Blind spot….

I have discovered I have a medical condition…. this is of course, apart from the Herniated disc in my neck that has made my life truly challenging over the last few months.

My health issues, and pain management have meant that a lot of what I would normally do around the house has been done by others. 3 male, well-meaning and entirely capable others. However, looking at our house with fresh eyes, and limited time before the next enforced “rest” has made for an interesting discovery.

We have been waging war on clutter for some time now. This house is not the largest, and we are all hoarders to some degree or another. In the past this has meant rather creative clutter solutions, however at the moment, the time for creativity has past. With the inclusion of a lot of items from my parents house, we are bursting at the seams. However, help is on the way, as we are building a beautiful new house not too far away, and should be moving within 6 months.  So now would be a good time to get the clutter under control, rather than moving it with us, right?

Back to my medical discovery. I (and several members of my family) have clutter blindness. This was all brought to a head by a discovery of a tissue box yesterday. We ran out of tissues. We always have a box on the table, it’s been a long wet winter with plenty of nasty viruses that have wreaked havoc on us, and *gasp* we ran out of tissues. I was hoarding the small supply I had in my jacket pocket, my handbag. I had resorted to toilet paper. Shopping was the next day, and then all would be well again. So the next day we got tissues, and truly all was right with the world. That was when I noticed the SPARE box of tissues, sitting on the open cupboard just across from the dining table. This box was not hidden. It was at eye level, right next to a door that I go through hundreds of times a day. The box had been there since June, when we were all sick. I had a mental blindness towards that box, so that even when I desperately needed what was inside it, I couldn’t SEE it!

So with my new found mental fog removed, I have spent the morning walking around the house, re-evaluating all the things that we just accept are THERE, and no longer wonder why they are. The pile of magazines accumulating on the coffee table. The books and paperwork on the dining table, the enviable collection of recycling decorating the kitchen window sill. Although we know it’s there – as in we don’t walk into it etc, we just seem to have a blind spot around it. Like Douglas Adams’ classic invention, the SEP field. If you label something as “someone else’s problem”, then for you, it magically vanishes.

The SEP field is clutter’s best friend. If it can convince enough people in a household that it is SEP, then nothing ever happens to it, and the clutter is left alone to quietly multiply, finally drowning the household in irrelevant items that are there for no particular purpose.

But not for long!! I will vaccinate my family forthwith, and make a final stand against this clutter. Well, at least until the fog descends again.

Clutter and simplifying lives seems to be a hot topic around the web and in people’s lives at the moment. If you have any great strategies for saving yourself from it, let me know!

Peace and quiet

We are nearly at the end of 5 days of holidays here in South Australia. *skip* has from Friday to Tuesday off, which has been wonderful. We are also in the middle of the school holidays, thank GOODNESS for that, as 11 week terms are just NOT fun by about week 8. We were all of us totally burnt out, but a little bit of gardening, (not as much as I was hoping but it all just HAD to be sprayed because of rampant Kikuyu), a bit of knitting, a lot of napping and we are restoring our selves.

Actually, it’s a lot of knitting. Thanks to the joys of Acupuncture, my herniated disc in my neck is finally making progress. I have reduced my pain-killers to only occasionally, and if I LISTEN to my body and rest when I need to, I can cope so much better. I’ve never had serious acupuncture before, and the difference it made, in even the first week, was remarkable. Highly worth a shot. Don’t leave it until it’s the last resort like I did, and suffer for a month longer than you need to.

Anyway, thanks to the Acupuncture, and lots of enforced rest, I am preparing for winter by knitting up a storm. First the Tea Leaves Cardigan, which was completed in 1 Month! Yes, that’s got to be some kind of record for me at least.

I ABSOLUTELY should have (and will next time) knit the next size down. It does look a little large on me, but oh well, I still love it. It’s warm and cosy, extremely comfortable and wearable. Better still, it’s a whole lot of wool out of my stash. Bought in March last year for this project, and sitting in a drawer ever since.

Currently I’m working on converting about 600 grams of my Mother’s Vintage wool into a Shalom cardigan. Yet another top-down, with no seaming at all. My kind of knitting as I hate seams with a passion. I also suck at them, which helps with the hating kind of thing. Sadly the pattern is only written in one size, so I’m having to tweak the tension, stitch size etc to make it work. And the wool is old and frayed, so I’m constantly having to cut out damaged bits and rejoin. AND I’m knitting it double, so I’m just hanging to get it finished so that I can not have to deal with it anymore. It’s looking absolutely gorgeous though, and at 1 week in to the project, I’m about 3/4 done, so can’t say it’s not been a quick knit. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve had a lot of time to spare

But it’s interesting at the moment….. surfacing so to speak. I mean, my poor body has taken a battering over the last few years, both physically and emotionally. It has left me with some changes that I don’t like – a little bit of weight, and a whole lot of tiredness, lack of stamina. Sore muscles if I do anything resembling work. But there has been such a long time where I wasn’t able/allowed to do anything. Between the Pneumonia, which I didn’t take seriously for 2 weeks and kinda then regretted, the Whooping Cough, the car accident that I’m still feeling the repercussions of 9 months later.

