women hold up half the sky

it is late (or is it early??) David has been studying around the clock, and for whatever reason i have stayed up too, doing other things. over the past couple of weeks i have listened to two talks about the same thing - women. the poorest of the poor. i have put myself in a self imposed hiatus, but these things still matter to me.
i would like to pass these links around to all my friends. the men and the women. the first is from a favourite author/ speaker - Isabel Allende, the second link is found here. a proverb says women hold up half the sky. so why are they the world's poorest and most oppressed people?

autumn style

could Autumn be any more beautiful? and could anyone style it better than Donna Hay? it is easy to see why it is my favourite season - i love the colour palette of Autumn. i look forward to the Autumn issue of Donna Hay magazine each year. the 2010 issue hasn't arrived yet, but i am enjoying flicking through older issues. all of these pictures are from issues over the past five years.

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i read something on a blog today. a quote from a book, and it rang true:

"...understand that to nurture and love others with the grace you desire means taking care of yourself and cultivating your own inner harmony. Inner harmony grows not by finding ways to get away from your child, but by giving yourself the gift of a hot bath at the end of a long day, reading a book of poetry, talking to a friend on the phone, taking a nap, crying, getting a massage, having a day off from cleaning and cooking, staying in your pajamas all day, swimming, going out to eat, or attending a conference. Do something for yourself as you give. Learn to laugh at yourself and not take yourself so seriously." ~ Peggy O'Mara, The Way Back Home.

i see the importance of doing something for yourself, taking a little care, in order not to burn out. i know that i often haft felt / feel guilty about working, and that my time at home and with my children being cut short by other commitments. more often than not deprive myself of something i enjoy (a hobby) or of a little quiet space for myself because i feel i owe every spare minute to Nicholas and Audrey. but now i see that by having something that i derive pleasure from, just because it is something that is mine, is healthy and good not only for me, but by default for my family. i think that is why i am getting so much pleasure from sewing my quilt, or from looking at pictures in magazines... because really i am a contented person and it is the small things that make me happy.

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and Daisy's adventures? yesterday Daisy helped Nicholas collect the eggs. :)

escape **updated**

ok, so i had a whole other post here, but i realised that i have other more memorable things i can write for posterity's sake here, rather than whinge about a 90 minute meeting with senior management.
last night i came home and bathed the kids. David had put the roof on the cubby house. now all it needs is walls, a sandpit underneath and a coat of paint... all in good time, as working fulltime and studying part time means that his spare time is minimal.

we had dinner together and Nicholas said we should all "talk about what we did today". when he finished his dinner he put his plate and cutlery in the sink and his corn cob in the bin. when did that start happening?! it was lovely, just all being together. once the kids were both asleep in bed i drew the design on the last panel of my quilt. tonight i will sew.
that is the stuff of life. last week when we all went to a friends house for dinner, i got home from work and quickly got ready. when David came home with the kids, Nicholas ran to me and then stopped and said "mama! you look beautiful!" given that i had just thrown together a mix match of what was in my closet i felt pretty flattered! then on Sunday morning we were leaving for church and he said "mama, you smell wonderfully!". so i'm feeling spoilt with compliments from my boy.
dad took Nicholas and Hayden to the show last Saturday. Nicholas loved the fire engine. he loved putting the balls in the clowns mouth (he always enjoys that one) but he said his favourite was the animals - "the cow with the thing hanging down you get milk from". and was thrilled he actually got to pat a "real" sheep. he had a wonderful time, and i thought dad was very brave going out on his own with kids in tow - for four hours! last week David and i went to acolleagues' house for dinner - a lovely night of yummy food and good conversation. it was funny because while we were sitting all over the house, conversation turned to books (it would be difficult not to as their entire house is filled with the wonderful treasures!) a woman currently working with us, an international who is reputable in her field, mentioned the 'Little House on the Prairie' series. i said i had been just reading them, and then another colleague said she loves reading 'Little House in the Big Woods'. it was funny seeing the conversation in this crowd turn to these books. (only amongst three of us, but still...) then today David asked if he could take one of the books to his tutorial, as he needed some non-fiction written for children. they really are great stories. have i said much about Audrey lately? Audrey has had fun playing tea parties with her dolls, and today Nicholas brought home his class "pet" to look after until next week. a monkey, that Audrey is thrilled to have here! we have to keep a diary for the monkey (Daisy).today Daisy met some of Nicholas' favourite toys. he made her a special bed to sleep in.

so, it is pretty easy for me to leave work dramas at the office and just come home to my family...

images i like

1. ?

