DailyPhlog's PhotoBlog

Nov 6: White Peacock - a blessing in every feather

2010-11-07T05:46:44Z

I love love love being at our farm. My mother-in-law took this photo of one of their white peacocks, and I cannot stop looking at it. I can see a blessing in every feather. I am so grateful for our farm and our life in Margaret River. Scott Alexander King says white animals appear directly before, during or after world events that call for peace and global unity. In that case, I am grateful to be reminded to consciously hope and pray for peace on earth.

May 21 - 24: THREE YEARS OF DAILY PHOTOS!

2011-09-09T07:20:30Z

May 21: Mmmmmm some plates are SUPPOSED to be licked clean! May 22: The return of our winter of "discontent" - only it's beautiful, so I guess we can re-frame it to "the winter of our contentedness" May 23: And who says that colouring-in is just for the kids? May 24: AND THIS IS IT! Three years of taking a photo a day of that for which I'm grateful - this is project is THREE YEARS OLD TODAY!

May 16 - 20: The power of NLP

2011-01-19T09:03:52Z

-------- May 16: Boy Wonderful and continued to attend the NLP training even though he was in a great deal of pain. What a brave little man he is! At least he hasn't lost his sense of humour, as evidenced when he took a photo of "Bruce Willis" over my shoulder. May 17: Learning about rapport today... we noticed that every single couple sitting on the bench seats at lunchtime were in rapport, to the point where if one crossed her right leg and back again, the other would do so too. So funny! May 18: Boy Wonderful and I spent a beautiful lazy lunch lying on our backs watching the clouds and telling stories about what we could see. May 19: Day one following the end of our course, and for the first time in his life, BW cleaned his room -- WITHOUT PROMPTING OR NAGGING! Praise the Lord/dess, a miracle occurred here today. May 20: We have set up a little computer screen next to our desks at home so that the Little Star can tap out *very important messages* just like her mummy and daddy.

May 11 - 15: Tonsils, tea and me

2010-10-29T08:55:11Z

---------- May 11: Take one last look at my little man's tonsils. Boy Wonderful was very brave going in for his operation today. May 12: And even braver when I visited him in hospital later that afternoon, tripped over his IV drip, pulling it out of his arm! I'm sorry Boy Wonderful! May 13: As long as BW needs to recuperate for a while, we finally gave in and upgraded our TV. The old one just... died... as quickly as that. The new one is a dream to watch! May 14: Boy Wonderful and I started our Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner Training today... the venue was at the trotting track. It was really interesting to watch some of the racing after our day's training. May 15: While Boy Wonderful slept off his latest round of pain-killers, on the floor of the NLP training room, I ducked out for high tea with my book club. I broke my "gluten-free" rule today with this yummy selection... well, wouldn't you? ;-)

May 6 - 10: Growth even in winter

2010-09-20T12:42:52Z

------- So the weather is cooling off as we head into winter, but new growth continues to inspire... May 6: This aloe vera started out as one tiny shoot that I dug up and replanted around seven years ago. From this one shoot, I've re-potted countless aloe vera plants and given them as house-warming gifts. It's just my thing. It's such a wonderful plant to have in any house, particularly to help with sunburn and scalds. Anyway, today was the first time I'd ever seen a flower on my aloe vera mama... it was pretty surprising to see! May 7: The Little Star is a serious thumb-sucker. She hooks it right up into the roof of her mouth and hoofs in. Fortunately she's not pushing on her teeth, but instead I've noticed she must be pushing on her bridge, as her top lip & upper row of teeth are obviously not aligned any more. In an effort to slow down the thumb-sucking, I've begun teaching her how to twiddle her thumbs. It's a cute little challenge for her at the moment, but what will I do next, once she has mastered this skill and is bored with it? May 8: Noticed this mushroom while out walking today. I spend a bit of time playing "Fairyland" on Facebook, so it was kind of strange to see a "real" mushroom in "real life"... in fact, the Fairyland is such an addiction I even looked to see if the real life 'shroom was a pink cap variety (which attracts unicorns)... a bit embarrassed about that, to be honest. May 9: Oooh my Boy Wonderful is a gem when it comes to mothers day. He woke up HOURS before his normal weekend routine to invent a new recipe for my breakfast. Awww bless. May 10: With the promise of a rainy winter, it's time to think about lots of pots to start growing and greening a backyard garden. Was very excited to see such a huge range on my walk today.

