Norweeka Knits

this moment..

2010-10-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple,special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember. -Soule Mama

this moment.. welcome spring!

2010-09-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple,special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember. -Soule Mama

this moment..

2010-08-27T00:08:00.001-07:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple,special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember. -Soule Mama

tea pot love..

2010-08-14T02:26:00.001-07:00

I love tea pots!

I love green!

I love dragonflies!

This little tea pot is one of my favourite possessions. Even with it's non matching white lid

( thanks Arki! ).

Filled with milky sweet chai, no matter what else is happening in my busy, noisy world, I feel like I am caring for ME when I sit and pour my tea.

I hope everyone has something special that fills them with joy just to look at!

this moment..

2010-08-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple,special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember. -Soule Mama

this moment

2010-07-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple,special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember. -Soule Mama

finally some knitting...

2010-07-25T01:16:00.001-07:00

For a special little girl who was born on a day when we rallied yet again to fight for birth choices in this country.

this moment

2010-07-25T00:41:00.001-07:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple,special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savor and remember. -Soule Mama

this moment

2010-07-10T05:32:00.001-07:00

a friday ritual (inspired by soulemama). a single photo capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. a moment to pause, savor and remember. if you're inspired to do the same, share a link to your 'moment' in the comments!

tree love

2010-03-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

I love autumn! Who doesn't? I think she loves us too :)

sea creatures..

2010-02-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished these lovely hand dyed felt sea creatures, the photo was taken before I attached the little washers for the magnet on the fishing rod to grab.

A set for our boys and a set for a little friend who turned 3.

My treasures love them, I love the 'boat' they built to fish from..

home baked goodness

2010-02-05T00:39:00.001-08:00

No mama I am not eating raw dough! Ben's snail bun.

Before.

After. The sultanas popped off the bread!

When I friend offered to help me make a loaf last week I jumped at the chance, you see, I have tried and tired and failed and failed to make bread from scratch and have it turn out edible..

We used this recipe. The boys used sultanas and cinnamon on their lovely creations. I used feta, silverbeet and basil in the mine..

Tasted delicious and we can't wait to make more, there is something homely, comforting and nourishing I find in the process of making food from scratch. Bread making has always been included in the Steiner playgroups we have attended for the last four years so it is special for the boys as well.

simplicity

2010-01-30T20:59:00.001-08:00

Some of my all time favourite family time is that which is spent pottering around the house.

The boys help daddy clean out the chicken coup.

We plant some seeds and take out some weeds.

Cook a mountain of muffins.

Naps.

Craft.

I love days like today.

summer daze

2010-01-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

I know I have been a super slack blogger! The holidays have been a blurr of running here and there for Mr Big, feverish little ones, staying dry or cool and enjoying the lack of time commitments..

But, I have been doing some craft. A hand dyed muslin baby blankie and singlet, and a baby gnome with wooden bead hands and feet for a little friend to chew..Now just waiting for the little friend to arrive earth side :)

Still working on felt sea creatures but will post went they are finished..xx

a milestone..

2009-12-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

My biggest baby is learning to drive!

I am of course filled with pride and excitement as I watch him grow into a wonderful young man with the promise of magical new opportunities and adventures before him.

I also feel like throwing myself on the floor and grabbing him by the leg and refusing to let go until he promises to stop growing and stay as he is FOREVER. But I know that would be futile and as my youngest baby sleeps next to me, breastfeeds and wakes me up a lot at night, I guess there is a plus side that life moves forward but I can't help feeling a little sad and a little bit old.!

I love you so much Jake.

my kitchen window..

2009-12-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

From my kitchen window I can see;

potato's growing in a tyre
chicken's in the coup
my veggie patch
Arki's birth tree
the sand pit with two boys playing happily

A moment of reverence..

and a visual..

2009-11-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

These are the beautiful necklaces we made as Christmas gifts for the teachers and assistants in Moonlight prep class. We asked each family to bring 5 beads and I hope each one holds within it the love and gratitude that is intended for each recipient..Ben has had such a wonderful year it has been a joy for me also to watch him thrive and be part of his journey.

