November has been a time of change, of beginnings and endings, of children growing, learning, and maturing (sometimes trying to push the issue of maturing!) Decisions are being made and confusion reins supreme in my home.
The changes are not bad, just…..well…..changes!
My baby boy finished high school. Now that’s a monumental occasion for any parent, I know. For us though, it’s our last….our youngest child, going out into the big wide world, walking through the high school gate for the last time ever, from the familiar day to day hum-drum world that he couldn’t wait to end, then it did end, and he felt the sadness of not knowing any more where this next phase of his life would take him.
So many emotions, all rolled up in one big “change”. Happy to be free to make his own choices in life, yet not yet knowing exactly what he wants to do. Pleased to know that he is no longer answerable to school teachers, free of assignments, homework commitments, “arrive on time or else you get a detention” threats, yet he still felt a sadness of leaving behind him some of the happiest years of his life.
On the last morning, before he left for school, he posed for me with my new “grand-daughter puppy”, little Forrest. I can’t say that I was thrilled when he told my that he and his girlfriend would be buying a puppy, but how could I resist that cute little face? (The cute little face of Forrest, I mean…..oh, okay, you’ve got me…..I can’t resist the cute little face of my baby boy either!)
Here is Adam, all dolled up in a suit, with Forrest (a slightly younger version of Forrest, in late September) the night of the High School Formal.
And then, last week, parents were invited to the official graduation ceremony at the school. More photos were taken, of course, well at least I tried to take photos! My daughter, Emma, wanted to have a photo taken with her baby brother, and Forrest wanted to get in on the act as well.
That little girl cannot sit still for anything! She’s a little ball of energetic fun, the whole world is her playground and every creature in it is her friend! Here’s another one of Forrest getting in on the act ~
Big brother Ben thinks it’s all a big game as well, so Forrest has an ally! Finally, I managed a “good” photo. I thought it might be fun though to add a few bloopers first!
It looks as though, in the last photo, I have asked Adam to “say cheese”….I promise I didn’t! I think he had had enough of photos by this time though…..
Also, on the same day last week, Emma bought a new car! She was so excited…..her last car had been bought in my name, with her being so young…..this one has her name on the registration papers!
Oh, she doesn’t look that happy in that photo, does she……I promise she was, we were probably talking as I clicked the shutter……here’s a better one, she’s smiling now ~
She even bought a new dress for the occasion, which will also be her birthday dress. She has a birthday coming up soon, and says the car is an early birthday present to herself.
So that’s a couple of the big events that have happened in my world lately. It’s been go, go, go every day!
It’s great to watch my children grow, share in their achievements, see the excitement they feel as they make major life choices for themselves. As for me and their father, we are so proud of our four children. Lately, we fall into bed exhausted each night, we worry, we talk, we wonder, but mostly we smile and laugh about the incidences of each day…..
When Adam told me I would find an abundance of subjects to photograph at South West Rocks, he wasn’t exaggerating. It was the most beautiful area to visit, but the highlight for me was the lighthouse area in the early morning light.
Pacific Sunrise.
As our visit to the area was during July of last year, the sun rose quite late, being winter here, so we enjoyed not only the crisp morning air and the beautiful white lighthouse against the backdrop of white clouds, but also the sun rising over the ocean.
A white spectacle awaits.
Everywhere I looked, pristine white surrounded us ~ the clouds, the lighthouse, even the white wooden fence along the way….
Accommodation.
….the quaint white house on the right can be leased to holiday makers. Can you imagine waking in the morning and beginning the day with this view? I’d think I had died and gone to heaven!
Sun-spot.
As the sun began to rise, we caught an occasional glimpse of it as it tried to peek its way through the clouds, forming a white sun-spot on the ocean.
A western glimpse….
Even as we walked along the path towards the lighthouse, glimpses of the ocean could be seen behind the rental accommodation, looking towards the west. I’m sure that every window in these houses must have a view of the ocean.
A touch of orange against the white.
Even the flora here was magical. I could have taken photos all day!
Is this real?
