Around Arthur's Table...

Moving has come along. It might be quiet here while we move... Phone access only. Email bec.arthur@gmail.com.

2011-11-22T19:53:00.004+11:00

She is five.

2011-11-06T21:45:00.004+11:00

Five years ago today she came into our lives in a way ony she was to determine. Here she is with someone very special to us.

I can hardly believe it. Five. We celebrated with a party followed by camping at The Block. She requested a splash pool party, and of course we indulged her. Complete with splash pool cake.

I spent a couple of evenings this past week back at my sewing machine fashioning her an apron and matching pot holder as a part of her birthday gift. She adores them and I must say I've adored sewing again.

Love you Lily girl. So lucky to have you in our lives. XX

Workings of a weekend...

2011-10-30T19:28:00.012+11:00

HIPSTAMATIC WEEKENDER!
(warning: many photographs accompany this post!)

Playing around with the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone. I will admit I was a somewhat reluctant iPhone recipient at first, mine being a hand me down from The Dada. A phone is just a phone right? People call you on it, you call them, there are these fancy new aged messaging thingos for the phone-a-phobic types like moi (that could fill another post entirely on its own!). Oh, it plays music? Oh, ok, you can go on the internet? And all these cute little things... you can do that too? I am here to say that the iPhone has grown on me and although I was not one to be lining up for the new version when it was released recently (I don't even have the old new version!), I am thoroughly converted.

The Hipstamatic App is an iPhone application that allows you the depth, feel and - dare I say it - blemishes of vintage film photography, with digital convenience. I'm not entirely familiar with all of the features of the app yet, so I decided to give it a run this weekend and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised with the results! So let me show you, and you can explore our Saturday with Hipstamatic...

On Saturday morning I emerged from an hour of lounge room yoga to find a bearded man wearing pigtails in my kitchen doing the dishes, while a princess in a tutu looked on:

That afternoon the block was calling so out we headed. The wee ones and I went for a stroll over the back of the block across our creek and through the neighbours paddock:

We've had the strangest weather this weekend! Sun shining, hot and humid one moment, torrential down pour the next. Needless to say we got stuck in the rain, but persisted on our walk. The kids got in on the action with the Hipstamatic too, excuse the very wet me in the the pics they took...

Our walk came to an abrupt halt though when one of the locals suggested it was time we returned...

Of course when we arrived back at the block and our new shed we had to peel off the layers that were soaked through, and considering that building sites normally have a lot of dirt about, which was now mud, gumboots it was:

It was a wonderful weekend all round. I look forward to blog browsing and seeing what everyone else has been up to!

Getting there.

2011-10-21T09:51:00.004+11:00

Well things have improved somewhat... the washing has relocated to my bedroom and I've managed to pick up my floordrobe. I was able to vacuum this morning too. The mere threat of packing toys into garbage bags lead to a frenzied toy room clean up - its not sorted but at least you can see the floor (which means I can walk through it to get to my sewing machines, yay!).

I cleaned the bathroom and mopped both its floor and the kitchen floor.

My MamaBake group is due to arrive any moment to restock my fridge.

I didn't get the job I wanted... but I got the other. And when I think about it thats probably a better option anyway. Life is too short to be working with arseholes ;-).

I shut the study door.

I got into the doctor. Hormone imbalance coupled with magnesium and zinc deficiency. Fixable.

The sun is out. Its a glorious day.

Things are mostly good again. Thanks for all the support.

I need help.

2011-10-14T14:39:00.004+11:00

I am officially overwhelmed and in need of help. I'm putting it out there. Giving it a name, like an AA member admits alcoholism, in the hope that I might take the first step to recovery.

Whilst I sit here sipping tea, my gut churns looking at what lays about where I sit. It is too much. I don't know where to begin to fix it.

The kids room.

The toy room.

The washing waiting to be folded.

The study notes I walked away form in May still laying where I left them.

And it is also the unseen mess. The tax returns not done. The shed not finished. The car still broken.

And no, I've not heard about the job.

I used to do Fly Lady. But this is beyond that. Her mantra "don't do washing unless you can dry, fold and put it away" just wouldn't cut it here - we'd have no clothes to wear. Her "baby steps" would have us crawling again.

Its easy to make up excuses... we're building, we're working, The Daddy works away from home, we have small children, I don't sleep at night so I'm exhausted, we're about to move. But it doesn't stop it from overwhelming me. And that overwhelming feeling makes me want to vomit when trying to work out where to start it.

Its official: I am one of those people who "live like that". You know, the ones you cannot believe "live like that". I've tried to hide it for a long time, but its time to name it.

Time to make a change. First: call a doctor about the not sleeping. Next... I don't know where to start next.

Disappointment... and delight.

2011-10-13T19:59:00.006+11:00

A wise man once said:

"There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

And it is true enough.
Yesterday I had my first interview for a Midwife position, at my local hospital.
I normally walk away from these things knowing I did well. But not this time. I was so wrapped up in wanting that I lost it a little. I don't feel I answered the questions to the best of my ability, and I know I forgot to talk about things that I would do by instinct, without thinking about them when I am actually doing. Its hard to remember to verbalise these things when you feel you are on display.

I've grown very fond of Midwifery. A deep love.

When I asked her if she thought I'd enjoy being a Midwife, a wise woman once said to me:

"Learning and having to follow all the 'rules' will drive you bonkers, you will cry your heart out at how hard it is - life, birth and death - but then you will smile and laugh like you had forgotten how."
(Shannon, one of my dearest friends, who blogs here.)

And over the last 18 months and more, I've come to know what she meant. Shannon, I know you're reading my love, and I thank you for all your encouragement and support.

I do have a back up plan. There is another Hospital which has far nicer facilities and I have an interview there on Monday. But this is where more of the deep love comes into it. This hospital would mean an hour and a half drive, one way, to work away from my family and home. I would need to stay the night sometimes. I am only searching for two shifts a week, yet to be apart from my babies for even that amount of time hurts.

It was with a heavy heart that I left the interview yesterday. I hope that I am to be put out of my misery soon.

On my way home, I stopped off to collect the mail. I'd almost forgotten about Shannon's pin cushion swap in my despair. What a delight it was to find a beautifully wrapped brown paper package tied up with string, waiting for me at the post office.

Isn't he beautiful? He was made with love by Bec from Bec I am. I am in love with him. I adore him. I cannot imagine how much time and effort you put in Bec. Thank you. I need to name him. Rupert? I'll think on it. I forgot to pull out his comb of pins for the photo.

I must say, I fear my own effort might not have been quite up to scratch!

Garden Beginings.

2011-10-07T09:02:00.005+11:00

Friends of ours have a delightful garden that they practically live out of all Summer long.

My friend's glorious vegie patch.
Please ignore the crazy ladies in the background wearing dress ups and drinking wine...
We were having fun ;-)

My father always gardened and we too grew up eating fresh from Dad's vegie patch. Even now I often go "shopping" at Dads - vegies galore, stone fruit all summer, apples all Autumn (if you can beat the birds to them!) and citrus all the cooler months. I will show you Dad's garden in another post one day soon, I promise.

Now that we are preparing for our simple life on our block, its time to start thinking about food security which will be a key feature of our quest to work more at home rather than in paid employment. Not that I don't love Midwifing, but I love being with my family even more. Working together. Food security is something we have been giving a lot of thought to lately. Of course there is a lot of talk about food security on a global perspective but I'm talking about personal food security, for our family. Imagine being able to live out of the garden only having to spend small amounts to augment, all year round? As I think more and more about this I am realising its something I need to do. Home grown vegetables, fruit and meat. A house cow, or trading for milk from the farmer next door. We already have the hens. The Daddy is learning how to fish, thinking about how to hunt.

The kids are getting to the age where they can start to work along side us too. They collect the eggs daily and the wee boy is able to lock up the hens at night to protect from predators. This week we started on the makings of our new vegie patch. As we aren't living at the block yet, its so far been about preparation. Turning the soil, adding compost, mulching.

Turning over the earth for our new vegie patch with our wee boy. He was helping, I promise.

We also started some seeds in trays, so that we can care for them here in preparation for planting out when we move. Its baby steps, but its exciting none the less.

The wee ones are old enough now to help out. One of our hard working hens in the background.

I'll keep the pics coming as we progress. I'd love to hear from others who are interested in personal food security, what you do and are planning. What you need to buy to augment. Your lifestyle - has anyone actually been able to live out of their garden almost full time? Do you stock pile food? If so what do you stockpile? How do you store your stockpile?

Until the next time I feel so inspired...

MONEY SAVING GIMMICK BUSTERS!

2011-09-28T19:49:00.005+10:00

It all began with the shampoo discovery: that shampoo is really a scam in the form of a marketing gimmick. Slowly as I'm learning about things in an effort to simplify our lives and health I'm finding more and more things we can do ourselves or do without. So, I'm going to start sharing my money saving gimmick busters as I discover them...

THIS TIME: LIQUID HAND WASH

Soap is soap. Its kinda important for cleaning stuff. If you are one of my few regular readers then you already know I've given hand made cold pressed soaps a run - and its turned out wonderfully - love the stuff. Its soft on the skin, smells pleasantly clean rather than all chemical-like, and cheap as (cheaper than?) chips. Made more today in fact. But cake soaps go crusty and revolting sitting on the sink waiting to wash hands, not to mention the waste as they slowly disintegrate sitting in mushy water. So we've always used liquid hand wash at the sink.

This pot contains around four litres of home made liquid hand wash.

