Friday 31 May 2013

22/52

I searched the other day for a portrait of the three of us and the last image I could find of us together is back in France. Maybe we need to travel more often and ask more strangers to take our family portrait? I also need more/any/a photo of Tamika, Jarvis and I together. Hmm maybe that will be my goal for next week?



Now have David Bowie’s lyrics going through my mind, I think this song was released mid 1990s? Off to google it. 

Steely resolve is falling from me
My poor soul, poor bruised passivity
All your regrets ran rough-shod over me
I'm so glad that we're strangers when we meet

I'm so thankful, cause we're strangers when we meet.
I'm in clover, for we're strangers when we meet.
Heel head over, cause we're strangers when we meet.

So this weeks post is dedicated to all of those stranger we are yet to meet.


There are a few, Portrait a Week options out there. A lot involve taking a portrait of your children each week. Jodi over at Che and Fidel has inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. Since I already take 100s of photos of my children each week, so I thought I would twist the idea a little. What I never seem to get is group shots, images of the family together, whether it is my two children, Tamika and Jarvis, or me with the kids, or shots of Justin and I. So I am going to challenge myself to get one image of "my family" per week.


THE HEALING EARTH



Today was the day to dig in the dirt. Turn it and prepare it. Three gardens beds. One already full and growing strong, sweet potato and pumpkin. The other two needed to be dug and mulched a final time before planting.
Three hours later the earth is ready for the seedling that we have been growing. It is now time for our winter crop to begin its life. 

 Tomato seedlings

 Sweet potato still going so strong. How beautiful are their flowers?

 My assistant needed a drink

 His grubby butt and shoes are clean in comparison to mine.


"Healing
By D. H. Lawrence

I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections.
And it is not because the mechanism is working wrongly, that I am ill.
I am ill because of wounds to the soul, to the deep emotional self
and the wounds to the soul take a long, long time, only time can help
and patience, and a certain difficult repentance long, difficult repentance,
realization of life’s mistake, and the freeing oneself
from the endless repetition of the mistake
which mankind at large has chosen to sanctify

Thursday 30 May 2013

BUTTONS AND RASPBERRY TWISTS

I finally got around to adding the buttons that link to my Facebook Page, Instagram account, Email, and a follow on Bloglovin. Okay, let’s be honest. I didn't do it. I got Tamika to do it for me. I am so not technical minded.


Please click on the buttons, not only to see if they work, but to follow me. Wouldn't want Tamika's efforts to go unnoticed. They are just up there to the top right of the screen. She is charging me one raspberry twist for every new 'like' I get on Faceboook and every new follower on Instagram. Let’s see if we can fatten up my skinny child!

Tuesday 28 May 2013

TRAVEL WITH A BABY/CHILD CAN BE EASY AND STRESS FREE



I have travelled as a sole parent with a baby through until Tamika became an adult. Now I am travelling with a baby through to toddler, with a partner. I have been often asked for hints on the best options. After our trip to Sydney and seeing a poor mother struggling with her baby I thought I would write a post on the knowledge I have gained over the last twenty years of travel.

Just a small selection of the places I have been with Tamika. 



Each age group comes with its own set of challenges and need to be addressed separately. People often think travelling with a small baby as a sole parent would be the hardest thing, but I challenge them to travel with a pre-menstrual sixteen year old that just got dumped via text before a flight from Australia to Spain. Oh that was a torturous flight!


There were lots of tears on this flight



Today I will concentrate from newborn through to two year olds.

I have always used a baby sling, even when Tamika, and now Jarvis, is too big and heavy for them. It is so much easier at the ticket counter and customs having free hands, even getting on board as it allows you to navigate the isles. Yes you will have to take them off to go through the x-ray, but over all it is an amazing to have your hands free and know your child is close and safe. I also use the sling to put the baby in so I can nap on board the flight, on our flight to China Tamika stayed in the sling for almost the entire time, asleep on my chest. Jarvis did the same thing from our flight from France to Korea.


Jarvis has loved the sling from birth and I used it all of the time, right up until it got stolen this weekend in Sydney.


