How quickly things change and stay the same

So much has happened since my last post.   Alexi went back to school and started grade 4 and James started school.  They settled in well and have had a good term so far. Alexi went on his first school camp - we all survived his two nights away.  He came back no worse for wear and having had a good time.  It is nearly the end of term and we are all looking forward to some time away from school.

I have gone back to work.  After 14 months on leave I thought the adjustment would be hard.  It hasn't been.  It was like putting on a pair of old shoes and walking around in them again.  The work has carried on and I am remembering more and more of the things I once did.  I work 3 days which provides a good balance - I still make contact with the kids' school and my friends as well as having time to catch up on all the domestic stuff.

I even sneak in some craft!

 I've been playing around with Fimo.  This is fun stuff, comes in great colours and can be shaped, baked, drilled and threaded to make cute jewellery bits and bobs.

I call these Sun, Sky & Clouds.  You can have a closer look here in the Bombalina shop.

And Tunisian Crochet! I have been loving playing with different coloured yarn and vintage buttons.  These neck warmers are so warm and soft that I have to resist wearing them as they are also in the Bombalina shop.

I was prepared for Valentine's Day this year.  I made a small lino cut and printed lots of cards which I hid around the place for my hubby to find.  I even made him an original artwork as a gift.  I know this will be worth lots of money one day when I'm famous … ;) .  I tried to stay away from the shops and I think I succeeded.

I am "this close" to enrolling in a Jewellery Making short course at TAFE.  It starts in May and is on for 9 weeks (one session a week).   I have been playing with wire and beads,  collecting some tools and organising the things I already have amassed over the years.  I have a really good collection of pliers, of which I am particularly proud (sad but true). This course is the precursor to a couple of other courses I'd like to do later this year.   I'm very excited and I keep meeting lovely people who have already done the course and are making seriously awesome pieces.

Things are ticking along nicely and that is a good place to be right now.  

Hope you're having a tickity-boo kind of time, too.

x Miss G

School time for James….

James loves school.  He hasn't started yet but he is sure he loves it.  There are two more sleeps until James starts school.  His big brother starts back tomorrow and James and I will have one more day, just the two of us, before he joins the "big kids".  

 Summer holidays are over….  

I am ready for him to start.  As ready as I can be.  I am more excited and happy than sad and worried.  I know he will be in a class with some great mates whose mums are great fun.  I know that his teacher is a good one.  I know that he will listen and learn and have his lunch and play games and tell stories.  I know all that.  I just wish I could be a fly on the wall, looking over him and making sure that all these things are happening and that he is happy and relaxed.

I will not cry on Friday when I drop him off.  I will give him a squish and wish him luck.  I will tell him to remember his manners, to be kind to his friends, to listen to his teacher, to eat the things in his lunch box.  I will tell him I love him.  But I will not tell him that I will miss him.  I will not tell him that I am worried or anxious.  I will not tell him that other kids can be mean sometimes or that the work may be tricky.  I don't want him to focus on things that could go wrong or be difficult.

James will have a great time.  And I have a lot to look forward to this year too.  I'll be going back to work and doing some short courses and generally getting back into the swing of things after a challenging 2011.

I had better go and get things organised for school bags, lunchboxes, uniforms, shoes, hats, sunscreen, water bottles …...


Have a great start to the the school year!

x Miss G

Camping Happens to Happy Campers

I love camping.  I have only just discovered this about myself in the last week or so.  After a lovely Christmas in Rutherglen with my hubby's family, we headed to Colac Colac (pronounced Clack Clack) Caravan Park.  Not sure what I expected but I was incredibly impressed when the guy led us to our "unpowered site" which was under 3 shady trees overlooking the creek.  Wow!

My last experience with camping involved hiking with a heavy backpack through Wilson's Prom in the drizzling rain, at "that" time of the month, with people I didn't really know very well.  I fell over a lot and sooked a bit. The setting up of camp was ok but sleeping on a cold, hard surface with a girl who shot daggers at me was NOT FUN!  I certainly was not a happy camper.  I filed that experience under "things I don't like doing and will not do again."

The difference this time was I had my adorable and adored little family with me and we were all excited by the adventure that laid ahead.  We set up camp and got a bit organised and then settled down for some dinner - pasta with sauce which tasted awesome because we had cooked it on a little gas cooker.  The boys wanted to go to bed early - the sun was still up and the birds were still singing!

Camping is something we would do again I think.  Once we were set up it was actually really fun and easy.  We heading into nearby Corryong for supplies and to catch up with friends who live there.  We fished, we went to the  Cudgewa pub for a parmi, and just enjoyed each other's company without our usual distractions!  

We didn't have very much new equipment - our inflatable beds, sleeping bags for the kids and a couple of torches were the only new things we bought.   The tents combined age is about 50 years old and they were great at keeping the wind out.  It didn't rain so we didn't have to test their water-proofness (frankly they may have failed that test) but we got some comments from fellow campers about our "cool vintage tents".

The creek was a great source of entertainment and it also provided a serene view from our tent.  Not too shabby for $28 a night and the daily papers delivered to your tent!  

Happy Camping

x Miss G