we’ve got worms!!

During these last two weeks of wet days and even wetter nights, something miraculous secretly happened in our backyard - our vegi’s grew!!!  Yippee!!  It was such a delight to eat peas straight from the garden this afternoon - peas that I thought had died a sad death (at my hand) are actually thriving!  Almost all of them are alive!  I have had such garden-envy lately, seeing all these beautiful vegi patches around the neighborhood bearing fruit and thinking how………. pathetic mine was :(  And as a result, how pathetic I am for killing everything before it even grew :(  But guess what?  The carrots are cranking!  The onions too!  Watermelon!  Squash!  Spinach!  Beans and a few other things I sowed but can’t put a name to yet!  Clearing away the weeds today, revealed a beautiful garden of yumminess beneath.  *What Joy*

Jasmine

xox

after a rather sleepless sleep study :)

I am finding it difficult to adjust to how different, complex and innefficient the healthcare system is here in the US.  It causes me great sadness and anxiety having to deal with it as often as I do, with two children with Muscular Dystrophy.  A cardiologist asked me today, “why on earth did you leave Australia?!”  I responded while shaking my head, “I know, I know.”  I could hear a slight Canadian fleck in her voice - she has no doubt had experience in a health care system similar to Australia, and knows that this, the United States of America, is not the place to be if you are sick.  I told her, as I do everyone who asks that question, “We came here for all the other reasons - definitely not the healthcare system…”  

There are many reasons to love this place - it’s diversity, it’s amazing landscapes, it’s sense of adventure.  But, there are many ‘buts’.  So much poverty and so much greed.  So much ignorance disguised as patriotism.  So much potential, so many bad political decisions.  So many people dying needlessly because they can’t access the care they need because of the ludicrously high cost of healthcare…

I stumbled across this picture just now, of beautiful Phoenix looking so happy after a nightmare of a sleep study.  An untrained technician on minimum wage was the sole person in charge of operations and it made me nervous to the point that I doubt the sleep study results and have not changed the settings on the children’s bi-paps.  I miss you Princess Margaret Respiratory Department in Perth!!  Your beds may not be as posh as the sleep study beds here (whose pointy edges gouged my thighs each time I got up through the night), but you are professional, caring, genuine, trained and you do your job well…  It is not about, ‘how much profit can we make from Jasmine and her unfortunate circumstances today?’  It is all about, ‘how can we help your beautiful, special children be healthier and stronger…’

a visit from down unda…

Yay!  We got a visit from down unda yesterday!  It was sooooo nice to see part of the Greener clan - good value they are.  I have always thought so.  And now they are even better value because they brought me PROMITE!!!!!!! YUMMO!!!!!!!!! Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  I had promite toast for breakfast and lunch and it was heaven!  Thank you Greener clan!  And thank you for your wonderful visit!!

etsy shop coming soon

Keep an eye on this spot!  Our Etsy shop is coming soon!  It will be filled with beautiful designer fabric and vintage fabric skirts, made with love by brookie; gorgeous one-of-a-kind jewelry for every age, made by me (including a sterling silver collection) and yummy texturous original art and archival prints made by my 7 year old son and me.  Here is just a taste of what yumminess is to come!

Watch this space!!  Our Etsy shop is coming soon and we can’t wait to share our hand-made-with-love goodies with you!

Love Jaz

xox

the day the clouds kissed the ground

After three days of awesome storms, the sun finally broke through the clouds just in time for the most beautiful sunset, made just for me :)  I got to soak in mother-nature working her magic for almost two hours as I drove back from Brookies yesterday evening and I couldn’t resist taking a few snaps while driving :)

arty days, sleepless nights…

My days of late have been filled with doodling and tinkering in each tiny break in motherhood that allows me the chance to sit down for more than 2 minutes - like nap-time.  I love nap-time.  Lately I have been addicted to making turquoise bracelets for me and I have made enough to wear about fifty at once, and I just love it.  The more the better.  There is almost nothing better than wearing a chunky arms worth of home-made bracelets.  I love the way they jangle and clunk and I also love the way the colours make me feel.  Turquoise is a happy colour for me and apparently it has power - the older the turquoise, the more powerful.  My pa’s old turquoise ring that I wear is apparently very powerful - and you can use that power for whatever you choose…. luck, safety… whatever you like.  (I need to start tapping into that power I think as my luck stinks lately…)  I have also been pottering around with making Phoenix a funky skirt, doodling with blobby paintings and trying my hand at Emilies funky scrapbook workshops that I am too far away to attend.  Now if only I could sleep at night…

