Finding joy in the everyday

E XPERTS have warned that parents who don't medicate children with ADHD could be referred to child protection authorities under controversial draft guidelines being considered by the National Health and Medical Research Council.  .  . However, child psychiatrist and Monash University lecturer George Halasz says the situation should not be seen as unique to ADHD and parents who fail to manage serious conditions such as their child's asthma or diabetes could also be considered to be failing their duty as a parent. ( source ) The guidelines, created by an NHMRC expert working group, state: "Consideration should be given to the ability of the child/adolescent and their caregivers to implement strategies. As with any medical intervention, the inability of parents to implement strategies may raise child protection concerns." ( source ) If Australia heads down this path, we are no different to a police state . Some parents will be loose their right

I am a fan of Chia Seeds I have only recently discovered this wonder food and have been converted! They are considered a "superfood"and brimming with goodness. And they don't taste too bad either. Chia is derived from the Nahuatl word "chain", meaning oily. Chia contains very high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acid. Chia sees are about 20% protein. Chia seeds are high in antioxidants (more than blueberries) and fibre. Chia seeds are rich in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and other essential minerals and vitamins. Chia seeds are very low in calories. Recipe ideas:  Link * * * I have one tablespoon every morning in a 1/3 glass of warmed milk (the amount of milk is up to you).  If you don't like milk, add water instead. Some recipes suggest adding honey or maple syrup to the milk to sweetened the  Chia .  I like it without any sweeteners. The only down side is the price with 1 kilogram cost me $29.00 (Austra

Rain Artist: Andrea Laliberte Canadian artist, student of fashion design My cousin has been sharing some of her drawings via Facebook. I have been very impressed by her skill, in particular those of people, as I always find drawing the human form very tricky and tend to get frustrated and give up.  So thanks to my cousin Clara, she has inspired me to select Andrea Lalinerte today because of her drawings of feminine looking women in different outfits with their strong lines which are beautifully coloured in delicate shades with the subdued backgrounds. Laliberte was schooled in fashion design and this comes through in these pieces - to understand fashion I would assume you need to have a good understanding of the body underneath. I just love how the fabric moves in some of her designs. These aren't master pieces and some would dispute they are art - more like posters, however I enjoyed looking at them and might use the ideas to improve my drawing skills. Ra

Source These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33 How hard it can be to remain cheerful during times of tribulation. I don't know what you are like during these times, but I feel sick in the stomach, not in the mood for people, grumpy, short-tempered and certainly not at all happy.  I feel down right stressed and I'm not very nice to be around. Fortunately I don't get into this state very often, but when I do it is such an effort to get out of and to be of good cheer until the tribulation has passed. This verse is such a very good reminder to me. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afr aid .  Matthew 14:27 

Yet when men are caught looking at their favoured sexual material - pictures rather than words - that's somehow very different. Men who use porn are disgusting, perverted, their filthy smut a danger to marriage and sure sign of an addled male brain. . . . While women are allowed, indeed are encouraged, to blatantly enjoy their porn in the most public of settings, most men have no choice but to view their erotic material in secret, knowing full well the reaction from many of their partners if they are caught. The women's magazines regularly run articles discussing in solemn tones women's feelings of betrayal when they discover their partners using porn.   Bettina Arnht ( source ) I have written a number of stories on “mummy porn” in the last few months and I really wanted to share this quote by Bettina Arndt because I think it is so true. Whilst society frowns upon men who look at porn and quick to blame men for the collapse of marriages, women are openly reading  p

Fresh laundry by Charlene Winter Olson D on't mystify homemaking. Don't make it sound so complicated that a young woman wants to run a mile to avoid it. Homemaking has been done for centuries, it isn't new, it isn't complex, it really is a necessity. Many blogs that talk about homemaking make it sound so complicated and time consuming it becomes scary.  If I was young woman who knew very little about homemaking, I would be very nervous about learning the craft as some homemakers really like to mystify it and make it far more complicated than it needs to be! In reality, women have been doing it forever and it isn't hard once you have learnt the basic skills. Once you have these skills, what you do next is up to you. Each of us interpret homemaking differently. What creative angle you add to your homemaking is up to you. How slow or quick you do things, is also up to you. You may have long lists of activities, others just wing it.  It doesn't

What have you been up to lately?  My weekends are very special so I make the most of every minute - but that doesn't mean I work madly for 2 days, far from it as much of the housework has been done during the week.  Its time for all those enjoyable activities that I don't have time to do during the week. I had morning tea with my son and his future wife and her mother, I had dinner out with my dear husband, gardening ( almost finished the extension to the vegetable garden ), sewing, cooking, shopping ( I needed to find a pashmina ) and even found time to sit in the sun and read. To me this is a perfect way to spend the weekend. I thought I would do some simple sewing projects in the afternoon - Ruby was quick to help. I had to get cross with her as she kept on playing with my pin mouse (the little mouse I stick pins in)!! My husband likes to have "draught excluders" (sausages) at the bottom of the doors to stop the cold air coming into the warm part

Painting by the Australian artist Mervyn Napier Waller of his  artist wife, Christian (1894–1954) seated on the ground, in the company of her Airedale terriers.  Waller designed the large stain glass windows and mosaic in the "Hall of Memory" at the National War Memorial in Canberra. This week is all about dogs . . . big dogs, small dogs, cute dogs, bad dogs, cuddly dogs.  As the owner of two large dobermans and having grown up with dogs, I am a big fan of these lovable, loyal four-legged friends that have become mans-best-friend.  The artists that I have selected range from the famous to the not so famous, but they are all paintings that I like.  Please enjoy. “Happiness is a warm puppy.” ~Charles M. Schulz~ Painting by the Australian artist Euan Heng - born in Scotland, now living in Melbourne A friend in need by Cassius M Coolidge, part of a 16 paintings in a series of dogs playing cards, commissioned by a company called Brown & Bigelow, to be us