May

May went so quickly for us. We had a birthday, an anniversary, another school camp, loads of rain and giant worms! A good month in a quickly disappearing year.

Images

Camp Washing_120 of 365.JPG

“Camp washing”. Day 120 of 365, almost 1/3 of the way through the year and this project. With much deserved trepidation, I emptied Alby’s bag when he came home to find a mess of wet, sandy and stinky clothing. Everything is now clean and back where it belongs. I can look forward to doing it all again in a couple of weeks when it is Olive’s turn to go on camp.

Arch nemesis_121 of 365.jpg

My sweet sweet Penny and Pippa from down the street cannot stand each other. My lovely neighbour John ,who is Pippa’s human, and I can’t believe it. We can’t even walk them past each other, which is a bit frustrating because we often encounter each other when walking around the neighbourhood. Do you have an unexplained nemesis?

Mushrooms_122 of 365.jpg

Ok, so maybe they weren’t this big, but last night, when walking Penny there were mushrooms everywhere. After a night and a day of constant drizzle, a desperate Penny convinced me to walk her in the then softly falling rain. It was nice to be out and the mushrooms stood out in stark contrast to the wet grass like beautiful jewels.

Sister birthday_123 of 365.JPG

Yesterday Alby had an early appointment and started school a little late. I took the opportunity to take him shopping for his sister’s birthday gift. She likes candles, and he took his time smelling them all and choosing two that he thought she would like. I though it was really sweet of him to take the task so seriously. We have hidden them in his bedroom for the time being, and we will secretly wrap them for her on the weekend.

Giant worm_124 of 365.jpg

Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite this giant ,but it was still pretty impressive.

Birthday Baking_125 of 365.jpg

On Sunday my daughter turns 13. Tomorrow I will bake her requested Mudcake. My husband doesn’t understand why I want to bake it myself when I could just get one from the store. I want to bake it with love, and whilst he appreciates the sentiment, he still thinks I’m crazy to do it.

Happy Anniversary Mr Thorp_126 of 365.JPG

24 years ago we got married at the courthouse. I wore a $75 dress and you wore a mail order suit.We spent our last $20 on flowers from the supermarket and had to borrow money to park the car. When you finally arrived in Australia, without me knowing, you changed your name to mine, as if moving half way around the world wasn’t enough of an indication that you were 100% invested in our marriage. You have supported me in my endeavours, even the crazy ones, and I hope you feel the same. Because we are poor planners, this year our anniversary falls the day before our daughters birthday and Mother’s Day, and you have decided that we are going to move our anniversary celebration to a later date so that it gets the attention it deserves. So today I will make you a cuppa and you will make me smile and with a kiss and a cuddle we will go through our day with warm hearts.

Decoration_127 of 365.JPG

My son loves the rituals of birthdays. He really enjoys setting the table and decorating with me. Today he was extremely helpful with the hanging of streamers.

Another rainy walk_128 of 365.JPG

Reflections of trees and a glowing dog.

Afternoon snacks_129 of 365.jpg

Carrots get eaten faster in the bedroom.

A rainy morning lie in_130 of 365.JPG

No walk this morning, Penny hasn’t even bothered to ask me to let her out. We can all hear the hypnotising steady patter of rain on the tin roof and it is telling us to stay where we are. #drosteeffect

Mushroom - movie still_131 of 365.JPG

More rain and more mushrooms. As I walk a similar route each day, I get to watch their steady decay.

Haircut- movie still_132 of 365.JPG

My daughter turned 13 this week and chose to get a great new haircut. The symbolism is not lost on me. I literally watched her transform from my little girl to my teenager, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.