I have a bulkier and heaver pram that was gifted to me, so before we travelled to France I bought a cheaper light weight stroller. Something that I can lift with one hand with ease. I check this in with my luggage, if, unlike me and you do not want to use a baby sling, in Australia you can take a pram/stroller all of the way to the gate with you and the staff will then check it in for you. You just have to let the staff know when you are checking in your luggage you are going to do this.

Our cheap, lightweight stroller


I then have two separate bags, a backpack for the child and a bag for me. This is why the sling comes in handy. The backpack is filled with everything and anything possible to amuse the child. Each and every child will have their favourite things. These must be bought along to give the child a sense of familiarity, to what can be a strange and stressful situation. I also pack a couple of new things to be bought out separately throughout the flight. Some parents now use Smart Phones, IPads and portable DVD players, but I am use to travelling with Tamika before these things were available and so don’t use them with Jarvis.

In my bag, besides the wipes and nappies, I always pack at least one to two changes of clothes for both myself and bub. Call me vain but I like to dress nice when I travel, I have been given a couple of upgrades over the years (appearance and lots and lots of nice manners go a long way). However, once on board I change my clothes into comfy options. I get cold on long flight so this is also taken into mind. Plus if you end up with either vomit or poo on you, it is nice to know you have something clean to wear.

In my bag I also pack allot of food, small things that take a time to eat. You will be given food on each flight for your child, but snacks are a must. Sultanas, cheese sticks, fruit sticks, anything that take awhile to unwrap and consume. You are allowed to take drinks on board for the baby so a sippy cup filled with water is ideal, as they too can dehydrate on long fights. 

I have a small bag inside my bigger bag that I take out before the plane takes off, I fill this with wipes, two nappies, food and drinks. So much easier to have one small bag tucked under the seat than to have to annoy other passengers by getting your bag in and out of the overhead locker. 

I am also a big believer in a dose of Nurofen before take off, and to breastfeed. If breastfeeding is not an option something they can suck on to help their ears is invaluable.

I think the most important thing is to not stress, stop worrying about what the other passengers think of your crying, shitty child. Children are so good at picking up on your stress. Instead try to turn things into a game. Jarvis loved tearing the vomit bag into strips and throwing it on the floor. This amused him for almost an hour on our flight to Fiji. On our flight to Sydney, Jarvis found the in-flight magazine to be the most entertaining thing from us reading it to him, to him reading it, to then shredding it and making paper hats.

There are so many more hints I can write about, I have been on so many flights with children, but these are the basics. But most of all enjoy the experience of travelling with your child.

Monday 27 May 2013

TOURIST TUESDAY: WE ARE ON A PLANE


Tourist Tuesday is taken a short break and will resume next week. We have gone off to be tourist in another city for a few days. Justin has photos of his on exhibition in Sydney so we thought we would go down and have a look at them on display and to enjoy some much needed time off together.

This is not the actual plane we flew on. 

Back next week. Hopefully with heaps of photos from Sydney

Friday 24 May 2013

21/52


A brother, A father, A Son, A Nephew. An Uncle.



From all of the reading I have done on the topic of happiness, the most common theme, if not the most important factor in our happiness is the number of quality relationships in our lives. Generations ago, such relationships were easy to come by. People were very likely to be surrounded by their extended family as they grew up.

These days, many families live far apart, and family reunions are few and far between, often non-existent, it seems. But everybody still wants to belong, and family ties are just as important as they ever were.

Uncles have a unique and important role to play in families. The uncle role is especially important for men who are unmarried and don’t have children of their own. Bachelor uncles can bring another varied influence into a child’s’ lives. It’s hard to describe, but “undomesticated masculine energy” is the closest I have heard this role being described as.


So this week’s post is dedicated to Uncle Ken. 


There are a few, Portrait a Week options out there. A lot involve taking a portrait of your children each week. Jodi over at Che and Fidel has inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. Since I already take 100s of photos of my children each week, so I thought I would twist the idea a little. What I never seem to get is group shots, images of the family together, whether it is my two children, Tamika and Jarvis, or me with the kids, or shots of Justin and I. So I am going to challenge myself to get one image of "my family" per week.





