Seriously???

Well, after yesterday's post requesting some positive news, the Universe decided to play funny buggers.

Jasmine went out to feed her guinea pigs today, only to find her favourite piggy dead at the bottom of the cage.  The other 3 seem fine, so this is a mystery death.  She's now buried in the garden close to the area the other pigs run around in.

RIP Quinn xxx

Time flies.....

Wow - it really has been a while since I've posted anything here!  I have a few quiet moments now with nothing else to do that can't wait a little longer, so let's see if I can manage a quick catch-up.....

Action shot

First, on an "official" note, I received a letter in the mail today confirming another 2 years registration with THEAC.  I did all the normal stressing over being/doing/proving "enough" before the visit from the Monitoring Officer, but it was all good :)  Lots of photos & an hour of having her ear talked off by Jasmine was just the ticket :)

Jasmine's enjoying learning new skills at gymnastics.  It was just the stretch (pardon the pun) of her skills that she needed.  What's more, her beloved coach from her old class helps out with some of this class as well, so she's extra happy!

I've been helping her work on some of the moves at home, which in turn has made me realise just how little exercise I really do!  As I watch her, I remember the days when I had that sort of flexibility.  I think we can both benefit from a bit of training at home ;-)



May was a mixed month for us.  It was the time we finally had to say goodbye to our dear old cat, Bonni.  She had been suffering with age-related problems & a nasty carcinoma on her head, which in turn could not be treated due to age-related problems.  We left it as long as we could, but on the 8th May, we made the devastating drive to the vet.

RIP Bon Bon

Afterwards, Jasmine wanted to go to the pet store to get something for her guinea pigs.  I made it VERY clear that we were not going to get another animal.  You know how they say not to go food shopping on an empty stomach?  Apparently, the same applies to visiting pet shops when emotional over having just lost your eldest pet......

Meet Zara, the newest member of our motley menagerie.  Jasmine just luuuuuuuurrrrrrves her, even if she does keep using Jasmine's bedroom as a toilet (grrrrrrrr).  I'm just thankful we have wooden floors!  We had to take William to the "day spa" the day after we got Zara as his hormones had just hit & he just.would.not.leave.her.alone.  They are absolute besties now and we have witnessed many, many moments of absolute cuteness.  

Now, we are playing a waiting game with our 16yo cat Sabre, the last of her generation.  Age has suddenly caught up with her & I think it's only a matter of weeks at best.  This all coincides with the first anniversary of the accident that killed my sister-in-law & her husband coming up in a few days, as well as hearing news that is good for some family members - and I am truly happy for them - but it reminds me of all the losses we've dealt with over the years.  Throw in a Winter plague & suffice to say something like a lotto win or successful pregnancy would be realllllly welcomed right now!  

But enough wallowing in self-pity.  Let's see what else Jasmine has been doing (in no particular order)....

Huon Natural Learners meet

Meeting Tetsuya Wakuda

"Cheesy egg"

Making a garden for her fairy friends

Painting

Watching a performance she wanted to see again & again

Conquering the playground on our way back from a Thermomix Consultant cooking class in Launnie - and running into some other friends heading home after a weekend up North :-)

Checking out the Sun Calendar in Campbelltown

Cuddling Zara.   OH SO MUCH cuddling Zara!

Unleashing her inner pyromaniac

Swapping to the more advanced side of the Scrabble Jr board after watching me play Words With Friends on FB

Kitten slinging

Bubble blowing (which the cats had fun playing with)

Duck facing - I mean muffin making (but looking so much like her Aunt in the process)

Running in to the Justice Crew guys @ Kmart after the Silvers Circus show

Playing with my new phone

Impersonation of a pea fowl?

"Brianna's Chicken Delight"

Finding a new way to serve choc avocado mousse
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/raw-chocolate-avocado-mousse/49552

Destruction Day @ Hobart Natural Learners Co-op

Mt Canopus Observatory @ Cambridge with Warren, our tour guide

Sir Ken on education....

http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Another fantastic TED presentation by Sir Ken Robinson as a follow-up to his 2006 talk.

Proud Mummy moment....

Jasmine has been doing gymnastics in various forms over the last 3 years.  She started with a general class for pre-schoolers, had a brief stint with the next age group up that caused her such trauma that she almost gave up completely, then back to the first group before doing several months of trampoline classes.  

As mentioned a while back, Jasmine changed to rhythmic gymnastics last year.  In recent weeks, I've been noticing some of the senior coaches noticing her, particularly when the girls started using clubs.  A couple of weeks before the end of each term, they have an assessment day where the coaches decide which class to recommend for each child for the following term.  This week, Jasmine was taken aside by one of the senior coaches while the regular coach was with the rest of the class.  Sure enough, at the end of the class, Jasmine was recommended to go into the rhythmic squads!  Her coach came over to me to explain that changing class was optional, to which I said I figured she'd been doing it long enough to progress.  The coach agreed with me, saying, "She's REALLY good!"


Basically, she'll now be doing a 1.5 hour class instead of a 45 min class, focussing on more specific skills which will lead on to competitions if desired & non-competitive club displays and expos.  As the classes are a bit later in the afternoon, I'll probably have to re-jig our days slightly to make sure Jasmine's not too tired at that time, but she's going to give it a go for a term & see how it goes.  She's sad not to have the same coach next term, but is also getting bored with the level she's at now.  It's the first time she's ever been promoted, and I think long overdue.  Even other parents shared their surprise when she was not promoted after the first term of rhythmic.


I did shed a happy tear, as did Jasmine's Dad when I told him that night :)

Some more findings from the interwebz....

Meet Kate Fridkis, Who Skipped K-12 and Is Neither Weird nor Homeless


A home-schooler goes to college (same woman as in the article above)


Skipping School Blog


Why We're Here on Earth



“When you teach a child something you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself.” ~ Jean Piaget

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

Autumn afternoons....

The weather has been absolutely DIVINE here this week - blue skies, the slightest breeze & sun just warm enough to penetrate through to the bones without burning the skin.  Hubby's had a few days off work after the Easter break, so he suggested this afternoon that we should go for a drive somewhere to make the most of it.

We ended up heading further South to the seaside township of Dover.  Jasmine was a little reluctant to go anywhere at first, but once she started finding shells on the sand, she changed her tune & announced, "This beach is AWESOME!".  Here's some of the awesomeness......

Unschooling survey results

I've just been reading the results of a survey on unschooling (natural learning).  I think it's a great read and can totally relate to much of what is said, so I'll share the links here (it's in 3 parts) for anyone interested in knowing more......


The Benefits of Unschooling


What Leads Families to "Unschool" Their Children


The Challenges of Unschooling

March musings

March was a hectic month around here, so I didn't get to blog or record much of what was happening around here - too busy living it all!  As such, here's a quick pictorial wrap-up of some of the happenings in March 2012....

Playing with garden critters

Multilevel construction

Admiring ones own work

Facepaint from the Taste of the Huon

Practising her melodramatic 'death scene' (soooo need to get her into drama classes again!)

Dancing with Daddy @ the Taste of the Huon

Cat & mouse.....but more about him in another post ;)

More multilevel construction, this time for a feline client

Sprouting avocado seeds

I can sing a rainbow......

April is a great month for rainbows 'round these parts....and this year has been no exception.


Jasmine turned 7 yesterday & her day started with a massive rainbow above the paddocks next to our place.  There was also another low, long rainbow this morning - a lovely Easter gift from Mother Nature.

And speaking of Easter rainbows.....

What has been even more awesome are the rainbows we've discovered in our house since I moved Jasmine's fish tank from her bedroom to the loungeroom.  Hello lesson on refraction ;)