What's happening in my world

Lamingtons with homemade flags on Australia Day. Swedish ones too, to celebrate Mark & the children's Swedish heritage.

A trip to the Big Smoke. Macaroons, so many colours on display. A visit to Melbourne always includes a stop at Laurent in the Causeway Lane.

Coffee too and lots of chatting with my newly enrolled daughter! We also visited her new accommodation which looks great, yay!

True Grit followed by a crazy night at the Vic, not much sleep and a rather strange breakfast. 

Back home under a swirling sky,

to chocolate sponge cake,

red hot pokers,

a lone donut peach &

the cool shade of the quince tree.

 What's happening in your world? It's the last week of school holidays for us, school starts on Friday. What a long break it has been. I'm looking forward to getting back into some kind of routine, having some walks, decluttering after two months of cluttering, seeing friends for coffee and thinking about what comes next. Hope all is well with you lovely friends, see you soon xo

Simple

After being away from home for ten days, I'm taking things pretty quietly.

Thank you for all your good wishes, it was so lovely to read your sweet comments when I was sick. I'm much better now but it will take a little while to get back on track.

In the meantime I'm enjoying a slower pace, living more gently & taking pleasure in the simple things. My Christmas sugar bowl so shiny & happy.

I'm reacquainting myself with Lemonade,

and Smokey & the other chookies. It looks like Smokey is a Mr, not a Mrs, so unfortunately there will be no blue eggs!

It's been good to be home with everyone, ducks included. I missed my little house and family while I was gone.

Rosie is so funny and interesting, today she made green slime at holiday program. She has new lunch containers and a new lunch box and is SO ready for school in a week or so. I wonder how I'll be??

Lucy & Ruby From Next Door are planning a sleepover tonight...I wonder if there will be any sleep?

  

Summer holidays, so full of lovely things.

Like this pretty shelf I found at the Tip Shop, isn't it ace?

I don't have anywhere to put it yet but maybe one day I will,

I just love it.

So life is tootling along at a pleasant pace, fresh food from our garden,

sunny skies & Scrabble,

lots of cuddles and loving, to make up for time missed,

dreams & stories running through my head,

a lovely family

keeping my heart warm.

Hope things are good & happy in your world,

see you soon xo

Down but not out

Hi lovely friends, I'm writing this from my hospital bed. I became quite sick with a nasty bug last week and after a couple of days at my mums I wasn't getting better & ended up in here. The good news is I am slowly on the mend which is a huge relief. I have missed my family so much and at times have been very down.

Bright moments have cheered me up though, visits and cards, texts and love sent from all over. Our cake stall too was a great success. As well as making just over $1500 it was a really amazing community event. So many gorgeous locals contributed by baking, buying, organizing and sharing their generous spirits. I'm sure the money raised will be of some help to those affected by the devastating floods in Queensland who have a hard road ahead of them.


Time for a bit of a lie down now, feeling a bit pooped. But I'll be back! See you soon sweeties xo

Friends & Floods

Well it's been a weird old time lately hasn't it? The weather has gone crazy & we are seeing more rain than ever before. Our summer has become soggy & humid and the rain just doesn't seem to stop.

Today we had a happy diversion, a train trip to Melbourne to see our good friends. I love the look on Rosie's face as she contemplates the scenery outside the train window...it's a big world out there!

And what a contrasting world we arrived at, the steamy hot streets of downtown Footscray! Lots of local colour & noise, so different from our quiet country town.

We had so much fun catching up with Kitty, Carmel, Daisy & Poppy. We ate & played, chatted and laughed and then went on a walk to Savers, yay! The girls found something each and I picked up some excellent vintage fabric & linen. Good stuff. Then it was back to Carm's for a cuppa and then back on the train to Ballan where mum met us & drove us back to the big D. 

It's been a week of catching up with friends, so good to have the time & space to hang out with those we love. Sunday & Rosie & I popped in to see Kate & her family yesterday where we got to see Willow and her adorable puppies.

Oh my goodness...

 is there anything sweeter than a puppy?

 Perhaps these two cuties? 

Sunday also caught up with a good friend this week who came for a sleep over. They danced and sang and played and ate cupcakes and giggled, oh wow!