My darling baby :) Jen our talented facilitator leaves me in awe of her amazing creations! Truly!

An angel is waiting with a baby.

While a mother and father take a long journey with the help of a donkey....This Sunday they travelled across a rocky mountain and discovered some very special stones :)

Update..

2009-11-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

It has been so long again! I have had a couple of comments recently about my lack of blog love so here it is :)

Doing ; most recently, caring for my little boy who burnt his hand on the stove. Selling candles decorated with bees wax by all the 'Moonlight' families at the Silkwood markets.
Finishing up ABA for the year and planning for next year.

Works in progress; Felt tree decorations, a lotus birth bag, a beautiful Waldorf doll.

Growing; lettuce, cucumber, eggplant, silver beet, potato, beetroot, lemons and limes and a load of herbs.

Loving; winding down and the end of school runs for this year, finally feeling healthy, quiet moments with friends to picnic and swim in a beautiful a beautiful little creek.

xx

birthday boy

2009-08-01T02:27:00.000-07:00

Our darling little Arki arrived in the wee hours of the morning. A more serene, gentle yet powerful, beautiful birth, I could not imagine..such elation lasting many, many months!

Our family has been blessed with this funny, mischievous, joyful, loving little soul.
Like I have said a thousand times..Thanyou for choosing us Arki!

Arki's birthday was spent just doing the usuall sunday things, a trip to the markets for the weeks fruit and veg and some scraps for the chooks.

Helping daddy put some new sand in the sand pit, and some gardening.

And, of course a few new toys and a yummy cake with 2 candles :)

winter

2009-07-20T03:28:00.001-07:00

This pretty much sums up what we have been up to lately!

It has been an intense time of coughing, sneezing, runny noses and generally feeling run down. Thankfully Ben has just had three weeks school holidays and it has been a time of taking life slowly..

I look at the trees that have lost their leaves for winter, they concentrate their energy in deep introspection, ready to bounce back into joyful life when the warmth of spring come around again.

I can't help feeling the same way this winter!

wall hangings

2009-05-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my monthly woman's circle, I decided to felt this moon cycle wall hanging.. although it is not so much at the hanging stage yet!

I like my knew awareness of the moon's phases and it is interesting recording the effects on my daily life. I haven't discovered a pattern yet and I think it is difficult when life is busy and the effects of night time parenting are always an issue.

I am also working on a wall hanging for Ben's room, which is of 'The Faraway Tree'. We read a chapter each night before bed and I have to admit I look forward to it as much as he does!

The stories remind me of my own childhood always with my head stuck in a book, and Enid Blyton was one of my favourite authors :)

little longies

2009-05-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

These little longies are ready and waiting for a bubba who is coming earthside any day now :) I love the green and brown with a hint of blue colour way so much ! I might have to dye up some more and knit Arki a pair.. hmmm.. I see a theme emerging here.

back to normal ...

2009-05-03T03:35:00.000-07:00

We have all well and truly settled back into our regular rhythm now after a very busy Adelaide trip. Returning home I realised I didn't take nearly as many photo's as I wanted ! But I have images of beautiful autumn leaves and tree lined streets etched into my memory :)

I will admit that the thought of staying with my MIL for two weeks had me shaking for a while, but it actually turn out to be a very healing time. Before we left home I went through a letting go process and managed to go with a relatively clean slate and an open mind...

So our days were taken up with visiting our ageing relatives, old friends and Geoff's brothers' and our darling little niece.
It was just lovely to spend time as a family ! It is hard to get Mr 15 to do anything at all with us at home, so it was extra special :)

It was really nice to come home and just get back to normal.. we are just not used to such a fast paced life LOL.

a time for eggs..

2009-04-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

Inspired by our playgroup craft this week, the boys and I have been decorating hard boiled eggs with crayons and food dye. We think they look pretty good :)

It is almost the end of Ben's first term of prep, although he is tired and ready for holidays, he is looking forward their Autumn Festival to mark the last day.

