Category Archives: Celebrations

A New Adventure

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Today marked a totally new experience for me and one I am not sure I wish to repeat in a hurry.  I took my 2 grand-daughters to a birthday party at an indoor play centre. There were numerous birthday events running concurrently as well as casual users of the centre.  It was impossible for the birthday girl to even greet the guests and it seemed to be a matter of quickly opening the gift and then all running off to play on the equipment.

These facilities did not exist when Belle and Missy were children and I am quite thankful.  I can see the appeal because they offer ‘playground’ facilities in an indoor environment but the noise and action is just overwhelming.  I found it daunting so I cannot begin to imagine how young children must feel.  Miss O who is 4 & 1/2 seemed absolutely shell-shocked.

The birthday party is a fixed price per child and that covers their admission (normally $9) plus party food, cake and a bag of goodies.  Each child received a hot dog (frankfurt in a bread roll), french fries and a small packaged juice drink.  The cake was a doughnut stack and the bag of goodies contained some lollies (packaged), balloons, whistle, a pair of socks, pencils, and a mirror/comb compact.  Each item was individually packed in plastic.

I remember my daughters going to a couple of birthday parties at McDonald’s and was amazed to hear parents singing the praises of not having to arrange and prepare a birthday party at home.

Belle has organised birthday parties for Miss O and Izz at home or a local park and I am sure they were not deprived by this.  There was a range of party food which included healthy options and a cake decorated specifically for the occasion.  I do not think they have been deprived because of this.

What are your experiences and thoughts of children’s birthday parties?

Bag It Again

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Last week The Duke was given a bottle of wine.  As usual, it was presented in a gift bag.

2012-06-12 01Unfortunately, the giver had chosen to write a message directly on the bag, rendering it unusable.  Or was it?

I was about to dismantle the bag and put most of it in the recycling when I thought again and decided to make a smaller bag by cutting off the top that contained the writing.

Firstly, I removed the ribbon ties then marked where I need to cut.

2012-06-12 02I then cut off the top and refolded about 2cm to the inside and creased the fold to a sharp edge.

2012-06-12 03Finally, I punched some new holes and re-threaded the ribbon.

2012-06-12 04Here is the bag ready for several more uses.

Tying Up Loose Ends

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Today on the train I managed to finish off 3 more dishcloths.  They were knitted but just needed the threads to be woven in and neatened up.

These are some that I made to use up the last of the coloured thread.  I had 2 balls of the neutral thread stashed away so it is good to get it used up.

I am knitting 1 more cloth and that should just about finish all of the scraps so I will then have 9 dishcloths which should last me quite a while.  Not bad for the $10 spent of 4 balls of coloured thread.  Many thanks to my friend, Sandra who found the special and even bought them for me.

My next project is to use the same pattern to knit a facewasher each for Miss O and Izz for part of their Christmas gifts.  I plan to buy a ball each of pink and purple cotton and will make 1 pink and 1 purple one with their intitials knitted into it in the contrasting colour.

Speaking of Christmas gifts – it is 7 months till Christmas.  I have been a bit slack about posting my progress of Christmas preparations for Lazy Brownie day each month but I will get back on track for June.

How soon do you start planning for Christmas?

Time to Celebrate

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It is one year ago today that I started writing this blog.  I am really pleased that I have managed to stick at it for a whole year.  It is due, in no small part, to my dear readers.

Your regular visits that keep that little stat counter ticking over, the thoughtful comments and the inherent knowledge that there is someone out there in cyberspace waiting to read the next installment of my ramblings are the things that inspire me to write another post.

The stat counter is about to hit its own milestone.  By this time tomorrow the will be 20,000 hits.

The WordPress platform has proved to be much more to my liking than Blogger which I used for my previous couple of short-lived blogging attempts.  I know that many bloggers of long-standing use Blogger but I am happier with WordPress.

Speaking of WordPress, they have just introduced statistics by country which is very interesting.  I knew I had some readers from the USA but have discovered that I have had visitors from no less than 36 countries!  WOW!  Please introduce yourself and where you are from.

Finally, although he has no idea idea who I am, I must also thank Bryan Allain for his book, “31 Days To Finding Your Blogging Mojo”.  This little volume which I downloaded to my Kindle helped me to understand why I was writing this and what I wanted to achieve.

I will continue to write and hope that you will continue to read and join me on my journey to a simpler, more sustainable and organised life which leaves space for the things I really love and value.

Until tomorrow.

A Spoonful of Sugar………

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………helps the medicine go down, according to Mary Poppins.

On Sunday evening Miss O and I went to see Mary Poppins.  I had already seen the show in Sydney so was familiar with exactly what would happen.  Miss O was completely unfamiliar with the story but was thoroughly entranced by the costumes, music and dance routines.  With a little guidance from me she was able to gain an appreciation of the story.

It is exciting for me to share my love of the theatre and to see the sheer delight on her face.

As the full cast performed Supercalifragilistic for the encore Miss O was sitting on my lap, wide-eyed and clapping in time to the music (along with most of the audience).

2012-02-28 01I did not buy a program because I feel they add very little to the overall experience.  Also, in order to justify the cost most people tend to keep them which is simply clutter for the majority of us.

I think this photo of Miss O in front of the mural outside the theatre will be a far more meaningful ‘souvenir’ for her.

Sunday = Fun Day

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Today I had the pleasure of taking Miss O to her first experience of live theatre.  We went to see a production of Charlotte’s Web based on the book by E. B. White.  The performance was excellent and staged by the Caloundra Chorale & Theatre Company, a local Sunshine Coast group.

