2010 - peace out

Sunset 31st December 2010

Farewell 2010. You've been a bit of a roller coaster.

Our arms are open and ready to welcome in the new year with peace, love, hope + joy.

God Bless, sleep tight (or party hard) and see you in 2011.

E x

the tree ...

...went up. And we let the festivities begin. I was also knee-deep in threads, snippets of fabric, packaging and other pre-market detritus. Including finding one thread in Woo's hair at school pick up one day. Not pretty. So the tree really helped me to relax and enjoy some of the more traditional Christmas preparations.

It seems to have become the boys tradition to pop the star on top. You may note that there are a couple of obviously 'not by me' decorations front and centre. I think I really deserve a pat on the back for 'letting go' and allowing them to remain in place throughout the holidays.

school's out

Oops, time ran away with me...

I'm back now and the madness has quietened a little.

It became extremely busy for me in the lead up to Christmas and something had to give, it was between feeding the family and blogging ...

I barely kept my head above water (my mantra became, "I'll sleep when I'm dead") but managed to at least grab some photos along the way that I knew I would ultimately be able to reflect on and to post here for your enjoyment and for my failing memory!

1) with his bestie and teacher

2) with his grade 6 buddy on muck-up day

3) bestie and first girlfriend from 4yo kindergarten

So my precious boy has completed his first year of formal education. And what a year it has been for him. We've seen him mature emotionally, make some lovely friends and learn SO much - he had a brilliant report. We are so proud of his achievements and are incredibly grateful for the wonderful start he has been given by his teacher - SJP better watch out here's her doppelganger.

Tiggyism:

Tigs: I don't like flying.

Flossy: That's okay darling you're not going anywhere.

Tigs: I don't like looking out of the window.

Flossy: Well you don't have to fly anywhere at the moment.

Tigs: But how will I get a baby one day.

Oh he melts me, and Flossy.  He does know that not all babies are adopted but i love that in his mind and world that is the first way he thinks of to make a family.



lessons

woosie finds even the tiniest creatures fascinating and worth her time. i don't take credit for much with my children, (although i do take it for their impeccable manners), and in fact silently berate myself all day for my failings as their mother, but i do love nature and i want to instill that same love in tigs and woo.

it's only possible to do this by allowing time for these precious moments to occur and to provide accurate, age appropriate information to them, woo said it was a "funny 'nail" to which i smiled and agreed and then she added " 'nail did a poo". "woo, that's its trail not a poo, it helps it to slide along the ground", "oh", said woo. "'nail s'iding mummy". and then because i always have to add a bit more, "it helps it stick to the surface it's on". "ohhh (bemused), funny 'nail mummy!" note to self: you do go on, emma

moving on to her next friend, "heyo bird". "oh, woo isn't it lovely? it's a beautiful baby magpie. look its mummy is over there. it's just learning to fly". woo, "funny bird mummy". lesson complete :)

Notes: she clutched her takeaway 'babycino' the entire time. her shoes are two sizes too big, but i challenge anyone to get them off her with out every window in the house blowing out. i love her to the moon and back.

i hope that you have a super week and i'll be back next week (if not before) having taken my wares to market and hopefully having the tree trimmed - it's up and glorious and currently home to some "creations" thanks to tigs. i am ashamed to say that they will not remain front and centre and will be lucky to be visible if they even stay on the tree. make NO mistake the tree is MINE.

e x

a moment ...

...preserved.

so sweet. so pure. spontaneous love + affection.

it made my heart ache with happiness then, and now.

e x

oh, buttons

the production line swings into action. deadline racing towards me...

have a great week.

e x

i am absolutely captivated by this story.   a brilliant, unravelling mystery.  the one about a completely untouched apartment, left as it was, just before the outbreak of the second world war and not returned to for 70 years.  can you imagine? what an exquisite find.

you can read all about it here, but in a nutshell:

mme de florian, a ‘demimondaine’, headed for the south of france before the war and remained there for the rest of life, until she died this year at 91 years old.  she continued to pay the rent on her her beautiful apartment for the next 70 years. her home abandoned, it became a time capsule, a tangible snapshot of life as it was paris in the 1930's.

some people have a box of heirloom pieces, an antique clock that sits in pride of place on the mantelpiece, a special vintage quilt they love and saved up for.  but here is a life, an entire household with nothing added to, or removed, in decades.  not a vignette, a mock-up, or an ode to the 30's but a real home, a luxurious dwelling with the normal paraphernalia and unique accouterments of a life lived.

how i would love the chance to wander through, to handle the old pieces and oh, what a tale.

