This Saturday I'm grateful for... MILs

Here in Maxabellaland, Saturday is traditionally a sport, shop, sort the clothes, sweep the floors, strangle the Tsunamis (insert other 's' words here - no pun intended) kinda day. But it's nice to pause to appreciate the things in your life that are positive and affirming, whatever they may be. I thought it might be nice for us all to do a Saturday Grateful post and link up for lovely bloggy visits.


This Saturday I'm grateful for...

1. Maria's cannelloni. One of the great benefits of being married to an Italian is his mama's home cooking. LOML's mama makes the best ricotta and spinach canelloni and guess who's going there for dinner tonight?

2. My drip irrigation system. I am watering the garden right now. Look at me watering.

3. Tuckshops. There is a place on earth where you can still buy something for 20c.

What's making you smile today? Sign up to the linky and enjoy visiting other grateful bloggers today.

[Image via weheartit, is, of course, scrummy, loveable gelato which sums up my Italian MIL to a t.]

Things I learned this week including that you have to follow the rules

Happy Friyay! How was your week? It's such a cliche but time and time again I find myself wondering how we got to the end so quickly. Apart from the year I spent in a one hour meeting on Monday, this week has flown.

1. So, you may recall that I didn't refrigerate my Hyacinth bulbs and back in May I smugly just stuck them in the ground anyway? Well, they came up and I was very excited (and smug) but then they didn't flower. So, I've learnt my lesson, you have to follow the rules.

2. Mel from From Little Things has come up with a way to make a mundane household chore like hanging out the clothes just a little tiny bit more inspirational. On the subject of inspirational cleaning, am I also the only one who buys top-of-the-range organically birthed cleaning products just to make myself feel better about scrubbing those floors?

3. My "reply" post this week taught me that it's very easy to appear harsher in print than if you said the same things in person. I apologise to Kahli if I upset her in any way, that was certainly not my intention. On reflection, I'm not proud of the personal tone that my argument took. I embrace all honest versions of motherhood and I never wish to be disrespectful or hurtful. I would rather hurt myself. I intend to be gentler with my criticisms in future. You have been warmed. (Sorry about the stupid pun, I can't help myself - I always make stupid jokes when I'm upset.)

4. A helmet-cam video of a transmission tower repair technician enlightened me to the fact that they free-climb a 1,768 foot tower in order to repair its light beacon (to give you an indication of how far up these guys work, the light beacon is there so airplanes won't fly into the tower...). Warning, the video is actually mind numbingly boring, in an interesting kind of way.

5. To write the number '5' correctly we say 'draw his body and his tummy and don't forget his hat'.

6. I really, really like that Dita von Teese.

7. I found a mummy crafty blog out there called Sean the Prawn. Aside from me telling you that it's a really great little blog, you have to check it out on the name alone, right? I just love it!

8. If I'm Still Here is an elaborate practical joke, I've been laughing along with it all for months. Can't wait to see it.

9. I found this article on oh dee doh Incorporating Children Into the Decor hi.larious. I pictured children hung neatly on the walls besides the Jackson Pollocks. I don't even recall thinking that an odd thing. Let's face it, these 'showroom' houses must hang their kids up on the walls in order to be so styled and clean. (For the purpose of remaining critical and scathing, we'll just ignore the fact that my home has already 'incorporated' most of these ideas, okay?)

10. The 'bag tag' I bought from Loved (Little Ted Canvas's gorgeous brand) makes a fabulous over sized pendant. I gathered compliments all day when I wore my sweet Alice in Wonderland version (it has Alice and the squirrel on the front and the white rabbit checking his fob on the back). Of course, there was one smarty pants who asked me if I was wearing a handy coaster around my neck, but there's always a comedienne, huh?

How was your week? Did you learn anything new to share?

