party news

It's like a little knocking on the back of my brain - 'update the blog', 'write about what is happening' - but most of the time it is fairly easy to ignore.  But here is a quick update:

Fortieth birthday op shop party went very well.  It was a bit overwhelming having nearly all my friends and family at my house at the same time - but it was lovely to see everyone.  I had a bit of hostess anxiety about making sure everyone had someone to talk with, and a drink, and something to eat, and the running schedule of the night - but that's part of the fun....isn't it?

I was really happy with how everything ended up looking.  Op shop theme is a great theme - nothing needs to match!

So much food - thanks everyone for cooking!

My wonderful cake made by the beautiful Kerrie.  It is caramel mudcake topped with chocolate mudcake, topped with a tea cup cake -  I think it is symbolising all the many cups of tea I have had with friends and family over the years, and many more to come!

My dress was $7 from the op shop - hand made by somebody and fitted me like a glove.

Lanterns on the deck ready for the party.  I love these lanterns.  I had the same champagne type ones in my house when I was small.

Chris made a wonderful speech.  Love him.  Mostly gorgeous and only a little bit embarassing.  Mum also made a great speech, revealing parts of my personality from when I was small that still ring true. Annika wrote me a song. A real proper song that she sang and played the piano accompaniment. I felt so proud and I cried and laughed and then cried some more. Some of the lyrics are
'you think you're so hilarious, but I don't always agree, 
you know deep down inside, I laugh until I see, how amazing you are'
and
'I've never had a day when I didn't love you, 
I've never seen a day when you weren't strong, 
I've never been away without missing you,
 I've never seen a time when you didn't sing a song'. 

 Such a wonderful gift from a beautiful daughter. It had a chord progression and everything (did I mention I was proud?).

All of us in our op shop clothes.  Such fun!

I had live musicians playing - it was really nice and added excellent ambience.  There was some very interesting oufits.....I think everyone had fun finding that special something at the op shop.

My girls had a wonderful time going through all my photos to make a photo timeline for me. It is astonishing how pictures of me as a girl look just like Annika.  The genes are strong there.  We picked way too many photos, so we had to do a cull to see what made it onto the wall.  We used little paper doilies to mark out the timeline.

In all the preparation for the party I kind of forgot the fact that I was turning 40.  Maybe I am supposed to have a midlife crisis or something.

But I'm not.  I feel blessed with family and friends.  I know I am redeemed with God.  I am cool with the fact that I have never backed a trailer, been to Paris or folded a fitted sheet.  I have learnt so much and I have so much more to learn.

Bring on 40 more.

Recycling op shop crockery

I have a significant birthday tomorrow. It starts with four and ends with 'o'. I have decided to have a party. Cause I'm extroverted like that.

For my party all my guests have to come in something they have found at an op shop for under ten dollars. It has been pretty fun searching for an outfit - I have visited many of Brisbane's finest op shops and now know which ones are cheap and what the opening hours are for my local ones.

On my travels around the op shops I have been collecting crockery as well. It means that I have been searching through dusty piles of plates with patterns I remember from my childhood. I am going to serve my party food on crockery cake stands. My friend and I made them the other day - we stuck them together with royal icing so I can dissemble them after the party and return them to the op shop.




I am really happy with how they turned out. I'm pretty excited for my party!! Bring on tonight! I will try and remember to post some photos of the cake stands with food on them. And my spectacular op shop outfit.

our bookshelf in the wall

I thought I would write about a favourite part of our house.  My bookshelf.  I love books, and read QUITE a lot.  To support this habit I need fodder - books. To support the books we need shelving.  Since I was small I have dreamed of a floor to ceiling bookshelf.  Now I am grown up I can make it happen in my house.

About six years ago we decided to make a bookshelf along our corridor.  I measured (well, Chris did) and decided it would be too squashy to walk down the hall with a bookshelf running along it.  So Chris decided to take off the wall sheeting to see what our studs (up bits) and noggins (across bits) looked like.  Wonderfully, the person who had built our house made an excellent hardwood frame straight and true.  All we (Chris) had to do was sand back the wood and add some shelves, custom height made to my books.

The shelves are re-used timber from the stage at Festival Hall.  There's Beatle spit on that wood.   Chris also put white backing on the shelves so we weren't looking at the back of a plasterboard wall.  We put in some little lights to jazz it up.

Even these shelves don't hold all of our books, we have another five bookshelves lurking around the house.

I like how anything I chuck on these shelves becomes arty and like it is supposed to be there - can you spot the wool balloon craft from a child, an empty beer bottle, a gyroscope, Nan's crystal, and a tiny lego piano on this shelf?  Proof I took the photo just how the shelf is today - without tidying it up.

I like that my house is a collection of found things that have meaning.  Not stylish, but comfortable and interesting.

