holiday season is around the corner

i must admit, since N was born, I have really loved the family togetherness of Christmas time. i am trying to finish scrapbooking one page per year since N's birth into a Christmas album, the idea being that in 20 years, we will have one album to look back on and see how our littlies have grown over the years - all at Christmas time.
we have slowly been accumulating some traditions, which i am adding details of to the album:
* even before N or A, we had our traditions of egg nog and panetone at Christmas time
* decorating the tree on the weekend that is closest to 1 December
* listening to christmas cd's all month - even in the car (and i have a great new one this year to add to our collection)
* looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve
* feel good Christmas movies
* a new one: stories to read together (and for any other time of the year!)
something that was becoming a tradition which i was determined to stop was present shopping on Christmas Eve!! these days as we are only giving gifts to the nieces, nephews and grandparents we are a little more organised. i have our Christmas card ready to print and i even bought D's present today! (and we keep the gifts simple...)


how about this fantastic free pattern from Heather Bailey?

**exciting news**

we have a new member in our family!! my brother's wife had a baby boy this morning!! Mitchell Dean. every Christmas since 2005 we have had a new baby join the family to celebrate with us. i love it. ;-)

the little things

often i get so busy about my daily activities that i forget to just slow down and enjoy life around me. there is always something to rush to - and i hate rushing. i read this article from the Washington Post about a year ago and it came to my mind again last night.
a famous violinist, Joshua Bell, who's concert tickets sell for at least $100. his violin was crafted in 1713 and is worth 3 million dollars!
just to see what would happen, he was asked to play in a subway, busking. the article is a little long, but well worth reading, and the clips are worth watching. a nice little experiment. i think one person recognised him, but most people walked on by.

He'd clearly meant it when he promised not to cheap out this performance: He played with acrobatic enthusiasm, his body leaning into the music and arching on tiptoes at the high notes. The sound was nearly symphonic, carrying to all parts of the homely arcade as the pedestrian traffic filed past.
Three minutes went by before something happened. Sixty-three people had already passed when, finally, there was a breakthrough of sorts. A middle-age man altered his gait for a split second, turning his head to notice that there seemed to be some guy playing music. Yes, the man kept walking, but it was something.
A half-minute later, Bell got his first donation. A woman threw in a buck and scooted off. It was not until six minutes into the performance that someone actually stood against a wall, and listened.
Things never got much better. In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run -- for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look.

it can be watched here.

a bit ambitious???

...i think so, but i'll still try. by Christmas i hope to have made:

- A's Christmas stocking

- 3 x library bags

- 3 x Melly and Me kitty dolls

- 1 x gardening tote

* * * * * * * * *

story time on "the" blanket.

Patiently waiting on the church steps.

A now pulling herself up on everything...


trying to play snakes and ladders with N. only for him to realise the pieces look like the witches hats Woody and the gang hide under in Toy Story...

am now back from another work trip. this time, two days in Sydney. while the workshop runs all week, i didn't want to be gone again for that length of time so soon. although if i had a choice i would have loved to have been at this week-long event more than the one in Darwin.
in Sydney, the working party included some close colleagues from the field in which i work.
Paul (Irish) who i first met in 1999 when the UN evacuated him to Australia from East Timor, after things went a little crazy post-referendum. this time we talked at length about the 10 days he was trapped in the UN compound before anyone could leave. snipers were firing day and night into the compound. babies were being thrown over barb-wire fences to the staff, by parents - desperate for their children to be protected. no wonder Paul was a little shell-shocked when we met. he said it meant nothing that he lost everything, walking out with the clothes off his back - the responsibility and guilt for not being able to do nothing for all these people you were walking away from made him sick.
Therese (Swedish) who is one of the smartest, most committed to her work and most caring people i know. she has a son and a daughter the same age as N and A. we first met in 2001. she studied ancient Chinese and was once married to a political dissident. she smuggled poetry into China.
Rushdi (South African) we first met in 2001. he's a great friend.
i was pregnant the last time i saw Wael (Iraq). he was very paternal at that time, because his wife had just had a baby after a long period of waiting and hoping.
the one who was missing was Jacques. a gorgeous (in personality) Frenchman. probably in his 50's who is the most compassionate and generous person i have met. don't mention something you need/want around him 'cause he is likely to go and buy it!! this is the crowd i meet up with every year or two, and it is like we were working together yesterday.
new friends: a lovely man from Egypt (Ossama) who is so proud of his heritage and his country's antiquities. he and i had an instant report as we talked about the ethics of collecting. he and his family live between Egypt and France. i asked him how he felt about all the artifacts in the Louvre and throughout Europe, that had been taken from his country. he said half of him is saddened, but the other half prefers to seem them being cared for, preserved, shared. right answer i guess. he keeps in mind the destruction and theft throughout museums in Baghdad in 2003. he told me about his favourite spot, drinking coffee beside the Nile River, looking at the pyramids in the distance. he bought each of us a papyrus as a gift.
Emad (Iraq): these guys always inspire me. they come and share their desire to see democracy truly operating in their country. we can talk about the struggles and the fear, but they live it. Skye (USA) came riding on the euphoria of an amazing election in the USA. and he got top be part of it in Washington. needless to say he said the party went all night.
so we come together, to write a manual, to argue semantics and priorities. to look at customisation and regionalisation. translation and accreditation. but it is always fun. i would have loved to stay, but i am grateful that for me, home is always my priority. my kids were at the airport again to meet me, N excited because he saw the plane land. and then we went straight to a farewell party for a Moroccan friend and her Portuguese husband who are on their way home to France. the world really is a small place. :-)
ps: how can i forget Alexandra? she is French. you know how they say french Women don't get fat?? you know the stereotypical French woman, wearing black, with red lipstick and always a cigarette in her hand? well she is one of those. ;-)

morning prayer

Dear God,

I give this day to You.

May my mind stay centered on the things of spirit.

May I not be tempted to stray from love.

As I begin this day, I open to receive You.

Please enter where You already abide.

May my mind and heart be pure and true,

and may I not deviate from the things of goodness.

May I see the love and innocence in all mankind,

behind the masks we all wear and the illusions of this worldly plane.

I surrender to You my doings this day.

I ask only that they serve You and the healing of the world.

May I bring Your love and goodness with me,

to give unto others wherever I go.

Make me the person You would have me be.

Direct my footsteps,

and show me what You would have me do.

Make the world a safer, more beautiful place.

Bless all Your creatures.

Heal us all, and use me, dear Lord, that I might

know the joy of being used by You.

Amen. (Marianne Williamson)