are we there yet?
so close….so tantalisingly close. Giving three weeks notice on this house on Monday.
Sky through pergola
The worst thing about waiting is … the waiting.
winter sun
In other news Jack got his L plates during the week.
grey water - about to go in
Tomorrow – trip to IKEA to grab stuff. Izzy is coming and we’ll be listening to the JJJ hottest 100 of all time and coming up with our own lists. Of course saying ‘of all time’ is always going to be controversial…
sky, house, windows, reflections
are we there yet? ….almost…but then again we’re never *there* are we?
Kx
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Tags: building, house
Courage
is the name of a Poppy (now called Lipstick Queen) lipstick that was given to me when Jack was born – over 16 years ago! Elena– remember? Bright red to give me courage for motherhood (well that’s how I liked to think of it).
I was getting ready to go out the other evening when I realised that all my lipsticks were either:
- old and dried up
- broken (remnants of children mucking around when they were younger)
- or both.
I need some new lipsticks!
Oh oh. Lipsticks are like paint and tiles and granite and all sorts of things…they have names, and I am so influenced by a name. How will lipstick shopping go?
Well I have just returned from shopping and I’d like to say that I went berserk and scoured Canberra, but after going to ‘The way we wear’ – antique and retro clothing fair at the Albert Hall, Isabel and rushed into Civic and I bought a ‘red spark’ lipstick from- DJs brand. We’ll see if it’s the hit I need right now.
I also got a couple of those fabulous $9.99 Popular Penguins, including - Everything is illuminated, by J S Foer. I have just finished The Book Thief and read a couple of WWII books last year (Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Zookeepe’s Wife), so am going to take a break from war and put them on the shelf for a while.
House – about 2 weeks away…
A completely frivolous post- but I need frivolity at the moment, and I still need to check out Lipstick Queen (Poppy’s lipsticks are divided up into saints and sinners, although the names- wine, red, rust etc are a little disappointing). Whatever happened to courage?
Kx
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Tags: books, me, words
Bit flat..scat..oh….
I have been composing posts in my head for weeks now…but there is such a jumble in there it hardly seems worth while trying to make sense of it all. But I’ll try. It’s left me at times a bit flat. I have to say this last month has been the most difficult for me as it is all too close to completion, yet frustratingly far away in so many ways.
I think it will all come down to lists in the end, as there is just to much going on so many levels…I often make lists. It’s a bit of a joke with my co-workers (and yes I’m one of those people who occasionally write a list and put something on it that I know I have done- just so I can get the satisfaction of ticking it off- what does that say about me?)
list one (what needs to happen with our house before we move in)
- install grey water system
- finish the solar hot water
- finish tiling
- put in the water tank
- put in the garage doors
- fix power on kitchen bench
- pick up new dishwasher and get installed
- carpets
- get a certificate of occupancy from the government
- house inspection from bank prior to us handing over final building payment (this one has to be a bank cheque and not just a back transfer before the builders will give us the keys)
list one and a half (things that need to happen pretty quickly once we move)
- letterbox (so we get mail…)
- fence (so the dogs don’t get out)
- take all the rocks out of the chook run (we had to dismantle a rock wall quickly), and then get the chooks back – yeah! I have really missed the chooks!
- window *furnishings* – which will probably include some sheets until blinds delivered and we make some more decisions (so we are not on show)
- build decks (to sit and drink coffee on…)
- build a floor to ceiling bookshelf (so that books can be unpacked. We have been living with one bookshelf for 7 months)
list two (what we need to do in this house before we move out…)
- have a bit of a clean up. I know it’s only been 7 months, but I don’t want to pack or move anything more than we need to
- sort out the mail redirect
- change address back on a few things that had to change- house contents insurance, car insurance
- clean the house so we get the outrageous bond money back
- remove all evidence that we ever had a dog here….
list three (update on my brother)- not really a list, more an update…
- waiting for another opinion from oncologist pending starting chemo (and possibly a clinical trial of some sort)
- try and spend as much time as I possibly can just hanging out with him
list four (my thanks)
- Aesop creams. I don’t wear a lot of makeup but I love beautiful creams and lotions and things to bathe in. I have used various products (Body Shop, Lush, rose-hip oil -a fave), but am always on the look out to try new potions! I’m currently using Parsley seed anti-oxidant serum and Camellia nut facial hydrating cream. Bliss.
- hot water bottle
- my new mug- if you are like the average household you probably have loads of mugs, but I was in Peter’s of Kensington with Jeremy (yes- in the shop, not just ogling online) and I couldn’t resist another mug. I had to go with the Penguin orange colour (and being a purist- out of the range I have only read Wuthering Heights…)
- flowers from the grower’s markets. I usually buy a bunch a week and flowers can really make a difference. I decided today that would not buy any more flowers until we move. Not sure why…but there you are.
