A few notes...

Well, this week is plodding along.  It's raining constantly, very very wet, cool and windy with Cyclone Hamish hovering off the coastline.  Seems to be heading north again now though, and I think the forecast is for more hot sunny days next week.

Opening night was a roaring (pardon the pun) success.  No major difficulties other than the main stage curtain getting caught on a light and tearing up the top.  About $3000 worth of damagae apparently, but nothing noticable to the audience.  Woops!  Stu received loads of compliments and is feeling suitably pleased with himself :).  Saraya has had a couple of days home after getting in at just before midnight with Stu on Wednesday night!  A very big week for her.  We've had lots of family visiting too, with cousins to play with so all very social on the home front.  Lots of fun for the children, they have enjoyed our visitors.

I'm hanging in there, feeling quite blue still this week, but okay.  It's not just Stu's physical absence that's hurting lately, it's that his headspace isn't really "here" with us.  Not sure when it will come back either.  This whole theatre experience has been amazingly wonderful for him, and on top of work, there's not much room left in there for me and the kids.  This may sound harsh, but I think he'd agree that it's true.  So yeah, I'm lonely and a bit sad in general :(.  I know men and women are wired differently and I'm trying to remember that. :)  There are so many things going on with the children at the moment, and with me, so many thoughts, emotions, difficulties, joys, growth, etc. and I so desperately want to share them with Stuart.   I'm hanging in there with the hope of that happening one day soon.

A few highlights of my week have come from beautiful friends!!  Yesterday I received a belated Christmas parcel from my high-school friend in Brisbane, Jen.  What brilliant timing, and such special gifts and a wonderful letter!

An organic gardening resource guide, some organic broccoli, bean and capsicum seeds for the garden (yay!), a long letter which I loved, and this hat.

It's warm and Autumnal and perfect.  Since playing Eponine in Les Mis years ago, and wearing a hat this style, I have always wanted one of my own. Thanks SO much Jen!!

My beautiful friend Cathy delivered a basket of baking the other day which we (and our visitors) have all enjoyed very much!  She even made little homemade tags.  Thankyou Cathy!

Aside from a few niggly moments with Saraya today, it's been a delight having her home this week. :)  With the cool rainy weather the children enjoyed warm milos this morning.  And a big long drawing session.

Inspired by watching the film yesterday. :)  

Opening Night......

It is SO strange being here at home, "hanging out" with William while Elijah sleeps and Stuart and Saraya are down at the theatre performing away!  The show opened 35 minutes ago, and I so desperately want to be there!!  All I can do is sit and pray and wonder how it's going, which bit they are up to, if all the special effects work, if "Toto" is behaving himself, etc.! I'm going to go to bed as soon as WIlliam does so I can wake up and hear all about how it went when they get home later. :) 

Being Saraya's first show (of many, I can only imagine!) we wanted to give her a special keepsake. Stuart searched around online and found these gorgeous handmade in Russia 'Wizard of Oz' Babushka dolls.....

How cute are they?  They only arrived this morning, just in time for opening night!

Go lion!!!  You are going to be so great!!  Hope the florist delivered your orange gerbera backstage for you...... and Saraya's rose too........ ;)

It's been a very challenging few months for me, holding down the fort here and just doing all the mundane stuff on my own while my husband is away working or at the theatre having a blast.  BUT as I keep perspective I know it's only for a short season, and I'm blessed that he'll be back so soon now!  And he's had such a great time.  And grown as a performer.  And it's my turn next year. ;)

Thankyou Cathy for the beautiful basket of baked goodies to help feed all the visiting family this week (and the cherry ripes for me, yummy!)........... you are such a special friend; I can never tell you how much you mean to me!

Our weekend in pictures

Thanks SO much Mum and Ray for coming and giving me a much-needed "lift" in spirits, not to mention enormously wonderful practical help!!

Now, only 1 more sleep 'till opening night........ 

A little break.....

