weekending - good things
What a full and lovely (yes, ok tiring also) weekend. A long weekend. Thank you Queen for letting us celebrate your birthday now.
Things we did ::
- a fairy party with face painting and a bunny. Mishi informed us that they weren't real fairies as she could see the straps on their wings.
- a beautiful grown-ups only party for my friend Kathy's birthday. What a fun afternoon of making, and chatting and eating good yummy decadent food. And looking around and realising I am making (have made) some super good friends since moving down here.
- woke up Sunday morning to gloom and rain and wet and overcast. Decided to go to Brisbane for the night. What a good thing.
- met Sylv at yarn heaven Tangled Yarns. such a delicious and inspiring shop. we did have fun. we did buy some yarn. and guess what - I have actually started making something with it. So far I have half of a pair of fingerless mittens already finished and being used as I type. (one warm hand, one cold hand - have to finish the other mitten soon!).
- we went for afternoon tea at my cousin's new(ish) little grocer cafe, Sourced Grocer. What a sweet little spot - great for some local cheese, in season fresh produce, a cup of good tea/coffee, and a bowl of very yummy (and reasonably priced) food. ok - yes, my cousin's own this place, but I'd be saying all this even if they didn't! I've seen Sourced on Instagram, and featured in The Weekend Edition. They even sell ice-cream sandwiches!
And yes, it rained and rained and was windy and cold and dismal. We stayed inside and soaked up the heat from our fireplace - and the warmth of the real electricity and television and long hot shower for one night while in Brisbane.
What did you get up to this weekend?
What are your plans for the coming week?
*my computer seems to have overloaded itself and won't take any more photos, so......
saturday things
the sun is shining outside. it hasn't yet made it to our little house, as we are under a hill and under trees. but i can see it stretching slowly across the dewy grass. slowly warming places of our space.
i've feel like i've been talking about the sun a lot lately. we'll around these parts it's big news that this is the fourth sunny day in a row. after a year of endless rain, four days of sunshine is good. not that we know how long it'll last. so it doesn't mean we can set to house building - it could rain again for the next weeks in a row.
i'm procrastinating tidying the house. and doing the washing up (a few day's worth, that both Sam and I have been avoiding). we do not have hot running water in our home, so we have to put a big pot of water on to boil on the stovetop. sometimes that's annoying, but something it gives you five minutes or so to build up to doing the washing up.
for those of you wondering, we do have a hot running shower. it's a wonderful shower for sure. one of the best. outside, which is sometimes cold. but i can see the moon rising or the trees above me while i shower. when we build our proper bathroom (rather than the pad of bricks that currently is our bathroom) i want to have a window in the roof so i can see the trees while i bathe. oh yes.
good things today -
+ figs, walnuts and chocolate - oh yum. and so easy.
+ fabric play money - Ari is having a hard time learning his numbers and counting and money. i think this would be a good thing to make for the kids. plus they love playing shops so much (a favourite game of mine, as a child too)
+ this simple and lovely reminder for me to make some fabric napkins for our table
+ the wonderful wonderful uplifting colours on this new-to-me blog
+ is it Easter soon, or something....? i am seeing eggs and decorations all over Pinterest at the moment. and again, i'm going over (in my mind) what Easter is about for us. if you have any interesting thoughts about what it means to you, i'd love to hear. it is neither Spring here - reason for eggs - or are we Christians, so don't talk/believe/think about the Resurrection aspect; but i want some meaning for my children - rather than just more chocolate. i am planning to only buy / eat Fair Trade chocolate this Easter time; i want to continue this on for all year round - but i do so like Lindt chocolate a little too much. and i personally find most organic chocolate to be much too sweet and a little grainy. tell me, what is your favourite Fair Trade chocolate?? i'd love to know.....
one last good thing is this slowly growing stack of zippered purses i've been making. i am not at my sewing machine often enough these days, and it seems i need to relearn how to do the most basic of tasks all over again. sewing zips - eeeekkk, i really thought i had it down pat!
enjoy your Saturday, your weekend, your week, my friends. look up at the sky, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the stars. and breathe and deep proper true breathe. xx
important things to do to remind yourself you're still a girl
> Give your man a really big, long smooch goodbye (cause he's taking the kids away for the weekend, and cause giving your man a big, long smooch is a good thing to do!).
> Pack your basket of things for a night away on your own.
> Remember to include a good book or two to enjoy. And some fresh lemons for your grandma.
> Turn the music up nice and loud.
> Put your sunglasses on. Enjoy the look of the road behind you, in the rearview mirror. And look forward to the road in front with a light heart.
> Drive nice and fast*, with the wind in your hair. Sing as loud as you want, and make sure you tap and bang your fingers on the steering wheel.
> Swing past the post office, in town, just in case there's a nice little treasure for you. (Ooohhh, there is.) Ignore the phone bill that came with it.
