Birthday girl

Yesterday our Rosie celebrated her 6th birthday, what a fun day it was.

In the morning we iced her cake, an old favourite, The Smartie Rainbow Cake!

Rosie dressed up in her princess dress, we loaded up the car with kids and food and set off to nearby Kyneton where we had booked a fantastic party place called Pass the Parcel.

Upstairs, above a shop, the party went of with a bang! Lots of games, dancing and fun.

I had my support team there, Lucy was so helpful, setting up the table, looking after the kids, just wonderful

It was a real blast, the kids loved all the singing & stories and the puppet show. Rosie was pretty excited about this part and kept jumping up and grabbing the frog puppet! Hope he's feeling ok today...

It was fun watching the kids faces, aren't they at an adorable age?

Sunday joined in too and looked pretty cute in her pirate outfit.

The kids and Mark did a great job getting the food all sorted, we missed Charlotte though, celebrating just isn't the same without her.

I loved the party space, the room was set up so sweetly. Rosie had a lovely day and she is lucky to have such a gorgeous group of friends. Birthdays are often a time of reflection aren't they?

Even though Rosie doesn't turn 6 until Wednesday I've been thinking a lot about when she was born, 

and all the things that have happened since. The happy days, the chaos & the love.

So today I'm just catching up with myself after a huge weekend. (I also just managed to delete some birthday photo's off my camera! Oh no. Does anyone know if there is a way to get them back?) Feeling a bit tired & teary actually. 

But anyway, life is good and we are so happy & grateful to have our Rosie in our lives. She is a real character, a real fire cracker of a girl, showering us with sparkles of excitement, life, colour, love, fun, ideas and endless kisses & hugs. She is such a little treasure. I'm sure I'll be full of more tales of Rosieness on Wednesday, see you then xo

Roses & goodness

Thinking about the lovely treasures I found at the op shop in Kyenton yesterday. Lucy & I found ourselves wandering happily through the sweetest oppie ever. The cheery sounds of the op shop ladies chattering away filled the space reminding me how very important it is to belong, to share our daily lives with others. This little jug winked at me from a shelf, hello I said, come live with me,

and I will love you & fill you with roses.

While Lucy looked at the fabric I turned the next corner and found this dear little box.

Full of coloured knitting needles and sewing bits.

So sweet.

We also bought a spotty bag and some fabric for Lucy.

On the way out we looked in the window and marvelled

at the display of gorgeous old plates & cups.

Hiding near the edge was Mrs Cow Jug.

Oh! What a thrill! My Nan had a jug just like this

so of course it had to come home with us too.

We scooted back inside in time to see a woman collecting the money she had 

dropped on the floor earlier, lots of oohing and ahhing re the 

kindess of the Finder (so true), we paid our $3 and walked

out with a spotty bag full of roses & goodness. 

Feeling....the happy weight of the many things I am juggling at the moment. You  know that good feeling that comes when you are satisfied with your lot? When you are challenged but  not despairing?

That's me right now. Lots on the go and all feels right. 

Partly I'm happy as although I'm not working at the moment I feel like I'm contributing to some really worthwhile things, besides looking after our family. I'm enjoying the Oral History project I'm involved with, my involvement at our school is very satisfying & I'm nervously looking forward to the Foster Care training I will be doing this weekend. 

Loving watching iview and ironing at the same time! Weird but true. Today I snuck in Grand Designs, one of my favourite shows. Have you watched this one? So inspiring. 

And, I wrote a poem today. Did I ever tell you I majored in poetry while studying Professional Writing  & Literature?  It's a long time ago now, and I only dabble in poetry these days. It felt good to write one today, I was thinking about my Dad & the words just came. Maybe I'll show you sometime.

Also loving..these two new cardi's knitted by Mum. If only I had the time to make bunnies...I can't seem to find it lately. Sometimes I just have to just have faith that a pocket, a little window will open and somehow there will be time to sew. Loving too, Room by Emma Donoghue. Have you read it? I remember reading about it and thinking I wasn't that interested, but once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.

Feeling...a lot of love for my family. A little demented by my family. Aware that I have a party to organise, meals to cook, washing to do, tempers to sooth, lists to write. Also feeling lucky that we are all well and warm and safe in our little house in Daylesford. The sun is coming out now, time to go and feed the ducks.

Hope all is well in your part of the world, 

what are you feeling, loving, thinking about today?

See you soon, dear friends xo

Catching up

There seems to be a lot happening at the moment. Change of seasons, weekend activities, The Organic Paddock, school stuff, festivals, sewing & making and a hectic family life. Sometimes when life is busy it's hard to keep up with what's happening with others so it was good to make a time recently to catch up. On Friday a group of us went to Kyneton for dinner in Piper Street to hear all the latest news & eat some delicious food at Pizza Verde.

I love Piper Street with it's beautiful soft bluestone footpaths and pretty & interesting shops, it was good to be in a different town for a change. And how good was Pizza Verde? At least 9/10! Amazing food and great service.

Of course I had to do a bit of window shopping,



I'd love to have a better look inside Lulabelle's Frock Salon somtime.

We didn't get home till late and I stayed at Mum's in Hepburn. It was pretty fantastic having a mini sleep in, don't get that too often!

The weekend was lovely but I was a bit sick so didn't have my usual energy and found it a bit hard going at times. But still ballet was ace, the girls are loving it, and Rosie had a fun party aferwards.

On Sunday we took it easy and Mark made zucchini bread. Mmmm. The girls & I went to Shell's and cut a big basket of lavender to dry for Love Heart production. It was quite relaxing cutting the blossoms in the sunshine, avoiding the bees, and soaking up the fragrence.

Back at home the girls made potions and flower arrangements while I made the lavender into bunches to hang. Then as they settled down for some quiet time I cut and pinned some more of my scrap quilt. It's coming along well and I'm loving matching up all the different shapes and patterns. I really should be working on Love Hearts & Blanket Bunnies but it's also good to do something that isn't work sometimes.

This week I'm hoping to get lots of little things done, it's hard to keep on top of it all isn't it? I feel like I'm always trying to catch up. I do love Monday's though as it's the start of a new week and anything is possible. A new month too, I wonder what March will bring? Summer has been lovely this year but I'm looking forward to Autumn and the beautiful colours & blue sky days.

How was your weekend? Did you catch up with friends or have some fun with your family? Hope it was a good one, see you soon xo