Cee Lew

By Broulee Beach

2012-01-29T20:27:00.001+10:30

We spent the day by Broulee Beach yesterday,

soaking in the sand and the sun,

sights and sounds,

the colours and textures.

There were sand pies to be mixed,

time for solitary exploration

sandcastles bedecked with star-shaped shells

rock pools to paddle and wade in

fish to attempt to catch in our bucket

sand angels to make

and vistas to enjoy

Lamingtons: Butter or Sponge?

2012-01-27T21:12:00.000+10:30

Fresh Butter Cake squares waiting to be made into lamingtons,
if they aren't consumed first.

There are some times when you just wish you still had your Granny around to ask a few questions.

Do you find that? As I'm getting older and have a more mature perspective of the world, shall we say, I find myself wanting to ask my Granny a few more questions than I had thought to before she died when I was about 20.

Creaming the butter

When growing up I took for granted the fabulous lamingtons my Granny made for the family to share on picnics out on the farm. I just devoured them. We all did. They were fabulous.

Little Eee loving helping with creaming the butter and sugar

As I grew older I realised there were other sorts of lamingtons you could buy from bakeries and also supermarkets. I never really took to those at all. I have however come across a few and eaten a few as they are a favourite sweet of my dear Generous Gentleman's. They always left a metallic taste in my mouth, and still do.

Ess helping sift flour into our bowl

So when the opportunity arose to take the family to the Great National Lamington Bake Off in order to celebrate Australia Day we all jumped at the chance. I was curious to see what it was all about and how a chef might interpret the lamington these days. My girls love baking (and tasting of course) and my lovely husband just loves eating lamingtons. So it was a match made perfectly.

Fresh golden butter cake with the recipe I transcribed
at the age of about 10 years

When it was discovered that two out of the three chefs were baking a sponge cake for their lamington a question arose concerning the original and authentic lamington. Would it have also been a sponge cake or would it have been a butter cake? Granny always made a butter cake for her lamingtons and I have assumed that the spongey light and fluffy cake was made by the bakeries and supermarkets. However it seems that some others consider the sponge base is a more authentic lamington. Or perhaps they prefer the light and fluffy sponge cake? It seems that the CWA baked a butter cake for their lamingtons as well. I am yet to find an example of the sponge cake being used for lamingtons by the older generation, apart from mass production for school fetes and the like. What is your preference?

For the results of the bake-off take a read of the Canberra Times article.

Waiting for icing and coconut

Now I'm on a mission to bake lamingtons with my family in the fashion of my Granny's, to share with them the tradition I hold such fond and vivid memories of. I'll ask them which cake they choose as their cake of preference: butter or sponge? I already know my choice.

This Time Last Year 2

2012-01-20T18:47:00.000+10:30

This time last year we were actually staying in a house, relieved from small expensive apartment accommodation for two weeks.

We were house-sitting for a couple who were visiting Russia in order to help build a kitchen and follow God's lead to share their lives with the people over there. In being a blessing to those people, they were also truly blessing us. At a time when we were very stressed about the cost of accommodation in Canberra, before we had even left Adelaide, we were offered this house to sit for a couple of weeks. We saw it as a gift in a financially challenging time. Yet this contact has proved to be pertinent throughout the year. You see, at just the right time, the owner of this home would pop in to see us or he would make a phone call to see how things were going for us. He would speak words God had laid on his heart and we knew they were meant for us. In hindsight it is very easy to see how our journey was known by God before it commenced. In hindsight it is very clear that we were held in the palm of God's hands right from the very start.

This time last year we had actually found a house we believed we could call our home. We had travelled the various areas of Canberra searching houses with a budget in mind. This house was seemingly the best house for the price. Later it would become clear there was a reason for this. It was a new house, almost complete. We put an offer on it which was quickly accepted.

A year ago yesterday I made an inspection with my unenthusiastic girls and three-month old baby in tow and noticed that a fence was being erected, and not quite in accordance with the way the real estate agent had told us it would be built. It was much shorter, not fencing off the outdoor living area, making a very tiny yard space. In hindsight perhaps we should have tossed it all in at this point. However we had no reason not to believe that we could extend the fence ourselves, placing a fence in the position we chose, to create more yard and some privacy for our outdoor living.

This fence would prove to be both our nemesis and our escape route in weeks and months to come.

New Year Seeds are Sprouting and Shooting

2012-01-18T20:42:00.000+10:30

On New Year's Day my girls and I planted seeds in our new garden.

You can see their homes on the right in the picture above, a little sheltered spot by the Meyer Lemon we believe, planted here by the previous owners.

I just love the way Ess made labels from shells we have collected over the years.

