swept over the sky. just. like. me.

i have hated my moods lately. things seem to have slipped at home. my routine has been out for about two weeks, and not only is the housework showing it, but so is my mood. my patience has gone. i cry inside when i take my frustration out on those around me, and i hear my own words whisper back to me: "our rule is no yelling at people." so i hug and i apologise.

usually i love winter - i love the clothes, the warm drinks and the comfort food. but lately i have been pining for summer. when i can throw a blanket on the grass and Nicholas and Audrey can run around outside. desperately i hope that we can go away for a weekend soon. at least in the next couple of months. Audrey is 19 months and we have not been on a holiday since before she was born.

and for me? i feel selfish even saying it, but i need a day at home, in the quiet. without cleaning, without catching up. just sleeping, reading, or even watching a movie - all by my self. this post isn't a pity party - it is more like taking a deep, deep breath. and drawing up the energy to keep going.

and now, something that always makes me smile. you can see how often we have read this book, as Nicholas "reads" the first page. the interpretation is:

"This is Apple Tree Farm.

This is Mrs Boot, the farmer.

She has two children, called Poppy, Sam and a dog called Rusty.

Ted works in the garden."

here he is!

Teaser Tuesday

a little while ago i posted a couple of sentences from the book i was reading. as i often have a couple of books on the go at once, i thought i'd give a teaser on each one...

"He looked jubilant in his bright white shirt, striding out with the other young bpeople participating in the procession, oblivious to the fate awaiting him at the cemetery. Among the pictures I chose for reproduction was the one of Domingos looking directly into the lens of the camera – on his lips was a smile clearly meant for his friend Steve."
pg 39 'A Woman of Independence' by Kirsty Sword Gusmao

"When my mom first started teaching me how to quilt, I felt the same way. But don't tell her I said so. She's convinced I was a child prodigy, and I'd hate to ruin my image."
pg 41 'The Quilters Apprentice' by Jennifer Chiaverini

"Mamma would skim it off the top of the milk, after it was boiled and cooled. Nowadays, the bhaiya's milk was of such poor quality that no amount of boiling and cooling could produce anything worthy of the name of cream."
pg 77 'Such A Long Journey' by Rohinton Mistry

it is finished!!!!

picture me jumping really high, with my hands in the air, in front of a perfect blue sky...

i have finished the cross stitch blanket. Melanie reminded me i started it when i was 10 weeks pregnant with Nicholas! (it now belongs to Audrey).

now i can pay attention to all of these other projects without the dreaded feeling of unfinished projects looming over my head. i am a happy girl.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

not to mention this project. i hunted this woden high chair down some months ago. as it was in desperate need of repair the woman gave it to me for nothing.

David took it to wokr this week, took it all apart and sanded what he could on the machine. he then put it back together, and glued and clamped it so it is nice and secure. now he says it is mine to finish. he gave me a little bundle of sandpaper and i get to sand the crevices the machine can't reach. then i get to lacquer it and he will secure the tray to it. i can't wait.

mama, remember what you said

i hear this from Nicholas often. he has been excited about my putting the new star sheets on his bed. so last night he made me promise to do it before he gets home. i'm sure he will sleep well tonight!

he seems so grown up lately, but such a boy. yesterday he got out his pencil case and asked me to cut out a circle for him, which he proceeded to patiently colour yellow. i thought it must have been the sun, but then he came and asked for "one piece of sticky tape", and after sticking it to his table proclaimed, "now i have a lemonade stamp [stand]" how could we not let him make a mess with lemons, water and sugar?? and how could we not drink it? so we did!

and i love this picture of Audrey, with her legs folded back, feeding her doll.

Thursdays are my favourite day in the week: at home, with no commitments and we can just relax.

my news is that yes, i got the job. while i am working part time there isn't a big diference in pay but i really wanted it now, as if it is where i still am when i return to work fulltime (not until 2013 thankyou!) it will really help us a lot. my head is spinning from the extra commitments though - inluding managing two staff, so i'll have to get used to delegating - i'm a bit of a control freak usually when it comes to project management.

i celebrated by purchasing faric to do this quilt with my sister and my mum. i really like these quilts as well (they look easier and i like the rustic feel to them).

i am SO close to finishing the cross stitch blanket... and then i think i really want to throw myself into patchwork. my dad surprised me with a gift voucher last week, and i was able to buy a few basics. i just want to look at them all of the time!

c'est la vie...

my house is clean. i was going to write "spotless", but i think clean is better suited. a nice thing or i could quite possibly spend the day depressed.

i met with a couple of mums from playgroup this morning. Nicholas enjoys the preschool environment, and looks forward to seeing his friends. otherwise i could do so much more with my time. i have little in common with these mums. i can hardly bare being around these "desperate housewives" types. (although that is a bit harsh).
they can afford to stay home - and spend their time eating at cafes, restaurants and shopping. they can afford new toys for their 3 year olds just because they (being the mums) are sick of the old ones. the kids wardrobes are overflowing with clothes and all the adult talk is about how many material possessions they either own, or "need". or about having a night staying at the Hyatt with their husbands because they need "their" time. it is certainly not that i am jealous - i know i am not, because i embrace the values we teach in our home. i just get so tired of listening to these people. they. are . not. likeable.
so, today i was the last to arrive and the first to leave (we met at someones house as it is school holidays). i came home, the kids and i had lunch together, Audrey slept and Nicholas did a bit of craft while i actually SAT on the lounge with a cup of coffee and watched a recording of last nights First Tuesday Bookclub. much better!
maybe the fact that i am waiting to hear about a possible promotion has me on edge today... the selection process has been wrought with internal politics....

meek?

i have been listening to a daily program about meekness.

today i read the following about being meek:

“Meekness is an attitude of humility toward God and gentleness toward people, springing from a recognition that God is in control.” 'Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary'

and:

“Meekness is a gracious, easiness of spirit. It accommodates the soul to every occurrence and so makes a man easy to himself and to all about him.” Matthew Henry 'The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit'

i thought how much i like this scripture: You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. I Peter 3:4

and then i received a telephone call, and i wasn't meek. i wonder if now i am reading about it, i'll be conscious every time i fall short of a meek spirit!