tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87595202283729183522024-03-14T09:33:32.794+11:00A Woman of NotesFionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.comBlogger867125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-75390889863288372312018-01-19T22:56:00.002+11:002018-01-19T22:56:34.593+11:00Creating space, creating a habit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been decluttering my craftroom. I still have a little more to go, including a box of stuff on the floor that I can't seem to find places for, and some things to take to school. I'm giving away some fabric and I've sorted through my scrapbooking things. But I still have a room packed full of things.</div>
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<br />During last year I found this little 2-seater sofa at an op shop, and it changed everything about the room. But until now I had no time to really make it all work. </div>
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Originally, I had these cute vintage velvet wingchairs in my craftroom. I loved the look of these chairs, they were a bargain, were in good condition and had just the vintage vibe I wanted. </div>
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This is how I had the sitting area of my craft room set up originally</div>
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(on the other side of the room is my desk and most of my craft supplies) </div>
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... and then I rearranged when we inherited this lovely leadlight cabinet.</div>
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But the trouble was that the chairs only <i>looked</i> cute. They didn't feel so great. When I sat on them I felt both constricted by the arms and wobbly on the seat cushion. My great plans of sitting daily to read the bible and pray on these chairs came to nothing. We sat on them on Friday nights for date night, and the rest of them time they just held piles of stuff, and I wondered why I didn't sit on them more. </div>
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Then came the sofa.</div>
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Not vintage. Not the best colour. But comfortable.</div>
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A real game-changer.</div>
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And now I get to my new habit:</div>
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Each night I light this little candle</div>
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I open my little pencil case (a gift from a Korean student) and take out a pen.</div>
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(I keep the matches in there, also)</div>
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I open my bible</div>
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And my day-to-a-page diary (Aldi)</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOfn5Ypg0es/WmHU4iWynQI/AAAAAAAALYM/enbkRw-KsgMMzMTtnCGf7SPqzP8AGN11ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOfn5Ypg0es/WmHU4iWynQI/AAAAAAAALYM/enbkRw-KsgMMzMTtnCGf7SPqzP8AGN11ACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_7379.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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and I get reading and writing and praying.</div>
<br />You see, when I was younger I read my bible everyday, but as I got older, I found it hard to make the time. This year I've discovered a few other things about me:<br />
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A lighted candle helps to remind me to stay and read and think, not to jump up and do something else. It makes the time a bit special (and smells amazing, the nicest vanilla candle I ever met ;)<br />
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A diary with pretty pages, smooth paper and the perfect sized page <i>and just one page</i> seems doable, compared to my old burnout style of writing pages and pages in a journal one day and not touching it again for months.<br />
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It helps to have a colourful bible and pencil case that coordinate, <i>because I'm just that kind of girl.</i><br />
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A reading plan from my minister for our church to read Matthew 14-28 in the month of January has really helped. <i>Especially when I recoloured it and made it pretty to match my diary</i> ;)<br />
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I have a couple, <i>but just a couple,</i> of other reading and resource books in the pile for when I have extra time. I plan to re-read the <i>Jesus Storybook Bible</i> again soon, I just love it, and it's not only for kids.<br />
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The other thing I've done is moved some suitcases which were piled up in the centre of the room. They were handy for storage and putting things on when I'm sitting at my desk, but not worth it in the end because of the cramped feeling they gave me. I also had a nest of tables in here, which felt rickety and not quite right. Now I manage with the little table attached to the standard lamp. And in case you're worried, I still have the olive velvet wingchairs, one in the craftroom next to the sofa, and one in the living room. <i>And I still have some furniture from this room and elsewhere that I need to find space for, hmmm.</i><br />
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I'm so pleased that I was able to use this holiday time to manage the space and feel of this room, and to finally use it to accomplish one of my original aims of this room - to have a quiet space to sit and read and pray each day.Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-73754854895416115022018-01-16T22:59:00.001+11:002018-01-16T22:59:42.029+11:00January<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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January.</div>
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Some breathing space.</div>
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Time to read</div>
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and read</div>
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and read.</div>
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A few outings.</div>
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This was Cooper's first time at a beach.</div>
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He loved it.</div>
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We normally have a picnic sometime after New Year.</div>
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On the 5th we headed to Lavender Bay, somewhere we hadn't been before,</div>
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and to Wendy Whiteley's garden</div>
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where we dodged sprinklers</div>
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and discovered treasures.</div>
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It was great to be by the harbour again, even if just for a short time.</div>
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And we finally got to take that family portrait I'd been wanting for a few months.</div>
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Even if it was just a selfie.</div>
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I've been decluttering like mad, and trying to incorporate/give up/sell furniture rejected by Laura, she has all new black Ikea furniture in her room now, gifts from her 18th birthday. I've almost reached the stage where I feel that every cupboard, shelf and surface has been checked for items to declutter. I like to think this is the first sweep with more sweeps to come, but I know that's unlikely once school and uni begin again. But perhaps with spaces slightly less cluttered I can cull an item or two from time to time as I can gradually loosen my hold on <i>things.</i></div>
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Emily turned 20 on the 7th, and we celebrated with all sorts of vegan treats</div>
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(well, ok some of <i>our</i> treats weren't vegan but hers all were) and I replicated a delicious vegan pumpkin pie we had on Christmas Eve, yum.</div>
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She is all about bootcamp and smoothie bowls these days, so I made her the perfect card.</div>
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Steve and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a visit to the city, where we had Thr1ve burgers (I had a gingerbread smoothie), then headed to the art gallery to see the Dutch Masters exhibition, which was amazing. So hard to conceive that these paintings were about 350 years old and painted on the other side of the world. I've just read <i>Remembering Rembrandt </i>which was great timing. </div>
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<i>(If only it wasn't so tiring standing looking at paintings with other people around ...)</i></div>
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Amazing.</div>
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Not this one, of course, because I'm not 350 years old.</div>
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And I bought the cutest sundress at Dangerfield. That evening we went out for dinner and saw a movie, <i>The Post. </i>We really needed some time out without girls or dog, just enjoying ourselves, it was great.</div>
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The next day I took myself out and dropped off a load of decluttering and bought a plant.</div>
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Because the New Me can keep plants alive.</div>
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Maybe.</div>
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And the New Me doesn't eat sugar and junk food anymore, as of 12th January. Christmas munching is well and truly over, although some of the treats remain. I'm keeping them for little daily rewards for sticking to a meat/fruit/veg diet each day, I really need to do it, enough is enough.<br />
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I've also enjoyed some good viewing - <i>Home Fires</i>, <i>Hidden Figures</i>, <i>Death Comes to Pemberley </i>and more; and plenty of internet surfing, largely on minimalist themes and now moving onto education.<i> </i></div>