My Acupuncturist, who is my new hero, is encouraging me to be kinder to my body. Sleep more. Eat better. And you know, she’s probably right. It might be a little to do with why I went from feeling 25  only 3 short years ago to about 55 now. I feel OLD all of a sudden. And this corporeal vessel, well I had better take care of it, or it will probably just feel worse over the next few years.

I’m also taking care of my inner self. Nourishing it. At *skips* encouragement, I have joined Christy Tomlinson’s She Art Workshop. Before the school holidays, I got my first canvas started, but I feel very self-conscious still about creating and much prefer to do it without my interested audience, so I’ve had to put her on hold for a few more days. She now lays on the kitchen table. She has become so much a part of the family already we have dinner around her, read the paper over her, and just generally ignore her existence. Which is exactly what I want. I hate a fuss, I’d rather she got ignored than ooh’d and aaah’d over for days.

So that’s a short version of what I’ve been up to ooooh for the last 5 or 6 weeks. I’m sure there’s more. Have you had a look at my Project 365 lately? We’re nearly at the end of April, over 100 images have been captured.

So what have you been up to lately? I’d love to know

Today I am grateful for

Glorious things found in my garden…

A beautiful day of sunshine, light breeze, warm and humid and I’m getting lots of washing done!

Having a roof over my head, food on my table and my family safe and sound

Living in a society that lets me go and spend my money, even if sometimes the money is a little tricky to budget.

There are so many things that we take for granted…. What are you grateful for today?

March-ing on we are

Can you believe that March is here already?

The last few weeks have had a lot to do with healing. Resting. Allowing my body to get on with looking after me, as I look after it. I’m so glad that I had to cut down on my work days last year. It has been a bonus to be able to take my time at home. If all I feel up to is sitting on the lounge, winding wool, then that is enough.

Some days the weather has been beautiful, with the doors and windows open for a lovely fresh breeze. Some days, not so much. Today is grey, overcast, raining, but still not cold yet. Refreshing late summer/early autumn type rain.

And I am warm and comfortable inside. About to have left over Butter Chicken that *skip* made on the weekend, with my very own naan bread made last night after work.

I have been slowly dipping my toes into the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. It’s a fascinating theory, can you really make something as complicated as bread, so easily? I have long avoided bread since my breadmaker died, as the rising, kneading, resting etc just shouted at me TIME!! that none of us have to spare, lets be honest. So I wasn’t expecting great things to start off with. I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to make it work, that without someone to hold my hand, that I would mess it up. Well, the book comes very close to holding your hand, if in doubt, they have a comprehensive website as well. And you know what? It really WAS that easy. Really.was.easy.

And a huge hit! I have at least one friend queuing up for some hand-holding lessons, and I’m sure that as I share more of the food I am creating, she won’t be the last.

It doesn’t get much better than home-made pizza, from scratch.

Oh, yes it does. Learning how easy it is to make Chicken Tandoori topping for your pizza. Huge yum factor. Got to keep the hungry hordes happy

Food on my mind.

I’m not a big foodie kind of person. Don’t get me wrong, I like to eat, but I’m not a kitchen guru, totally obsessed with the right flavour and texture of the moment. For me, it’s all about simple, cheap, and no fuss.

Unfortunately I’ve had to have a bit more thought on food, now with our eldest child having graduated to the big leauges of High School. 2 bus trips there and back each day make for a long time to keep his engine stoked. And it is a growing big engine. We have finally gotten him into Men’s size clothes and size 9 shoes. At 13, I wasn’t quite expecting it.

And yes, I have had many of the warning talks from other Mum’s, you’ll know about it when he starts to eat like a teenage boy, we couldn’t keep food in the house unless we hid it/nailed it down etc. and like everyone else I figured there was at least a small amount of exaggeration in there. Whoah. NO. My son, the giant in training, eats from the minute he gets up until we force him to go to bed at night. He’s a good kid, he’ll eat crackers, fruit, bread, anything that we ask him to. He doesn’t need junk. Which is all better for him as a good bowl of porridge will be better for him everytime than a packet of chips or a chocolate. But still, it just doesn’t stop.

