Wednesday 25 March 2009

Miles of Mural!


Healthy lifestyle mural 3
Originally uploaded by dette.k
Working like crazy to get this mural finished in time for the photo session organised for friday. (The principal told Healthways -who supplied the grant that it was alreadyy finished!!!!) I was working -outlining and patching up mistakes- until 6;30 tonight and 7pm yesterday transferring more of the children’s drawings onto the wall. Tim recons that there is about 65 square metres of mural. On brick which is revolting to paint on. If you ever get persuaded to one insist on the wall being rendered first!!!!!!
Click onto my Flickr site for more photos if you'd like to have a look.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Everyone should have one.

I found myself in possession of one of these....


and try to spend at least some time in it....




watching the view...
and being gently hugged by the fabric and having my cares rocked away,
if only for half an hour!

Saturday 21 March 2009

Mini me

I've just bought the kids a mini net book It is tiny really about half the size of my laptop but it has wireless network capabilities and you can attach it to a monitor and an external hard drive etc etc and the kids should be able to share it . So when we get the big computer fixed- it is in the process of being done, there will be one for each of us.
Thanks Mr Rudd for the bonus. I'm doing my bit to stimulate the economy (although I only used $500 for the netbook - the rest will go on bills!)

Thursday 19 March 2009

Missing in Inaction!

Sorry! Where have I been and what have I been up to?
Pretty much lost in the mess that has become my house in the last couple of weeks. I realise now that having Lin come once a week helped me cope and manage to tread water. Although it was a little expensive it certainly helped to save my sanity and I guess that a psychologist would charge more than $25 an hour.
Work has been pretty hectic. Having two roles in the school- ie yr classroom teacher 3 days a week and art specialist yrs 1-7 (with 45 min lessons-5classes a day with no changeover time factored into the equation ) is pretty full on. I feel in some ways that one week finishes on wednesday when I finish in the classroom and another begins on thursday when I go into the artroom. Sometimes I feel like I've worked two weeks for the price of one!
Home is feeling a bit intense too at present with three semi adults trying to find their space in the one small house. The study workload is making the kids a bit techie at the moment and they exhibit a strong reaction against helping out, siting homework and work pressures as an excuse. I feel very much like the little red hen and have spat the dummy and given in myself. Now I am faced with a huge mountain of things that need tidying and fixing and ordering......
Where do I begin???? I guess I pick a space and start with it- a little at a time and slowly it will improve.
My little dollies are now in Victoria. I think they went to Healsville. (A friend of mine has a sister who lives nearby to there and her mother took them over when she went to visit recently.) My current project is knitting woolly hats and vests (I am trying to interpret my grandmother's favourite children's vest pattern- all our kids wore them.) Anyway my friend "A" is knitting socks for little children who are freezing in Afghanistan in winter. She is of Swedish origin and this is a Swedish branch of save the children's fund who have organised a collection of bits and pieces to be sent, here is the link if you are interested in knowing more. Oh and I finally completed beaded necklaces for two little girls who have only been waiting a year to get them!
I have been lax with my posting, Firstly my camera batteries went and I am now photoless- I really want to get a new mobile phone that is actually a camera with a phone function! That would be convenient and most likely expensive! Then there is the roster with my school laptop, leased through the department for teaching purposes- I'm not actually on this roster -hence I'm posting now in the dead of the night now that the chicks have gone to bed. Which is where I should be as tomorrow is school photo day and I'm going to look worse for wear at this rate and I am already behind the eight ball!
The tax stimulus package is going strait into resolving our technology problems, fixing our big computer and a cheaper notebook for the kids to share and to mend our wireless network!
Oh I almost forgot I went away with my mum down south to see Chris Isaak play at the Leeuwin Estate. ( I thought this picture of the vegetable stack used which was also used in their advertising on the big screen when we were at the concert was a photo of a pile of washing! I found this most alarming until I realised what it actually was then I was really alarmed to think I was seeing piles of washing even when on holiday!!!!!!) It was actually quite relaxing, I left the chicks to fend for themselves (with Tim to help out) for two days. I actually took some photos- on mums camera so when I get a minute to teach her how to upload them I'll share a bit more with you.
Sorry if this post is not written particularly well, at least I can run a spell check over it, But it pretty much reflects my mood. I just re read my title and I've realised I've not been as inactive as I thought!

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Some very bad news...

My cleaning lady has quit! She has decided to study english so that she can get work in her field- personal assistant or something- she said she used to use her brain all the time but now here she has to use her hands because her english was not good enough to get the kind of work she used to do. She rang today to break the news. She was so very sorry but she does not have the time to clean any more.
I am pleased for her. But I am very sorry for myself! I was so excited when I found her and she is so very lovely. I will miss her. And I'm not looking forward to the bickering with the children about chores and who has done more work and therefore shouldn't be expected to do this or that, and who has more homework and therefore not enough time.... And anyway don't I want them to do well at school therefore they shouldn't have to do this or that.....
So I guess my search begins again!