Last day of the holidays

Wow, where has the time gone?  It's been a while.

On top of the world, on a huge 400 year old Jarrah stump ... you'll see it again in a mo ...

School went back today.  Little Man and I needed to do something cool on the last day of the hols yesterday to make it memorable.  I asked him what he wanted to do, and he wanted to visit the local history village in Kalamunda.  We haven't been there since my mum visited us in 2009, so thought it might be due another visit.  I was also secretly impressed that this young man, who is at home with computer games and iphones, chose to visit history of a quieter time (and enjoyed every minute).  Here are some pics to show you why it's one of our favourite places in the world.

It tickled me that I was taking a photo of this telephone exchange with my lovely slimline iphone!

I can never resist mailboxes ...



Could you say I'm obsessed with crafts and sewing?

 

My favourite building in the village is the McCullagh house - a family from Ireland lived in it after they moved to Perth in the late 1800's - mum, dad and 6 kids - and there was only one front room, parents' bedroom with baby cot, girls' room, kitchen area, and the poor boys had to sleep on the verandah!  There is a beautiful bedspread made from yoyo's (fabric circles gathered up to make puffs!) - the fabric was actually wrapping from a laundry product!  It's inspired me to make a similar cover, but I think I will use quilting cottons :)

 

The McCullagh house

I love the particular Australian flavour to this recruitment poster for the first world war:

 

 

And here's that tree 'stump' again ...

 

 

As I write there is thunder and lightening over head.  We have had 3 or so lightning storms this week, very spectacular.  Some trees were literally blown apart by forked lightning - must show you some photos of that too, it's just so amazing, like woodland sculpture (only slightly dangerous, maybe extreme sculpture). 

Happy 2015!

I feel compelled to write to wish you Happy New Year!!!!

And also to complain that today our thermometer hit 43 degrees. YUCK!!!!

We had planned to travel to Midland to watch The Hobbit, but there was no way I wanted to share a shopping centre with other hot and grumpy people ...

So I stayed at home and made art instead.  Here is a wee glimpse.  It's for my Lifebook project ... I would give you the link, but I'm too hot and grumpy ... promise I will rectify that when the temperature is less shocking.

Off for a moonlight swim before my brain explodes ... yes, it is stll bloody hot at night ... how is that normal??????

End of 2014

Hi peeps - possibly my last post of 2014!  Can you believe another year has flown by?

Well, this was my creative effort for today.  A yummy beetroot and pumpkin salad - I love the colour but it tasted good too!

I promise to be more blog present; there will be other changes too as I need to do more art, for the good of my soul if nothing else.  And because people keep asking how my art is going, and I'm embarrassed to keep replying "it's not".  Time for a change ...

A ruse (roos) for writing!

I'm so sorry I haven't written for a while, but I've been in hiding ... from life.

Many things have happened, and I've found it hard to cope, so just had to shut down a few areas for a while as I tried to find my equilibrium again.  My 'stuff' is far from sorted, but I'm coming to terms with everything, and life is a little sweeter.

Mainly it's been about me realizing my role as a mum is changing as my older kids get ... older, and more independent, and more not needing mum.  At times it's felt as if my heart has been ripped out, but I' m gradually realizing life goes on, and just because some of my children aren't as needy it doesn't mean my life is over.  I just need to redefine it, and also be comforted that I still have Little Man for a wee while.  He told me the other day that I was the best mum ever, and boy did I need to hear that!  Such delicate egos we mothers have!

Other stuff has been to do with work and my lack of confidence in my ability to cope, but several weeks later I'm still here and still doing fine, and if I'm honest still enjoying what I do.

So, I'm taking it steady, being kind to myself, listening to my logical husband when my emotions get carried away, and do you know what, I think I'll be ok :)

The significance of the kangaroo pic?  I've had fun mucking about with a photo of a bag I have - just love the design.  When I went for my walk in the forest this evening, enjoying the cool air, I disturbed a couple of roos who bounced off to a safe distance, then stood like meerkat statues watching me walk on by.  I love sharing my walks with the wildlife :)  Time in the woods restores my soul!

Experiment

Just seeing if I can publish a post from my tablet as I've discovered I have an app widgety thing to do just that!  And I'll see if I can add a photo to give you a clue as to what is occupying me at the moment - it's a blast from the past!

Blogtoberfest day 29 - Going Bananas!

Fused bananas - Little Man is fascinated by them - just had to take a pic :)

 Well, Blogtoberfest hasn't gone entirely to plan.  I'm afraid I got a bit lost in life, work and personal; nothing too horrendous but enough to make me sit back, take stock and be kind to my self by letting a few things slip if necessary.  If I've needed to go to sleep early I have.  If I needed to take a restful walk in the forest, I did just that.  And blogging is one of the things that has slipped, just for a little while.

I feel like I'm getting back on track, but I'm going to take things slowly and not beat myself up too much for not doing all those things or writing all those stories that I wanted to.  There's always another opportunity to tell my story, and for that I'm grateful.

The back-side, so to speak ...

So, be kind to yourself and take a rest if you need to, and don't feel guilty about it.  Just get back on track when you feel ready.

That's all for now folks ...

Blogtoberfest day 23 - Connection to the land

I met with some friends the other day and we had a good conversation round a coffee and cake.  A good old fashioned gathering, a circle of women.  No social media in sight!  We talked about education, the world today and came to the conclusion that what we are all missing out on is time in nature.  That we are really damaging our health by not connecting with the land.

This dog is highly dangerous - not - Cdawg keeping an eye on the old chook Roast - one of the others has just used him as an underpass!  I love my girls!

You know the happiest I've been for a while was a couple of weeks ago when I was up with my chooks, tending to their pen, having to wire up the fence and dig in the earth.  The chooks were watching with interest and p'kurking away happily.  I felt so content, hands in the mud, talking to feathered friends.  I realized I was missing my time in the outdoors.

If you feel a longing to be in touch with nature, there's a really good book (which incidentally is currently on my bedside table ..) called 'Last Child in the Woods' by Richard Louv.  He believes we suffer from nature deficit disorder, and you know what, I tend to agree.

Get yourself some chooks ... or an allotment.  Or just a walk in the woods.  But get out in nature!