2. Toast a/w 2008

3. http://petitsbonheurs123.wordpress.com/

4. Toast

5. http://abbytrysagain.typepad.com/

6. http://allbuttonedup.typepad.com/

7. Anthropologie

8. http://tinyhappy.typepad.com/

9. Toast autumn 2007

10. Toast autumn 2007

a post of randomness

Audrey has a bit of a cold. a runny nose that irritates her through the night, meaning restless sleep for us both! i am tired.
it is nice to escape to things that i love! my quilt top is almost finished. i can't wait until i am at the hand quilting stage. i recently enjoyed reading Little House on the Prairie - i liked it's frequent mention of making quilts, or the various uses for quilts. Pa Ingalls must have been an amazing man for his generation.

Laura Ingalls Wilder talks about the time he took her and Mary to see an Indian camp, after the Indians had moved on. he explained to them how the camp had been set up, showed them where the fire was and how it would have been constructed. they found small beads left behind all over the grounds and enjoyed collecting them.
i like one part in the book where Pa makes a rocking chair for Ma - the way simple things were made a special event:
"Last of all, he split a larger willow which had grown in a curve. He turned the chair upside down, and he pegged the curved pieces to its legs, to make the rockers. And the chair was done. Then they made a celebration. Ma took off her apron and smoothed her her smooth brown hair. She pinned her gold pin in front of her collar. Mary tied the string of beads around Carrie's neck. Pa and Laura put Mary's pillow on the chair-seat, and said Laura's pillow against its back. Over the pillows Pa spread the quilt from the little bed. Then he took ma's hand and led her to the chair, and he put Baby Carrie in her arms.
Ma leaned back into the softness. her thin cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkled with tears, but her smile was beautiful."
he always seemed to have time to explain things to his daughters, to teach them. he always tried to make life comfortable for his wife. they really are lovely stories, and i am glad to read them.

speaking of the past, i have been reading through the conservation plan for Lanyon homestead.
i am reminded that i am not employed in the area that i trained for, which discourages me a little. i am sure i have written before about my love for Lanyon - i think i really do believe i own a little bit of it! from the time i was in primary school, i loved visiting Lanyon. i have always been passionate about history, and visiting Lanyon i used to daydream that i lived there. then when i was 15 i did my year 10 work experience there, and at the Sydney Nolan Gallery.

not long after that i began volunteering at Lanyon. dad used to faithfully drive me there for my four our shift. there was a thrill i used to feel, particularly before or after hours, when i could walk through the house. nothing like being in a "no public access" area to make you feel important! here is the newest brochure of Lanyon Hometead. rooms and objects i know as if they were mine. gardens i walked through, picking flowers for the staff room.
while at university i completed a conservation assignment on the family cemetery at Lanyon, now overgrown -most of the graves only recognisable by slight mounds in the ground.
if there is any special event in my life, you will know that it is being celebrated with coffee and a stroll at Lanyon.

and this morning, a some random photographs.

the results of my tomato chutney preparation the other day. i love this corner of Audrey's bookshelf.
and what's a girl to do when her brother goes to school all day?
finally, my most favourite possession at the moment: friends gave us this gorgeous cupboard, which is now home for all of my sewing paraphernalia - fabric, rulers, mats, thread and magazines. i love it! before this, i had fabric under my bed, in my wardrobe, rulers and mats under our lounge and magazines in the wardrobe. i just want to look at it all the time!

One Fine Day

yesterday was just lovely. Lisa and Josh asked to take Nicholas and Audrey to the zoo (and the kids absolutely had a ball!) David was working, so i was home ALONE from 10am until 2pm. i enjoyed the silence, the time to be by myself. i sewed (put the top of my quilt together!) i read (a book of short stories published in 1920). i watched Jane Austen adaptations (this time the Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice). again, i love this version for its portrayal of everyday life -the servants, the washing, and afternoon tea. it really was a day of restoring energy. and of truly relaxing. i refrained from thinking of all i could get done around the house, and settled for two loads of washing before i put my feet up. i also prepared for some green tomato chutney making... should i feel guilty? i didn't. :)

Ruby's Story

Ruby Hunter died today. i have always thought Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach's story inspiring. homeless teenagers, alcoholics, she was the one to pull them out of desperate circumstances, against more odds than i will know.
when Nicholas and i met her last year, she told him she was recording a children's album. i don't think it happened. she was a great ambassador for her people. It is hard to imagine Archie without her.
this clip is from "Ruby's Story" and has her husband, Archie Roach singing one of my favourite of their songs: "Took the Children Away".