Thursday 28 October 2010

Thursdays

A little continuation along the theme of yesterdays post - Afternoon happiness - I would like to conclude that Thursday has become my favourite day of the week.  Why? You may ask, (or not) but I'm going to tell you anyway.  


It is a slower paced day.  I've even waved the boys off to school still wearing my pajamas.  It's playgroup day.  It's a slow down and regather my energy for the weekend kind of day.  I get to share it with Toby.  We get to go for walks or wander the local shops, not to run errands but to enjoy and to explore the neighbourhood.


Today was all of the above.  We were a little slow to start and didn't get out the door until 10.30am so we drove to playgroup, it's also a bit of a cool and drizzly day and I just refused to be in a hurry to get dressed and get out the door.  We did playgroup, countdown only 6 weeks until our last one, and then we went to a sweet shop.  Not your everyday lolly shop but the deluxe, delectable Sweetness the Patisserie.  


They have samples you can try, our favourites are the sweet mixed mini mallows and the vanilla fudge, but today I couldn't go past the vanilla caramel (they had samples out) and it is so smooth.  


The Sweetness kitchen is so immaculate, I think I would like to work there....maybe even live there.  They already had a work bench full of gingerbread houses ready to wrap, if only I took my camera.  Toby and I enjoyed their samples, took our purchases and moved on to visit a lovely friend working nearby.  We enjoyed lunch at a cafe and afterwards Toby and I had a wander through St Vincent de Pauls Op shop to see if we could find any second hand treasures. 


I found this lovely linen table cloth with embroidered flowers and it was in such good condition that I didn't mind paying $30 for it.  It fits so perfectly on our dining room table and matches my orange roses most beautifully, they remind me of little nasturtiums.  This table cloth has given me visions of tea parties with lovely cakes and cookies and pots of my favourite camomile and spearmint tea.  Sounds rather jolly doesn't it.  I don't think we'll be eating spaghetti and meatballs off this table cloth though. 


I think Thursday has become quite the day to be happy.

Wednesday 27 October 2010

Afternoon happiness

 
Finishing work early, having a very clean house (it won't last long), flowers on my table, afternoon tea on the front porch, watching the storm rumbling around us, an easy dinner - spaghetti and meatballs.

Monday 25 October 2010

Baking, spring cleaning, rain and a little meditation

Our weekend was another busy one, but we seemed to accomplish a few things.  Donald is working long, long days at the moment, going in to work at Animal Logic doing commercial story boards and then coming home and working till very late on other story boards.  It has been a very long month.  We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Friday night, we had taco's and chocolate cake (recipe here).  The cake looked sumptuous with whipped cream in the middle and ganache on the top, but was a little too dry, I forgot that it was in the oven...got a little side tracked in my day.


We cleaned our carpets on Saturday, or at least Donald did.  The day was hot, good for drying shampooed carpets.


While Donald shampooed, I vacuumed and picked everything up off the floor...there was a lot of stuff.  The boys were assigned various tasks and getting things up off the floor too.


After the carpets were cleaned, there was the job of trying to find a home for all of the things picked up off the floor.  I am still trying to do more today and sort mountains of laundry, but my computer keeps beckoning me.


While the carpets were still wet, the boys found perches that were dry.



Then the storm came, the beautiful rain that just bucketed down while the thunder rumbled.




Sunday night we played a favourite game,  "Who can lie still the longest", the boys love it and want to play it often.  You see we are training Toby to lie still, practicing for his MRI scan in December.  I take the boys through a little meditation, relaxation and deep breathing to help them lie still and we play some relaxation music/sounds.  Last night I tried to introduce an MRI sound effect, a bit like a jack hammer and whirring that I found here, but they just burst into giggles, so we started again.  We'll have to try it again next time, at least it's helping Toby get used to it all, otherwise he would have to have his scan under a general anaesthetic, which we are trying to avoid.  So far they have been lying still for 13 minutes, with only a little twitch here and there.  It is very calming and they really love it.

