Growing Girls and Large Hems

  It is easy to forget how quickly children grow.  I made this dressing gown for Miss O in August 2011.

By July 2012 I was writing about letting the hem down here.

Now it has been handed down to Izz and the hem taken back up.

A few weeks ago I took Miss O to Spotlight and chose the fabric for a new dressing gown.  It is red with black and white dogs on it.  She gave the princess, fairy and other girly fabric a glance but this is the one that caught her eye.  The fact that we have a Border Collie (black and white) may have influenced her choice.

Once again, I have put a large hem on the gown and it is still quite long so I expect this one will easily last a couple of years.

Something as simple as a hem that can be let down is not an option on a ready-made garment but by making clothes you can customise them to suit your needs and generally extend their usefulness.

Some Reflections

Today, the second Sunday in May is Mothers’ Day.

It can be a day of celebration, perhaps with your mother, your children or both.

It is also a day of reflection.  Time to think of those who cannot be with their mother.  This may be due to death, distance or estrangement.  Special thoughts for those who have outlived a child, suffered miscarriages or stillbirths or made the difficult choice to place their child for adoption.  Finally, but by no means least  are those who have been unable to conceive – much love and hugs.

I was so blessed to spend the afternoon with my mother, daughter and two grand-daughters.  Times like this are to be cherished.

Thoughts for some of the special women in my life for whom this is a bittersweet day (in no particular order) – Pat, Tania, Suzanne, Cath, Patty and Susan.  Thinking of you all.

It really is a day for the sisterhood to reach out and care for all women – whatever their role – mothers, daughters, grandmothers, would-be mothers.

 

The Root of All Evil

The saying goes that money, or more specifically, the love of money is the root of all evil.

Several things have prompted me to consider where we are headed as a society and my conclusion was that greed was the source of many if not most of our ‘problems’.  It was then that I remembered the saying and I guess greed and love of money are essentially the same thing.

It seems that we all want something for nothing – best paying job, cheap food, appliances/gadgets, accommodation.  We want to earn the most and pay the least.  We do not seem to value the effort in producing quality – hand -raised meat, organic food, quality garments and so on.

I started writing this post about a month ago.  Since then we have seen a factory collapse in Bangladesh with significant loss of life.  I was searching for information about that incident and found this article which shows that this event is far from being an isolated incident.

The recriminations and blame game go on between government, building owners and the corporations who outsource the manufacture of their garments.  Do you feel even a tiny pang of guilt about buying products that are made under these conditions?  Some say that if we did not buy the items produced in places like China and Bangladesh that these people would not have jobs.  Perhaps it would be better for them to have an economy based on sustainable practices that will enhance their way of life rather than being exploited in sweatshop conditions for the sake of us being able to buy a t-shirt for $5.

How do you reconcile what you buy with where it is manufactured and what the ‘real cost’ of it is?

The Circle of Life

On Friday afternoon I moved some of the wood that had been left to season.  It is now in the woodshed and will be split and added to the the stash of firewood which we keep for the wood heater.

Once I disturbed the ground, I was surrounded by the chickens who were eager to feast on the grubs and other insects which were lurking under the wood.  They had a wonderful time turning over the soil and looking for tasty morsels.

This weekend we have built 2 more raised garden beds.  One of them is lined with heavy cardboard that I had been saving.  Then we piled in a thick layer of dry leaf litter followed by some lawn clippings.  We will add more soil, compost and probably some mushroom compost which we will buy locally.  These 3 garden beds have been constructed entirely from leftover and salvaged materials.

I started to think about how we manage to use and recycle much of what is generated on our property.

The wood is from tree limbs that have fallen or been lopped on our block.  These will be used to heat our home.  The resulting ash is added to the garden beds, either directly or via the compost.  Any charcoal is saved in a jar of kerosene to use as firelighters.  We grow fruit and vegetables.  The chickens provide us with eggs.  The scraps and peels are fed to the chickens.  The chicken manure is added to the garden beds.  Leaf litter and lawn clippings are added to the compost.

It is all part of a never-ending cycle.

 

Lest We Forget

April 25th – Anzac Day.  This is the anniversary of the day in 1915 that soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli in their first major military action of World War I.

Since the earliest memorial services following World War I, Anzac Day has become a day to commemorate the service of all Australian and New Zealand military personnel.

There are very few families in this country who have not been touched in some way by the military conflicts of the past 99 years.

Where Are We Headed?

Today I want to share a question that was posed recently on an internet forum that I read.  The following is an edited version of the original question/statement that was put up for discussion.

“So many people seem to be in such dire straits with health – physical, mental, emotional and monetary problems.  Why? Do you honestly think it is normal?  I don’t.  I think that the world is in melt down.

So much hatred and heartache in the world, the home, the streets and the schools ,these days.

I think that if we could go back to a simpler life of less things and more love and understanding then we would need less drugs for depression, anxiety and emotional related illness.