they are the light of my life

I love my children.  I never knew real love until the moment I saw Isis’ squishy face for the first time, seven and a half years ago.  That may not be true for everyone, but it was the case for me - a Mother’s Love.  I was so young - only twenty-three - and yet, I thought I was so old and mature (bordering on wise).  Wise?  No way.  Not even close.  I desired the wisdom that comes with age, but didn’t truly have any.  Nothing in my life up until that point remotely compared to the monumental, forever changing event of having a child.  Add on top of that a child with a mysterious illness and I matured fast.  Grey hairs are my friend now and a daily reminder of all the worry no mother should ever have to feel.  And yet, no matter what challenges come our way, I am so infinitely, unbelievably, ridiculously lucky to have them.  They are the loves and light of my life.  Would I still be that young, silly, rather idiotic and naive girl if I chose the other path instead of marriage and motherhood?  I shudder at the thought… Even though  marriage and motherhood has been such a weight to bear at times and I find myself often longing for the freedom that comes with being single and… care-free, if you will.  To be selfish and have it be ok.  This feeling quickly passes as soon as I get a special smile or warm cuddle from one of my children…  It is an amazing power that they have really.

oh my heaven’s above!!!!

Can you say, “Oh how gorgeous!!!”  Can you believe how beautiful the Anne Geddes plush toys are?  We couldn’t resist adopting one when we stumbled across the Anne Geddes store in Downtown Disney.  Oh my heavens above, these toys are amazing works of art and are beyond beautiful.  They are softer than the softest soft and look like angels.  These babies take my breath away with their realistic baby beauty.

Phoenix’s baby makes me so happy.  Seeing Phoenix carry her bunny baby around by the ears and stopping for kisses melts my heart.

What a clever lady you are Anne Geddes!  Thank you for bringing happiness to our hearts.  ”protect, nurture, love” is such a beautiful motto to live by…

Jasmine

xox

the little slice of paradise out the back

It brings so much peace to my soul looking out of my bedroom window each morning when I wake up.  I am so happy to live on this beautiful little slice of paradise hidden in suburbia.  I will be so sad to ever leave this place.  What a find!  An old house that hasn’t been subdivided within and inch of it’s life! A yard filled with apple trees as old as the house, but so infinitely more beautiful than anything man has ever made.

Throughout the last few weeks, the earth has come alive before our very eyes.  The winter’s snow has melted and fed the beautiful earth beneath.  It takes my breath away watching the apple trees blossom and colourful flowers sprout from nowhere, everywhere.

Finally, a place where I can breathe.  A patch of mother-nature just steps away, to escape to whenever I feel the need.  The only thing that could make this yard better would be the calming sound of ocean waves right at the back of it :)

he knows me so well :)

On a sick and grumpy day, I found this in my sons homework folder - he knows me so well…  His cuteness totally turned my frown upside down…  

I love that he knows what I love from observing me over the years…  I LOVE art and I LOVE taking photos, I LOVE flowers, I LOVE Star Trek and I LOVE chocolate!  He knows me perfectly!! hahaha.  That sure put a smile on my dial :D

my evening, in pictures…

my afternoon, in pictures…

there is something magical when the sun shines through the flowers…

There is something magical when the sun shines through the flowers,

I could sit and breathe in it’s beauty for hours and hours.

emily’s happy camera straps!! yummy!!

For anyone who hasn’t visited Emily’s gorgeous Etsy Shop or Blog, go now!  You will love her originality and positivity.  Hers is a blog I check out on a regular basis because her posts help to inspire my life. Her Etsy Shop is AMAZING.  Her camera straps are sooooooo yummy, along with her laptop covers, notebooks and artwork.  Do yourself a happy favor and go explore through all of Emily’s happy goodies!!

Happy Tuesday evening to you all!

xox