Time off

Roses grown at home, in one of my cornucopia vases

I have a couple of weeks break from the routines of the office -we call it TOIL -time off in lieu of being paid overtime. I am enjoying the fun of having the grandchildren, my son and daughter in law able to drop by when they can. I know what it is like when you visit home from interstate -you need to rest and have fun, not 'have' to visit people all the time! So we won't go away during this time, so that we can be flexible. 

We had a drink at a posh inner city pub where the courtyard has a pond. Somewhere up in the branches we could see a Willy Wagtail sitting on her nest. 

As well as taking a break from work, I am now not on the committee of the not-for-profit that I support. I will still be an active volunteer, but the break will be good for me. They held their AGM this week, and it was a real celebration. So many lovely people, such good work and good stories to tell. 

DD brought home this lovely box for my bedroom, from the Save the Children op shop in Subiaco. Goes well with the French theme. 

My plans for November include writing a novel during Nanowrimo!  National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

In order to complete the task, you have to write about 1600 words per day -which takes about 90 minutes for me. I have a couple of characters in my mind, a couple of places to write about and no real idea of a plot! That is the way I like it- I just write and see what happens. I have written two other novels this way. Once they are done I never go back and even edit my work -my Nano is just to get the story out of my head. Maybe one day I will feel like editing them? 

Celebratory glass as I start my little break from work.

So there will be some writing, some playing with grandchildren and some quilting. I have just oiled my favourite sewing machine and she is all ready to go. The garden is a lot of fun just now - I have tomatoes and strawberries growing along with a lot of lettuce and things. The weather is going to be more spring like I think, so I am looking forward to more walks down at the beach. 

This is the kind of thing I really like -just being able to appreciate simple things and make our own fun. How about you?