Talking of friends, you are probably aware of the terrible floods that are devastating northern parts of Australia. Our northern friends are experiencing something truly terrifying & the impact of the floods will affect them for a long time to come. Here in Daylesford I have been so touched to receive amazing responses from locals who are keen to contribute to an idea the kids & I had the other night while watching the news. We are holding a cake stall this Sunday to raise money for those affected by the floods. So many lovely friends have offered to help and it really shows how much people want to help others, it's so heartening to know that we can do something practical to give assistance to those in need.
So if you are in the Daylesford area on Sunday please pop past our stall outside Threadneedle Crafts, just near Coles. We will be there from 10.30 onwards selling lots of yummy cakes & treats. It doesn't matter where you live though, you can donate anytime here Queensland Government Flood Relief Appeal.

Queensland & New South Wales bloggers affected by the floods, I'm thinking of you and sending lots of love. Hope you are safe and well where ever you are, see you soon xo

Loving

Sleepy mornings in bed with a cup of tea and the papers, sun light through the window that tells me that it will be another hot, summers day.

Trees bursting with quinces. Soft, fuzzy fruit hiding amongst the lush, green leaves. Our old fruit trees are so special, giving us so much, planted by people we will never know, so long ago.

Netting the apples trees, imagining the many boxes of sweet little apples we will pick.

Watching our darling duck family scuttle around the garden, caring for each other, eating bugs, splashing

in the water & relaxing in the shade.

Love heart strawberries, home grown bursts of sweetness & joy growing randomly, little surprises waiting to be found.

Two little girls who play all day. Mermaid princesses swimming in the sea of their imaginations, summer girls, fun & fights & long afternoons in the pool.

Lake dreaming, cold, cold water and blue sky. A beach in Daylesford, wild ducks floating by on the shining ripples. 

Hearing from my beautiful family who are farther away from me than they've ever been, camping, adventuring, having fun in Robe. What are you loving this week? 

Have a happy weekend, see you soon xo

Free to be me

Over the last week we have been having some lovely family gatherings,

at home, and at my mum's house in Hepburn.

It's been SO good to see my brother & his wife and their gorgeous girls who I love so much. Both girls are growing up of course, and now that they are far from us I really treasure time spent with them.

I've been thinking too about the new year and all that it holds.

I read Kate's piece on choice as well as Jen's post about living fearlessly and I've been giving some thought (quite a lot!) to what my hopes are for myself in this new year.

I guess I'd like to live more freely, and by this I mean within myself. Sometimes I feel I hold myself back by thinking too much, by carrying around a lot of jumbled up thoughts & baggage that bogs me down.

I'd like to be kinder to myself this year, to care more about myself, to treat myself more gently, more lovingly.

I like to be a good & supportive friend to those I love, and I know I'm always there for my children & hopefully for Mark too.  Maybe I'm not so good at supporting myself, or valuing my strengths.

I hope I can leave some of my past in the past, that I can live more in the present. At the same time I hope I can not dwell too much on the future, on what 'might' happen, on what 'might' be. And if I do I hope it will be about the possibilities of joy, of happiness, togetherness, adventures & fun.

So I'm thinking 2011 will be a year about being free,

free to be me.

With my youngest child going to school this year my world is changing. This is a bit scary and a bit exciting.

Being a mum to my kids is the most important part of my life but there is so much more to me too. I think I will take some time this year to think about what else I might do, I'd love to start something new, to be in another world as well as at home.

Oh the possibilities! I guess that is what is so nice about a new year, anything can happen. I love the idea of freeing myself up emotionally. Of letting go of negative thoughts, of doubts & anxieties. This side of myself is only one side, but it can be a real drag and so exhausting at times.  I'm sure it won't be an easy thing, changing old patterns & habits is hard. But what a relief it will be to be! Have you been thinking about what changes you might make this year? I've really enjoyed reading other people's thoughts on this.

Today Mark & Lucy & Billy are off on a camping adventure! This leaves a smaller household here at home and we have some fun plans for our week. I hope to catch up with friends, go swimming, hang out in the garden, make things with the girls, go out for dinner, go to a movie and hopefully get some walking in too. What are you up to? I hope your new year has started well, see you soon xo