The waves below looked surreal. How could so much beauty be real? Surely it was all an illusion!
Bottlebrush.
These Australian natives are known as Bottlebrush trees, for obvious reasons. Again though, the colour seemed almost angelic.
Gumnuts.
I think these are a kind of gumnut, or a hard seed cone. There is so much wild beauty here, and so close to the ocean too. Incredible.
Who goes there?
Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? I did, and I was! These two magpies didn’t seem to be bothered by Adam and I visiting their territory though. Perhaps they are used to humans losing all sense of time when they are visiting their home. 🙂
Why must it be that the best laid plans of mice and men, (and women,) often go astray?
Whilst working at my sewing machine during the past few weeks I’ve dreamed about my planned time away from home, on holiday, in Noosa, spending time at a resort I have visited many times before, picturing the free time I would find, the blog reading I could catch up on, the posts I would be writing, the books I would read from cover to cover, along with spending time visiting some of my favourite landmarks in the area with my family.
Late afternoon at Noosa Beach.
So here I sit at my computer, finally penning (typing, actually) a blog post, on the last day of my holiday.
Where did the last week go? I need another week away!
A great restaurant for a birthday celebration.
Such collective plans my girls and I had made before we left home! We would visit the markets at Eumundi and have a family dinner at a lovely restaurant on the river in Noosaville on the Saturday night, that being an early celebration for Emma’s birthday in December. Those plans were kept. The markets were fabulous, we walked around ooh-ing and ah-ing at everything and buying some irresistible items, after which we realized that we had spent the grand total of five-and-a-half hours shopping! No wonder our feet were sore.
A healthy treat!
Hayley could only spend the weekend with us, so Emma and I had to manage without her on the other days, which was sad, but manage we did, with a trip to the Ginger Factory at Yandina (we took Hayley there the next day as well, just for a quick visit!) and yesterday before Emma had to leave to go home again we went into the Sunshine Coast hinterland to visit Montville.
Montville.
Alone, I have walked around the boardwalk area at Noosa Beach and I’ve also taken a couple of walks along the river, one taking me to a cute little second-hand bookshop that we had discovered years ago when we were here holidaying with our very young children.
The Ginger Factory at Yandina.
I think that today may be the first day that we haven’t had any rain here during the last week. I also think that on some days we have experienced the full gamut of seasons. On my first day here the weather turned so cold that I needed to wear the “for when it turns cold” cardigan that I had packed but never dreamed I would need. Most days have given us at least a few hours of the less-than-pleasant, typical humidity to be expected in this area and something a little unexpected at this time of year as it usually occurs during the hotter summer months is stormy weather, including gusty winds and even hail.
At lunch with Emma.
Notwithstanding the unpredictable weather, we have had a wonderful time here, but where did my quiet moments, which I expected to have each day get to? My days seem to have come down to the question of do I enjoy the moment, or write about the moment? I have chosen to enjoy. The writing can come later.
On Sunday morning the boys came with us for a walk along the shore of the lake.
And the reading, did I get any done? Well yes, seeing as you ask, I did! I finished one book, bought another which I have started to read, didn’t read the book I had brought to read and I bought six craft magazines which have inspired me with some sewing projects for when I get home.
Stormy skies at Montville.
Tomorrow morning I head back home again, leaving Noosa behind, and yet again I will leave with beautiful memories and expectations of my next visit here.
Yes, that’s right, I really am coming up for air, after days and weeks at the sewing machine again.
Remember I said I would be selling my sewing business? Didn’t happen. I lost the urge to part company with my long-standing “friend”, the one that monopolises my time and leaves me with eye-strain and an aching neck during the most demanding times of the year. And you know something, I actually enjoyed the familiar whirring sounds of my industrial sewing machines, the cutting of fabric, the snip of the clippers, seeing the shirts I have constructed finally taking on form. That old familiar sense of achievement kicked in again and I’m feeling okay with the work that I do. For now.
I have had to put my fun, creative craft work temporarily on hold but my hours spent at the sewing machine has given my mind time to wander off along on the creative avenues that I will be pursuing again when the work is complete.