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And, of course, these holidays have been all about the dog. He's 8 months old now.</div>
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Now Steve's back at work I'm responsible for the morning walk, which happens with mixed success.</div>
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Sometimes tears.</div>
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But mostly with some good solid walking in large chunks, interspersed with Cooper plonking himself on the grass and sitting happily, while I go through all sorts of antics to get him up and going again.</div>
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Thankfully after that he sleeps most of the day, except for a play sometime in the afternoon and a good run around with Steve in the evening. At night, Steve and I take him for a good long walk and he gets through the night with just a bit of barking at passersby and possums.</div>
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So things have really progressed from those scary months early on when we felt we were being attacked by little sharp teeth all day long. </div>
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Here he is having a cuddle with Laura this afternoon.</div>
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It's been good to look back at photos now that we're half way through January, and see that I haven't been sitting and/or decluttering <i>all</i> holidays, like I thought I had been. We've actually had a few nice outings. It feels like luxury to be at home with the freedom to do whatever I want, after two years straight of working full-time and studying. Last summer I had the constant pressure to study and write assignments, and I might do the same next summer, but I needed this summer to stop and breathe and take stock, and remember who I am, and who we are, and where we live.</div>
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There have been some really hard things this month, also, but they have been balanced out by rest, relaxation, hope, projects at home, and these good family times to remember. </div>
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I want to hold on to these good things.Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-86551921946747099192017-12-09T00:26:00.000+11:002017-12-09T00:26:30.216+11:00Closer to Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's a couple more cards I've made this Christmas, using up some of the hunter green card I seem to have a lot of. Although it's a classic for Christmas, and I used to use it all the time, I tend to go reach more for olive card with red these days. The Merry Christmas stamp on the first card is a cheap one, from a polymer pack from Riot Art & Craft, and the Lovely as a Tree stamp is a classic, and so beautiful.<br />
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The weeks are rushing by, just 16 days till Christmas now. I've written most of my cards but might need to make a few more, my card list has increased significantly with new families at church on top of adding my 40 or so colleagues at work last year and this.<br />
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Tonight I was at my staff Christmas party, which was lots of fun. I'm grateful to have been working two years with these lovely people. There are five more school days this year, plus another function and two long staff meetings, it will be strange to be with my work friends so much this week and then it will suddenly stop, I won't see them for six weeks. But ... we teachers all need a holiday!Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-18491266261350819092017-12-05T18:52:00.002+11:002017-12-05T18:52:15.121+11:00Creating for Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since my uni semester finished in October, I've been busy making Christmas cards. This has been quite therapeutic in the midst of some difficult things going on in the family (and cheaper than therapy?)</div>
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I've made 100 cards so far, here's a sampling of some of them.</div>
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And now the fun part's over, I need to get writing!</div>
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Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-63637727544977055072017-11-12T19:28:00.000+11:002017-11-12T19:28:21.133+11:00Puppy Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I thought I might have blogged more these last four months, with a cute puppy in the house. But no, it turns out that puppies are hard to photograph and take up lots of time. And for about 3 months there we were just dodging puppy teeth. At times I wondered what on earth we had done. But thankfully Cooper has stopped biting, on the whole, and we can now walk through our living room unmolested. Ah, the relief.<br />
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On top of all that, I've been studying and working and other stuff has been going on. There's never a dull moment, is there? Even when you expect one at long last.<br />
<br />So, here's a few photos from Cooper's 3rd-6th months, he's actually 6 months old today. He's grown from 8 kilos to 24 kilos in that time, and has plenty more growing to do. He can do lots of clever tricks - when he feels like it. He's a handsome boy, lots of work, but much loved, a lot of the time ...Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-26172955324922586342017-11-12T17:30:00.000+11:002017-11-12T17:30:12.451+11:00Happy 18th, Laura<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Wednesday we celebrated Laura's 18th Birthday.</div>
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We found a beautiful spot by the water for a late afternoon present-opening picnic. (We gave Laura a golden retriever necklace, some pens for drawing, and will buy her some new bedroom furniture). Laura met a swan. Then we went to a Thai restaurant for a delicious dinner, and Emily made us each a personal dessert in a mason jar, trifle for the birthday girl and Steve, and vegan/paleo chocolate coconut creations for her and me, yum.</div>
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It's hard to believe that this girl of ours has been alive for 18 years. And what a character she is:</div>
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We love you, so much, Laura!</div>
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-72725594456059572632017-07-24T21:04:00.000+10:002017-07-24T21:04:22.267+10:00Introducing ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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... our new addition to the family, Cooper.</div>
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We brought Cooper home 10 days ago, and life will never be the same.</div>
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Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-50780582233806580482017-07-24T20:56:00.003+10:002017-07-24T20:56:36.030+10:00A few days in the country<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My parents generously hosted a family holiday at a huge house in the country. Actually, it was only 40 minutes from our home, but in an area I've rarely been in. The house sleeps 24 people, but there were 16 of us, my parents, siblings, and all our children.<br /><br />It was just what I needed after a frantic few months. I taught in my regular library job for 4 weeks this term then headed to another school to be a student teacher again for 6 weeks. When the holidays finally arrived, we did a big overhaul of our stuff for a week in anticipation of a new arrival.</div>
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So a change of scene and pace was much welcomed. We ate, walked, read, played sports, card games, piano, drew with chalk, and hung out by the firepit for 3 days and nights, and just generally enjoyed the serenity and being together. </div>
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All good.</div>
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-66795636330527427372017-04-18T17:54:00.001+10:002017-04-18T17:54:17.110+10:00Holiday at Salamander Bay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've just had a restful week away at Port Stephens, staying in an apartment, part of a big house right on the beach at Salamander Bay. It was so good to wake up, walk out of the bedroom and look straight through the apartment to a window full of water, and to sit on the deck and soak in the water views, the ever-changing sky, the boats, the birdlife, and the quiet surrounds. The gardens around the house were lovely too, and I enjoyed going for walks and looking for landscaping ideas in the gardens of the modern houses along the beach. The apartment had some lovely artworks, some by the owner. I'd like to go back there again one day ...</div>
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When not walking, I did some crochet, some watercolouring, a little shopping and cooking. We went out for dinner one night, and had movie nights at home the other nights, it was all pretty quiet and lazy. Things have changed since family holidays when the girls were young - there were no sandcastles, outings to the park, or boardgames. We all had our phones and books and activities, which in some ways was unsociable, but in other ways was just fine and kind of what we needed, we're a pretty quiet family. Steve and Laura began a difficult 1000-piece puzzle but didn't finish it, it turned out that sections of the puzzle were missing! I listened to some good podcasts while out walking, and continued reading Ann Voskamp's <i>The Broken Way, </i>(which is great and helpful but the content of which has temporarily left my memory after a day of uni readings today). </div>
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After a busy term with school and uni I was well and truly ready for a break. Actually this was our first proper holiday in a year, and the last holiday was shorter and I was sick. It's been a huge year with very few breaks from studying, and just a week at home in July when I didn't have school AND uni. This year I'm studying Teacher Librarianship, which is a much harder course, requiring hours and hours of reading. But the content is good and I'm excited about learning to excel at my job, which I continue to love.</div>