SINGING TO THE GNOMES


It was one of those weeks, you know when Grumpy sneaks up behind you and slaps you over the head. From feeling down last week, I slipped into darkness this week. I can always tell when this happens as I did no sewing or baking all week. I am never sure what happens first and what triggers the other but grumpiness and depression go hand in hand with me not creating. When I am not creative I am a grump.


To make matters worse Justin was having his own personal down, which is not mine to talk about. Plus, Tamika was/is over-tired and barely home. She has started a new full-time job (YAY!), but the adjustment to working full-time and information overload has exhausted her. Ever since she got Guillian Barrie she tires easier than others.

To try to expel the dark mood, I spent the week attacking the garden, mowing, wiper sniping, hedge trimming, and digging, basically getting it ready for the hibernation of winter. As much as Jarvis adores being in the garden, I was feeling guilty as I had not given Jarvis 'his day'. A day when we spend the day doing an activity that is all about his fun.

My gardening assistant.

But then, we were at a Hardware store getting supplies, and it hit me how thrilled Jarvis was to be there. He got to push his own trolley and run amok in the plant section, he even got to sit in front of rows of garden gnomes and sing to them. Garden gnomes seem to be his audience of choice. He adores them.

Off in search of the gnomes

I sat down beside him in the plant section and realized, it is me that is the problem. I can stress all I want about lack of money and that is not going to change a thing. I have to take my example from Jarvis and find the happiness in the simple things and stop and sing to the gnomes. After all, my gnomes are happy.

Monday 20 May 2013

TOURIST IN MY OWN CITY: QUEENSLAND MUSEUM SOUTHBANK

The Queensland Museum Southbank, is as the name states at Southbank on the river, it is situated next the Queensland Gallery of Art and near GOMA. On the bottom level of the museum is the Sciencecentre. The museum is free to enter and open most days from 9:30am to 5:00pm.



According to their website “This fascinating museum of natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement tells the changing story of Queensland.” In 1986 the Queensland Museum South Bank opened in the heart of Brisbane’s cultural precinct. From the museum it is a short walk to Southbank and all of the attractions the area has to offer. 



Jarvis and I each have our favourite sections of the museum, there are five levels to the museum so plenty of things and places to explore. 





Level four is the Discovery Centre, Jarvis will spend hours here, looking at all of the displays. Stuffed animals galore; and dozens and dozens of draws to open and close, filled with all interesting manor of things. 






The top level is an ever changing exhibition space; however the current exhibition is Collectomania. The online website states: “Take a peek inside the private collections of Queenslanders and see how our State’s collectors gain meaning and identity from their collections. Collectomania highlights a very human passion – collecting the things we love, fuelled by a sometimes unexplainable drive or desire to find the next perfect addition, preserve a moment in time or celebrate beauty, function and achievement.”








It is a great place to take Jarvis, on the weekend it is packed full of visitors, however on a week day there is heaps of space for Jarvis to explore. 

Saturday 18 May 2013

20/52







I was taking photos of my nieces in their Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum outfits; (aren't they just the most beautiful girls?) when Jarvis joined in. So I asked Tamika to join in as well. But then we got photo bombed by my other niece’s husband. As soon as I saw this photo bomb photo I just knew it had to be this week's portrait. Who else loves the photo bomb image as much as I do?


There are a few, Portrait a Week options out there. A lot involve taking a portrait of your children each week. Jodi over at Che and Fidel has inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. Since I already take 100s of photos of my children each week, so I thought I would twist the idea a little. What I never seem to get is group shots, images of the family together, whether it is my two children, Tamika and Jarvis, or me with the kids, or shots of Justin and I. So I am going to challenge myself to get one image of "my family" per week.




Friday 17 May 2013

GUEST POST OVER AT GLAMOUROUS GODDESS


Today I wrote a guest post over at Glamorous Goddess, Five Natural Hair Remedies From Your Kitchen. Pop over and have a read and show this new blog/business some love. Plus if you are in Brisbane mention this blog and for any service for a first time customer for the month of May and June you can get a 20% discount. 



Wednesday 15 May 2013

STOP FOLLOWING THE RECIPE


I was thinking today about if I was the sort of person to follow a recipe? Or do I like to bend the rules to life? For the last couple of months I feel as if I have been in a slump, not moving forward stressing too much about the what if and could have and should haves. I will say things to myself like “I will do X as soon as I sort out Y”. But who says I should wait? Why can’t I bring myself to do X now? What is Y never happens?

