Back and just as anxious!

And here we are again!
Another attempt to make something out of nothing!
I don't have a lot of resources. My anxiety and social awkwardness are such that Craft Markets and such have never worked well for me. Unfortunately, I've developed such a good mask of quirky cheerfulness, people don't realize the agonies of anxiety and fear that churn away just underneath.

I like making things. Lovely things. Comforting things. Things that make people smile.
Unfortunately I really struggle with the kind of self belief one needs to promote myself and my products. I suck at selling!

Goodies on my Etsy Shop
www.etsy.com/shop/danie17

So here I am, again trying to put together a facebook page with my knitted toys and goodies in it. I still have my Etsy shop, which occassionally has many sales and I'm so happy but then long droughts where I think "I am never going to get enough momentum to keep this thing going."

Little Dolls
www.etsy.com/shop/danie17

But despite all that, I keep knitting. Because it makes me happy. I feel deep satisfaction with each beautifully turned out bunny or doll.

A lovely custom order for a lady's mother to hold while she has chemo.
A little friend to be there with her through it!

I don't get that sense of deep contentment with anything else in my life, although I am blessed with a loving family, children who are grown and building their own families and still get to see often. I have a wonderful life!
And a lot of mental health issues due to possible Aspergers. And type 1 Diabetes.

My lovely Mother. Dad died this February.
Mum is the loveliest person I know!
 

My wonderful Hubbie, who puts up with a lot!

So I'll keep plugging on, knitting and doing my best because after all is said and done, what else can you do?
I am thankful. The Lord has blessed me more than I can fully appreciate. And with his help and all those He's placed around me, I'm sure I will do much!

God Bless to All!
Dx

Family Photo Shoot

Let me just say one thing up front...
I hate having final responsibility for anything.
Anything at all!
I will happily be your second man (or woman, whatever!) your lieutenant, Beta to someone else's Alpha. Perfectly comfortable in this role.
Just don't make me the final authority because I will either run, throw-up or quietly melt-down as I panic about something going wrong and it being ALL MY FAULT!

Okay, little disclaimer done, now onto the story.

I organised our family's latest photo shoot...largely on my own!

And several times I really wanted to die...for a day or two at least.

It's difficult getting all our family together now the kids are all adults. Because of Hubbie's work, we move about every two years or so and at the moment are in the western Australian wheatbelt. Our daughter's partner is an officer in the Army and they're based in Brisbane, Qld. And the two boys both house share together in Perth. Even with 4/5ths of us in the same state, it still isn't the easiest thing in the world!

Finding a photography place that would make us look like a family as opposed to 5 strangers who just walked off the street was hard enough. I wanted some place where they would make us look good and no-one would be able to escape! And I had to get it done while daughter was over here for a friends wedding and her yearly visit. So a kind of tight time frame, really...(panic,panic, sweat!!)

I found Exclusive Photography and they sounded like they ticked all my boxes and were really lovely. I had to make a date to go and then tell everyone what was expected and what to bring, (hyperventilating a little, panic, panic!!) and then meet up in Perth.

And...it kind of worked!

Brianna getting the pretty treatment!

And then my turn...

...While the boys went out clothes shopping because Jordan had worn his favourite clothes to shreds and couldn't understand why his father wasn't going to let him get photos like that...Ben didn't really help by wanting to get done in his boardies and ugg boots! But they managed while we girls were made look lovely.

It was great fun. It really was and the only fly in the ointment was how much it cost but that's just because any numbers with a $ in front of it makes me immediately break out in a sweat and want to throw up! But all things put together it was pretty reasonable and fortunately they organised a really easy payment plan spread out over the year. And now I have over 50 gorgeous photos of my three adult children, all vibrant and lively, in their various degrees of development together with their father and I.

After it all, I can breath!

I'm a little pleased with myself...just a bit. I'm sure that something will come along and cloud my confidence, but for the moment I'm quietly relieved that everything is over and it didn't blow up in my face...

...I'm proud of my family...

That's all.

See you later.

Dx

Have been SOOOooo slack!

I have pics. I have been knitting. I have NOT been keeping my blog up to date.I am so no good at this!

But the move here has been smooth. We are quite at home now. All the medical and dental facilities available here (well, not exactly here in Carnamah. In Three Springs, the town 23kms away.) are excellent and I'm probably getting better diabetic care here than I ever did in Albany!

The landscape around here is quite different to Walpole. I've been trying to get a good shot of how open the paddocks for wheat are but I'm not really a great photographer. It's not yet seeding season so everything is very brown!

Carnamah Main Drag

Road to Carnamah from Geralton Direction

Huge empty wheat paddocks

 But I have had visitors, my favourite kind! Family!! 

Easter Weekend my Mum and Dad came up with their winnebago and brought Jordan down with them since he had a break at Uni and Ben was going to Easter camp and he'd have been home alone for 4-5 days! Had a lovely time! Great conversation and time with parents. My Dad could withdraw to his van when all the interaction got too much for him (no real difficulty finguring out the genetic line for the Aspergers syndrome!) and my Mum and I enjoyed nights knitting together. Jordan played with our dogs and found pics of the most recent Avengers movie. Was especially great because Hubbie was doing Easter Cop Stuff at Cevantes and I'd have been by myself for 5 days. This was much better :)

Mum, Dad and Jordan

And at the moment I have my darling daughter for a visit! All the way from Canberra! Ben and Jordan came as well since Ben was the one driving and Aaron (Daughter's Army Partner) had to return to Duntroon. So we had to get a photo of this rare event when all of the children were in one spot at any one time :)

The whole family!

