Cubby Renos

cubby1

cubby2

Hands up who had a ‘cubby’ when they were little??

I had my mum’s, from when she was little, which as a structure, was totally amazing, they just don’t build em like that anymore ;)

BUT…  it was dark and full of spiders so I was too scared to go inside.  That thing was screaming for a skylight, but alas it never got one.  I wonder what happened to it!

Obviously, my cubby experience was not complete so I got myself a new one under the guise of buying it for my daughter.  Even before we got it I had pictured it nestled into the trees and me, gazing out at it, from the house.

So this is how it eventuated.  My daughters 9th birthday was coming up (yes I know 9 is probably a bit old for a cubby, but she, I mean I, wanted it)  We just happened to find one close to home, in our price range, so hubby could easily pick it up with the bobcat, and plonk it in its new home.  Simple!  To me that is, not him!

As an unexpected bonus, Jemima’s excitement upon seeing the cubby arrive on the forks of the bobcat was truly amazing.  I don’t think I have ever seen someone so happy, and so able to express that joy!  It was truly unbridled enthusiasm, to quote a 90′s sitcom ;)  That moment in itself made the whole exercise worthwhile, and I’ll have that forever!

Then, all I needed to do was give it a makeover, a lick of paint and some new flooring and furniture.  Voila!!!   Now it’s screaming for a ‘tea party’ photo shoot.

It’s since been rejected by my 9 year old but I don’t care, I still have my cubby to gaze out at :)

Oh and for trivia’s sake - The definition of ‘cubby’ is small room, and a synonym is ‘snuggery’ How cute!!

New bunch of dates!!

The start of a new year means a new calendar, and I was extra excited by this one because I made it myself.

In saying that, it would not be worth hanging without the efforts of the Geelong Roller Derby League skaters.

When I put the call out for photo shoots they were there with gusto, and made the whole experience a laugh and a breeze.

Doing projects like this, which are love jobs, are so much fun and I wish time was an endless commodity so I could do more and more.

Here are a few of my fav shots :)

Oh and if you want to buy one just contact the league at www.geelongrollerderby.com they would love to hear from you!

This calendar is especially important to me as it was the last one I did before retiring from skating, after 5 years.  It was an amazing 5 years, but I decided there are lots of others things to do that I haven’t done yet so I am excited to see what 2013 has in store for me.  And hopefully Geelong Roller Derby might let me do another calendar for them next year!!

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Bursting to Blog!!

Tap tap tap!!

Is this thing on???

Testing testing!!

Just brushing off some dust…

…oh there we go..

Yes its me, after a lapse of about 7 months, I am back to blogging.  My tail is between my legs, but I am hopeful you are happy to hear from me.

I have totally missed it, but I have just had sooo much else on my plate.  The things you really want to do, you get to do, last :(

Feeling a little rusty, but happy to be back.  Not going to be as adventurous as last year and attempt to post everyday.  But hope to be a little more on the ball.

I have a list of things I am bursting to talk about so be ready for the new year to start with a little bit of Ramona’s Day Off :)

For starters, I’m not usually one for resolutions, (as who ever keeps them) but this year I find that one has found its way into my consciousness, and I feel really good about it.  I am always too busy for pretty much everything, but in 2013 I will focus making more time for my family and friends.  And by time I mean being more caring and taking a real interest, and being the best friend I can be.  It’s not that I don’t care, but its easy to be too focused on personal stuff first.  I actually started today, with someone super special, and it felt great :)

Cats

Are you OK?

A Fork in the Road!

I have a son in Grade 6!!!!

This little piece of information is scary in many ways.  Firstly, it means I am old enough to have a son in grade 6, and this in itself makes me run around screaming with arms flailing.  But, once I calm down, there is still more to be concerned with.  He is starting high school next year, and which high school do I send him to?

As well as there being many schools to chose from, there are many ‘schools of thought’ on this, just as there was for breastfeeding, and getting a newborn to sleep etc.

As a parent, I obviously want to give my son, and daughter when her time comes, the best start in life, with the most opportunities.  Do I need to throw money at it, or can I assume he will fulfil his potential regardless??

In trying to work all this out I remember a story I heard back in the early 80′s which I have never forgotten.  I found it so inspirational, and I still do.  It was about a successful man from Harlem in NewYork who went back to the school he had attended 50 years earlier to give the grade 6′s a motivational talk on the benefits of graduating high school.  As he stepped up to the podium the principal informed him that 75% of these kids wont finish high school.   In that instance he changed his speech to include an offer to pay the college tuition for each child that graduated high school.  Of those 61 grade 6 students, 90% graduated high school and 60% went on to a higher education, and they all have fulfilling jobs.   Those that are now parents vow their kids will have college educations.  You can read more about it, and the continuing success of the ‘I Have A Dream’ foundation at http://www.ihaveadreamfoundation.org/

This story makes me so very happy.  It says to me, that these kids knew they were from a place with little opportunity, so when they saw it, they took it.  And good on them!!!  But what about the kids who seemingly have much opportunity???  Do they sometimes take it all for granted and achieve less??  How much of it comes down to personality???  And how much of it comes down to the quality of parenting??  Time will tell I suppose, and ultimately like everyone else I  just want my kids to have a happy life.

