Christmas wanderings

After catching up with everyone at the Web Services morning tea (including doing a tweet for their Christmas tree) Jon and I headed over to check out the Christmas Shop at Kirkcaldies. We weren't that inspired by the Christmas Shop itself but - as ever- the Kirk windows were wonderful. We particularly loved this one which featured the bears knitting and weaving!

Catching up with Advent

I've found it ironic this year that I haven't been nearly as onto Advent and getting ready for Christmas as before - despite (in theory) having more time. I think part of it is not being in the office environment and general chat about counting down the days.
Today I took a break and made a conscious choice to do the three things that have been "nagging" at me. I made the Advent Wreath, put together Jon's new Playmobil Calendar (the last year for this I think) and got out the stack of Christmas books.

A new tradition I started when Jon was a baby, was to get one or two Christmas themed picture books each year (often from Amazon at the start). They only come out at Advent and are put away at Epiphany. When he was little we read him a couple each night - now he reads them to himself, although it is not unknown for him to bring one out to be read to him. As the tradition progressed, for a time I looked for books that reflected our summer Christmas as I would buy two copies and include one with our December 98 birthday buddy gift exchange.

It's a pretty substantial collection after 10 years. The first book in the collection was given to me when I was about 8 and is Dick Bruna's The Christmas Book, with his distinctively simple illustrations. Then there is Tomi de Paola's Clown of God which David got for his first Christmas from extended family followed by Why a Donkey was Chosen another year. I bought a copy of Lucy and Tom's Christmas by Shirley Hughes as it reminded us of our only winter Christmas in the UK.

That was the start - and now the collection includes what I would call the "heritage" stories, new editions of The Littlest Angel and The Night Before Christmas,which I remember from my childhood. There are the NZ books like Hattie's Christmas Gift, The Christmas Caravan, Santa's Kiwi Holiday and The Boxing Day Test. There are the beautiful picture book re-telling of the Christmas story - the grumpy cat in Michael Foreman's Cat in the Manger, the gathering animals in Room for a Little One, Joyce Dunbar's Follow the Star - and there are many more - children anxious about aspects of Christmas pageants, stories about Saint Nicholas, a fabulously illustrated story call Wensulas about the carol, and many more.

This year I've just bought a copy of Grandma's Kiwi Holiday - were Grandma saves the day when Santa falls ill on Christmas Eve, and Charles Dickens Christmas Carol. And I've just remembered it must be about time to find our copy of Jostien Garder's A Christmas Miracle which has a chapter for every day of December to match the pictures of an advent calendar and which I read aloud each night to Toby when he was about Jonathan's age now.

The cultural capital of gardening

From time to time over the past few years I have been moved to consider how much cultural capital is involved in the process of gardening. While most of the committed gardeners I know do use books etc to gather information - there is an element of handed down knowledge which forms a foundation to work from.

A couple of weeks back Ana decided she was going to grow some vegetables this year and as the rest of us are so erratic in our care of growing things she would commit to seeing this through. So on a lovely sunny day we finished clearing out some overgrown corners and went on a shopping expedition. We got all kinds of things to plant and throughout the process I noticed how much there was to learn from her perspective. Things like how far apart to space plants, providing trellis for climbers to grow up, not planting certain things to early, checking for sun. A lot of that information is on the labels of seedlings but I also know it from watching my parents and grandparents garden.

My cleaner is also providing garden labour at the moment - she enjoys gardening but is learning herself so it's a two way process of me showing her how and where to do/plant things and her experimenting.

In the meantime my persistently enthusiastic and green thumbed youngest exercised his growing muscles digging out the root system of a couple of old hebes that we took out.

RItes of Spring

One of the things I' ve had more time for this year is to stop and notice the idiosynchritic approach I have to some aspects of life - and spring really seems to bring it out!!!

The flowers I find impossible to resist are fresias, tulips, daffodils and poppies. All spring flowers... and for planting - violas, pansies and violets. Quite apart from the purple theme in the later - it's no wonder my garden languishes a bit in mid summer. And while I never seize to be amazed that they florish it's probably why my roses thrive because they get so much attention and food in spring.

