Little / Big

Jen. Melbourne, Australia. The cast includes the Husband and F (the kid). Here since 03.03.09.

[little-big]

Just need to say that I’m really enjoying stretching my brain creatively right now. Between pottery, working on these mural ideas, and my weekly art class - it feels good to be doing this right now, as an antidote to, well, everything.

Almost every evening this week I’ve sat and worked on my mural images, altering, adapting and gridding up some native flora inspired images I found online. The next step will be working out the colours, so each image becomes a bit like a paint-by-numbers, so that they can be then gridded on to the mural surface. It’s challenging and frustrating but so satisfyingly fun at the same time.

And tonight is art class - which fills my cup being surrounded by a group of amazing and supportive women, plus we get to draw / paint. Last week’s unfinished Tasmanian devil (I might work on him more in tonight’s class, or I’ll just start the next thing):

[little-big]

Things seen on long weekend exploring - a squiggly wiggly tree, a cicada shell in sunbeams, and a teeny tiny toadstool / fairy umbrella.

[fandanglefrogfarts]

Unfair of my job to expect me to show up when I have arts and also crafts to do

[ororium-z]

Happy Pride!

[rootbeergoddess]

Every pride, you must reblog this. No exceptions

[candycoloredwolf]

Anyone gonna mention how this guy actually preformed live with Carly Rae Jepsen?

[restfromthestreets]

I’m gonna scream is2g

[galaxa-13]

I was thinking of reblogging this again just because the original video is still amazing, but then I see the second video and lost my mind. The upgraded fan, the body glitter, the sheer fact that he got to do this with the actual singer.

[little-big]

I’m constantly struck by the feeling that there is not enough time, which is usually followed by the guilt-infused-hustle-culture-infinite-growth-at-all-costs derived reflex thought that I just need to make more time.

F went back to school on Friday. He was exhausted Saturday and slept til 10am, and was ready for bed again by 7pm. His knee is still in a brace and he’s still on crutches, he can’t weight bear still, and if we remove the brace the lack of stability (even just laying on his bed) is painful. He had an MRI done Friday afternoon. The images came through yesterday (no report until we see the doctor) and from best I can tell, there’s definitely bone bruising on both the tibia and fibula, and something going on in the joint but I don’t exactly know what. (As an aside - we haven’t had to pay anything at this point - ED visit, crutches, brace, xray, CT scan and MRI have all been covered by Medicare. The Australian health system is far from perfect but it gets some things right).

I signed up for a 4-week pottery short course, and hopefully my wheel throwing will develop a little further from making tallish ramekins. I spent another 2.5hrs on Saturday afternoon practicing the skills I learned last week, and it definitely helped make things click. Having a creative outlet is so necessary for me - it keeps the mental health demons at bay, and helps me learn over and over that the goal isn’t perfection, the goal is in the doing and focus and clear mind.

Almost at work for Monday morning. Perhaps more wandering thoughts later.

[userfish]

hey can you reblog and tell me what’s the happiest you’ve ever felt while watching a sporting event?

[little-big]

More photos and fungi spotting from my walk. I think the last photo is a saffron milk cap but since I didn’t know with 1000% certainty, they stayed where they were.

[little-big]

Ten minutes apart - the weather is all over the place today.

(From my Sunday constitutional aka silly little mental health walk aka walking up and down hills with a backpack of full water bottles in lieu of spending money on a weighted vest).

[little-big]

The weekend started well; F had good win at basketball (& got player of the match!) on Friday night. I went for a long walk on Saturday morning, to a nature reserve that I did a lot of walks around during the covid lockdowns. It was very peaceful - once in the reserve, I didn’t see anyone except for lots of birds and a few rabbits. And lots of late autumn fungi-spotting:

The husband and I went to the hardware store and picked up some wall paint, and a few other bibs and bobs. (Trying to decide on a shade of white for the walls… who knew there were so many whites!!! Think we’re going with Dulux Snowy Mountain Half).