> Head on up the coast. Wind, music, sunglasses, mountains all about you. Doesn't the car feel just that little bit lighter without the car seats or the kids.
> Stop off for a dip in the ocean. All on your own. At the best ocean spot in the whole wide entire world. Jump about in the waves for just as long as you want. Feel the sun on your back, as you sit on the sand. All on your own. The sand under your feet as you look for rocks along the water's edge. (Ignore the fact that your body doesn't look exactly the same as it did when you where a girl. Or even a bit younger than you are now....). Wrap your sarong around you, and head on back to the car - don't have to worry about drying/dressing/cleaning sand off any body but yourself.
> Head on further up the coast, just a little bit. To your grandma's house. Visiting your grandma is a good thing to do. You still feel like a girl, even though you are the one now cooking the dinner and cleaning the dishes, compared to her doing it for you when you were a girl.
Being a woman is really really good, of course. But sometimes, being a girl again (of indeterminate age) is really really important.
Enjoy your weekend. I'm staying at my grandma's for just one night, then heading back home for some peace and quiet until the noise arrives back on Sunday afternoon. I'll be lapping up every moment of the quiet that living in the bush brings.
*though of course, not too fast, stick to the speed limit please. One of the good things about country living is those road signs that say 'drive to suit conditions'....
> Pack your basket of things for a night away on your own.
> Remember to include a good book or two to enjoy. And some fresh lemons for your grandma.
> Turn the music up nice and loud.
> Put your sunglasses on. Enjoy the look of the road behind you, in the rearview mirror. And look forward to the road in front with a light heart.
> Drive nice and fast*, with the wind in your hair. Sing as loud as you want, and make sure you tap and bang your fingers on the steering wheel.
> Swing past the post office, in town, just in case there's a nice little treasure for you. (Ooohhh, there is.) Ignore the phone bill that came with it.
> Head on up the coast. Wind, music, sunglasses, mountains all about you. Doesn't the car feel just that little bit lighter without the car seats or the kids.
> Stop off for a dip in the ocean. All on your own. At the best ocean spot in the whole wide entire world. Jump about in the waves for just as long as you want. Feel the sun on your back, as you sit on the sand. All on your own. The sand under your feet as you look for rocks along the water's edge. (Ignore the fact that your body doesn't look exactly the same as it did when you where a girl. Or even a bit younger than you are now....). Wrap your sarong around you, and head on back to the car - don't have to worry about drying/dressing/cleaning sand off any body but yourself.
> Head on further up the coast, just a little bit. To your grandma's house. Visiting your grandma is a good thing to do. You still feel like a girl, even though you are the one now cooking the dinner and cleaning the dishes, compared to her doing it for you when you were a girl.
Being a woman is really really good, of course. But sometimes, being a girl again (of indeterminate age) is really really important.
Enjoy your weekend. I'm staying at my grandma's for just one night, then heading back home for some peace and quiet until the noise arrives back on Sunday afternoon. I'll be lapping up every moment of the quiet that living in the bush brings.
*though of course, not too fast, stick to the speed limit please. One of the good things about country living is those road signs that say 'drive to suit conditions'....
looking for moments of sunshine {on a cold Winter's day}
{a little lie in, with my morning coffee and some new library books}
{kids drawing birthday cards for our friend -
doesn't turtle look sweet squashed into the couch cushion, just in arms reach}
{special vases - three on the left made by my mum}
{passionfruits ripening in our kitchen - 'borrowed' from the vacant house down the street}
{beautiful blooms from my beautiful sister - perfuming my bedroom while I sleep or read}
Saturday Moments
A new photo ritual of just a few moments from our week.
1. Fabric Love 2. Eating the last bits of the kids' Easter Chocolate! 3. Macro 4. Shadows by Mishi
Saturday Moments
A few of my favourite moments from the past few days.
Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens :: drawing from nature; splashing in the water at the Japanese Garden; flowering cactus; soaking up the sunshine
My Dad's home :: stone temple building at the creek; low-light afternoon memories; kids + Granddad playing music together; shapes, lines, textures
At the beach with our dear friends :: building sandcastles; jumping and running in the sand; silly photos; honesty and laughter with long-known friends; beautiful weather, water and day
And home again :: a postage box waiting for us, filled with Lotta fabrics (bought on sale - looks like limited stocks left); some to be added to the growing pile of bluey-greens or greeny-blues for Ari's quilt.
Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens :: drawing from nature; splashing in the water at the Japanese Garden; flowering cactus; soaking up the sunshine
My Dad's home :: stone temple building at the creek; low-light afternoon memories; kids + Granddad playing music together; shapes, lines, textures
At the beach with our dear friends :: building sandcastles; jumping and running in the sand; silly photos; honesty and laughter with long-known friends; beautiful weather, water and day
And home again :: a postage box waiting for us, filled with Lotta fabrics (bought on sale - looks like limited stocks left); some to be added to the growing pile of bluey-greens or greeny-blues for Ari's quilt.