Total cost, around $1. At the most. In fact that's probably an over estimate. I based my experiment loosely on instructions set out at Savvy Housekeeping. The difference was I didn't really take notice of the measures of ingredients - I used an entire cake (grated) of cheap Aldi lavender soap we had left over rather than the one cup of soap flakes as suggested, so added more water and glycerin as the liquid cooled to achieve the correct texture.

Imagine how lovely and how inexpensive it will be next time when I use my own handmade soap as the base!

I popped some in a recycled commercial liquid soap dispenser and the rest is tucked away in a repurposed vinegar bottle or two, and viola! Liquid hand wash that will likely last us a year... just like the bought stuff, for probably less than a buck! And to think we used to pay MORE for liquid soap (compared to cake soap) at the supermarket, and its mostly water...

Pin Cushions.

2011-09-28T14:21:00.009+10:00

My darling friend Shannon who blogs at Rhythm and Rhyme is running a pin cushion swap. She loves them. Dare I say she could even be slightly obsessed with them. Who am I to stand in the way of a woman and her love of pin cushions? So I decided to indulge her and feed her obsession...

For ages I scratched my head and pondered what I could create... really I am not as into pin cushions as she. My pins sit in a tub in my rather neglected sewing space, there or spread about the floor or even holding many a UFO together. (UFO = unfinished object). Recently I had to borrow my mother's pin cushion to work on that dress for my wee one.

So I was rather chuffed to stumble on this tutorial for a crocheted flower pin cushion! I made what I've fondly dubbed the "pumpkin flower pincushion":

I hope my swap partner will be as pleased as I. While she's not as fancy as some I've seen, she combines my new skill of crochet and my old love of sewing. I've finished her with a vintage button from my Nana's stash - and as much as I'm quite fond of the entire cushion, its that button that will be the hardest to let go of. But, she's made with love, and that button represents much love for me (oh Nana how I miss you). Such a sentimental sod really, aren't I. I think she'd tell me I was crazy and would be quietly pleased that I was able to reuse the button in such a way.

Looking forward to my wee package in the mail sometime early in October.

Monday MamaBake

2011-09-20T20:06:00.005+10:00

Has anyone heard of MamaBake? The general concept is that a group of mama's get together every so often and have a massive cook off, divvy up at the end and each of you takes home a couple of days meals already prepared... leaving mama free to, well, just be a mama! (Or sleep, or swan about or just get really really drunk on wine instead of cooking a meal that night).

What I love about this is the community. It takes a village to raise a family, yet unfortunately in our consumer driven mad hat society we seem to have forgotten this concept. Human beings are a tribal species. Mama (or Dada!) is not designed to be left alone to raise the babes all on her/his own, isolated away from their community, to be stoic in the perfectly kept home or with children dumped into childcare so that money can be earned to buy more things we simply don't need - things often designed to make life at home "easier" so that you are free to leave the home to earn more money to buy more unnecessary things to make it more convenient to leave the home, to earn more money so you can buy... you get the point. Long gone are the days where household chores and raising children and families were shared. When children were raised by families and extended families, who loved them and weren't doing it for money (to buy things so thay could leave their own home to earn more money...). Where Mama's were able to hold their babe's close, to keep them close. Where support didn't have to be searched for or even asked for, it just was.

Is it just me that thinks it is not coincidence that as our society surges to be more "civilised", and more "advanced" our rates of depression and other mental illness rises? While the push to leave the home to work and consume ensures we lose our support networks? Are separated from our babies? Does anyone else see how ridiculous it is that we live so close to one another in large towns and cities yet many barely utter a word to their neighbour other than a cordial hello in the morning on our way to work, yet struggle to get through our daily chores alone? Side by side yet alone?

When my good friend Meagan suggested we give MamaBake a go, I lept at the chance. The idea of sharing a daily chore - even if just one - with other like minded mamas, while connecting with a group of wonderful strong women (and thus supporting the social needs of being human) was just too appealing. Sharing the cooking, sharing the cleaning, sharing the child raising... even if just for one day.

We had our first MamaBake yesterday. Oh my. It was WONDERFUL! I cannot wait to do it again next week. And you know what else? We don't have to think about preparing dinner all week :-).

Oopsy, busy me...

2011-09-09T21:06:00.002+10:00

No pretty pictures today... busy busy bee that I am. Just popped in to apologise to my very few followers for not posting in a while... I have a lot of catching up to do - two weddings, a job application, windows in the shed, revamped jeans, a thrifted and rebirthed wool coat and much more granny love! Oh, and a lot to say on some child related health matters as well as another Facebook boycott. You know it won't last.

I will fill you in soon, I promise. I miss blog world.

Wordless Wednesday: Citrus Season

2011-08-17T16:10:00.005+10:00

A little news...

2011-08-15T19:32:00.002+10:00

Well I have a little something I need to share...

I just checked the Australian Health Practitioner's Regulation Agency web page and ah...

I'M A MIDWIFE!!!!

Recycling yarn...

2011-08-11T19:30:00.009+10:00

I had another op-shop search a couple of days ago and finally found some adorable wool yarn for my granny squares in a stunning blue with rainbow flecks. Only problem is...

Its already made into something! There it is next to several balls of some MORE wool yarn I scored for $5. Its been preloved too - if you look closely you can see the curly waves from its former life. The cardi cost me $3 and expect to get a similar yield to the maroon. But how?

Its not something I've ever done before. But, I figured I'd just work backwards, starting by snipping off those cute vintage looking buttons.

Then I went up to the neck line and freed one of the sleeves. This was tricky - I had to search for the seam and make sure I cut only the joining thread. And these old grannies don't make their handy work to be undone easily I can tell you! But once I started I found a combination of unthreading with a crochet hook and snipping was best.

Once the sleeve was free I had to do the same to the sleeve seam.

The next step was to locate the point where Gran had ended knitting her sleave and undo the knot.

From there it was just a matter of unravelling. Just a suggestion - if you're going to do this then roll as you go - so much easier.

Look at the size of the ball of yarn I ended up with from just one sleeve!

Did I just accidentally do my first tutorial? I'm off to unravel the rest...

Birth Journeys

2011-08-09T22:21:00.004+10:00

My sweet little girl's birth story is included in this book which is soon to be released. Pre-orders go on sale on 13th August with "likers" of the "Birth Journeys" Face Book page to receive a special discount.

I know, I know, Art-not-adds.

But this is for a really great cause - birth awareness with the aim of encouragement and inspiration for mothers and fathers to be, and the majority of the profits will be donated to charities. And besides, its kinda personal. I'll keep you informed of stockists as the day gets closer.

10 Things I've learned from Sewing Vintage.

2011-08-09T21:55:00.001+10:00

Remember this post? Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe, depending which way you look at it) the little boy pattern was 3 sizes too small and there was no way there was enough time for me to try to enlarge it in time to make it for the wedding which is in around two weeks... so that pattern and fabric have been sent back to the lovely Marina in the hope she can find a seamstress far more talented than I with a lot more time than I. I did however, get started quickly on the frock for my wee girl.

It was been a frustrating at times, yet enjoyable experience and has reminded me how much I really do enjoy being creative with a sewing machine. The entire exercise was not without its lessons though. Here are a few things I learned along the way...

1. If you are asked to sew a flower girl dress for your four year old from silk using a 1950-something pattern, then RUN. Run as hard and as fast as you can. If the asker likes to run marathons in her spare time for "fun" and/or really is genuinely an all round gorgeous lady so that you feel you really shouldn't say no, then see points 2 through 10.

2. If you ask your mum (who is beyond clever with a sewing machine) for help with said project and confirm she will be around until the end of the month, then be aware that the end of the month really means the 18th of the month, so don't count on her being around... get her to cut out the fabric and create the missing pieces of the skirt pattern before she leaves though. Then set up her sewing machine in her empty house so you have an entire house as a sewing room. Remember to protect your car interior from rogue pissing cats by closing the hatch door while you're there.

3. If a vintage pattern asks you to baste, you baste.

4. Smile while you baste, it helps.

5. Learn to trim threads as you go. With all that basting it gets messy in there. Trimming as you go saves you a tantrum (bordering on a psychotic episode) later on.

6. If you don't like ironing, don't volunteer to create your own bias tape and matching piping. Especially when the bias tape is an extra you have invented because it "might look cute" but isn't included in the pattern.

7. If you really don't like ironing, don't make the attached petticoat too long so that it sticks out the bottom of the dress, thus being visible. Because then you have to make more bias tape to attach to the dress bottom to lengthen it. Or unpick and shorten the petticoat.

8. If the above happens, go with the extra bias tape. Really. Even if you hate ironing.

9. No matter how you approach them, zippers suck.

10. Remember, you can do it. Really you can. Even if you have to take a small hand gun to the wedding to hide in your purse in case you need to dissuade anyone who feels so inclined as to lift your daughters skirt hem and inspect your handy work...

Opportunity Op-Shopping on Marriage Monday.

2011-08-01T17:37:00.008+10:00

Happy horses birthday all!

Mondays are "Marriage Monday" in the Arthur household. Both kidlets are at school and The Mama and Daddy have several hours to themselves - we've been known to splurge on a visit to a cafe (gasp!) whilst childless (double gasp!), or bush walk, or stroll along a beach - almost hand in hand (almost - triple gasp!). My Monday routine when my dearest is away for work is to drop my big boy at school and my wee one to preschool and then begins a couple of hours of me leisurely scouring op-shops for bargains and must have fabrics, yarns and household goods...

Imagine my delight when the two were combined today!

Marriage Monday coffee was followed by a visit to the local op shop as a couple! Yep, I managed to lure the male of the species into the oppy! And he did well!

