Pages

Friday, August 15, 2014

The Pre-Spring Rush


In August, I find myself busy again.
It's a shock after the quietness of a few months ago.
Life is full.


I've had a few days of casual teaching,
and a few days definitely booked in coming weeks.
While I really enjoy the teaching, it always means
a day lost at home, and the rest of the week becomes a bit more rushed.


Laura and I continue to see our chiropractor and nutritionist,
so there are appointments to attend and new lessons to learn
with food.  Coconut has proved to be a problem for me,
so now my diet consists of just meat, vegetables (not all)
fruit (limited) and nuts.  
However, I think I see improvements in my health,
so it's worth continuing on this path.
Laura is still missing a lot of school, there are no
overnight successes to report for her, but perhaps in time
there will be some positive change.


August means music exam preparation.
I have two students doing 8th Grade Piano,
and Laura doing 3rd Grade Piano in about 10 days, 
and I'm accompanying Emily's 7th Grade Saxophone 
exam in mid-September.
The piano parts for her pieces are ridiculously difficult, 
and I'm trying to fit in a decent practice most days.
So stress levels are high, and I can't wait until the exams are over.
Emily has school exams coming up, also, and is working on some
full-sized butterfly wings made of chiffon, for an art project.
Steve practises violin at nights for various chamber groups he's involved with.
There's always something going on with a deadline around here.

I've also been trying to declutter and tidy our study, the busiest room of the house,
where I teach, we practice, compute and Steve watches movies.


A more pleasant rush has been filling parts the garden with new plants.
After our big planting a few weeks ago I've picked up more plants
from the markets, and am loving the spots of colour in the front garden.
In the back garden I'm building up a herb garden and planting some lavender soon.
Steve dug out metres of fish-bone fern on the weekend so soon we will have a 
big corner of the front garden to fill with something more attractive.


It's lovely to escape outside for a few minutes here and there to check on the progress of each plant,
and water them, and dream up plantings for other parts of the garden. Each day there's something a little different to see, each plant a little bigger, flowers blooming.
Spring is on its way.