* PS - Of course I'm flogging over at Lori's. Just a note on this, I have actually tried a few other 'Follows' and while I have met some really wonderful bloggers this way, for the most part I've found they really are just about getting 'follows' which I find a bit meaningless really. Why follow a blog just to get a follower on your own blog? Am I missing something? In contrast, Flog Your Blog Friday has really interesting, thoughtful blogs that I love visiting and being a part of their community. After months of being 'part of the gang' I really feel like we are a little club of Friday (and other day) friends. New company is always welcome and you don't have to **FOLLOW BACK!** unless you really want to. Just saying.

[Image by danger_bird]

Things I learnt this week including how to ruffle up a skirt

This week I did a four-hour conflict management course at work (these things are entirely necessary when you work for a large corporate).  I started the course thinking that I shied away from conflict, retreating due to my pathological need to please and be liked. That plus my enbarrassing tendency to bawl my eyes out when someone raises their voice at me. But, by the end of the course I realised that I experience "conflict" on an almost daily basis, but I manage it so well that it doesn't feel like conflict. Snaps for me. Here's what else I learnt this week...

1. It is indeed possible to instinctively dislike a child and want to be a little bit mean to them. You will feel bad about yourself, but not as bad as you feel about said child.

2. Sometimes having a night out on a "school night" is the best thing for you even though it's the last thing you feel like doing.

3. There's a tutorial to step you through the lovely summer ruffles skirt pictured here over at Grand Revival Designs.  It's such a detailed tutorial that I actually think I can manage. Now, if I could just figure out how to bring my sewing machine back to life (too many Monster Softies, it seems)...

4. I can indeed limp through the day without diet coke.

5. It's claimed that the Brazilian wax was named for a letter written by Pedro Álvares Cabral on seeing a native Brazilian tribe during his voyage to Brazil in 1500 AD. He said "their private parts were so exposed, so healthy and so hairless, that looking upon them we felt no shame." I am curious as to his knowledge of the 'health' of the 'exposed' private parts he 'looked upon'... Regardless, Brazilian waxes are still waaaay too painful, unnecessary and, gasp, itchy for this gal to make them a regular thing.

6. Orchids are notoriously difficult to grow. I didn't know this because there are three stunning examples of orchids overgrowing in pots in my garden and I've never done a thing to them in almost 3 years.

7. There are over 50,000 white paints and choosing the wrong one could instantly ruin the vibe of your entire home, if not your life. Do you want a neutral, blue, yellow or pink white? Warm or cool? Gloss or semi? Blah or blah? It all makes me want to skip the white, fandango.

8. Etaoin Shrdlu, pronounced "eh-tay-oh-in shird-loo" is believed to be the twelve most common letters in English, in order of most frequently used to least frequently used. I'm not sure why we need to know this.

9. If your child is scared before sleep or during the night, it's comforting for them to know that you'll be popping in to "check" on them. But rather than tell them "Don't worry, I'll come and check on you in five minutes" (instantly setting the spark of "you said there was nothing to worry about so why do you need to check to make sure I'm okay?" in their little heads) tell them "I'll come in every now and then just to remind you that there's nothing to worry about." This has worked really well with the Tsunamis.

10. In all things, to thine own self be true.

What did you learn this week?

Things I learnt this week including how to raise a graffiti artist

I've just had one of those weeks that fly by in a haze of 'what tha?' Out of that haze, comes my learnings for the week that was...

1. No matter how meticulously you plan, something will always go wrong.

2. Learning to write letters correctly is easier on a vertical surface. Let your children practice with their index finger on frosted morning windows or in the shower after wiping shaving foam on the glass. It's loads of fun and it's easier to see the way they are forming the letters and help them get it right (especially if they are writing on your bedroom window on Sunday morning and you are still conveniently lying in bed.) Please note, I take no responsibility if your cherub runs with this idea and starts tagging your neighbourhood.

3. A colonoscopy is performed while the patient lies on their left side.

4. The lyrics to Nancy Sinatra's Sugar Town begin "I got some troubles but they won't last / I'm gonna lay right down here in the grass / And pretty soon all my troubles will pass / 'cause I'm in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo / Shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town." Or, if you're Cappers, "shoe-shoe, shoe-shoe, shoe-shoe Booger down."

