Making : a start on the edging on the lawn in my backyard.  I’m between gardener visits so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands.  I found this Aldi lawn trimmer the other day.  It’s battery powered and is surprisingly effective, even in the hands of a novice like myself.

Cooking : beef stir fries with meat that has been ‘velveted’ in a paste of bicarb to make it taste incredibly tender.  Read more over here at Not Quite Nigella.  It really works!!  I’ve never been able to stir fry beef without it getting tough until now.

Drinking : mugs of T2’s peppermint tea using tea bags I filled myself.

Reading : ‘The Teacher’s Secret‘ by Suzanne Leal.  I seem to be in some pretty dark waters as far as my reading list goes.  The novel is set in Brindle, a  small coastal town in NSW where Terry, a popular primary school teacher suddenly loses his job over an incident from many years ago.  I’ve about three quarters of the way through ‘The Teacher’s Secret’ and I still don’t know what Terry did but I’m enjoying Leal’s word pictures of a small town with stunning views of the beach that serve as an ironic backdrop to the fall out of all kinds of poor human choices.

Trawling : the world wide web for new quick and easy dinner recipes.  The vast majority have been very well received but the odd disaster has been annoying.  It’s the leftovers I have dilemmas over.  To throw them all away would be such a waste yet there’s nothing more soul destroying after a long day than to end the evening with a horrible dinner.  No, it’s not the absolute worst thing of an evening – no hot water for a shower would definitely top an unpalatable dinner.  By the way, the taco spaghetti that inspired this photo was and is a huge hit at our place.

Wanting : 

Looking : at my desk top as I type this post.

Deciding : if I need to wash my hair tonight.  The answer is yes.

Wishing : I was back home in Perth gazing out at these sprinklers on the foreshore where mum and dad live.  It does my soul good to reconnect with home on a regular basis.

Enjoying : Preschooler SSG’s early bedtime and a little time to myself that I’m not spending trying to fall asleep myself.

Waiting : for my tickets to be confirmed for Texas this May.   Not very patiently, I might add.

Liking : my new mug.

Wondering : what’s on the horizon for me.  I do think, though, that element of not knowing for certain keeps life interesting.

Loving : this city in spite of it’s recent weather.

Pondering : the extra poignancy of reading a Maisy mouse book about loving London to Preschooler SSG in light of the terror attack at Westminster last week.

www.news.com.au

Listening : to ABC News Radio.  Just like Pip did when she took stock of life in March.  It’s my most efficient and trusted source of news and general information about the world and I don’t feel quite right in the morning if I haven’t drifted off to bed listening the night before.

Considering : if I need to buy that special cleaner for floorboards for when I mop the floor or if I can still get away with Pine O Clean.

Buying : cheddar flavoured Goldfish biscuits in bulk at Costco because both Preschooler SSG and I love them.

Watching : the light rail infrastructure grow on George Street.  It’s been a slow and steady process and I’m looking forward to the day when structures that vaguely look like tracks finally get laid down.

Hoping : I don’t forget when daylight saving ends in New South Wales.

Marvelling : at how many leaves have fallen already this autumn.

Cringing : at The Real Housewives of Sydney.

Needing : more hours in the day.

Questioning : why women are so hard on each other.  I was recently involved in an online discussion among apparently well educated working mothers about the major childcare reforms that were passed in Senate last week.  Many intelligent and informed comments were made by people both for and against the changes.  It didn’t take long, however, for toes to get trampled on and personal attacks to be made.  Jealousy, insecurity, sleep deprivation, hormones, stress?  Who knows what motivated the comments.  If we can’t lean in the perhaps we should just learn to pause, change the settings on our Facebook feeds and let it go.

Smelling : dinners being cooked up and down my street.  I love these chilled out evenings at home on the weekend.

Wearing : jewellery made by Preschooler  SSG.

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Noticing : that the clock function on my iPhone no longer features a clock face.  Devastated.

Knowing : that life is good.

Thinking : I need to get around to making a bucket list one of these days.

Admiring : grace under pressure.  It’s a beautiful thing to have it displayed towards you and always makes me feel a bit bad about how I often react when it’s all a bit too much.

Getting : things done.

Bookmarking : new recipes to try on Feedly.

Disliking : selfish people who park across my driveway.

Opening : the side door for a bit of fresh air.

Closing : a few windows in Chrome.  Anything more than 17 means that I can’t read enough of each tab to remember what the window is about.

Feeling : relaxed after a long week.

Hearing : the whoosh of cars on my street.  It’s nice hearing them without the window shuddering machinery from all the building projects going on around us at the moment.

Celebrating :  the good health of loved ones.

Pretending : that I’ve done all my clothes shopping I’m going to be doing before I head Stateside this May.  Who am I kidding?

Embracing : life and finding its rainbows wherever and whenever I can.