12/01/2010
if only we could every few months....
We're back.
We had a wonderful time.
The ocean, the sun, the freshness of the mountains. I even stumbled across this lovely studio with the nicest girls in the quietest of country towns...not really even a town. Stokers Siding is set in the Tweed Valley and Mae and the Ceramic gallery next door are very different to each other, but both worth the diversion from the main road.
I also did a lot of people watching, and kite watching whilst thinking about all the things I wanted to think about. I refuse to plan my goals for the year. I just want to achieve some basics for the next few months. I can do that!
But for now, I'm over slapping suncream and zinc on our bodies every few hours of the day, the smell of chlorine and washing sand out of our hair.
yes, it is always nice to come home and start again.
2 more weeks of school holidays ahead before any serious work can begin.
PS. not a single stitch was sewn. The weather was too good.
29/12/2009
holiday zone
i'm in the holiday zone.
so far so good.
waking up to these two each morning has been rather special.
08/12/2009
i'm booorreed
The sun rises early here. Very early. So do the kids. I should by now have new window blinds in their rooms, but the company I ordered them from decided to go into liquidation!!!! So the sun, creeps in through the horizontal blinds and wakes them usually around 5 or 5.30am
the sun lights the decorations on the tree nicely, but the days are so horribly long. The kids are BOOORRRRED by the time breakfast is finished. And did I mention it was hot! My hands are sweating as I write.
I try to do an hour or so of work before breakfast, but I for the rest of the day I need to be Chief Entertainer.
Here Mr A is reading Where The Wild Things Are to Miss M, so I decided to take my own wild things to see the movie today. It was great. Both the kids clung to me during the scary parts and cried quite openly during the sad parts. I love the way movies bring out your emotions. The movie also deals with a lot of anger management issues....trying to explain why Douglas gets his arm torn off to a 5 and 7 year old is a little tricky. And letting them know that mummy won't be happy if she finds any walls with holes in them.
Alas, there are children who need entertaining, I best go...
29/11/2009
this weekend we drove out of town so we could go to a surprise 50th!
I felt young at the party. But the highlight for me was staying with the inlaws. Yes inlaws. I'm not being sarcastic. You see they have this magical garden full of the best things.
Like...
an old boat full of big fat gold fish.
olive trees full of fruit.
a chestnut tree.
An avocado tree.
Kiwi fruit growing on a vine.
baby chickens that jump into the palm of your hand.
pineapples, strawberries, zucchini, cucumbers, figs, macadamia nuts, tomatoes, lettuce, garlic, corn, chilli, herbs galore, lemon trees, lime trees, eggplants...
and the list could go on and on.
They make up for the dead pot plants on my front verandah.
16/11/2009
turn up the music and sew
you know when you start cleaning and all of a sudden you discover all the projects you started months ago and want to stop your cleaning in order to finish them. Well.....on the weekend I finished one of them and have almost finished the other. AND DID SOME CLEANING!!!!! This quilt I started last year using scraps from my stash. I took it away on holidays to the beach back in January and as of today I only have to hand stitch the back of the binding! YAY.
I have decided that it is going to be my thing to do whilst the kids are splashing in the pool. So I sit here and watch over them, turn up the music and sew. Agghh, summer!!!
And the painting is another wooden original now in my shop. I hope to be painting as much as I can over the next few months.
And what music am I listening to now? Well I've just discovered the sounds of Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson and when I want to chill out I've been listening to the Anouar Brahem..beautiful Arabian styled music with jazz influences.
04/03/2009
wilted
And just when the heat gets to me, croup springs its ugly head with Mr A. We are taking it slow around here....quite a different feeling to this time last year when I was packing my bags for France!
08/02/2009
Sunday
Rack of lamb.
Beetroot salad.
Roast vegetables.
Peach, olive, fetta and tomato salad.
Easy Sunday living.
No we didn't drink any of that grog. But I always notice the objects in her house that are easily accessible and on display. (read we don't have children so we can have the good stuff left out)
Of course this makes me always on the ball by saying, "be careful with that, don't touch......."
06/02/2009
summer
Albeit, just north of me there are massive floods and cyclones and just south there are scorching, record breaking heat waves.
So really we are fine.
It is just another summer.
Finishing the week early with an icy cold drink, a swim in the pool with dad, and an easy summer meal of fresh fig, apple and barbecued pork salad eaten outdoors with the moon above in the clear blue skies.
Okay, summer is good....but I can't wait for the cool relief of autumn.
ps we don't eat the apple whole in our salad. I slice it at the very last minute!
22/01/2009
One
One grumpy boy who has the new tooth cutting through.
One takeaway coffee to get me through the day. I only need one.
One new design that will become some new greeting cards soon.
One very humid day.
