family

I have just been reading a very interesting post, I found it through ‘The Happiness Project’ which I subscribe to. It was on following your dreams and doing what you are passionate about, the article was called  ‘Follow your passion? The blogger Roundup’

The message in the end is that you are more likely to be a lot happier and contented doing something that you are passionate about but it doesn’t necessarily led to financial wealth. I have been passionate all my life about art and craft. While I was at school and college I painted, as a young married woman sewing (clothes) and embroidery, I then discovered patchwork and at the same time kept doing embroidery. In recent years I discovered scrapbooking but the amount of supplies and the cost use to worry me;  my son one day in an off-hand comment solved the problem by saying “Why don’t you try digital scrapping, Mum?” That opened a whole new world to me, I found that from day one that I loved it, I could design extra things to go with the photos, that I was inspired by the many layouts that were shared on the web and that a whole wonderful on-line community  was there. For a few years I designed but found I was spending far to long on the computer and away from by family. So I stopped designing but I still scrap and I have also gone back to painting, sewing and embroidery. I find that I am contented when I am doing those things, that the world is a lot happier place. Where is this going, today I started a painting course at the Institute of Art…….a beginner course in acrylics.

My oldest daughter is 32 today, she has developed into a remarkable young woman, a partner and a mother. Happy birthday my beautiful one.

It was Jess’ formal on Saturday, months of preparation and searching had gone into this event. Many an hour had gone into looking for the prefect dress, the prefect shoes and the prefect jewelry. When Pen was home she helped a lot in sharing of the searching and shopping. But in the end it was well worth it, Jess looked just beautiful and her joy was reward within its self.

Well that holiday went really quickly and I’m back at work this week. We spent a few days in Canberra, mostly catching up with Sarah, Arthi and Riya; although we did seem to do a lot of shopping as well, as Jessie was looking for  shoes for her formal this Saturday night. Sarah and Co. are moving to Cambodia not Vanuatu as originally planned. At the moment they are doing an intensive language course  and I feel that it most likely be another six weeks before they go. Life is a little unsettled for them as they are living in a serviced apartment but it is amazing how much they have made it feel like home. They have put Riya’s wonderful art works up on the wall and the kitchen is full of appliances and ingredients. We had a carbon copy of the apartment four floors above them and ours really felt like a rented apartment…….lovely but cold.

It was so good to be back in Canberra, there have been so many changes in the city, extension of the shopping centre, which is just lovely and lots of other new buildings. Autumn is really on the way and it was  beautiful to wake up on the Tuesday morning to two hot air balloons floating over the city. The weather was starting to get cold and most days you needed long sleeves.

The topic for this week for IF is ’save’. We have a funny tradition in our house,  no-one likes to take the last piece or slice of anything. They will cut it in half each time and it  gets smaller and smaller until some brave soul takes the last bit. So I have been on Flickr looking for inspiration.

1. Holiday Tea Party, 2. mini chocolate cupcakes 1, 3. Chocolate Fudge Cake, 4. Un momento, mais nada, 5. pre-birthday cake, 6. Waiting for Jnr™: 9 days, 7. Sunlit Teapot, 8. A slice of heaven!, 9. Green Tea and Chocolate tarte

Just drove pass the little cafe on the corner and it is opened. It is full, people everywhere. Coffee is on special ……..$2 a takeaway cup. We are going to have breakfast there in the morning so I will take some photos. It adds a little life to the neighborhood.

Kylie a big thank you, I had a lovely surprise waiting for me when I got home from work. The bunny is ever so beautiful, here is a photo of my grand-daughter Abby and my friend Sue looking  at the bunny. Hopefully mine will be there early next week.

I went to a library in-service last Thursday on networking and use of web 2.00 tools. The networking part was great but the web 2.00 did not live up to expectations. A very young girl who obliviously has a lot of knowledge about the web and how to use it was the speaker. Her audience was a great deal older than her and I don’t think that she felt that comfortable but if she had only realised that the major of us love the computer as much as her and just wanted to learn. She breezed through the interesting and I felt the relevant parts far too fast. I was sad as it could have been great but she did give me some interesting ideas to follow and develop.