May 1 - 5: More than one era begins

2010-09-11T09:47:42Z

------------ May 1: Ever since becoming a Civil Marriage Celebrant I've always wanted to conduct a ceremony at one of the more iconic wineries. Today's wedding fit the bill at Clairault. The ceremony was conducted on the lawn but the backdrop of vines and gum trees was just divine. May 2: It always feels strange the day after a wedding ceremony knowing that there is another new family in the world. While they are celebrating their unity, everyone else returns to their lives. I always return to my life a little bit changed, more reflective, and deeply grateful that I am surrounded by people who love each other so much. The Little Star and I headed to the zoo where we spent a long time watching the mama orangutan and her baby frolic on the lawn. Yet another new family to enrich our world and to be grateful for. May 3: With the prospect of a grey winter looming, I'm feeling a bit despondent about the state of our backyard. We're living in a rental so it's not possible to plant trees or greenery for the 18 months we have left in Perth. So, we're doing the next best thing and planting some hanging pots and odds and ends to green it up a bit. Boy Wonderful, for some reason, felt it necessary to wear his fluorescent vest while pushing the trolley. Perhaps taking safety consciousness a little too far? May 4: This is what my new little herb garden looks like hanging outside my desk window... May 5: Boy Wonderful started his new "career" today at the WACA. I felt such pride watching him walk into the grounds for his first day on the job. Sure it's workplace learning, but that's my boy, on his unswerving quest to dedicate his life to cricket. He's just a 100% total cricketer!

April 26 - 30: Where there's smoke...

2010-08-07T07:19:19Z

-------------- April 26: In taking a leisurely ride around Rottnest Island this morning I noticed the number stenciled on my hired bike... 222. I nearly fell off that this number is still presenting itself to me - it first started appearing when I was six months pregnant. I saw it incessantly on menus, clocks, cash registers, addresses, doors, hotel rooms, phone numbers, receipts, number plates... right up to the day may daughter was born three weeks early, on... yep... 22/2. A couple of years later and I'm still seeing the number in new and random places. April 27: Autumn is well and truly in the coming if these red vine leaves are anything to go by. April 28: Back to the farm today where things got a little hairy. Or windy, I should say. One of the trees in the driveway blew over, effectively isolating the Little Star and me inside the farm gate. Oh well, I can think of worse places to get stranded! LOL April 29: It's annual burn-off time which always makes me nervous. There was something so magnetic and magical about watching the smoke lick the spaces between the trees here I had to stop and watch it for a few minutes. April 30: And then driving home after dinner at the Club, there is the "after" shot of a day's burn-off... the glowing embers lining the road, lighting our way home.

April 21 - 25: I heart Hoodoos!

2010-08-07T07:01:00Z

--------------- April 21: The reward for looking up today was spotting this Australia-shaped "blue cloud" amongst all the white ones ;-) April 22: Yet another birthday for the Gavstar, which the Little Star finds incredibly exciting. April 23: Time for another change... I've decided change is a good thing - it helps shift "stuff" not just physically but emotionally; it helps open new doors to new opportunities; it gives us new perspective; it helps us see the TV better... April 24: A quick daytrip south today, with the obligatory playground stops along the way for the Little Star. Oh I remember when life was so easy... hey wait a minute... the playground stops aren't just for the LS – ergo, life is easy now! April 25: An indulgent weekend at Rottnest Island, landing in time to catch the awesome Hoodoo Gurus on the lawn outside the pub. Had such a great afternoon - cutting loose, singing loud, dancing stoopid... so much fun!

April 16 - 20: Red Bull and tree fairies

2010-07-22T15:40:53Z

------- April 16: Cousins from the south visited us at the farm this week... the Little Star absolutely adored having three BOYS to play with, and even scooted up a tree after them for a photo. April 17: My man went with his mate to sit in the stands (for the first time) to watch the Red Bull Air Race in Perth. Although it was stinking hot, he LOVED it. And I loved making him a little birthday care package of snacks, and walking the kids and dog to the riverside to give it to him. April 18: The haze over the river and Perth was still evident this morning, as this picture shows. April 19: Boy Wonderful finally organised us to collect his number plates... SO EXCITING to see him put them on the little Lancer.... so hawwwt! April 20: Now that he is officially driving his "own" car, he was quick to talk his step daddy into taking him for a drive. The look on Gavstar's face says it all, really.

April 11 - 15: Raving about the cow parade

2010-07-09T08:45:17Z

------------------ April 11: Went on another tour of the Cow Parade in Margaret River, this time with friends. Miss Mattimoo re-enacted her stunt from two evenings before. (When we were abandoned at Xanadu winery at midnight by Gannoway Tours, she fell asleep on the footpath during the 2-hour wait for a taxi.) It was a very entertaining way to make light of a terrible situation. April 12: While wandering the garden with the Little Star today we found an unclaimed Easter Egg - just as I was craving a little chocolate too! Score! April 13: With Gramps away, his "bloody turkeys" (as he fondly calls the peacocks) missed his daily serving of croutons and cussing... so what's a hungry, habit-bound turkey to do? Come pecking at the kitchen door, that's what! April 14: While I was busy putting finishing touches to my latest book (The 7 Day Bootcamp for Brides) the Little Star decided she needed to do some office work too. The only desk left was Gramps'... no worries, off she went, "working" solidly for quite some time. April 15: Spent a lovely few hours dreaming what we would do with the winnings of the Chase the Ace at the Club tonight... The prize was $3910 which would have covered my airfare to accompany the Boy Wonderful on his next school trip (to Malaysia), but alas, this time it was not meant to be.