Happy

I got this light box for Christmas

I saw this little message the other day - oh yes, be happy get kiss

I have a feeling we are going to enjoy the little messages we place on it. I do hope you have someone to give you a kiss when you are happy.

love you more than an unexpected kiss xxx

Summer Reading Reviews

Here's my summer reading so far:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
I grabbed this from the library because I needed a book to read on the plane. The book centres around  a girl, Rose, who discovers she can taste the emotions (and more) of the people involved in making the food she eats. This 'gift' takes her into the secrets of family members and dominates the way she lives. The book is also centred around her family and struggles they have to relate to one another. The journey each member of the family is on and Rose's insights are difficult and startling and you come to care for them as the story unfolds.

On the whole I found this an engaging read although it becomes weirder as the story continues and I found the ending part a little perplexing. Definitely some mind bending but a thoughtful read and probably one that would be a good discussion starter for a book group.

Details - Anchor Books, April 2011 RRP $15.00US

The Dirty Chef by Matthew Evans
This book outlines the journey that Matthew Evans takes as he moves to Tasmania to set up his own small holding and transitions his life from chef, food critic, to food writer, to farmer and foodie. This transition happens under the eyes of the camera as he films the Gourmet Farmer series. I really enjoyed this book - if nothing else it is a fabulous ad for Tasmanian tourism! The country he describes, the food, the relationship with how the food is produced is all interesting, challenging but not preachy.

There are recipes included at the end of each chapter as well which is a nice little bonus. I so enjoyed reading this book it is well written and self-effacing enough that it comes across as inviting rather than arrogant. A perfect summer read for anyone wanting to have a more intentional relationship with food and eating in 2015.

Details - Allen & Unwin, Dec 2014 RRP $ 22.99 also available as an ebook

Outside The Lines By Amy Hatvany

In 2014 I read Safe With Me by the same author and really enjoyed it. Like her previous book Hatvany wades into difficult territory dealing with mental health issues and how they can tear a family apart. What I so enjoyed about this novel was that it manages to address issues of what society in general feels are acceptable ways of living and behaving and gently challenges the rights of individuals to also find their own path even if it falls 'outside the lines.'

The characters feel real and engaging and the grief of a family torn apart and a father lost are told with humanity and hope. And there's some nice romance too just to soften the intensity of the general narrative.

The story is told from 2 perspectives - the father David and his daughter Eden. Hatvany is an excellent author and she tells a good story. Her work is readable and thought provoking which I really like. Perfect for a holiday read that is easy to read but thoughtful as well.

Details - Allen & Unwin, Jan 2015 RRP$29.99 also available as an ebook

Nanny Confidential by Philippa Christian
Just looking at the cover of this book (naughty right?) you know it is going to be pure escapist chic lit. The novel follows the life of Lindsay Starwood(!) as a nanny to the super rich and famous. Living a life on a ridiculous salary with amazing perks and equally ridiculous expectations from her clientele.

As I read the book I did find myself thinking it was somewhat over the top and extreme in terms of the scenarios only to discover that the author has previously been a nanny for the rich and famous in all the kind of locations around the world you might expect - so I guess those crazy scenarios are much more fact based than they might seem.

As a quick read this book was entertaining. It is definitely chic lit and is the perfect summer read for any lover of the rich and famous gossip mags who'd like to immerse themselves in the lifestyle for longer. It's also a good reminder that a) those celebs have a LOT of help to make themselves appear as put together and glamorous as they do and b) as ridiculous as the lifestyle seems to me these are still real people with insecurities and hang ups who are trying to do life the best they can.

Details - Allen & Unwin, Dec 2014 RR$24.99 also available as an ebook

What is on your stack of summer reading?
Allen & Unwin titles provided to me for reviewing at my request.

love you more than a stack of must reads beside the bed xxx

Welcome 2015

Hello 2015,

I'm not sure exactly what I want from our relationship yet. I'd like you to be kind to me and my little family though. I'd like to sit back in 365 days and reflect on those days well spent.