You may have noticed I've been a bit blogging crazy lately. :)  It's mostly been for company and an outlet in the evenings when Stuart is busy with rehearsals or schoolwork, and I've been trying to be disciplined in the daytime and not check any other blogs..... and only emails a couple of times!

Anway, today my Mum and stepdad Ray are arriving (in about an hour, we've had a busy morning getting ready!) and I"m going to have some real, human, adult company for a few days which will be so nice.  I may or may not blog for the next few days.  The weekend will be pretty busy, with dress rehearsals both days so a bit of ferrying Saraya, doing her stage makeup (oh my goodness!) and cooking for / spending time with our special guests etc.  Actually I'm thinking we may have takeaway tomorrow night. :)

It will be so great having some help at home, and grown-ups to talk to.  Mum will be here until Tuesday morning; Ray goes home on Sunday.  I'll be able to watch So you think you can dance with Mum on Sun night which will be great- we both LOVE it and always talk on the phone Monday mornings!!!  This time it can be in the flesh, yay!  

Is everyone having a blogging break at the moment?  I've just noticed my comments have dropped substantially lately........ Too many posts?  Or is everyone busy or away from computers??  Just wondering!  Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Early morning promo at the markets

Every Thursday in Maryborough is Market day.  Generally I head in early, before Stuart goes to work, to buy fresh local fruit and vegetables at a much better price than Woolworths charges.  Today however, our whole family headed in at 7am for a slightly different reason..... to promote Wizard of Oz!  Stu, Alex (Dorothy), Gavin (Scarecrow) and Amy (Glinda, no costume though) walked the streets handing out brochures, with the kids and I in tow. :)  They were very in character and it was quite hilarious watching them with the crowd- good old street theatre!

Here are some pics of our morning........

Yay! Free popcorn! Good thing cos we didn't have time for breakfast :)

The stall holders were great and seemed to enjoy the show :)

Gavin's great idea! A shame Tinman wasn't available this morning...

Free lolly tastings!

We got a little tired of walking.... the children loved sitting and looking at these statues for awhile

We found Mary Heritage (an icon here) doing the "welcome to Maryborough" announcements for the morning, and got her to read aloud the brochure through the sound system!  Good advertising. Aren't we a theatrical bunch in this town?!

Stuart just commented that he wants to go next Thursday and do it all again.  I'm not sure about that, but it was a fun way to start the day!!  

My Interview :)

A few months back, Heather expressed that she really liked interviewing people.  I smiled to myself, because I always think about how fun it would be to "get interviewed". :)  Then, she offered to interview anyone who left a comment, with 5 questions relevant to each person!  I was excited!!  Did you think from yesterday's comment that my interview was going to be official?  Well, aside from being interviewed over the phone by the local paper last week, on Stuart's behalf for Wizard of Oz (he's never home long enough for them to catch him!) I've never been officially interviewed.  BUT, this will be fun. 

Here are Heather's questions, and my answers..........

#1 You and Stuart are both quite active in musical theatre. How did you get involved in acting? Was there a time when you considered acting or singing as a career?

My Dad's side of the family has a history in stage.  My paternal grandparents actually founded a musical theatre company in Brisbane in the 1960's, and it's still alive and strong!  Dad's brother had a career in opera, and before Dad had his strokes he was a fine singer and guitarist too. 

My first stage performance was doing ballet, when I was 5.  I was in the junior choir at school, studied piano and singing from the age of 5, and did my first Eisteddfod when I was 7.  I loved to sing!  I joined a local theatre group for children when I was 9- we did pantomimes mostly- and the Queensland Youth Choir when I was 12.  We toured to many places around Australia and performed at Christmas festivals in Brisbane plus many many other events.  I also started flute when I was 9, did AMEB exams for years but rarely pick it up now.  I kept doing vocal Eisteddfods locally right through my childhood, and always enjoyed them!  For me everything was about music and performance.  School plays and musicals, skits for drama, etc. etc.  I studied Music and Drama as elective subjects in year 11 and 12 and they were always my favourites. :)

