I have moved into a rhythm of slow days at home around here, which is exactly what I had in mind for my leave. I've enjoyed getting into a routine of house-work throughout the week, cooking and baking, writing and reading. I've also added a few new things to my days.
First of all, I taught myself how to make cotton face masks. As the situation in Victoria and NSW continues to escalate we are facing the need to wear face masks very soon here, so I didn't want to wait until they were mandatory. I used this really simple Youtube video to guide me.
I have mostly been pleased with the results and glad that I hoarded so many little stashes of fabric over the years! The elastic has been harder to come by (perhaps others have the same idea at the moment!) and the thicker elastic I had to use this week on a second batch of masks wasn't as comfortable. Still, they will do. I plan to send some to my sisters, my mum and my friend in NSW. There are still plenty left over for us too! Once I started they became quite quick and fun to whip up!
Also I have joined two online courses, one through Futurelearn, called 'Short Film in Language Teaching.' This is through the British Film Institute and I am enjoying plodding through at my own pace and taking what ideas are useful for my own teaching.
The second course is a Heritage Teacher Summit, run by a group of US-based Spanish teachers on teaching Spanish to heritage speakers. This group is one that I continually struggle with in my planning and assessment so I'm really looking forward to this course, plus I have access to the material for a whole year. No rush.
Neither one of these courses feels like a chore to me - I enjoy both and when I've had enough I stop and do something else. Perfect pacing and interesting topics are definitely key!
The weather has turned the last couple of days and it is cold! There is snow on the mountains and the wind is icy. Last night we reached -5ะพ so I'm a bit scared to see what has happened to our garden. Hopefully the cabbage and spinach will be protected by the shade cloth.
The days are sunny though so the animals have been enjoying their run around times:
The two Isas even found a nice dirt bath between the wicking beds!
They are such good layers, we are getting three eggs a day now, which is enough for us and to give away.
My writing has been slow to start but this week I hit a patch of inspiration and have been spending a lot of time on both the novel and the short stories. Reading truly is the best inspiration and this week I picked up a couple of books on a trip out to Dirty Jane's Canberra, a lovely big warehouse full of vintage and handmade things. I picked up some Agatha Christie (two that I don't have and haven't even read!) and the fantastic "My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell.
You may already know the Durrells from the BBC show. The writing is absolutely beautiful in its descriptions and Gerald Durrell paints such wonderful portraits of all the members of his family and the animals that he voraciously studies on the island of Corfu.
"Perhaps the most exciting discovery I made in this multi-coloured Lilliput to which I had access was an earwig's nest. I had long wanted to find one and had searched everywhere without success, so the joy of stumbling upon one unexpectedly was overwhelming, like suddenly being given a wonderful present."
Such joy!
There truly is beauty and magic all around us, and now that we have the time, why not take a pause to appreciate it?
No comments:
Post a Comment