An aside: this reminds me of The Badoo earlier in the week. She had a little something on her nose which I reached over to brush off. She said "No, I get it" and promptly stuck the finger in, pulled out a glob of snot and handed it to me. Ah, The Badoo.

5. "Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath." Richard Zera. I know this quotable quote isn't strictly a learning, but I just love it.

6. OCD* affects 2 to 3 per cent of people in Australia at some time in their lives.

7. Roses not only need a sunny spot and lots of food, they need air flow to survive. This is why my roses never really 'took off' (read: dropped all their leaves, glared accusingly at me and started to shrivel.) Darren, our new gardener (that sounds so Maxabella of the Manor - really, he's popping in for a few hours each month because I have no idea what I'm doing despite telling everyone I meet that I love gardening and am an excellent gardener) has moved the roses to a new airflowy spot. I'll keep you posted.

8. If you break one of the ten commandments you need to give God a lamb. A "nice, big, juicy lamb." (Thank you, Maxi-Taxi)

9. Most kitchens have more germs on the counter tops than in the average toilet. This is due to failure to sanitise the dish rag after every clean, resulting in the spreading of harmful bacteria from one end of the kitchen to the other. You can sanitise the dish rag either by using disinfectant or by wetting it and microwaving it on high for two minutes. Allow to cool before picking it up (the article didn't actually say that, but I thought I should add it after an incident that occurred in Maxabellaland on Tuesday evening at approximately 8 o'clock.)

10. If you don't like clutter, don't buy it in the first place.


* Disclaimer: this learning is in no way related to my own bed leaping antics or other random behaviours as confessed shared by commenters on my post earlier in the week. However, if at any time you feel you need help, please go here. We won't look.

[Image by Banksy]

Things I learned this week including a well known truism

It's been a big week and my learnings are varied.

1. Better late than never!

2. A hagiologist chronicles the lives of saints.

3. If you discover a word that you have never seen before like hagiologist, you will invariably stumble over it time and time again in the next 48 hours.

4. Sitting in a peaceful, beautiful garden, reflecting on the road behind and the road ahead is the best form of meditation there is.

5. The GPS Navman lady is very bossy and if you disobey her stern warnings she will lead you in a merry circle as punishment.

6. There isn't a town on the East Coast of Australia that doesn't have a chinese restaurant.

7. The official ski season starts in the Snowy Mountains next weekend.

8. The paintings in the National Gallery of Australia's Masterpieces from Paris exhibition somehow looked even more interesting and vibrant than when I saw them all shuffled together at the Musee d'Orsay. Perhaps this is due to the 'important exhibition' nature of the NGA's showing.

9. I love an open road.

10. There is no place more exciting, more inspiring, more fun or more delicious than home.

Foxglove Inspires

The drive today was true happiness. I stopped at many little towns - Milton, Mogo, Tilba Tilba, Narooma, Bermagui. There are so many special places to visit.

I spent a really lovely morning poking around all the shops and eating lunch at one of the sweet cafes at Central Tilba. It's one of the best preserved 'historical trust' villages that I've seen and it has all the requisite craft shops, lolly shops, wooden toy shops, candle shops that you'd expect. The town sits in a breath-taking valley and beautiful mature trees dripped golden leaves all over the streets and the smell of woodsmoke made time stand still.

Foxglove Spires is an open garden in Tilba Tilba. Clever owner Susan Southam wrote "Velvet Pears" about her time developing the garden. I found such beauty and peace there that I couldn't tear myself away. I spent twice as long as I expected wandering the winding paths and watching the chickens and doves scratch about.

They also have the best shop. I went a bit nuts getting little trinkets and things for the garden. I think I might take after my mum (who's a bit of a bower bird when it comes to ornaments). But what can you do when every single thing in the store makes you genuinely happy just looking at it?

