Ponder: Ava's Rule

My sister is just days away from leaving us, and the weather hasn't been what it should be. It's been a cloudy, drizzling week or so in Sydney. There was a freak spike this one single day that registered 39 degrees last Tues. Then the next day, as if it never happened, it was back to 18 degrees and rain. One day the summer heat will strike without our even expecting it.

I got this from Found, Now Home and wish to help spread this rule about the safety of children in cars in hot weather. Please go to Sheye's page or to www.avasrule.com. My heart goes to Sheye and her family, and to other families who share the same story.

Ponder: giftedness

As a mother of three young boys and a constant volunteer in my sons' schools all these years, I learn a lot about giftedness, abilities and intelligence. I've met some pretty amazing boys, who I am sure have exceptional abilities, yet don't even register in any of the high profile prize giving lists (honors and awards). My eldest son has difficulties in a particular task, whereas my other son can do the same thing effortlessly, and vice versa.

As the schoolyear nearly winds to a close, we often take a look at how we all did and discuss the highs and lows --hopefully better than last year's marks in school, how we made use of opportunities, how we fared in our friendships, etc. But I am thankful, always, for signs of good character. These are the things I am always on the lookout for; ultimately, these are the things that matter.

The other day, along with other boys and myself chatting away on a walk to school, my eldest dashed ahead to an old lady with a walking stick, opening a gate we all had to pass through. He lifted the lock for her, opened the gate and held it for her to pass. I had not even noticed her, about five metres ahead of us since I was listening to their chatter. This boy of mine is quiet, low key, very amiable, and he soldiers on for anything--an audition, a graded performance--with only a quiet, serene fear that you would never have guessed. I am glad that when we speak of his move to middle school next year, he has definite ideas about his subjects, interests and emerging abilities.

Here is a story, written by the second son, nine years old, who has always been raved to be "gifted" by teachers/mentors/relatives, but it doesn't really register in terms of academic achievement. Yet he does amazing things in my eyes--his own illustrated story books; tight crisp shots in home movies he directs which often feature the acting abilities of their youngest brother; his thoughts on some subject or the other. He seems to be the official critic in residence. We can never match his quick witted repartees, a strong personality that contains a touching sensitivity.

I am thankful for the gifts they all are to me, and to those who meet them.

(Click on the photo to zoom in and read the story)

Craft: love and handiwork from countless hands

I've been using this bag for some time now, to avoid further pain on my shoulders (I tend to bring a heavy bag, because of all the foreseeable emergencies with three boys). And I've had more than a month's regimen with a physiotherapist doing work on bad posture, arm and shoulder pain worsened by lifting. But now, I am forced to bring less stuff with a smaller bag, which is good.

I had been using this on and off, but I am thankful for this. The textile is called kamuyot, woven by indigenous people in my hometown. These come in wonderful colors, and is made of abaca fiber woven on a loom. I think the weave was made into a bag, by a relative of friends who gave this to me.

Thank you Eugene and Lilibeth for this gift and your friendship. It is a reminder of home here in Sydney.

Bukidnons weave a strong abaca fiber called kamuyot which is traditionally fashioned into backpacks for rootcrops, travel, etc. But it is also now made into different items that defy disrepair. The secret is taking only mature abaca plants, stripped into becoming the light gold pristine threads by a tedious process of flattening and making the pulp pass through sharp blades until the thread within makes its appearance. The thread then is dyed, woven together in the signature colors from natural dyes to become the cloth with the mountain colors and sunrises of Bukidnon. The extra strands are braided for strong ropes and the cloth is made into decors, or purses such as this one. The people of Bukidnon are the friendliest of all indigenous tribes in Mindanao and the most peace loving. They are also the most cultured, having an epic telling about the beginnings of their people, aside from their music, dances, and the prettiest costume in all the Philippines.

(Credit for the paragraph above goes to my mother. Please contact me if you wish to use the same text and credit it with her name)

Thrift/Furnish: Blue Mountains Antiques

This is long overdue: photos from a holiday in the mountains several weeks ago. And yes, I immensely enjoyed the movie "An Education" with Mr. Nest last week.

Any trip to the Blue Mountains, even on drizzling, cold and foggy days, would be worth it, not just for a change from the Sydney seaside or suburbs. Fossicking in the antique stores in Katoomba and Leura are worth a day trip, and you can do so by train, especially since these shops are so near the Katoomba and Leura train station.

Click on the photo to zoom in on the wares!

Frolic: "An Education"

I want to see this. I love Nick Hornby. I've seen Carey Mulligan in some period movies and I enjoyed them. Peter Sarsgaard, too, offers complex character performances. And another chance to see Rosamund Pike! Mr. Nest will have to brace himself; this isn't quite his cup of tea.

Enthuse: Stanton Library

I just have to say how much I love Stanton library in North Sydney. The boys are there every week; I'm there even a couple of times in a week, returning items and borrowing loads of magazines, dvds, books (car mags for Mr. Nest, and my favorites: the New Yorker, Inside Out, and interior design magazines). Now that it's school holidays, we haven't been going there.

If you love libraries like I do, check out this amazing historic library in Boston featured at AT.

Adorn: Flowers after the wedding

We breathed in the fragrance of flowers for days after my sister's wedding, with all the floral "leftovers." They were good company to wind down with, after the flurry of the past several weeks.