Art of the Artless
When you ask me why my walls are gray,
I'll say, "But mama, I grew up your way."
-Katrina Brown
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Read Me II
When you ask me why my walls are gray,
I'll say, "But mama, I grew up your way."
-Katrina Brown
Read Me
Adults Racing the Modern Child
We
Used
To
Have
Time
To
Ponder
Wonder
Discover
Dream
Now you cram it all in a minute, an hour, a day, look it up, write it down, complete page fifty, and one-hundred-and-three, get dinner in you, wash and then rinse, and repeat after me.
We
Are
The alarm clock ringing, the exam looming, the pressure building, the smile fading.
You are the future we're building, the money we're making, the hope we are keeping.
Maybe you need
Some
Time
For
Your
Dreams.
by Katrina Brown, with critical thoughts by Hannah, aged 7
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Where Am I Now?
It's the tiniest things that can make one homesick.
Bursting with pride for Kyle and his performance in "A Christmas Carol" with Radio Redux.
Wishing Nana and Grandad could see Kyle and Hannah compete in the Keelung Music Competition with the school percussion group this Friday.
Remembering holidays with my own Nana. She had this ceiling. Or something like it.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
One procrastination is another blog's revival
The first part of 2012 has seen me re-designing myself, from diaper retailer back to teacher and writer. Ironically, this change to writer has resulting in my neglect of a few blogs and other projects I have had going on. Now, I have a new job writing student articles, and today's article has seen me coming to back to my blog. All in the name of procrastination.
So, here it is, a flash through my first quarter of the year. Not in order of importance.
The garden:
After our months of wet weather, we are having an OK spring. The "rain at night, sun during the day" pattern is working for my herbs and vegetables.
This is my new mint plant:
My lemon tree before I pruned it. It's a bit thin and crazy, really.
I finally got some rows into the garden. This is the start of the herb section.
My Taiwanese basil and Thai lemon tree thing:
Hannah and I spent a couple of mornings planting seeds. So far, the beans and sunflowers have appeared. One bean plant has already been eaten at the base, though. I want to go organic but it is a real challenge with the super-bug bugs we have around here. It's nice to potter, though.
I also have a few things trying to grow in the kitchen. The other day Kyle looked at the avocado seed, sweet potato leaves, and oregano cuttings lined up on the bench, and asked, "Mum, is this your science lab?" I guess, to some extent, it is!
Work:
After seven years, I'm closing my diaper business. My heart is not in it at all, and things were just overwhelming me, especially the pressure to look after all the stock. I put the word out and now have a few little projects going on. I am still teaching at the kids' school, and I have a literacy class at a Neihu family center: www.parentsplace.com.tw. I'll be doing some storytelling sessions for the government over summer, too. Writing-wise, my blog seems to be paying off with some writing work coming in. I'm also doing some free work for the Community Services Center. My article on the Taipei City Library will be coming out in May.
Kids:
Kyle learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike this week, and we had our first road ride today, down to the river near our house. He also loves his roller-blading.
I really enjoy being able to get out and about with him now, especially with the bike. I hope we can get all the bikes in my little car to take it to the great bikeways Taiwan has to offer.
Hannah is almost in Grade One! She will have her graduation photos taken tomorrow. Hannah is doing really well at school, and is very happy. She is really taken by nature and flowers in particular. Here's a picture taken at a park recently.
I love Hannah's spirit and her ability to spot the tiniest details in things around her. I try to give the kids as much time as possible to really look at the world closely.
The house:
Here are a couple of Richard's latest projects.
1. The rain took its toll on the picnic table Richard made, so he redid the tabletop with recycled tiles.
2. Here is the retaining wall's second stage. A few friends have come over to help out of the past few weeks and it's coming along nicely.
3. Car spray painting.
I've been doing a bit of cooking, including pizza and lasagne. I made all the pasta for the lasagne. We also got a machine to make soy bean milk. We had our first drink last night. It's really good! The machine only makes 1.5 liters though, so it goes pretty fast.
So, here it is, a flash through my first quarter of the year. Not in order of importance.
The garden:
After our months of wet weather, we are having an OK spring. The "rain at night, sun during the day" pattern is working for my herbs and vegetables.
This is my new mint plant:
My lemon tree before I pruned it. It's a bit thin and crazy, really.
I finally got some rows into the garden. This is the start of the herb section.