ours + yours

my sweet angel baby girl. today we went to court.


we already loved you to the moon and back but tonight we sleep secure in the knowledge that you, my love, can never be taken from us. we have spent nine years with the 'department' starting our family and tonight we are done. our family is complete - legally. thank God!

forever and ever, and ever amen, you are ours and we are yours.
we promise to always do our best for you.

sleep tight darling woo.

i know i will.

planting

coriander
mint
parsley
basil
oregano
rosemary
chives
thyme

what a fabulous list. i love every one of these scrumptious, fragrant, drop dead delicious herbs. freshly planted for the summer.

yummo!

g.u.r.

there has been a great deal of activity around here particularly in our driveway, which will hopefully soon incorporate a garden, with proper grass to relax on too. i have great hope that we will begin the new year with all in place - it's important to hold on to hope, isn't it?



much of the work has involved the trusty old wheelbarrow.
hard work at the best of times, carting a barrow load of soil around, harder still when the tyre is flat.
in a moment of great initiative (giving me a moment's peace) greg loaded the children up and wheeled the whole kit and caboodle to the service station to pump it up!

fun for all (well maybe not greg's shoulder muscles!)

for non-golfers g.u.r = ground under repair - oh, boy, is it ever!

lavender + scarlet

two things from the weekend.

i had a pedi - the first in over a year - gasp + heaven!

i plucked a box full of my heavenly lavender buds to dry.
i am hopeful that they will be ready for a big upcoming event (more on that later).
i must say i felt a little cruel to a) the plants that had worked so hard to raise these fragrant bloom and b) to the bees who buzzed around me, perhaps a little crossly, as i snipped off their much needed nectar supply - my linen cupboard smells wonderful!

techno baby

i'm not particularly techo savvy but apparently my baby is and apparently these are the latest 3G glasses, that's 'g' for grasshopper.

i love catching her unawares, and i love her whacky antics - sometimes ...

the belfry ...

... there are indeed bats in it! oh, and tigs would like you to notice that there is one vampire too!

while woo napped tigs and i took the time to craft a little halloween into the house.

it really was an extremely quick, simple and last minute decision, but we thought it was lovely.

tigs made the table lanterns and flossy came to eat with us. he insisted on turning out the overhead lights and we ate by very feint lamplight! fun though.

on the menu? why pumpkin soup, of course!

hope you had a happy halloween. ours was treat or treat free and almost completely sweetie free.

girls' wear

lavender

last minute eye masks - from here.

girls' night in

last thursday night - and into the small hours - a 'girls night in' was held to raise money for women's cancer research.

my dear friend lisa and i braved it and decided to finally share our handiwork with others.

it was for a good cause and it came to us so fast that we didn't have time to reconsider.

we were a little unprepared but i had a 'light bulb moment' that when you are in control of making the goods, there will never be enough, you'll never be ready and you'll never feel like you have a wide enough range. it was a handy realisation the night before and enabled me to a) relax before the evening and b) whip up a new item to add to the stall about 2 hours before i left.

odd that in this acceptance more creativity arrived. think i should hold on to it.


amazing what a bunch of pink clad women, eating delicious, if a little pink, food, drinking plenty of vin can achieve in a short while.
in the process $1300 was raised.
we paid for, and then released balloons, carrying wishes to strangers.


i was tickled pink by the support my humble little offerings gained from the gathering.
this was my very first attempt at a 'stall'.

happy girls :)

spring fling

tigs had a special day at school on friday. it was their 'spring fling wear your bling' day to celebrate the spring racing carnival.
they were invited to dress up and dazzle as if they were going to the races.
i popped back to school in time to see the arrival of a very special and famous visitor, subzero.
what a relaxed and gracious gentleman he was. the children lined up and all had a pat (i snuck one in too).
' subby', well he just nibbled away at a new patch of grass.

tigs won the fashions on the field which he seemed to take in his stride. he was without a doubt the most handsome boy on the field.
oh, am i allowed to say that? course i can.

today is derby day and it's bucketing down, we're expecting a month's worth of rain in 48 hours. i feel sorry for all the inappropriately attired ladies out at flemington, but even sorrier for the horses having to gallop through the rain and the mud.

olden days

momo brought us an 'old fashioned' typewriter.
very groovy, very 80's!
very fun! according to both tigs and woo.

i love the sound of it tapping away as i sew.

very madmen.

back soon with a report on last night...

let me taste your wares

gypsy brooches 
wool felt, slubby wool, cotton and vintage buttons

inspiration clips
 super strong magnets with images and words to motivate transfered onto hemp

get organised!