Saturday

This morning I woke up and had absolutely nothing pressing to do. 

The relief...

I think we all needed it. October's been busy; extra shifts at work, a home-stay student, a birthday and school camp to name but a few events going on... none of it blogged and although I feel a bit sad about that, I just lost my blogging mojo and felt stuck. Stuck for words and stuck for time. 

I just decided to concentrate on my family and be in the moment. I thought I would know when I felt un-stuck. But really, it wasn't until today, when Rubes asked me to find a particular photo, that I found myself trawling back through my blog and realising why I started it in the first place. Pure and simple, it's a record for me; just to chart my family's progress as we move through our days. So although I still feel sludgy and slow, I'm getting back on the blog-wagon.

So, as we head into November, this is what's going on at my place today.

Washing. Always washing. We're experiencing a heat-wave this week; not great for my new seedlings just gone in, but it does mean my laundry dries in record time; smelling sweet and fresh.

Quiet time on the day bed with Smokey this morning. A cup of tea, a good book and one whole hour to ourselves.

Coffee made on the atomic and savoured slowly.

Birthday lights giving Stella's room a lovely cosy glow at night.

Tomatoes, some planted, some self-seeding and some growing out of the guinea pig poo!

Bunting. It's going in the Christmas baskets for the teachers. It's not really Christmassy material, but it's red and green and I like it. And I think they will too.

Each one is 2 metres long. I've added some elastic rounds at the ends for hanging.

There's bits from old dresses, pillowcases and donated stuff, along with some good quality remnant offcuts.

My little craft guru Ruby is constantly making. Activity books are always a popular choice.  Gosh I love her stuff.

Go, on, tell me what you would draw...!

PK went grocery shopping, which was great because I just didn't feel like it. He came home with this whole watermelon which we cut into huge chunks and ate with spoons. Which makes me happy. 

Summer is coming and I am going to embrace it. There is so much goodness to be had in summer. Hot days, cool swims. Warm nights, gentle fan breezes. Mangoes. Holidays. Family.

Happy weekend. xxx

crochet FAIL.....(but it's not all bad)

okay, so I know that I said in my last post that I would finish this project....

Well, I'm giving up. 

Why?

... two words...

cheap yarn.

There. I've admitted it. For years I've been buying the cheap stuff from the cheap shops. In my past pre-blogging life, this yarn was fine for all the kiddie projects. Pom-poms, finger knitting, scarves for toys, weaving... 

But now a whole new world has opened up. Now I'm embracing more advanced projects. Ravelry cardies, beanies, mohair scarves... the possibilities are endless. So I've been buying up some nice yarn. I can get it locally, from Think Kids, or from op shops, or online (yes, I've been late night browsing). I even picked some up from the beautiful Children's festival on the weekend. My small but pretty stash is slowly expanding.

As I started to crochet around the edges of my cheap, nasty granny squares, I found I was not enjoying myself at all. The yarn was harsh, unyielding, plasticky. So when I noticed the centre of this square had started to unravel, I was ridiculously relieved. A solid reason to abandon this once and for all.

My apologies, Kate. To see Kate's beautiful granny hottie, click here. This is what it should look like. Not some cheap imitation version. 

So I delved into my new collection and started again...

This time I started with no particular project in mind. Just started by finding patterns I liked, and playing with colours I liked. Letting it grow organically, taking shape by itself...

 And putting them together with edging I liked...

Late at night, when the kids are in bed, I'm sitting and Pinterest-ing and learning and practising...

And now I have this...

I'm almost out of some of the colours. I've got enough of everything for four more squares. I've plenty of edging wool, a free ball from this lovely shop. So, I'm thinking a cushion cover? 

The main thing is, I'm enjoying every moment of this. But mostly, the way this yarn feels in my hands. It's a completely different experience from before. So although my hottie has bitten the dust, a whole new addiction has opened up before me.

Crochet, I love you.

And thank you, Kate, for providing the inspiration.

snippets

It's been a month since I last posted. I've been keeping busy and dealing with some aggravating health issues as well. I've been a bit awry and have been heading early to bed. Blogging just hasn't been on the radar. Yesterday when I read Kate's post, it seemed a good way to dive back in. 