Like our bookshelf in the wall.

ladder in the kitchen

I found an old wooden ladder on council pickup on our street.  I dragged it home and said to Chris with eyes full of designer dreams - let's put it in the kitchen.  Lovely man that he is, he just sanded it, measured where to drill the holes for the screws, and mounted it.  He has also replaced the ancient wooden window with a new wooden window.  Yay. 

Now my (before unrealised) dream of having a ladder in the kitchen has come true.

Before ladder (old kitchen decorating - I had a theme of utensils everywhere)

After ladder mounting.  Fun times on a Thursday night.

I had to move my clock from one wall to the other.  My eyes keep going to where the clock used to be, only to be met with blank wall NOT telling the time.

Shiny saucepans all hanging in a row!

Not bad for a cheap way to spruce up the kitchen.
Ladder = free
Chains and hooks = $60
Saucepans = from my cupboard
Husband labour.....priceless....

from chaos comes...

In choir at the moment, in fact for the last six months, we are tackling Britten's War Requiem.  I am part of the Queensland Festival Chorus and we are singing this requiem in about three weeks.  I am still discovering bits in it we haven't sung yet.

When we first looked at it around Easter time it was a discordant mess.  Britten likes his clashy chords and funny rhythms.  I had my doubts it would ever sound any good.  I figured, well, it is all about war and the futility of it all, it is supposed to sound depressing and atonal.

Then over the last few weeks moments of beauty have emerged.  I will be sitting there listening to the tenors and basses rehearse, and glimpse what Britten had in his mind.  I hear the sopranos soar over us altos, meeting our notes then leaving them again.  The urgency of the Dies Irae making you feel unsettled and like guns are rumbling in the distance in a 7/8 rhythm.  The sadness of the Lacrimosa, weeping for the soldiers.  I feel like the choir plays the part of the ghosts of soldiers haunting the battlefield.  I use my spooky singing voice...

From the chaos is emerging tiny parts of beauty and order.

The poetry written by Wilfred Owen contrasts with the Latin Mass.  Some parts of the poetry are so sad:

Anthem for a Doomed Youth
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

and

The Next War
Out there, we walked, quite friendly up to Death,---
 Sat down and ate beside him, cool and bland,---
Pardoned his spilling mess-tins in our hand.
We've sniffed the green thick odour of his breath,---
 Our eyes wept, but our courage didn't writhe.
He's spat at us with bullets, and he's coughed
 Shrapnel. We chorused if he sang aloft,
We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe


So my mind is resting on the requiem for many hours a week at the moment.  It makes me feel thankful for hope and eternal peace.

they run fast

Sports day at school always seems to roll around this time of year.  I went to watch a couple of races and ended up staying the whole day, helping in the tuckshop, watching long jump, chatting to other parents and spending some time in the school office making sure we had paid all our money for camp etc (she's only going on camp in a week - and they want the money? sheesh).

Gab was not present at the time trials for running (we were still driving back from Armidale), so she was not placed in the correct grouping.  Hence, she won by a long way.  So much so she kind of paused in the middle of the race wondering where everybody was.

Run Gab Run!

Annika striding out and doing her best!

Not sure how far she got in the long jump - but this photo looks very impressive...

The war cries of the different house teams seemed  little bloodthirsty to me - 'squash them, thrash them, then we strangle, every team we meet we mangle' - it was a bit intimidating sitting in the stands having 200 kids yell that out.  But the competition was gentle and supportive.  Although I was only watching the girls events. 

Only one more year of primary sports days!
(NB to self, don't sound too excited)

ok it's cold in Armidale

Last weekend I had a lovely time whizzing down to Armidale to celebrate a dear friend's 40th birthday.  Fortunately I packed all my winter clothes - because it got below zero..brrrr.

Gab and I had a great time catching up with old friends and making new friends.  I think there is always room for new friends.  I love having a wide wide circle of friendships that ripples in from every part of my life.  Friends like that are like me, friends that complement me, friends that have known me a long time, friends that I just met on the weekend that I feel like I have known for ages.

We sipped on hot mulled wine and enjoyed fancy little cakes, ate warm soup and pork buns and created home made pizzas.  I think I may have rolled back to Brisbane...

My friend and I composed (I think we can use that word - I wrote lyrics and she wrote music) a song for the birthday people.  It was called '40 years old'.  I wrote an encore verse but it wasn't requested at the time of singing.  I sang it anyway later.

Happy birthday Chris and Michelle!

Lovely Gab in the afternoon light at the farm

A big bonfire was lit at dusk.  I was a little concerned the hose didn't reach the fire.  But they had big rubbish bins of water available if needed.  And there were plenty of country boys to poke at it with sticks.

At the dam for a picnic the next day.  Gorgeous weather - we walked all around the dam.

This is our attempt at a bookclub photo.  I have a skype bookclub with these girls, as we all live in different cities.  It is an awesome way to keep in touch, and I have read books I never thought I would read.

Love them.

Gab found some leaves lying around, raked them up, and jumped in them.  Because you have to.

Thanks for a great time Armidale.

You cold cold town.