A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY ~ Wednesday 1st May 2013

Outside my window...it's grey! Yes I know that's a surprise...it is to me too. We've been having fantastic autumn days here in Melbourne. Beautiful blue skies bursting with sunshine. Crisp freshness to the air early on, but then the sun works its magic and the warmth penetrates. Then as soon as it sets, sometimes not before treating us to a beautiful sunset, then there's a definite drop in temperature that makes you reach for something cosy or for the heating button. Today we've had two heavy rain showers, which are the first for quite a time. I love to hear the raindrops beating down on the roof but unfortunately Muffin doesn't. She goes for the sympathy vote and shakes until someone comforts her. (Such a woos...but then she did grow up in the Middle East where rain was a real rare occurrence).

I can see the beautiful rusty autumn colours on the trees outside, They're leaves slowly fall twisting and turning on their downward spirals. I've tried to catch one and make a wish but they like to play hard to get. I suppose you don't just get a wish that easy...you have to work for it! There's a carpet of leaves along the street which can suddenly swirl if the wind catches them...giving them one last dance. 
 

I am thinking...that my feet are cold and I really should find my slippers. I have Ugg slippers that have served me well. Too well in fact because they are in a sorry state now...I've even super glued them so I think it's time for a new pair. They look like they've lived a life...so maybe it's time to call it a day?

 

I am thankful...for my children. This week has been an eventful one. My son has reached his 21st Birthday.

It's been an ongoing celebration all week. I just can't believe that he's reached that age and is over 6ft now. When did that happen?

Also my daughter has finished her FINAL exam yesterday. That's it now...I don't think there's any more for her to do, even if she wanted to! Hopefully the result will reflect all of her hard work. Fingers crossed.

In my kitchen...I've got chicken waiting to participate in a culinary delight. I'm thinking due to the weather that it will be a good evening for a curry....Mmm...I can almost smell it. 

  

I am wearing... boring! Fleece and joggers. 

Well I didn't know I was going to write this post did I....so I didn't dress for the occasion. I've been busy all day since our dog walk this morning, so haven't changed! Shocking I know...but that's the fact of the matter and do you know what? I care less...I'm cosy and that's all that matters!

I am creating...I walked through the studio earlier and realised that it's been lonely, so I stayed for a while. I haven't drawn anything since I arrived back from New Zealand so stopped for a quite fix. 

Here's the result...

These little cuties used to be my daughters favourite. Do you recognise them? Do you remember having everything in the Forever Friends range from pj's to pencil case. Ahh...such memories. 

I think that it is quite possible that I actually liked them more than my daughter.  I always seemed to be buying something in the range. I searched but just couldn't find adult sizes in the pj's...oh how I would have loved some! I even painted a Forever Friends silk painting as a leaving gift for a friend....I give myself such tough assignments sometimes don't I?

I am going...to change my hoover (vacuum). Now you might think I've lost the plot here but yes I'm excited about this because I've been struggling with a faulty hoover for months and today I'd had enough. I decided to ring the retailer where I purchased it, thinking it was probably going to be a waste of time...but there were a few surprises ahead of me. Firstly the year's warranty that I thought had expired was in fact a two year warranty...Yeeha! Then when I explained that this particular model wasn't the original one I wanted and that the sales person had talked me into it...yep call me a sucker! Also that it had been returned once already for repair and I really wasn't impressed that it had broken again. Now you have to know that this is not really the kind of thing I do...I mean to complain...I'm a softy as well as a sucker but this time I was really fed up. I didn't think I'd get anywhere but just felt the need to moan to someone. I mean I couldn't hoover for goodness sake and it was really upsetting me (LOL not! that was a flat outright lie) 
So imagine my surprise when the customer services girl said yes I could bring it back and change it to the one I wanted. RESULT! The fact that I want to buy a model (designed by a Brit...wink wink...you'll probably guess which one) which will cost me a couple more hundred dollars is beside the point...I've had one previously and loved it. Well as much as you can love a hoover! I feel quite pleased with my little self so if you have something you aren't satisfied with...go on give it a go...you never know you too could get a result. 
 

I am wondering...if I was a flower what would I be? I'd like to think I would be a beautiful bloom that had a delicate fragrance with longevity whether cut or not! What flower would you be?

I'm reading... The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

This book is a 1850's drama. 

Honor and Grace Bright walk up the gangplank to embark on a voyage across the Atlantic, join Grace's fiancé and start a new life in America. One sister runs from heartache, the other craves adventure far from England. Honor's few possessions on the journey include her signature quilt, a final gift stitched by friends from the Quaker community they have left behind, her patchwork memory of home.
But when tragedy strikes, Honor is forced to continue on alone. In a country that is practical, precarious and unsentimental, she must rely often on the compassion of strangers. As she struggles to find her place and her voice, Honor discovers that Ohio is a land crisscrossed with runaways: slaves escaping north to freedom and settlers venturing west. Set in the sunlit cornfields and tangled woods of the rural Midwest, Tracy Chevalier's new novel is a vivid story of unlikely friendships, of bad men and strong women, and of the remarkable power of defiance.
About the Author: Tracy Chevalier is the author of six previous novels, including the international bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Virgin Blue, Falling Angels, The Lady and the Unicorn, Burning Bright and Remarkable Creatures. Born in Washington, DC, she moved to London in 1984, where she lives with her husband and son.

I am hoping...that a family member in the UK who is quite poorly and in hospital at the moment, improves and is able to return home soon.

I am looking forward to...some time to get back into my designing and drawings that are queuing up in my mind. They are all getting both impatient and quite excited about appearing on to paper!

Around the house...I couldn't possibly tell you...well obviously I could but at this stage I don't want to.

There's major events happening which I'll post about soon so for now I'd like to leave it at that. ;D

A favourite quote for today... In everyone's life, at some stage, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit ~ Albert Schweiter.

One of my favourite things...is to blog! There's no getting away from it...I'm hooked. 

I'm in the middle of posting about my trip to New Zealand as many of you will know, but those posts take quite some time to prepare...sorting all of my photographs etc. But I've so many other things popping into my head that I'd like to blog about them too, so that's why I decided that today I'd post my journal. I can't believe it's been a whole month since my last one. 

That reminds me that this might be an ideal opportunity to apologise to everyone if I haven't been visiting you lately. I really miss my visits and hope to resume some time soon. Life here is kind of crazy just now but hopefully it will ease in the coming weeks. I'm hoping anyway. Once I tell you what's happening I'm sure you'll forgive me. More about that later. 

The next instalment of the NZ trip will be coming soon...I promise. I just need to get my act together :D

  

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Work, rest and play but not necessarily in that order...I think work might be the majority unfortunately.

A peek into my day... well I could attach the photo that I had on Twitter earlier today when I was incredibly brave. But I'll spare you...I mean who wants to see a photo of a dead cockroach at this hour of the day. But let me just say...I was so brave because this cockie was a BIG DUDE! See how kind I am and how I think of you. 
Instead I'll show you a tree that caught my attention on my morning walk. It seems a little confused to which direction it wants to go...an indecisive tree!
 

 So that's it for this week; I hope you enjoyed your visit and if it's your first time reading my daybook entry, I hope you liked it.  
For my regular readers I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued visits...I really love to see you on my globe and even more so if you stop to leave a comment!

Don't forget to pop over to The Simple Womans Daybook and check out the other day book entries

I hope to see you again soon...

Have a wonderful week everyone.
Bye for now