The 4 P’s that made up my weekend. I’ll start from the last and work my way to the first.

On the Parenting front had a fantastic weekend with my minions. Tonight ended on a “growing pain” kinda note, because Josh and I need to finalise his science project and we were not happy with each other at all! It’s not a major calamity in the greater scheme of things, but as I go through the motions of trying to explain how he must write the results of his project in scientific style, I can see that light just did not go on. He just does not YET understand it. He will – sooner or later. But until then we just have to persevere. At the same time, I relate to my little (not so little anymore actually) boy. I’m also a student. Having been a student for many years now, I’ve come to realise that that is part of the journey, the “not-knowing” stage. It’s horrible, because how are you supposed to know something if you just don’t know! And there is just no way to learn anything new without “putting yourself out there”. You need to expose yourself in order to learn something new, and ultimately become a master at what you are doing. Being a master is great, but that whole process is Painful. So while at that very instant when I know I have to be stern, therefore I speak harshly to my son, silently in my heart I salute him because he didn’t give up.

Regarding the Proposal, some progress has been made. Focusing on research design now. This part I’ll call the fiction writing, because heck I have no idea what I am doing (see, I genuinely relate to Josh!). I know my Prof is gonna blast me on this latest literary composition, but at least this time unlike Masters, my skin is hopefully just a little bit thicker…hopefully – famous last words before the waterworks follow. But look, we’ll see. In the meantime, I’ll continue writing a lovely fantasy novel about Design Based Research and trying to figure out how on earth am I gonna find the answers to the questions that I put to myself as the research questions using this Design Based Research Stuff. Maybe if I don’t get a degree for my work, possibly, maybe I could get an Ingrid Jonker Prize for Fiction Writing.

And so my Plant collection has also grown this weekend, bought a few more pots for the floral paradise called my patio. Oh Heavens, I just love my pretty flowers. They make me sooooo happy:) Also went to Kirstenbosch the weekend, did the Skywalk Boomslang thing, more flowers and plants….Absolutely Beaureeful!!

And then finally Painting. One of my amazing brothers gave me a wooden herb box that he made. Not a normal square or rectangular box – a beautiful piece of hand-crafted carpentry. See picture. I’m probably going to use it for flowers and not herbs. Because it will live outside, I thought it needed a lick of varnish, which is how I passed some time today. The result was immensely gratifying. But now for the difficult task of deciding herbs… or flowers or both, or something else completely. And Thank you Robin for adding to my indecisiveness with your wonderful suggestion of strawberries even possibly…oh decisions decisions