April 28th-30th, 2011 - X, Y and Z.

X is for xylophone

Y is for yes 

Z is for zipper 

We come to the end of the A-Z challenge. It has been fun. Even if I didn't carry through with my original plans. I have enjoyed thinking about what to post for each letter and have visited many very interesting blogs. Thank you to all those who have taken the time to stop by here. :) 

I feel like I've lost a bit of momentum at the end of the month. I have been thinking quite a lot about what to write about, especially for the X post. I have particularly enjoyed reading other people's X posts as I have learnt quite a few new words. I chose xylophone but wasn't sure what I was going to say so I did a bit of internet research. I learnt the difference between a xylophone and a glockenspiel. I also found a wonderful site (actually there were a few) outlining how to make a xylophone. I particularly like Building and Playing a Water Bottle Xylophone by Phil & Sarah Tulga. Their site also includes lots of great ideas for teaching and learning activities, particularly around music and maths. 


I chose yes as the Y word because it is such a great word. Just as it is important to be able to say no, saying yes is a great thing to be able to do too. See my poem Saying No for more about this. 


And for Z, zipper. Quite by accident I discovered an excellent way to make little paper zippers a while ago using my decorative scissors. I'm sure I'll find some way to use that idea sometime. Simple, yet effective. It needs some more work but here's the general idea. 

The April garden update

Rescues and survival against the odds

Preparing to write this post about the happenings in my garden for the month of April and I realised the title I chose has six words. The post can double as my six word Saturday offering! 

The main news on the garden front this month is the survival and thriving of the seedlings I bought from Bunnings last month. The marigolds, parsley, rainbow silverbeet and the basil are all doing exceptionally well. 

The Afro parsley was quite yellow when bought but is now very green and thriving! 

The basil was also very yellow and is starting to look healthier and beginning to grow. 

The silverbeet seedlings settled in very well. 

I love the colour of the marigolds! 

Some plants have been struggling to survive and have been feasted on by various creatures (snails and cabbage moth caterpillars I believe). The rocket seems to be growing quite well now after being eaten a lot! The basil I planted from seed which was looking very good last month, sadly didn't make it. I went to check the garden one morning and thought something looked different then suddenly I realised the basil was completely gone. There were two capsicum plants too which took a long while to grow and were being eaten. One didn't survive and the other now seems to be growing well. 

The rocket - starting to do okay

There are a few things growing in the garden which I didn't plant. There must have been some seeds left over from previous seasons. The Italian parsley which was a Bunnings rescue last year seems to want to take over the garden bed again. There are a couple of other plants which I am not sure what they are. Any ideas or information greatly appreciated. 

Italian parsley - taking over! 

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April 27th, 2011 - W

W is for Wii. 

We got a Wii for Christmas a few years ago. It still gets quite a bit of use. This week it, as well as us, has gotten quite a workout. I was in the supermarket looking for batteries a few weeks ago. I noticed a promotion from Energizer where upon spending $15 or more on batteries it was possible to send off for a free Wii game. I bought some Energizer rechargeable batteries and sent off for the free game. There was a choice of a few games. I chose 'Just Dance'. It arrived about a week ago. We've been having lots of fun. It is quite a workout. I have woken up with sore arms. Must remember the warm up, which is available on the disk. The kids tell me it's not Singstar but I think singing at the same time improves my score! 

My favourite song to dance to - 'Fame' by Irene Cara. I loved dancing to that song every Sunday afternoon as a child! It's still great fun! 

April 26th, 2011 - V

V is for vegetables. 

I want to eat more. 

I want to grow more. 

At times my diet can be somewhat lacking in vegetables. It would be great if I ate more. Growing my own is contributing to me eating more than I used to so continuing that would be a good thing. Over the next few weeks I will seek out some different ways of cooking/using vegetables to increase my intake. Recently I was given a couple of beetroots from the local Community Garden. I had no idea what to do with them. I have never eaten beetroot before apart from out of a tin. I was given some advice and I used Google to investigate my options a little more. I ended up roasting them (individually wrapped in alfoil with a tablespoon of water and cooked in moderate oven for about 50 minutes) and then I chopped them with my Tupperware Quick Chef food processor and adding some yoghurt. They made a delicious dip and I was surprised how easy it was. I'm even thinking of growing my own beetroot now that I've discovered how yummy they are. Plus I am told they are very good for you. Bonus! 

April 25th, 2011 - U

U is for understand. 

One of my favourite quotes: 

'We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand'

- C. Day Lewis.

