Friday, July 13, 2018

a break from the rhythm

Just as I was about to start writing my blog today I read back through an email I wrote on my phone last night and sent to someone about buying some yarn. It contained two of the most awful typos I've ever made. In my defence I'd just returned from a five-hour round trip to take Indi to Melbourne, but still...

Firstly I wrote that I was interested in the yarn she was advertising on the death page. The DEATH page!!!! Of course I meant to write the destash page and my phone changed it. Actually my computer is trying to change it to death as I type this right now too! There's no hope. And secondly I wrote that I was going to use her yarn to nit. NIT!!!!!! a colour-work sweater. I'm mortified. If I were the seller I'm not even sure I could sell yarn from a death page for someone to nit with. I only hope she's a bigger person than me and can look past it.

I'll keep you posted.

Let's get back to the past week while we wait.


july 7

Last Saturday night we took our big girls to see a gig at a pub in Castlemaine. They found out about it, they booked it, and because it was at a licensed venue, they took us with them so that they could get in. And while we hung out at the back swaying to the music, I got a crystal clear glimpse into the future. Our two were holding glasses of (ginger) beer, pushing their way to the very front, dancing and singing, chatting with those around them, waiting in line to get their tee-shirts signed, speaking to the artist about song writing and playing, and spending the entire drive home dissecting every moment. It was such a great night. 

july 8

On Sunday we packed up our car and drove for an hour to an Airbnb near our girls' school. Jazzy had rehearsals for the musical all week, Pepper was away, and we all desperately needed a break from the routine.

The night before I had learned that later this year there will be a new knitting emoji added to the emojipedia which reminded me of a great podcast, so as Indi drove we listened to it again - 99% Invisible - Person in Lotus Position - it's so interesting and I highly recommend a listen if you haven't heard it before.

When we arrived we discovered that our host had gotten the dates mixed up and that the place hadn't been set up for us, so he sent us to the local pub for a meal on him while he arranged it all. Upon our return a few hours later we soon had the fire roaring and we settled in to watch all the media reports about the rescue of the Thai boys trapped in the cave.

And I finished knitting the beanie I started last week and as I predicted ran out of yarn before the end. I'm hoping that the addition of a pom pom will soften that charcoal bit at the top.
The details are here.


july 9

On Monday after we delivered Jazzy to school for rehearsals, we set Indi up at the kitchen table with her school books and went for a brisk walk in the icy cold to explore our surroundings. I was very interested to see that their daffodils were up and flowering while ours at home haven't even pushed their way out of the ground yet.

Then we settled in for a lazy day of watching episodes of The Crown and knitting socks.

It made me smile later on that evening when I listened to bits of the new song Jazzy was writing and heard the words kings and queens; she wouldn't watch it with us but somehow it still snuck into the lyrics.

And then that night, once everyone was asleep and the house was quiet, I finally finished reading Heart of Darkness, thank goodness. I can't say that I enjoyed reading even one page of it but now that it's over and I am able to hold my own in literary discussions with Indi, I'm glad I persevered. Reading your comments about your struggles really did make me feel better about my own, so thanks for those.

And then, even though it was terribly late, I started reading The Tattooist of Auchwitz. Bren had heard the author interviewed a few weeks before and said it came very highly recommended. I'm not at all looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to it, if that makes any sense.








july 10

On Tuesday we drove to the top of Mount Macedon and walked around admiring the view. And while it was icy cold it didn't snow like it did on the two days after that.

On our way back from collecting Jazzy from school we popped into and explored a rare-plant nursery. The owner told us how disappointed he felt that so many people prefer to buy plants at huge shopping complexes these days rather than from small, interesting, slightly more expensive but definitely more unusual ones. We left wishing we'd had money with us and vowing to return in spring time.

When we got home I pulled apart the socks I'd been knitting and cast on another pattern that when stretched out on the foot wouldn't be lacy and holey and impractical for farm boot wear.