For those of you that are following Pen’s adventure, here is part of her last e-mail……

‘I went to my first demolition on Friday. It was two huge pits of about 700 mortars, rockets and projectiles. We got a great briefing, then walked in single file down to the pits to see them before they were blown. We left the site and drove 1.5km to the safe area. The donors stayed closer to where the button to the demolition gets pushed, it is like a bunker under the ground. I heard a little pop and thought it was it. When it actually went, I jumped so high and landed in the arms of some of the de-miners - it was really very funny. It was great to see the work of the teams though, it is incredible. ‘

Now I really should go and sew my bunny.

I wait each week to see what the topic is going to be, it usually comes through early Saturday morning. If I have checked my emails in the night I think & dream about the topic. ……..a bit obsessive I know. Anyway I love this week’s topic and if I find the time I am going to have a go at doing another one. This is my little grand-daughter on a egg hunt in the garden.

I loved the weekend but this weekend it is a bit quiet with Pen gone. She has arrived safely and moved into her tent, she says that she did not really understand how isolated it was going to be, she compares it to the Australian outback. I think that Graham understood as he spend a lot of his childhood school holidays near Bourke on his uncle’s family farm. It was miles from nowhere; barren and dry country.

School is busy, World Maths Day was on Thursday and four of our classes took part. It was exciting to see children charged by maths, they logged in and then played against other children from different parts of the world and they also played against the clock. I think that the modern child is at a disadvantage in this situation as they have to be really fast at number operations, similar to how we used to rote learn our number facts years ago. Still it was a lot of fun. Also five of our classes blog and two of them are taking part in on-line projects. So that means that their computer time is very precious to them, trying to find extra time for them is difficult. But I love this job, it has all the elements that keep me motivated and interested; once again I am on a steep learning curve. I have started a library blog which I will use mainly for new resources and to keep people informed on what some of the classes are doing.

We saw the two little girls yesterday, they are both changing rapidly, mainly due to them both going to school. Abby is talking non-stop and is very confident; her teacher describes her as “No shrinking violet”. She has always know her mind and really can’t be talked into something if she doesn’t want to do it.

Pen left yesterday to start her new job, she has a lot of travelling in front of her and will not get to her final destination until Thursday we think. She was very excited and full of anticipation to be starting in a new country. It was hard for us and her to say ‘goodbye’ but I have come to the realisation that she loves her work and doing that kind of work is where she wants to be. She says that the aid workers world is a small world and she goes already knowing other workers in the area. That will help her feel at home quicker.

I love this story I hope that her life is not really going to be like this.

Now my other big news is that Sarah, Arthi and Riya leave this week for Vanuatu. Their house was packed up today and they are staying with some friends until Saturday. They had their farewell party last Saturday which started early in the afternoon and went late into the night. I remember those wonderful Canberra parties where people drop in. We will miss them but will be able to keep in contact by Skype and hopefully Ses is going to start a blog.

I just read a lovely thing on ‘Linaloo’ blog, ten February things that are making me happy right now.

1. The weather is getting cooler, maybe our summer is nearly over.

2. Having my daughter Penny home before she goes off overseas on her next assignment.

3. Jess (my youngest daughter) finding her topic for her major art work. She is doing the last year of high school. Her topic is exciting and it will be fun to see how it develops.

4. Finishing my tea cosy for Mary in Texas.

5. Olivia (my grand-daughter) becoming friends with Molly (the dog).

6. Have had a lot of rain and having everything green.

7. Having time to draw again and loving ever minute of it.

8. Settling into my new school and having a magic assistant, Maureen.

9. Looking at new cars as my car has given up the ghost.

10 . Discovering podcasts on ‘Macs’.