What’s making me happy: October

October’s felt both long and short. I’ve had a really, really busy few weeks at work which has made the time feel like it’s whizzing by. At the same time though, the entire household’s been sick which has made some days feel oh-so-drawn-out. In between it all, there’ve been some lovely moments though – here’s what’s been making me smile this month…

Book Week

October 2020 has marked our family’s first foray into the magic and the mayhem that is Book Week. Essentially Book Week is a celebration of reading and storytelling, but it’s most commonly associated with children’s dressing up as their favourite characters (not necessarily always from books!). Paul’s daycare centre sent out a little note a couple of weeks ago encouraging costumes during the celebration and given his ‘Spot’ books are probably his favourite stories, I decided that’s the costume I had to try and create. Given Paul’s just turned one I knew an elaborate costume just wouldn’t work. I found a yellow outfit, picked up a few squares of felt and a yellow ribbon and using my very limited sewing skills, created the above. Paul hated the ears, but the outfit was a winner.

Modern medicine

Last week when I suspected I had a cold… turns out while I probably did, the reason I felt so awful was a massive flare up of allergies. Thunderstorm asthma is a phenomenon that affects parts of Australia during spring, and essentially hits people who have asthma and hay-fever. While I’ve only ever been mildly affected in previous years, a few weeks ago I got caught outside just ahead of a storm, and ended up combining an allergic reaction with the start of a cold. I found myself at my doctor’s surgery a few days later and I’m now on asthma medication every four hours, as well as a two types of nasal sprays morning and night. A daily antihistamine might end up in the mix as well. While I’m still not 100 per cent, I shudder to think how much worse I might be without access to healthcare and medication. Modern medicine is helping me breath easy, and that is definitely something to feel happy about.

Blooming billy buttons

After starting as tiny seeds, my billy button plants have finally yielded their first crop of stunning flowers. Over the last few weeks the green flower heads have slowly erupted into fluffy yellow balls. It’s always a bit of a gamble when you try growing something from seed, but I seemed to have nurtured these little plants in just the right way. I was so excited when I was able to pick my first flowers and over the next few days there’ll be a few more blooms ready to snip off the bush. I’m hoping I’ll be able to dry a few of my flowers too, so I can have a year round display. My next challenge will be tending to the plants after flowering season, to ensure I get an even bigger crop next year.

What’s been making you happy this month?

Have a wonderful week.

M. x