Friday 22 October 2010

My Hug Magnet

 I have a hug magnet

He is very precious to me

Wherever I go he is following me

Whoever I hug 

My hug magnet seeks

He finds me hugging

A pitter patter of feet

 And out he peeks

From under my arms

Or around my legs

When a hug is sensed

My hug magnets seeks

Like a hug seeking missile

He dives and grabs 

I hear a giggle
 
I feel a wiggle

I look down and what do I see

My little blonde hug magnet smiling at me


by Lisha Walker



Thursday 21 October 2010

Another beautiful day

I am enjoying another day like last Thursday.  The sky, the flowers, the sun and the fresh air.  Oh how a walk can certainly lift the spirit.  I've been trying to keep a routine.  I have been feeling better within myself, better than I've felt for a long time.  It's been difficult to keep a routine, when you feel like you're constantly recovering from something and struggling to make it through a day....an afternoon.  It is good to feel a little confident again, a little bit more human.  I have a little energy that seems to get me through the day.  I have a little hope that maybe I won't be down for the count 4 or 5 days a month with migraine. A routine of exercise, not buying chocolate, of being more organised and having a little bit more sanity.  Things are definitely looking up.   I'm trying to make the most of my time with Toby in the last bit of the year.  I am still coming to terms with the idea of having 3 school boys.







Tuesday 19 October 2010

19.10.10

It would be my dad's 73rd birthday today.  There is so much to say and I haven't got it all worked out yet, so I would like to share some photo's instead.   I have a whole box of photo's that I will be scanning and sorting through in the next few months, they need to be preserved and sorted.  I love the old photo's of my parents and their families.  I love to see where I and my children have come from, it helps me to see where we are going.

In celebration and in memory:

Kenneth William Hammond
October 19 1937 - October 11 2004


26/8/1939
Ken 1 year and 10 months
Maryborough, Qld.


 4/11/1942
Ken 5 years
Mel 10 months
Bundaberg, Qld.


Approx 1945
Ken as a Scout
Toowong, Qld.


December 1947
Jess, Jim, Ken, Mel and Desley
Aunty Bon's wedding
Albert St, Brisbane


29/6/1950
Ken 13 years
Lone Pine, Brisbane, Qld.


1/4/1961
Jan and Ken's Engagement (the day after)
Brisbane, Qld.


1976 approximately 
Our new boat
Wynnum Manly, Qld.


Christmas day 1977
Ken, Gabby, Lisha (& Snoopy) and Jan
Kenmore, Qld.


20/9/2004
Ken, Desley and Mel
brothers and sister
Mt Cotton, Qld

Monday 18 October 2010

B

Bunny


Bath


Barbeque


Burgers


Blondies


Brothers


Bye


Saturday 16 October 2010

Just some things













An afternoon tea of cheesy garlic bread,  

Orchids flowering in my garden, 

A spiderweb I nearly tangled myself in while taking photo's of the orchids,

Light dancing on my morning kitchen window, 

It's very windy outside and the sun is streaming through the windows highlighting the spiderwebs outside.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Stop to smell the roses

It's playgroup day today.   It is such a beautiful day that Toby and I decided to walk (and scoot) to playgroup.  I brought along my camera as the sun was shining, a lovely breeze was blowing and the gardens were blooming everywhere.  It took us a little longer to get there as we had to stop and smell the roses as well as take their photo.


There were lots of roses on show along the way, which meant lots of smelling.


Everyone's gardens were very green and lush from the recent rain we've had.  Not as much rain as Queensland is getting at the moment but enough to keep the gardens and weeds well fed (in our lawn anyway).


The Bottlebrushes were pretty much lining the footpath all the way to playgroup.  They are quite spectacular when you stop and admire their bottle brushiness with the bees buzzing in and out of their dense spiky flowers.


The smell of cut lawn was also very refreshing


Our walk to playgroup was most enjoyable we even broke a sweat as the day warmed up a little more.


It is our final term of playgroup for ever!!  I'm not sure how I feel about it, in a way it's a little sad as I have been going to playgroup for 10 years.  Sam and I started going when he was 1 year old and have been continuing ever since with Ethan and Toby. 


It is the end of an era, but I am also glad that we are at this stage of not needing playgroup any more.  Toby is now 5 and will be starting school next year so it is time to move on.  Playgroup has been good for us and is a wonderful service provided by the local Baptist church and the playgroup volunteers.


After playgroup was over we went our merry way back home.  It was a little warmer going home and the slope was slightly more up hill for scooting.  So little stops along the way in shady spots provided by leafy trees gave us a little respite.  This tree or vine root growing into the brick wall was fascinating.  I have walked and driven past it many times and I love how nature always finds a way of growing even if there was a brick wall put in it's path.


My eyes were drawn to the chimney tops and roofs outlined by the cerulean sky with clouds extra white and fluffy. 





Stained glass windows, chimney pots, ornate gates, roses and leafy trees line the streets of our neighbourhood.  It is a lovely part of Sydney, very pretty.




The roses did smell as good as they looked with buds in abundance ready to burst forth.  Mmmmm I love Spring, I wish the seasons would just go back and forth between Spring and Autumn there would be colour all year round and the weather would be just perfect.