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.

Rain averse_133 of 365.jpg

It rained all day yesterday. Penny refused to go out in the rain to have a wee unless I went out with her so that she could stand under my umbrella.

Last light_134 of 365.jpg

We seem to be having a stream of wonderful sunsets.

Down to the beach_135 of 365.jpg

With the realisation that the tide was coming in, we rushed down to the beach to walk on the flats with Penny before dinner. The tide started flowing in as we walked and by the time we arrived back on the shore it was up to our knees. Penny galloped through the water with a big smile. Phil threw his boomerang and caught it several times. Alby dug holes in the sand, and threw sand everywhere. Olive walked the shore looking for shells. I watched on with pleasure.

Hot stuff- movie still_136 of 365.JPG

These hot flushes are intense.

Last last light_137 of 365.jpg

On day 135 I posted “last light”, (see the second image on this post). It captured the last clear light of the afternoon.When I walk with Penny, we walk a loop. There is a waterway that runs through either side with matching railings. As I rounded the bend and crossed the waterway for the final time, instead of the reflection of the sunset, I came across the reflection of the moon. This is my drawing of the last last light of the day, hazy and fleeting.

School disco_138 of 365.jpg

Alby wanted to go to the school disco, his sister didn’t, so he decided to go on his own. In the past I have just chatted to the other Mum’s for the duration of the annual disco, but decided to step back a little further last night. After much discussion with Alby, he decided that he wasn’t comfortable with me leaving entirely, but was ok with me sitting in the car and drawing. I explained what I was doing to his attending teacher so that Alby knew I could be contacted if he needed me.The disco had different decade themes for the different school houses and his was 1980’s. With a popped collar, rolled up sleeves and gelled hair,combed straight back, I dropped him at the entrance and he disappeared into the cloud of students. An hour and a half later, after drawing this image, I collected him and he regaled me with stories of playing with his friends all the way home in the car. Too tired to shower, he has woken this morning with a crazy spikey hairstyle, crunchy with the remnants of extra strong hold gel.

Disco Boy_139 of 365.jpg

I have had some requests for a look at what Alby wore to his disco ( 1980’s themed).Not over the top, but his slicked back hair really did look quite handsome on him. For any of you wondering about any sensory processing issues for Alby, he is for the most part a sensory seeker rather than avoider, so the overwhelming lights and noise are enjoyable for him in an environment where he feels safe. Ask him to listen to a choir of his peers though? he will request headphones every time, as he can hear every bad note and can’t handle it 🤣.

Running the gauntlet_140 of 365.JPG

Today is Federal Election Day. Walking through all of the party supporters shoving flyers at you to get into the poll booth is stressful and awful. The how to vote flyers are also a huge waste of paper. It is rainy here now, so hopefully the path will be clear for the remaining voters.

Another rainy night_141 of 365.jpg

My sneakers are wet beside the front door, alongside a dripping umbrella and a soaked dog harness. Penny didn’t mind getting wet, she is of the mind that any walk is a good walk. Once we were back home, I towelled her off, fed her and now she is asleep on Olive’s bed.

Will swap for food_142 of 365.JPG

Sometimes when I am making a meal Penny will bring me her toys to trade for snacks. She will sit in between the fridge and the bench and won’t let me out of the kitchen until the ransom has been paid. I enjoy watching her try to persuade me to feed her and play along.

Sushi and Moon Knight_143 of 365.JPG

Doing things that Alby likes whilst his sister is at camp. Last night we ate sushi and watched the new Marvel series. It is always a balance between having fun when only one child is home and making it so good that they never want their sibling to return. I remember the feeling of the shifted dynamic when one of my siblings was away when I was young. It was great for the first few days, but I was always excited to see them home - even if I didn’t show it.

The week of Alby rolls on_144 of 365.jpg

On day 2 of his sister being away at camp, Alby got us to play table tennis on the kitchen table, mini golf on a course he made with his Dad in the garage and convinced us to buy him a new game on Steam. He let me know this morning that he and I can play table tennis after school until Dad gets home and they can play computer games. He is really getting into this single child thing. We need Olive back because this one child parenting is exhausting!