Here are a couple of photos of the characters.  They mingled with the audience after the show.  Miss O was happy to observe from a distance but declined to have her photo taken with any of them.  This is Charlotte.

2012-01-22 01And the goose and gander.

2012-01-22 02I love live theatre and being able to share that with my grand-daughter has been very special.

Minimise For Multipurpose

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I know that keeping our stuff to a minimum and simplifying as much as we can is a good thing but sometimes it is difficult to articulate why this is the case.  It is not until something occurs that we are reminded of just how useful it is to live with less.

Last weekend we had 20 guests for a BBQ lunch on the verandah.  About an hour before they arrived, The Duke announced that we could use the folding table as well.  This happens to be my sewing table and it was far from perfectly tidy.

I quickly tossed a few pieces of fabric and UFO’s on the spare bed and almost instantly we had an extra table for our entertaining.  Even though I had to move a few things it was no real imposition.  It makes sense that this table is being used almost every day rather than being folded up and gathering dust, waiting to be used once or twice per year.

This is the spare bed with everything that was on the sewing table.

2012-01-19 01The BBQ is over and the table is back in the room.  Everything is still on the bed as I am going to take this opportunity to sort out a few more things and find proper homes for them.  The table is pretty well bare at the moment apart from my sewing machine.

I will have to get the sorting done before Saturday afternoon when Miss O and Izz come to stay the night as this is the single bed and trundle bed that they use.

The Important Stuff

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It is very easy to be consumed by the merry-go-round of our lives – work, bills, mortgages, our homes and the never-ending chores.

Yesterday was about the really important stuff – spending time and sharing a meal with some of my extended family.

We hosted a BBQ for about 20 of my cousins and partners.  I had hoped to arrange it for before Christmas but there is always many social occasions at that time of the year that I decided to make it for the New Year. It was a special time that I will cherish for a long time.

I have some very close friends but for me, the saying “blood is thicker than water” rings true.  We do not see each other terribly often but the sense of shared history creates a strong bond that endures across time and distance.  It is important to nurture that bond by taking time in our busy lives to stop and re-connect with those who are important to us.

I know that not everyone has the luxury of a close bond with their families which only serves to remind me of how fortunate I am.  Do you have family or friends who are an enduring presence in your life?  How do you maintain these relationships?

A Christmas Plan

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No, I have not forgotten that it is January.

We have all heard the phrase about learning from past mistakes.  While they are not strictly mistakes, past events can be reviewed to see if it is possible to change things with a view to making life simpler and less stressful for ourselves.

Since it is a new year, what better to review than Christmas and the festive season?

My Christmas celebrations are very low-key compared to some.  However, comparison is not the issue here – streamlining the process and having time to enjoy the seasonal festivities is my aim.

Last year we went on holidays in October/November so I didn’t really focus seriously on any Christmas planning until mid-November.  There are also family birthdays at this time – one in November and one in early December.

Lazy Brownie Day is a concept I may have mentioned last year but it never quite got off the ground.  I believe the name comes from a book character, but regardless of the name, the concept is that the 25th of every month is dedicated to Christmas preparations.   While I may not always be able to do Christmas prep exactly on the 25th of the month due to work commitments, I will have a plan and review it each month.  This year I want to make sure that I do a little bit at a time and that there is no mad rush (physical or mental) at the end of the year.

Based on what I did in 2011 I have mapped out a basic idea of what I need to do each month to ensure that I am organised when it gets to December.  I have taken into consideration what worked, what didn’t and what I wanted to do that didn’t happen.

This is what it looks like:

January

  • Sort and file Christmas cards and letters
  • Make sure any contact details are updated in address book
  • Update Christmas card list
  • Set up complete contact list for 2012 e-cards

2012-01-04 01February

  • Make gift bags
  • Plan home-made gifts
  • Make list of gift recipients

2012-01-04 02March

  • Write Q1 review for 2012 Christmas letter
  • Work on home-made gifts

April

  • Work on home-made gifts

May

  • Work on home-made gifts

June

  • Write Q2 review for 2012 Christmas letter
  • Work on home-made gifts

July

  • Work on home-made gifts
  • Make Advent calendar

2012-01-04 03August

  • Complete home-made gifts
  • Check what other gifts to buy

September

  • Write Q3 review for 2012 Christmas letter
  • Buy any extra dried fruit/ingredients for cake
  • Make Christmas cake

October

  • Write Christmas cards
  • Select suitable photos for Christmas letter
  • Discuss plans for Christmas festivities/venues with extended family

November

  • Buy Christmas stamps
  • Make sure Advent calendar is complete and ready
  • Check times and location of carol service and displays of lights

December

Week 1

  • Put up and decorate the tree
  • Finalise menu for meals I am hosting over Christmas
  • Do major grocery shopping to last until after New Year

Week 2

  • Post cards
  • Take Miss O and Izz to carols and light displays

Week 3

  • Send Christmas e-cards/letters
  • Take Miss O and Izz to work Christmas party
  • Buy fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Relax and enjoy

Since Christmas 2011 is still reasonably fresh in mind, I hope I have covered most things.  There will be other small things I do throughout the year.

I am going to print this post and put it in a folder for reference and with the assistance of Lazy Brownie days I plan to have a smooth, non-stressful lead-up to Christmas 2012.

Do you have any particular timelines for Christmas preparations?