spt24july14: reflected

... and reflecting on how ...

• it's a good thing I'm not full time employed outside the home right now (I have no idea how you employed parents manage summer) ...
• much I value some solo time each day, with no noise, no questions to answer, no orders to issue, no one to chase up ...
• I will have to do something to get back into balance - these last four weeks of summer vacation, the two weeks of early holiday (gee thanks, teachers) and the three weeks of rolling strikes before that (ditto) have been difficult to achieve any kind of balance in ...
• many grandparents have taken up residence in the area ...
• difficult it is to fit in work in brief bursts of time ...
• fast summer is disappearing ...
• unfit I feel ...
• disorganised I feel ...
• alarmed I am that school might not go back in September because there is no Plan B in this house anymore ...
• the Wee Guy and I will muddle through somehow, together!
• much we will both enjoy the bacon, mushroom and egg flan for dinner this evening cos it smells really good ...
• clean the house still is #stillunsold #fourbedandrecroomunder600K
• blue the sky looks peeking through the gaps in the clouds.

I need feminism because ...

this needs to be said, for men and women alike

midlife monday: on parade

Sometimes ... midlife? what midlife? If this is what almost a half century is like, then bring it on! It's fun. I remember waaaay back, when I was a kid, looking at the older ladies in the village and wondering what it was like to be so old. I'm guessing that some of them were the same age I am now. Do I look as old now as they did then? Did they feel as young as I do? Did they wonder how they should be feeling, the same as I wonder now? I wish I had asked. I wish they had said. Maybe if more of us spoke about growing older then the mystery would vanish, and it wouldn't be quite such the debilitating threat it's seen as now. Maybe it could be seen as normal (gasp!).

an afternoon in the garden

It rained, but not on our souls today.
We spent the afternoon, our second day of solo parenting, with Agata and Emry in their community garden, with a bunch of other artist students. It rained - good for the plants and not too bad for us as we gathered in a little wooden shelter to chat, eat the potluck picnic and sample the garden produce.

And good for me as I'm exhausted right now. Three weeks into summer vacation with more than two extra weeks of surprise holidays thanks to the BC teachers' strike, and I'm so tired of running to keep standing still. Selling the house, extra childcare hours, keeping up with paid work, absent partner, homework assignments ... it's all added up. The last straws have been mr. ebb's crazy overtime in combination with a short notice business trip. There has been no time to step off the wheel and unwind.

Sad but true - some people sap your soul - they drain every last piece of energy, wring every sodding drop of inspiration from you, then leave you with nothing but a husk that has to carry on.But on the otehr hand, there are those who fill you right up to overflowing.

Today was one of the latter. Our souls were well and truly topped up by the picnic party chatter, and all the veggies we staggered home with. And check out my Instagram feed for some other soul-filling moments, wizarding on the beach and Moon Fall-ing.

Thank you one and thank you all. You give me the energy to keep going :)

the daily pussy: it's been a while so how are you doing?

http://ift.tt/1jLFQGR

wordless wednesday: remember the creek

http://ift.tt/1nx0Qfy

Intrepid

in the summer heat there's only one place to head - the creek to cool off those sweaty feet (sorry fishes)