The children have been working hard on their play..all I know is that Ben is a cow !

Can't wait to see it.

It promises to be a morning of fun, friends and food.. perfect start to the Easter break when we fly to Adelaide to see our families, and catch up with old friends for two weeks.

Autumn in Adealide is just lovely with the liquid amber trees in their shades of gold to red, Ben is at a really good age to enjoy the tourist attractions Adelaide has to offer too,.. like the zoo, Granite Island, the zoo, humm..., did I say Granite Island... :)

letting go..

2009-03-30T00:56:00.001-07:00

It is nearly time to say goodbye.. I have really enjoyed dyeing this and having the colours hanging around the house to dry but I guess all good things must come to an end eventually...

I hope the new owner loves the colours as much as I do. I look forward to seeing what she creates with it :)

In return for this yarn I will be receiving fleece for felting...*drool*

for my country...

2009-03-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

I could not leave these sweet little shoes behind when I spotted them in a local shopping centre.

They cost way more than I would normally spend but K Rudd did give us that little bonus for the purpose of stimulating the economy, so one could say, I in fact owed it to my country to buy these !

Now that really does leave me all warm and fuzzy :)

celebrating beauty..

2009-02-27T19:19:00.001-08:00

Every now and then, I find myself thinking the 15-20ish minute drive to Ben's school is a bit of a drag.

We drive there stay for morning circle, then chat with other mum's awhile, then come home or go where ever we need to go...same again at the end of the day, more chatting and waiting and driving. Often Arki is sleepy or grumpy..

Then, I slow it all down..realise how blessed I am to be able to spend this time with my children and I have a good look around me and see the beautiful landscape which we are lucky enough to drive through every day.

We take the 'back' roads where there is just one set of traffic lights, this really is a slice of heaven as our usual daily grind takes us more often that not on the busy motorway which in peak time can resemble a giant car park.

I always imagined that we would settle on a decent enough sized property to accommodate chooks, some sheep, and maybe even a cow.

Well, we have to chooks but the rest eludes us to date, but I live in hope and driving along these semi rural roads I can dream a little bit more...even though we live in suburbia :)

I am so grateful to my DH who has never uttered a word of negativity about me staying home to full time care for our children, or the finnacial strain of a private school, even though there are many things he would love that are out of the question due to budget restraints.

At the end of the day, I am very happy to drive Ben to such a lovely school and watch him thrive.

I wouldn't change a thing :)

deviations...

2009-02-14T17:34:00.001-08:00

Now that I only have one child home during the day I thought life was going to be so easy! I am a little shocked that Arki has decided to throw his weight around in Ben's absence.
Consequently, I am not getting as much done as I thought I would.
I am rather hoping that Arki is just adjusting to the changes within the family and things will soon go back to normal, or the new normal..but some time for me during the day to knit while he plays beside me.

I have a stall at the Silkwood markets this week and I am going to sell ( hopefully!) some hand dyed yarn.
This will enable me to purchase some new dye colours and some other bits and pieces I need.
I'll post pic's of the rest of the yarn when it has dried :)

three dollars

2009-02-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

Is what this gorgeous little bag cost me at the op shop ! In the current economic climate a bargain is always welcome in this home :)

And the little dream boat I spend my days with...

big plans!

2009-01-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

This blog will soon be moving.. to, Norweeka Knits

This is the name I have choosen to call my bog and also the name of my Etsy store, which will open once I have enough stock made.

For sale will be longies, shorties and soakers, made from my hand dyed yarn and maybe sometime down the track, a few felted bits and peices.

The wonderfully talented Katanya is allowing me to use her funky baa bum pattern which she lovingly created.

The pattern is funky, functional and a delight to knit. I am blessed. Thankyou Katanya!!

Arki's rainbow longies

2009-01-28T17:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I do have a rainbow fetish! Thank goodness I have children or I would have to dress myself in rainbow pants lol.