 

 As for musical theatre, I did shows with the company founded by my grandparents for many years and introduced an already very dramatic Stuart to the world of theatre after we started dating when I was 17.  We played Leisl and Rolf together in a production of "The sound of music" in 1998 (my stepdad also played Captain Von Trapp), and did "Les Mis" together in 2000.  It was so great.  I definitely thought about a career in theatre, but never pursued it seriously enough.  I don't think of myself highly enough as a performer anyway..... would need to grow in confidence first! I did audition for a degree in Music Therapy (first year the QLD Uni ever offered it, and they only accepted 7 students total in Queensland; needless to say I wasn't one of them!) but I was offered a place in Arts and Music.  This is one of the decisions in my life I MOST regret- I turned it down and went and studied Early Childhood Education and Social Science instead. Grrrr......

#2 I've always felt a kinship with you, because we share a love of home.  You named your home "House of Dreams." What advice would you give to someone who wanted to create a "House of Dreams" for her family?

Well, as you know, this hangs outside the front of our home.  The name is mostly inspired by one of my favourite novels, "Anne's House of Dreams". Stuart also likes the Anne books (well, the movies), so I was lucky he also liked the name!  This home is little and homely and cottagey, like Anne's House of Dreams...... and feels small and possibly transitional, like hers.

Also, we are dreamers.  We always have been.  I dream big dreams for my family.  For us, for our kids.  So, it's the House of Dreams. :)

#3 You're a mother of three children - 2 boys and 1 girl. Do you find that raising boys is very different from raising girls? What do you think are the greatest joys and challenges of raising children in the world today?

 

I guess my approach towards all the babies has been the same.  As they've grown, I have seen differences emerge but honestly these have mostly been based on their personalities.  Saraya is actually more outgoing, outdoorsy and noisy / energetic than Elijah!  He is quiet and passive, but then maybe it's a middle child thing?  Or just him?!  They are all so different.  Saraya is sweet and naturally likes to follow me and learn "lady things" from me, and I know Elijah is getting more and more attatched to Stuart.  Will is very energetic and bouncy but we're yet to see what his "bent' is!

Joys and challenges?  Oh, I'm tired and it's hard to think! :)  Um....... Joys are watching them grow up, sharing the everyday little moments together, knowing you are impacting the future of the world, leaving a heritage, creating memories, growing a family, etc.  Challenges are - well, the world isn't the nicest place to live!  It's hard to get that balance between being "in" the world but not "of" the world......  It's also challenging as a Mum because there's so little time for yourself.  that's what I find hardest!

#4 Your town is the home of Mary Poppins creator, P.L. Travers! In your opinion, what are 3 other places that a visitor to Australia absolutely must see?

* The Sunshine Coast is beautiful - gorgeous beaches and lovely green mountainous countryside too.  It's where we'd always hoped to settle, on land somewhere down there. It's too expensive now!!  My parents are retiring there in a few years, bringing them one hour closer to us, yay!

*  Tasmania is really special. We holidayed there when I was 15- very pretty.

* Um..... I'd say the Blue Mountains, which is in New South Wales and where Stu and I went on our honeymoon.  It's a beautiful, beautiful place.  Especially Leura, a tiny almost European-like village. Lots of little shops and restaurants. I'd love to go back!

These are 3 places I've been to and loved..... but there are many, many others.  We've never been to the outback but would love to one day!

#5 Finally.you said that you love to be interviewed. Tell us why.

Ha!!  this is a funny one.  I was telling some friends recently about my interviewing- well, my obsession.  Yes, I have little talks to myself constantly, being interviewed.  It's out loud.  As in I talk out loud.  An interviewer (who might be radio or magazine) asks me questions.  Often they're about childrearing or theatre or gardening..... and I've usually become a bit famous for some reason eg successful homeschooler, amazing self-sufficient gardener extraordinare, musical theatre sensation.........

