Goals, Revisited

Back in December I posted a list of things I hoped to achieve during the summer holidays. Now that I have one week to go until the new school year starts, I thought I would take a look back at my list and see if I achieved everything on it...

<> sleeping in Check! I have indeed done an awful lot of that these holidays. The dreaded insomnia has still been hanging around of course, but it's much less stressful being awake at 2am and knowing I can sleep in, as opposed to knowing I have to get up in 4 hours for work.

<> gardening Check...but not as much as I would have liked. I had a great harvest from my vegie garden, but a combination of the heat and being struck down by laziness meant I didn't do all the things I had planned. Ah well.

<> hopefully, a camping trip No, alas. Just didn't happen. I am hoping to go during the Easter holidays.

<> a roadtrip to Hobart with my best friend, Madam Mojito or MM as she shall henceforth be known, to see my favourite band, the Dresden Dolls, live Yep! We had a blast. I blogged about it here. Here's another photo from the concert, taken by Jude. I look very happy, which is understandable given our close proximity to the stage!

<> reading for hours I have definitely achieved this one! Many happy hours have been spent on scorching hot days, lying in front of the fan with a book. I'm currently reading the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, upon which the TV series True Blood (my current addiction) is based. They are proving to be just as addictive as the show and my record is devouring one in a single evening/night.

<> sewing my mini bears Done! I've also branched out and started making soaps and candles, and have my first market- the Longford Maker's Market- lined up for next Sunday. I'm very busy getting everything ready for it. Here are a few of my wares...

<> taking the dogs to the beach for the first time. Not yet-but it looks like  I will head out to Mum and Dad's for a night next week and cross that one off the list.

<> getting ready for a new class next year! Sort of...I don't feel as organised as I would like to. But I'm going into school with the other Kinder teachers on Monday to do some setting up and I'm sure I'll feel better after that. I keep reminding myself that I always feel slightly panicky and underprepared when a new school year looms, and that it always comes together in the end.

As well as all of that, I've also caught up with a few dear friends who have left Tassie and were home visiting family, spent lots of time walking ze dogs, accompanied by ze cat, and cleaned out cupboards (thrilling).

It's been a great holiday and I feel rested and recharged, which was my main goal.

Moving Slowly Through Wet Cement

...or, On Being Tired.

There are days when just moving seems like an effort.

There are days when all you want to do is sleep in.

You just feel like sprawling out in a state of utter and complete relaxation.

Then you feel like perfecting this state and sharing it with others.



Maybe even encouraging your friends to take up this position, too.

Hopefully the word will spread on how great it is to just relax and let it all go.

It really is something that everyone can enjoy.

There are days when all you want to do is cuddle up with someone special.

Sometimes a lot of time can pass, and you become older and wiser, but you still love cuddling up with that same person.

You look around, and realise that other people are relaxing and resting.

Or just sitting back and watching the world go by.

"Why can't it be me?" you despair. You may even find yourself getting cross with those around you.

Or you just want to tear everything up and throw it on the floor.

Most of all, you just want to tuck yourself in with someone you love.

Then the day finally comes when all the hustle and bustle slip away and you can take a breath, smell a rose, read a book, lie on the grass, or even just sit in the ocean and contemplate life.

I'm ready for that day. It's been a long year. I'm ready to recharge and rejuvenate. I'm ready to garden, to read, to watch, to sleep, to hug, to potter, to sew, to chat, to swim, to walk. Three days of work to go...

All photos taken by Bebb, at Penguin Island WA, Perth Zoo WA, East Coast Tasmania, and my home, also in Tasmania.

Unexpected visitor in my garden...

I was having a quiet Saturday night at home, with Mr Bebb at work and no plans of my own. I had just sat down to eat my dinner when the dogs started barking madly in the backyard. Sigh. I whistled. Called. Whistled again, expecting them to come barrelling through the pet door. Nothing. Cursing to myself, I put down my dinner and went outside, bare foot and annoyed. The barking seemed particularly frenzied and it's not like them to bark on and on like that for no reason. I couldn't see them but the barking was coming from the back corner of the backyard amongst the trees and bushes. Great. I hiked up there in my bare feet (our new house has a pretty big backyard), praying any jackjumpers stayed away from me, and pushed in amongst the bushes, getting scratched in the process and even more annoyed. The dogs didn't even look at me-usually if they get busted barking they act guilty-  but instead were acting all 'spooked' about something, sniffing a bush and jumping back. I couldn't see anything and thought maybe it was a lizard, as the lady next door had mentioned that she got bluetongues in her yard. The mosquitos were eating me alive, so I retreated inside, shook the dog treat container and hey presto, they came inside (bribery is always good).

I sat back down to resume eating and two minutes later- yep, the barking started again! I may have cursed out loud this time as I stormed outside and back up to the bushes/trees. The dogs were barking and acting spooked at a different bush, and this time Pesto the cat was there as well, also acting very weirded out. I wriggled further into the bushes and finally saw what was going on. We had a vistor! 

 I have a soft spot for echidnas- while I was studying at Uni I worked as an animal keeper at a wildlife park and was one of the echidna keepers. I also used to take in injured or orphaned native animals and rear them/nurse them back to health (this was before I had dogs) and had a few echidnas. I loved caring for them and especially loved re-releasing them into the bush. So I was delighted to see this little guy turn up in my own backyard, though not so delighted that he was being harrassed by two canines and a feline. He (yes, it may have been a lady echidna but I'm saying 'he' for convenience) was dug in pretty tightly and the dogs and cat weren't actually touching him, but it can't have been pleasant being barked at. I grabbed the dogs and took them inside (carrying both at once- not easy!), locked them in and went back for the cat, who I also shut inside. No sign of Faye, the other cat, but as she tends to leap into the air, freak out and run away if you so much as pull a tissue out of a box in her immediate vicinity, I didn't think she'd be doing any harm to the echidna.

I went back up, sat down near the huddled spiky mound, snapped one photo and then put the camera down and stayed very still, and was presently rewarded by my little friend poking his head out. From experience I know they don't have the best eyesight and if you don't move they usually don't realise you are there. I sat still for about twenty minutes while the echidna, oblivious to my presence a mere two metres away, poked around in the bushes, ate some ants (yes! Pity he couldn't stay and be my resident anteater) and generally wandered about in a busy yet relaxed fashion. He was last seen disappearing under some thorny bushes next to the fence and from the sounds of it, starting to dig in earnest. 

This isn't my little visitor from tonight, but is a photo I took of one of the echidnas I had the privilege of caring for. She was young, had been reared by hand and was extremely tame. She would crawl into my lap and push her beak into my hands (and sometimes ear or nose!) I still miss her.

Thank you for visiting tonight, Mr Echidna, and for letting me watch you, but I'd recommend you go on your way now, unless you want to be barked at/sniffed by a cat again. I donated blood to several mosquitos while I watched him, and my dinner went cold, but it was completely worth it.