So here are my snippets from the last month:

Wandering at the river at sunset; a walk with my sister, her daughter and my girls. Such a magical time of day.

Enjoying family time at the Peregian markets on the coast...

and in Brisbane with these adorable people.

Outside I've been gardening with the girls. they've each re-done their bed, taking full responsibility for maintenance (with some gentle "encouragement" from me). We've been planting and watering and waiting and watching...

On the knitting front I've finally finished this beautiful cardigan, for Stella, from Ravelry. My mum is knitting the same, in grey, for Ruby. She's almost done too. I love the shape and fit of this cardigan. Next one I'm doing is for me. On 3 and 3/4 needles with a 5 ply wool from Bendigo Woollen Mill. I'm awaiting delivery. Eeeek!

With the leftover yarn I'm knitting up some school beanies. It's a small cheeky deviation from our school's uniform policy. The colour is a perfect match and they've each chosen their own personal stripy design.

Crocheting some squares for Kate's granny hottie crochet-a-long. I'm running behind. Because crochet is relatively new for me I find I have to concentrate more. At night when I'm tired I find it's easier just to pick up my knitting and carry on. I will finish this though.  I love the idea and I like developing new skills.

Loving Ruby's owl school. Each night these nocturnal creatures are put through their flying paces; on completion they'll receive a flying certificate ( I shamelessly listen from outside her door).

Reading lots of books, lately. I've just finished a lovely book of short stories called "Emperor of the Air". Before that, the disturbing but totally absorbing "We need to talk about Kevin". Next in line is "Nest" by Inga Simpson.  I loved "Mr Wigg", so I'm hoping this will be good.

Crafting pom-poms, just for fun. A rainy day plus kids equals craft.

Dealing with BPPV. I'm not going to dwell too much on this but suffice to say this has been making my life a bit of a misery since April. I was hoping it would go away on it's own but this week I plan to seek out some help. I can function and work and I look pretty much normal (!) but it has been been making me chronically tired and a little bit anxious. Time to deal with it.

Experimenting with bicarb and vinegar. It's amazing how much fun you can have making things go pop and fizz...

Baking whatever comes out of Ruby's head. And biscuits. I just love baking.

So that's the last month, in summary. I'm hoping to be around a bit more in the coming weeks. Thanks for sticking with me, if in fact you are still there! 

Enjoy your week, wherever you may be.

Much love.

finding beauty in the city.

I'm a beach girl at heart. Or a country girl. Living where I do allows me to dip my toes into both. Oh, I've travelled and lived in cities. Big, big cities. There was a time when I liked cities best. The excitement, the crowds, the diversity; the busy-ness; frantic twenty four hour activity...it was fun and wild and crazy. I was in my twenties and the world was all there before me.

Nowadays I prefer quiet solitude, mostly. Birds, waves, the wind. Children running barefoot through the water and bush, the smell of horses and cow dung, open fires. Boots and creeks, sand and salt.

But I do like a trip to the city every now and then. For a long weekend, some culture, a footy game, a late slow dinner. Or in this case, the chance to see a dear friend and her lovely family. 

Before I left, we browsed through The Grounds, of Alexandria. We had a soon-to-be five year old in tow; this was the ideal stop for all of us. There was a small urban farm, a pig called Kevin Bacon, the most beautiful flower shop I have seen in, maybe ever; there was a BBQ deluxe-o bacon and egg roll for my (very mild) hangover, fantastic coffee and salted caramel tarts. And, oh, so much more.

Sydney, you haven't always been my first choice in city breaks. But I think we may become good friends after all.

stills: blue skies and cold clear waters

rockpools

off lead paradise

northern end, home beach

looking south

on the lake

sandbags

contemplating

winter. 

cold nights and crisp clear days. if we're lucky, little to no wind. we leave the house rugged up; we're in a shady hollow at home, but once outdoors it's a different story. layers are peeled back, then shed completely. it's not too cold to get in. and afterwards, back home for hot showers and chocolate.

joining in with em