So after some initial testing.....

the 'approval' was given..

looks rather pleased I think :-)

rainbow yarn

2009-01-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

I had been waiting on some purple dye so as soon as it arrived in the post..

It is in the process of being knitted into longies. Photo very soon.

slacker..

2009-01-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

Oh Dear...it has been awhile since I have posted!
Actually I have been trying to cut down on computer time and throw some attention to the boys, knitting and the dreaded housework.
Am I succeeding?..mostly.

Christmas and New years' went by quietly and without fuss, which is just the way we like it. I am grateful that all our families are interstate for so many reasons ( LOL ) But at no time more than Christmas, when we escape the hullabaloo. I am not a scrooge, but I don't enjoy commercialism.,I love my family but I don't enjoy polite banter with people who we wouldn't want to know normally..
I love a good celebration though, and this year we attended a lovely summer solstice party.

The holidays are almost over! Jake is wanting more holidays. Ben is ready for school. Their mother is ready for school too.. I never understood the mothers who complained about holidays and couldn't wait for them to end.
I wouldn't say I hate school holidays but I have to admit, there will be no tears when my little ball of energy trundles off to prep.
I have given him 5 years of 'mostly' connected-parenting, we have done many wonderful things together, but now he is needing the new stimulation, and lots of social contact that prep will bring him.

So..I am about to have just one child at home, with all the time I'll have on my hands, I have a few plans of my own :-)
That is for a new post very soon...* insert evil laugh*

rainben

2008-12-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

Ben's kindy are having a rainbow bridge celebration this week as part of the children's journey towards prep in just a few months..

The children dress in all the colours of the rainbow, we bring colourful food to share and the rest is a bit of a surprise !

I have had this fabric sitting around for years waiting for the right project, so here are the pants he will be wearing for the celebration...

And so will I was at it, I thought I'd whip up something for Arki.. I have been enjoying sewing lately, I had planned knitted Christmas gifts but might need to rethink.. :-)

a day at the bay

2008-12-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

We were going to go away this weekend for three days camping, but looking at the weather forecast of more storms and lots of rain, we decided to cancel as nothing kills a camping trip more than wet beds and bored whinging children/teenagers who are stuck inside a tent..

We decided top do day trips instead. Friday we drove down to Byron for a swim and a picnic. We walked around Bangalow and left when the rain came, so we were happy with our decision to cancel the camping.

This beady eyed boy will not take off his next years school hat ! He was amazed to see an old time red phone booth at Bangalow.

Also stopped into Natures Child and spent a small fortune on Chrissy presents for the boys.

We have been to the beach each morning, I must admit to not really bothering to beach much over the last few years, with small children it is a bit of an epic, but the boys absolutely loved digging trenches, finding treasures, and of course running in the water.

I think it is worth the effort, I always feel calmer after some sand between my toes and once you get into a bit of a rhythm the whole getting organised and out the door thing is not too bad.

spring harvest

2008-11-26T02:48:00.000-08:00

We have had a LOT of rain here in SE QLD ( 2 inches last night alone ) in the last few weeks which is so great for the garden and the boys mud puddle.

We have just started picking these lovely beans. The tomato plants are still producing fruit but are not looking too healthy, I think they are water logged!

There is something very satisfying about growing food and the boys really enjoy being involved in the planting, watering, picking, cooking and eating. Ben is quite the gardener..he asked for a flower garden so we planted some marigolds, petunias and fairy fountains.

a new skirt for me

2008-11-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well despite the, er..monkey on my back I somehow managed to create this skirt! My sweet buddy Sally showed me how to make wrap around skirts when she last visited QLD in September. I guess it has taken awhile to get around to it but now I am thinking a trip to spotlight is imminent.

Then I thought it needed something to really make it mine. So weird flowers it is! The camera flash seems to have changed the colours, the above photo is the right one.

Productivity

2008-11-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

It has felt a little like a sweat shop here in the last few days :-)

I decided to make a little bag for Ben's friend for her birthday this week, I love making girly things..