And then over dinner the girls taught us all about the anatomy of a song and we listened to so many to dissect all the little bits. I'm fascinated by their passion, and the music that's coming out of them. It feels like such a gift both to them as a way to express themselves, and to us to be surrounded by it.







july 11

On Wednesday, we packed up and left our beautiful country retreat, somewhat reluctantly, and headed to Melbourne to pick up our Pepper. We'd had a wonderful break from the farm, from our routines, from our to-do lists and from that feeling that everywhere you look there's more to be done.

Of course we had a little photo shoot on the way out.

In Melbourne we kissed and hugged our smallest who we'd all missed like crazy, we shared lunch with Bren's parents and we tried our luck at a local op shop where I hit the jackpot in the book department. I always feel rich when I've got a stack of books waiting and this lot will keep me going for a while.



july 12

Yesterday we did that thing you do when you've been away from home for a while even though it had only been a couple of days. We walked around the garden looking for new growth, we visited my studio to admire the progress, we unpacked and did washing, we enjoyed our own space and then we all sat down to do homework and write some articles.

july 13

Today. The sun is shining brilliantly outside, my parents are just home from overseas and we have friends staying for a few nights, so I really wanted to write this blog quickly today, but it hasn't happened. I took so many photos of the last week that it's taken me ages to edit them down, my brain isn't working properly after a dreadful night's sleep, and I just want to sit in the sun-room and knit squares of my scrappy sock blanket instead.

But the yarn seller kindly chose not to mention my typos and to sell me the yarn so I'm happy. Now I just want it to arrive so I can cast on.

How's your week been anyway?
Has auto-correct embarrassed you lately?
Do you know the difference between the pre-chorus and the chorus?
Have you watched The Crown?
Do you find it hard to resist a jungly nursery?
Do you love a mini break?

I wonder.

See you next week and thanks so much for your kindness!

xx




27 comments:

  1. Always love your blog posts...I enjoy the stroll next to you as you meander through the week ❤️

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    1. Thank you so much honey, it's wonderful to have you here with me. xx

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  2. I do enjoy a break. We went to see our grandson receive his senior boots at Texas A&M, and it was a wonderful trip....so many things to see and do in only three days. I enjoyed watching The Crown except the episode about Princess Margaret. I thought that one was a little sleazy. My favorite episode is the one with Billy Graham. I know how you feel about a stack of books. I have my latest stack sitting by the sofa. It's even better to get them at a thrift shop for 50 cents each. Speaking of auto correct, I was chatting with a friend and she said she had to get ready to go to the movies. She was going to see Deadpool with her boyfriend, and auto correct changed it to Cesspool. WHAT????

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    1. We just watched those episodes about Princess Margaret and I feel devastated for her, and the queen. It's crazy how far things have come considering the recent marriage of Harry and Megan which certainly would have broken so many laws back then. x

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  3. Great pile of books. A man called ove is so so good 😊

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  4. Sounds like a lovely week, I've just returned from my own mini break with my youngest(16) at Phillip island, has a lovely time relaxing, knitting and whale spotting,

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    1. We were just speaking about Philip Island with friends who love it over there. I think we need to plan a visit. So happy to hear you had such a lovely time. x

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  5. How's your week been anyway? Hot, but today we have rain
    Has auto-correct embarrassed you lately? Yes today! I messaged my daughters tutor to cancel this evening and accidently attached a picture of Robert Smith of The Cure...how!
    Do you know the difference between the pre-chorus and the chorus? Nope, is it a bit like a key change??
    Have you watched The Crown? Yep, loved it. binge watched it when it came out. Now we are binge watching Anne with an E.
    Do you find it hard to resist a jungly nursery? Being a childminder this makes me think of monkeys with children!
    Do you love a mini break? Always, and makes me appreciate home.

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    1. Oh my goodness, that Robert Smith thing is hilarious!!!! How indeed. x

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  6. You picked up a great stack of books (though The Girl With All The Gifts was a little heavy on the gory violence/profanity for my taste, but the story was super interesting!). And glad to hear that you made it through Heart of Darkness--here I've read it twice, and I STILL don't understand it, ha ha. Maybe the third time will be the charm? (If I could ever muster up the desire to pick it up again!)

