I can do it (and YOU can too)

Not tonsilitis but strep throat! So I spent a day at home yesterday trying to study and knit in the sun , while the youngest recouperated. I know of 9 students diagnosed in a day with it in the last week!
The autumn leaves (the few we get) are stunning here.

A very pleased lady here with another brilliant university essay mark - I still have an exam to do in a couple of weeks, but only need 5% to pass the paper - DONE! :)

I want to tell you that you can have children and study and that you can do it! I do find writing essays stressful and have been awfully un-motivated this semester, but have been steadily working every day for days on end for the exam. I have a load of free time after school (my boys are pretty independent and get their own afternoon tea etc, do homework by themselves etc without me having to chase it up.. and the good husband cooks dinner A LOT). I have been kinda amazed at how well I have done with effort, but not as much effort as I thought it would take...
I have a phenominally demanding job in a demanding suburb which can wipe you out day after day dealing with not just education. I do lord knows how many unpaid hours and have a huge amount of overtime owed and do need A LOT of down time/ time by myself to just chill out.
But I can do it and am sure you can too if you are thinking of study. School thankfully paid for this paper, and I have another 2 papers to complete in the next 8 months, which will take it to 4 this year - not bad for a working mum, on a school board too and general running around. You just need time and organisation to be your number one friend!

(and tuilps from the husband are gorgeous and welcome!)

The latest in head gear

I made this hat for my three year old nephew for his birthday in a couple of weeks. I hope he likes it! It was a fast 2-3 day night in the evenings. I am rather proud of it - I had a bunch of 15-16 year old boys here yesterday who just cracked up.
And I have started knitting this cardigan - am now rather unsure about the colour - thinking it looks like a granny colour...... help me stay motivated to finish it! Started off on the sleeves as I can memorise uni stuff knitting sleeves! Loving how the wool feels though and how it knits up.. it is just the colour.... hmmmm.

18 of the best years

18 years ago today I married the best guy in the world. He did pretty well with me also! :)  Three children later, lived in 3 countries, knitted a lot, he still is the best! He puts up with a lot from me, but is always supportive and all he wants and needs, he says, is a happy wife! Well you've go that! Happy wedding anniversary and off we go out to dinner at Sunday Painters.

Lazy weekend

We have one child down with a bumper crop of tonsilitis - he has slept and slept. White Cross (emergency doctor just around from our house and just as cheap for us to go there than drive a few suburbs across to real doctor) had an hour and a half wait yesterday at 8.30am - we thought it would be quick at that time of the morning. The child threw up in the packed waiting room - poor thing - and he was moved but had to wait longer still. Antiobiotics and we hope it will help. Best thing I ever did was getting my tonsils out last year!

Belatedly into a soccer team with a different club. School could not field a team as too many kids pulled out - grrrrrrhhhhh - but we have saved a club team apparrently (a few unreliables in this team too) and into division one without a trial. He got player of the day today too - it MUST have been a MALE who switched the old green socks to white socks this year. Even soaking in napisan, they will not be able to be kept white! (blue socks from last weekend's game.)

 Sox load of laundry dried outsid today. I am one of those nutter people that hand washing outside the night before - it paid off today. A stunning day!

 Lots of dishcloth knitting here.

 Time to wear my knitted socks. ( I have too many pairs i think!)

Soccer pics -

They were white socks...

Fire wood all chopped. A bolar roast has been in the crockpot for hours. It will be more studying tonight. Hat started on Thursday night and 3/4 way there already! Loving it. HAppy 3 day weekend kiwis!

Bendigo Pottery

One of the best parts about my weekend in Bendigo, Australia, was an hour long pottery lesson at Bendigo Pottery. It was the most fun thing I have done in a long time. The tutor has tught for many years at Australian universities and apparrently you spend the first two weeks of your degree learning how to throw the lay onto the pottery wheel pottery. We only had an hour... It was an amazing experience learning how to throw clay and coming out with  vase and a pot. feeling the clay between your hands and learning how just a slight movement, moving hands up, staying put and then off and how tempermental clay is, was very very cool. I kept on expecting the top to go all wobbly and the clay go flying off the wheel (I did come very very close apparrently!). I am amazed at just hat you can do in an hour, how your hands mould clay and the ease that you can make something! The pottery is firing and glazing our masterpieces and for a very reasonable $15 posting mine to NZ! It was a brilliant thing to do - my mum has a pottery wheel which I am half tempted to bust out and go for it! Maybe I should find a pottery night class. Bendigo Pottery is well known all voer Australia - they had an amazing shop with so much.
Out the back was the most incredible antique/op shop place with HUGE amounts for sale. there was so much I could ahve gone crazy over - so many gorgeous embroidered placemats, bone china, books, linen etc ... I was so tempted but stayed strong and didn't buy a thing. The fire place "cover" with teh embroidery I adored... if I lived in Australia it would have come home with me!
We spent about 3 hours here pottering and browsing and having a fab afternoon tea. Such a brilliant place to visit! I am impatiently waiting for my wares to arrive!
Have you ever pottered? It makes me happy with my tiny pottery collection - Temuka pottery pieces (I spent some of my first ever pay packets on a few items)and other pieces I have collected over the years from a few NZ potters while on road trips. Does anyone know if you can still buy Temueka Pottery? I must visit that township one day!

brightening up your day

I'm in woollen tights today, with herringbone type shorts,a  black merino top and my mustard cardigan with my bright yellow cowl. That will brighten up the world.
We've had freezing weather in Auckland; I've had a horrid cold, asthma and horrendous sinuses, but have had to soldier on, as have huge amounts to do at school. Study going so, so.
A lot of time has been sitting by the fire and finding more blankets for the beds. (and dealing with leaking hot water bottles... arrrrggghhh... we are an electric blanket free home. One of my brothers did his best to burn our house down when he was a child with one of them... we have never had them since.) I knit dishcloths while studying... (memorizing). And have started a funky hat for a nephew too. Is it cold where you are?