I’m off to a school open evening tonight, hopefully they impress me!

Craft is the new Prozac!!

The whole world seems to be crafting, and I think I know why.

Craft is the new Prozac.  It is amazing the feelings of happiness and relaxation that can be gained from a day of creating.  Now that I am crafting a day a week with a friend we will do anything to not miss that day.  We have both been known to utter the words,  cant wait for craft day, I need it!!   It’s free therapy!!  Don’t knock it till you try it!!  Hopefully you’ll be as amazed as I was!   A finished craft project equals endorphins!!

When I was little my Mum used to ‘craft’.  The house was covered in things she  had made.  Cushions, lamp shades, knitted jumpers, table clothes etc.  This included sewing some of our clothes.  I digress, but I just remembered the time I was 8 and asked for a pair of jeans, meaning Levi’s, and was presented with a pair of home made jeans, complete with a machine sewed pocket detail.  I also got the matching home made denim jacket.  This ensemble is probably where the ‘double denim’ veto originally came from!

The way I see it is, my Mum used to make things to give her something to do, and because these items were needed for the household, whereas these days we seem to use craft as a break from all the things we have to do.  Plus it has the added bonus of time away from technology.  Op shopping is the same.  It is sooo therapeutic to lose yourself in a ‘good’ op shop.  Never know what you’ll find.

If you are interested in getting into crafting there are endless blogs dedicated to it.   Just Google ‘craft blogs’ and prepare to be amazed, and to lose a couple of hours.   The Old Bar in Fitzroy has a knitting night every Monday over winter.  Worth a look I reckon.

Warning – Crafting leads to an addiction to Spotlight

Reverting to type!

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It is with great excitement I type these words.  For today I start anew!!

It seems to me I have been coming across much lately, (newspaper articles, blogs and conversation) that is concerned with our love of technology and social media with little or no thought about the effects it may be having on us.

Is this because we are addicted or are we just oblivious?  Is it killing or enhancing conversation and relationships??  Do we care???  I do!!

Personally, I love my gadgets, but I also love all things retro.  So when I decided to take a look at removing my modern ‘lures’ my first thought was to turn to my typewriter.

An old school typewriter is really a work of art.  It’s beautiful!!

Who amongst us would not love to walk out to the letter box, and open a letter from a dear friend which had been typed on a manual typewriter. And by manual I mean one that you have to really push the keys down hard, and there is no eraser key.  It’s as good as a hand written one.  You can actually feel, and maybe smell, the person on the paper.  They have handled it and possibly smudged it.  Imagine the deliciousness of the ‘attempted’ corrected mistakes.   An email pales in comparison.

I used to have a friend who would write to me using hand made paper, and even hand crafted envelopes out of whatever he had at his disposal. Possibly a page from a magazine.  He was also an amazing joint roller so paper was obviously his tool of choice.  Whilst I have not had such a letter from him for many years they are such special memories for me.  Maybe I should type him a letter and tell him that.

When I got out my typewriter, (which I could never bring myself to get rid of) as a tool for this blog post, the sentence I typed was to me, so synonymous with typewriters, I couldn’t resist.   Sorry.

Think I might type a letter to a friend today, instead of Facebooking.

April 29 2012

Oh the shame!!!  Thankfully, I am not feeling the shame that this woman would have felt in this moment, circa. 1948.  The article I got this photo from went on say that social services were not called, and there was no judgement of what this woman was forced to do.  Times were just very different.  Which also made me think that these days kids will probably ‘survive’ even if they don’t get everything they ‘want’ in every way shape or form, because at least we are not selling them to the highest bidder. Just food for thought!

Anyway back to me!!  I am now many many days behind with my commitment to post a photo every day, and I have made an executive decision.  This was not an easy decision by any means.  This blog has been an amazing journey so far, and one I really wish to continue.

I was unaware of how much I would enjoy it, and the fact that I would want to take it further, but I do, I do.  When I started the blog it was to be about the photos, but I am enjoying the writing part way more than expected.  It has also now had the desired effect on my photography, and I have so many ideas and plans that I need to free up some more time to achieve them.

Sooooooo I am going to start posting weekly, which will allow me to focus more on each post.  I may post more than weekly, but there will be at least a weekly post.  At this point I am thinking I will allocate Mondays for R.D.O.   (tehehe)

I really think I can make Ramona’s Day Off a much better blog if I am not making it about quantity rather than quality.

Now how do I recover from the feelings of failure associated with this???  I think I just have to tell myself to get over it and make my blog something I can be proud of.

READY. SET. GO.