Words

More Polly Goodness

I've been scrapping again!
I was very lucky to have a pyjama day yesterday and get this baby finished off.
You know when you've got something sitting there waiting to be finished and you know it's there and you want to get the time to complete it, but it just seems to keep slipping away? Well that's where I was at.
But yesterday I had no excuses, I was in my PJ's all day thanks to a big Saturday night and Josh had gone to work, it was just me and a free afternoon!
Speaking of Josh, he's the subject of this particular page...

Boy & Beer.
I'm sure anyone reading this who isn't entirely up to date with their indue music bands won't quite get the reference (there's a band called Boy & Bear for those of you playing at home), but I had the title picked way back when I first saw the photo!
Here's some detail shots...




This Polly Scrap kit I've had the honor of playing with is a real joy!
Everything just works together, there's none of that looking at something that comes with the kit and wondering what you're going to do with it like you get with some others.
So much fun!

The June kit gets released soon too and I'm itching to see what's in it!
Kayla released this sneak peek snap shot a couple of days ago - don't the colours just look DELISH?!

Pretty right?!
And a bit of Hambly never goes astray!
If you want one though, I'd get on over as soon as they're released as they go pretty quickly~

I'll be back before the week's out with another project to show - in the meantime, happy Monday and have a great week!

xxx
SJ

My Poppy.

Let me introduce you to somebody who is really important to me.
This is my Poppy.His name is Gerry.
 
My Poppy is my main man.
He is at the top of my list; even higher than Gerard Butler or Ryan Reynolds.
Even higher than Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern (those of you who know me know that's a big deal), because my Poppy is my real superhero.
He always has been.

I was raised by a single mother, so my grandparents have always been a huge presence in my life.
My Nan and my Pop have always been there to help out and I love them both very much.
Nan was definitely always the one that 'got' me better than anyone emotionally, but my relationship with my poppy has always been a very special one.
I have always been his 'Possum' and he has always been my Superman.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time with Pop.
When he wasn't working, he was always out in the garden while Kane and I would be kicking the footy around or playing some form of backyard game.
This is where he taught me a lot of my lessons (usually after some form of girly tanty about Kane hitting me too hard with the footy or about not wanting to admit I was bowled out in cricket) about honesty, integrity, strength and just generally not being a sook.
When Pop had friends over for a beer, I'd sit with them at the table and listen to them chat, if I was lucky, I'd get to have the last sip of Pop's beer.
I remember he used to carry a keyring around with Pixi photos of Kane and I back to back and the words 'I Love Poppy'.

As a teenager I remember a girl coming up to me at school and telling me she'd recently met my Pop at the hospital.
I asked her how she knew it was him and she told me that once he'd seen that her school uniform was the same as mine, he had asked her if she knew me and continued to list all of the achievements of mine that he was proud of.
He'd never tell me straight out to my face, being of the tough love generation and all, but I would hear him boasting to people about my school grades or that I was the lead in a play or that I'd won an award.
Of course we had our arguments, I was a bratty tenage girl and I was (of course) always right.
He was stubborn and hard headed and questioned the opinions I formed, but he has always been proud, even of the smallest accomplishment.

As an adult, it's continued that way.
His pride has extended to my moving out of home, to my getting a decent job, to my going overseas for the first time. I remember mum telling me last year that she had heard him boasting to someone in the local shopping centre that I had entered into fashions on the field at the local race day, no big feat, but one that he felt needed sharing nonetheless.
But more than that, his pride extends to my friends and their accomplishments too. Whenever they visit to see my grandparents with me, he asks them about their lives and what's new with them and I can see that he is proud of their acheivements too.
And after everytime he sees them, he reminds me how good a friends I have and tells me not to lose them.
He is 'Pop' to them as well.

And to be honest, as an adult, I've grown to realise that I am proud of him.
I have watched his overwhelming strength and dedication in the face of my grandmother's deteriorating state.
When I was young, I always thought he would be lost without her, but he has proven himself beyond even what I used to think he was capable of.
He cares for her, he cooks, he cleans, he makes sure she is comfortable, he loses sleep with concern, and until very recently, he did it all while refusing any sort of releif or help; a little bit out of pride, but mostly out of love.

 I adore that man with all of me, but more than that, I admire him.

Recently, I've been thinking about my Poppy a lot.
If I don't call or visit him every couple of weeks, I am bound to be told off for it, and last Friday he told me that he had been to have tests on his heart and that it's pretty much only working 50% and that the doctors said he still has 5 to 10 years in him.
For a man in his mid 70's, this still equates to a decent innings, but it is the idea that he has an expiry date that stings. The idea that my poppy can't leap tall buildings in a single bound, that he isn't invincible; the idea that he is fallible just like the rest of us mere mortals, absolutely flattens me.

In a way, I feel like life has gone back on an unspoken deal we had.
I was supposed to end up a decent person and in return, he was supposed to be around forever to make sure I stayed on track and tell me I was doing a good job.
I feel like I kept my end of the bargain.

I don't know how I'm going to cope when that 5 or 10 years is up, but I DO know that in the meantime, I plan to make him the proudest Poppy alive, because I am so proud to have him as my grandfather, humanity and all.

xxx
SJ

To Be Australian (A Wonderful Thing).

I don't even really know where to start with this, as most of us don't know where to start with feelings right now, so bear with me if it's a little bit sketchy in parts.

It occured to me in thinking about what is going on, that some of the readers of this blog aren't Australian, and I wanted to write something that might help them to understand what is happening in Australia right now beyond just the news.
But I really don't feel like I have the right words.
I don't think anyone does.