This is our loot for today two hand crafted vases - he picked the tall orange vase (which coincidentally I love), there is just over a metre of that cute orange gingham, and around two metres of the red and white fabric which I must say I'm also loving. We also picked up a 100% wool knit ski jumper for our boy which will do well on cooler school mornings - total expenditure: $13!

I simply adore op-shops. I really do. There is just something about them. I don't know if its the chance for a bargain, that you are sticking it to consumerism by recycling something already loved by someone else (or not), or that most items are not widely available anymore or have a story to tell. Maybe its a little bit of all of those reasons.

I know I'm not the only op-shop addict. If you too are addicted to the op-shop bargain hunt, check out "I op therefore I am".

We're heading to Melbourne in a couple of weeks - I wonder if he's converted enough to make it an op-shop tour? I must say that orange vase (sorry, "paprika" vase as the label on the bottom says) looks particularly awesome on my mantel shelf.

Social Networking.

2011-07-29T22:34:00.003+10:00

Ah, the book of faces. How I love yet hate thee.

I joined FB to keep in touch with old friends who are spread about the country and indeed the world. I find this immensely helpful and really helps reinforce my idiosyncrasies such as my phobia of calling people on the phone. Oh yeah, its true. It terrifies me. Heart palpitations and sweaty palms - the lot. But thats another blog post of its own...

However, in addition to these people whom I love I find my "friends" list creeping up and up and becoming included were people who I normally wouldn't invite into my lounge room - yet here I was finding myself doing just that every night. These people who wouldn't normally stop to say hello on the street or offer more than a smile in passing had access to photos of my family, could see what interest groups I belonged to, and were able to read my personal thoughts (because thats what your status is right?).

And have you noticed how on social networking sites normal etiquette and good manners seem to go out the window and others feel free to comment and give opinion on things far more freely than they might if face to face with you? In my own experience some of the things said are down right hurtful, and because its written, you can just read it over and over and over. It gets to you after a while...

I'm on a break from FB right now, having deactivated my account. We were discussing this at play group where a friend said she really missed me there. I explained my rationale for deactivating my account and my concerns for privacy citing a few specific examples where I felt I had been criticised unfairly, and even bullied for my beliefs and more specifically bullied and criticised for my parenting choices. She made a really good point: "you should use the tea test" she said. The tea test as she explained it, goes like this: if you wouldn't sit down with a person and have a cup of tea, then they shouldn't be your "friend" on FB.

I like it. I like it a lot.

So I'll go back there soon, and do some friend culling. Then I'll know I'm amongst my real friends.

And twitter... I just don't get the point of twitter... someone care to explain it to me?

Soapy soapiness!

2011-07-29T19:22:00.005+10:00

I know I've chatted briefly about my simple green cleaning before and my firm belief that vinegar and bicarb can clean almost anything including my hair. I've been making a simple green cleaner with water, vinegar and one to two drops of dish washing liquid with a drop of tea tree oil in a spray bottle for a few years now, with fabulous results. Its cheap, it green and relatively chemical free (compared to commercial cleaners that is!). With a little sprinkle of bicarb, our bathroom and kitchen surfaces have never been cleaner. We also use the same bottle in various places throughout the house - if our wee one has an accident the mattress cops a good spray, if there is a spill on the floor the carpet cops a spraying, and yesterday I had the unfortunate experience of having a rogue cat pee in our "old" car (Claire, the old car comment was for you) after I (quite without thought) had left the back door open on a sewing visit to mums - you guessed it - out came the spray bottle. Brilliant stuff really.

So I was searching around green and simple living blog land recently and I came across Rhonda's Blog "Down to Earth". Brilliant woman. So full of good practical advice and support. In particular this post about home made laundry liquid caught my eye. I ummed and ahhed for a while and one day I took the plunge. When hubby was away (so he couldn't nay say) I made it. I must say, its really really great. We've been using it for about a week now and the results are fantasamolistic (having two little dirt magnets means there are several loads of washing a day in this household so a week is a pretty good test run). And for less than $2 for 10 litres (Rhonda did the maths), we'll be doing it again I can tell you! I do have some concerns about the Borax and the vegie garden so in the next batch we will likely resort to our all time fav Bicarb as a replacement.

So, all enthusiastic following my Laundry Liquid success, my thoughts turned to soap... Now I must say I was a little nervous. I vaguely remember my mum and grandmother trying this once with beef tallow after we had killed a beast for meat - sorry to gross anyone out, but well, if you're going to eat meat then I say use the rest of the animal as well! I remember the process being quite long and involved and very time consuming - probably from the whole having to render the tallow bit I guess. This experience has put me off the idea of making soap - until now. Thinking the neighbors might object to me chasing down one of their cows to slice off a chunk of cow fat, and not having any on hand, I decided I wanted a vegetable based soap.

Rhonda has her own method. However this time I searched further and had a jolly good read up on what the soap making internez peeps had to say and came up with my own recipe. There is a really good soap calculator here for anyone wanting to try, you just punch in the oils you have and it comes up with the amount of other ingredients you will need! So clever! In the end I opted for a combination of olive oil, rice bran oil, and sunflower seed oil. I used a combination of Rhonda's and several other methods I read up on and made a cold pressed hand made soap with lavender oil for scent (so as to woo a usually reluctant hubby into trying yet another of my wacky hippy creations - he loves lavender soap, but is starting to roll his eyes at my hippines, lol). I didn't bother with colour because really, there comes a point where it ceases to be green.

It. Was. So. Easy.

Yep, easy peasey. I cannot believe how quick and easy, so much so that I cannot believe I haven't tried this before! Now I haven't actually used my soap yet as it needs to cure from between 3-6 weeks first (depending on which soap obsessed internez peeps you believe) to ensure all the clever little scientific chemical reactions take place making sure it is no longer caustic - coz that would hurt. But when it has cured, I'll try it out and if it works well I might even have a go at my first tutorial! Stay tuned folks.

Here's a pic of my soap curing. Smells so clean and fresh. Can't wait to try it and even make my laundry liquid from it!

I'm so excited... I keep dreaming up new ingredients and scents. Its the little things ;-)

Have a great weekend all. XX

Workings of a weekend...

2011-07-23T20:36:00.007+10:00

Its only half way gone too...

A busy one its been. The shed site is a quagmire... (please excuse pics, mostly from phone!)

I read somewhere that in order to save money and the planet, if where you need to be is within 30mins walk you should consider doing just that - so off we went to feed George, my brother's cat...

Stomped in the puddles while collecting kindling for our fire...

Had a chat with the girls...

Hours of fun making and playing with no-cook play dough...

Ran outside to catch a rainbow (unfortunately no pot of gold in my front yard)...

Wholemeal pikelets for afternoon tea...

And Mama churned out some more granny love...

I'm exhausted!
What have you been doing this weekend?

Granny Squares.

2011-07-22T19:36:00.006+10:00

Two posts in one day? What? Have I gone mad? I've been meaning to do this one for a while though.

This rug makes me smile. A lot. My Nan's sister crafted her for me when I was born. She then swaddled my brother and then my sister. Then both of my own babes. Now she sits on the back of my lounge chair and makes me smile just by looking at her. All of that love.

Sure, she's old and worn. But she was made with love, and has given warmth to so many. I love her in return.

But those of you who know me will know that she's not really my colours. I'm a warm colour girl. And since it is an ambition of mine to learn to crochet, I decided to make - not a replacement - but a friend for her in darker, warmer colours, and in as many natural fibres as I can find. The original plan was to craft this rug from my stash, unfinished objects, op shop yarns and reclaim yarn from past items of wear. Unfortunately deciding to start this project well into winter means that most yarn of natural fibre has long since been bought up from the op shop by my fellow thrifty shoppers. I've had to succumb to augmenting the stash with some sale yarns from the local craft shop.

This is what I've managed so far. I wonder how big she'll grow?

Oh, and if you want to join in all the granny goodness and don't know how, pop over to Meet Me at Mikes - thats where I reminded myself how to do this...

Choosing to be poor, so that our lives may be rich..

2011-07-22T11:35:00.005+10:00

The change...

Once, we were money driven. We liked modern things. Shiny things. We were lured by clever marketing to believe we needed "nice" things, new things to make our lives complete. We needed to drive new cars, have the best furniture, live in a fancy house. Our daily tasks of living were made easier by modern technologies and new exciting chemical cleaners. We travelled the world to earn money. We bought take away foods and restaurant meals because we believed these were far better quality and this was "having a great time". When I fell pregnant, before my babe was in my arms he was enrolled into day care so that I could continue my career, in order to support our lifestyle, because having a career was important and because babies should fit in with their parents lifestyle not the other way around.

Then something happened. He was born. He was in my arms, and on the morning of his birth the change began to come. Everything changed. I realised that he, they are what life is about. He was but a few days old when his Daddy decided a career change was in order so that he could spend more time with him. He discharged form the RAAF and we moved to Canberra so we could be closer to family for support. I was to continue my career, so applied for a posting to Canberra. When he was five months old the night came when he slept through from midnight to 5am for the first time. Yet I didn't sleep a wink. Not one. I tossed and turned, my stomach churned. I felt ill. When morning came I went to the lounge room and in front of my husband and his parents I burst into tears.

"I can't do it" was all I could get out of my mouth. "I can't go back to work. I can't put him in day care. I just can't". I was hysterically sobbing, and didn't think for a moment I would ever hear what I was to hear that morning from my beloved's own mouth: "Then don't. We'll make do". I remember his father putting up a protest as if we'd gone mad "what on earth will you do? What do you mean you won't go back to work?". Just like that the world changed for us.

Moving home...

