Back to normal

I can't believe it's all over. Our big event, which was minuscule by most standards, has been put to bed in our memories now to be thought about every so often when we're sitting on the verandah or when we see another bride. I guess there are times in our lives that stand out as being important occasions and this certainly was one of those for me. It was a time of welcome - for Hanno and I to welcome Sarndra to our family and to become part of a larger combined family. And it was a time of hospitality, when we opened our home to family, friends and strangers to celebrate an important occasion in all our lives. But for me, it was also a time when I thought a lot about who I am. I am defined by my family now. I am a wife because of Hanno and a mother because of my children, but I am also a sister, friend, neighbour, co-ordinator, gardener, craftswoman, cook, cleaner, writer and a woman and all of those things make me who I am and guide my days.

And today I am guided towards my own home again, this piece of land where Hanno and I work to provide as much as we can for ourselves. Today I'll be focused on getting things back to how they were before. Cleaning up for a wedding gives you good reason to do some deep cleaning but it also makes you hide things you don't have time for and want out of the way. My little writing room was that place for me. Everything that didn't fit was put in there and now needs to be put back to where it usually sits. I bet you all have a place like that where you can quickly get things out of the way and close the door. It won't take me long to put things right and then I'll have my writing space back. I am still waiting for my book proposal to come back and when it does I want to be ready.

The pantry and stockpile cupboard need reorganising too. Opening our home for the wedding also meant opening my kitchen to other cooks who didn't know where food is kept and now my stockpile cupboard looks like a bomb has gone off in there. It needs to be emptied, cleaned and put back. The pantry cupboard is a little better, but not much. I'll clean out both those cupboards in the next few days. We have some fundraising coming up at work too so I'll have to do some baking and pot up some cuttings to sell at the stalls we'll have over the coming months.

Luckily, Hanno did all the washing (5 loads!) while I have been at work these past two days and all the glasses, plates and cutlery, as well as the marquee, that were in the backyard have been taken away by the hire company. Our chooks where allowed out to free range yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks and when I came home last night they were happily scratching through the hay that was laid down over the wet grass.

So I guess today will help me get back into the normal rhythm of my days. There will be tea taken on the front verandah and dinner cooked tonight and all those activities in between will bring me back home and focus my mind again on our simple life.

Sarndra, Shane, Hanno and I want to thank you sincerely for all your good wishes and kind words. It showed Sarndra and Shane for the first time how wonderful the blog world can be and I think they were surprised at how uplifting it is to receive kind and friendly messages from all over the world.

Oh, and for the few people who asked, I use a Sony Cybershot camera - 6 mega pixels. It's a few years old now but I use it every day and it's still working like a Trojan. It has a little rechargeable battery that I charge up once a week and it never fails me. I am no great photographer but my camera helps me create some good photos. I generally take a few photos of the same subject and then choose which one to use when they're on the computer. I use Photoshop to crop and resize the photos but never alter them in any other way.

I will try to answer some of the many emails today, and to those two lovely ladies who are still waiting for their gift from my last give away, I'll have it in the mail this week. Thank you for your patience. Take care, everyone. I'll see you again tomorrow.