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    1. I cannot believe you've read HOD twice. There's no way anyone could convince me to pick it up again. Reading the last page was like reaching the end of a marathon. x

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  7. Autocorrect. Hmmmmm. Yes. Probably the worst (most amusing in hindsight) was an email I sent to school. I had forgotten to fill out a permission slip for an excursion and sent the following email:
    Dear (teacher), I ( my name) hereby give permission for my daughter (name) to attend her execution.
    !!!!!!
    I read it AFTER I had sent it and promptly sent this:
    Dear ( teacher) , regrettably it would appear that I have Anne Boleyn-ed my daughter. I DO give my permission for her to attend her EXCURSION. However, I would prefer she be returned home with her head intact. Thank you kindly
    :)

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    Replies
    1. Execution!! Ouch. Did you ever hear back from them about that? Bet there were a few giggles in the staff room that day. x

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  8. Hi Kate,
    I absolutely love your blog and have been reading it for years. I've just been reading The Moneyless Man and there was a part in the book where he was suffering from insomnia and it made me think of you. It turns out he had a deficiency in the amino acid tryptophan. I thought maybe it was worth a mention.
    Now I'm off to watch The Crown and do some knitting. I hope you have a good week.

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    1. Thanks Emily, I'm heading back to the doctors about my insomnia next week and I'm going to suggest some blood tests. I've heard a few interesting stories of things that have come up. x

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  9. Hi Kate,
    I love my little peek into your sooooooo interesting life each week. Please carry on allowing us in!
    A relative once texted his parent asking if they had his sister Anna with them. Unfortunately it came out as, 'Is Bomb with you?' !!!!!!! Not good in this day and age....
    We've just had the hottest couple of weeks here in the North East of England that we've had in years. I'm not suited to really hot weather - I'm more of an in between type, neither too hot or too cold, like Goldilocks(!), so I retreat to the relative coolness of the house and read. I bought a pack of MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin books, so I'm totally enjoying them at the moment. They're very easy reading, with no bad language, which is just what I like.
    Corinne x

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    1. Is bomb with you!! Hilarious.
      I hope the days become milder and more pleasant for you soon. x

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  10. I absolutely LOVE that blue/orange cardigan! Did you make that?

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    1. I wish I made that cardigan but I didn't. I think one of my sisters handed it down to her. x

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  11. I love your scrappy sock blanket. I am knitting one for the last seven years. I started in 2011! And I am afraid
    I’ll never finish it...

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    1. Oh wow, that is a long time. It must be so beautiful and hold so many memories by now. x

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  12. "People of the book" by Geraldine Brooks is a great story; I have just reread " The Year of Wonders" as my eldest is studying it for year 12 and it is one of my favourites ( much easier reading than " Heart of Darkness" I think!
    Love your photos as always- I have noticed some areas have early daffodils and jonquils flowering too,while others don't even have buds yet! My H and the kids planted some " surprise" bulbs for me a while ago, they won't tell me what they are so I just have to wait and see!

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    1. I read The Year Of Wonders last year and loved it. I tried to convince Indi to take English over English lit because the books were some of my favourites.
      And I love the thought of surprise bulbs. What a lovely thing to do. xx

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  13. oh that made me giggle. the death page. to nit. heeheeheeheeheehee

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  14. death page lol I was replying to someone I did not know once and my phone changed it to pe*is!!! I was mortified! lol
    Today is the start of the summer holidays here in the UK and I have a diary full of ideas to keep the boys occupied, get fresh air, get off social media and the darn internet! Wish me luck I'll need it x

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  15. Oh Kate, I laughed until I cried about your typos, in fact I’m giggling now and having trouble seeing the keyboard to type this - there may be typos here. Thank you so much for starting my day with a laugh. Do hope you enjoy nit-ing with your new yarn from the death page!

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Thanks so much for stopping by...

I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.

Kate XX

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