Little / Big

One of my favourite things on the bookshelves were Dad’s old topographic maps. Some were from his motorbiking days and some were from his flying days (he had a pilot’s licence and small plane before I was born). I loved learning that the closer the contour lines, the steeper the slopes, and all the odd names for places and creeks and peaks.

@lisascamera shared this quote in a post today, and it struck me as deeply true, even as someone who is very much not religious. All that we are comes from this planet and universe, and we continue to remain of this planet and universe evermore.

One of my dear friends is farewelling her mum today - her mum has chosen VAD to end her pain with dignity, after a battle with recurrent oral cancer. My heart aches for them all as they face this moment.

Weekend mural progress! Finally starting on the details - the outlines and patterns. I’m so happy with how it’s looking and I’m already excited to start the next one. I took the selfie in front of it to try and give some context to the size of the panel (though for some reason it looks like I’ve been copied & pasted into the photo?) - the panel is 1.6m x 1.2m. If it wasn’t propped up on the bench, I’d only just be taller than it.

Overall it was a fairly quiet weekend - F had basketball on Saturday and played a really good game, and then his best mate was playing the next game on the same court so we watched that, we had dinner with friends on Saturday night, we pulled up the carpet in the living room for the new flooring to go down later this week, and got a little gardening done.

The cabinetry went into the living room late last week, and I love how it looks. It’s the same colours / style we’ve chosen for the kitchen and now I’m even more excited for the kitchen reno to be done. (Painting will get done once the kitchen is finished, architraves around the new cupboard still to go on, curtains also to be replaced.)

(I need to work on the shape of the form in the initial throw, and bringing up more clay from the base - but it’s practice practice practice, and none of the clay from trimming is wasted, it goes in my slops/scraps bucket to reclaim and throw again another day).

And here are my attempts from yesterday:

(Especially proud of the one with the flared neck/opening!)

Red sky in morning, shepherd’s warning?

We also did a lot of pruning, and clearing ivy off the back fence. We have a branch mulcher that we use for fruit tree branches, but the ivy had to go in the green waste bin. We filled our bin and then borrowed our neighbours’ bin too. Some of the creatures we spotted behind the cut - includes a skink, a huntsman spider, and a paper wasp:

Trying to keep feeling the feelings, and give myself patience and grace.

Then I kept thinking about the upcoming anniversary of Dad’s passing, and stressing that I hadn’t taken the day off work, and thinking about this time last year and all the difficult days in the lead up. (When I checked my calendar after I got up, I confirmed that it’s on a Sunday this year, so I didn’t need to take leave - so again, stressing about nothing).