Oh I know we'll have our days, the ones we rather forget and hurry through but I hope there won't be many of them and the scale of forgetfulness required won't be too epic. (Or ear-pick as my 8 year old says).

At the moment I'm not sure if I want to leap yahooing into the waves of the unknown or whether I'd like to lay on the deck and stroke my hand across the surface as the boat catches the wind. I hope I'll have the wisdom to choose both at the right time.

I want to fix my bearings and stay a straight course and if any should follow my way I'd like to leave them a clear light to go by.

I'd like there to be consistency in both of my worlds - the secret one that few see and the larger one I share. I'd like to get to the end of the year and feel that I'd be okay with either being given an audit. Perhaps that is too much to hope for?

2015 I hope that I give to you passion, determination and just a little bit of knock-your-socks-off awesome. Here's to a fixed 365 day partnership - let's make it work.

love you more than a day well spent xxxx

Make My Week - the final bits

It's just the rats and mice now, as The Atlas would say.

Because it matters to me that I made at least 52 things this year here are some of the little extras

Simplest Christmas wreath ever

Christmas Eve PJs - it was touch and go if I'd get these done

Plastic bag holder - made from a gorgeous fat quarter I was sent in the Christmas swap from Peta.

Thanks for your creative encouragement this year. I'm thinking about what challenge I'd like to set for myself creatively next year.

Do tell if you have creative plans

If you want to see everything I've made in this series this year click on this link to see just those posts.

love you more than a loose end, neatly finished xxx

Merry Christmas

Today may you feel a genuine welcome into the ancient stable

May you hear the tidings of invitation to you

and may your heart have Hope 

because the Prince of Peace came for you

Merry Christmas dear one - you are so precious xxx

Week 49, 50 and 51

So I think this brings me up to date with these posts

49

Minecraft reading with Grandad (beautiful Grandad who takes the time to really invest in this little obsession!)

Chips anyone??

50

I came downstairs one morning to find Flip reading to Bounce aloud from a book he'd found - my heart was so happy. So happy.

Taking leadership for making a presentation at the final assembly

Broken arm? Always at play - sometimes forgetting to take it slower!


51 - beaching

our wee surfer dude - so proud of the progress he's made from week one of being scared of the waves to week 4 standing and catching waves independently.

Such growing independence in the water

love you more than keeping up to date - just xxxx

What Moving At Christmas Time 2 Years in a Row Teaches You

Strictly we haven't actually moved at actual Christmas time - but for the last 2 years we have moved in early Dec (this year) and early Jan (last year).

So.... this is what I have learnt:

1. Christmas Newsletter - which I love and see as an essential record for my children - gone by the wayside

2. Christmas Cards - which I have never been good at but aspire to - not a one written

3. Adventing Well - which I long to do - kind of disappeared in a flurry of packing and unpacking

4. Baking for the neighbours and friends - pipe dream!

5. Time with my boys - always achievable

The thing is I love the building of Christmas traditions, of things for the boys to look back on and feel nostalgic about but it's not always achievable. You know what? It doesn't matter to them. Time together watching a movie (from the library or our own collection), or playing Cluedo, or getting to the park, or just listening to carols on you tube, or spending time watching them at the beach, these things make it feel special.

I can, in the midst of chaos and mess, still spend time with my boys - I can do so many free things that don't necessarily make me feel like I am creating 'Christmas atmosphere' but are significant for the boys.

I want my boys to become adults and think of December as a time of love and family not stress, unmet expectations and consumerism, and that my friends, can be achieved no matter what state your house is in or whether you are still looking for the camera charger.

Sometimes less is less but it's okay.

Also I have learnt moving sucks and if you can afford it at all having cleaners in to do the really crappy jobs will make me a much nicer wife and mother. - cleaning? not my favourite.

May your Christmas Eve be fun, festive and family-ish. Us? We're having a family over for afternoon tea and playing minute-to-win-it Christmas themed activities - it is the pinnacle of my organisation, I just managed to get it in the day before Christmas actually arrives!

love you more than a Christmas newsletter xxxx