Moving home was something I always knew I wanted to do eventually. When our babes were still in nappies the time came. My beloved found a job in my home town and we decided to move. I'm sure most of our friends and family thought we were daft. Why would we move there? Why would you take a pay cut to do that? That town? Why? They thought we were doing it to be closer to my family - which was true in part. But this area is my home for so many more reasons. I'm at peace here. To me this is paradise. When we looked for a house to rent, my grandparents old house was available. I took this as a sign that we were taking the right path.

Before long my beloved discovered that his job was making him miserable. He was working long hours for half the pay he was earning in the city. He wasn't being paid for overtime, and we never saw him. Despite his job earning him "A pretty good wage for around here" as we heard over and over and over, we soon figured out that I could earn more working part time than he could working full time. So the switch was made, Daddy became the stay at home Daddy and I returned to work - three days a week, with Daddy doing casual shifts here and there to augment our income. With this came some enforced changes. I began to research frugal living and ways to save money in the home. We began to moderate our lifestyle even more, to go "without" things so we could spend more time with our family. Before long, these "frugal" ways of living began to make sense - not just for money saving, but for our health.

We moved into a house on my family farm and halved our rent. Sure, its old, falling apart in places, mouldy even, but the feeling of relief and elation I got when we moved in cannot be put into words. I was home. At last.

Moving on. Going without is actually being with...

Simplifying. Making do. Making our own. Reusing, recycling. This is what we do now. And we are richer than we have ever been. Perhaps not in monetary value, but in lifestyle and quality of life - absolutely. We bake our own, cook from scratch, take care of and raise our own kids instead of using day care. When my kids cry in the night I am there for them. When they fall and skin their knee, thier Daddy or their Mummy are there, or as mostly hapens, both of them. A "night out" is a night with friends and family with a home cooked meal, usually with our children too. We are planning gardens for our own pesticide free produce. We've eliminated chemicals from the home - first to save money, but now for our better health - there is not much that you can't clean with some vinegar, bicarb soda, water and a little soap with some essential oils for that fresh smell. I can purchase a bag full of kids clothes from the op shop for $5 - why buy new when they are going to be covered in mud, and outgrown anyway - and the kids don't mind. Most of my clothes are handmade or from the op shop too. We live in paradise - we don't need a fancy holiday when we can park our caravan at the local beach, eat food from its shore and share wine with friends.

People still don't understand. A very good friend (whom I love dearly) recently told me we were undervaluing ours and our children's lives by driving old cars... that they were unsafe, that surely a new car didn't have to cost that much - well we did the mathematics. We save around $15K a year by repairing and maintaining our old cars. I might gripe and grumble when it is repair time, but I choose to do this, for a better life for my children. You see, the more time I spend away from paid employment, the more time I have for them. They are learning important life lessons - they are learning the lost skills of gardening, home baking, frugal living, sewing crocheting and home mechanics - this is just the tip of the iceberg. They are learning to reuse, recycle and make do. They are learning to leave as little environmental footprint on our world as possible. They are learning to play games and entertain themselves instead of needing to be entertained. These skills are all too often lost in our society. More importantly, my children have both their mother and father involved in their life. They see both of us working in our home. They are being raised by loving parents - two of them instead of daycare.

Last year we purchased just over six acres of lightly wooded farm land at the bottom of Mumbulla Mountain. I get the same feeling when I stand on this block of land as I did when I came home. Peace. Relief. Happiness. We manage to pay off more than we are required to on the loan for the land with me working two days a week, and The Daddy working sporadically contracting in the city. We sold some shares recently to fund a shed. We will live there, with solar power, rain water, and a pit toilet, so that our lives may be more rich with the things that matter. I know some people still don't understand, but really, that is not important. My children are only children for such a short time, and I don't want to miss any of it, just to have the things that clever marketers trick us into believeing we "need"...

A spot of vintage sewing.

2011-07-14T20:02:00.005+10:00

I'm nervous. A wee bit scared even. I need to be brave. Big deep breath, jump in!

You see my brother in law is to wed the gorgeous Miss Marina at the end of August and they have asked if our wee ones can be a part of the ceremony. The kids are very excited - as am I - I LOVE weddings! Miss Marina has sourced her bridesmaids dresses from Etsy, eBay and op-shops; vintage numbers in varying shades of green I hear. Fantastic. I love this - three of my passions all rolled into one: op-shopping, reusing/recycling, and vintage dresses! Whats not to love?

My wee ones are to be vintage clad too - new garments from vintage patterns. Vintage patterns. Oh how I love thee. Not too many people know that I actually collect vintage sewing patterns. I pull them out occasionally and look them lovingly over, smile a lot, get nostalgic and imagine the garments I may one day make from them. When I find vintage sewing patterns in the op-shop I get a little flutter of excitement and I can't stop from taking them home with me. I once spent about an hour on the floor of an op-shop in Canberra sorting through a box of old patterns and left later with no less than 20 patterns under my arm. Vintage sewing patterns. My passion.

But ah... I've been asked to sew my wee ones outfits for the wedding. I'm petrified. I know, I've sewn, I sew, I'm not bad at sewing, heck I used to sell the cloth nappies and covers I made and was always complimented on my product. But these are vintage kids clothes, from real vintage patterns, with real fabrics of silk and such. And they will be on display. Photographed. Admired. Critiqued. I'm scared. What if my skills don't cut it? What if they don't fit properly. What if they fall apart... what if... what if... what if...

I can do it. I can. I will. Heck - I have to - the fabric is here and the patterns are en route! Eek! I'm allowed to pick which dress I make for my wee girl... which would you choose?

Wordless Wednesday, take two: Winter.

2011-07-13T20:37:00.002+10:00

Wordless Wednesday: SQUEEEEE!!!!

2011-07-13T20:03:00.008+10:00

Wordless Wednesday is something I've often seen around blog land, so thought I'd play along too... For those in the know, the pictures tell a lot... SQUEEEEE!!!!

20 Questions.

2011-07-02T14:10:00.003+10:00

Playing along with Sarah...

1. Sweet or Savoury? Both... depending on hormonal changes...

2. Dresses or Jeans? Skirts and bright pants.

3. House or Apartment? House. A sustainable self sufficient house. With a huge yard preferably on acres so I can live off the land and the kids can run wild.

4. Shop Online or Offline? Online. I am not a normal woman. I hate going to the shops. Unless its the op-shop...

5. DVDs or downloads? DVDs - we don't have the bandwidth for down loading.

6. Cocktails or Juice? Juice occasionally with alcohol in it.

7. Chocolate or Strawberry? Chocolate! Or strawberries coated in chocolate.

8. Laptop or PC? Laptop. I like being able to move around the house. (I copied Sarah's answer).

9. Magazines or Newspapers? Usually neither. Do my reading online.

10. Facebook or Twitter? Facebook. I don't understand the point of twitter.

11. CDs or MP3s? Both. Slowly being converted to the usefulness of online music though.

12. Kids or Pets? Kids.

13. Macaron or Cupcakes? Whats a Macaron?

14. Walk or Run? Walk but I'm begining the C25K again...

15. Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out? Out. Too many crumbs in the bed is no fun.

16. Market or Supermarket. If there was a decent market closer by then market.

17. Sourdough or Grainy? Both. Although I think I might have killed my starter...

18. Heels or Flats? Flats! I don't do heels. Although the wee girl asked me to do the housework in heels this morning... I'm a bit worried about her really.

19. Late Nights or Not? Late nights. And then I regret it.

20. Coffee or Tea? Coffee. But I'm loving green tea and chai lately.

We're making soup!

2011-07-01T12:42:00.006+10:00

I ventured out to check on the kids to find them in the chook pen covered in mud and chook shit... "Oh god! What are you doing?!" were the words I believe may have been shrieked from my mouth... "We're making soup!" came a very excited reply...

I managed to very gracefully take a deep breath and close my eyes and make a hasty retreat to the kitchen... I'm learning. This stuff doesn't matter. They're having fun, they're learning, it doesn't really hurt and so what - the poo and other particles can be washed off... (It is ok isn't it? Or am I just a crazy lady who has let the country air go to her head?).

All was well until I heard the phrase "we made it using compost food. It needs cheese - we're tasting it too mum!"!!!!

At least they collected and washed the eggs I suppose. I'm going out tonight... do I warn the baby sitter?

Crumpets with honey and tea.

2011-06-25T19:03:00.007+10:00

So, since finishing my studies I've made a little pledge to myself that I will endeavour to rise to the status of domestic goddess and radical homemaker... well try to anyway. In an effort to kick start my genious, I've began baking. I made this delightful number for morning tea with a girlfriend but it got demolished before I got to take a pic... Then I made some fudge with a new recipe... nom nom nom.

Today I decided to try my hand at... home made crumpets no less! We love crumpets but have not made the purchase for years since discovering the copious amounts of preservatives contained within the bought type. It never occurred to me that I could make my own... until now! My good friend Meagan posted a pic of her effort on her Facebook page, supplied me with this recipe and the rest is history...

I must say though, beating something of this texture is interesting to say the least.

However I persevered, slightly concerned that my domestic goddess-festation (get it? manifestation... goddess-festation? Oh! I'm just so funny!) might turn out somewhat like my old uni buddy Claire's efforts. (I loves ya Claire, really I do). I ditched the whole green eggs and ham bit (really, why push my luck) and viola!

They turned out looking just like... well just like crumpets really! Yay for preservative free crumpets!

With melted butter and honey on top and freshly brewed chai to wash them down - PERFECTION!

By the way... does everyone else have a drawer that looks like this?

Winter.

2011-06-22T19:37:00.008+10:00

The icy month is upon us. I'm not a fan of the colder months as anyone familiar with my face book account would know... this is possibly why...

