street art

 This morning the little girls got up and decided to set up a street stall. They would sell beautiful drawings made on kitchen paper. They took their time and created lovely pictures.. imaginary creatures, rainbow colours, portraits..

They took their table and chairs outside to wait for the much anticipated rush of customers...

 And, blow me down, a couple came along and bought three drawings. 

Thank you, lovely people, for making their day

xoxo

15/52

Stella: my new coffee buddy and confidante.

Ruby: all heart. Loves family. All of us, without exception.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."



Joining in with Jodi, here

This week I love the rainbow colours of this little girl's PJ's. Do they make them in an adult size, I wonder?
And this one.. wicked smiles

And I just love Elsie and Joan's photos, here. Gorgeous.

(That's my top three for this week)

today

It's still raining. A lot. Not good news for my sister and her family who made the trek up from the city to spend the last weekend of the school holidays at the beach.

But I quite like the rain. Still. It's a perfect excuse to sleep in, then indulge in a cooked breakfast. Today I fried up some Tasmanian bacon with poached eggs, rocket and feta. We used to eat this bacon during our months on Bruny, almost three years ago. We would drop the girls at school and daycare, then make the trek up to town via the Red Velvet Lounge in Cygnet, stopping in for a quiet and delicious breakfast before the hours of grocery shopping ahead.

So finding this bacon in my local organic store made me just a touch nostalgic. It was worth the splurge, even though it has a lot more food miles on it up here in Queensland.

After breakfast, the girls and I pushed ahead with their garden diaries. Seeds were chosen and ordered from Green Harvest. Together we researched and documented the steps involved for our no-dig beds.

A trip to the library, some homemade pumpkin soup and some down-time behind us, we headed out to catch up with family. In spite of the rain we meandered around the square, where the girls danced and posed for photos. Back for a glass of wine, I watched the boys play footy in the rain.

The girls swam in the pool in their undies. I hadn't packed their togs. No matter.

I've kidnapped my niece for a final sleepover before school resumes. Tonight, with her curled up on the couch with me and my girls, it was just so lovely to see her so comfortable here.

I'm blessed and lucky.

starting over

 One friend has left town and now the other is set to take flight for five long weeks..

I have felt a bit low. It seems that everybody is on the move, new adventures and experiences ahead of them. It's taken a while, but self pity over now, I have decided this is a good time to action myself and get into some tasks I set myself quite some time ago.  At the beginning of summer, to be precise.

The vegie garden was abandoned after a long hot dry spell, followed by weeks of intense raining and flooding. Surprisingly, quite a few of the hardier plants battled through.

Today, I was inspired to put together the small beds I had promised the girls. The weather is cooler and it just feels fantastic to be outdoors again.

They're keeping journals on the progress of their own little patches. We got off to a flying start today.

The plan is to build the beds using recycled materials. As documented in an earlier post, I've used some old hardwood from an outdoor table that a friend made quite a few years back. The corners are held together using some old pieces of lattice driven into the ground at the corners. It's rustic and kinda cute. We'll then use the no-dig method to build up a healthy organic soil. I have some seeds put away from the Diggers Club, and I will probably get some more from Green Harvest. The girls have painstakingly copied out lists of autumn and winter plantings that should grow in our subtropical climate. With the help of a great app from Gardening Australia called the Vegie Guide, we will track and record the progress of our seeds and seedlings, and hopefully have a harvest to photograph and enjoy at the end.

While the girls were busy wetting and layering newspaper, I turned over the soil in my beds. It was wonderful to find that even thought the soil was compacted and a bit root-bound, it looked great and was full of earthworms. It will be fine, I think, and I am looking forward to getting back in there.

Wish me luck.

14/52

climbing the walls..

Ruby: can shimmy all the way to the top now...

Stella: no hands; could hang around here all day...

(When my sisters and I were kids, this was a favourite activity of ours as well)

This week, I love these photos. Who knew such amazing photos were possible.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Joining in with Jodi, here

a world of fun..

It's school holidays, and we're inundated with festivities, celebrations, family and fun. This year, as we're home, we're exploring some of our local tourist attractions. Our thrill-seeking offspring decided a trip here was just the ticket for a birthday treat. Initially sceptical, we eventually threw our hats into the ring and accepted the challenge. 

We rounded up a few extras and were ready for action.

 It was surprisingly quiet. There were virtually no queues for the rides so the kids were free to go again and again. The place was clean, the people were friendly and the fast food did not break the bank...

I'm pleased to say, a fun day was had by all. No-one threw up, not even me. I braved the Redback with my nephew which eventually shamed all the other older kids into having a go, too. We covered a lot of ground, those eight kids and us three adults. We ate hot chips and cold ice cream, drank lots of water and stayed cool. It was great. 

And when I got home, I had two glasses of wine and passed out (after seeing the girls safely to bed).

seven

This week, the day after Easter, my baby turned seven.

She was thrilled to be awoken consecutive days with chocolate and gifts.

I didn't take many photos, because I just wanted to be in the moment, enjoy the ritual of present unwrapping in our bed without looking at it from behind a lens. 

But after we were done, cup of tea in hand, I snapped off a couple.

discarded wrapping..

 birthday jumper,

 A much anticipated white fluffy toy cat and a beautiful old thrifted mirror from a local op shop..

new sparkly footwear...

Dinner with family. A make-your own pizza frenzy, followed by birthday cake and bubble blowing with the cousins...

Happy birthday, my sweetheart. You have brought so much joy, love and happiness into our world. xoxo