Whilst sitting in my work room, with window wide open, the welcoming sounds of the chirping of baby birds has filled my ears! Through years of practice I have learnt the art of “selective hearing”, allowing the outdoor sounds of nature to have a higher volume than my machines. A few days ago two baby “Noisy Miners” came along for a visit with Mama Miner and yesterday I was thrilled to bits to finally see a baby Magpie, whose tiny chirps I had heard for a few days.
First sighting of a baby Magpie, newly emerged from the nest.
On Monday morning my youngest son flies to New Zealand for nine days….a school excursion, no less! How times have changed, school excursion highlights back in my days at school consisted of a trip to the local council chamber! They’ll be skiing almost daily and having a fabulous time I know, I’ve seen the itinerary, so this weekend will consist of sorting through clothes, shopping for last minute warm clothing requirements and making sure the bag he’s taking doesn’t weigh any more than twenty-two kilos…..
I’m really looking forward to entering the world of people again (as opposed to the world of sewing!) and can’t wait to read what all of my blogging friends have been up to while I’ve been in semi-hibernation again.
For tonight though I am looking forward to a night in front of the television, perhaps watching a DVD, glass of white wine in hand, followed by an early night to bed…… 🙂
I really have no idea where the whole of last week went to. Do you suppose I could blame my broken down dishwasher for my lack of writing time? I could if I wanted to, but really, I’m still enjoying hand washing my cups, dishes and plates every night, and even though this spare part which is on order for the repairs has already taken double the estimated time to arrive, I’m in no hurry to hassle the repair guy to have it fixed. I’m finding dishwashing rather therapeutic at the end of a long day. 🙂
The building of the new World Trade Centre.
I did spend a lot of time away from home last week actually, some time spent on work related events and some on pleasure, so while you look through the rest of the New York photos that my son Ben has given me to show you all, I will tell you about my pleasurable adventures.
Memorials at Ground Zero.
I’ve said it before, but Ben really did enjoy his eight-day stay in New York City. I would rather like to go there myself one day, although eight days would be way too much time in the big city for this quiet blogger! Ben seemed to have been quite moved by his visit to the Ground Zero memorials and seeing the new building in progress there. He vividly remembers the unbelievable news hitting Australia on the morning of 9/11 as do we all.
New building against the blue spring skies.
So, back to last week. Ben and my eldest daughter Hayley had bought me a beautiful oil painting on canvas, about four years ago now, which required framing. An unnamed party had promised to have it framed for me, so the canvas had waited patiently on the shelf in my cupborad for four long years, waiting. With Mother’s Day approaching last Sunday, one day during the week Hayley had asked me if there was anything I could think of that I would specifically like to be given as a Mother’s Day gift.
9/11 Memorials.
Apparently (according to Hayley) I am a very easy person to buy for, as I like so many things and have so many interests! That’s good to know, as some people are absolutely impossible to please! So I gave her question some thought and soon remembered my lovely oil painting, awaiting a frame. Ben and Hayley are again going shares in this gift, but Hayley asked me if I would like to go with her to the framing shop to choose a frame that I would be happy with.
White roses.
I suggested we make a lunch date of it, inviting my other daughter Emma to come along as well, so off the three of us went to see a man who Hayley had spoken to on the phone.
Choosing a frame for my lovely painting turned out to be quite the memorable experience. As a general rule, I take people as I find them, but I must admit that I found this picture framing shop proprietor to be just a tad, shall we say, over the top with his comments?
Firstly, he asked my daughter how much she had paid for the painting, rude to begin with, I thought, followed by, “I hope you didn’t pay any more than $20.00 for it”!!
Brooklyn Bridge.
Throughout the course of us choosing a frame, he managed to insult the colours of my home, explained to him by my girls in an effort to have him show us the desired coloured frames, and he also laughed profusely at his own jokes…..which I would describe as sarcastic comments rather than jokes.
So whilst The Obnoxious One guffawed away to himself, my girls and I had a great old time, ignoring him, and helping ourselves to various coloured frames which we sat beside the painting.
