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Friday 7 December 2012

Spirit.

Frankly, I find this time of year just a little bit unsettling. It's the excess and the gratuitous commercialisation of Christmas that doesn't sit well with me. Scarily, next week it's the school holidays and I'm way behind on the Christmas preparation....although I have been to the health food store and bought all of the organic dried fruit for the Christmas pudding that we make every year out of the big orange Stephanie Alexander tome. It was meant to be made in November so that it could steep, oh well. Deep breath.

Anyway, I still need to wrestle more suet off the misogynist butcher down the road, who has had to wait for a new beast to come in so that he can remove whatever fat is left on it's kidneys. Suet is hard to get and in high demand...it really is like asking him to remove a particular part of his anatomy and sell it to me in a little plastic bag. That's how reluctant he is. Apparently, according to the same butcher, and this is a tad gross, yet I am a firm believer in knowing exactly where your food comes from so that you can decide if you actually want to eat it or not....at the abattoir they remove the organs and the fat from the animal straight away to help cool it down. So, that means that most of the kidney fat goes into the bin before it gets to the butcher. As he then continued to lecture me...'most meat at other butcheries arrives already cut up in a plastic box.' I can't help but think that kidney fat is better in a Christmas pudding than thrown away in a bin. I have also ordered a free range, organic ham because I just can't bear to think about pigs in sowing crates suffering to become a Christmas ham as part of people's festive feasts...it doesn't seem so festive to me.

Anyway, having just been to prize giving assembly and seen our 11 year old daughter awarded with a prize for spirituality, I've been pondering how to put more meaning back into our family's Christmas.....rather than just losing it in the whirl of drink and consumerism which you are encouraged to overindulge in.

Pushing the pram up the hill on our walk home after assembly we passed our local gift shop Rose's Cupboard. In we went and despite Tobes exclaiming at the top of his voice that his teacher doesn't like tea towels, I purchased three gorgeous and most importantly, locally made Dish Pig tea towels:



One for each teacher, as a thank you for their help over the year. Aren't they gorgeous, they look like a vintage scarf and would be beautiful framed or made up as a cushion cover.

While I was at it I also assuaged my conscience and bought environmentally friendly cards made from recycled cardboard and vegetable based ink and I'm thinking of taking up Mother Down Under's suggestion and having my children make wrapping paper.....although I recoil in horror at the thought of the mess.....we still have green paint on the dining table from when our eldest painted a plate.....8 long years ago.

On the final leg home, Tobes and I chatted about how it would be  good idea, on the first day of the school holidays to head into town to the bookshop and choose some of our favourite books to put under the ABC Giving Tree for children who might not be waking up to presents under their tree. With this plan in place, I feel a bit better about the whole Christmas carry on now. Especially as the children and I are determined that first and foremost it is going to be a happy day...and let's face it that's all that I want for Christmas.

I have spent the rest of the week toiling away writing an article for the next issue of Tasmanian Style magazine. I thought I'd blow the old cobwebs out and revisit the field of expertise that I dedicated  years and years of my youth to training in, by writing about the incredibly talented Hobart based painter, Nicholas Blowers who shows in Hobart and in Sydney. We have one of his works on our living room wall and love it.......my mother thinks it's depressing and of course she'd be right as his main concerns are collapse and decay:


I must say it was a surreal experience having Nick come over for a coffee and a chat about his work, on the sofa next to his actual painting and to hear all about where it was painted and what his inspiration was. And then he cast a critical eye over other paintings by other artists that adorn our walls....and I had thought I was meant to be interviewing him. Anyway, it was hard work.....way back before I had children, how did I ever think I was going to write an Art Theory based doctorate. How did I ever get a third of the way through and present papers at conferences and create lectures based on it? How. They may as well have given me a lobotomy when I had a caesarian....four times over. Saying that though, I'm quite happy with how the article turned out.....although it has to go to the editor next, fingers crossed.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Rx

12 comments:

  1. I completely understand. I did a thesis with two small children, whilst hubby sat his primaries - INSANE - and I remain so. Kx (The Blog a House Built)

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    1. Well done! It's tricky doing anything with children, let alone a thesis! Rx

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  2. So much to comment on. I agree re Christmas - it is definitely off putting with all the consumerism that is pushed on us and our children. I feel that my children have far too many toys as it is and they have an expectation of getting a lot of stuff on the big day. Urgh. They've been getting the starving children in africa speech a lot lately. Love the teatowels, I'd be very happy receiving one of those - I always try to give a useful or consumable present too. Didn't realise Suet was from the kidneys - I learn so much from your blog. Well done on the writing piece. I'm sure it will be fabulous. xx

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    1. I so agree re amount of toys...I am a toy Nazi yet still Bratz dolls managed to infiltrate our house disguised as presents from friends....I'd happily stipulate no presents for my children's birthday parties yet am not sure what the psychological repercussions would be down the track! Christmas is just too much and it really isn't a measure of how much we love our children by how many presents they receive. Tricky working out how to deal with consumerism....mine will be doing time at the church around the corner on Christmas eve just to reinforce exactly what all of this craziness is linked to as it so often just seems to all be about the man in the red suit!
      Was going to also give the teachers a jar of homemade cumquat compote....yet it had gone mouldy and no time left to make anything else. Best laid plans and all that! Rx

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  3. great to get our kids to think about those less fortunate than ourselves!

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    1. I agree, I think that it's an important life lesson and Christmas is the perfect time to ponder it. Rx

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  4. Gorgeous tea towels.

    I hope the article is going well. I agree re the consumerism of Christmas - everything is marketed so hard. Makes keeping kids expectations reasonable difficult. I think as a family you have to just step back a wee bit sometimes.

    On that note - if you still are in the market for some silver jeans Witchery have them for sale in the sale section of their website....!!!

    T
    xx

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  5. Children's expectations can be the hardest to deal with...you only want them to be happy and feel loved....and then all their friends get an iPad and they get a book! It's just fraught with issues which are so far removed from what it's all about and a minefield to wade through. We had our first dose of Santa today and the almost 2 year old howled with fright! Rx

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  6. So impressed with the news of the article Romy! And I don't think you've had a lobotomy at all. You're one of the most intelligent bloggers I read.

    Also loved the books idea. That's such a kind and wonderful gesture. Those kiddies will appreciate those gifts more than you'll know.

    We're also giving books to everyone this year. Our dining table now looks like the front of a bookshop!
    xx

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  7. Romy I really agree re all the consumerism. We are basically giving our children a book each as they will be so spoil by grandparents (they are also too little to know the difference ie what would you like from Santa and they say "a present"!). Well done on the article, I hope we can see a link to it when published? I know a little of that publication through my own work strangely. The tea towels are a lovely gift. My Aunt does not have tea towels as she thinks they are dirty, I use about five a day and can't understand it! Jx

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  8. I think you sound as though you're handling the consumerism just fine Romy. Although you're so right, it gets harder and harder - your iPad/book analogy says it all! And I'm fascinated by the suet story. That's always been the ingredient in my too hard basket, and it gets left out. Maybe that's my problem! xx

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  9. Ooh, like Heidi - so much to comment on. Totally agree with your take on Christmas. And thankyou for the children's book - can't wait to open it on The Big Day. I also had no idea about suet. Trying to forget that detail. And I'm delighted to see those tea towels come to life. I suggested the idea to Cathy when at The Market some months ago - a sensational result and so much better than the kitschy ones around. She's one clever cookie. J x

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I LOVE hearing your thoughts! Rx