Images have nothing really to do with this post. They are just some experiments I have done with film. 

My best moments in life have happened when I have done things "My Way", I have lost my own life motto of "Fight Living the Ordinary Life". It is time to get myself out of this slump and move forward. 


Being such an OCD person I love lists, even more I love crossing things off lists. So I am writing myself a “to do list” and giving myself to my birthday to achieve all ten things. Why ten? Because I am OCD! And ten is such a neat number.


I am not yet ready to share my list, they are sitting in a post waiting for me to publish when I feel emotionally stronger. 


Along with my to do list I am going to re-read and think about a book I read not so long ago. The Ten Golden Rules: Ancient Wisdom from the Greek Philosophers on Living the Good Life. It is written by M. A. Soupios and Panos Mourdoukoutas.


In short the Golden Rules are:
1. Examine life, engage life with vengeance; always search for new pleasures and new destines to reach with your mind.
2. Worry only about the things that are in your control, the things that can be influenced and changed by your actions, not about the things that are beyond your capacity to direct or alter.
3. Treasure Friendship, the reciprocal attachment that fills the need for affiliation. Friendship cannot be acquired in the market place, but must be nurtured and treasured in relations imbued with trust and amity.
4. Experience True Pleasure. Avoid shallow and transient pleasures. Keep your life simple. Seek calming pleasures that contribute to peace of mind. True pleasure is disciplined and restrained.
5. Master Yourself. Resist any external force that might delimit thought and action; stop deceiving yourself, believing only what is personally useful and convenient; complete liberty necessitates a struggle within, a battle to subdue negative psychological and spiritual forces that preclude a healthy existence; self mastery requires ruthless candor.
6. Avoid Excess. Live life in harmony and balance. Avoid excesses. Even good things, pursued or attained without moderation, can become a source of misery and suffering. 
7. Be a Responsible Human Being. Approach yourself with honesty and thoroughness; maintain a kind of spiritual hygiene; stop the blame-shifting for your errors and shortcomings.
8. Don’t Be a Prosperous Fool. Prosperity by itself, is not a cure-all against an ill-led life, and may be a source of dangerous foolishness. Money is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the good life, for happiness and wisdom.
9. Don’t Do Evil to Others. Evildoing is a dangerous habit, a kind of reflex too quickly resorted to and too easily justified that has a lasting and damaging effect upon the quest for the good life. Harming others claims two victims—the receiver of the harm, and the victimizer, the one who does harm.
10. Kindness towards others tends to be rewarded. Kindness to others is a good habit that supports and reinforces the quest for the good life. Helping others bestows a sense of satisfaction that has two beneficiaries—the beneficiary, the receiver of the help, and the benefactor, the one who provides the help.

Monday 13 May 2013

TOURIST IN MY OWN CITY: NEW FARM PARK


This week the Tourist in my Own City destination was New Farm Park. According to Wikipedia:  “New Farm Park is a public park located in the suburb of New Farm in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The park covers 15 hectares (37 acres) and is situated at the south-eastern end of the New Farm peninsula on a bend in the Brisbane River.  The Powerhouse Arts Centre is located at the eastern end of the park."

New Farm Park is a great meeting place for locals and tourists, but according to Jarvis, it is a place filled with wonderful adventures.


 Jarvis will wander for ages over the grass and running up and down between the garden beds.

Testing the boundaries of me telling him to stay out of the garden beds. 

 Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Centre

 After playing in the garden beds we will walk along the boardwalk

 I love that you can get the City Cat here. Here is my previous post on the City Cat.

 Such stunning old trees

 BBQs are available


And of course there is the kids play area




  

History of the park
The land that the park now stands on was originally a farm, built to supply food for the recently founded convict settlement on the Brisbane River. A racecourse was built on the site in 1846, which operated until 1913, when the land for the park was acquired by the Brisbane City Council. During the late 1990s the kiosk was based in New Farm Park. The kiosk was a popular meeting point for weekend breakfasts and won many awards. However during 2000 the kiosk was destroyed by fire and has yet to be rebuilt.