Month: July 2010

basics · Changes · daughter · son

Skeletons in the Cupboard

Joanne2 Comments

On Thursday night my eldest daughter and I decided to have a good old rummage around in my sewing cupboard. My daughter and I have a mutual interest in all things crafty, and although she knows how to knit, she is just a tad rusty on some of the minor points, (eg ~ keeping all of the stitches on the needle!)

I’m proud of my daughter’s previous achievements in the finer arts. For such a “people person” (she goes stir-crazy from lack of human contact, after approximately ten minutes alone), she has displayed amazing perseverance with craft, especially cross-stitch.

My girl is a scarf lover and I have knitted her several over the last two or three years in a fluffy yarn called “Flurry”. There is another similar brand also available, “Feathers”, which is the knitting yarn I am using for my latest project, which I wrote about in “Back to Basics”. She has attempted to knit with this beautiful, soft, fluffy yarn herself, without success. She is in need of some practise, using a flatter textured yarn.

Remembering my old stash of wool, collected throughout my many years of knitting, although recently neglected due to my so called “time saving” methods of buying readymade articles from the stores, we began opening bags, checking inside of cane baskets and poking around at the back of the shelves to locate all possible woollen candidates for my daughter to practise her knitting on.

We had no trouble at all in locating just the right coloured and textured yarn for her practise knitting, along with a suitably sized pair of knitting needles….

….along with a number of “old treasures” that I hadn’t bargained on finding!

An almost finished jumper, all red, which, as I recall, was intended for my ten year old son, who is now twenty-five! And a sleeveless cardigan that I began knitting for myself, half of the back completed, which, when finished, would have been quite stunning…back in the 1980’s!

Yet another forgotten find was a large bag full of the most gorgeous, deeply toned balls of wool, each ball a different colour of the rainbow. I felt rather disappointed in myself for not completing this particular project as it was a lovely designed multi-coloured jumper, which had also been intended for my eldest son, when he would have been around five years of age!

Neatly wrapped up in its own separate little bag, with half knitted back and extra pastel coloured shades of wool to complete it with, we found a cute little babies jumper, with various designs of boats and houses tediously knitted into it. We both recalled that I had been knitting this for my younger daughter…(drum roll)…who turns eighteen this year!

Oh dear! But all is not lost; my daughter assures me that if I finish the pastel coloured baby’s jumper, she would love to have it herself, for when she has a baby! (Now, where did I put that knitting pattern?)

Why, oh why, didn’t I ever finish these projects?

From my own point of view, the pièce de résistance has just got to be the pair of glasses I discovered, hiding away in the bottom of a plastic bag, immediately recognisable (to me, anyway, even if to no one else) as the prescription glasses I wore, back in the days when I read so much that I suffered from eye strain ~ when I was a teenager, still living at home with my parents!

My youngest son, Master Twelve, (always centre-front when a clown is required!) offered his modelling services for a photographic session, wearing my pre-loved spectacles! (Note ~ No modelling fee was paid for his services. Yes, I am unashamedly into cheap labour, especially when hideous reading glasses are concerned!)

When writing my post on A Rejuvenated Soul, I must now admit to an absolute oversight on my part ~ I didn’t mention sorting through your sewing cupboard, if you own one. :/

So, now we all know what I’ll be doing next week; when the kids are back at school and I have the house to myself, I’ll empty out the sewing cupboard, pack up all the wool that I haven’t got a hope of ever finding a use for, and the charity shops will love me all over again! 🙂

challenges

The Achievement of a Goal

Joanne1 Comment

“Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit”. ~ Conrad Hilton

On the 16th of June, 2010, exactly one month ago today, I wrote an article entitled “Challenging Myself”, in which I announced to the Land of Blog my intention to set myself the task of writing a new blog post, every day, for the next month.

The inspiration to attempt this task came from NaBloPoMo.