My grandmother, from the time I was very young, has always told me that she truly believes there is no country luckier than ours, and I think the scenes that we've seen over the past couple of weeks have cemented that belief for me.
That may sound silly to many people; to call us lucky when we are experiencing what we are currently experiencing, and on such a large scale.

But despite how prone Australia is to so many natural disasters, and perhaps because of it, we discover strength in the face of crises with an unmatched and unique character.
We saw it in the Black Saturday fires, we see it in every farmer who has persevered through the droughts and we are seeing it now.

It is testament to Australia's national pride that we have people like Ray Cole, whose heart beats so strong that he would risk his own life, apparently in the face of arrest threats (Seriously, QLD Police?!), to save that of a joey kangaroo, because he says he was raised to help others where he could, and he "couldn't stand there and watch our coat of arms just drown".
 
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It is testament to Australia's resiliance and humor that in the face of some of the worst floods we've ever seen, we dress statues of our sporting heroes in 'floaties', not because we're not taking this disaster seriously, but because after the horror of the scenes we're seeing right now - the horror of losing homes and histories and, God forbid, loved ones - an image like this might for a split second, help someone to smile just when they need it.
 
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It is testament to just how selfless Australians are that a 13 year old boy who couldnt swim, lost his life because he told his rescuer "save me brother first".

13 years old.
Christ.
There just aren't words for that.
 
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It is just plain and simply testament to Australia's sense of community that our mateship extends beyond neighbours and family; beyond the town we live in, or even the state.
That in the face of  losing everything, we will still lend a hand to those around us.
That we will give what we can, however we can.
That there are churches and sporting clubs (often one in the same in this country) putting aside any difference of beleif just to move furniture, save pets, operate rescue centres and just generally help anyone who needs it, regardless of who they are.
 
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And this all seems to go doubly for Queenslanders, who experience disaster year after year in droughts, hurricanes, floods, you name it; and they get back up after each and every knock.

In Anna Bligh's media address this morning, she cried as she told the state:
"As we weep for what we have lost, and as we grieve for family and friends and we confront the challenge that is before us, I want us to remember who we are.
We are Queenslanders.
We’re the people that they breed tough, north of the border.
We’re the ones that they knock down, and we get up again."



In our country, we choose to rebuild the spirits of those around us before think about rebuilding our homes. And that is why I'm proud to be able to identify myself an Australian.  

I'm beginning to understand that it is also where my grandmothers beleif stems from.
It's the people that make this country a lucky one.
Very possibly, the luckiest of all.

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
(Photos sourced from heraldsun.com.au and theage.com.au).

Hey You!

Yes you, the poser!


There are some things that you should know...

That degree you're in the middle of, the one you're tiring of - you'll finish it.
It won't amount to a journalism career but you will apply the skills in other areas, and you will make yourself proud.

You know that boy you're holidaying with, the one you've been seeing for the past few months?
You'll fall deeply in love with him and you'll be together for years to come.
You wont marry him and have his babies like you'll hope.
You'll grow together, just not old.

You wont make it to Bible College and you wont become a youth Pastor.
In fact, give it 3 months and you won't be with the church anymore.

This time a year from now you'll have moved into an apartment in South Yarra.
You'll own a couch and a fridge and a bed and you'll have bills, like a grown up.
It will both excite you and scare you witless.

Don't get that credit card you've been thinking about.
No good can come of it.

Stop messing with your hair or you wont have any by the time you're 40.
Most people in your life love you whether it's long, short, blonde, brunette, straight, curly - whatever!
You need to learn that as well!

You are going to make some strange, and ultimately hilarious fashion choices in the next few years.
But don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough.

Probably best to stay away from tequila.

Your health will fail you at times.
You will have to have cancer removed from your body and you will have to endure treatment to get back on track.
I wont bother trying to tell you how much it will scare you.
You can't understand it yet anyway.

There are going to be days when everything overwhelms you and it all feels too much.
But you won't give up and you'll surprise yourself with your own strength.

You'll get fined for indecent exposure.
I know you don't believe me now, but you will.
Your charm and wit and 'exquisite'-ness will save you.

Don't ever forget to use your charm and wit and exquisiteness.

You'll learn to appreciate your family even more.
You and Kane will grow to be extremely close and your relationship with your mother will be strong.

You'll have a step family soon.
Try to be nice to them.

You will continue to cry at even the slightest hint of heartbreak in movies.
That will extend to advertisements at some stage too.

One day you'll live alone.
You wont entirely enjoy it, but the first time you kill a spider for yourself will be one of the proudest.
Even if you do have to do it with hairspray.

You will travel and fall in love with people, cultures, food, life.
You'll drink beer in Laos with friends from every continent on the earth (besides Antarctica).
And you will be a better person for it.

One day, a rich man will buy you Tiffany jewelery, just like you've always dreamed.
And you won't have a clue what to do when he does.

You know how you're adamant you'll never try drugs?
You'll smoke pot a few times at parties.

You will realise that you have some of the greatest and most supportive friends in the world.
And the best part? You'll keep finding more.

You'll know joy and you'll know hurt and you'll know love and you'll know loss.
There will be days when you don't want to get out of bed and days you wish would never end.

You'll be alright.
You won't remember it each time, but I promise you, you will be.

You'll live Johnson, and you'll live well.
Enjoy it.

(Thanks to everyone who is doing these at the moment and inspired mine! Ali & Katie & Elise Blaha!)