I have been blessed with my three wonderful boys but still sometimes I think how lovely a little girl would be.

woolie mail

2008-11-24T02:56:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely surprise when my soaker club package arrived sooner than I expected. I can't wait to knit this up into a snugly soaker and I am going to have a crack at embellishing because it came with some cute mini skeins and sea creature graphs.

Notice my chubby handed yarn thief who took great delight in snaffling the yarn every time I stood up to take the photo :-)

Happy as pigs in...

2008-11-07T00:14:00.000-08:00

It was a very hot sticky day today so this afternoon we decided some water plat was in order, we have this cool water table...or so I think.

Well that lasted about five minutes, then the water was emptied onto the dirt patch and then a world of fun was had!

I must admit to being pretty tempted to stand in the cool squishy stuff myself, but then I needed to walk through the house to run the bath :-)

The one issue I have with the mud puddle is that it is right by the back door for all to walk through not in a far away corner..

mmm..green

2008-11-03T23:07:00.000-08:00

My new favourite colour is green..so this means I must dye everything in sight, and dress the boys accordingly , well the boys that will let me anyway!

This is 200g's of Treliske organic lambs wool that I was able to snap up cheaply from buy for baby.

I haven't decided exactly what it will become, either longies or a jumper for next year, but now I am super keen on finishing the other projects I've got on three different sets of needles, so I can get started with this yummy yarn.

Advocacy

2008-10-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would ever be going around hasseling politicians but I have started something now!
I was feeling somewhat inspired by the midwives conference I recently attended as a consumer rep, and also the governments current review of maternity services so I decided to contact my local member..actually I emailed him from his website more as an experiment to see weather he would bother getting back to a nobody with an issue that given the fact he is male probably not all that interested in.
Well he emailed back alomost immediately telling me his 'people' would contact me..

SO off I trot armed with the review as well as ideas I think would go some way to getting women more options and better outcomes as they face anti-natal care, birth and post-natal care.
Also thought I'd mention the fact that us in South East Queensland are getting fluoride, recycled water and de-salinated water by the end of the year weather we like it or not!

Here where my mission comes unstuck a tad.. He is the 'Federal' member not the 'state' member and as such is uber reluctant to start meddling in state government issues like water and health care..he did however invite me to write a letter about why medicare should fund independent midwives and he would read it to the health minister during Parliament! But he doubted that it would do much good..I beg to differ, if enough of us write letters and bug politicians they will be forced to start making changes..

Where to now?.. I have an appointment to do it all over again with the state member this coming week.

..getting off soap box now :-)

I am woman..!

2008-10-17T02:28:00.000-07:00

At almost 35 i have wondered when grey hair would appear, well it's here and I love it! Just a couple so far at the side and I really do have to search around for a bit, but I think it is an outward sign of my maturity ( yeah go on..laugh it up!).
My dear old granny ever since I can remember had that lovely white hair as opposed to the not so nice gun metal grey of my not so dear old mother...
Can't promise a photo of though :-)

homemade pressie

2008-09-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

This is for a friend who has been feeling a little out of sorts lately. I had some strawberry's about to expire so made a couple of pots of jam...I love making jam! The effort is well worth the sticky, sweet reward at the end.

Speaking of strawberry's....we found a couple of red ones in our patch this morning. They are the little sweet variety not the big chunky type that are in the supermarkets.
The boys love to check it each day and discover a new flower and check the progress of the ripening berry's.

wild vegies..

2008-09-20T01:23:00.000-07:00

This vegetable patch was bare until we fertilised it with nice fresh chook poo and compost for the bin.

The will to live is strong!

We think the big leaved viney plant is watermelon, but it could be pumpkin? We also have tomatoes, silverbeet and brocoli.

I am sure anyone who knows a little about gardening could identify it easily but I look forward to the mystery plant revealing itself :-)

the birthday gnome

2008-09-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Firstly at the end of July, our darling little boy Arki turned one..he has brought us all so much joy and it had been a pleasure watching him grow and become the adventurous, happy fellow with a cheeky grin, that he is. He is nicely determined and stands his ground against other children when they try to take toys away from him :-) A handy skill when Ben is your big brother!

