November: keep calm and buy indoor plants.

I was helping plan a womens night for church women and girls. We had it and it was really good. Heard personal stories from 4 women at different stages of life.  Later in the month I went to youth group on a Friday night and represented homeschooled experience and shared about that as they had a panel and discussion groups about being Christian in a public or Christian school or at home. So I've got out of my comfort zone at church!

Rearranged the living room to get better TV angles for when Rachel comes over to watch Bachy. We've enjoyed that a lot.

I did my own plumbing! I had a tap start dribbling at 6am when I got out of bed. But I kept calm and found all my tools and parts and replaced the washer.

Occasionally I use this app to pick outfits but mostly I record what I wear, which is nuicance because I don't need more data obsession in my life. But I noticed I wore a lot of monochrome and navy, so I decided to set myself a colour challenge for a week.

I don't want to hoard all the paintings I've done, so it's time to keep giving them away. I gave this one to Sally. I painted it for her after Nathan died but I wanted to wait a while, partly so that I could enjoy it in my house but also because I feel like its loving to remember people down the road when everyone else has moved on. It really meant a lot to her and her kids I think.

Maybe because Bachy finished, I needed some formulaic romantic TV to watch, I have started working through all the mild Christmas rom coms on Netflix. The comforting similarity and niceness is what appeals, even though they are quite boring. There are about 2 that I would watch again next Christmas.

The childrens book finally came back from the printer! I sent it off with much anxiety in October before I went on leave. That's one of my major accomplishments. My only regret is the size, rather wide.

I haven't done much gardening in Spring but then it started to need attention. I filled my green bin and uncovered some tomatoes one Saturday morning.

After that I went to JKs place and helped with her lawns. Then we had a delightful evening at the Hunt Gather markets, where I bought a shirt, and JK bought me a plant for Christmas. I have been circling around indoor plants for a couple of months, and this was the beginning...

And where there are plants there are pots. A complementary obsession.

And I had been thinking about macrame and kept seeing it everywhere, perfect for hanging plants.

A perfect storm of obsessions was created. So here is my little pilea plant with one of my 3 orchids and some basil seedlings in the bathroom. 

I was intending to stay relaxed after the holiday in Mudgee, but 2 weeks later I was all task focused and anxious again. I got that feeling that the end of the year was looming and I needed to finish things by then. Things that weren't urgent all year as well as things that were. Example 1, dealing with mail.

Example 2, replacing broken food processor.

New tyres and getting car serviced.

Out of control garden requiring exhausting pruning. More to come later.

Anyway, I became aware that I was anxious and pushing myself to get all these things done as if there is some kind of deadline on 31 December. So I've been trying to slow down mentally again.

Mum organised lunch with family for brothers birthday, and we played some board games I enjoyed, they were very simple.

Parent's garage is a treasure cave.

I scored this plant shelf from the garage!

The plant collection at work growing.

I gave this painting away to the retired work friend who built my gardens.

I had a day off and spent most of it sewing. 2 jobs (curtain hem and a dust cover for amp) turned into a pile of Christmas gifts.

I treated myself to Thai lunch after some shopping though.

And then I did a job that has been on my mental list for years, moving my childhood photos to an acid free album.

I ordered some macrame rope from Ebay, and after work one day I made this. What I lack however is anywhere to hang them.

Another board game session! This time at a friend's house to celebrate her new kitchen.

A much anticipated succulent and cactus market happened near my house. I had held off buying any plants at bunnings until this. I bought as many as I could carry home (which is why I walked instead of driving).

And now I have a plant collection. I've since been collecting pots to fit them. Kmart has a few nice ones as well as the nursery. Most of the ones I've collected previously don't fit the plants. They are too short or square. In future when I repot plants as they grow I will make them fit but currently too tall.

Roger preached a fire sermon about Psalm 6 and enduring suffering. I was able to share it with friends afterwards.

The last night of Rachel coming from Tocal to watch TV. On the last night we watched the Princess Swap.

I was unsure what was happening with our strata AGM, but at the last minute I confirmed it was at 12pm on Friday so Eddie and I went in for it. Thankfully the unpleasant drama of getting the by-law in seems to be over, or at least it passed in the meeting (after months of hassle I hope I haven't gone into very much but it made me angry). Eddie suggested we go to the fish markets nearby which I was most happy about. So I celebrated by having lunch of prawns on the floor in front of the TV.

At some point during the month I did another oil painting, but this one was troublesome and isn't working. I will try and fix it and finish it by the end of the year. But my desire to oil paint is fading as I am more interested in macrame now.

This is now December but I'll finish of the post with another weekend.

A friend asked me to do a paid job, some chickens she can give for a Christmas gift. It was nice to do watercolours instead, much less mess! Although you only get one shot with watercolour. Luckily it turned out good first time.

I have a week or so each month that my tummy is upset and crampy, and that's now, and Saturday (yesterday) was terrible in the morning. But not bad enough to stay in bed, just take herbal supplements and drink herbal tea and sometimes ibuprofen. Anyway I didn't use it as an excuse to not going to a baby birthday. I appreciate being invited and enjoy spending time with people even though sometimes other people's joy about their babies makes me a bit sad. 

It was nice to see the play mat I made being used!

I saw on facebook Heritage Gardens got new lot of indoor plants. I looked carefully and bought one plant only, and 2 pots which fit well. Very satisfied with my plant collection now. I've got some at work, some at home.

Now that the by-law is approved, I can start thinking about finally getting my pergola built! So my attention will turn to my outside plants again. December focus is Christmas things though, having my carols in the garage and so on.