Appreciating the Everyday - Week in The Life 2013

I wanted to share today, my thoughts on the importance of documenting the everyday.

Why?

Because it is important.  Because, you have  no idea, from one day to the next, from one minute to the next, what is going to change.  You never think the 'bad stuff' is going to happen to you.  It always happens to other people.  Always.

Until it does happen to you.

Last week I participated in Ali Edwards Week in the Life 2013.  I ummhed and aahed about it, was our story really worth documenting?  Did i really need to take pics of us eating breaking, the animals on the farm, the flowers in my garden, the laundry on my line?  Does anyone really care?  Do they?  Are my children going to look back through my albums one day and really care about what they had for breakfast 10 years ago?

Will they?

But now, it doesn't really matter.  Because now I know, again, just how important it is to document the everyday, because you never know when it may all come crumbling down.

We are sheep and cattle farms in a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  Stutterheim in the town's name.  It is made up mainly of farmers - dairy, sheep, cattle and agricultural farmers.  It's a very small town.  A few grocery stores and one robot (traffic light).  The time of year is a horrific time for us.  The farms are dry, the grass is short and there is no water.  We are a summer rainfall region, so by the end of Aug (the end of our winter) we are desperate for rain.  So this time of year is fire season.  And this time of year the wind howls.  It just blows and blows and blows.  And never stops.  The sky is always a haze of smoke, there is always a fire somewhere.

Yesterday that fire was on one of our two farms.  Luckily, the bottom farm.  The one that we use solely for grazing.  We don't live there.  Thank the Lord.

Because yesterday that farm was wiped out.  Completely and utterly burn't to cinders.  I cannot begin to tell you the despair one feels watching the flames jumping and licking at the heels of the flame in front of it.  Not letting up.  Raging ahead.  Not even a river able to stop it.

It was a horrific day.  Our whole community (and more) joined together to fight the fire.  To beat it out.  To spray flame repellant on the flames.  It was a mammoth job.  Luckily my husband foresaw that the fire was headed our way, and managed to move all his stock up to our Home farm.  Thank the Lord.  Thank the Lord the wind direction eventually changed and the fire started burning back on itself.  Thank the Lord we had the help we did.  Because without it, i'm not sure if I would be here this morning, documenting the everyday.

If there was one thing I learn't from yesterday (aside from the fact that God never lets us down) is that the everyday is important.  From the mundane to the magnificent.  It is all worth capturing.

Because you never know when it may not be there anymore.

My view of the smoke from our Home Farm

In the car, right beside the fire, on our adjoining farm

Burning right in the valley

The chopper assisting with buckets of water

Some of the stock from the adjoining farm, moved onto our Home Farm

Still burning at 9pm

And still a few stumps burning at 8am the following morning

An entire farm, burn't to cinders

These photo's don't really show the devastation as it actually is

A month before the fire

Week In The Life 2013 - Saturday

Saturday - probably the least amount of photos taken (we were busy) and more with my phone that Canon.

Sleeping (and peaking!)

Latte-ing

Colouring

Shopping

Loving

Napping

Watching

Soon to be eating

Week in The Life 2013 - Friday

Here they are, my Friday photos.  Taking less, focusing on what's important and still loving the process

Packaging

Blossoming

Playing

Looking Cute

Planting

Greening Up

Prepping

Driving

Dating

Chilling

Week In the Life 2013

I ummhed and aaahed for a long time about doing WITL 2013 for a very long time.  I wondered if i'd be able to stick to it, if my life wasn't just a little bit too tedious right now, and if i/we really had a story to tell.  After all, what really happens here in the second week of September.

But once I saw all the WITL posts popping up everywhere, the pics in Instagram, and Ali's own pic's, I knew I had to do it.

Monday there were very few pics.

But here we are.  Mon to Wed done and dusted.  I bought the Templates last night and love the simplicity of my pages.  Nothing earth shattering, but they capture our daily life.  And of course the arrival of our new puppy!

My only sadness is that D is not in these pics.  Being away at hostel can be a real bummer at times.  So i've asked her to take pics, and i'll do an extra day dedicated to the Life of a Hostel Student.  Fun!

SO here we go.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking (and i hope i've maybe inspired you to join in?

Happy Thursday :)

Project Life Catch Up

Some of my blog friends have been nagging me to show my PL weeks, so here goes.  I am completely up to date in my album, but very behind at sharing.  I have picked a few random weeks to share - I simply cannot go back and share everything that I have not!

So, here goes:

Week 26:

What Happened this week?  It was the July school holidays.  Lots of time spent with friends and family.  Date Night for D & I and a bit of a splurge at the Exclusives Winter Sale.  Miss Tina's freebies for the 3x4 insert cards, and Ali's brushes directly onto the photos.

 

Week 27:

 

What Happened this week?  We celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary.  Fetched the girls from Kei, D rote a scooter for the first time, more friend action, a Movie date with O & I and the Wimbledon Finals.  Journaling cards are a mix of the Clementine Edition and Studio Calico PL Kit.  Cut out one of Ali's Love Today on my silhouette, and of course more brushes on pics. One 6x12 inserts with the scooter & friend action pics.

 
Week 31:

What happened this week?  Back to normal after my weekend in CT.  Homework, carpool, playing, vegging, eating and a picnic at The Dam and our puppy was born.  Very exciting.  No idea what the journaling cards are, bought the paper in CT.  The Everyday brushes are Cathy Zielske and the others Ali.

Week 32:

What happened this week?  Daniella made the Border U17 Badminton Team, I received my new flash (still learning), it was a long weekend and that's about it.  The brushes on these photos are all Ali's Messy Edge Day of the Week brushes.  Love them.  Very ordinary photos from a very ordinary week.

Week 34:

What Happened This Week?  A very ordinary week at home.  Some gardening, a winter walk, yummy food and self portraits (O's fav thing right now).  This was also the first week I used the Blush PL kit - I am absolutely in love with it!  And also my PL Journaling Pens (black).  I documented the first official Royal Family Pic (Royalist that I am).  Brushes again from Ali. 

Overall thoughts on my Project Life Process:

Design A is by far my favourite sleeve

I prefer close up photograps

I use Ali's brushes/overlays on most photos

My favourite fonts are Impact & Champagne & Limousines

Simple, clean, uncluttered pages does it for me.

My own handwriting

A few 3x4 journaling cards, mixed in with a couple of 3x4 photos really works in the middle row.

A brief synopsis, day by day, is normally included in each week.

Linking up over @ The Mom Creative

Hope you enjoyed looking as much as I enjoyed creating :)