Bustling New York.
Digressing slightly, is the above photo Times Square, can anyone tell me? Ben and his mates were in Times Square one morning and were approached by someone giving away free tickets to the David Letterman Show. All they needed to do was answer some simple USA topical questions, which none of them knew the answers to being freshly arrived from Australia, so blatant hints were handed out, they won their three free tickets to the show and had a great time applauding throughout the show on queue and laughing loudly when requested!
Central Park.
Now, back to the framing shop, where my daughters and I had made our choice of frame, being ultimately my choice, although my daughters both agreed they could see it looking wonderful where I had told them both I would be hanging my painting. The Obnoxious One disagreed with my choice, adding, “You’ll probably end up having your own way, women usually do”…..okay, is it just me? Was that rude and insulting? Although I didn’t voice the words, I did think, “You’re darn tootin’ I’ll get my way!” Geeeezzzz……..
Central Park against the buildings of New York.
Between guffaws, The Obnoxious One did relate a very interesting story, of how he had taken a recent delivery of framed pictures from a deceased estate. Almost an entire family had been killed in an accident, with one remaining survivor, and the spirits of the deceased had helped him, he claimed, with frame choices since they arrived.
I wonder if the spirits had mentioned to him the old adage, “The customer is always right”? 😉
Spring in Central Park.
Back to the USA, and here we are in Central Park. Ben told me that the park was positively huge, and they didn’t have the opportunity to cover the whole area. I had rather hoped he would find John Lennon’s memorial area of “Strawberry Fields”, but unfortunately not.
Apparently one day, a huge crowd was clustering in an area where a celebrity had arrived, causing great excitement in the area. It turned out to be Ricky Martin, who is this year one of the judges on the Australian version of “The Voice”, and what a very lovely man he seems to be too.
Looking over the water from Central Park.
After stamping my foot in a most polite and woman-like fashion, getting my way and ordering my picture frame from The Obnoxious One, Hayley, Emma and I went back to Coolangatta for an alfresco lunch of sushi, just across the road from Coolangatta Beach. Emma passed me some chopsticks to eat my sushi with, followed by instructions on how to use them, telling me “It’s easy, mum!” I’m happy to say that most of the delicious sushi reached my mouth (apart from that one piece that dropped, then proceeded to fly across the table, nearly landing in Emma’s lap!)
Hmm….next time, I’m asking for a fork!
Katz’s Delicatessan, apparently a very famous deli in New York.
In other last-week-related-news, I decided to stop adding posts to one of my other blogs, “A Sense of Spirit”, not due to lack of interest, but rather because I am finding more and more that the posts I’m adding here at Home Life usually relate to spirit in some way anyway. It seems to me that the two blogs do not have separate purposes, so I have transferred all the content from “A Sense of Spirit” across to this blog, tagging all the posts with “A Sense of Spirit” for easy finding. Combining the two seemed like the sensible thing to do.
Wall Street.
Ben’s last three photos here of Wall Street, the Stock Exchange and the Trump Building seem to me to be very “Ben-ified” places to visit. He is, and always has been fascinated by the workings of the stock market and is the most amazingly disciplined person with money that I have ever met in my life!
Not only is he first-rate when it comes to saving money, he can keep a secret like no one else I know. As a two year old, I would tell him, “Don’t let anyone know what their Christmas present is, it’s a surprise” and that boy wouldn’t breathe a word, not for any amount of coaxing in the world!
The Stock Exchange.
I seem to have waffled on a bit today, so hope I haven’t sent anyone to sleep with my ramblings.
Please do let me know if I have labeled any of Ben’s photos incorrectly. In the next leg of the trip, he and his mates headed south to Nashville and he loved it there too. I think it’s safe to say that Ben loved his trip to America.
The Trump Building.
Finally, here are the links to all the posts I have transferred across from “A Sense of Spirit”. Please do not feel obliged to read all or any of them, they are just here for anyone who may be interested. I do, however, recommend reading “The Optimist’s Creed”, very sage words indeed. I wish I had written them!
In My World 