A glimpse at the things that bring me joy

Hello my name is Lucas ,I'm ten years old I hope to be a video game maker when I'm older.

Love

Love -it's really hard to find a definition that adequately covers every manifestation as many song writers have discoveered. Of course it's what we feel for our kids, maybe our pets, our spouses (although not necessarily every day, (!) our old friends who drop everything in our hour of need and leave their own loved ones behind to offer comfort and solace, our good buddies who listen patiently to our ramblings without judgment or favor.
but mostly I think it's the people who colour world in whatever way,which make us want to squeeze the life out of every day and the next because it is thesepeople make the good days magnificent and worth having.

to those I love thank you for being part of my messy, complicated life - it must be exhausting!
Those who love me rest assured that I know it, feel it , land give thanks for it, and it makes me who I am.

Tips for crocheting from a hospital bed

Pack a spare crochet hook - they disappear especially in piles of hospital linen never to be seen again.
Share your scissors with the nurses because when you lose yours you can be sure to borrow theirs.
Stay on top of loose ends. You can look like a crazy person surrounded by small bits of multicoloured wool.
Even surgeons can wait for you to finish a treble cluster so you don't lose count.
Someone will tell you how clever you are. Smile in agreement and don't let on how easy it is.
Chooose an easy pattern and modify as you go. This is not the time for hairpin lace in seven colour variations. Even if you are are up to it you will get interrupted constantly.
The lighting will be terrible unless you can sneak into the operating theatre which may be frowned upon.
Bring plenty of yarn. You may have more time than you thought.
Embrace any mistakes and work with or around them. What you create is a reflection of the time you created it.
Enjoy the time!
Be kind to yourself. Look at all the other people in hospital beds. What are they doing with their free time? And what are the lucky people not in hospital doing with their free time?

Braille crochet

This is probably the worst crochet ever done but it is oretty colours and it's in wool so it will be a functional warm blanket when it's all done and dusted. I've adjusted the pattern a little so I rely on how it feels rather than looking for stitches and holes. And I feel productive! So much better than just lying around waiting for hospital food to arrive.

crochet by touch

Eyesight is really dodgy! But I really felt the need for some stress busting crochet. May look at in the morning and wonder what I was thinking?? But the repetition was soothing and meditative. More important than the end result. At least with dodgy eyes I can't see all the mistakes.

new World

I have an iPad!! hopelessly inept at using it Got no idea how to take load or blog a photo but I will figure it out. Maybe. Thank you Dave. I knew having an IT guru husband would one day bear fruit!!Now do I turn it off? Or just shut it?

Blanket boys

Done.

Scars

The thought of crocheting blankets never appealed but when the boys actually requested one each it was hard to say no. So they picked their colours and away we went. The black, white and red is for Hamish and Lucas chose the harlequin colours. Got to say this is addictive! Meditative and easy it's not hard to get into. If course there are still mistakes because apparently I can't count to 3 but given the stress that's been flying around here the last couple of months I'm leaving the mistakes in and calling them scars not errors. That's how life is. These blankets are no less love filled cos a couple of the chain spaces have 2 trebles of 3. I've worked on them on planes, in hotel rooms, on Bondi beach, in doctor's rooms, on buses, in hospital, at sporting events, at mcdonalds, in the car, and in front of hours of mindless tv. Journey blankets!!

They are nearly finished and I'm trying not to be too anal. I'd like them to be bigger but a finished blanket is the goal here!! Plus they are getting quite heavy so I need to stop soon. At least they are warm.
I hope the boys will love them on their laps while they are watching footy. Know that every stitch was made with love for you. Not perfectly, but warmly, deeply and for always.
Love
Mum
Xxx
Now the big boy wants one too!!

Boys

I don't pretend to understand boys.  You would think living in a household full of them I would get the way they work.  But I don't.  Love and worship them with all my heart.  They are my first thought.  My last thought and pretty much every thought in between.  But no I don't get their casual attitude towards time and schedules -Their ability to do nothing and actually enjoy it!  They can be completely unconcerned about hygiene one minute and then be obssessed with the state of their sports gear/trading cards the next to the point that I am requested to make new purchases to ensure items that were previously discarded on the floor for weeks are now delicately encased in a purpose built container.

They are brave and fearless when faced with challenge and sporting generated physical pain yet they wouldn't be caught dead cleaning up cat vomit - even their own cat's vomit!  They can feel genuine animosity for their sibling/s or even parents, but heaven help any other being who displays anything but admiration and devotion towards a member of their family. 

They question with wonder and humour things that I would never think to even ponder - but I wish I did.  I adore their sense of awe not just at the miracles of science and nature but at every day conundrums.  When did I stop wondering how things worked?

But mostly they know how to love.  They don't need words and flowers.  They are just there when they need to be with a touch, a hug, a glint in their eye, a touching question, laugh, a smile and a zest for the world which is theirs alone. 

They fill my world until it is full to overflowing.  They are everything.

The do nothing holiday

It was a last minute decision to spend the last lot of school holidays in Sydney.  But a well received idea all round.  The kids have been to Sydney before and the idea of getting on a a plane never fails to impress.  If you are getting on a plane you must be going somewhere exciting.  But it had been a long and tough school term so there were some simple rules.  This would not be a heavy duty sight seeing holiday.  There would not be any major admission charging destinations.  There would be lots of relaxing and enjoying the experience of being away from home.  And we would be doing lots of family-hanging-out.  So this is what we did.

 

We stalked the NZ Warriors who were staying in the same hotel as us.  Very nice boys they were.  Don't understand the very big earphones though. 

The boys discovered hotel bath robes and slippers.

We went to Bondi.  It's not the greatest beach ever and it is full of backpackers.  But it is great fun. And it costs nothing to be there.

We played and played with cousins.  There is a tennis ball somewhere in the photo and that was the focus of that particular game.

We walked and explored and then went for coffee or a gelato.

Boys went for a tour of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

  Some of us made it to the Tigers v Warriers NRL semi final ...

And then we played with the cousins some more.  Great holiday.  One of our best.