My Taiwanese basil and Thai lemon tree thing:
Hannah and I spent a couple of mornings planting seeds. So far, the beans and sunflowers have appeared. One bean plant has already been eaten at the base, though. I want to go organic but it is a real challenge with the super-bug bugs we have around here. It's nice to potter, though.
I also have a few things trying to grow in the kitchen. The other day Kyle looked at the avocado seed, sweet potato leaves, and oregano cuttings lined up on the bench, and asked, "Mum, is this your science lab?" I guess, to some extent, it is!
Work:
After seven years, I'm closing my diaper business. My heart is not in it at all, and things were just overwhelming me, especially the pressure to look after all the stock. I put the word out and now have a few little projects going on. I am still teaching at the kids' school, and I have a literacy class at a Neihu family center: www.parentsplace.com.tw. I'll be doing some storytelling sessions for the government over summer, too. Writing-wise, my blog seems to be paying off with some writing work coming in. I'm also doing some free work for the Community Services Center. My article on the Taipei City Library will be coming out in May.
Kids:
Kyle learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike this week, and we had our first road ride today, down to the river near our house. He also loves his roller-blading.
I really enjoy being able to get out and about with him now, especially with the bike. I hope we can get all the bikes in my little car to take it to the great bikeways Taiwan has to offer.
Hannah is almost in Grade One! She will have her graduation photos taken tomorrow. Hannah is doing really well at school, and is very happy. She is really taken by nature and flowers in particular. Here's a picture taken at a park recently.
I love Hannah's spirit and her ability to spot the tiniest details in things around her. I try to give the kids as much time as possible to really look at the world closely.
The house:
Here are a couple of Richard's latest projects.
1. The rain took its toll on the picnic table Richard made, so he redid the tabletop with recycled tiles.
2. Here is the retaining wall's second stage. A few friends have come over to help out of the past few weeks and it's coming along nicely.
3. Car spray painting.
I've been doing a bit of cooking, including pizza and lasagne. I made all the pasta for the lasagne. We also got a machine to make soy bean milk. We had our first drink last night. It's really good! The machine only makes 1.5 liters though, so it goes pretty fast.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
School Music Group
基隆市100學年度學生音樂比賽瑪陵國小，這是我們20年來再次的參加團體的性的音樂競賽，對一個指有46人的小學校來說，參加一個有節奏有旋律的音樂表演是非常的困難的
This was the first time in TWENTY YEARS that Maling Elementary School made it to the Jilong Student Music Contest. Now, their school has only 46 students, so to be even able to put together a music group is quite an achievement. Even though they didn't make it to the national contest, they are going to work superhard to make it next year! (Their teachers are from the renowned Ju Percussion Group, and the kids are extremely lucky to have them come to teach them every week.)
In case you can't work out which one is Kyle, he is back left, the little guy with the big big drum. He was the youngest in the contest.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Back in Taiwan, Back in the Swing of Things
We got back from NZ over a month ago now. The kids went right back into school, and I went back into Taiwan life. Back into driving my sweet baby, the little red March, back into school life with the kids. Not yet back into gardening, though! It's looking at me, waiting for me to take hold of the weeds.
Hannah is doing great in kindergarten. The NZ experience really brought my daughter out of her shell, and now she is very outgoing and active in her classroom. I'm doing a little class there once a week, which is also going well.
Likewise, Kyle is doing just fine. He suddenly became more organised, more responsible, and more capable and willing to do his studies in Chinese. Kyle has a percussion contest in November, and an English speech contest in October. So far, he is much more willing to go to the music class than last semester.
The past few weeks, the kids have been plastering our house in notes and drawings. Here are a few of the highlights:
Thanks to everyone who helped me had a great NZ winter! It was so very memorable. Look forward to seeing everyone again!!
Hannah is doing great in kindergarten. The NZ experience really brought my daughter out of her shell, and now she is very outgoing and active in her classroom. I'm doing a little class there once a week, which is also going well.
Likewise, Kyle is doing just fine. He suddenly became more organised, more responsible, and more capable and willing to do his studies in Chinese. Kyle has a percussion contest in November, and an English speech contest in October. So far, he is much more willing to go to the music class than last semester.
The past few weeks, the kids have been plastering our house in notes and drawings. Here are a few of the highlights:
 |
| by Kyle |
 |
| A Kyle Monster |
 |
| You Broke My Heart - by Hannah |
 |
| Product Adjustment - by Kyle |
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
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