That was the view from our kitchen window a few mornings ago. Yes, its beautiful, but until I have my snuggly rammed earth/straw bale/mudbrick palace in place of the leaky and moulding asbestos box in which we currently reside, give me the heat of summer in exchange anyday. Please.

However, today we celebrated the southern hemisphere Winter Solstice with a kindergarten winter festival - which even I, winter's biggest sceptic, will admit was a delight...

...first we had a morning circle...

...then a lantern walk...

...a story...

...and morning tea.

I go with my little lantern,
my lantern is going with me,
in heaven the stars are shining,
on Earth shines my lantern for me.

The race is won, I am now done...

2011-06-15T20:38:00.005+10:00

I did it.

I submitted my final assessable item.

The long wait now begins for marking and registration. But I did it. I feel... numb. I feel happiness sporadically... then pure exhaustion. But I'm going to look ahead...

...because a new journey begins tomorrow. While I was away we bought land. And tomorrow begins the journey that is a new beginning on that land... a new beginning of simplifying, of gardening, of building a lifestyle, of homemaking and happiness. Here's some pics of our paradise for you to enjoy...

Soon...

2011-06-13T20:32:00.000+10:00

Soon I will be back...

This race is almost won...

Warm Kitty, Soft Kitty...

2010-08-09T15:05:00.004+10:00

As some of you whom I have the pleasure of knowing IRL would already be aware, I've recently had a health scare that has meant I've had to have some time away from my workplace and time out in general (I will elaborate in another post on another day, when I'm ready). On a recent visit to Mothering with Rhythm and Rhyme I noticed these adorable little knitted kitties that my very good friend Shannon had made in her Wednesday craft group (original pattern from this book). She very kindly forwarded me the pattern and I am proud to say I've managed to complete not one but TWO little kitties, the first craft project I've managed to complete all year! Thank you darling for the inspiration especially when I've been feeling so down.

They are a little lop sided, and I was totally in a dream when I read the tail instructions and forgot to sew the tail onto itself lengthwise (so they have fat flat little tails) but I think they're adorable and so do their very chuffed new owners. They've both been wandering about the house singing the little children's song "Warm Kitty, Soft Kitty" all morning!

Warm Kitty,
Soft Kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Sleepy Kitty,
Happy Kitty,
Purr, purr, purr.

Tumbleweeds and cobwebs...

2010-07-16T16:21:00.002+10:00

Tis a lonely deserted blog this one. Posts are few and far between this year... it seems I have taken on a lot and my cup is running over. I'm a little over five months into my journey to become a midwife, a journey that has certainly been filled with highs and lows.

We're shopping for a block of land at the moment and may have found the perfect one... more details when we know for sure. It will be nice to have our own patch of our beautiful earth to sow and reap.

Meanwhile I'm afraid to say that the tumbleweeds will continue to roll through and the cobwebs grow in the corners of Around Arthur's Table...

It burned down.

2010-05-23T20:06:00.004+10:00

Our garage caught fire and burned down on Friday last. I'm quite sad about it really. We've lost stuff. Just stuff I know, but it was my stuff. Our accumulated stuff from the last 12 years of living together. Our memories in one way or another. We live in a small house so we used the garage for storage.

But it was something else too. My Dad built the lean-to when he and mum moved into this house after they got married. My ancestors built the house (and I assume the garage not long after) with the remainder of the original farm house after the first world war, when the original house was destroyed by white ants. There goes a tiny piece of history. Certainly a big piece of my childhood memory.

Yes it was crappy, yes it was old, but history none the less. My history. Our things. Maybe our baby photos. Maybe our wedding photos. All my cloth nappies, and all the bunny rugs I made with love for my babies. All our tools. Our camping equipment, and sporting equipment. Our dining table. And more. Gone now.

I'm not seeking your sympathy. Just wanting to vent a little I guess. Here's some pictures. I'm a wee bit sad...

Happy birthday Logan!

2010-05-20T11:02:00.008+10:00

One Semester of assignments over. An exam to study for and a portfolio to update, but all is well.

I feel a little lost really... with all my "spare" time I thought I'd update with Logan's birthday party. My boy is five you see... not sure where all that time went to be honest. We celebrated with a party at home with family and friends and again at his school with morning tea - all of his class mates made him a special card and he got to wear a gold crown and cape. As will all our Steiner School celebrations the morning was filled with magic and was just so very special. Unfortunately we forgot the camera for the school celebration however here are some happy snaps from our celebration at home...

Endless "pass the parcel"

Grown ups gathered around the food...

And of course what is a little man's birthday celebration without cake?
(Yes, I know its looks like an 8... he wanted a racing track!).

Because I have finished assignments for the semester, we celebrated yesterday with a family lunch and a visit to an animal nursery where we cuddled some kitten rabbits and had our first pony ride! Guess what The Mama and Big Daddy are saving up for now...

All I want is a little pony,
Jiggy jog, jiggy jog, jiggy jog, gee.
Not too fat and not too bony,
Jiggy jog, jiggy jog, jiggy jog, gee.
How I want to go for a ride,
Far out in the country side...
With... a...
Jiggy jog, jiggy jog, jiggy jog,
Jiggy jog, jiggy jog, jiggy jog, gee.

Mini-blog-break...

2010-04-21T09:41:00.001+10:00

Taking a break while I finish two assignments in a relatively short period...

Never fear, I'll be back!

I cheated...

2010-04-05T21:20:00.002+10:00

...and I regret it already!

Had my hair cut today, and I let her shampoo my hair.

Anyone who has ever had the divine pleasure of a professional hair wash and scalp massage can surely understand my moment of weakness... surely?

But I regret it already, scratch, scratch, scratch. Back to my bicarb I go...

Happy Eostre...

2010-04-03T13:30:00.013+11:00

Where did the Easter Bunny come from?

Perhaps we should ask where did Easter come from? The common belief is of course the well known christian celebration of the rebirth of the saviour. But Easter could in fact have its origin in pre-christian saxon pagan religion.

The Saxon pagan's goddess of fertility and spring time was called Eostre (or Eastre). A traditional pagan celebration occurring following the Spring Equinox celebrated her representation of springtime, fertility and renewal of life. Eostre's earthly incarnation is thought to be a rabbit, hence the Easter Bunny and the giving of eggs is said to represent new life.

Other legends have the origins of the easter bunny in 1500 in Germany where the Osterhase laid coloured eggs in colourful baskets made by children, again in celebration of the spring equinox in a celebration of fertility and life.

It seems that modern Easter has its origins with the advent of christianity and the combining of both celebrations in ancient Europe perhaps in an effort to convert the anglo-saxons to christianity?

And then there is the story of Attis the pagan life-death-rebirthed deity...

We are not a religious family, but do practice religious tolerance (big daddy maybe not so much, lol). We do live by many christian values, as in general I believe they are good values to base one's own on (not all, don't get me started - thats another post for another day!). I personally have not decided the exact course of my faith - hopefully I work this out before it matters, if indeed it does matter! For now I'm happy to participate in aspects of all religions that I feel suit the rhythm of our family.

I kinda like the thought of celebrating fertility and new life at Easter... much nicer than mourning a death. What do you think?

(This was meant to be a much longer post with pictures too... for some reason blogger is fighting me every step of the way so I'll have to be happy with this summarised version... )

Happy Eostre!

Poo-poo to Shampoo... going no-poo!

2010-03-29T12:11:00.005+11:00

Thats right. Exactly as it sounds... I'm giving up shampoo.

Why you may ask? Well for years... actually as long as I can remember, I have struggled to find a shampoo that "works" on my hair. When I did find one on the odd occasion, it was only a couple of weeks and I'd have the usual build up of grease and scabby itchy scalp (yep, scabby) and the search for a new-poo began all over. The only poo that helped the itchy and scabbiness was a tar based-poo and if you've ever had the pleasure you will know that the smell is frightful. Rather like a fresh laid bitumen road in fact! Then there is the cost. I have tried brands from $2 a bottle to $50 a bottle. Still not happy Jan.

So how did I get tot his point? Well a year ago on my beloved breastfeeding forum there was a discussion on going no-poo which got me interested. This method was simply to stop washing your hair and supposedly within 4-6 weeks all the oils evened themselves out and your hair was lovely... Considering my job in the public health sector I figured it might not be a great look to push through the period of greasy feral locks that all those trying the method were reporting so filed the idea in the not feasible box and moved on. Back to the bitumen rinse I went.

But then a couple of weeks ago after a morning of scratching like a dog with mange to the point where my scalp was bleeding, I had had enough. From the depths of the darkest and dreariest corner of my memory came this little bright light... the no-poo trial! Trying to remember the "method" (wasn't it just stopping washing?) I googled shampoo free hair and a new world opened up to me.

I came across a method of washing hair that was no-poo but still got the hair clean - using bicarb and a vinegar rinse. Brilliant! Why hadn't I thought of this - I used these same products in my every day cleaning all the time - even as a fabric softener in the washing - so why on earth hadn't it occurred to me before?

I snuck past big daddy into the bathroom with my new found weapons of itch destruction and set to it. I mixed a tablespoon of bicarb with warm water and massaged this into my scalp. Weird. Its kind of grainy, but does feel nice on the scalp. Then after rinsing it out (left it on for a couple of minutes first) I followed with a rinse made up of apple-cider vinegar (about two table spoons to about a cup of warm water), and rinsed.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have never had such fantastic results from any shampoo even the $50 a bottle ones! My scalp no longer itches, my hair is soft, and its no longer fuzzy (well, almost). I mentioned this to big daddy and heard a few words including I think "crazed" and "hippy" through a bearded mumble (yes, bearded, and he calls ME the crazed hippy!). But, not being one to be easily perturbed, especially not by ones husband, I have tried this a few times since with the same results.