I began the month feeling confident that there would never be a shortage of topic content and as my writing has gained momentum throughout the month, I can confirm that my assumption was correct.  In fact, some days I linger momentarily over a blank computer screen, not through lack of ideas, but rather in contemplation of which topic on my list I will write about!

A month ago, I declared that I wished to achieve more of the following ~ Discipline, Consistency and Confidence.

Discipline became easy, after the first couple of days. I am rather a creature of habit by nature and writing a blog post each day has become a regular routine for me each morning, along with eating breakfast, having a shower and making the bed.

Perhaps that is why the idea of discipline didn’t bother me a month ago, when I began this task, I knew that after a couple of days the word discipline would evolve into the new word of habit, which I find far less intimidating.

Consistency was achieved as my writing gained momentum. In fact my next plan of action is to set aside perhaps one day of each week, every week, to write as much as I can for the upcoming days, all on the same day.

Momentum is my reason for the intended marathon writing sessions. Once I’m in my writing mind-set, my only affliction is that my mind moves faster than I can write! One idea leads to the next, then the next, and so on. By writing one lengthy article on any given subject, I can later edit the article, breaking it down into smaller, easier to read posts, for daily submission to my website.

Confidence, I had identified a month ago, as being my Achilles heel. Little did I know back then how consistently supportive my fellow bloggers would be!  It has been with the greatest of delight that I have received so much positive feedback from you all! Thank you for all of the ongoing support each of you has given! 🙂

It becomes more and more apparent to me every day that I am not the only person on earth who needs the occasional confidence boost! I thoroughly enjoy reading the articles that other people have written and when the opportunity is offered to leave a comment I enjoy taking it. I remember how much I appreciate receiving comments myself, and it also becomes a wonderful socially interactive experience. 🙂

Reflecting on the past month, and now having achieved the goal I had set myself of writing and posting an article each day for a month, I can honestly say has turned out to be easier than I had initially expected! My enjoyment of writing, combined with the social interaction, made it an absolute pleasure to achieve, rather than a task.

I’ll see you all again ~ tomorrow! 😀

“You can do anything you wish to do, have anything you wish to have, be anything you wish to be”. ~ Robert Collier

freedom · gratitude · happiness · inspiration

Introducing… “Freedom Space”

Joanne2 Comments

“Today I embark upon a whole new journey. I’m unsure yet as to exactly where my journey will take me, although the destination isn’t important. Perhaps I won’t ever reach a final destination, and that’s okay. Enjoying the journey each step of the way is my aim”.

And so begins a brand new experience in my life, one in which I find myself not only contributing regularly to my own website, right here. Káren Wallace at www.thecalmspace.com has offered me the brilliant opportunity to become a regular contributor to her online magazine. 😀

Each month, Káren introduces a different theme at the Calm Space, this month’s theme being the wonderfully uplifting emotion of “happiness”. You may recall how the theme inspired me to write my own thoughts on happiness, which in turn led to further thoughts of gratitude, showing the contagious nature of the word!

Over the past three months I have contributed to the Calm Space as a guest writer, having my articles included for the topics of “Inspiration”, “Purpose” and “Wonder”. Káren has included links to all three of my guest articles in my latest post, “Happiness is a Road Called Freedom” .

The word “freedom” encompasses a multitude of emotions for me, including not only the physical freedom to choose to go where we please and do as we please, but more so the freedom we have to choose our own thoughts.

With a mind packed full of negative thoughts, we could travel along the journey of our lives feeling as if we are dragging a ball and chain on our ankle and living like a caged bird, metaphorically speaking, or we can choose the alternative…

Positive thoughts and positive choices will allow the caged bird to break out of these self imposed confines, soaring high above the earth, feeling lightweight and free!

