Wednesday 26 February 2014

paying and giving attention, 'kids on speed' and new beginnings

kidFight.jpg 

This is a great picture to illustrate the recent ABC program series about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,  'Kids on Speed' (available for a few days only). The program demonstrated some really interesting family dynamics, and showed how drugs alone don't solve the problem, although they can help if used in conjunction with 'Parent Assisted Therapy', which means retraining parents to manage 'problem' behaviours more effectively. Another factor in ADHD and other behavioural problems is giving positive attention to children, which seems to be increasingly difficult as families become busier and busier.





 This sign is displayed at our favourite coffee spot, on the Goodwill Bridge, in Brisbane. Not a good way to manage behavioural problems.

  digitally altered photo of the moon one night last week.

I've been in the gradual process of leaving my much loved work place, and getting ready to start my new job. Next week is the start of the first semester of the university year, so I will also be teaching once a week for about 12 weeks. 

patchwork mandala pattern, an aid to mindful meditation?
 
Trying to stay mindful is incredibly challenging during periods of change and instability, I'm finding. 

I drove the car into a trolley post at Woolworths on Sunday, due to not paying attention (the car tells me when I am about to hit something, and I ignored it). Oops. A surprising amount of damage was done.

more later


Sunday 16 February 2014

Heat, hearts and hype - Happy Valentine's weekend!


Valentine's Day can be weird, especially for the unattached. I innocently asked a woman I know fairly well if she was doing anything special, and she burst into tears, having recently broken up with her partner. And I loved this story, about a prank in a Beijing cinema, which meant that couples were unable to sit next to each other, as all the odd numbered seats had been booked by unattached singles.

Either we hope to get a nice surprise, if we have a partner, or we are unwilling to participate in the hype which says we should buy presents for no good reason, or both. And, unless you have a policy, its unlikely you will both do the same, and then both will feel bad. Is it worse to buy a present and get nothing back, or give nothing (because of the hype, of course) and feel guilty because you got something? I have been in both positions, and I think the latter is worse. And having a policy just seems wrong and unspontaneous - but perhaps that's the definition of marriage?




 a door opening...pastels and collage

I have signed the contract for my new job, so I am now able to say its a Counselling position with Mercy Community Services in Goodna, working with children and families. So, its very similar to my current job, but four days a week instead of two, which is just about perfect. I wont be starting until March, so will have two more weeks to get ready. Starting the new job coincides with starting back at uni, although I'm 'just' teaching this year not studying as well. So glad that's over.


 

This is the movie we saw on Valentine's Day: a classic, if dated. Audrey Hepburn is amazing. I laughed out loud when a man sitting next to me - not my partner (he was on the other side, it wasn't Beijing) said 'that was a very ordinary film'. I think he meant 'extraordinary'...it could definitely not be described as ordinary.

However, it was over 50 years old, and thankfully single women have more options these days than hoping to marry a rich man who will buy her diamonds. Interesting that both the female and male leading characters are sort of prostituting themselves, although the man (George Peppard) is supported by a patroness (Patricia Neal), which sounds slightly more acceptable.

bird brooch by my friend Kareen

Another extraordinary film is 12 years a slave. Harrowing, true and very moving" everyone should see it, but only when feeling emotionally strong enough to deal with the vicarious trauma.

Cycling today felt like moving through warm treacle. The temperature is supposed to be about 38 degrees, so I am really appreciating the air conditioning, and feeling thankful that we finally succumbed this Spring. At least the solar panels are generating more power as fast as we consume it (we still get negative bills). 35 degrees used to be really hot, but that seems to have been replaced by the top thirties, even 40 on some days, in some parts of Australia.

more later.

Friday 7 February 2014

in which a slightly irregular patchwork quilt emerges, and another adventure begins...

 
framework quilt

Back in October 2012, whilst on my first social work placement, I made a quilt, based on an embroidered vintage tablecloth, which became my 'framework quilt', as it represented the many theoretical influences that inform my therapeutic practice.

I had to present my theoretical framework to the class, and it seemed logical to me to do that in visual, textile form.

Recently, I found some patchwork blocks I had started making a few years ago, using precut printed cotton strips (bought in rolls called 'jelly rolls'). The strips are sewn together lengthwise, then cut crosswise into strips, to make stripey strips. These strips are then resewn together, to make a block:

 the block

I made four squares like this (this is the last one, and is the most uneven, as I ran out of some prints) and joined them with additional strips, until it was large enough to make a quilt. I also had an old woollen blanket with pale pink satin ribbon edging at each end, which I wanted to incorporate into the quilt.  I managed to keep the satin edge, whilst quilting the rest of the blanket, which I think worked quite well.

Woodland Quilt
I admit I am not completely happy with this quilt, as the final turquoise binding didn't totally work, and I am going to redo it. But I was very happy with the process of making the quilt, especially as there was some resonance with the framework quilt, and I was now in the process of applying for jobs. 

At one stage this week, I had the sense of sewing a job for myself. This may sound strange, but it feels intuitively right, as I was systematically piecing together all the tiny scraps of my experience, and making them into something useful, warm and comforting. Perhaps a good metaphor for therapy?

Whatever the reason, sewing things together feels satisfyingly integrative. It also strikes me, that my father's paintings were all about coloured squares, and he really liked Bauhaus artist Josef Albers, who painted squares for over 25 years.

 Study for Homage to the Square by Joseph Albers

I realised after making the quilt, that there was a kind of 'woodland theme', both in the colours, and in some of the prints, many of which were floral, and which also included bird and toadstool motifs. Whether this symbolises being 'lost in the woods', or being 'out of the woods', I am not sure...but today I was informally offered the job I blogged about last week, after a long interview on Tuesday. So I am feeling pretty excited about that.

more later.