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The next few weeks will be very busy with school and uni, then mid-May I'm off to do a teaching prac at a local school to (hopefully) complete my primary teaching course, so it's a huge term ahead, I'm looking forward to July holidays when I'll really have a week off with no uni work hanging over me.</div>
<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-30113057993469163992017-03-12T11:42:00.001+11:002017-03-12T11:42:40.439+11:00Silver Anniversary Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In January, Steve and I celebrated 25 years of marriage with a weekend away at the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle. We had never explored Newcastle before, despite it being so close to home.<br />
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It was a very hot weekend, but we still did lots of walking around the foreshore, which we loved; swimming, ship-watching and eating. We had a perfect dinner at the Paymaster's Cottage one night, to really celebrate our anniversary. We got a bit sunburnt and sore, and came home heavier than we left. Newcastle is full of interesting things to see and I look forward to going back some time, perhaps with the girls at a cooler time of year.<br />
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Our actual anniversary fell on the day of Steve's dad's funeral, and Steve was well and truly in need of a short break a couple of days later when we had booked to go away. The death was not unexpected, but was still hard for Steve and family. I was thankful that the timing worked so perfectly. We felt so refreshed after dealing with several hard things in recent months and much closer after such a busy year being pulled in all directions. This weekend pulled us together to cope with some difficulties since then.<br />
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Having said all that, I'm ready for another holiday ... looking forward to the April holidays in four weeks. Looking at these photos again was just what I needed to keep me going.<br />
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-79119383375034407972016-12-31T18:08:00.002+11:002016-12-31T18:10:42.741+11:00What I learned in 2016<br />
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If you've stuck with me through this year of <span style="font-size: xx-small;">not blogging very much at all</span> </div>
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you'll know that 2016 was a big year of change for me. </div>
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I started working full-time (something I hadn't planned at all).</div>
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I studied part-time - something I never expected to do again.</div>
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One daughter is now an adult, still living at home, but not needing us so much </div>
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(except to drive her sometimes). And the other daughter's almost grownup, also. </div>
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Family life is very different from even a couple of years ago.</div>
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So ... what have I learned?</div>
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<b>Working full-time is easier than doing lots of activities part-time</b></div>
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Yep, it's true. 4-5 years ago I was leading bible study, teaching recorder at a school, teaching piano at home, teaching piano at a school, selling stamps, learning ballet, going to church and being a mum. Each of those activities took 2.5hrs or less, not including travel time, so in theory I still had lots of free time. This year I've worked in a school full-time, and taught piano two afternoons a week. The piano teaching turned out to be too much, but I needed to keep it on in case my job didn't last. </div>
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Instead of my mind being stretched in many different directions and locations, managing all my varied commitments and interests, and feeling guilty that I wasn't giving any of them enough attention, I enjoyed being at school and focusing on school only for 7+ hours a day. I'm looking forward to the day that I don't have to study anymore, when I can work and then come home and relax instead of hitting the books ;)</div>
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<b>Maybe I'm not such an introvert after all</b></div>
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I've spent a few years thinking about my introvert nature, and using it to justify many quiet hours on the sofa, recovering from social gatherings, and quietly planning my life with noone else around.</div>
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This year changed all that, and it turns out I cope just fine interacting with 500 kids and 40 teachers every week, in fact, you might say I thrive on it. Looking back, I think my health and other issues were factors in my need to be still and quiet in the past, plus the busyness of doing all those activities. Plus it was a different stage of life with our girls being a bit younger. (Also, the girls are home so much now that alone time at home would rarely happen, even if I wasn't working).</div>
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<b>Children's books are amazing</b></div>
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Ok, I already knew this one, but I love that my job as a teacher librarian lets me soak up all sorts of wonderful picture books and novels, just when my girls had grown out of them.</div>
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<b>When I really <strike>have to</strike> want to do something, I can</b></div>
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All these years, I've given myself excuses, saying I was too busy to practise piano, read the bible, exercise, make phonecalls ... the list goes on. But it turns out that - even with full-time teaching - I have a few hours a day that I can (and do) put to studying, because I'm determined to be approved as a primary teacher, and then as a librarian. I do have some self-control, after all. Imagine what I will have time for once I finish studying!</div>
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<b>It's important to keep learning</b></div>
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A year ago a friend said to me that he thinks it's important to keep learning. While I agreed with this in principle, having learnt two new instruments and taken up ballet in the last 8 or so years, I hadn't been learning then to the extent that I have this year. Now I can say even more wholeheartedly that I agree with him. This year I've learnt procedures, teaching philosophies, class and library management, and what feels like a whole new language with all the jargon in education. My brain feels stretched in a good way. </div>
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<b>I can be brave</b></div>
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I think this has come with age. Instead of being fearful of new situations and expectations, I look at them as challenges, and embrace them. </div>
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<b>God is good</b></div>
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Ok, I knew this one, as well. But in 2016 there have been many, many reminders of His goodness. </div>
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<b>What has helped?</b></div>
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Thinking about how I've coped this year ...</div>
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I love <a href="https://trello.com/" target="_blank">Trello</a> to manage my lists of things to do, and my ideas.</div>
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<a href="https://au.pinterest.com/womanofnotes/" target="_blank">Pinterest </a>has helped so much with teaching ideas.</div>
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Eating healthily and sticking to a pretty simple eating routine has really helped. I eat almost the same foods every day, except dinner, and even our dinners usually all have some kind of meat with roast veges on the side, or are a mince dish. When I stick to it, my body thanks me.</div>
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I'm working on getting a good night's sleep every night, but I still love my late nights ...</div>
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Seeing a good chiropractor has helped, and I've started using some essential oils, which have often helped with pain or emotions. </div>
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Walking and listening to a good podcast has given me new ideas and brain breaks. My favourites are <a href="http://www.amyjbennett.com/featherspodcast/" target="_blank">Feathers</a> and <a href="http://www.jacquewatkins.com/thepodcast/" target="_blank">Mud Stories</a>.</div>
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Steve has helped, enormously, often picking up my slack with cooking and chores while I studied. He did the bulk of driving the girls around - somehow 2016 involved more of this than ever. </div>
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Bring on P-plates. </div>
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Getting to church every week, and bible study as often as I can, has helped - I need friends, and I need to be reminded what God has done. Seeing my extended family from time to time has helped, too.</div>
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<b>2017</b></div>
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I'm excited to see what 2017 holds. I don't expect so many changes next year, but that it will be a year of consolidation and growth and improvement in what I'm doing. I'll be studying a new course, and doing at least one block of professional experience. </div>
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I hope over time I can give more to other people, and, having done the whole learning curve thing this year ,I hope to be a bit more outward-looking as the year progesses. </div>
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âž³</div>
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How was your 2016? What did you learn? What did you love?</div>
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What worked, and what didn't work?</div>
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-71341970516115183062016-12-25T22:04:00.003+11:002016-12-25T22:04:29.459+11:00Christmas 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some time during October I had a bad dream.</div>
