I realised that since I’ve started using Instagram I haven’t been sharing anywhere near as many photos on the blog, so I thought I’d better remedy that with a quick roundup of the year in pictures.
It has been a year where DorkySon has really enjoyed some hands-on art experiences…
This time last year I did Susannah Conway’s Unravelling The Year workbook, which is a really helpful exercise that I’ve now done for three years running. It is an opportunity to sit down and reflect on the year that has just passed, celebrating your personal and professional achievements, and working out how you want to build on those the following year. If you have the chance to take a look I’d definitely recommend it.
As part of the workbook, I also chose my Word for 2014, which was Learning.
There were lots of things I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn more about the new place we had just moved to, to learn alongside DorkySon as he started kindergarten, to learn more about my own strengths and weaknesses, and to learn how to strengthen and energise my relationship with DorkyDad.
I can’t quite believe how quickly the last twelve months have gone. But at the same time when I look back at the blog posts I’ve written, the photos I’ve taken, and the memories we’ve made, I can’t believe how much we’ve packed into the year either.
How did the learning go?
Well, not bad. Continue reading
A super quick post just to let you know about a couple of Dorky Family things going on in other places.
My third column is up at The Island Review. It’s all about food in Tasmania and you can read it here.
Far more exciting is that DorkyDad’s first big poetry gig in Tasmania is happening this Thursday night. It’s called Beat Night – Where Jazz Meets Spoken Word and it’s at the Lark Cellar Door at 7pm.
The band is a brilliant group of musicians – Andrew Legg (piano and hammond organ), Nick Haywood (bass), Alf Jackson (drums), Al Dobson (horn), Damien Kingston (guitar), and Frank Bansel.
I always get super nervous watching him at events, but this one should be a lot of fun, and I’m hoping that a dram or two might keep me calm… Please come along if you can!
It is December tomorrow, and while I’m excited because that marks the first official day of summer here, DorkySon is excited because it means he gets to open the first door on his advent calendar. I don’t think Christmas in summer will ever stop being weird.
There are just three weeks of the school term left, and they are packed to bursting with activities. DorkySon has a kindergarten trip to a marine centre, an all-school trip to a big outdoor playground, a family picnic day, a visit to a local old folks home to share some festive cheer, and a final school assembly with a Christmas performance from all the pupils.
When the new term starts in February, my boy will be moving up a grade – from three days a week of kindergarten to five days of prep. He is so excited at the prospect, but we are already anticipating a tired and quite crotchety first few weeks as he adjusts. Continue reading
My Grandpa died almost twenty years ago. I remember the date because it was the day after my 12th birthday. Most of my primary school classmates were away on a residential trip, but I’d chosen not to go (an introvert even then) and so there were just a few of us left.
Later that week the headteacher – the perfectly named Mrs Spankie – came into the classroom, placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and told me I’d won a national competition for my project on Robert Burns.
I have never liked Robert Burns. Continue reading
Dorkymum | Stories from Tasmania 