Courage

With some rather big changes happening in my life at the moment I have decided to gift myself some courage.

The courage to really live.

The courage to be myself.

The courage to enjoy life.

The courage to slow down.

The courage to speak my mind.

The courage to be seen.

The courage to let others know me.

The courage to worry less.

The courage to hope.

I wrote these words as part of a writing exercise at a group I attended in April, 2006.
In May 2009 at a different group I decorated the handbag. These words seem particularly useful for me to remember at the moment. I recognise the huge amounts of courage I have required and used in the past and can continue to draw upon as I undertake new challenges.

A quick decision

Sometimes even when you know someone very well you can be in for a surprise when they do or say something unexpected.

Brianna struggles with making decisions. When asked a relatively simple question there is often a long silence as she contemplates the possibilities. We have been joking a bit lately about getting hold of the book 'Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog" by Dr Suess to practice decision making.

Today Brianna and I went to a market and there were some reptiles on display and the opportunity to hold them.

Just as we were about to leave, I jokingly asked Brianna if she would like to hold the snake.

The answer was lightning fast.

Yes!

(Brianna has approved the contents of this post and checked for grammatical correctness)

Poetry on Wednesday mornings

One of my ideas for the purpose of this blog is to share some of the exciting discoveries I find on the internet. I am often inspired by wonderful things happening in the world that I find out about courtesy of the internet. Here is one to start with today:

I look forward to Wednesday mornings. I look forward to checking my inbox. The reason? 10 lines of poetry are delivered into my inbox every Wednesday morning. Usually they are there when I first check my emails for the day. If not they arrive soon after. Where do they come from? A marvellous poet Maya Stein, from San Francisco sends 10 lines of poetry every Tuesday (I receive them Wednesdays due to time differences!) I first read some of her poetry earlier this year and LOVED it. I visited her blog and saw a link to sign up to receive 10 lines of poetry every week and thought that sounded like fun. I haven't been disappointed. Click here to visit her blog to sign up yourself and read some great poetry.

I am also very excited about a project that Maya Stein is starting later this year. Here's some information about it:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALYSHA!!!

Alysha turns 14 today.

Yesterday was a busy day making the SpongeBob SquarePants cake amongst other celebratory preparations. We were pleased with the end result.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALYSHA!!!

Snow peas update - the first flower!!!

For My Grandma

Katherine Eliza Rachel Mathews (18/7/18 - 14/7/98)

I remember you waiting for me out the front when I came to visit.
I remember meat pies with their lids off and sauce inside.
I remember you telling me about your trips to the supermarket ,
to buy my favourite cordial and ice-cream.
I remember a White Knight bar at the movies.
I remember two Minties after dinner - no more and no less.
I remember the time I had to write, to sing, to dance,
to invent new games when I stayed with you.
I remember meeting your friend in the city.
I remember, at your urging, reciting the limerick I had written about her.
I remember, it started:
"There was an old lady called Walk,
Boy, did she know how to talk..."
I remember how proud of me you both were.
I remember laying in bed, talking for ages, before calling out the final goodnights.
I remember the stories you told me.
I remember how your eyes lit up when you saw me.
I remember that you were always happy to see me.
I remember that you loved me.



originally written 14/7/09

photograph - my Grandma holding Alysha 4/8/96

Certainly a creative morning!

This morning was filled with creative pursuits. Brianna and I went to an art group. Brianna drew a picture of SpongeBob SquarePants. I made an artwork piece incorporating a short poem I wrote a little while ago. When we got home I discovered a drawing by Alysha which was based on a photo of Brianna singing a few years ago. Lots of creative products today! Here they are:

SpongeBob SquarePants and a Krabby Patty by Brianna

Burst water main by Kylie. Words originally written 30/4/10. The words are:

Some things

are black and white

A bubbling road

and a warbling bird

splashing around

making the most

of what is found

whether expected

or not.

Brianna singing by Alysha

Lettuce from MY garden!

Last night I was able to pick some lettuce from my garden for dinner. Yum! We had meatballs on lettuce with rice.

Surprise pictures

I don't particularly enjoy tidying the house. One thing I do like about it is that as I sort the multitude of paper for the recycling I often find 'surprise pictures' that I didn't know the girls had drawn. Here's one by Alysha and one by Brianna.

by Brianna

by Alysha

"conversations with myself" artwork

I wrote Conversations with Myself a few years ago. Last year (March 2009) I made this piece of artwork and wrote the words to go with it. "Social connections are very important. Until 5 years ago I hardly spoke to anyone. It was not unusual for a day to pass with the only word spoken being 'thankyou' to a shop assistant. I am so glad my life is not like that anymore. Social connections help me to know myself better every day".