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In it I realised suddenly that it was Christmas Eve, and that we had done <i>nothing</i> to prepare for Christmas. I guess that was my way of dealing with the fear I had then, that I just wouldn't cope with Christmas this year, on top of work and study and everything else. </div>
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October was a crazy month, I had 5 massive deadlines to meet.</div>
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After that I was sick with the flu, and after that, things got a bit better. </div>
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Although I have been very busy with school and uni, and school end-of-year events,</div>
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we <i>did </i>get to prepare for Christmas. We did almost everything we normally do, and this last week, especially, has been lovely.</div>
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Hoping you and your family have had a wonderful Christmas, too.</div>
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Merry Christmas!</div>
<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-53942722709510474062016-09-28T15:46:00.000+10:002016-09-28T15:46:03.756+10:00Pixie comes to stay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J8ou4o2GxAU/V-tYnKsoA5I/AAAAAAAALDs/ZRCz7d9IHDQ_ssznJeouBL5tyWAgxtuiwCLcB/s1600/Pixie%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J8ou4o2GxAU/V-tYnKsoA5I/AAAAAAAALDs/ZRCz7d9IHDQ_ssznJeouBL5tyWAgxtuiwCLcB/s400/Pixie%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pixie the dog came to stay on the weekend. She was lots of fun.</div>
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I've never been a dog person, but I kind of miss her sitting on my lap, </div>
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and the pat-pat of her little feet following me around the house ...</div>
<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-63132963817178809732016-05-21T16:08:00.001+10:002016-05-21T16:08:38.714+10:00Thoughts on returning to full-time work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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See what a restful image I post for this topic.</div>
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Regular readers will know that this year I returned to teaching after many years at home. Oh, I never really stopped <i>teaching</i>, whether it was teaching piano, teaching my girls, giving group recorder lessons, teaching stamping, leading a church group, and more recently working as a casual teacher ... I've always being teaching someone something, but it certainly wasn't full-time. </div>
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For the majority of the last 18 years, I've had a lot of freedom to my days. I had 9 years when my girls were both at school 5 full days a week, although more recently they have had half-days some days. In the early school years I over-committed, but over time I managed to carve away at my extra commitments until the last few years I was free most days, unless the phone rang and I was off teaching at one school or another.</div>
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So what did I do all day? Um ... a lot ... and not a lot.</div>
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I baked, and I rearranged. I shopped and I decluttered. I painted when we renovated, and when we didn't. I made cards and crocheted and blogged. I spent too much time look at other peoples' lives on the internet, but only if they had pretty or inspiring blogs. I put time into leading a bible study group, and valued those friendships and the knowledge I gained. I put necessary time into regaining my health through changing diets and going to appointments. Sometimes in recent years I helped my mother-in-law, as she moved house and became less independent. Sometimes I saw my extended family. All good things.</div>
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And of course I managed the things that needed managing for my family - the shopping, the gifts, the organising, the notes, the calendar, the music lessons. Housework even sometimes happened.</div>
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And then, with a phone call, it all stopped. </div>
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Stay tuned for what happened next.</div>
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And check <a href="http://thebigsmoke.com.au/2016/05/21/tbs-blog-series-culture-blogs-reading/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">this</span></a> out! I'm thrilled to have received a shout out from <a href="http://thebigsmoke.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Big Smoke</span></a>.</div>
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-33350720003898792752016-05-08T23:21:00.000+10:002016-05-08T23:23:04.377+10:00Mothers Day again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Someone pointed out to me that today is my 19th Mothers Day. That's a lot of them. But with an 18yo and a 16yo, it sounds about right.</div>
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We celebrated quietly today, with some presents after church (DVDs, chocolate, bedsocks and bookmarks) and a delicious steak dinner cooked by Steve. Just now we've watched an old Doris Day film before the girls headed to bed.</div>
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The 19th time round doesn't feel so special as the first 10 or so Mothers Days did. I mean, at first you're so thrilled to be a mum, and to have a fuss made about you, and then in the primary school years your children are so excited to be giving you their cute little handmade gifts. (I should say that Emily still made me a cute gift, a beautiful felt bookmark stitched with a bird, made with as much love as those early craft attempts but much more skill!) </div>
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But by now things have changed - the girls have their own lives, we're all busy with studying, and those family times are fewer and farther between. I was glad to pin everyone down for lunch together, and it was sweet of them to spoil me with some nice gifts. One day the girls will be gone, and I'll be like our mothers, waiting for the phone to ring and for the children to visit. Which sounds kind of depressing. </div>
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I guess I'm still getting used to having almost-grownup girls. Memories of those cute little girls with their school Mothers Day crafts are fading, and sometimes it kind of feels like some other girls have moved in, instead. </div>
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So here's some reminders for me.<br />
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2005</div>
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2008</div>
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2010</div>
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2006</div>
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2007</div>
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2005</div>
Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-17231287853475521182016-04-30T14:02:00.001+10:002016-04-30T14:02:26.223+10:00National Folk Festival<br />
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<br />
National Folk Festival - 24-28 March<br />
<br />
Leaving before dawn on Good Friday to drive to Canberra<br />
arriving, with harp for a 10am rehearsal.<br />
the bells of Morris Dancers heard downstairs.<br />
Booking my harp into instrument storage<br />
setting up my tent, a baby tent in a row of grownup tents<br />
heading off on foot to explore the festival -<br />
so many excellent artists playing, Irish, Cajun, vocal, bluegrass, Canadian ...<br />
Dancers from all ethnic groups, in their costumes<br />
playing in fiddle workshops,<br />
some clothes shopping,<br />
some coconut-drinking and eating.<br />
<br />
Figuring out how to get my harp to the Spiegelzelt<br />
setting up our 10-piece orchestra on the stage, with mirrors and leadlight and a red and gold fabric roof.<br />
alternately sweltering, panicking and enjoying throughout our one hour performance<br />
Watching the dancers waltz as I played my solo,<br />
surely what the spiegelzelt was built for, 97 years ago.<br />
Enjoying a drink after all that.<br />
<br />
Finding a delicious paleo-style dinner<br />
seeing too many amazing artists to list, playing in so many different styles.<br />
heading to the Session Bar late at night and joining in with whoever is playing there, till after midnight, surrounded by hundreds of other musicians and onlookers, all having a great night.<br />
<br />
Walking alone through the empty festival and back to the campground.<br />
Cosy in my tent, listening to folk rock boom-booming in the distance until 1.30am<br />
then up to fry eggs on the campstove<br />
before doing it all again for two more days,<br />
loving every minute.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
Some of the artists I loved:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.andysalvanos.com/index.html" target="_blank">Andy Salvanos</a><br />
<a href="https://cocheol.com/" target="_blank">Co-cheol</a><br />
<a href="http://matthewdamesmusic.com/" target="_blank">Matthew Dames</a><br />
<a href="http://www.columsands.com/" target="_blank">Colum Sands</a><br />
<a href="https://blackmarkettune.com/" target="_blank">Black Market Tune</a><br />
<a href="http://www.theyounguns.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Young'uns</a><br />
<a href="http://www.allourexesliveintexas.com/" target="_blank">All our Exes Live in Texas</a><br />
<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-30422524206998939152016-04-23T00:05:00.000+10:002016-04-23T00:05:31.204+10:00A holiday at Killcare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A family holiday</div>
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squeezed in between uni assignments, college days and work</div>
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just one hour north</div>
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a hop and a skip from Barranjoey Head</div>
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ocean views</div>
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quiet</div>
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a big deck</div>
