Anyone would think it was April Fools Day

Things were going well, the children were out for the day and I had work to do. Things were completed, fun was had, blogs were read, eBay was checked, tea was consumed and chocolate was eaten. A good day by all accounts. Aislin had a school visit this afternoon so I picked her up from kindy and dropped her at school, while she was there I ran an errand and then waited, for the last 20 minutes, in the car. Happily listening to the radio.

The school bell rang and in I went to collect my offspring. It was when we got back to the car that things began to go awry. Which resulted in this.....

And my children looking like this......

Please Mr RAA man, can you fix our car?

And he did...and all was well (we need a new battery).

Here I sit.....

....in my office. Yep, you read that right....my office. I have whined blogged endlessly about the lack of progress on our renovations and told how we actually moved a load of stuff into the office in preparation for it becoming a real office. Well, yeah....it didn't. Now, don't get all excited and admiring or anything because....well....it still isn't. However, it is now set out exactly as it shall be after it is painted and new flooring is done.

This is my theory. I have been saying for some time that I find it difficult to work without a designated space that pleases me. I did not use the room that was going to be an office because it wasn't 'finished'. Then I realised that it can still be a pleasing environment to work in temporarily and when the painting and new flooring are ready to be done it will only take an hour or so to move everything out again. Tom agreed, so we did it and I am now sitting at my desk looking out of the window at some big old gum trees, a few cows and the windmill (ok, I'm actually looking at the computer screen but that sounds less poetic and I only have to move my head the tiniest fraction and I can see all that other stuff).

It is a pleasing room. Not least because it is not just any old office. It is our office/gompa or offpa or gompice. We always have a part of the house that is used as our meditation space and as this house is lacking in extra rooms we needed to create a hybrid and this is it. One third of the room is separated by a bookcase and behind that bookcase are our mats and cushions and other meditation paraphenalia. I always tell my meditation students that you don't need paraphenalia to meditate - and you don't - but you can if it helps. I find it helps. So that the room maintains a feeling of warmth I have deliberately avoided furnishing it in a professional officey style. I've stuck to old wooden furniture (desk, drawers, bookcase) and soft lamps and even a few textiles.

The result is a warm and gentle place to work, infused with the scent of Tibetan meditation incense and that peace that develops in the places people meditate. It gets the morning sun and there's nothing more inspiring than being drenched in that kind of fresh new sunlight - it feels like anything is possible. So here I sit, engulfed in the sounds of Deva Premal and watched over by Tara. What could be better?

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha

Hiatus...

..we have a child free weekend....excuse me for a day or so while I laze around talking to my husband uninterrupted, drinking wine, eating grown up food (and lots of chocolate), surfing the internet, sleeping late TWO DAYS IN A ROW and briefly pretending that we're one of those child free couples.

Woo hoo!!!

A post about nothing

Yet another car conversation:

Aislin: I can't see nothing.

Me: You mean you can't see anything....

Aislin: No mummy, I can't see nothing.....

Me: Umm, no really, it's anything....the word is anything.....

Aislin: .....silence.....

Me: Do you understand what I'm saying? You know, about the word?

Aislin: (patiently) My imaginery friend is called 'nothing'. I can't see nothing.....do you understand?

Me: Ok. Right you are then.

Easter morning

Because my children do not believe in sleeping in any day, let alone exciting days like Christmas and Easter, we were up at the crack of dawn for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. After our heatwave we are now experiencing really cold mornings (lovely) so we were all wrapped up (Hannah wore two pairs of pyjama trousers) with winter dressing gowns and thick socks and Wellingtons. I realise it would probably make more sense to just get dressed but hunting in PJs has become a tradition. The 'Easter Bunny' didn't want to leave the eggs out all night as we have rather a lot of possums and faeries in our garden, all of whom believe that if it's left out it's for them. So he got up very, very early and did the hiding then came back to bed freezing cold - I was not happy. Shortly after that the children woke up and we blearily (the Easter Bunny and I) and excitedly (Hannah and Aislin) went out into the cold morning to gather the eggs.

Apologies for the blurriness....it reflects my energy levels at the time

There were eggs everywhere...

So with the faeries, bunnies and eggs all sorted we went to mass - we like to keep all bases covered in this house.

Autumn Equinox

Some wine for the Willow faeries......

and our harvest offering....

And the next morning..........this is what it looks like after a faery piss up....

Meet William.....

William is Hannah's teddy. A family friend gave him to her for her first Christmas and he is her absolute favourite. Other toys come and go but William is her one true love. He usually wears a yellow jumper, it is just out of shot, also hanging on the line.

Because he is so loved he goes everywhere with Hannah and because he goes everywhere he gets dirty and often needs a bath. The only way to dry him is to hang him up....by his ears. I feel a bit bad about this, but I make myself feel better by telling myself that he likes it.