Sunday Scribblings - April 24th 2011

The prompt for Sunday Scribblings this week: Shine. 


Everything you do is good. 


'Everything you do is good' 
Your words reverberate 
Plant themselves inside of me 
A mirror cradled between us 
Swivels quick and clever 
'Everything you do is good' 
Bounces between us 
Reflections encourage us both 
to SHINE 

April 23rd, 2011 - T

T is for tendrils. 
I chose tendrils for the 'T' post mainly because I think it is a really cool word! 
Last year for Mother's Day my daughter gave me some snow pea seedlings she bought from the local Farmer's Market. I was just at the beginning of my gardening adventures then and the gift definitely gave them a big boost. The seedlings grew very well and produced heaps of snow peas. The only problem I had was some damage on a couple of particularly windy nights. Generally though my first attempts at growing snow peas were very successful. I look forward to repeating the experience this year. 
I wrote this poem last year around the time I was driving the kids a little crazy telling them how much I loved the word 'tendrils'. 
Tendrils 
On Mother's Day with smiling anticipation and travelling on tenderness toddler snow peas arrive with love toddler snow peas holding gifts to share deep knowledge of growth tiny tendrils reaching out rich promises of possibilities and thoughts the tendrils of my own tiny pieces of me reaching out twirling and curling wrapping around significance tendrils with offers of stability as growth continues on 

April 22nd, 2011 - S

S is for small stones. 
"A small stone is a very short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment" - Fiona RobynI have been writing a small stone each day this year on my other blog, pausing to pick up small stones. I started by participating in the river of stones project in January and have kept going. One of the side effects of doing this type of writing has been an increased awareness and sense of connection to my own world. I plan to keep going for quite a while. For more information about this project as well as the opportunity to join in with lots of other people writing small stones in July go to www.ariverofstones.blogspot.com. 

April 21st, 2011 - R

R is for radishes. 
I picked these from the garden this afternoon. All four were planted as seeds a few weeks ago. I like to plant some radishes when I plant other seeds. They grow so quick, providing some quick home gardening results, while waiting for other plants to grow. Amazing the different sizes of these ones. 

April 19th and 20th, 2011 - P and Q

P is for Plesiosaur. 
and Play. This week Brianna and I have gone in to the city three times so Brianna could participate in some fun play activities. It was wonderful to watch children aged between 6 and 10 years old having fun with some simple team activities in Rymill Park. I have been reminded once again that entertaining children does not have to be complex or involve spending a lot of money. The children had fun in the park throwing beanbags, jumping, skipping, crawling through hoops and more. One of the activities today was throwing water balloons into a bucket. There were two teams and they raced to see who could fill their bucket first. With all the laughter and smiles it was easy to tell they were having a lot of fun. A highlight was the one balloon that didn't burst when it landed in the bucket. At the end of the session today the adults were asked to join in with the Tug of War. I think we had as much fun as the kids! 
On Monday we went to the museum and paid $6 to participate in some school holiday activities. There I was also reminded that it doesn't take a lot of money and complexity to entertain children. There were some large sand pits (actually they were full of tiny rubber pieces) with 'bones' stuck to the bottom. So many children were happy to use a paintbrush to pretend to be paleontologists and find the bones. One little boy just kept yelling out 'I found one!' with obvious excitement in his voice. Lots of children were very content to stay and dig for quite a long period of time. Another popular activity was the making of a Plesiosaur mobile. Again, not a really complex activity. It involved tracing around a stencil  on to a piece of plastic, cutting it out, punching a hole, tying it to a stick and then decorating it. Many children obviously enjoyed the activity. Some did it on their own and others enjoyed help from their parents. Lots of children also enjoyed the fossil rubbings, playdough and puzzle activities provided. It was a great way to spend an hour or so of the school holidays. 