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a small house </div>
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bright and white and clean inside</div>
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lots of reading</div>
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colouring</div>
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playing games</div>
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feeling lazy</div>
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the beach</div>
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too cold for me after a few minutes in the water</div>
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walking on the rocks</div>
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sitting on a beach towel watching the waves and the people</div>
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bbq dinner</div>
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apple crumble</div>
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avoiding shops</div>
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managing with what food we have</div>
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short walks for me</div>
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recovering from a cold</div>
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lots of tissues</div>
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long exploratory hikes for Steve</div>
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time to stop and think</div>
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back over the term that has been</div>
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and compare life to a year ago</div>
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when we had our last holiday</div>
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and wonder what the next 12 months will hold.</div>
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Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-49195508953338841782016-04-18T21:41:00.001+10:002016-04-18T21:54:59.733+10:00Emily's 18th birthday party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At the end of January, Emily celebrated her 18th Birthday with about 30 girlfriends.</div>
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Originally supposed to be a Garden Party, (for which we did considerable work on the garden), the party moved indoors at the last minute after a few intermittent showers. Emily decorated the living room with the streamers she'd made for the front garden, and made tissue paper flowers, thank you favours and cute drinks labels.</div>
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That's my girl.</div>
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I can see she will make a great wedding planner one day :)</div>
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Laura and I worked hard while the girls chatted to provide a feast with vegetarian, nut-free and vegan options, while Steve was off playing quartets at music camp. At the end of a great party, we three girls tidied up and then collapsed on the sofa for a TV dinner.</div>
<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-86752864530808439212016-04-18T21:17:00.000+10:002016-04-18T21:17:00.937+10:00A year of changes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2016 has been a year of a lot of changes. </div>
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Last year I did some casual teaching at about 8 local primary schools. I enjoyed it, mostly, but there was one school I really liked teaching at, and I was sorry not to be called there at all during Term 4. I used to daydream about getting some regular work there. Until one afternoon towards the end of term, when I had a call from their principal, asking about my availability for 2016. I told him I was available, and he said he would call back in a few days, sounding like he might have a position for me.<br />
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I waited, glued to my phone at all times. I spoke to him again in the last few days of school, but he had no news for me, the school's enrolment had dropped a little and they weren't sure how many teachers they needed. The school year ended, and I tried to forget about it all, wondering if I might hear from them again as school went back at the end of January. But on the 7th Jan I was surprised with a call offering me a temporary job as Teacher Librarian at <i>this school that I really wanted to teach at</i>!<br />
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This seemed nothing short of a miracle, because I am not a primary school teacher (but a high school teacher) and have no library experience. However that didn't seem to bother them! I accepted the job and spent the rest of January researching to find out what a Teacher Librarian actually does (and preparing for Emily's 18th birthday party). I met the retiring librarian of 26 years service before school started, and began the job at the end of January.</div>
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I am loving spending my days with books and kids. This seems like the perfect job for me :)</div>
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Of course, I have plenty to learn, about children's literature, running a library, and teaching information literacy. But I'm finding it all a good challenge and coping well so far with working full-time again. It still seems amazing that I have this great job, and didn't even have to apply for it!</div>
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(Not sure why I didn't open the blinds for these photos?)</div>
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Over time, I might make some changes to the layout and decor of the library. You can see that the library is very well laid out and holds thousands of good books. For now, I'm content setting up the occasional display and making minor changes to add to the smooth running of my day :)</div>
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I've gotten to know two lovely ladies at school, one is the library assistant, who works in the library 2 days a week, accessioning books and doing the administration. My other friend is a teacher who shares the library office with me 3 days a week. If it wasn't for them, my job could become a bit lonely if I didn't make the effort to get to the staffroom, since the library office has everything I need for lunch and working, and I'm not working in a team as the classroom teachers are.</div>
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In addition to teaching full-time, I'm studying part-time by distance education to be fully qualified as a primary teacher, to keep my future options open. I'm not sure how long my great job in the library will last. My job seems easy in comparison to my studies, which could quite easily fill my every waking hour, but I'm just managing it all, somehow. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v8rhY3ZFTVk/VxS5hyAvE8I/AAAAAAAAK74/lEVAg65_9Tk2fMsNGY46EpWX87V8ryz4wCLcB/s1600/IMG_3814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v8rhY3ZFTVk/VxS5hyAvE8I/AAAAAAAAK74/lEVAg65_9Tk2fMsNGY46EpWX87V8ryz4wCLcB/s640/IMG_3814.JPG" width="640" /></a>It's a big year of change for Emily, also. She's studying Events Management, and won a huge scholarship to pay for her course, for which we are very thankful. Her full-time course takes just two days a week at college, and she works occasionally in a part-time job. </div>
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Laura is in Yr 11 this year, so need to be studying a lot more, and even Steve is doing some studies as part of his job. I'm still teaching piano, but not leading bible study this year. There's a lot of driving the girls to do in the evenings, to their various activities, and occasionally on the weekends we can fit in some driving lessons for them. </div>
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So, as you can imagine, almost every moment of every day is filled, which is such a change for me after years of being mostly at home, choosing my activities, setting the pace. But God is good, and we are all coping, I am loving it all (except when I have assignments due) and I am thankful for these new challenges and opportunities for us all.</div>
<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-40300561504773651052016-01-21T13:17:00.000+11:002016-01-21T21:53:21.645+11:00Almost grownup<br />
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Emily turned 18 a couple of weeks ago. (How did this happen?) </div>
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She is an absolute joy to us, and we are so proud of her.</div>
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We celebrated with a family dinner out on her birthday, plus a visit from grandparents, and gave her her choices of a Pandora bangle, and a pop-up soccer goal!</div>
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Last week Emily had her wisdom teeth out (plus two supernumerary teeth, 'cause she's extra special!). Her recovery has been pretty smooth, and she has coped with all that very well, but is looking forward to being able to chew properly again one day.</div>
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This year she's planning to study Events Management, she's in the process of finalising her course decisions now. </div>
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And on Saturday we're throwing an 18th party! A garden party with all her girlfriends. So the Event Management skills are already being used. Of course there's a fair amount of events management needed by yours truly, and plenty of baking to do in the next 48 hours. We're just hoping for fine weather, and something cooler than today's temps of 38degC. Stay tuned!</div>
Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-85306365065031891752015-12-31T18:31:00.001+11:002016-01-01T22:31:22.403+11:00Looking back on 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, here it is, New Year's Eve again. It's very much a summer's day, the sun is shining, and cicadas are singing.<br />
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I haven't blogged so much this year, and for that I partly blame the iPhone. Because it's too easy to take photos on my phone rather than my camera, and to post them on Instagram if I want to share them.<br />