It's quite funny when I'm out hanging washing, being interviewed by a newspaper in rural Ireland (where I live), speaking in my Irish accent, as an old lady (I'm 60 now)..... and the children walk by and hear me.  They stop and listen and think I'm slightly mad.  Which, perhaps, I am ;)

SO, I often imagine I'm being interviewed.  It's fun to think out loud about your life or aspirations or convictions or imagined successes.  Most creative and enjoyable- you should try it!!!

And that is the end of this interview.  Thankyou Heather for indulging me!  Hope you enjoyed the answers!

Today

* I had a blue morning.  I'm tired and feel lonely a lot of the time at the moment.  After struggling along, I talked to Mum at length on the phone mid-morning, had a good cry, let it all out, and felt better after releasing those endorphins!  Thanks Mum :)

*  Read and rested for a little while while William had his morning nap.

*  Took the boys to Big W to stock up on make-up supplies for the "stars". :)

*  Then took them to Woolworths and we did the grocery shopping.  Bought a cherry ripe and a magazine, just for me.  Felt better!

*  Came home, had lunch, washed dishes, cooked dinner and unpacked the groceries.

*  Cuddled Saraya lots and fed her afternoon tea when she arrived home.

*  My friend Mychel arrived at 3:45pm to mind my littlies, plus two of hers, while I met Cathy at the hospital for her first ultrasound!  What a privelege to be beside her as she witnessed glimpses of her precious baby!!  It was beautiful to be there. :)  A perfectly formed little blessing growing inside her! Hooray!

*  Came home at 4:30, gave Stu and Saraya their dinner, farewelled them as they headed off to rehearsal at 5pm- a full run with the orchestra!

*  Bathed the boys, ate dinner, washed dishes, put the chicks to bed, settled Elijah to sleep, read some Farmer Boy and settled Saraya who got dropped home after the munchkin scene, had a nice bath with William, fed him, settled him.........

................... and here I am!  It's been a LONG day, lots of emotional upheaval but I'm feeling happily exhausted now!  It's good to be on the computer.  Good company. :)  Nice to "catch up" on the world at the end of the day.  I'm also listening to one of my favourite cd's.  WIll have a cup of tea and some chocolate, check a few blogs, read a bit, plan a bit for tomorrow, put on a load of washing..... and head to bed.  :)

Oh, and tomorrow......... I'm being interviewed!  Stay tuned for more info......

Pulling out an old favourite.....

For the third or forth time in my life, I have opened the pages of one of my most favourite books on educating children- "The Charlotte Mason Companion" by Karen Andreola.  It is so wonderful, and well worth the read if you have ever considered there may be a more interesting, well-rounded way to teach a child than the standard classroom approach.  (Even though we've gone for the standard classroom approach with Saraya- there's still alot to be said for mainstream schooling, in a good school with a great teacher..... ;)......... especially if it suits the child in question!).  The book also talks a lot about the home and family dynamic.......... and Charlotte happened to live in the 18o0's- early 1900's, in the Lakes District of England, which really peaks my interest too!  Anyway, today I read this quote and thought I'd share it.

"The finest of all the fine arts is the art of doing good and yet it is the least cultivated."

T. DeWitt Talmage

It really got me thinking.  What do you think of this quote? I'm sure it must be true!  Have you ever read any Charlotte Mason, and if so what did you think?  

Dress Rehearsal Weekend

Well, aside from 2 hours at church this morning, and a few here and there at home, we have spent the entire weekend at the theatre for dress rehearsals.  10 days until opening night, wow!  Costumes are still being touched up (and makeup too; in many of these pictures it's incomplete), but here is a *glimpse* of what we were seeing backstage today!

So after all this time at the theatre, do you think we're getting tired of it?  Well, these faces really say it all............

......... and yes, this is Stuart's residual eyeliner!  Have a great week everyone!!