So, today I have decided. I am going to take the plunge into shampoo free-ness for a months trial.

Stay tuned for the results...

For more information check these guys out. Maybe you can join me in my quest to free the world from the grasp of shampoo marketers?

http://www.natural-forces.com/essays/poofree.htm
http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=365

What matters at the end of the day?

2010-03-27T18:19:00.004+11:00

Does it matter at the end of the day if the form is filed in the wrong spot?

Does it matter at the end of the day if there is a half empty water bottle on the filing cabinet?

Does it matter at the end of the day if the diary entries aren't complete?

Does it matter at the end of the day if she laboured without drugs when you would have liked her to have them?

Does it matter at the end of the day if her baby wasn't wrapped the way you'd prefer?

Does it matter at the end of the day if instead of sleeping she held her new babe close?

Does it matter at the end of the day if the dishes pile up?

Does it matter at the end of the day if she was frightened and came in for reassurance?

Does it matter at the end of the day if the beds weren't made because I was talking with a woman who needed someone to talk?

What really matters at the end of the day? The babes are fed, the mamas are fed, everyone is well, and their is laughter... thats what matters at the end of the day...

Autum Festival Photos

2010-03-25T20:37:00.003+11:00

In the name of a shriveled up study brain and procrastination I present to thee... a couple of pics from the Autumn Festival. There aren't many and they aren't too flash as The Mama put Big Daddy in charge of the piccies... and well... I shouldn't have! There are no pics of the morning circle and none of the classroom... it would have been nice to snap one of the nature table too all set up with its Autumny things... oh well. I'll sack Big Daddy from the position of photographer for next time. :-)

A spot of skipping...

Morning tea...

And I think we're saying we'd like some more pop corn please...

They made their own hats and a little basket each which was filled with Autumn treats - a shined apple, paper cut out apples, and a little felted mouse. Very very cute.

For Meagan...

2010-03-25T15:50:00.003+11:00

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am in a thousand winds that blow,

I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,

I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,

I am in the graceful rush

Of beautiful birds in circling flight,

I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,

I am in a quiet room.

I am in the birds that sing,

I am in each lovely thing.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there. I do not die.

Mary Frye, 1932

For my beautiful friend Meagan whose mother yesterday gave herself to breast cancer. I do not have the words to help you heal. Know that we love you and are thinking of you and your gorgeous girls.

Autumn Easter Festival...

2010-03-24T18:18:00.004+11:00

The autumn winds begin to blow
And apples shine a rosy glow
We hear the sound of little feet
As we gently fall asleep
The little mice come out at night
To have a tasty tiny bite
Of our apples red and round
That fall and land upon the ground...

Tomorrow at the boy's school is the first festival of the year - the Autumn Easter Festival. We are invited to join the morning circle and share morning tea. I am looking forward to this as it is the first festival we have attended as a member of the school community proper (we have been attending festivals with the Little Mumbulla Playgroup for a couple of years now).

As a mother I guess this symbolises the first in a series of school festivals and events. Its as if we're stepping off onto another platform on our parenthood journey... exciting really. Stay tuned for photos...

I should have guessed it...

2010-03-11T22:09:00.001+11:00

I should have guessed it...

Take the Quiz here!

Practical creativity...

2010-03-07T20:57:00.006+11:00

I've wanted one for ages. In the name of procrastination I present to you.... *drum roll please*

What could it be...

Boys might want to cover their eyes here... (kidding) its a wet bag for my pads! I'm a long ago convert to cloth menstrual pads and since the very first day I've been wanting a little purse that carries the clean and the dirty in separate compartments to pop in my handbag. I've never seen any for sale so today instead of writing about the incidence of domestic violence in pregnant women I set about designing and creating one! Voila!

Now, can anyone please tell me what these darlings in my grape vine are? Yes, I know they are birds, what are they called?

Things I'm going to do when School is done...

2010-03-05T22:05:00.004+11:00

Wow. Three posts in a day! You can tell I've been sick...

This is my self accountable keeping type list. (Does that even make sense?) It will be a work in progress, but I intend to use it as a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak... what? You're only a month in I hear you say... yes. That means 11 months to go until I can do all of these delicious things...

1. Take the Wardrobe Refashion Pledge.

2. Drop a day or two at work and spend more time with my family.

3. Cook a three course meal for guests.

4. Sew, sew, sew!

5. Teach my kids to knit.

6. Plant a herb garden.

7. Start building a house. (Well, why not?!)

8. Grab mum's spinning wheel and learn how to spin. Then maybe join Bega Valley Weavers...

9. Take a pottery class.

10. Make something to enter in the local show.

Making the label fit as best I can...

2010-03-05T14:41:00.002+11:00

Its 2010. That means for 12 years I’ve been a Registered Nurse. I’ve been an accountable and autonomous professional practitioner capable of evidence based decision making in my every day practice for 12 years.

Now I find myself transitioning back to a role of “the student”. Of not being autonomous, of not really being accountable (although it could be quite easily argued that I do remain so) of not being allowed to make decisions without the guidance and approval of those who a few weeks ago were my professional equal. Trying to make the label fit as best I can.

At times its nice: I’m not expected to know, its assumed I don’t know. At times its frustrating: I’m not expected to know, its assumed I don’t know. At times I appreciate being able to sit back and take it all in – the politics, the pecking order, the he said she said. At times its belittling being told you are wrong, when in your heart you know you aren’t, yet at the same time its scary when you realise how much you don’t know.

It’s a different way of thinking. Its an alteration in mindset. Its learning, its living, its loving.

Yet despite all of this I think I’ve found my niche.

So what have we been up to...

2010-03-04T22:11:00.007+11:00

We went on holidays...

The boy started school...

Then it rained...

Lots...

Technical Issues

2010-01-31T21:12:00.002+11:00

OK So my last post was all about how I was going to post more often... and logically that was correct - the road was paved with good intentions and all that. And seriously - the last few weeks of travel would have made great posts... that is until the laptop took ill and I can't even open up photos to look at without it crashing let alone upload to blogger! And lets face it - who really wants to read a travel diary without the glossies?

So. Here I am. Waiting waiting waiting until we either can afford to replace the 4 year old laptop or we get home to the PC and I do it from there. (Apparently the diagnosis from my live in technician is the laptop is dying a slow painful death poor thing!) I think it'll be the later some how.

On an upside another blogworthy event has commenced - today was the first official day in my journey to become a midwife. Stay tuned for updates!

Many Apologies..

2010-01-02T16:23:00.002+11:00

It has been a long time between posts and I do apologise to the very few followers I have. The way was paved with great intentions of course - there has been many a blog worthy moment but little motivation on my part. In fact I've slipped in many a department from my blog to my housework to my health... time to get my act together.

New year new beginnings... I think I'm just tired. I have two shifts left at work and then three weeks holiday which I'm sure will be filled with many a blog-worthy occasion! Then its off to midwife school... a blog-worthy journey in itself I am sure!

So please, forgive me and I promise to update soon!

A wee bit of crafting...

2009-11-21T19:47:00.004+11:00

I USED MY CREATIVE SPACE! I finally had a go at this tutorial and rather successfully I believe! So easy and so comfy! Can't believe I didn't try it earlier... of course once again I couldn't stick to the pattern, right down to adding a waist band and doing the only seam with bias binding...

I also made the inner tie snap closed to reduce the bulk that would have formed with a tie (I believe anyway). I like how they turned out! Sorry , no wearing pic - keep forgetting to ask Big Daddy (aka "Movember") to take one. Will have to snap one on the first official outing...

Little boys and white just don't mix so I also fashioned a "red" sling for the wee man. It had to be red, that was the only prerequisite. He's happy!

boys in plaster... not cool mum!

2009-11-19T23:13:00.002+11:00

10 things I've learned since becoming a parent...

2009-11-17T16:50:00.003+11:00

1. All plans are made with the best of intentions... flexibility is the key.

2. Find the list of necessities at the baby store - then throw it away. All you need to buy when expecting a baby is some basic clothing, a good sling and a dishwasher.

3. Its usually better to save "no" for when it really counts.

4. Crayon comes off the wall with an iron and brown paper, honey off the lounge with hot soapy water, wee smells out of carpet with vinegar, for anything else... try sandpaper.

5. Mummy has magic kisses and magic boobies, Daddy has magic arms, and laughing cures almost anything.

6. No one can prepare you for parenthood. It has to be lived.

7. Its a great idea to write a list of everything you think a good parent does or doesn't do before you you become one and save it to laugh at later on.

8. Tiredness is relative.

9. Everything else can wait.

10. It IS possible to live with your heart outside your body, and divided in two.

Looking for inspiration...

2009-11-02T20:46:00.004+11:00

I'm such a ding dong sometimes...

Tonight was supposed to be creation night - husband is away, my space is sorted, I'm all set. Instead I fell asleep putting the kids to bed, was rudely awaken by a telemarker at 7:30pm, and now have totally lost the sewing mojo. I'm sitting here drinking a rather uninspirational champagne cocktail from a cheap tumbler totally uninspired...

I've been through the pattern box - all too hard - would need to actually trace the patterns first, and then most things would require that I actually think about their construction. Have done a blog search for ideas - no luck. Stared at my vintage sheets for a bit - don't want to cut any they're too pretty... (what the hell else am I going to do with them????). The overlocker scares me a little so don't really want to start a stretch project without mum around although I would really love some new stretchy tops... and I'm totally bored by the dress I started six months ago for myself.