And because that's the way bloggers seem to have gone in the last few years, to Instagram. Plus, it's hard to use Blogger on the iphone. I even started a new wordpress blog during the year because it was easier to manage with the phone, but that fell by the wayside, too.<br />
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Besides all that, it's been a busy year, with lots of good things, but also a few hard things to deal with.<br />
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But I still love blogging, and the chance to write a bit more at length about life, minus the hashtags. I'm expecting a busy year ahead, but am hoping to blog more regularly than this year, perhaps with shorter posts and few photos.<br />
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So let's recap up to where we left off ...<br />
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<u>January</u> : school holidays - plenty of time at home, with some crafts, but some nice outings too, including a day at Palm Beach, and a big family picnic on Australia Day (or thereabouts). Emily got her Ls, a year after she could have. I painted in an art journal. Our new minister started at church, along with his wife who I knew at school. And in the last days of January, the First Day of School, Emily's last-ever.<br />
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<u>February</u> : Back to school routine, Emily busy doing her last year of school. Apparently I had nothing to blog about in February. But I know I did some decluttering and organising for the year, and started teaching music and leading bible study for the year. Dietwise, I was eating very healthily but still having some digestive problems (too many nuts!). The girls both joined youth group at our old church, going every Friday and Sunday night, and Laura continued to iceskate every Saturday morning and do ballet on Thursday nights. I had about 10 piano students and two recorder classes at the local primary school. I resigned from Stampin' Up, after a very happy 6 years selling and (more often) buying stamps and craft supplies with them. Our church started to grow, and continued to do so all year.<br />
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<u>March </u>: We had another Japanese student, Akiko, come to stay. Akiko was lovely and we were very sorry to say goodbye to her. Sadly we have lost touch since her visit. After she left, I had a call from Steve's mum and before I knew it, was in the full throes of helping her clear out and sell her townhouse. With a huge family effort, we got her moved into an apartment at a retirement village and the townhouse sold at auction in April, phew.<br />
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In this month my nutritionist put me on a super-strict gut-cleansing diet to finally solve my ongoing digestive issues - selected cooked vegetables, chicken, lamb, fish, eggs and tiny amounts of fruit were my only foods for a while. I lost more weight and felt good but restricted. It's hard to munch on cooked broccoli when others are eating cake ... however it finally did the trick, and over the months I was able to add more foods back in to my diet. Emily began rehearsing with accompanists for her music performance and worked at her art major work, in between doing all her other schoolwork.<br />
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<u>April</u> : We had a great week at Green Point, near Forster. Beautiful scenery and plenty of time for relaxation. We also had a week at home and then it was back to school.<br />
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I finally went around to the local schools to put my name down for casual teaching, something I'd been meaning to do ever since we finished our upstairs extension! (Up to then I had been teaching only at one local school, where I also teach recorder).<br />
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I attended my first Parish Council meeting, having been voted in at the March AGM. It was pretty scary at first, surrounded by many intelligent and influential accountants, lawyers, businessmen and directors, but I've enjoyed being part of it over the year, turns out it's not so scary after all ;)<br />
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<u>May</u> : The casual teaching started flowing in, sometimes in a trickle and sometimes as a downpour. Six of the 8 schools I had registered at called me this year for teaching, sometimes to teach Music, but mostly to teach general classrooms. I loved it, but it took some getting used to - being in a new environment each time; the stress of not knowing if I'd be called or not.<br />
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Emily and I went shopping for a dress for her Yr 12 formal, and thankfully found the perfect dress that day. Laura got her braces off after two years, what a relief! Steve and I did some major decluttering of the workshop and shed so that the workshop could become a mancave. Later in the year we moved our laptops and desks out of the study to make it more of a music room rather than home office.<br />
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The girls went to band camp. Emily, being in Yr 12, took on the responsibility of running all the entertainment for the 3 days. She enjoyed that so much that she has decided she would like to go into Events Management in the future.<br />
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I chalked a sign at last on the beautiful frame my bible study gave me last year, reminding me that no matter how much I chase after things, or feelings, or achievements, only Jesus is really <i>enough</i>.<br />
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<u>June </u>: More casual teaching. A good church weekend away, looking at Daniel and 1 Peter. Or perhaps 2 Peter. But excellent, in any case. We celebrated my Mum's birthday here with lots of family members over for lunch. At the end of June we had a <a href="http://womanofnotes.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/family-weekend-away-in-nowra.html" target="_blank">a few days away</a> with my family at Nowra, which was great.<br />
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<u>July</u> : Two weeks of school holidays. The first week was busy with Emily's HSC - driving her to rehearsals, travelling to Redfern twice to get photo printed professionally. The second week Steve's mum was diagnosed with cancer (for the second time in 6 months) and I took her to a lot of appointments. So it was really not a relaxing holiday for me (or Emily, or Steve's mum, of course). Steve's mum had surgery the following week, and a good recovery over the next months. We were thankful that she was taken care of at the retirement village and no longer has to cook or clean for herself, or care for her less-able husband.<br />
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Laura began piano lessons with a "real" piano teacher. (As opposed to her mother, who is a real piano teacher but isn't treated like one by her daughter, and who sometimes forgets to teach her daughter altogether). I began rehearsing for a performance at a folk festival, and we celebrated my cousin's son's 1st birthday.<br />
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<u>August </u>: With the HSC getting closer, Emily worked harder than ever, and started going to college open days. I had more casual teaching, and really enjoyed teaching primary classes. It occurred to me for the first time that I could actually do some study and become approved as a primary teacher (not just as a casual teacher whose real subject is Music). I began to slowly think about it. I got permission to eat some raw vegetables again, making mealtimes and snacks a little easier and more interesting. It's the little things ...<br />
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<u>September</u> : I had a lovely birthday. (Which was as far as I got blogging the last few months of the year) It was a very stressful month for Emily and us as she worked away on art and music and finishing other assessments. I had a fair amount of teaching, with 8 days at one school and random days at other schools, and began to research uni courses to do primary teaching. I made the decision to enrol at Charles Sturt Uni, where I can study entirely by distance in 2016.<br />
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Finally everything of Emily's was handed in and she graduated from high school on 18th September, ready to spend the next 5 weeks studying before her HSC exams began.<br />
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At this point I headed off to Yass to for my first ever public harp performance, playing in an orchestra for a performance at the Turning Wave Festival. It was totally nervewracking but also a breakthrough for me, as were the masterclasses by a visiting Irish harpist. Just getting myself to Yass was an achievement, really, for someone who doesn't venture much from home, and rarely alone. After that came two weeks of holidays. <br />
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<u>October</u> : We had very quiet school holidays, with Emily studying hard. We girls did have one fun shopping and afternoon outing. The HSC began on October and Emily was there to the bitter end, with the last exam Visual Arts being on 5th November. And so we entered a new phase, in which Emily was home most of the time and Laura was the only one going to school regularly. <br />
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I began making Christmas cards, having not stamped much all year, and got hooked into coloring with Copic markers, going back to the local craft shop for a few more at a time. Steve's mum broke her wrist around this time, so she was back to hospital for the third time in 12 months, poor her. We are grateful to have many family members to help her at times like this, it seems that when one or more members of Steve's family are away or busy, 1-2 others will have more flexible time to help.<br />
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<u>November</u> : Emily was finally free of all school requirements in early November, and began to look forward to the Yr 12 Formal and her schoolies week with friends, at Port Macquarie. We had a family dinner out at the local Indian restaurant, to celebrate the end of the HSC. We organised hair and makeup and on the night of the formal Emily looked absolutely stunning. One of the mothers hosted a pre-formal party, to which parents were invited also, so I got to chat to some parents, some of whom I had never met before and will never see again, but others who have become friends over the past 5 or so years of party-pickups and girls visiting our home.<br />