So now, a real portion of everyday is dedicated to fuelling the beast within. Planning and preparing enough food to get him through the next day, and making sure there is something healthy, nutritious and low-fuss to keep him going in the meantime at home.

Popcorn has become my saviour. And I’m a fair way to addicted to it myself. Not the over preservatived microwave version. Genuine, heat some oil in a saucepan, add the popcorn and watch the magic happen popcorn. Fill up an airtight tub and watch it vanish before my eyes. Ok, not necessarily filling, but it’s fun, right?

So what other go-to snacks are there out there? What are we missing out on? Would love to hear your ideas!

Meanwhile, my Project 365 is steaming along beautifully. Check it out here

Project 365:2011

Or see the Monthly Collage for January here

January Summary Project 365:2011

I’m starting to get a vision for how it will all look at the end of the year, and it’s already very exciting!

Finding Cassie….

I bought some music on iTunes last night. I had been given $50 credit by my darling *skip* and I hadn’t gotten around to using it for nearly 2 months. So I went looking for some inspiration of the listening kind, and felt so energised by those purchases. I actually said to *skip* at one point, I’m beginning to feel like me again. Very happy about that feeling.

January has been a difficult month. Right at the start of the year, when I had decided that THIS was my year, this was the year that would make the difference, I found out that my sister needed major brain surgery. She pulled through just fine, but the week of waiting before her operation was very testing, both for her, and those that could only sit and hope.

Added to that have been various family trials with the winding up of Mum’s estate, which is nearly finished thank goodness. And then, to top it all off, I woke up nearly 2 weeks ago with an excruciating pain in my neck. I mean, I’ve had a sore neck before, but this was something entirely new. I woke up whimpering, it hurt to much to scream, or I would have been. The wait before seeing the Chiropractor was the longest 5 hours in a long time. I was diagnosed with a herniated disc, right at the bottom of my neck, which has caused all sorts of fun symptoms including radiating pain and numbness down my arms. I wasn’t allowed to drive, let alone work, for over a week. It’s only due to his diligent and careful treatment, and *skip* and the boys carefully caring for me in the intervening time, that this week I have been a lot better. Not out of the woods, sadly. That will take about a month, but hey, better than screaming in pain.

The weather has also finally improved, I mean, it IS SUMMER for pity’s sake.

I am also at peace about some important decisions that we have made as a family, for our little family. We had been contemplating a major move interstate, however that plan has now been shelved for a few years. We are at peace with that decision now, which has been a relief. We will have some excitement happening over the next year, so don’t miss that. I can’t share about it yet, but I will.

And so, to the future for the rest of this year. Ok, January was a bit of a write-off, but February is a fresh month, full of lots of excitement.

On Monday, Tyson will have his very first day of High School. We are as prepared as we can be. He has most of his uniform, a new serious bag, lunch-box, and books. AND a mobile phone! And Sammy will be a senior in Primary School. He is going into a new class, his FIRST ever male teacher! That will be interesting. He won’t be able to snuggle him like all his previous teachers I am so excited to see what these changes mean for them, over the future months. I hope for great things, and adventure.

Meanwhile, I have been reading inspiring blogs, and books and magazines, including Lonny, Frankie, Peppermint, Spoonful….. the list goes on. I’ll link you up later. I’ve had all this time on my hands, you see! I’m itching to get some sewing/knitting/crafting/something!! done…… the itch is getting rather bad at the moment. I have soooo many knitting projects I could be doing, but knitting and herniated discs in your neck, don’t REALLY play nicely, so all I can do is stalk ravelry, and dream for now.

Oh, and I scrapped something today too….. Don’t fall off your chairs. It’s not that flash. I was just making a poster for Tyson, to remind him as he faces challenges over the next year, that he is just right the way he is.

This is one of my favourite up and at-em kinda quotes. Goodies here from the amazing Jessica Bolton and Pixelworks.

Ok, so that’s one heck of an update. Time for some more pain-killers…. (codeine is my friend) and an ice-pack in bed. Later dudes!

Courage

My one little word for 2011, chose me right out of the blue. I don’t normally participate in this sort of thing, but this year, it just seemed rather necessary. After all the drama, and changes over the last 3 years, it seems unfortunate that things aren’t settling down just yet. But there isn’t anything we can do about that, so what is required, is… Courage.

Courage: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.