and Q is for Quotes. 
Here's just one of my favourite quotes 

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
   ~ Angela Schwindt

April 18th, 2011 - O

O is for obstacles. I considered a few other words for the O post before deciding it definitely had to be about obstacles. 
One day in early 2009, while I was negotiating some obstacles in my life at that time, I was reading Patti Digh's blog, 37 days. She was asking people to sign up if they were interested in creating art for her upcoming book. I immediately thought I would like to give it a go but it was with bucket loads of self-doubt that I pressed send after filling in the on-line form with my details. I imagined seeing my art in a book one day but really didn't know what filling that form in that day would lead to. At the very least, I thought it would give me a positive focus whilst negotiating what seemed like huge obstacles at the time. 
It was quite a while before I received the details for submitting art for 'Creative is a Verb'. (and in the meantime I submitted art for another of Patti's books - 'Four Word Self Help' and it was accepted!). I received details from the Editorial Director for submitting art for two of the essays in the book - 'Jump Your Mask Off' and 'Listen to Tiny Fishies'. I submitted a piece for each of these. I really loved the artwork I created for 'Jump Your Mask Off' and when I got notice that my artwork had been chosen, I hoped it was that piece. 
I looked through the 'Jump Your Mask Off' chapter first when I received my copy of the book. No artwork of mine there. I was disappointed. Still excited that I had artwork in the book yet a little disappointed. Then when I looked through the list of artists I saw my name twice. Quickly I turned to the page stated and there was my artwork. Yay!!!!! 
Which brings me to the purpose of this particular post. O is for obstacles. Instead of being used in the 'Jump Your Mask Off' chapter my piece was used for a chapter titled, 'Create Life As If'. Patti Digh starts the chapter with 'Life is yearning meeting obstacle'. How fitting! I am not sure if I would have submitted art for the book at all if not for experiencing the obstacles I was experiencing. I get frustrated at times because of certain obstacles that have occurred in my life. Yet, as Patti writes, obstacles are an important part of the story. Although sometimes I feel frustration, other times I am so grateful for the obstacles as I know they have helped me to grow as a person. Obstacles can make life more interesting. After all I always did prefer the hurdles to the sprint, even though I ended up at the same point! 
And here's the artwork that exists partly because of obstacles! 

April 16th, 2011 - N

N is for NO. 

For the N post of the A to Z challenge, here's the current version of one of my poems, Saying No. 


Saying No

Listen

Listen when she says no

With her bold, blazing eyes

Stiff body and strong vocal cords

One day you may wonder

If your sweet little girl

Is really some fierce and terrible creature

You may question where her love has gone

Whether she still loves you

She does

Just listen

Listen when she says no

And if you can’t allow her wish

Let her know you heard

Too many little girls

Grow into women

Who can’t say no

Or see nothing wrong

With ‘no’ being silent

To a loved one’s ears

Glue that fails to adhere

Please listen

Listen when she says no

For when she can say ‘no’

And know that she is heard

Then her ‘yes’ will truly mean yes

And if her life requires

The punctuation of a space

There’s ‘maybe’ and ‘later’ and ‘not right now’

When she knows that ‘no’ is no

She will learn to say

What it is she really means

So listen

Listen when she says no

Six Word Saturday - April 16th, 2011

I love perusing other people's art. 

Every time I do so I think I should do it more. Today I went to an exhibition at Yankalilla, part of the Leafy Sea Dragon festival held from 15 - 24 April. There was a huge range of artworks and such variety. I enjoyed all of the colour and the different approaches. One thing I like to do is try and find pieces by the same artist. I did that quite successfully a few times today. As to be expected, there were numerous paintings, sculptures and other artworks featuring the Leafy Sea Dragon - simply delightful! 

The Leafy Sea Dragon is one of two species of sea dragon which are found in Australia's southern waters and nowhere else in the world. For more information about the festival go here. 

I loved this huge Leafy Sea Dragon sculpture at Normanville, made from corrugated iron. 

There's lots of interesting things happening as part of the festival over the next week or so. I wish I was able to get to more. I would especially like to go to some of the writing workshops, literary panels and readings happening. They look very interesting. 

April 13th, 14th and 15th, 2011 - K, L and M

K is for "Kindness" 

L is for "Letting go" 

and M is for "Maybe later" 

I have decided not to continue with the A to Z challenge in the way that I began. I started off enjoying making the alphabet cards and do quite like them but I started to lose interest and feel a bit too much pressure to do one each day. I persisted for a while but have now made the decision to stop. I may finish them later. I'm not sure at the moment. I am not sure about how I will continue to participate in the A to Z challenge. I'm still thinking about it. I think its a good thing to know when to stop. As I child I would find it difficult to discontinue a book once I started reading it. It is important though to know when to stop something. It opens up a lot more possibilities if you begin with the attitude that you don't have to continue if you don't like it. I know trying something with the attitude of 'I'll just do a little and then stop if I don't like it' has meant that I have tried some things and then liked them despite my original thinking that I wouldn't. Then I've kept going and enjoyed something I didn't think I would originally. 

I thought I would enjoy making a card each day but some days it was feeling too much like a chore. So with lots of kindness I am letting go of the approach I chose for the challenge. Maybe later I'll finish them. Maybe not. We don't always know how something we decide to try will work out. It's okay to stop if that is what you decide is best. 

