One mum, one son, four guinea pigs: Celebrating budget interiors, the joy of the ordinary, and cake.
The day I drafted this post, over two weeks ago, was Saturday September 3. The day before Father's Day... I think back to this exact day, Saturday, September 3, 11 years ago. The day I was married. Today would've been my 11th wedding anniversary. Eleven years! I'm divorced now. I always remember my wedding anniversary,…
Continue reading ➞ The beauty of dates, numbers and cherry blossoms.
Happy New Year! Before I post about new beginnings, resolutions and all that jazz, I would just like to briefly recount my New Year's Eve. Spider Boy and I had just returned from Canberra and we were both pretty tired. My offer for us to walk to the end of the street to see the 9pm…
As I write this it's the day after Boxing Day and I have a chance to catch my breath. The lead up to Christmas had a few domestic surprises, with Spider Boy coming down with a vomiting virus two days before the big day. Our hot water tank had been broken for a few days…
The lead up to Christmas is always a flurry of shopping, social events and school-break-up activities. But Last Monday December 15, Sydney stood still and held it's breath. What I thought and felt over the next 24 hours as the Sydney siege unfolded and came to it's brutal conclusion has been echoed in countless blogs, websites and…
Imagine suburban neighbours in straw hats, digging garden beds, sharing anecdotes and gossip over a flask of tea while swapping organic cucumbers for carrots and fresh basil for baby tomatoes? This scene is now a reality for many urban communities in Sydney, and is now on my neighbourhood's horizon. Last Saturday our community garden officially opened in…
Continue reading ➞ Hot new hangout: the community garden… and cake.
I never use to be a fan of Halloween but when Spider Boy became old enough to enjoy it, I changed my mind. The first two years of my new Halloween-embracing lifestyle we ventured with friends a couple of suburbs away, to a street that had a very good Halloween reputation. It was like a…
There's nothing like being in pain to make you appreciate feeling normal. Finally, after an injury and six weeks of pain, I am better. The whole experience has been a lesson in taking better care of myself. In the middle of August I lifted something heavy (it was the straw that broke the camel's back) and…
Continue reading ➞ Trapped in a tube with breakfast radio and a jackhammer
I have long been a fan of Haiku, a poetry form that adheres to three lines of five, seven and five syllables. This week, The Daily Post writing challenge has taught me about Tanka, which has two extra lines of seven syllables each! As much as I admire Haiku's bite-sized brevity, it's a wonderful luxury…
Continue reading ➞ A week in the life of Spider Boy: a journey in Tanka
The school holidays are over and life is back to its routine, although I'm still working on Spider Boy getting to sleep earlier after a few late nights during the holidays. We didn't do any "Mathletics" on the computer like we really should have, but did play Monopoly (the junior version) and there's maths in that, right? Spider Boy…
Continue reading ➞ Edited highlights: skating, sledding and good craft gone bad
I'm thrilled to say that one of the bloggers I admire, Hannah from Popcorn and Polka Dots (formerly Put The Kettle On) has nominated me for a blog award - the Liebster! To receive a blog award for Alexcellent is truly the icing on the cake - despite all the baking disasters I've blogged about! So I would like…