But it's not just spring flowers - on reflection - we have almost always moved house in July/August and so I think it triggers my "got to get this place sorted and tidy" frenzy in spring. Over the past couple of weeks I've been cleaning out cupboards and drawers, washing windows and beginning my significant de-clutter. (And if truth be told kind of resenting the limited work commitments I do have for interrupting) It's a counterbalance to all that is new and techie, dishes still need to be done, washing hung out, floors vacuumed (altho actually I still I have a cleaner for the vacuuming ;) )

Nick has been away for nine days - and I'm not expecting he'll notice much difference when he stumbles in past midnight tonight but I can still the progress.

Boots are made for walking

So today I had a meeting in town and I decided that I was going to wear my new winter boots that I raved about when I picked them up four months ago and have worn maybe twice!

I had to plan my whole outfit around them so they could be seen as they should and it was a surprisingly powerful feeling to be in that persona again. It connected to that part of my brain that has been mulling over next steps career wise.

One of the weird things I've noticed about myself is that around this time of year I start getting job itchy feet. September through November is the most common date on my job applications. And I quite often do a 180 degree turn about a decision I've only affirmed recently. One of the classics was September 1999 when having decided to wait til after Christmas to get a job (when Jon would have been one) I had a job (and under two childcare - the real miracle) within four weeks. Many of my jobs have an October in the start date. Nick thinks it might be a spring thing...

Anyway I've seen a job that I'd really love - despite it having many qualities that I know will frustrate and sadden me. Certainly a job I'd feel unhappy about not at least putting my hat in the ring for. And so after declaring my supreme satisfaction with my current working arrangements, that is - not working full time, working from home etc I'm going to apply.

Funnily enough I was playing with a new personal website yesterday and because it wasn't "real" wrote quite a cool piece about who I am and what's important to me in terms of work (no I'm not telling you where it is yet cos I checked this morning and it has typos!) I read it back and thought why can't I write stuff like that when I'm doing a cover letter? While the obvious answer is the absence of pressure - it's good to know I already have something to start with (typos corrected of course).

Just to add to the story ... I was doing the "what would I do if I had a million dollars" game that's quite effective in uncovering your deepest desires a couple of days back... and apart from wanting to move back to Canterbury ... I realised that I had most of what I was listing off already - you just need to see abundance.

So keep your fingers crossed - the universe will provide the answers which ever direction I'm meant to go.

So it's ages since I posted

Mainly because I have been kind of busy with writing and working in lots of other spaces. But this morning I realised that I have had an incredibly productive winter with my knitting. I finished my fifth pair of socks!!! This pair are made out of some pretty hand-dyed wool Tash sent me for my birthday and they are my best yet (Including the lacy pattern)
As well as the five pairs of socks, I have made 6 pairs of handwarmers, a beanie,finished the back of another cardigan for me, and progressed three other projects. Which isn't too bad given my record over the last ten years or so for knitted garments is ... zero!!!
The picture is of the socks in progress that I have just finished this morning.

In the meantime the kakabeak and kowhai are flowering, it's a lovely sunny day - and life in general seems pretty promising.

I must be on a bit of roll

Because I have already finished two more things and started another couple of knit projects. I had a bit of a hiccup with my sewing as well but first things first -
The photo on the left is some handwarmers I knitted for a friend who was turning 60. They ended up being bulkier than I wanted (Tash's were a lot finer) but she still loved them! They only took a couple of evenings and I now have "orders" from three other friends.
The second picture is of my socks which again once I got going on were only a few evenings work plus a couple of sessions in the car during rugby practice. I reckon that another pair would only take me about 12 - 14 hours based on the second one (the first one had a few back tracks on it)
I've also been sewing - finished Jon a sweatshirt - he is now nagging for me to do a hoodie. I had almost finished a hoodie for Toby but when he tried it on while the length was OK it was way too wide so I need to take it in. I had added length to a meduim but he is really an extra small width wise and a large body length wise.
Now if only I could find some of the same kind of energy for the garden and the final de-clutter of the spa room and garage!

A touch of failure...

Well after trumpeting about my new discipline I promptly stopped posting on any of my blogs... maybe I could argue I gave up blogging (inflicting my bright ideas on the world) for Lent.

Anyway in the meantime life has been moving on... I have a small contract facilitating an online community, am working 10 hours or so a week in a local yarn store and am gradually recovering from the last few years of being a public servant!

