Planting seeds

Last Sunday I was pondering some spiritual things. I have been studying the sacrament lately. I had new insights about the sacramental prayers, and it was exhilarating. I felt grateful for so many blessings and gifts.

I enjoyed initial completion of a major project at uni this week, only 10 weeks early! In late August I am due to submit a report outlining my research and plans for the remainder of my Ph. D. My first draft is now ready for review and I’m extremely pleased. It’s a little long though. I have a 3000-word limit, and I’m currently at 5500. I know, I know. It’s unusual for me to have too much to say! My major focus this week will be refining the project and completing another important document; my ethics application.

For some strange reason (perhaps connected to my bike fall a couple of weeks ago), I ended up with a sore neck this week. I cannot believe how badly a sore neck or back can affect life. It meant more time resting and trying to get better, but only time seems to make an impact on this kind of trouble. Cold and flu, sore hand, crook neck! It’s been a rough time lately. On the plus side, I must be coming out of it soon! And we’ve had the BEST waves of the year in the past fortnight. I’ve missed it all.

During the week we had violent winds. Our house makes LOTS of noises in the wind. There are creaks and rattles, there are what Chanel calls “ghost” noises, and there was the wind itself. I was awoken at around 3.30 am and could not get back to sleep because of all the noise. When I went out into the front yard I saw one of the big trees on our fence line had been entirely blown down. Some of those borer grubs had been into the base and weakened it to the point that it toppled. The colourbond fence was totalled and the neighbour’s shed was crushed too – with all of his stuff in there.

Kylie is getting right into her crafts and things again. I love it when she’s doing those crafty bits. I don’t have a deep appreciation for that kind of thing but I’m gaining one. More than that, though, I have a great appreciation of seeing Kylie deeply involved in something that she loves and can be absorbed in. Kylie’s spent more time on craft than I do surfing! And I think she enjoys her craft as much as I enjoy my surfing. If only I had something to show for all my time in the water! The work Kylie produces is really worth seeing.

We ended up at Bunnings Hardware Store last week looking for some items for Kylie’s crafts. I got distracted while Kylie shopped and ended up in the horticulture section. I have always wanted to have a vegetable garden, and I decided that the time has come. I purchased two trays of seedlings: cauliflower and lettuce. The kids and I got out in the backyard with some tools and got things moving. We now have vegetables growing! This week I’ll collect some cow poo, and we’re getting the composter going too! In a few weeks we’ll plant some silverbeet, leek, and some herbs in the soon to be prepared herb garden. Kylie is skeptical, saying she doesn’t think I can grow anything at all! But… we shall see! When we’re munching on home grown lettuce, and eating Coulson-cultivated Cauliflower I’ll be able to relish it that much more!

A quick update on the children: Chanel is excelling at everything – including driving Kylie and I crazy. She is always organising events, gatherings with friends and so on. She is always wanting to “just make a phone call” or “just get on the Internet” and forever too “busy to actually help out. But now and then she surprises us and does an exceptional job of looking after her sisters (particularly Annie). Abbie, or Fabulous Abulous (or the Abster) has more nicknames than any child I’ve ever heard of. She is tremendous. She is showing courage and maturity in awkward situations (I’ll mention a quick incident shortly), and is doing an amazing job at school. Her reading skills are excellent, and she is performing better than many of the year 1 students (she’s in Kindergarten). Ella is wonderful most of the time. We love it when she is, because when she isn’t – wow, it’s a challenge. And Annie is so full of joy it’s bursting out of her, as you can see in the photo below. Annie is so happy that her smile hasn’t got enough room to show the extent of her joy!

Saturday was easily my favourite day this week. Despite the sore hand and neck I committed to having a productive day. It was one of those perfect winter days. The sun shone, the sky was flawless blue, there was no wind – it felt almost like Spring. The kids were up early and playing with the neighbours. I spent a couple of hours on the car: it looks perfect, and may stay that way for at least a couple of days before the kids destroy it all again! I spent a little more time on the garden, picked up sticks from the windy days earlier in the week, and emptied out the unused veggie patch. It’s unused because the previous tenants of this house used the space to dump their kitty litter. It was so toxic that even weeds wouldn’t grow in it! I’ve emptied it out now, and we’ll slowly fill it with potting mix, compost, and cow poo. In no time we’ll have a perfect patch for more vegetables!

All the while, Kylie was being crafty… and loving it. After lunch Kylie took Chanel, Abbie and Annie to Campbelltown for a church activity. Abbie was placed into a team where she knew no one. She felt isolated and scared, but she got involved anyway. Kylie said she was nervous but had a go. I was so proud of my little angel. While Kylie was at the activity I stayed home with Ella. We had so much fun.

I put Ella on her bike and we cruised around the top of the hill where we live. There is a small flat section amongst all the hills and Ella had endless fun. She has no idea how to ride, but I wasn’t allowed to help. She did it all herself. Other than a couple of very close shaves I was very impressed with her ability on the bike. We were out for about 90 minutes, and it was so much fun I think we’ll do it again this afternoon after church! Then it was home time, where we did some more weeding, and I cooked dinner. It was a productive family day, and it was the best day of the week.