My Daybook: 14th July, 2016

Outside my window…

the sun is rising over a frost covered paddock, I’ll grab my camera in a moment and rush outside trying to capture the brilliant colours. This is my routine most mornings but I haven’t yet managed to successfully capture the glory of the sunrise

I am thankful…

for good health. This month I had a reminder of how hard it is to function without good health when I sustained a running injury and developed Achilles tendinitis.  Not only was the pain excruciating, the inability to achieve all I need as a mother and homemaker was frustrating.  I hadn’t realised how active I am during the average day until I found myself painfully hobbling up and down my hallway, I had acutally begun to wonder if I was too sedentary but am now reassured, I clock up lots of kilometres daily after all. Great news is with the aid of anti-inflammatory’s and the purchase of expensive inner sole shoes I’m once again mobile and pain free

I am thinking…

about love, how Christ loves us regardless of whether we love Him or not. We are called to love as Christ does, whether the recipient wishes our love or not, so how does this translate practically?

Learning all the time…

enjoying the last few days of the school holidays, as Term 3 begins next week over the next few days do need to find a few hours to plan. One resource I always use when planning is Jen‘s wealth of plans and printables, a treasure trove of years of experience. Percolating in my pre-planning thoughts is Angela’s recent sentiment with which I resonate strongly, “Frankly, I cannot stand the thought of another “just focus on the basics” year, even though it seems like this ought to be one.” Yes!!  Now how to translate these thoughts into action?

Celebrating the liturgical year……

a week and a half ago we attended my brother D’s Wedding in the Hunter Valley. My family rented a house large enough for my Mum and the majority of my siblings and their spouses, it was a very special time with family though all too short. Leaving the children in the care of our oldest daughter, PC and I traveled by ourselves to then meet our oldest two sons and Rose for the weekend

From the kitchen…

currently we don’t have a ceiling on our kitchen/dining room nor are the eaves sealed; we have a couple of cheeky birds who fly in and out throughout the day, and each morning I awake to evidence that a possum roosts regularly on the rafters above my kitchen. Hopefully we’ll soon begin gyprocking/sheeting the ceiling and sealing the eaves, thus blocking out all unwelcome visitors. Besides as its the middle of winter the open ‘ceilings’ translate to a rather brisk chill

I am creating…

endeavouring to pick up my camera (Nikon D3100) daily. My brother C and his fiancee have asked me to photograph their Wedding; deep breaths…breath…breath. I have six months to ‘pick up my game’, whilst I realise they’ve asked me on my current skill level I’d like to bless them with something far better. Up to date I’ve been shooting on auto, challenging myself to focus on my manual skills, playing with light has been harder than I expected. Easily taking a hundred shots a day so I’m sure with persistence I’ll begin to click 😉

I am working on…

organising a family holiday for later this year. After days of searching I have found and booked a house large enough for us. Settling on a location that best meets the needs of such a wide age range and that was easy for all to travel to was a challenge but one I managed to meet.  PC, our oldest two boys and Rose have all been approved for a week off work and it’s really going to happen. I can’t convey our excitement that we are actually going on holidays, our first beach side family holiday in fourteen years!!!!!!

I am going…

well I’ve already been, to a local camera club meeting to see what it’s all about as I am considering joining. Pros and cons; they met for much longer than expected, the guest speaker put me to sleep, literally, the business part was of semi-interest but I realise necessary for groups to function. My motivation for attending was the company of like minded enthusiasts, their combined knowledge and passion and that I did find. I sat next to an elderly gentleman in his 90s who shared many tips of the trade with me, he recently bought a brilliant lens he absolutely loves though states he’s not likely to get full value as his time is running short. At 90+ his passion is currently the computer, making movies of his slides.  I chatted to a woman who collects old cameras and listened to her enthusiasm. People from all walks of life sharing a love of photography, it was fascinating

I am hoping…

our new kitchen remodel proceeds smoothly. As owner builders, generally we need only to rely on ourselves, the only tradesmen we engage tradesmen are electricians and plumbers, our supply shops have always been excellent. Currently we’re dealing with glaziers and cabinet makers and it’s an exercise in frustration patience. Six weeks in and still waiting for our second quote. Local scuttlebut is one should allow for four months for a new kitchen in this town, despite our cabinet maker promising a three week turn about I’m beginning to believe four months may be accurate

I am praying…

• for my children, differing intentions for each one
• for our extended families, always in our prayers

I am pondering….

how our upcoming school term should look. This is Michelangelo’s last 6-12 months of study with us, evaluating his skill set, crossing off and highlighting items on ‘the graduation list’, hyperventilating desiring to make these last precious months memorable

I am reading…

just finished reading Swiss Family Robinson to myself for likely the sixth time, a book I re-read every few years. This book in part appeals and part irritates; The father’s personality irritates me, one’s credulity is stretched with the variety of animals and botany on one island, and whilst this is a novel about survival there is an inordinate amount of shooting. I’m fascinated by the ship, how so many treasures were on the ship and they managed to salvage all. The families’ knowledge, ingenuity and tenacity, is certainly appealing. My edition pre-dates publication dating, I imagine it’s perhaps the original translation from the early 1800s, the language is certainly very ‘old’, I’m not certain why I keep re-reading, but I do.

I am listening to……

haven’t listened to any podcasts for weeks. My podcast listening takes place during my daily walks but due to my Achilles tendinitis I haven’t walked for over a month, hopefully soon.

I am hearing…

children awakening, the three youngest boys are always first up eager to grab a little computer time before breakfast

I am struggling…

to tame Bella’s hair into some semblance of order. Her hair is so fine that it’s a struggle every morning to de-tangle, using a mixture of conditioner and water in a spray bottle is the best solution

Clicking around…

my limited online time is mostly given to reading photography tips and discovering ‘natural light lovers’ on instagram. I was advised over time I would find my style, I believe I have, whilst I haven’t yet achieved it I’m consistently drawn to natural light

Around the house…

I’m rather excited as this weekend we’re pulling the external walls off our kitchen, re-framing, installing our newly arrived windows and rebuilding the walls. Our new kitchen installation finally begins 🙂

One of my favorite things…

my siblings, love ’em so much, wish we could gather together more often

A few plans for this week…

we’ve had a mammoth fortnight; celebrating my brother’s Wedding in the Hunter Valley, as well as celebrating three children’s birthdays, another brother visited for three days, new friends and their delightful four boys stayed overnight, then we all came down sick which left us feeling wiped out. So plans for the remainder of this week are to finish re-charging before we begin the new school term next week

A little peek at my day…

attempting a little lesson planning and focusing on re-charging