'Tis the season.

I have managed to get away with a bit of a change this year. Chicky Babe loves the traditional tree- fake or real (ie chopped down) is fine, as long as it is the biggest one we can afford or lift or fit in the house and it has to be covered in every decoration we can find. This year Bantam Boy and I thought it would be good to have a Christmas cactus but we thought we wouldn't get away with that so we went for an Albany wolly bush growing in a pot. After my crochet frenzy leading up to George st I had nothing to do so I crocheted the little hearts until I ran out of red cotton. I'm happy with them and it is a nice change.

There have been a number of people doing the Ten Honest things about Me tag and have posted open tags to anyone who wants to play along, I know this was some time ago now but things are hectic at this time of the year and this is the first opportunity to get to it.

Ten Honest things about me.
1: I am worried that I wont have ten things to share that people may find remotely interesting. But I will do it any way and hope for the best.

2. I currently have three messy classrooms at school. I have to move classes again this year and I decided to sort through all my stuff before just shoving it into shelves to deal with later, is a year later when I have to shift it all. The third room is the art room which I have to share as a T&E room with the rest of the school so the mess in there is not totally of my own making. My house is also a mess!!!!! I am not neat.

3. This kind of relates to the above point. I have difficulty throwing things away. I am a hoarder. I might just use that thing one day. I have no idea what that thing is but I might use it. I had a friend who used to walk around the house with something in her hand if she couldn't find a space for it it went into the bin. I watched her throw away a perfectly good vase someone had given her as a gift because she didn't have a space to store it. (needless to say I didn't buy her gifts much after that or if I did they were edible and not expensive! I don't want to reach that extreme but I do think it would be beneficial if I could be a bit more discerning with my junk.

4. I've deleted this one several times, how do I say this one.... I've been interested in fashion and at one time I wanted to be a fashion designer. I've made wedding dresses for friends as my gifts to them. I love to wear jewellery and nice things but at the same time I resent the superficiality of how women in particular are judged for their appearance. Most of the time I don't wear makeup then I go through a makeup buying frenzy hoping that it will magically transform me and make me beautiful. This is a conundrum that I vacillate between caring and not caring on principle!

5. Although I often complain in the morning that I don't want to go to school I really do find my job very, very rewarding and it is the little comments kids make and when you finally reach a couple of kids that you feel that you've made a difference and it makes the job worthwhile. I actually felt sad that the year had ended as I had grown to love the kids in my class but I am happy to say that I 'll be teaching art again so I will see them regularly again next year.

6. I haven't used my studio as much as I'd hoped I would. Fortunately I'm now on holidays so I should be able to manage it.

7. When I was little my parents decided to go on a working holiday around Australia. More truthfully my dad decided he wanted to travel, Mum was persuaded with the help of a trip to the doctors and a packet of Valium. We set off in the jeep with the caravan attached and mum's dinner set fell out the back of the jeep and smashed in the driveway. Thank goodness for the Valium. We ended up going across the desert where a camel came into our caravan and was fed mince pies offered at arms length tentatively by our very unbrave dad and uncle. It was finally driven off by an old woman! Two wild boars stole our Christmas tree my sister (2) and I (3and a bit) were terrified that Santa would not find us. Again thank goodness for Valium!
We ended up in Alice Springs for quite some time and then we went on to Katherine where dad became a fireman. We lived next to the fire station and I used to answer the phone- It was 1970 and the NT. Our pet kangaroo used to hide in dad's boot and often refused to come out making the dash for the fire truck a bit tricky!

8. I believed in Santa for quite a long time, and fairies. I think that's why I sometimes find Christmas tricky now days since the kids have grown and I don't have to throw myself into creating the magic for them. That and not having a 'traditional' family and not having a partner. Tim is a lovely friend who helps me out immeasurably and cares for me deeply but we are not partners.

9. I think I really would love to have a partner. Not a husband or a boyfriend- a partner. That implies to me someone who shares things with you, a partner in crime, a dance partner. Yes I like the analogy of a dance partner. You have to work together for a common goal, you are dancing the same dance but each has their own steps and it's fun and exhilarating. The dance can be slow or fast. Sometimes you might get out of step or tread on each others toes but you find the beat and continue on again. See even though I say I'm cynical beneath it all I'm still a romantic at heart.

10. This one you will probably know if you read my blog with any regularity. I LOVE my kids. They are my world and my most fabulous creative work to date. I am so proud of them and have enjoyed watching them grow. I'm enjoying their company as young adults now too. So I feel I have achieved my goal of letting them grow up, this is something my father had a great deal of trouble with and I didn't want to burden my children with those feelings.

Goodness I talk a lot!!!! (That could be point 11 but you knew that already!) Ok I tag anyone who hasn't yet done this and feels like giving it a go.

Just in case I don't get the chance to blog again, Merry Christmas!