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Laura turned 16, and got <i>her</i> Ls. we had a book party for her 16th, and also celebrated my parents' golden anniversary and some family birthdays.<br />
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I began a pre-uni Maths course, to brush up my maths in preparation for studying and teaching maths. I also spent a lot of time colouring Christmas cards, and pretty soon found myself having terrible headaches, neckaches, shoulder aches and eyestrain after so many hours at the computer or looking down shading tiny details. I basically had to use my eyes as little as possible, avoid the computer, and read for very short periods in certain poses only ... which was all very frustrating. Eventually I improved, thanks to my chiropractor Sara, who has helped me in so many ways this year, and to new glasses which I was finally able to get in mid-December.<br />
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I had more casual teaching. Emily had a great week away with her friends, and got a casual job on the checkouts at Woolworths.<br />
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<u>December </u>: It has been a lovely December, on the whole. Somehow the end-of-year didn't seem quite as crazy as usual, perhaps because the girls are growing up. Just a little casual teaching, and I wound up my year of piano and recorder teaching.<br />
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My little "recorderlings" performed Frosty the Snowman beautifully, at the school carols night, complete with singing and choreography. From the morning of 1st December we had Christmas music playing, and I put up the decorations around the house slowly those first few days of the month. On the 5th we put up the tree and everything felt right at last to lead into Christmas! This year we extended our family Kris Kringle giving to the kids also, so there was even less gift shopping to do than in previous years. Steve had a work Christmas party at the Hydro Majestic, 1920s gangster-style.<br />
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With my eyes still a problem I wrote my 80+ cards in small batches, and posted them with much relief around 10th December. We hosted a street party one night, and in the week before Christmas managed to do most of the traditional things (baking cookies, walking around streets with Christmas lights, seeing Santa on a firetruck) in between Emily working and days of rain.<br />
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Christmas Day was lovely, with beautiful fresh mild sunshine, and due to a smaller family gathering this year, the main part of the day was calmer and quieter and more relaxed, all just perfect.<br />
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Since Christmas, we've been sitting around, reading and watching DVDs, or gardening, or doing household jobs (Steve), and yesterday we had a perfect picnic at McCarrs Creek Reserve. I've been able to get away with eating many more treats this year without dire results, including chocolate and dried fruits, which I haven't eaten much at all for over 5 years. So perhaps my earlier deprivations have done some good, after all.<br />
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Emily got her HSC results, which were really quite good, early in December, but now is in a limbo phase, not knowing which course she will be doing until the uni places are offered on 20th January. She expects she won't get her first choice of uni course, but is already enrolled in a private college so she can always go ahead with that.<br />
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So that brings us up to New Year's Eve. We'll be having a quiet one. Emily has worked this afternoon and we'll probably have a BBQ dinner then play some games or watch a movie.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-14kxwhFgcfg/VoSm5qCIaNI/AAAAAAAAK10/soYTke36AHg/s1600/Christmas%2BFamily%2BPortrait%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-14kxwhFgcfg/VoSm5qCIaNI/AAAAAAAAK10/soYTke36AHg/s640/Christmas%2BFamily%2BPortrait%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas day portrait - nothing like setting up a tripod and self-timer as we rush out the door to church!</td></tr>
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Thanks for sticking through to the end of the world's longest blog post. Since I don't seem to get any scrapbooking done either these days, this blog has become a record of our family life as well as my interests, and I felt the need to record our year here.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IPXGxxBcQOg/VoSlUDzzFCI/AAAAAAAAK0I/fqt-fMzIo5I/s1600/Fiona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IPXGxxBcQOg/VoSlUDzzFCI/AAAAAAAAK0I/fqt-fMzIo5I/s400/Fiona.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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Wishing you a wonderful 2016, dear readers, all two of you. Maybe three.<br />
love,<br />
Fiona<br />
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-61806875963630902982015-10-05T14:34:00.000+11:002015-10-05T14:34:02.391+11:00September Birthday<br />
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I never got to post about my birthday, back on 2nd September.</div>
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I took the day off from casual teaching, and Steve took the day off, too.</div>
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I was spoilt with presents, including some great art books, so after the girls left for school I spent a leisurely morning reading one of them with a cup of tea.</div>
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Then we headed out and met Mum and Dad at Thr1ve at for a healthy paleo lunch. It was so good to know that I wasn't breaking my diet (too much ;) Yum.</div>
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Then we went walking around Rhodes, beginning with the Kokoda Trail and then walking around the foreshore.</div>
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It's a really interesting walk with historical buildings, and constantly changing environments. (And some hospital carparks)</div>
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At this part of the walk we really felt like we were in the country, rather than right in the middle of Sydney.</div>
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When we arrived home, a friend dropped in with some flowers, I love yellow and purple together.</div>
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I also received some lovely handmade cards.</div>
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Emily stitched this verse on card, so clever.</div>
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Some piano students gave me pink gerberas</div>
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and these were most of my birthday presents, plus some Faber Castell Gelatos, so you can see I was truly spoilt. </div>
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For dinner we had Thai takeaway, which was not so diet-friendly, but still delicious, and much-deserved after such a healthy lunch and 1.5hrs of walking ;) </div>
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I was so grateful for the love from my family and friends, the sunshine, good food and good times.</div>
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Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-87597466193687893982015-08-18T20:49:00.002+10:002015-08-18T20:49:40.508+10:00A busy winter<br />
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It's been the busiest winter I remember. Winter for me is usually a quiet season.</div>
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But this year I've been getting a lot of casual teaching. I've taught at about 8 local schools now, mostly teaching K-2, but also some 3-6, Computers. and Art. These chilly mornings I've been jumping into the car around 8.10am, loaded up with coat, lunch and teaching supplies, and thankful for my fake fur-trimmed leather gloves to keep my fingers from going numb on the steering wheel. I drive to the school of the day and find my way around a new classroom, try to learn the names of the children, and their classroom routine. The next day I repeat it all, but in a different class (and possibly a different school!)</div>
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Last week I taught a couple of days of Music. It was so good to teach something I'm actually trained in. Usually I'm guessing my way through the day in a primary classroom, sometimes keeping just one step ahead of the class.</div>
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I do enjoy playground duty in the winter sun. This school's oval backs right on to the bush.</div>
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Last Monday I went into the city and met up with my parents and sister for my sister's birthday. This was looking up in the QVB.</div>
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There have been some outings with Emily to visit college open days. She's interested in Events Management and we have visited two small exclusive colleges to see what they have to offer.</div>
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They are both in amazing locations and gorgeous old buildings, which partly explains their rather exorbitant fees. Oh, how things have changed since I studied! I also studied in a beautiful old building in a stunning location (ie the Sydney Conservatorium in the Botanic Gardens) but my course fees were under $5000 in total, from memory. It looks like Emily could accumulate some significant debt in the next few years .... so some big decisions ahead.</div>
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Emily has been working hard to get her art major work finished. I'm hoping I can show you some of her actual photos sometime, but here's a quick shot taken in our living room as she worked out proportions, packing and display volumes, etc., trying to ensure that she doesn't go over the allowed 1 cubic metre of space. She has done an amazing job but it has been pretty stressful for us both at this end. In two weeks she has her music performance, which involves both an accompanist and a saxophone quartet, so she's out rehearsing tonight for that.</div>