Sigh... I'll just sit here with my bad champagne cocktail (might even go make another) and read sewing books and blogs and dream of what could have been... what a wasted evening!

Meanwhile check out my awesome lad learning to bike...

I'm really really sad.

2009-10-30T23:29:00.002+11:00

I'm not fishing for hugs for me. Its just that I'm so terribly sad to hear some horrible news about my old uni friend's baby boy.

He died yesterday when a pillar of concrete fell on him at Rottnest Island. His Daddy, my friend, did CPR on him for more than an hour and he was air lifted out, but he still died yesterday. He was three years old.

I never met you Thomas. But I wish I could bring you back to your mummy and daddy with all my heart. With all my soul. With all my being. Watch over them please. Make sure they're ok without you baby boy.

And he wonders why I worry?

2009-10-25T19:55:00.005+11:00

About him staying home full time with them that is... instead of breaking this up - what did he do? Photograph it!!!! Loud sighing. Lots and lots of loud sighing here.

And one more coz she's so damn cute... home girl.

My Space...

2009-10-25T19:12:00.005+11:00

Well, here it is.
We went from this:
(eek!)

To this:

Yes, that 2nd cupboard is mostly vintage... it is a sickness I tell you!

Attractive? Absolutely not - there is only so much one can do with a fire engine red ceiling, fake wood grain walls (very poorly installed - the history of our little cottage is something for another post), and unfinished floor boards! Functional? Absolutely! And there is room for a small dining table in front of the partition. I'm a happy Mama.

I've done it! My space!

2009-10-24T18:16:00.005+11:00

I did it! Well, WE did it - could not have done it without mum! We're doing a labor exchange where she comes round and sorts my sewing/dining room with me and I help her sort hers. I'm booked to help her on Tuesday, but she spent a great chunk of today here...

Its finally done. I have my own space within which I can create. I'm just so happy. And Big Daddy is too - as a trade off, he gets a shed (so I can put all the crap that was in my space in IT, hehe).

Stay tuned in the next couple of days for pics!

The working mum conundrum...

2009-10-23T20:20:00.003+11:00

I'm a SAHM at heart. Always have been. But when Big Daddy was just plain miserable in his job last year and decided to... ah... well he quit, I made the decision that I was far less stressed if at least one of us had permanent work and took a position at .6 full time equivalent (three days a week). It was my decision. Big Daddy was happy for us both to work casual but I tell you the sleepless nights and heart palpitations just weren't worth it.

Big Daddy has struggled somewhat to find gainful employment since - at least in his chosen vocation - so I've stayed on. I miss the kids terribly and suffer horribly from the mother-guilt complex. I blame myself for every little slight in kidlet behaviour, every little tantrum, every foul mood. It must be my fault see - I'm The Mama and I'm not there full time like a good Mama should be... so my brain tells me anyway.

BUT an opportunity recently arose for me to apply to become a midwife. I really really want to do this. I'm stupidly passionate about birth choices and breastfeeding so it would seem a natural progression really... and it seems that the persons interviewing me for the position of Student Midwife at work agreed with me (OK so its not official but I think I can write it here right?) . The gig starts on 31st Jan and I have to increase my hours to 4 days a week, plus study.

Are the kidlets ready for this? I know its only one extra day a week... but I worry. They won't be in child care so thats a good thing - Big Daddy is quitting the cheesiest of all jobs to stay home with them, and Logan is actually starting at Steiner Kindergarten two days a week next year. We've been offered a place for Lily at his current pre-school. There is something that doesn't sit right with me about sending a 3 year old to preschool though...

It will be a long hard year I say. Big Daddy is looking at study too - coz really we can't have The Mama bringing in all the bacon for ever now can we ;-)

Why do I feel uneasy about it all... its what I want. Isn't it? I'd love to chat to other Mama's suffering the same conundrum... is there anyone else out there?

Been fiddling...

2009-10-23T20:16:00.002+11:00

... with the template I mean. I'm no way near clever enough to come up with my own of course... Not sure what I think. Is this one too blue?

Her maiden voyage...

2009-10-20T23:40:00.005+11:00

Well with us anyway. Seeing as she's 21 years old its probably not REALLY her maiden voyage but anyway...

First take off...

First set up...

First Dinner...

First bedtime...

And of course, first wine... honestly.. hehe...

Now she needs a name this caravan of ours. Help please!

(Will upload pics of the kids on holiday soon...)

TV Free Family

2009-10-17T19:52:00.003+11:00

Well its done. Today we officially became a TV free family.

It wasn't really a very hard decision to make, more an evolution than anything else. Before everyone starts rolling their eyes and thinking we've fallen prey to the latest guidelines for children and TV, happily swallowing up what is fed to us by the government and media of the day, there are several reasons why we evolved to this state...

Firstly, we really weren't tuning in. Big Daddy and I were watching once a week - a Wednesday night marathon of Spics and Specs, The Hungry Beast and United states of Tara. That was it. One night a week and half the time we'd forget to switch on for that. We pretty much figured we could catch up on what we wanted online or watch a DVD on the computer if we felt the urge.

The second reason was the kids. We chose to switch off the box for the kids other than the occasional Play School and DVD as a treat a while ago and the change in behaviour was/is remarkable. Their imaginative play increased enormously, they began interacting with each other instead of staring at a talking box, and the tantrums when we turned off the box ceased. The occasional relapse into TV world when sick just proved to us that we'd made the right choice in switching off - it appears my boy just cannot handle the box. He becomes obsessed, just staring at the thing for countless moments and the mere suggestion of switching off led to a torrent of screaming, shouting, red faces and tears. This would then be followed up with what ever was left of the day filled with violent games (and they weren't watching violent shows!) rough play, yelling, screaming and just plain out-of-contol-ness! Their outside play and their love of exploring everything mother earth has for us also increased since switching off. Then there was the school. We're sending the kids to a Steiner School and television for kids is fairly openly, well ok, flat out discouraged. But to be honest this was only a minor factor.

The third reason was that our house is just too small for a great big entertainment unit. So it seemed silly trying to find a smaller storage space for the box when really we just didn't use it!

So out it went! And so did the entertainment unit, as much as I loved it, its now for sale. You should see all the space in the lounge room! We can dance! Twirl! Skip! Its just lovely.

We're happy, the kids are happy, we're spending more time interacting with the kids, they're spending more time interacting with each other and their world. Its bliss.

So go on, try it. Its amazing.

I'm kinda proud of that...

2009-10-04T23:48:00.001+11:00

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)

Take the test!

Wearable art?

2009-10-02T22:29:00.003+10:00

I need an outlet.

I loved creating and sewing nappies and covers when I was doing it. I just don't have time to maintain a business doing so with work and kids and life to juggle... and of course my new found passion for gardening, walking and well, friend hunting (yes its an active and ongoing process these days - who would have thought that the art of friendship making and maintaining would be lost when one progressed into motherhood, evolved even, into a weird anxiety provoking stalking like behaviour - but thats another post entirely...).

I need an outlet. I was inspired tonight by a friends facebook photographs of some gorgeous fabric art and the idea of wearable art came to me.

I'm in the process of sorting out my space. My own little nook for me to create in tucked away in the front room. Hardly inspiring right now but stay tuned... I might even be able to walk from one side of the room to the next soon...

Slippery little suckers...

2009-09-25T20:50:00.005+10:00

Some early morning gardening resulted in some new slimy friends...

A new sandpit...

2009-09-25T16:53:00.004+10:00

Considering we have cats... and cats like to... wellllll... lets just say that the old sand pit as lovely as it was (thanks Ben and Bianca) soon became a giant out door kitty litter. Before long it was clear that it was beyond salvation. Considering also that we have a lot of concrete paths with "garden" between them and we just don't need that much garden, a brilliant plan was hatched by the Daddy to create a new sandpit...

An old garden bed was dug out and the old sandpit filled and re-sewn with the cheapest possible supermarket lawn seed and we were well on the way to a diggingest paradise!The... ahhhh... previous tenant was, unfortunately, not at all happy about being evicted from the garden bed. He's huge, he's angry, and he aint coming out of that jar. He's been in there for three days, I don't know what to do with him but I'm certainly not releasing him anywhere near, well anywhere near me so that kind of excludes release. Anyone looking for a pet Funnel Web Spider?

Not in the least deterred by the third most deadly arachnid in the world, the foundations of plastic and shade cloth were laid and sleepers were in place (making sure there was enough shade cloth to cover the top there by preventing a relapse of kitty-loo haven). Then it was time for the sand...

Now to tackle the scary looking forest in the back ground... stay tuned!

The Mother of all Rallies!

2009-09-09T20:01:00.005+10:00

Stop the witch hunt - SAVE THE MIDWIFE!

On Sep 07 2009, in the rain wind and cold we joined around 2000 other men, women and children on the lawns of parliament house in support of Homebirth in Australia. Those inside sat and debated the proposed legislation that would see Independent Midwives de-registered for not being able to secure themselves indemnity insurance - indemnity insurance for which no provider currently exists in our country - and face a $30 000 fine for attending a homebirth without it.

I've not had a homebirth myself. It is however, my true belief that a normal healthy pregnancy ending in a homebirth attended by a trained professional midwife is in most cases as safe as or safer than a hospital birth and it is NO DOUBT in my mind that it is a far more spiritually fulfilling birth than any hospital environment could provide. Imagine not having to rush to hospital mid labour, being able to sleep in your own bed, birthing surrounded by your family and in familiar surroundings attended by a midwife who has been hand selected by you who forms a relationship with you for your pregnancy, birth and beyond. The labour government wants to make this illegal - bowing as usual to the AMA who typically believe that a non-medical birth is in some way dangerous... dangerous to their hip pocket maybe. Women having been giving birth since creation. We've only been routinely giving birth in hospitals for maybe 60 years? Maybe less?

