Emily - Sweet Sixteen

Sixteen.

Who can believe it?

She can, even if we can't.

At 16 Emily is loving

Gone with the Wind,

Dr Who, Harry Potter and The Hobbit;

Divergent,  Ranger's Apprentice, Ruby Redfort and more;

not too old for One Direction, 

and enjoying

clothes, bags and jewellery;

cute felt crafts;

her new ipad 

(bought with money earned at the toyshop)

and oh so much more.

We are loving her.

*

Today: a dark miserable day

so all picnic ideas were off.

Instead: lots of shopping,

some new clothes for Emily

and soon we  will watch

Gone With the Wind

now that she has finally finished reading the book;

and dinner out tonight.

Walking

Stampin' Up!  The Nicest Things card

My early morning walks

are becoming a good habit,

and giving me energy 

throughout the day.

Energy to 

do 3 loads of washing,

clean the bathrooms,

wash the windows,

iron,

grocery shop,

send a card to an old friend,

and walk again in the evening with

Skater Girl and Sweet Almost-16 Girl.

All instead of sleeping in 

and feeling groggy all day.

 On top of those benefits,

I get some time to myself

to enjoy beautiful mornings

and to listen to Tim Keller talks.

Photo taken in 2010, same route.

Hoping I can keep it up

even when school starts.

and as the mornings become 

cooler and darker.

Small pleasures

Enjoying ...

the effect of a recent swap of lamps,

between the bedroom and the living room

much better, I think,

especially for bedtime reading;

an early morning walk;

wearing my pretty cotton 50s-style sundress to church;

being with our church family

and beginning a series on Psalms;

coconut cake with lemon icing

for afternoon tea;

and spending a couple of happy hours

with Laura this evening,

tidying her room and making many, 

many trips to the bin.

She is excited, being a tidy girl at heart.

By the river

Today we headed to this perfect spot

on the Hawkesbury River,

Taking time to enjoy being together

and outdoors.

(happy really, just not quite ready for the photo)

and by the way, not finding teenaged girls 

so cooperative with photos these days

 one way or another ...

After morning tea on the headland

with bush turkeys to amuse us,

we moved on to our picnic lunch

by the water

after which Steve and Laura went for a swim 

and Emily and I read in the shade,

enjoying the cool breeze off the water.

A good day out.

Magic Beans

This morning Steve and Emily 

took Gran to the nursery,

and Emily came home with beans to plant,

and even a trough to plant them in,

on loan from Gran.

 Perhaps the beginning of a love of gardening?

 

That would be magic, indeed.

Loving my almost-16-year-old ...

Cards for every occasion

Today we go at last to meet

our great-niece born months ago.

It's taken much longer than we thought

to get to see her but at last we've made plans

and I made her a personalised card this morning.

*

Since Christmas I've been going through

my stash of handmade cards.

There are quite a few of them

that I've made over the years for fun,

or as part of my Stampin' Up! business.

But a lot of them just weren't quite finished,

very dark cards needed lining,

and some greetings needed to be changed.

Now they are ready at last

to send out into the world.

A box of birthday cards

and a box of cards for other occasions.

This year I'm aiming to send out

every one of these cards.

Except for the sympathy and get well cards,

I'm happy not to hand out many of them.

But unfortunately I do need to send one today,

plus two birthday cards.

I'm glad to know I have cards ready to go

for any occasion,

but can still have some creative time

whipping up something new

if the urge strikes.

2014 is going to be the year I don't just 

think about sending cards,

but actually send them.

*

What goals do you have for this year?

New Year's Calm

After a while,

the in-between-ness of this time of year

starts to really bug me.

Much as I love Christmas

and all that goes with it, 

it's just not the same once Christmas is over.

The Advent Calendar taunts me

with its quick stamped substitutes

for felt ornaments I never finished

... yet again.

The Christmas cards have bent themselves open

and look messy and unloved.

  

The dresser, however,

never fails to please me :-)

(but I do wonder over breakfast

whether or not to hang my new banner 

in the same spot next Christmas?)

So today was the day for the house 

to look like this again:

while I packed everything away.

Then we moved the sofa 

back to its normal spot

and created some space and calm.

After a hard day's work

of packing, sorting, decluttering and ironing,

it's feeling like a new year

- a new season of our life

can begin.