The word dis-ease is of course a body not at ease, not happy, not content, not reaching its potential and of course we all know the health system is buckling under the weight of diseases.

So why is humanity doing this do you think? We are clever and we do have choices about how we live and how we work and live in our family units and amongst our friends and in our communities and the wider world.

What are people’s agendas?  Is progress the be all and end all of humanity, if in the end it only causes destruction?  I think that we have gone too far and that it is time to pull back from the vortex we are hurtling towards.”

I found this quite confronting and to be honest, downright depressing.  Several people responded and added their view of what was wrong with the world and I could literally feel myself being dragged down.

So I took a dose of my own advice, wrote the following response and immediately felt better.

“There are problems – there have always been problems.

Most of the issues have been thoughtfully identified in preceding posts.  (Original forum discussion not copied here).

So, what to do about it? Whinge? Wring our hands? Worry? These are not productive responses and will only drag you into the downward spiral with everyone and everything else.

Take a step back and heed Ghandi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

I do not believe that ‘Dropping out’ is a solution. We are essentially a social species and are not wired to live in isolation.

Make small, incremental changes that are sustainable, otherwise you will be overwhelmed and setting yourself up for failure.

Turn off the TV – or at least skip the advertisements
Do not buy magazines
Limit your exposure to news coverage
Shop during conventional hours (Mon-Fri 9-5 and Sat 9-12)
Support businesses that only open during those hours
Turn off your mobile phone/internet for set periods so that you are not connected constantly
Reach out to your neighbours
Give something back to your community – volunteer?
Participate in local activities
Eat simple meals

It is difficult to change the sense of entitlement, constant anger, greediness etc that we see in the world.

TO DO

Practise the sorts of things I have mentioned
Model positive behaviours to your children, family, friends and neighbours

RESULTS

You will feel calmer, more resilient and positive
This may be the first drip of a new flood

If everyone who is concerned about the direction that society is headed makes positive changes we can make a difference. We are the society.”

What do you think?  I am genuinely interested in how you view society today.  Are we all agents of our own self-destruction?  Can we change things or do we need to?  Are you perfectly happy with your life and your place in the world at large?

Reprise

It is exactly 4 months since I posted this after the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Today I post it for the victims of the Boston bombings.

*****************************************************************

No discussion, no recriminations.

A prayer for the souls who lost their lives, the injured and the bereaved.  May they find peace.

A Special Time to Share

Yesterday I captured this gentle interaction between Miss O , Izz and The Duke.

The combination of everyday chores, conversation and play makes for a comfortable Sunday afternoon.

What did your Sunday look like?

Getting Back on Track

I have had 2 weeks back at work since my holidays and I still feel as though I am chasing my tail at home.  Somehow everything has been done but the smooth process seems to have flown the coop.  In fact, last Friday morning I had to iron a shirt for The Duke as there were no business shirts in his cupboard.  That was not good.

This weekend has been pretty busy as Miss O and Izz came to stay and that certainly limits what I get done.  However, I have managed to finish the washing and ironing, written a menu plan and have the meals prepared for Monday and Tuesday.

Do you plan your meals?  What is your process?

I have have also decided what I will wear to work tomorrow so I feel as though I am ready to start the week.  How about you?

Project 333 – One Year On

Today I wanted to share with you how I choose what to wear each day.  My inspiration is Courtney Carver and Project 333 although I do not precisely follow the principle of 33 items for 3 months.  We live in a mild climate and many items can be worn almost year-round so I have chosen to have a simple selection of clothes which can be worn in a variety of ways and most importantly, that suit my lifestyle.  I have never had a huge selection of clothes but since discovering the concept of Project 333 nearly 12 months ago I have streamlined my wardrobe and made the items I have really work for me.

Since going back to work last Tuesday I set myself a mini-challenge.  I wanted to see how many outfits I could create that I had not previously worn before.  It can be something as simple as a different cardigan/jacket or a skirt/top combination that I have not tried before.

Today is the 6th day and here is what I am wearing.

This dress is a relatively recent acquisition and I love the fact that it includes my 2 favourite colours – red and pink.  I have worn it with a red jacket but today it is a different look with a fine cotton cardigan in pink.

I am wearing sandals as it is still quite warm here (about 25C) during the day but mornings and evenings are cooler and the cardigan is also useful in the air-conditioned office.

I have streamlined my wardrobe to the extent that I do not need to trawl through it to see what I have or what goes with what.  I know exactly what I own and can plan my outfits a day or 2 in advance in my head and then simply grab the required items in the morning.

We live in a mild climate and it is officially autumn (fall).  It is hard to believe but it will get cooler over the coming months.  I need to buy some new trousers to wear to work as the one pair that I owned were discarded at the end of last winter as I had lost weight and I could have nearly ‘lost’ my trousers!  I hope to buy 2 pairs – black and charcoal grey in the same style if possible, so wish me luck!