Saturday, February 28, 2015

Maeve finished!



At last I finished my Maeve Shrug and it is lovely! It isn't the loose fit as shown on the pattern but I quite like it as a snug shrug! The colour is great (Stellar ; merino/bamboo blend, in Aquamarine from Bendigo Woolen Mills). I haven't blocked it yet so it may end up a little bigger. I've started the Milo vest; I love having a couple of projects on the go at once; it's a luxury to have enough wool to do so!

Wasn't that rain beautiful! Happy Autumn lovely people!My personal favourite season in Melbourne!

Monday, February 23, 2015

winter knitting

Oh the loveliness of a woolly parcel on the doorstep! Four winter projects afoot! A Milo vest for baby Loretta, and socks for me and the (not so) wee ones. I've been reticent to knit socks for the kids because their feet are growing so fast but now I am knitting socks fast, and well, why should they miss out on the joy of hand-knitted socks. It simply means they must promise us grandchildren onto whom they can be passed. No pressure.


Sunday, February 22, 2015

as February ends...

 Tonight Ilias came over and whipped us into a leek (for the winter sausage making!) planting, garden bed clearing frenzy. We pull out the last of the summer veg; the tomatoes are still giving their goodness, so intensely flavoured and going into everything at the moment!


A spot of sock knitting for my Godson. 

And a sky portending storm, rain, a cool change from a late February heat spell.

Hope you are staying cool and finding last minute surprises in the vege patch!

And happy new year of the goat! It's my year. BAaaaahhhh.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Posting....

I know, I know. I promise not to make any more promises....

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

10, 11....colours

I've just spent hours gaping at delicious colourways, marveling at the combination of colours and at the fantastic names given them. I then got side-tracked making dinner and wandering around the house opening windows. The evening light is falling just so and I started photographing the light and the colours and realised there is a feast of yarn colourways all around all the time. And then as I was saving the photos, the labels I gave them sounded like perfect colourway names.....

Quinoa Salad

Big Red

 Favourite Old Handbag

 Leaf Fall

 Oceanic

Ottoman

Palm Tree Sunset

Window Seat


Honey Table Top (our new camping table/ chairs - from the 50's....love it!)
Are you diggin' it?
There we go. I hope that makes up for my inconsistent posting.
I hope you are somewhere cool and colourful right now.x

Sunday, February 8, 2015

nine.....cast off and cast out.

The satisfaction of casting off a project can only be matched by starting another! Or at least having another to keep working on.

This hive of ours has a wild bunch of ladies who have built their comb vertically across the top bars and so they are spilling out the sides. The hive sits against our outdoor loo, so whilst in there, one can enjoy the hum and the smell of honey and propolis. Nice! 



Saturday, February 7, 2015

six, seven, eight......flow

Well, two days disappeared into a vacuum! Heat and busy days and here we are cooling off by the river at the end of it.
We are so lucky to have so many beautiful natural places close to home. We have spent a lot of time in and on the Yarra over the years, as most Melbournites may - swimming, rowing, picnicking, walking, sometimes even living beside it...





I now have 12 private music students, three ukulele groups and a choir and for now they all fit into two very full days. Days full of music and lovely people. I do a day of volunteer work once a week. It has taken me a while to get to this point. Four years of study and trial and error. Finding the balance between work and parenting; working for myself in my chosen field and knowing when to say no.

It feels like there's a good flow to our family life just now, like that big old river.

I hope you are feeling something like that too!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

five.....office al fresco

 I love our garden table with the big umbrella and crunchy gravel and view of the plots. I love having a lap top that can accompany me to that spot, from where I can work to the tune of guinea pigs oinking, chickens clucking, bees buzzing.


Wednesday, February 4, 2015

four...good work

 Here is where I spend my Wednesdays now, a lovely studio where my students come and go and where I have time in between to play piano, and even knit some rows...I like the focus, the separation between home and work, the sense that I can uphold myself as someone with skills to impart. I learn a lot from my students too. If someone had told my 18 year old self that I would eventually study music, play in bands, teach and make a living through music, that would have been my dream come true. A long time went by before I believed that would be possible. 




Are you a late bloomer like me? What did your 18 year old self dream of? Are you living some of that now? 

three...shelter

I'm being really cheeky and posting for yesterday, tonight!.....

...from Shelterco   http://instagram.com/p/pKDGk_k4h9/

We bought a new tent. Not this one. A good canvas one though. Second hand. We love camping and yet don't get to do it often enough, apart from the odd pseudo camp out in the back garden. I sleep like a baby in a tent, especially on a mild summer's day with a breeze blowing through the mesh. I long to go camping and catch up on sleep, and see those stars.

I spent a year traveling around in a van, sleeping by beaches, in forests, by noisy highways, and in strangers' driveways. And I spent 5 weeks in Greece many, many years before that, sleeping on a straw mat on beaches, roof tops, and verandahs. I remember taking a bus back to my crowded London flat after that trip, wondering how I would be able to sleep in a room with a roof let alone one shared with five other people..

These are lovely memories. Freedom and spontaneity, adventure. I funded my way around the country by hair-wrapping and upcycling baby clothes, following festivals and markets and meeting fellow nomads. 

When Martino was very young, he made his way to Armenia in search of a duduk, chopped trees on a French Farm, took Didgeridoos to New York, and cycled through the desert.  

Perhaps I'm led to posting this tonight because we've found ourselves in a life very much held by routine; very far from those selves who lived out on a limb. I think those histories have lent a resourcefulness to our present selves, as well as an appreciation for groundedness, digging in and moving into and through. I hope our kids can have a taste of both, I hope there is opportunity for them to travel and adventure and live a little bit on the fringe but also a sense of home and stillness when needed.

Did you go a roamin'? Are you still a roamin' now? Or are you digging in?






Monday, February 2, 2015

Two - preparation




Monday is my home day, doing business admin, lesson preparation, and doing things around the house to make the week go more smoothly. It's  blissful to have so much prepared before my working week starts, and before everyone arrives home. Last year it was rare to have dinner ready and time to sit and catch up on the day, play and relax. 

I made Kale pesto - my favourite, and tomato sauce from the garden. Stuff got done. Even a bit of knitting. 

The kids came home from day one at school, so happy, and spent time trawling through their historical artifacts - cards, photos, school reports, trinkets...so sweet - such brief histories thus far!

 Martino and I had debrief time. I even washed the smelly pooch! 

It was a good simple day. I'm very fond of them. I know these posts aren't scintillating but I hope something comes from them, even if it is just consistency!




Sunday, February 1, 2015

One - home

I thought I would take Kate's lead and try the post- a -day in February. I'm trying to find my way with this blog, more of a focus, more of a voice...I'm hoping it might come with a bit more effort.

Today was a slow Sunday at home , except for an hour walking around the park. We are all tired after Beau's 10th birthday - a few boys running wild in the garden at night! This means my blog is about 8 years old now!? 10. It brings so much more awareness, responsibility, independence, and appetite. What a beautiful 10 year old boy he is. This is the first time since his birth that we haven't celebrated it somewhere in the water because of the heat.

This slow day went fast. I plowed through rows of my Maeve shrug while the kids watched a movie and Martino made pizza with sauce from our own tomatoes. Books were read, Lego was built, and a tent was purchased.





I reckon I'm getting off lightly with only 29 days worth of consecutive posting. See you tomorrow!