From the monthly archives: September 2012
Wowsers! What a fab, fab day to be out and about.
I have a habit of cramming in as much exploring as I can each weekend, trying to soak up sun, create new things and spend some good quality time with the tribe along the way.
Today started with what is now becoming part of our West Australian weekend, an early morning trip to the beach. After a couple of long winters in Europe, the whole tribe still seems somewhat starved for sunshine. So whenever we get a chance, it’s straight to the beach. This year the lovely Big A and I are prepping the elder two for nippers/surf lifesaving (it doesn’t get any more Oz than that, does it).
Beach brilliance…
Staying between the flags, the tribe checks out the surf
Beach time, This Grand Life style
Architectural gold via Cottesloe Surf Lifesaving Club
‘We built a sandcastle with a new friend’
Sandy and now ravenous (what is it about the sea air?) we headed home to pick up a packed lunch and a good friend, then headed off to our favourite outdoor picnic/adventure spot.
Three hours whizzed by, finding flowers, spotting frogs swimming in the creek, and building, building, building. I find it amazing and quietly comforting how much my little tribe love being outdoors. No squabbling, bickering or arguing over toys/ tv/ turns. They are far too busy, planning, chatting, experimenting, exploring and generally having a fab time.
Cubby house construction, I think the results are brilliant!
Little L’s gorgeous little toes cooling off in the creek during dam-building
Hope you had a happy Sunday too!
Enjoy xx
Cheesy title I know! However there is an element of truth to that little piece of kitschy wisdom.
For me blogging provides a creative outlet, a way to reach out and connectwith people, all of which is good for soul.
That’s also my key to success. Write about what is on your mind, what you are doing, seeing, making, creating. Your blog will then become authentically, well, you!
As an added benefit, if you’re like me, you feel a brilliant rush of achievement when you post a great piece/ photo/ recipe/ how-to guide.
Enjoy xx
Inspiration from nature, I get out and about whenever I can
My little tribe provides inspiration every day!
Part of the deal with a large slightly chaotic life with the tribe is encouraging independence…from a very early age.
This does not come easy. At all.
This is not one of those things that gets easier with time.
Cultivating independence takes a big risk, a lot of holding your breath, heart thumping loudly in your chest kind of moments.
This was one of times.
This is how you learn to climb (the under 5’s edition).
Beginning the ascent… Little L bravely charges on
Hurrah!! Little L reaches the summit (I breathe a huge sigh of relief)
Enjoy xx
The tribe enjoying some quality time at the family farm, Central Queensland
Is it a cliché that absence makes the heart grow fonder?
For loved ones?
For special places?
Catching the bus to the city today, while chatting to my little sister I felt the familiar pangs of homesickness. I live a long way from my big, sometimes chaotic, though always fun family, and the places where I spent my childhood. Reunions in my family are grand affairs loaded with emotion, love and laughter.
Does distance provide a soft lens on life and our loved ones?
I like to think that for me the distance takes away the focus on the day-to-day domestics and helps me focus on the big stuff.
Providing me with a fresh view of life.
Enjoying the time together.
Moving past the small stuff and focusing on spending time together.
Quality versus quantity.
Enjoy xx
Top spot for coffee and getting the creative juices flowing
Today as I changed from lows to highs (heels that is) I wondered if anyone else has a switch between the different compartments in their lives.
For me it’s all about shoes and coffee.
Flat shoes = time with the tribe
High heels = corporate me, and of course the occasional night on the town.
The coffee comes into play as my artistic/ writers switch.
Coffee = imagination, and putting pen to paper in a flurry of focussed caffeine fuelled energy.
What are your switches?
Enjoy xx
Today I thought I’d give you a quick peek into what the tribe is reading at the moment…
The lovely Big A: Don’t tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I’m a Piano Player in a Whorehouse (Paul Carter)
Me: Meet Me at Mikes (Pip Lincolne), John Carter (Edgar Rice Burrows), the latest issue of Frankie, Lonely Planet Guide to Paris. So that would be craft/sci-fi/design/more craft/adventure/travel. As always, 101 things on the go, which is business as usual.