- Carl for putting up with me…
- my supportive workplace. I’ve just returned from a two day face-to-face meeting with my group in Sydney this week. Feel quite positive about where we are all heading. There are eleven of us on five campuses and we only really get together one or twice a year.
list five (a few recent photos)
Back of house with Carl
you can even seen the port-a-loo (blue) – in the background
Condensation in the morning
and tulips (and some ganeshes) …
list six (the every-day)
- work
- children/school – soon school holidays
- exercise
- eat
- oh- breathe….
This is not meant to be a “ooh- look at me, I’m soooooo busy” Everyone is busy. Think of it more as a list for me- ha ha.
Kx
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Tags: building, house, lists, me, state of mind
In defence of food
I loved this book! Nice and easy to read, but boy it made a lot of sense and full of sensible, do-able suggestions for eating better and thinking about food…well like food and not as the sum of its parts. I had so many “yes” moments while I was reading this book.
The full title of this book is ‘In defence of food: the myth of nutrition and the pleasures of eating’. Michale Pollan argues that food is not longer described in food terms, but in terms of low fat, hi fibre, Atkins, good fat, bad fat - the food industry has ‘nutritionised’ food and for all the promise of low fat and eating the right foods- why are we so obese and suffering from poor nutrition? And food fads change – add a vitamin or change a fat when some part is proved bad.
Love his first page, first words- “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”.
Lots of really useful points:
- Pay more, eat less – better food usually costs more and is grown less intensively. Sugar and fats are cheap (and often subsidiesd), while fresh fruit and vegatables have increased in price.
- Eat meals- sounds obvious- but we snack an awful lot. I was at the local zoo last school holidays and couldn’t help but notice everyone walking around eating, and when you are doing that type of snacking you are not consciously eating. According to research these snacks are not fruit and vegetables – they are “snacks…[that] consist mainly of cleverly flavored and configured arrangements of refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils, corn sweetners and salt”.
- Do all your eating at a table – and no a desk is not a table.
- Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does. Pollan’s stats say that American petrol stations sell more food (and cigarettes) than petrol- and think about the food sold in your local petrol station?
- Try not to eat alone - when we eat mindlessly and alone- we generally eat more.
- Consult your gut – we are not very good at eating until we are full- we use visual cues- large portions, large containers- instead of listening to our bodies.
- Eat slowly - the slow food movement. Eat deliberately.
- Cook and if you can, plant a garden
- Avoid the middle of the supermarket where the processed foods are. Fresh food is usually around around sides of supermarket where the fridges are.
- Avoid food products with ingredients that are unfamiliar, that are unpronounceable, more than five in number or contain high fructose corn syrup.
- Avoid food products that make health claims.
- Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.
So food wise- what does he suggest?:
- Eat plants, especially leaves
- Eat like an omnivore – a range of foods, in season. I find it really interesting that with our processed Western diet we are actually lacking in some essential vitamins and minerals/trace elements.
- Eat like a Greek, or Italian or French or Japanese culture – or any traditonal food culture group- just not Western. Two parts – the food a culture eats and how they eat – are both really important.
There’s more, lots more and lots of examples and research (and citations!). I love this type of book – it gets me back on track with eating good food. That simple. Michael Pollan has also written other books, including ‘The omnivore’s dilemma’ - which I want to get my hands on next.
Thanks to Penny and my virtual book group for introducing me to this author (and I’m a full month late on this one!).
I hope I have whetted your appetite for reading the book
Kx
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Tags: books, food
sweet 16
- Jack and Carl – 29 May 1993
Jack is 16 and I’ve chosen one photo from each of the last 16 years to give an idea of this wonderful person. I am so very proud of him.
Feeding the 'doats'
Taken Christmas 1994 – love the tentative look
March 1995, almost 2
Jack is helping to make a booster seat so that he can sit up and eat at the table. Like most toddlers he was just busy (and happy) all the time.
October 1996 - our family
This photo is taken on 12 October 1996, our 5th wedding anniversary, and our family is complete. Isabel Charlotte was born on 16 December 1995.
July 1997
Jack is 4, Isabel is 18 months. We have sooo many smiley photos of them both together. In fact I wrote a post about smiley photos….
Severe haircut 1998
Jack and Isabel at the lookout- Tantawangelo Mountain (near Jack and Isabel’s grandparents – South Coast NSW).
September 1999
Jack is in kindy and I remember that Isabel is dressed in flowers for a spring playgroup picnic.
May 2000 birthday bowling party
- with Sophie, Lucy, Fran, Jack, Laura, Isabel and Eden.
June 2001 waiting for the supercars race in Canberra
- like this one (well I love them all!).
Depot Beach 2002
We had some really nice family trips camping at Depot Beach.
Ice skating party and Jack is 10!
Like the composition and lighting in this one.
self-portrait, back garden
Year 6 graduation
Jervis Bay camping, January 2006
Jack 'n Jack - Steamers Beach, January 2007
March 2008
Ruby and Jack January 2009
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Tags: children, future, parenting
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