Kate Rusby, Sweet Bells

Here's something to get you in the Christmas mood, from one of my favourite singers.

Annual Santa Photo

The girls and I met 'Santa' the other morning. I have to say, he was a wonderful Santa, and the girls had a lovely chat to him about Christmas Eve and what they might leave for him and his reindeers.

He also asked if they'd thought about what they'd like and Lizzie mentioned a Flairie doll (from Barbie in A Fashion Fairytale), and Louisa, having just seen a toy cobra in the store, mentioned that. So we discussed Cobra cars and how Daddy would probably like one, but they're very expensive and maybe a toy one would do. So a very patient and lovely Santa.

Lizzie managed an almost smile, while Louisa beamed.

Lizzie's Kids Swap

Well done to Kylie for organising this Kids Swap. We enjoyed making some clay decorations and cutting out some paper dolls, as well as choosing some cool craft stuff to send to another mini crafter.

Mollie's received her parcel from us. We hope she enjoys it! We hope our other little recipient recieved hers in one piece too.

Lizzie was so lucky to get some beautiful things from Alice. Unfortunately my camera's playing up so no photos, but there was so many bits and pieces, and a drawstring bag full of things that tinkle and sparkle. Lizzie loves it! And is painting her little clay santa as I write.

I hope to be back with a load of pics soon!

Still here, still busy

Sorry for lack of posts lately. I seem quite busy leading up to the Christmas hols - only a week and a bit before all of Santa's little jobs must be done! I've been running around trying to locate items the girls have on their lists, while also assuring them they won't be getting even half of what they've asked for. We don't want to overwork those elves now, do we?

Someone may end up with this:

and there may be a new Tinkerbell DVD and playset for someone else, so they can't really complain.

I'm looking forward to the end of term,. I love the lack of rushing around and remembering forms and taxiing to activities. Roll on Friday week!

Pumpkin free zone

Hi everyone.

I have nothing against others celebrating Halloween. I'll keep a small stock of lollies in case anyone comes door knocking on the weekend, and may even take my kids along to a Halloween dress up party a friend has organised - but just letting you know I'm not doing any form of Halloween decoration.


I'll admit to spending way too much time looking at blogs, and gee, those Americans get carried away with it, don't they? I'm sure it's lots of fun, but let's just say that any holiday where orange and black are the predominant colours isn't going to win me over.



And let's face it, the seasons are all wrong. Here in Australia it's spring, and images like this are far prettier:



That's Under the Jacaranda Tree by Richard Godfrey Rivers. If you're ever in Brissie, pop into the gallery and you can check it out. The girls and I decided it's our favourite painting there. The girls may have been swayed by the pile of jacarnada leaves the staff leave at the base of the painting at the right time of year.

At the moment, the jacarandas are blooming everywhere. The girls play a little game when we're in the car to see who can be first to call out 'Jacaranda!' everytime they see one - even they same ones we see everyday.

It was funny reading A-M's post today about the connection between the jacaranda blooms and the start of exam study. Being from Victoria, I never knew about this, and so thankfully I can simply enjoy the purple prettiness.

Back in action

A big thank you to everyone who sent their thoughts (here and through messages on EB and emails) after the passing of my beautiful father. It's so lovely to know that there is a bunch of people you've never met in real life who care about you. Really touching.

I've been using one of my favourites forms of therapy: thinking about and working on making my home my castle. Lots of questions to ponder there.

• Will I ever finish sanding and staining my deck? And what's the ideal ground cover plant to replace the awful grassy things that look like weeds in around the pool area? One with pretty flowers?

• Is Tapestry Beige (Dulux) a good colour for a feature wall in our master bedroom? Is it the right kind of beigey grey I'm after? If not, what is?

• How am I going to finish sanding and painting our hoop pine entertainment unit, without unplugging all those very complicated cables? And if I do unplug them all, how am I going to put it all back together?

• Will the home design police come knocking if I put up a print I bought at Target in my main living area?

• Where can I buy mini lamp shades to replace revolting glass bulbs on lights in the dining and formal lounge?

• Where will I ever find a huge, stylish yet affordable light fitting to replace the gigantic very unattractive one in our foyer?

• Should I sand back the dining table top to natural or leave it the slightly orangey stain when I paint the legs white? The obvious answer (Sand it back, of course), leads to the next question, how will I find the time?

• When am I ever going to get to Ikea? So many items on the 'if I ever get a window of more than a few hours to myself, I'm going to drive all the way down to Ikea and buy' list (rugs, storage units, picture frames,etc)

If you know the answer to any of these questions, please let me know!

My Dad

23rd March 1931 - 20th September 2010

Here are some excerpts from the eulogy I read at Dad's funeral:











I've left a lot out from what you read here, about his community involvement, his love of travel around Australia, and his time spent with his grandkids, but you hopefully will get an idea of what a special person he was, and how much we all love him and miss him.