I know there are many people out there who are battling their own evils, imposed upon them – not chosen by them. Their battles are truly epic, and I cannot actually imagine how much courage they need to face them, day by day. But in my own little world, in my own way, right now courage is needed. From the courage to stand up and face up to what needs to be done, to the courage to look and know that there is something better waiting on the other side.

Strange thing, but I was watching Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version) with the family last Friday, and at the end, when Alice became the champion, I realised that was my problem. I needed to stop being the white queen, waiting for my champion, to put on my Big Girl Panties, and DEAL WITH IT. If I needed a champion, what – was I going to get one on ebay? Not likely. So the time has come to be what I need. To stand up for what I need, to stop making apologies and excuses.

Courage comes in so many forms. Courage is needed by so many people, in so many ways. There is no recipe, no tried and true formula. But courage, with a good dash of hope, will see us through.

Sorry, I know I’m rambling. But getting these feelings out here, that’s courage too. And to my beloved Sister, all my courage is for you right now.

XX

Cassie

Wow, 2011

Lots already going on for this year, I will be back with a proper update and so forth, but meanwhile, I must have totally lost my marbles, as I have a new project on the boil so to speak.

Project 365:2011

Please come and check it out, and help me keep on track! I thought it was nice and easy, minimum pressure required, but at least it will keep me shooting through what could possibly be another stressful year.

Starting early

Apart from BLOGGING early, as for the 3rd morning in a row I am awake at 4 and really over the whole business of not sleeping, I am also as of now, officially starting 2011.

You know, quite frankly I have had enough of 2010. It has been one of those awkward, painful years, where you just constantly feel that nothing is going right for you. You remember them, we all had them mostly as teenagers. Years that were most memorable by the fact that you survived them, and that’s about all. Years where your skin didn’t fit right, where YOU didn’t fit right and you constantly felt like every simple thing was a battle.

So we are officially finished with 2010 in this house. 2011 is shaping up to be an exciting year, for many reasons. We are not sure what it will hold, but we are approaching it positively, looking forward to some good times.

We actually started this on Saturday, which, ironically enough, was a whole year and a bit coming. In 2009, for our anniversary, my loving *skip* gave me a ticket to meet the Cheetah’s at Monarto Zoo. It took me a year to get there, but get there I did.

For more about this, and some more photos, go to Cassandra Madge Photography – the Blog.

Achievements, big and little

I think it’s a grown up thing. Or maybe an Aussie thing? I don’t know. But I just don’t think that we make enough of our achievements. Something great that happened that we were a part of, either big or small.

We praise our children. We hang onto, and distribute far and wide the stories of their successes – case in point the DVD of Peter Pan that I sent to my sister. But I don’t think we take enough time to actually pat OURSELVES on the back for jobs well done.

So here goes, in no particular order, some things that I am particularly proud of lately. Because right now, it’s all about baby steps around here.

I found out in advance that 3 teachers were moving on from the boys school, all 3 having been a big part of their lives. So instead of just thinking about it, I actually managed to get organised presents, cards, wrapping and photos for them. Most of the time I only think of these things when it’s too late, so I achieved forward planning and organisation, and I hope that it meant as much to them, as it did for my beautiful boys to say goodbye.

Mum’s house is now off our hands. We are exhausted, drained of all physical and psychic energy. Even my younger brother finally had to admit, that the emotional aspect of letting go of the family home of over 35 years, was much harder than he was expecting. But it’s done now, for better or worse, and we are pulling ourselves together and moving on with our lives.

My craft/sewing space is finally coming together. With a lot of help and encouragement from *skip* in the process.

I am improving in my “letting go” skills. It’s so hard to do this sometimes, but I am developing strategies to handle the overwhelming emotions, and to keep powering through the decisions.

I have also edited numerous videos, distributed them to all the appropriate recipients. I even managed to send out school photos within a week of receiving them. Woo-hoo! I have created multiple photo books, for us and for gifts, which have also been distributed to the lucky recipients promptly. Including a 2-part volume of our Canberra/Coast holiday from July, and a book of the cast/performances from Peter Pan.

It is so very good that things are changing and moving forward around here at the moment. It is a great feeling to hold on to the achievements, and use them as momentum for the following few weeks which will be quite busy (and insanely stressful) with work over the holiday season. So that we will finally come to January. I hope with a sense of peace, and the chance to just sit and breath for a while. In and out.

And because every good post should have a photo, please have this one. Me and my bubby, who is now 11 and not so much a bubby anymore. We had our big present-day of the year on Saturday, and this is part of his Bolton Wanderers haul…. Pj’s, Scarf, Training Jacket and Cap. I imported them from England months ago, and have just been hoping he didn’t grow TOO MUCH inbetween. Which he didn’t!