Fate or Destiny?

Do you believe that our lives are based on Fate and events happen to us whether planned or not? Or do you believe in Destiny, that we all create our own and it is up to the individual on how their life is lived? I have for a long time believed we create our own destiny, life is what you make it.  There is no such thing as luck or chance, just windows of opportunity that open fleetingly for us to grab.

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Lately I have been wondering . . .
Last Friday I sat at the computer and googled "Textile Design".  I don't know why.  A Diploma course popped up and intrigued, I had a look.  It looked good.
Saturday morning the neighbours dropped in the newspaper for us to read, and I sat down with a coffee to discover "second chance" offers at TAFE and Uni courses.  My mind twigged, and I scanned the pages to find the course I had been looking at had positions available.
My mind became so absorbed while sitting outside with the children playing in the sand, they could have created a three tier wedding cake and I wouldn't have batted an eye.
Today I have been ahming and ahhing about these events.  On a whim I asked my lovely sister to print out the application forms for the course, and she dropped them around tonight on her way home from work.
My dilemma is this.  Do I plunge in and take the chance at what feels like a dream opportunity? My confidence wavers.  Can I do it?  With two small children? Part of me wants to take the risk of feeling failure if I don't get accepted, and feel the potential fear of success if I actually do!!

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I am laying myself bare here, kind of sending it into the atmosphere.
This blog started as another whim that felt right and now has become something of a lifeline of creativity.  I want to inspire others.  I would love to pass on the excitement and enthusiasm I feel for being a mum, doing craft and sewing, all things decorating and colour.
Doing this Diploma feels like an extension of that.  What a life it would be if I could design and produce my own fabric lines, and create craft/quilt patterns to use them with!

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Any advice???

Scents of Childhood

Have you ever had the flashback associated with a smell or taste that sends you hurtling back to childhood?? Memories of being little are getting dimmer with age, but yesterday I was reunited with my six year old self.
Mum's neighbour invited us to raid her plum tree the other day; which we did with the children (adding an interesting element!).
Yesterday afternoon Mum pulled out the big cast iron pot and set to work making Plum Sauce from an "old faithful" cookbook . . .

This edition (edited by Anne Marshall) was printed 1971 - would that make it retro or vintage?!

Now I know this cover may look decidedly unfashionable today compared to the cool stylings of Donna Hay and Jamie Oliver etc, but sometimes pure gold can be gleaned from these old cookbooks.

The scent of plums, vinegar, nutmeg and other ingredients simmering on the stove produced this heady mix that reminded me of cold winter days at home with pork chops and mum's beautiful plum sauce with its sweet and sour taste.

I was immediately transported back to our childhood home: Mum rushing around the kitchen with her apron on while the heater was blazing in the lounge room and Countdown played on the push button TV.

 

 These days the phrases "organic", "slow food", "sustainable" and "environmental" are bandied about by large companies trying to market their wares.  Yet something good could be learnt from recollecting how our mothers did it in a time when supermarkets were just starting and everybody looked to save a dollar rather than spend one!  Bless our Mums x

Books

You may remember an earlier post I wrote describing myself as mildly obsessed with books - I have a love affair with them.  I often think about that question often posed . . . if you were stranded on a deserted island what could you not live without?  Never been able to answer that one with confidence, but I think I could settle there quite well if it had a library!

When moving to our dream home recently, I had a bookcase built in to house my ever expanding collection.  It surprised me to discover I had not allowed enough shelving for all of them, and had to let the horrifying thought enter my head that I may have to cull some of them (gulp).  I remembered reading a note on collections in a fantastic book called "Sorted" by Lissanne Oliver;

"All collections benefit from the setting of boundaries. If you don't set a boundary, at what point do you stop?  And how do you refine the quality of your stuff?"

So with a renewed view to respecting my books by only keeping the very special ones to me, I had a sort and did discover some long forgotten books that I enjoyed reading again.

My favorite section - the craft/decorating/gardening books - you may notice the slight bow in the shelf (quite proud of that!!)

So now instead of trawling the bookshops on a regular basis, my children and I frequent the public library, and so I did today . . .

 As you can see, there is a variety of books; I think they are just brilliant for fulfilling a current interest or expanding knowledge on a subject.  In the past I was all about novels, but these days the non-fiction section can hold me for hours.  So many fascinating subjects!!

Thankfully, my children have caught the reading bug too, and we have a huge stash of rotating picture books to read before bedtime at night.  I believe education is pretty powerful, and what a great way to learn!

Motivating Read

Hi there,
If you love books like I do, you probably find them a great source of inspiration and motivation in your life.  I am a full-fledged bibliophile, so fortunately I re-discovered the local library.  It was becoming very expensive feeding my addiction!!

Here is a lovely book to inspire:

Written by Lena Corwin and published 2008, it is a fantastic source for printing in different mediums on various materials.  I would LOVE to get into this in a big way one day soon, imagine the possibilities!!  The idea of creating a project entirely from scratch gives you the freedom to produce something totally unique and special.  What a great skill to have. . .