Ain't life grand?

I have really loved going to Fremantle every week for Uni

On my last day of the semester 

I was delighted to see some yarnbombing

I love yarnbombing

There is something wonderfully subversive about it.

Yarnbombing demands attention 

and pays homage to the sacred crafts of knitting and crochet. 

And while a little bit of my puritan heart tsk tsks 

at the impracticality of blankets for buildings

The rest of my spirit sings with this celebration 

of the womanly skills our grandmothers gave us.

The yarnbombing website is an inspiration for those of us

who nurture a rebel within.

http://yarnbombing.com/ 

It was an interesting day.

Seeing yarnbombing in the morning,

then my exams,

then home.... and seeing the first fire for the season.

This is what it looked like on the horizon in Midland

And from my driveway. 

It was definitely a wake up call for summer. 

Now is the perfect time to get to work on the property.

Not only has university finished for the year

my daughter has also finished her ballet exams,

and is in the process of doing her log book for her drivers license.

Here she is, on the left, in her last rehearsal before her exam.

I will miss driving my daughter to endless ballet classes;

it's been a wonderful time of talking and sharing. 

 But...

My new free time can be put to good use

 Mowing and raking and weeding. 

I'm actually looking forward to it.

Ain't life grand?

I'd better get a wriggle on....

I've finally made some time to catch up on some other bloggers.
Slowly but surely I'm making my way through my favourites list.
The problem is, of course, I do have a lot of favourites.
And despite my absurdly time snatching schedule, I keep wanting to take on more projects...

Like this little dress at Jellywares

Fortunately I can put this one on hold as Jodie hasn't released the pattern yet

And I have no little girls to make it for.

This pattern from Elaine at Northern Lights is perfect for my grandson Charlie

Luckily it's spring, so I can put them,

And these,

On hold too.

At least crocheting is wonderfully portable,

which is more than can be said of some patchwork.

I love this from Hen at Henhouse.  

And this from Cardygirl

Aren't they all scrumptious?

One of these days I may actually post something I've made

But I wouldn't hold your breath waiting!

This week my great accomplishment was mark of 96% on a maths test.Whoohoo

I'm doing an enabling course at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle. So I'm revisiting all those much neglected subjects of English and Mathematics plus a few new ones, like research skills (on databases) and computer skills.

I'm having very mixed results. Maths is fun, especially as I'm one of the few in my class (all of whom are young enough to be my children!) who knows their times tables. Which really makes me smile. Computer Skills is horrible. I find learning on line quite a trial and I get very bad tempered with it. Which makes me frown and my classmates smile.

I love it.

If I pass, and I hope I will, next year I plan to ..... ..... well that's the million dollar question, isn't it? Like craft, there are so many options for study and I'm finding it very hard to choose just one. Applications for enrollment are due by next week.

I'd better get a wriggle on and make up my mind

A Real Indulgence

I go a university down by the ocean

near the port in Fremantle

So some days

I meet my daughter 

and go to a late lunch by the water

Other days

I sit in a courtyard

and study

On the weekends

I usually try and reduce

the mountains of washing,

and catch the dust bunnies

that hide in the corners.

But this weekend

I visited my Mum 

and enjoyed 

her garden

and her cooking

I know. 

It really was an indulgence

Thank you for the wonderful words of support for my uni studies. 

I'm excited and terrified at the same time. :-)

Neglecting my dear little blog

I feel sad that I've neglected my dear little blog

And all my lovely new friends.

Its just that,

I am so busy, running around,

Like a chook without a head.



I shouldn't even be here now,

I should be busy doing something else.

Because ... you see ... I have

...Against all better judgement

And prudent time management...

Enrolled to study

At University.



I really must be demented

To return to study after so many years.

(And after dropping out of Uni

Back in the 80s

When I was pregnant with my first child )

But if truth be told,

And it should be,

Student life is a lot of fun.





It's revisitng my youth

And finding little bits of myself

I had forgotten about.

Its time away

from all the "stuff"

I am responsible for.

Its wonderful, self indulgent Me time.


















Now I just need to figure out

How to make it smooth sailing on calm waters!

(- : All good advice will be greatly appreciated.  :-)

An inherited talent

Looking back over my blog

I get the feeling

It's got a bit too sweet

All love and joy 

And happy families

 

I'm not sure how that happened

When I first started my blog

I had visions that it would be a journal

A reflection, perhaps, of my creative journey

 

I seem to be discovering

That my greatest creative achievement 

Is not made of fabric and thread

Or paper and ink

 

It's made of laughter and tears

Of love and memories and stories and secrets

It's always changing and growing 

And it's definitely a work in progress

 

Today we celebrated my grandson Charlie's 1st birthday

And the photos above are snippets of his party 

*

Last weekend we celebrated 

My Uncle Keith's 97th birthday

Here's Uncle Keith with my Dad, his brother-in-law

And here's my Great Aunt Henrietta, who is also in her 90s

with my daughter and my mother

at Uncle Keith's party

 

 Perhaps making families is an inherited talent

I do, after all, come from a long line of families.