The Mini-Fashionista: EJ 12 (Susannah McFarlane), Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren) Stories about cool/adventurous/naughty/cheeky heroines…can you see a pattern here?
Pippi Longstocking. Kooky, fun and a little bit naughty!
Captain Jack: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney), The Encyclopaedia of Animals (Jonathan Ephick and Jen Green) Fiction versus Non-Fiction. My future architect/ veterinarian/ poet loves to curl up with a good book or three!
Everything you ever wanted to know about EVERY animal
Flashdance: Charlie and Lola (xx, xx), Aliens Wear Underpants (xx, xx) Best friends, tomatoes, bugs and aliens…fab stories for the five-year-old set.
Little L: (on high rotation) Hippos go berserk (Sandra Boynton), Ten Little Fingers (Mem Fox) and Where is the green sheep? (Mem Fox) What can we say, we love you Mem and Sandra! I have purchased five copies of the Where is the Green Sheep? over the years because we keep wearing/reading them out!
Those crazy hippos! Party animals!
Popular at our nightly story-time sessions:
Wanda Linda goes Berserk (Kaz Cooke) There’s a hairy-nose wombat, the Terrible Underpants, and the mother of all tantrums…what’s not to love?
Little Lunch: volumes 1-5 (Danny Katz) Awesomely funny, laugh out loud stories about what happens at recess. Bum, poo and other hilarious stuff for the under-nine crowd.
Wanda-Linda and Glenda, very funny stuff from a fab comedy duo
Enjoy xx
Town Hall, York, WA. Also home to a very helpful Info Centre lady!
Whether you own, rent or borrow, a stay in a country house can be like a warm cup of chicken soup. Satisfying, comforting and just plain good for the soul!
Over the weekend we went on a journey/adventure to the gorgeous and quaint little hamlet of York (Western Australia – not the other jazzy/hipster/Broadway one).
Filled to the brim with country goodness, it was a perfect day for some country house day-dreaming. The journey home was filled with grand plans for getting our own piece of country charm…
Golden fields…literally, York, Western Australia
The Old Mill, a ‘must see’ in York
Architectural inspiration via The Old Mill (YAWN says the tribe)
Eat your heart out Jeffrey Smart! Design gold at The Old Mill
Flashdance and the Mini-Fashionista conquer their fears and The Suspension Bridge
Even the gumnuts on the ground seem prettier!
Enjoy xx
My daily dose of wonderful – thank you Little L!
Today my daily dose of wonderful came courtesy of a giggling Little L. Fresh as a daisy from a long nights sleep (thank the heavens for the long nights sleep – we missed you our friend), the little firecracker came bumbling in giggling about a ‘lovely silly dream’.
In that instant, every shred off morning grumpiness was vaporised.
Kapow!
Morning grumpiness gone and hello new day!
Enjoy xx
My favourite tree, offering a fabulous view from the top
What is it with the human obsession with reaching the top?
A sense of achievement?
Conquering our fears?
Or is it simply a case of enjoying the view?
Today I saw the tribe achieve all of this and more whilst scaling a tower…
What are you waiting for, take a chance, climb as high as you dare and once you are there, take some time to savour the view.
Enjoy xx
Somewhere over the rainbow, Western Australia (photo kudos to my lovely Mum)
Nothing beats the blues faster than music.
From Green Day to Muse, right through to the old school cool of The Clash, the soundtrack to my life has always been eclectic with a touch of kick-arse.
Bit strong?
That’s the ticket for soundtrack for me, the track has to be all-consuming, letting me get lost in the moment.
Heading to the gym this morning when it’s freezing cold and I’m still not quite awake?
Prodigy – without a doubt. Closely followed by Public Enemy…
Cruising to the beach on the weekend?
The mellow sounds of Jack Johnson, Donovon Frankenreiter, or Beautiful Girls.
Celebrating the end of the week? Florence and the Machine all the way.
Enjoy xx
