right now, i am

seeing: the rain hit the window. so much spring rain.

thinking: about our drive yesterday and how alive with colour the country side is.

wondering: where this week has gone and why it took me three days to put up the weekending post.

watching: smurf episodes. smurfs are big in our house at the moment.

baking: bread. daily. and also banana cake.

reading: hand wash cold.

excited: by the film i had developed yesterday. im slowly learning, but love shooting with film!

smiling: every time i look out the window and see the neat little rows of radishes (and all the other vege plants still alive!)

listing: things that make me smile.

trying: to squash the nasty, unhelpful gremlins.

dreaming:  big things. slowly, day by day, putting them into action.

weekending

not every weekend starts off with watching the opening ceremony

of the rugby world cup on tv

made me very proud to be a kiwi

the opening ceremony

followed by the opening game – go the all blacks!

saturday – coughs and sneezes and sniffles

we stayed wrapped up

and out of the drizzling rain

home-made pizza adventure for dinner

using this dough recipe, found here

the kids had fun decorating their own mini pizzas

and i sighed a sigh of relief

when the pizzas came out of the oven, perfectly cooked

we stayed up to watch the league game

thankful we will get a second change next week

a small sleep in

the mr and the kids slowly getting over their flu

i woke feeling the worst i have in a very long time

naps and cuddles

lying in bed, listening to the rain outside

and when it wasn’t raining, the wild beach and wind

a batch of bread dough mixed up

this might turn into a weekly thing on a sunday

preparing bread for the week ahead.

~ ~ ~

weekending, inspired by amanda’s posts at the habit of being

thankful today

… for the peaceful walk home yesterday with the little miss

… for the lavender bush we came across and that we stopped to pick some, now sitting on the kitchen window sill

… that i caught up on laundry last week. the showers started yesterday and it looks like it will be another week before the laundry is dried outside on the line

… for the gentle nudge that i needed, to finally do something that i have been putting off for the last few weeks

… for good friends, and good conversation

… for the time to myself that i had today

… that our dinner adventure went well tonight, and the kids had fun (and ate all of their dinner!)

… that little by little, we are all on the mend.

right now, i am

enjoying: the change of seasons. beautiful sun, but not hot and a small shower, here and there

listening: to the hum of the washing machine and this playing on the computer

watching: flash mob hakas. i love flash mobs. i love hakas. put them together? best thing ever.

listing: a list of loves. things i love to do. things i love to see. everything i love

savouring: the amazing sunsets the last few nights

thinking: how important it is to live in the moment. i will never get this moment/day/week/time again. be present.

writing: a lot. i didn’t realize my heart had so much to say

dreaming: of a weekend away. one day soon, i hope.

reading: pride and prejudice. i finally picked it up/found it at the op-shop a few weekends ago

knitting: nothing. i decided to not start anything new until the afghan was finished. since making that decision, i have not worked on the afghan, sigh.

baking: bread. whenever i start baking bread again, after a while, i wonder why i ever stopped

loving: the little miss’ love of art. she has been drawing, painting, cutting, creating. the house is full of little bits of paper everywhere. and then art of the walls, the fridge, the bed side tables …

mid-week thoughts

im enjoying the pathfinder course. i’ve started doing morning pages again (although, it’s not always morning when i do them) and it feels good to get all those thoughts out of my head and onto paper.

we all have that change of season cold. ugh. it breaks my heart when the kids are sick like this. the last few nights have been those up-down nights that happen when the little ones are ill.

i bought my first moleskine. four pages in and im converted.

im starting to think of my to-do list for the coming year. i wrote a list of 22 things to do before 22, but didn’t write one for last year. i missed it, so with my birthday almost here, i have been slowly adding to the new list.

the last few days have been full of beautiful spring sunshine. im most definitely a winter person, but this nice spring weather is lovely. sunshine, but not at all hot.

besides the morning pages, i have been writing lots. snail mail letters to an old friend. postcards for friends on the other side of the world. emails to new friends. the power of the internet and the connections made through blogs amaze me.

im hoping the rest of the week doesn’t escape me like the first half has…

weekending

the weekend started with baking

an apple braid

note to self : next time, more apples, four should be good

saturday was full of cuddles and movies for the eldest

high temps and headaches

and then an up-down kind of night

but sunday morning

all was right again, the little miss full of beans

and then i remembered…

i had forgotten to get the kids to write in the father’s day card

in fact, they were still sitting in the sun drying

home-made cards, made with home-made paints

once we had that sorted, we set off for a drive

to see the mountain and views of the ocean

a beautiful spring day

a quick bite to eat, a walk around the museum

and a quiet drive home both kids napping in the backseat

once home, spring cleaning september began

a few cleaners made (i doubt i will ever buy glass cleaner again)

one room down, a list made of other things to do this month

a busy and bright month ahead.

~ ~ ~

weekending, inspired by amanda’s posts at the habit of being

happy friday.

well, august is over and with it the august break.

i picked up the camera everyday and didn’t do too badly with keeping up with the daily blog posts. i took more than double the photos i did in july and the words still flowed easily on paper even if they didn’t make it to this space.

i will look forward to next years august break, but im pleased its over for now. somehow i manage to turn ‘break’ into ‘pressure to take a photo, edit and upload everyday for a whole month’. but it did give me the kick i needed to get to get back into the practice of shooting daily and (almost) daily blog posts.

now, september. spring. and chookooloonks pathfinder course. i am trying my best to patiently wait for monday and day one of the course. (im not very good with this patience thing. i am super, super excited!!) im not sure if participating in the course will mean more or less words around here during september … more because of the daily prompts and my mind filled with thoughts or less because i will want to keep those thoughts private and on paper rather than online.

i guess we will we see what september will bring – but it’s looking very positive and hopeful indeed.

weekending

saturday was slow-paced

an early morning thrift shop

a few books found and bought

the mr at golf

the kids and i had a quiet day at home

we attempted to make our own watercolours

they are still drying, but i think they worked …

the mr and i had butter chicken for dinner, the third time in two weeks

and stayed up late to watch the warriors game

a slow-paced day.

sunday was full of adventure

we started by watching a replay of the all blacks game

im pleased we didn’t get up to watch it live at 3am

and then we were off to the mountain in search of snow

the first road we took, there was plenty of snow

but everyone else had the same idea as us

this resulted in reversing half way down the mountain

the eldest wanting to know why we were getting further away

a quick country drive. on roads we did not know

me writing down the street names and turns we made, just in case

we found our way back to the next mountain road

again, full of cars and traffic

a bit of patience paid off and we spent a good while playing in the snow

an attempted snowman, snowball fights and snow angels

safe to say, we all had a lot of fun!

a lunch stop

surprisingly yummy and filling … all for a decent price

the eldest excited we were in a “rest-a-naught”

but worried that she had missed nap time!

ice-cream cones for the kids

a walk around the quiet town

shops mostly shut … it was a sunday in a country town, i guess

the heavy trucks reminding us it was a main highway

a coffee at a quiet, beautifully sunlit cafe

fluffies for the kids

the drive home full of are we there yet?’s

home with two tired kiddies

a camera full of photos

and a heart full

full of love and wonderful memories of the day.

~ ~ ~

weekending, inspired by amanda’s posts at the habit of being