Today, I am the soaring bird, experiencing one of the consequences of the choice I was free to make, in choosing to begin writing again. Káren Wallace unknowingly became the catalyst in my choice to “go public” with my blog here at Home Life Online, through her words of encouragement to me, earlier this year. For Káren’s continuing words of praise, along with the opportunity to become a regular contributor at the Calm Space, I will be eternally grateful. Thank you, Káren. 🙂

Follow the link to “Happiness is a Road Called Freedom” and share your own thoughts, either here or at the Calm Space (or both!) knowing that you are amongst friends. 🙂

basics · gratitude · inspiration

Back to Basics

Joanne6 Comments

What with all of the cold weather we have had of late, I decided that I was well overdue for a new jumper. Not just any jumper though, it had to be the soft, cosy variety, one that invites you to wrap yourself up in it, cuddle up on your favourite chair with a steaming hot cup of coffee or chocolate and a good book, whist enjoying this temporary dose of cooler days.

As it has become my habit over the past few years, my initial thought was simply to take myself off on a shopping trip to buy a ready-made jumper. On second thoughts, however, I came up with an even better plan, a plan which the “old me” would have come up with immediately. Like I said, I have developed a few “habits” over recent years, all of which I now recognise as “easy” fixers.

Back in the good old days, I made quite a few of my own, and my children’s clothes. Growing up in a family of crafty minded people, (and I mean that in the nicest way, as in, self-sufficient), it would have been impossible for me not to learn the finer arts of sewing, embroidery and cross-stitch, crochet and knitting.

From the tender age of ten or eleven, it was nothing for me to whip up a new jumper or two for myself each winter, not to mention a few jumpers, cardigans, trousers, beanies, gloves and scarves for my dolls along the way!

My babies always wore little hand knitted jumpers, jackets and booties, made out of the finer three and four ply baby wool and progressing to jumpers knitted in the thicker yarns as they grew older. My neighbour once noted that my daughter’s doll was better dressed than some babies she had seen!

As the years progressed, the quicker and easier way of acquiring new outfits has crept in, that being a quick trip to a crowded shopping centre. Not this time, though. I caught myself before rushing out of the door in pursuit of a mass produced number, taking the alternate route to the local craft store.

The familiar feeling of browsing through pattern books, wool colours and knitting needles was a delight in itself, and made all the more pleasurable when my eldest daughter met me at the store, to help me make my choice.

With pattern, wool and knew new knitting needles chosen, I left the store feeling a sense of achievement, and I hadn’t even knitted a stitch yet! Just the mere fact that I was making a return to the basics, rather than taking the easier and more expensive route, was extremely gratifying.

With my knitted jumper now in progress, each night I sit comfortably in my chair, my older “Queen Cat” cat curled up beside me, younger “Cutie Cat” asleep on the chair next to me and my dog snoring away contentedly at my feet.

Ah yes, that’s what life’s all about. There’s a lot to be said for enjoying the basics. 🙂

Australia · Changes · gratitude · Mount Warning · winter

A Beautiful Misty Morning

Joanne6 Comments

What a beautiful scene I awoke to this morning! Looking out of the windows at the back of my house, down into the valley, it looked as if an ocean had taken up residence!

Mount Warning looked over the valley, as majestic as ever, smiling on the new day, mist dancing around at her feet.

A sleepy old farm house at the bottom of the valley looked as though it may be swallowed up by a blanket of mist at any moment. You will have to run your mouse over this photo and click on it to enlarge, to see the old home.

In parts of the valley the mist was so dense, it looked for all the world as if we live beside the Pacific Ocean, although we are actually about ten minutes drive from the coast.

This beautiful mist effect happens regularly at this time of year. After weeks of cold weather, we enjoyed warmer temperatures yesterday, in the low twenties. When the earth cools again at night, the mist rolls in! Stunning…

A regular in our garden, a friendly kookaburra who enjoys dive bombing our pool, perched himself on our pool fence, watching the unfolding of a new day.

Although it is the middle of winter, our neighbours beautiful magnolia tree is already in full bloom. It looked particularly pretty today.

After such a beautiful start to the day, I still have one request for the Gods of the Weather ~ Please, may I have just a little more winter, before the summer arrives again? 🙂