Quote of the Week

There is an extraordinary charm in other people's domesticities. Every lighted house, seen from the road, is magical: every pram or lawn-mower in someone else's garden: all smells or stirs of cookery from the windows of alien kitchens.

C.S. Lewis, Time and Tide, 16 June 1945

Addicted

I seem to be becoming obsessed with entering competitions - what's that about? I hardly ever win - and I think I write a pretty good '25 words or less' ...

Countdown to Christmas

1st December is summer here in our neck of the woods - the only problem being this torrential rain and the brrrrrrrr weather! Christmas is creeping like a stealthy little beetle - and I just know that it is going to take me by surprise like that elusive cockroach under the fridge!

The big problem  issue for us in December is that there are 3 birthdays - Arty-Mum, Mr Chop, and Disco Stu - (aka Mum, No. 2 son and my little brother) - Mum is pretty easy, Mr Chop is OK too, but Disco Stu is VERY difficult. Anyone have  hint for a gift for my architect brother?

The big news on our family is that Disco Stu and the Legal Eagle are engaged!!! At last - after about 7 years of togetherness he proposed in HK on their way to Europe for a 2 week jaunt (as you do!) - can't wait to see them tomorrow morning when they fly back in - apparently her ring is just the same as Arty-Mum's - just twice the size - must be a whopper.

Growing Lizards

Quirky Boy has just returned from his friends' - The Kooky Twins' house - they had a fabulous time making up a dance for the Talent Quest at school this week. We called in at the shops on the way home for super glue to mend my shoes (don't ask) and Quirky Boy decided to spend that little bit more of his birthday money on a lizard which hatches from its egg and magically grows when placed in water. He and Mr Chop are now not-so-patiently waiting for the ugly thing to grow - yes, watching it! Now I can't stop watching them because I am petrified Mr Chop is going to grab the thing and swallow it, then it will make his stomach 10x the size it is now as the lizard grows! Yes, high drama here!

Phew! Head Spinning

Life is BUSY! Is it living in a big city? is it just us? Returned from our monster driving expedition in one piece - except for a bruised ego because we were asked to leave by the grump (Father-in-Law) after approximately 26 hours - Mr Chop pulling the motorbike onto himself probably didn't help - nor did the highly contagious conjunctivitis both boys came down with, or the fact that the manic streak re-appeared in Quirky Boy. Oh dear ... That aside, we had a lovely time on the road and actually enjoyed our time in the bush - so beautiful to see everything so green and lovely - never seen it like that before.
Have hit the ground running, though, since we've been back - ended up in Melbourne last Wednesday at the Connect2Mums conference - really made me think about the cloistered little world of teaching I have been living in for all these years. More to follow ...

Off On a Road Trip

We're off tomorrow for a week in the outback - well nearly, anyway. Off to stay with Papa and Bibi at their patch of land in the bush - when they sold the sheep station a couple of years ago they kept part of it and have put a shed up and were meant to have a house there ... hence our trip .... but alas the house is not ready so we'll all be shacked up together in the shed ... oh dear - thinking of suggesting a night at the prairie - talk to you in a week! x

Holidayyyyyyyyyys!

Was at a course last week, all about teaching music using 'Orff' techniques - it was a very intense week with around 36 hours of very intensive peer teaching and learning activities, all graded and critiqued etc. Felt like being back at University. Was very worthwhile, though - and really enjoyed catching up with people that I haven't seen for years - even a couple of girls I was at Primary School with!!! But now it is over and I have my qualification and I have a week of holidays followed by my term's sabbatical - hooray!