Basil and the snail

A bit of fun in the form of a poem for children. The words for Three Word Wednesday this week: evident, illusion, tragic. 


Basil and the snail 


A sunny illusion - all seemed well 
At first it wasn't evident 
How it met its tragic end 
Just where the basil went 


A little bit of a search around 
My eyes followed back a silver trail 
Under a leaf the culprit found 
Poor baby basil - eaten by a snail 

April 12th, 2011 - J

Oops, had some lamination problems. I will probably re-do these later but I've done the work today so I will post them anyway. 




For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day. 

April 11th, 2011 - I

For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day. 

Sunday Scribblings - April 10th, 2011

The prompt this week for Sunday Scribblings: befuddled. 


A classroom of poems 


Like a school siren sounding at nine 
Pen and paper signal poem writing time 


The poems wait at my mind's door 
I ask them in, to sit on the floor 


A couple do so straight away 
Others giggle, still wanting to play 


The middle few mingle, lean on each other 
They clambour in efforts to be together 


Complaints arise - others being mean 
One tries to hide, desperate not to be seen 


I ask them to quiet and find their own space 
One demands some attention, to tie up a shoelace 


'Enough' I announce 'sit quietly down' 
A request that is met with more than one frown 


I ask them to speak just one at a time 
They believe that to mingle will be just fine 


One sits alone, not wanting to speak 
But the message inside is far from meek 


Another keeps yelling and bouncing around 
Will need to quiet so the message can be found 


All of this leaves me feeling rather befuddled 
My thoughts sometimes growing more and more muddled 


Yet all of my poems are rather like children 
Each with something important to say if I listen 

April 9th, 2011 - H

For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day. 

Six Word Saturday - April 9th, 2011

Growing zucchinis - easier than I thought

I have had a good supply of zucchinis lately from my garden, particularly from one plant. I feel like quite a seasoned gardener sometimes. I am growing a variety of things in the garden and going to check how they are going and give them some water has become a daily routine. It's a little hard to believe that less than a year ago I wasn't growing anything in the garden. I started gardening last May at around the same time I started blogging. Both have brought a lot of joy. 

Growing zucchinis was rather easy. Basically just put the seeds in the soil and water. They have received worm juice from the worm farm which I'm sure has helped them to grow. The only thing I will do different next time is plant them further apart. I didn't realise the plants grew so big! 

Here's a photo of my latest pickings: 

April 7th, 2011 - F and April 8th, 2011 - G

Oops! I missed a day. Here are F and G together. 




For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day. 

Toddler, adamant

After reading Fibonacci poems by others a little while ago I was inspired to give this form a go. Here's my attempt with this week's Three Word Wednesday words: adamant, peculiar, fabricate. 

toddler, adamant 

one 

small

toddler

adamant

knowing what he wants

stomping his feet, raising his voice 

quickly collecting a mass of peculiar stares

and a mother much frustrated 

trying so hard to 

fabricate 

a mood 

of 

calm 

April 6th, 2011 - E

For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day. 

April 5th, 2011 - D

For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day. 

Sunday Scribblings - April 3rd 2011

The prompt for Sunday Scribblings this week: messenger. 


A tale of two small girls 


Parents and other adults are very important messengers in life. What messages do you send to your children and/or other people's children? What messages do you want to send? 


A few years ago I was at the art gallery with my daughters, participating in an art activity. My children were happy cutting and pasting and I took a little time to watch two small girls there with their families. I can't remember now the exact task but it involved drawing shells on paper and then cutting and pasting tissue paper on to the drawings. 


One girl was cutting tissue paper and gluing it with the support of her parents. What a fabulous creation she made. Her little face was beaming with pride. Her work of art did not look at all like the examples provided but she was visibly happy with what she had done. 


The second girl came with lots of ideas which seemed ready to burst on to the paper. As her mum urged her to think first I could see her losing interest. She was obviously starting to worry about doing it right. She drew a spiral on the paper. Then the mum urged her to do the next one bigger so it would be easier to cut the tissue paper. The girl started looking away. Not interested any more, she was worrying about getting it right. Her initial enthusiasm was gone. She left with a work of art very similar to the example provided. I don't think she liked it very much. 


I wonder how those two girls are a few years on. I wonder what other messages they have been sent by the adults in their lives. 


I hope I send the messages that being creative is a good thing, that it is good to try out your own ideas and it is okay to make mistakes. Messages I remind myself of daily. 

April 4th, 2011 - C

For this challenge I am using up some of my large paper and card supply and making and laminating a 5 x 5" card each day.