One of my amazing acheivements has been to complete this cardigan which I started about June last year. What is so incredible about this? Only that I think the last time I actually completed a knitting project for myself was in about 1988 - if not before. The last thing I remember clearly was a mohair jersey I started during our OE in the UK which I don't think I finished until we got home. It is also the first knitted thing I have finished (if you dont count the six month old baby jersey I haven't sewn up yet i.e. not finished) since... possible since we moved to Wellington (15 years) and I went back to full time work. I have a number of UFO's but I can't recall a completing anything - partially because my MIL has been there to meet the kids urgent requests.

As well as the cardigan I have also been working on a pair of socks - largely due to the degree of hassle I've been getting from my mother and elder daughter about my wimpiness with double pointed needles and this photo is proof for both of them that I have successfully turned the heel. I must admit as my stitch a day calendar suggests they are a nice portable project that despite the fineness of wool does grow quite quickly. I think I am also getting slightly inspired by the new colourways that we unpacked at the shop last week!
And then last but not least my next cardigan project which started with me making the effort to remember the one needle cast on - I do believe I am turning into a knitter again. Of course the ultimate irony in completing the cardigan and starting on the second one (which was actually an older stash of wool from two years ago) is that the cardigan concept was so I'd have something cuddly and warm to put on when I got home and took off my suit jacket from work! Ah well, never mind...

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Implementing my new discipline

I've decided if I'm serious about this writing thing I better make sure I do some every day and of course this is my most random blog so what better place to start.

I was reading an article in a writer's magazine yesterday about having a place to write and I have been thinking about that. I suspect my procrastination today will be cleaning out the spa room as one option and the front lounge is also pretty cluttered with Tash's stuff. It's my age old habit of clearing the decks before I create!

It's kind of frustrating in a way that I am not getting a lot done during the day - housework and busywork stretching to fill the available time. And it doesn't help that I dont have a strong sense of urgency about earning any money at the moment - the stillness of not having to be anywhere or do anything is a wonderful space.

Of course there are things to do and say - and that's why I want to get some space sorted so I can get into the habit of contributing and playing online again. In the back of the mind there is the thought that it will be easier once Toby is back at university and Tash is off to London and my house will be properly my space during the day. In the meantime here are two beautiful photos from my cellphone of Arthur's Pass in the weekend.

So its raining outside

My bag is pretty much packed for a trip down to Christchurch with Tash and I'm sitting semi watching Antiques Roadshow on the Living Channel. It's already 11 oclock and I should be finishing off a proposal which might contribute to my moving back into the world of gainful employment. Today was a bit of a late start as I didn't get back from the gym (that's four days this week!) until just after nine.

It's great having my laptop back! Not the least because it lets me capture random thoughts. Yesterday at the gym I was listening to a audio book version of Stephen Covey's The Eighth Habit. He was talking about the change between the industrial age and the knowledge age and how many businesses still operate under the industrial age principle where machinary and plant (capital) has value and people are replacable. Whereas in a knowledge economy the value of a business is in the knowledge of the people who are working there. He also talked about co-dependency of dysfunctional thinking that reflects that and how most people when hearing him talk about it tend to think how someone else should really be listening to this.

So to resist being co-dependent (as I was contemplating previous places of work as I listened) I thought about what that might mean if I applied it to me. It's quite difficult to put into words but it seems to translate that people aren't easily replaceable and in fact that I am uniquely knowledgable and valuable - there isn't anyone who can do what I do, the way I do it, because it depends on my brain and how I synthesise and organise information and ideas. This has all kinds of consequences as how we value ourselves and our skills - but given the pervasive dysfunction the cynic in me wonders if it matters that much.

Total distraction - there is this elderly lady on AR with two "odds and ends" from her mother's sewing cupboard. One is an engraved silver bodkin which she uses and the valuer has just said that it was made in 1649! And he can't identify the maker from the hallmark because the records were destroyed in the great fire of London! The other was a little tool for skeining thread which was dated at about 1720. (and the combined value was 700-800 pounds!)

To new beginnings

My plans to keep up with my blog were rather de-railed when a lightening storm blew out the Vodafone reciever in Arthurs Pass! So there went my internet connection and phone for several days. Then when I got back home and to work there was only three weeks to go before my contract expired which meant my focus at home was my CV and job applications. To compound it all I am still waiting for my replacement laptop which is cramping my style as well.

Anyway last Thursday was the end of my contract and after seven and a bit years I am no longer a public servant so I'm up to reflecting on what my next steps will be. I'm pacing myself a bit until Jon gets settled back into school and a planned weekend in Christchurch.