Then our biggest boy Jake turned 15! Now this really is starting to make me feel OLD! He chose to invite a mere 6 mates over for a sleepover, they mainly just ate, ate, ate and played games on Jake's new X-box 360. I really enjoy Jake, he is lots of fun and growing into a fine young man I must say...

Then after all the birthday's that were not all about him..finally it was Ben's turn!

Turning 5 has been fantastic..Ben announced a few days before his birthday that he would move into his own room once he was 5, (I thought ..yeah right) so on the birthday we made the bed up and prepared the room. That night off he went to his room for the usually bedtime storey and straight to sleep! He has been sleeping there ever since, well apart from the night when pulled out a big nasty tick ( yes..yuck! ) from his back..but that was so I could keep a close eye on him.

Ben is really looking forward to going off the prep next year and has some great little buddies who will be joining him. I love to see the excitement in his face when he talks about it.

Here he is enjoying birthday morning and his new fire station, fire truck and fire men.

The day was even more special because it was play group day so here we are, Ben dressed in the super special birthday crown and cape.

A winter's day

2008-08-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

Even the chicken's are enjoying the beautiful sunny weather..

Another day at home on helpline today.

A nice ending to a week that has been upset tummies and a tired grumpy mama.

Update..

2008-08-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a very long time hasn't it?!
Life has been a little crazy really. I have had to rethink the commitments I currently have and scale back so that I can meet my need to spend as much time with the boys as I can and remain really 'present' with them.
This seems especially important now as Ben spends 2 days a week at kindy getting to know many of his little class mates for next year at prep.
It is birthday season in our household at the moment, starting with our little Arki who turned one a few weeks ago..next comes Jake's 15th birthday, followed 10 days later by Ben's 5th birthday.
Today I am on helpline for ABA. It has nearly been a year since I qualified as a counsellor and I am enjoying the learning, the connection with other mothers and the sense of contribution it brings.
It is always great to be 'forced' to stay home all day, if it 's quiet ( like now ) It gives me the opportunity to do the things I otherwise wouldn't get to do if we decided to spend the day out. I always do helpline on weekends when Geoff is around so he gets to spend daddy time with the boys and it free's me up for phone calls or whatever I am doing :-)
till next time...

Head Dress

2008-04-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

Ah.. finally Blogger will allow me to upload photo's.

The smaller hat is one I made for Arki, I should add that my intention was to make a stripy one but Ben came along and had a better idea..so blobs it was! Turned out rather well except for the minor issue that it is in fact too small for it's intended owner sooo, it will find a new home with one of the babies around us waiting to come earthside.

The other hat we made for a little friends 3rd birthday, however this hat was too large! it is in Ben's dress ups now and we made another for the gift.

I love felting so much and the 'mistakes' are fine for me, what the old saying? 'We learn from our mistakes not our successes'.

How true.

I can't wait to find the time to make some more..

new starts

2008-04-06T02:59:00.000-07:00

I have decided my knitting blog is not getting enough attention and I really want to blog more about life stuff, so here it is a new blog.
My DH picked up a super cheap lap top for me this week so it's really easy for me now to sit back all comfy in the couch and use the 'puter, it feels bit decadent and I like it.

Ok..this is where I'm at; life right now feels like it's going twice as fast as it should.The boys keep me so busy, Jake is doing the normal teenage thing..grunting, hibernating and wanting to be driven all over the coast,but he is a also a fantastic human and I am proud to call him mine.Ben is always the live wire, he enjoys his one day a week at day care and is growing up so fast.. Arki is a busy little fellow, just 8 months and not only crawling with great efficiency but now cruising the furniture as well.
I have many crafty projects running around in my head wait to come out ( more inspiration was found by visiting the craft fair over the weekend!).
But I have managed over the course of the day to felt a little hat for our baby, (who's first tooth appeared on Saturday). Once I needle felt some additions to the hat I will post a pic.

Now that I have taken the plunge here, I will be back to blog more soon.