Sunday Scribblings - January 30th 2011

This is my first post for Sunday Scribblings, a site where a weekly prompt is given. The prompt for this weeks is: Safe. I originally wrote this one a while ago and just changed it a little tonight. 


Transformation 


The door slammed shut 
behind me 
locked 
the key gone 


So suddenly I know 
there will be no turning back 
for a while I have ventured 
holding doors open 
grasping tight the keys 
testing out this different world 
going on mini adventures 


Yet now
this is not the Narnia 
of my childhood fantasies 
an adventure followed 
by a return to home 
it is not like travel to faraway places 
the comforts of home 
waiting


No 
I am here to stay 
the door is locked 
my safety left behind 


I will learn to live here 
transform 
from a tourist 
to a permanent resident 
in a new home 

This is a free-range blog

I am a little addicted to adding badges to my blog I think. This morning I found another one - free-range social media. Doesn't it look fantastic? It was developed by Brene Brown. I found it as I follow her blog www.ordinarycourage.com. More than just looking good though, I strongly believe in what it stands for.

By adding it I am declaring that "I will do my best to make my online space cruelty, cage and copying free." To read more about what that means, go here. Or click on the badge in the sidebar to read more or to get your own.

...and now there's free compliments

Last week I posted a link to free positive thoughts. Now there are some free compliments available. This is from the Kind Over Matter website by Amanda Oaks. To get your own copy go here. 

I really like the tear off bits at the bottom.compliments. I said that about the last poster too!

New Year's Resolutions - check in

I mentioned some resolutions in a post earlier this month.


- to participate in a river of stones
- to continue blogging
- to continue writing poetry
- to recommence 20 minutes of free writing/timed response writing


It is nearly the end of January and I thought I would do a quick check in. 


I have been participating in a river of stones and writing a small stone and posting it the same day. I have managed to do this every day. The last few days I have lost a bit of the eagerness but have continued on. I am starting to think about whether I will continue on after January. I think I probably will. It will be interesting to see how many others keep going. There is going to be another challenge in July. That should be fun too. For more information about the project go to www.ariverofstones.blogspot.com or to read my small stones www.pausingforsmallstones.blogspot.com. I am really glad I decided to do this challenge when I read about it. I have done some writing I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. I think some of my small stones will also develop into poems and parts of poems in the not too distant future. Going well! 


I have continued blogging both here and on my small stones blog. Going well! 

I haven't written a lot of poetry. This is probably because I haven't had a lot of time on my own during the school holidays. I tend to write more after I have some time alone. I have jotted a few ideas done and look forward to more writing soon. Should improve soon!


I haven't as yet done 20 minutes of writing. I have come close and almost got the writing book out the other night but then it got too late. This will probably come too when I get more time alone as long as I push myself a little. It is something I often don't feel like starting but am glad I did it afterwards. I am also thinking of making myself a jar of prompts or an envelope of prompts or maybe asking someone to make one for me. I like to write to a random topic that I may not have really thought about otherwise. Will begin soon! 


All in all, quite a good New Year's Resolutions report! 

Roma tomatoes are ready!

I picked these Roma tomatoes this afternoon. These ones are a good size in comparison to earlier ones. I'm sure they will be just as tasty. 

The January garden update

It's nearly the end of the school holidays. Just one more week until the return of routine to our lives. I am still enjoying gardening. I haven't done as much in the garden as I thought I would with more spare time. Other pursuits have grabbed my attention more recently - blogging, jigsaw puzzle, cooking, the beach etc. 


I have been picking a few tomatoes (cherry and Roma) each day. Mostly they get eaten almost straight away. Very yummy! I am surprised at the difference in taste compared to those from the shops. The chilli plants have fruit on them now and some of the basil is growing well again now. The tomato plants are looking a bit dry but are producing a reasonable amount of fruit. One of them that I have staked up is taller than me. 

A couple of days ago Brianna and I dug up half of a garden bed and planted some seeds. The only plant left in the garden bed was a single celery plant. We planted carrots, radishes, zucchini, squash, tomatoes and some basil. We put a wire grid over the top to deter cats. The last seeds we planted didn't grow as cats dug up the dirt. Hopefully these ones will fare better. I just need to remember to water them. 

Free Positive Thoughts - available here!

A gorgeous treasure came my way this morning thanks to the wonderful world of the internet. It is a poster called 'FREE POSITIVE THOUGHTS' with little rip off positive thoughts along the bottom. To read more about it and get a copy of your own, go here. It is from a blog that I have started following recently called 'Kind over Matter'. 


I think it is a gorgeous idea and love the rip off thoughts. I also love the background of the poster. It took me a while to realise the flowers were actually little hearts. 

A favourite activity - Cows in the Kitchen

"Being around kid-energy is, for me, like breathing a special kind of oxygen. Ideas spark easily and rapidly. I keep my journal handy, as I teach, to capture the ideas for later pondering." - Peter Reynolds


These words really stood out to me recently when I read the latest post from Peter Reynolds at The Stellar Cafe.


I was reminded immediately of an activity that I have done with a few classes recently. Each time it has been really enjoyed by the children and I have been amazed at the creativity of their ideas. Their ideas really do spark easily and rapidly. 

my much loved copy

The activity is based on one of my favourite children's books, Cows in the Kitchen by June Crebbin. I read the story once to the children and then again encouraging them to join in. They usually love the sing-song repetition of it. The opportunity to yell at the end is also usually a big hit. Following the reading we talk about the alliteration in the book, noticing there is a type of animal and a room starting with the same sound on each page at the start of the book. I then ask them to think of some ideas of their own - animals and places around the school. This is when the ideas have just flowed. Each child then chooses one or makes up another one and writes a sentence and draws a picture. 


Some of the great ideas and pictures have been

Puppy in the park

Cheetah on a chair

Whale on the wall

Orangutan on the oval

Giraffe in the gym

Leopard in the library

and of course, we are in Adelaide with the pandas, Wang Wang and Funi, at the zoo so we had to have

Pandas on the playground

This was such an enjoyable activity each time so I am sure I will be doing it again in the future. 

Happy Birthday Teya!

Teya handing out birthday cupcakes

Last Tuesday was my niece Teya's birthday. She turned 4. Yesterday her birthday was celebrated at a local park. It was a great day with great food and great people. 

My sister, Kate, organised some great games for the kids. They really enjoyed them. Particularly cute was the little girl who joined in musical statues then deliberately got out as Kate was giving out prizes when they got out. 

My other sister, Mel, made the fabulously cute birthday cake(s). 

Another special touch was the laminated 'thankyou for coming' notes made by Kate. 

My creative cooking adventure

I got a little creative in the kitchen yesterday. It is not that unusual for me to be creative. I don't like to follow craft 'recipes'. I will often look at them in magazines, books, web blogs etc. Mainly though I am gathering ideas and inspiration. I don't usually strictly follow instructions but prefer to do my own thing. Cooking is a different matter for me. I follow recipes in the kitchen. I am not overly particular about measuring ingredients but I don't take many risks with varying ingredients or method. I stick fairly closely to the recipe I am using. 


Yesterday though I wanted to make a cake and use some of the apricots I have picked recently. I have stewed up quite a few batches and wanted a different way to use them. I haven't been brave enough yet to try making jam. I could have searched the internet for a recipe but instead I decided to adapt one I found in one of my recipe books. It was for a berry cherry cake made with cream cheese. I substituted apricots for the berries and cherries. I wasn't sure if it would work. It did. I put it in the fridge overnight and tried a piece this morning. Quite yummy. The apricots have sunk to the bottom but that doesn't matter. The  fresh apricots add quite a bit of flavour.