Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sunday night pizza and other odds and ends














- Andy is a pizza-making genius and our Nectre Baker's Oven has been getting a workout, being our main source of winter heating as well as a jolly fine pizza cooker.

- We love Dr Brian Cox and his Wonders Of... series. Dare I say he's the David Attenborough of physics?

- Jasper made a Tardis and Sonic Screwdriver.

- He celebrated turning 11 on the last day of school term by having two friends for a sleepover. They were all so exhausted they actually slept. Parental win!

- The winter grass and weeds are out of control so we're letting the tractors a.k.a. chooks have a bit of fun. Can't make the backyard much messier than it already is.

- Clem wanted to dress up as an artist.

* * *

Life has been madly exhausting. But Andy has recently finished up a few major projects and in the last two weeks (school holidays) I've taken leave from my 'corporate' job to focus on The Drapery and family. At the end of it all I've begun to feel more energised and focused. Today I actually got to the bottom of the washing and sorting pile and decluttered and cleaned an entire room of the house. (Plenty more to go.)

My mind had become a blur, unable to focus on anything except the here and now. The idea of planning anything a week away, let alone a holiday for next year, was causing me intense stress. I've been trying difficult dietary measures to try to help with back pain, eczema and puffy skin when maybe it's just stress-induced.

I've decided something has to give and I am about to resign from that corporate job. It will be some weeks with jobs I have to follow through before I can actually leave. And I will miss the very lovely people there. But now the decision is made, I can feel a weight lifting. Financially it will be tough but I have two tax returns in and we hope to be able to start paying ourselves a small amount from The Drapery fairly soon. I feel my sanity is at stake (not to mention the steadily deteriorating state of our house). It would be nice to spend Sundays doing fun things with my family rather than fighting a losing battle with household mess.

Life, hey? I do feel incredibly lucky though. I'm loving The Drapery and Fiona is the most awesome business partner and we could hardly have asked for a better and more encouraging start. We both just want to pour all our available time and energy into it. Our customers are so darn lovely. Sew-ish, art-ish, craft-ish people are just... the best!

It would be nice to have a bit more time to take photos, reflect on life and blog, too! I'm missing this.

- Jane xx

18 comments:

  1. Oh, Jane - hugs....hope things get better for you - & quickly x

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    1. Thanks Justine - I hope that didn't come off as one big whinge. It's all good really. I just have to stop trying to be superwoman cos she doesn't exist :)

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    2. No, not a whinge at all. And being able to make decisions that are good for both you and your family is in fact being a real superwoman :-)

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  2. Sometimes the decision making process is the most difficult part! It sounds like you've made a great decision though. After all, our sanity is priceless :)
    And I totally want your pizza oven! And that last pic of Clem just made me smile!

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  3. How exciting to be leaving your 'real' job to do what you love!

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  4. Sometimes the simple things bring the most pleasure. Congratulations on taking that big step! And I'm still loving those chickens, so beautiful.

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  5. You are an inspiration Jane! You have brought a much NEEDED shop to Adelaide and for that, I thank you. Seeing your beautiful wyandotte girls made me smile too. We have recently moved into a rental (no pets) and had to sell our chooks. Now I never have eggs when I want them. :( Loving that pizza too! Yummo.

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  6. Some lovely times and photo's there Jane. I hope it all goes well x

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  7. Go, Jasper! Go, Doctor Who! I just bought a TARDIS money box and a Sonic Screwdriver keyring and I am way too old for this stuff.

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    1. Never too old, especially if there's David Tennant involved :)

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  8. A very enpowering post about proper families and priorities! What a welcome change from reading about superwomen, who turn out to have a team of nannies, housekeepers etc behind them and in reality probably aren't that happy anyway. When you feel up to a new challenge, perhaps you could open a second store in UK!
    Enjoy yourself and have fun.

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  9. What an awesome oven! And I am so happy to hear that you are going to be able to lower your stress! Hooray for the Drapery!

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  10. Yay for big leaps! (and awesome texta-moustaches!) xoxox

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  11. Beautiful post and try and take care.
    xx N

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  12. It sounds to have been a very stressful time for you and I'm glad you have come to a conclusion that already feels right. I wish you all the best with your plans and hope that the weeks you have to work out fly by (in a nice way!) so you can 'relax' into your new daily life. Love the photos of the boys being so creative, I spent the last week creating a custom sonic figure with Felix, can't wait for him to be able to do these things more on his own, but it was also great fun helping him. Bethx

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  13. Thank you, lovely people! I am keeping my eyes firmly on the light at the end of the tunnel, and kind words like all yours help no end, too.

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  14. Everyone else has already said everything I wanted to say, so I'll go with 'ditto, and you have such pretty chickens!!' :)

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  15. I must say I am not shocked that two jobs, children, house and everything else was a bit much! I know I couldn't open a fabric shop without something cracking right now. But I am so glad that the shop is doing well and that you can devote yourself to that, and to getting some balance back. Maybe balance for working moms is an impossible goal ... I do wonder sometimes ... but I definitely believe that limiting your commitments and obligations is a MAJOR and important part of having a better quality of life for a working mom. Hugs and also, pizza, yum.

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