As a result of my lingering day, I've changed my game plan and have stopped in Bega for the night. Instead of my always-driving ambition to head down the bottom of Victoria and across to the Daylesford, I'm going to do a loop along the Snowy Mountains Highway thorough Cooma, Canberra, Yass and the Southern Highlands. This way I'll have a lot more time for play.

Wet Autumn lives

I used to loooove wet autumn days. You'd get cosy by the fire, a good book resting in your lap as you doze to the rattle of rain on the roof. Outside everything looks sparkly and misty and nice.

Now, things are just wet. And muddy. And there you are, stuck in the house with three cabin-crazed children while the rain bleats loudly down on the roof such that the kids have to scream even more than usual and now they have an excuse.

I noticed last year that once the magnolia hit late autumn, it looked bare and forelorn. No light green leaves, no beautiful blooms.

I thought I'd make it some.

 

The tree seems happier. And, of course, it likes the rain.

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I rewound this post at the Fibro on 12.2.2011

Things I learned this week including getting lost

1. If you urgently need to see your doctor you need to book the appointment approximately 3 weeks in advance.

2. A binding contract can be defeated in court if the way you acted whilst signing the contract was contrary to what was outlined in the contract.

3. You shouldn't eat food, even if it's healthy, while crossing the road if you want to be safe (this from Cappers who was visited by Healthy Harold at daycare).

4. Even if you haven't seen a person for decades, if they die you will still feel the loss in your day to day life. (Vale Val.)

5. Sticking it out with the TV show Lost for the past six years - even though you've hated it with a passion for at least 2 of those 6 years- will not pay off in the end.

6. Albert Einstein died of a brain aneurysm, which seems kind of fitting.

7. Peas do not taste good because they look like alien eyes (thank you Maxi-Taxi).

8. Returning your child to pull-ups at night if they've wet the bed for an entire month is a very good idea.

9. It's too late in the year to plant Hyacinth bulbs that haven't been in the fridge (I planted them anyway).

10. Copyscape is a website that helps you find copies of work from your website across the web. So if you're a writer and someone is plagiarising your stuff, you can find out about it.

[Image: oreganlive.com]

Things I learned this week including uses for a banana

So, I put the Friday rant thing out there last week thinking that I'd just, like, rant each week, but I don't like it. Last week I was in the worst possible mood and this Friday is different. Today is sunny, I'm working from home (look at me working!), the house is reasonably tidy, the children are all tucked away in their real lives, life is good. So, I think the rants will be occasional and haphazard - just as rants should be.

Instead, each Friday I'm going to record the things I've learnt in that particular week. A good thing to remember. So this week, I've discoved...

1. You can't substitute bread flour for plain flour when making chocolate chip cookies. The biscuits go flat and biiiiiig. Taste yummy. Look not-yummy.

2. Small girls should not be allowed to decide that they will wear a size 3 snugglesuit (all in one) to bed when they are 4 1/2 years old. Remember body-suits that buttoned below? Image if that bodysuit was 2 sizes too small and you get the idea.

3. Elwood moved its t-shirt manufacturing offshore to the child-labour supporting Philippines so we don't buy Elwood anymore.

4. Jennifer Garner doesn't shave her legs.

5. There is an American website called Please Rob Me that uses information from Twitter, Four Square and the street directory and lists the houses that are not currently occupied - just in case you want to rob them. They claim they are "raising awareness about over-sharing".

6. You should bury banana skins around the root line of your roses to improve the bloomage factor.

7. Express Post doesn't necessarily deliver metro to metro overnight. And there's nothing you can do about it.

8. No matter how particular you are about keeping finance records, if you use a shared spreadsheet with your colleagues the spreadsheet will not match the actual spend.

9. It is possible to do nothing and things will turn out okay in their own good time.

10. Waking your child in the middle of the night to go to the toilet so they don't wee the bed later is a total waste of time.

Now, back to work!