Last Friday Nicola Roxon threw us a little bone granting a 2 year exemption - allowing midwives to continue to attend homebirths until 2012 on the condition they tell their clients that they are un-indemnified. I'm not sure what I feel about this... its great women of Australia can still choose a midwife attended homebirth for another two years but on the other hand it doesn't go far enough. What happens after two years?

So we stood in the rain in the name of choice. The choice for a safe midwife attended homebirth - for all women to have the right to a professional indemnified midwife attended birth no matter where they choose to do it!

Spring is Sprung!

2009-09-01T10:54:00.009+10:00

And that means.....

skirts and dresses (or in this case ugly house skirts with an apron... oops).

blossoms in an unkempt garden...

picnics on the grass...

and crazy kids!

The Mother of all Rallies.

2009-09-01T08:44:00.003+10:00

We'll be there. Our right to choose must be protected.

HOME - EVERY WOMAN’S BIRTH RIGHT – RALLY FOR HOMEBIRTH – MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7 2009, PARLIAMENT HOUSE CANBERRA

Homebirth Australia is hosting a MAJOR rally in Canberra (outside Parliament House) on Monday September 7 from 11.30am.

There has been much discussion about the potential outlawing of homebirth and the continued lack of equity for women choosing homebirth.

We need this to be BIG. When I met with the federal department of Health they commented on the huge number of submissions (900 of which over half came from homebirth consumers). Sadly I said if you outlaw homebirth I will lead 9000 angry women and babies to Canberra!

Now 9000 may be a tall order but we need thousands.

For all the women and midwives that have contacted and said this issue matters please put it in your diary.

There is lots to organise and we look forward to many providing ideas and support.

The states close to Canberra will be called on to provide as many as possible to attend.

It would be great to have at least a few from every state and territory.

Please forward this meeting far and wide.

Details will soon be on the HBA website.

<http://www.homebirthaustralia.org/>

For any other info please email justine.caines@bigpond.com

In solidarity

Justine

Justine Caines
Secretary
Homebirth Australia Inc

First day of preschool is all wrapped up!

2009-08-31T08:53:00.007+10:00

We made a decision a while ago that since we were going Steiner for educating our cherubs we wouldn't bother with enrolling them into a mainstream preschool... Unfortunately L1 began climbing the walls recently and it has become apparent that he is searching for something more than we are providing him at home. Chatting to some parents and our play group leader (and because the preschool in our own town is chockers) we have found him a spot a in the next little town in a very gorgeous community run preschool. We had our first day (of course mummy stayed the entire time, as I did the next week hehe) and he LOVED IT! Here's the little cutey back pack on ready to go...mind the front door... kinda needs a few repairs, haha.

So the big boy is off for his first visit unaccompanied (gulp, sniff) by mum this week. Not being fans of childcare and having our kids looked after by strangers we've chosen to just go half a day for now with the option of a full day if he wants it. Seeing as a full day is barely 6 hours anyway, we'll keep that option open!

Now a big preschool boy needs a good healthy lunch! But I'm not a fan of all the wrapping being chucked out from packed lunches so I dove into my bookshelf and found a lovely book called Sewing Green by Betz White. Its been sitting on my shelf for AGES waiting for that perfect moment where I can tackle a project from within. Since I have tubs full of nappy making fabrics left over from my Zigzag Baby days, I thought it a fantastic opportunity to give the PUL sandwich wraps a whirl! And viola!

One for the boy and one for the girl, we love them! Need to make a heap more and I'm also thinking of creating a smaller pocket style version for things like crackers and nuts etc.

Crafty craftiness!

2009-08-20T19:40:00.006+10:00

Three posts in two days???? Don't worry I'm sure the status quo of neglect shall be returned all too soon... meanwhile I wanted to quickly blog these little moments while I had the chance (ie both kids are asleep and the significant other is at work...).

Firstly, Lily is all but toilet trained. We took her out of night nappies a little while ago but unfortunately had to return to using them not long after as she began having accidents. So thinking it was time for round two I thought also that she could do with some night specific training pants in case we went back to the accidents. Being a mummy that had two under two in cloth nappies there is no way I am putting that precious bottom into those horrible plastic pull up things you chuck in the bin after use! I decided to give the WeeWeka free knicker pattern a run...

Now me being me I couldn't leave the pattern alone and I added a lining layer to which I stitched two layers of bamboo fleece, and also added a layer of PUL to the outer layer (on the wrong side of the fabric) to waterproof them in the crotch area - they are after all meant to be Night Training Knickers! Then, rather than finish with bands I used FOE to bind the legs and waist (and of course to hold 'em up). Highly successful - she loved them! And of course... THEY'RE TOO SMALL!!!! So, I decided to sacrifice to the sewing gods one pair of shop bought cloth training pants that fit OK and cut them up to make my own pattern. I followed the WeeWeka idea of leg bands rather than the elastic and did the same for the absorbent/waterproof layers as I did in the trial run pair. All was successful and the grin says it all I think... its a battle to get them off her in the mornings so a few more pairs are on the cards I believe! All fabrics and notions were from my stash - the pink spots thrifted from the Salvos last year, so total cost... BUGGER ALL!! :-)

Another little project recently completed and sent on its way. My first attempt at knitting for someone else. Masses of mistakes and they're probably too small for Miss 4.6kg new born anyway but they were made with lots and lots of love :-) For those of you non-clothies, it is a knitted wool "soaker" designed to go over a cloth nappy as the waterproof layer instead of plastic pants. I used this adapted vintage pattern and mucked with the sizing to suit the yarn I had on hand (recycled from another unfinished project) and hopefully to fit a new born... I'd like it if I got it... if not the sides can be sewn up and she can use it as a beanie hehe.

Limed up...

2009-08-20T18:30:00.009+10:00

Its been a long dry winter here... a downside of which (beside the obvious even dryer summer coming up) is that Dad's lime tree dropped all its fruit probably due to heat stress before we could repair the pump line to water it. Not being one to tolerate food wastage all that easily I gathered together as many of the offending fruit I could fit into a bucket. A phone call from DH to MIL later and voila: preserved lemon recipe in in the inbox... now I've had preserved lemons before - delicious stuffed into a roast chook, or baked into fish. Limes can't be too different right?

So this afternoon the little people and I set about turning the bucket of limes into preserved limes...

The recipe called for ten lemons and because I had considerably more limes, I doubled the recipe and added more limes taking into account the size difference between lemons and limes! So... without any further ado whatsoever, I give to you:

Jan's Preserved Lemon Recipe!
(or lime...)

250 g coarse kitchen salt (I used rock salt)

10 lemons scrubbed and quartered (or limes!)

1 bay leaf

2-3 cloves

1 stick of cinnamon

Extra lemon juice

Scatter a spoonful of salt into a 1 litre sterilised jar. Tip lemons into a wide plastic tub with remaining salt and mix well. Massage fruit vigorously and pack into jar, curved side out, inserting pieces of bay leaf, cloves and splinters of cinnamon stick at intervals. Press down hard on fruit to release as much juice as possible. Spoon salt mixture left in tub over fruit. Cover with extra lemon juice if required. If a wedge of lemon is not covered with lemon juice it sometimes develops white mould. It doesn't look great but is harmless.

With a clean cloth dipped in boiling water, wipe neck of jar free of salt and cap tightly Let the lemons mature for at least 1 month in a cool spot (not in fridge) before using.

So there you have it... limey goodness for us in one month!

Chapters... the pick-a-path we call life...

2009-08-19T19:15:00.005+10:00

Does it ever feel to you that life is like a novel (grand or otherwise, you decide!), divided into clearly defined chapters as we journey down the path we chose? What happens in the next chapter depends on the choice we made at the end of the last.... like the cheesey pick-a-path childrens fiction books I used to love reading as a child... (although I used to read ahead to see which of the choices I liked better first before choosing one - if only we could do that is real life!).

I for one am torn on the idea of fate vs responsibility. Sometimes I like to fantasize that we're here for a reason - there is some lesson we need to learn and are thrust into consciousness with the parents we have because they are able to teach us the lesson we need in this particular journey. I do however firmly believe that almost all situations we find upon us are as a result of choices we make. Even Steiner, the Founder of the Steiner/Waldorf Education movement believed we choose our parents in the spirit world before we arrive Earthside... I'm not sure about that but that our lives are a product of choice certainly makes sense to me. Unfortunately many don't see life as a product of choice and spent countless hours feeling sorry forthemselves and blaming where all that energy would be far better redirected into a far more proactive passtime like... oh I dunno... doing something to improve your plight?

Anyway I've got distracted. I'm good at that. I can see clear chapters in my life and a definite begining and end point. There are four so far, I like to call them: Childhood, Adolescence, Finding Myself, and The now. I'm hoping there will be many more (having made the right choices as I go along of course!). Perhaps oneday I'll expand on each chapter. That might be fun... the point to this post? Not sure really... maybe it was to just get something down so I can expand later?

Bec.
XX

Finding Arthur...

2009-07-10T09:46:00.002+10:00

Welcome to Around Arthur's Table. Life's journey takes many different paths and brings to us many different adventures as we grow and learn and begin find who we are individually and as a family.

So who are we? We are The Arthur's. James and Bec: two 30-something parents doing what we can to best raise our two beautiful children in a society that has allowed the extreme to become normal and now considers the normal to be extreme... and Logan and Lily: two gorgeous preschoolers on their own life journey finding out just what this world is all about!

Please join us as we discover just who The Arthur's are and what our beautiful Earth has just for us...