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So, what with teaching piano & recorder, casual teaching, shopping, cooking, assisting with Yr 12 stuff, my involvement in parish council and an 'orchestra' playing harp (!) for an upcoming performance ... life is pretty busy! However, I'm very thankful to God for the extra income and to have stayed mostly well during this time.</div>
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The thing I have enjoyed <i>most</i> this winter is escaping out of the house just before the sun goes down, and walking in our local neighbourhood, listening to podcasts. I've been enjoying listening to <a href="http://www.johnortberg.com/" target="_blank">John Ortberg</a> lately, whose talks are both thought-provoking <i>and</i> entertaining, and the walking, sunshine and fresh air always does wonders, even when I'm tired. I like to walk the same route each time, I don't ever get tired of it, something is always changing. This is a house with a flourishing cottage garden just around the corner from us, just at sunset. I've also enjoyed the cool weather, and feeling energetic in the cooler temperatures - it's been colder than other winters I remember, but mostly dry, perfect winter weather, in my opinion. </div>
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How has your winter been?<br />
<i>Or perhaps your summer, depending where you live!</i>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-86617004021815308392015-07-01T19:49:00.003+10:002015-07-01T19:49:51.743+10:00Family Weekend Away in Nowra<br />
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On the weekend my family went to stay in an old house in Nowra, called <i>Illowra.</i></div>
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It has been a tradition to go away together for a few nights every two years. In the past we've stayed at Leura, Katoomba, the Royal National Park, and Avoca Beach.</div>
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With nine adults and seven children (some of them almost adults!) in the family, it's hard to find accommodation that fits us. But Mum and Dad found yet another great property, this one with about 9 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms plus three living areas.</div>
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As well as some period features inside, there was a beautiful garden outside </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdRWL9-PORg/VZEtuvFXS9I/AAAAAAAAKt8/So_pLluds1Q/s1600/Illowra%2Bbirdbath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="580" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdRWL9-PORg/VZEtuvFXS9I/AAAAAAAAKt8/So_pLluds1Q/s640/Illowra%2Bbirdbath.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-25vkxfo7-a8/VZEtva_JRZI/AAAAAAAAKuE/VE5H8u-m3M8/s1600/Illowra%2Bflowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-25vkxfo7-a8/VZEtva_JRZI/AAAAAAAAKuE/VE5H8u-m3M8/s640/Illowra%2Bflowers.jpg" width="640" /></a>.. plus a tennis court, pool and spa</div>
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(a shame the weather was too cold for swimming!)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf0BR_X92ro/VZEt2AfjZxI/AAAAAAAAKuU/q1b9HMHbpBI/s1600/Illowra%2Btennis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf0BR_X92ro/VZEt2AfjZxI/AAAAAAAAKuU/q1b9HMHbpBI/s640/Illowra%2Btennis.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We spent hours a lot of time in the conservatory, reading, crocheting, playing various instruments, and using phones and ipads, each to his own. I never quite made it onto the tennis court, but played a game of table tennis and went for quite a few walks.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EpYpEuyKSBk/VZN_NNpdc8I/AAAAAAAAKus/55NUso-HdLg/s1600/IMG_2523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EpYpEuyKSBk/VZN_NNpdc8I/AAAAAAAAKus/55NUso-HdLg/s640/IMG_2523.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Laura enjoyed her reading, and using her book to simultaneously avoid the camera and create this weird effect.</div>
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<img alt="Illowra homestead heritage house: Illowra @ Berry/Nowra in Berry" src="http://static.stayz.com.au/property/image/03/03/97/img_30397_278a1649b86845194008c74a2667b370_max800x600.jpg" /></div>
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Dad and I spent some time comparing this 1906 photo to the house now, to see what alterations have been done over the years. We thought the original upstairs must have been very dark with just those small windows on the south side of the house, and one window on the north side. The upstairs rooms now have skylight windows in the roof. A lot of the verandahs have been enclosed to create more space indoors. I wonder how many people lived in the home in its original state?</div>
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oltLxET4vqc/VZN_NP-goTI/AAAAAAAAKuo/K2iSYmPx7-g/s1600/IMG_2526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oltLxET4vqc/VZN_NP-goTI/AAAAAAAAKuo/K2iSYmPx7-g/s640/IMG_2526.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The house was close to Shoalhaven River, so we adults took a few lovely walks across the bridge and along the shore, while the kids lounged around watching TV. Silly them.</div>
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It was so peaceful, and the weather was perfect.</div>
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It was a relaxing weekend, and nice to hang out together, and we are grateful to Mum and Dad for hosting us all.</div>
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<br />Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8759520228372918352.post-16229187971881382752015-06-11T21:10:00.000+10:002015-06-11T21:13:20.048+10:0019 for Lunch <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HT3YiEnu6X8/VXll_RsV4JI/AAAAAAAAKrQ/0VhlUXDv6yc/s1600/lunch%2Bfor%2B19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HT3YiEnu6X8/VXll_RsV4JI/AAAAAAAAKrQ/0VhlUXDv6yc/s640/lunch%2Bfor%2B19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In recent months I've been very focused on decluttering this house of ours. </div>
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I printed out the charts from <a href="http://nourishingminimalism.com/" target="_blank">Rachel's</a> <a href="http://nourishingminimalism.com/2015-in-2015-decluttering-challenge" target="_blank">2015 in 2015 Challenge</a> in January, and so far I've ticked off 1300 items that have left the house! Some of those were from our "outbuildings" - our workshop and garden shed, but the bulk of them were items from indoors. There have been numerous trips to the op shop, the kerb, and the bin, and I've sold some things on ebay and the local facebook buy, sell and trade group. With each item ticked off, I know I'm making space to do all sorts of things more easily.</div>
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There's still a lot more stuff that I could let go of, and hopefully I will in future, but for now I've reached a level where it's possible to keep the living room tidy - at last!</div>
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Our living room is an open living space, encompassing kitchen, dining, living, laundry overflow (piles of laundry, not water!) and access to the backdoor/bathroom/stairs. In wet weather you might find clothes hanging on clotheshorses, too. Until this week, Emily has done all her homework and study at the dining table. It's a busy room with a lot going on. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5R0Dh0Tnq8c/VXlmAvL6CAI/AAAAAAAAKr0/Hng828s0jTg/s1600/lunch%2Btable%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5R0Dh0Tnq8c/VXlmAvL6CAI/AAAAAAAAKr0/Hng828s0jTg/s640/lunch%2Btable%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On Saturday, I cleared out every single thing that wasn't a piece of furniture, and put it in the study or craftroom. Since I've decluttered so much, there wasn't much to pick up, and the other rooms had more space to store things temporarily. We rearranged the furniture (did I mention we had 4 sofas in the living room? That story for another post) and added some trestle tables and chairs.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66YdOy_mu48/VXlmBXozzjI/AAAAAAAAKr4/n2dc_PnhbwQ/s1600/lunch%2Btable%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66YdOy_mu48/VXlmBXozzjI/AAAAAAAAKr4/n2dc_PnhbwQ/s640/lunch%2Btable%2B2.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Voila! Seating for 19 people!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wJpSEJH6MWA/VXll_craLII/AAAAAAAAKrk/0mbjsLldkpA/s1600/desserts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wJpSEJH6MWA/VXll_craLII/AAAAAAAAKrk/0mbjsLldkpA/s640/desserts.jpg" width="640" /></a>We celebrated Mum's birthday with most of our extended family, and I managed to seat them all! No "kids table", no picnic on the floor, no dinners on laps. no kids disappearing upstairs. All those things are fine, but this time I wanted all of us together for once, for a sit-down lunch and a game afterwards. We all squeezed in and ate baked potatoes with toppings, then some paleo desserts and birthday cake. Then we tested our wits with a Family Feud style game and gave presents. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sw49WM2jt_M/VXlmAL9zj0I/AAAAAAAAKrw/FCUjGY5j7TU/s1600/lunch%2Bgame%2Bpixellated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sw49WM2jt_M/VXlmAL9zj0I/AAAAAAAAKrw/FCUjGY5j7TU/s640/lunch%2Bgame%2Bpixellated.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I had planned to fold up the tables after lunch and sit on the sofas, but that seemed too complicated when the time came, so we stayed at the tables. </div>
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]The only problem was before dinner, it was a bit crowded, standing around for drinks. I had hoped people might use this corner of the room where we "stored" two of the sofas, but, no. Oh well.</div>
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After our visitors left, I organised some more stuff, so there wasn't much at all to put back in the living room - a basket of crochet yarns, a basket of library books ... and Emily has started studying upstairs so the dining table is staying clear. When I crashed with a cold for two days from Sunday afternoon, I could sit and enjoy our new serene and open space. All so worth it!</div>
Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03564174820915401323noreply@blogger.com3