Then it was time for F’s Saturday basketball game - in the last three minutes of the game, he took a charge. Both F and the kid that ran into him went flying and hit the court. F’s knee was not great, he couldn’t weight bear at all. Initially thought we’d take him to urgent care but when he was in agony driving with every tiny bump in the road, sobbing hysterically - we went straight to emergency. Xrays and a CT scan and seven hours later, no obvious breaks but definite bone bruising and a referral to the orthopaedic clinic. His knee is in a brace and he’s on crutches. No idea how he’ll manage at school. Going to see his GP today (Monday) to see if we can arrange an MRI privately rather than waiting for the ortho clinic, having them tell us an MRI is required, and then waiting even longer.

I was a zombie Sunday morning and all I wanted to do was stay home, but I had a five hour pottery wheel throwing workshop to attend. It was good, but also very technical - I have a much better idea on what I’m meant to be doing now but can’t always quite do it. Managed three pots in the end:

Now that I’m a bit more confident (& have a bag of clay to use up), I’ll book some casual studio time to see what I can manage to make.

Anyway. It was an exhausting weekend and I’m glad I’ve taken today off work - because mentally I’m at capacity without adding work stressors into the picture.

[little-big]

My phone’s screen protector is giving a weird filtered look and these glasses are forever sliding down my nose but here is me too early on a Friday morning (but at least I’m working from home!).

Thanks for the tag Lori @rockingred52! I’m smiling on the inside, I swear!

Consider yourself tagged for a gpoy if you’re got RBF like me today.

[little-big]

Me, whenever some clearly fake tumblr (usually male) likes a bunch of my posts in a row and then follows me: Urgh, who’s this dickhead? *block*

[little-big]

A lunchtime stroll to the Queen Vic market.

[little-big]

I wish the park / walking trail I dreamt about last night was real - part wildlife sanctuary, part art/sculpture park, along a rehabilitated creek that also included a small free outdoor public pool and a discounted indoor heated public pool ($5.80 per swim including towel hire), with a community centre and a brewery/cafe. It was brilliant and I walked 8km in my dream and finished with a swim.

[little-big]

Weekend highlights:

I bought a pair of Altras on Friday night as my ASICS were literally worn down to nothing, and I never want to take these shoes off. I want all my shoes to be this comfortable (& my podiatrist also confirmed that the fit is good for my feet).

F’s team won on Friday night, and he played well including hitting a 3; and then his Saturday team (playing for the first time together) also won, with F scoring another three 3s!

I was moody and grumpy Saturday evening and put myself to bed early. Got over 10 hours sleep and that helped everything.

Mother’s Day was lovely. F bought me a bonsai type plant that’s growing on a rock. I went for a long hilly walk. We went out for lunch with my MIL. I did a bunch of weeding and pruning in the front yard.

[little-big]

The chilly autumn weather is here so I left Tom’s ears tucked into his snood.

[little-big]

One of large eucalypts that I watch from our bedroom window and deck - is currently being removed; and I suspect both trees are facing the same fate. All those poor birds and animals and insects that rely on those trees for shelter and food. It makes me so sad.

[little-big]

Last week, one of the other students in my art class described how she’d been focusing on the “local news”. What she meant was paying attention on the hyper local and her immediate surroundings - looking at the moon on clear nights, acknowledging the shifting weather and the things she encountered day to day. I love that idea! I’ve been trying to emulate it over the past week and it’s been great - noticing the autumn colours and the dew on the grass in the morning, that the neighbour’s new fence is nearly done, the days getting shorter, seeing how many trees/shrubs I can identify from the train window on my commute. It helps.

The building I work in has a small terrace where they have an edible garden planted. It’s mostly herbs and a few veggies and fruit trees. Yesterday they hosted an autumn harvest session to celebrate the shift in seasons. It was free and to attend had to sign up in the building’s app. There was roast vegetable soup (with and without chicken), fresh juices, and a selection of fruit and veg to take home. Did I mention it was free?! It far exceeded my expectations.

Another day in the city today, then home the rest of the week.