I miss them all, but by gosh! Is it noisy when they're all in the house at once!

So that's that. Haven't included any craft news because, well, surely this is long enough! Will soon have an empty house again when we've taken Brianna back to the airport so she can return home and look after poor Aaron who's just has three wisdom teeth extracted...a a bit of his gums...oh, and a small portion of jaw. But he's fine! Then I'll be able to write up what I've started (far too much!) and what I've finished (not nearly enough!)

I am very blessed, Thank the Lord!

Have fun :)

Okay, bring out the boxes!!

So, yes, We are going to Carnamah. Not that I'm surprised. And with Youngest son in Perth hopefully fulfilling his desire to do an acting course and become more independant, Carnamah is much closer to Perth than Walpole.

He went to Perth by bus last Wednesday. I was very good. I didn't cry!

Jordan, the reality of the Adventure just starting to set in :)

Waiting for his turn to board the bus!

Mum and Dad and Jordan

Nana and Grandy and Jordan

Mum and Mackenzie and Jordan

 We are still very much up in the air about what he's actually going to acchieve in Perth. He's staying at a nice couple who run a kind of half-way home for young people with special needs. But it will be really great if we can finally get the go ahead from Murdoch about his application!! Then we know what his course is at least and  where he needs to find accomodation. He can't stay where he is forever!

I didn't cry but I did hug him very hard!

 So for Hubbie and I this move will be the furthest we've ever been stationed yet. The comparisons between what we'll be leaving and what we're going to are quite extreme.For example, here are their tourist descriptions and population.

Walpole is a small settlement with a populous of around 450 people on the south coast of Western Australia, approximately 120kms west of Albany and around 430kms from Perth.

Set amongst most perfect surroundings - Walpole is situated overlooking the tranquil waters of the Walpole Inlet. Here you will find a small estuary that flows through a narrow channnel into the deeper, and much larger, Nornalup Inlet.

You will find yourself in amongst the wonderful towering karri and tingle forest where you can feel the gentle breezes as they whisper over hills and vales close by. Down at the water's edge stands of peppermint and she-oak adorn the luxuriant natural harmony of the area. 

This Nockold Street, the main drag through Walpole.

And now for Carnamah

Carnamah is a typical wheat-belt town servicing the surrounding wheat and sheep properties. From late July through to December the shire of Carnamah and the rest of the wheat belt blossoms into a wildflower wonderland. This is one of Western Australia's richest areas of flowering plants, with more than 600 species.

Population 358

And, so far, this is the only shot I can find of Carnamah.

But here's Three Springs main road, the larger town 23kms from Carnamah!

So I'm pretty sure the differences wont be hard to miss. At the moment I'm soaking up visions of trees since I don't think there are many where I'm going. Also trying to stop my brain wondering up the hall to Jordan's room to check on him because he's not there! Have almost packed that room up but it's kind of depressing :( And if Morrelli rings me one more time and tells me the weather's a lovely balmy 41 I think I'll kill him!!

(Not funny! It is SO not funny thinking about the heat in the wheatbelt!)

So there we are so far. I've been making pendants till I'm almost sick of them and knitting feverishly trying to distract myself from thinking too deeply about things. My Mum lent me her Agatha Christie books and they've been a big help. But eventually I'm going to have to force myself to start seriously packing.

SIGH!

Alright then. Drag out some more boxes. Where's the packing tape...

Happy Trails :)

Here it comes...2012

Wow, I haven't posted in ages. I find it  hard to use this as a journal, especially when I can't think of anything to say. But!
I finally caved and took some of my pendants down to the only specialty gift store we have here and asked if she could sell them for me. She thought they were beautiful (which was nice) and said she's never seen anything like the tatting motifs in resin before (goody!). After fluffing around when she asked me how much I'd sell them for (what? you mean I should know that? Oh, er...) we settled on $9 each. She took 10 and before the day had finished she rang to say she'd already sold one! So that was very encouraging! Certainly more so than etsy where I haven't managed to shift a thing!

I got some different frames too. These are a lot easier to handle compared with the resin. Just glass slides in a frame with a piece of tatting trapped between. See how we go for the rest of the year. The lady suggested knitting some mitts and headbands and she'd have a look because they go quick during winter and she doesn't really like the cheapee chinese mass-produced ones.
This year could be an interesting one with lots of curly decisions popping up here and there. Youngest son is getting ready to embark on not one but two massive adventures. Moving to Perth and living almost independently as well as attending uni to further his education. For any other 17 almost 18 year old boy this would be daunting enough but with his Aspergers it throws one more variable into a mix already fraught with possible OMG moments! He's got the support of a lot of really good professionals and we're hoping to hear more back soon since the course he wants to enter begins Feb 21st.
Oh dear. Where's the brown paper bag. I think I'm starting to hyperventilate again!!!
Also Hubbie's two years is up here so he's starting to have to think about where we're likely to choose to be transfered to next. Not looking forward to that since anywhere we choose is bound to be a long way from here, from my parents and I'll probably have to find another job. I hate that!
But none of this has happened yet. 2012 is starting to look like another one of those pivitol years...
...I'm not sure I like that.
Ah well. There's always knitting :)