;-)

Such a Treat

I read a lovely book last week.
About a dog in the Nor' West
of Western Australia
And the people who loved him

Louis de Bernieres' Red Dog

It brought back a lot of childhood memories
Of when we drove to Marble Bar
One of the hottest places on Earth
For a family wedding

It was a long drive on dirt roads
Several thousand kilometers
With my parents and my grandmother
It was quite an adventure


On our way there we called into Roebourne
To visit my Aunt and Uncle and cousins
Who lived in a caravan
In that dry and dusty place

The times were different
There were few houses for families
You had to be tough and resilient 
To live in that part of the world

The Pilbara has changed
since those pioneering days
Now it's all suburban amenities
And air-conditioned comfort

Which is why 'Red Dog' was such a treat
Allowing me to re-visit how it used to be
When the world was still a surprise
waiting to be opened.



.

New Dreams

Let me introduce you to Mr Orange Cumquat
Or 'Sunshine' as he is sometimes called.

We met when we were (very) young
So we've been married a (very) long time

                         
 He's a man who likes the outdoors

   
And 'going bush ' when he can

                     
He's been a great Dad

 

And worked hard for us all 

                                           

The years have flown

Mr Orange Cumquat is sadly not so well these days
And it's been a difficult time
For him, especially,
to come to terms with the Parkinson's
that is changing his life




My bossy red headed man
With his fiery temper and strong certainties
Has gone into hiding
And we miss him

The world changes
We have to change with it
To make new memories
From new dreams

Something to cry about

It was a beautiful day here at my home
I've lots work to do and I need to atone
For last weeks debacle (and nasty burn)
And I have some self respect I need to re-earn

.....So I pulled out my trusty old mower
And set to work

I gave the 'oval' in the middle of the driveway a bit of a spruce up.
(The bricks are a work in progress. ... though it must be said, this is as far as the old chimneys progressed after they were demolished several years ago....)

Alas the home orchard needs more than a little spruce (up)
It needs a complete makeover
And a lot of TLC

 

I gave it a burl, I gave it a try

But my poor old mower gave up with a sigh

Then so did I!

So much for regaining some self respect. 

I ended up utterly exhausted! 

Puffing and wheezing like a steam train climbing a mountain

I felt quite defeated

I wished I was 'The Little Engine That Could'

It was one of my favourite stories when I was a child 

I wallowed in self pity for a bit

How absurd am I?

A middle aged grandmother

who needs to grow up

still wishing life was a fairy tale.

I do have one success to brag of though

With all my lack luster endeavours to fix up our property 

I haven't been creating much (other than chaos)

But I did manage this

My first dish cloth, of which I in-ordinarily proud.

And you, everyone, is/are absolutely right

Once you've used one, you don't want to use anything else.

I'm working on number 2 now. 

I'll just keep reminding my self 

That if I was a 'The Little Engine That Could'

I wouldn't be able to crochet

And that really would be

Something to have a cry about.

Shaken not stirred.

This is a bit long .....

I guess we all have a view of ourselves

I think of myself as a certain kind of woman of a certain kind of age

Homely and unadventurous

Who reads and sews and crochets

I've never been bungee jumping or walked the Inca Trail

I'm happy with the gentle thrills that life sends my way

I like hunting for treasure and fantastic thrifting finds

I enjoy gazing at the world through my lens

Finding Public Art and unexpected vistas

I like trees 

And photograph them...

When I visit my parents

When I take my grandson to the zoo

And when I'm in my garden

I think I'm gentle, and kind,

somewhat dull, but caring and careful.

So it comes as something of a shock

To find myself responsible for 

This

I rang the Volunteer Bushfire Brigade

Asking them if they could do a burn on our verge

It hadn't been burnt in over 25 years

And seemed long overdue for our bush fire prone area.

I spoke to a Vollie, as we call them here,

Who said, 'yes indeed, now is the perfect time to get the job done'

'rain is coming, and it will soon be too wet', 

'but you'll have to do it yourself.'

He was very helpful with advice, had had a look at the area.

Told me how to prepare it, make the necessary firebreaks,

and how to beat it out if it looked like getting away.

'Call me', he said, 'if you've got any worries.'

So the weekend came round

I got my adult children to help

We loaded up with water and shovels

We cleared the firebreaks and lit the match.

And whoosh.

What started out as a small fire quickly grew

It engulfed the trees, the wattle exploded

And all hell broke loose

The flames grew at an alarming rate 

Threatening our power line that came from across the road

The containment lines were secure

just the odd spot fire to put out

It was all over in minutes

But, not to put too fine a point on it,

It was, without doubt, the most frightening experience of my life.

That was it for me. I refused to tackle the rest.

It was simply too dangerous. Fire is not to be tinkered with

Even in winter, if the rains don't come.

It was just too warm, too dry with too much fuel to burn.

Less than a quarter of the verge is now prepared for next summer

It's a problem that wont go away 

So there's some serious work is ahead. 

Clearing, cutting and yes, even another burn.

I suspect my view of myself

As a quiet observer of life,

ever afraid of their own shadow,

Is in for quite a shake up.