These flower seeds came from a packet named "Rockery Mix".

Lots of alyssum will shoot I suspect.

On 7 January we saw, with great excitement in my little girls, that the seeds were sprouting

Some were clearly enjoying their new home and sprouting forth all their pretty two-leaved goodness.

Then ten days later on 17 January we find that the plants are really shooting up. Soon the girls should have real flowers to plant around their little cubby house to enjoy before the frosts come again.

Or maybe they'll be big enough to survive some icyness. I am still learning about gardening in Canberra where there are frosts from Easter to Melbourne Cup Day (first Tues in November). The weather is amazing here. This time last week it was 1.6 degC before dawn (a new record). There was even some snow in the mountains. It is summer for heavens sake. Today it is hot again and we enjoyed an afternoon swim in the local pool.

At this stage also, it appears I have some competition - the lettuce has all been eaten. Pesky snails I'm assuming.

A fitting way to commence the year in our new home don't you think. Planting seeds, being thrilled and excited as we nurture and care for them and see them sprout and grow. And all of this happening in our newly purchased own home. I do love a bit of symbolism.

This Time Last Year

2012-01-16T19:31:00.000+10:30

This time last year we had left our home in Adelaide and were living in a motel room without a car. The only familiarity we had was each other. We couldn't search the city to look for our new home so we huddled together in our room crafting together, occasionally walking a little to find some food and explore our new surrounds.

Canberra had given us a horrid welcome at the airport. With three children and two adults we needed to ensure we'd all fit into a taxi along with the driver. So we prepared well and booked ahead as the usual taxi sedan would not provide adequate seating for us. Apparently you can't book taxis to collect you from the airport (although no-one thought to advise us of this when the booking was made). They assumed we referred to the Airport Hotel. Whether that actually exists or not, I am still uncertain.

Image Source

So on Friday evening at dinner time, bereft of everything familiar, we stood outside the airport with our hungry little girls trying to find a cab which could carry us. Vans were few and far between, some we saw were apparently on other missions, others were backed up in the queue of cabs waiting to transport travellers and couldn't leave the queue to assist us. As you might imagine, it was very unpleasant with tired, hungry, homeless children, not knowing where they were, having been uprooted from their home, with tired, stressed parents also not knowing how we could get them to our accommodation. As we reluctantly considered the extra cost of hiring two taxis which also required us to be split up in an unknown city, we finally found a van which could carry us. Thus commenced our journey into Canberra.

We arrived at our accommodation after dark and decided to put our littlest pair to bed without tea. At least I was fully breastfeeding my baby so this didn't impact her greatly. My middle Eee also rarely eats tea but loves her sleep so we decided sleep was more important for her than a meal. We found a brochure to order some Italian food from somewhere local, ordered via mobile phone, got locality details and waited. My Generous Gentleman set out on foot in the dark, in an unknown area to collect our takeaway. We hoped he didn't get lost and that the directions the restauranteur had given were accurate. Fortunately he arrived anon without too much difficulty and we sat down to enjoy some food in our little motel room which was to become our home for much longer than anticipated.

At least we were together, our possessions were en route, or in storage, simply waiting for us to find another place to make our home. We would find a place... eventually... little did we know the journey that would be ours in the year that lay ahead.

Unexpected Discovery

2012-01-12T20:45:00.000+10:30

This is what we found recently on an unexpected pit stop needed by our four year old Eee.

We were actually a little annoyed with her because we had just passed a number of toilets in the town of Braidwood which we had just driven through. Fortunately however we soon found this stop for her to relieve herself and for us to find a place we might return to one day to enjoy a picnic and a time of exploration and discovery.

Here we are at the Shoalhaven River by the Warri Bridge. When you are driving along the highway and across the bridge, you just don't notice the beauty lying underneath.

So many wildflowers to feast our senses. Beautiful isn't it!

We were ll so glad we stopped. Thanks little Eee.

Farrer Ridge Nature Reserve - Morning walk

2012-01-07T19:28:00.000+10:30

Kangaroo - always an early morning visitor

It's quite unusual for me to rise before my children, but I did so this morning.

My Dad is visiting and has been walking around our new neighbourhood each morning.

Today I decided I should join him, particularly as he spoke of heading to the Nature Park nearby.

We spent two hours wandering, chatting, taking in the sights, exploring nature and stopping to take in the finer details of many things through my camera. The photos will tell much of our story.

Come enjoy a refreshing little walk with us through this reserve.

Everlasting Daisy

Cauliflower Bush - Cassinia ?

Cauliflower Bush - Cassinia aculeata (I believe)

It seems there's a natural spring here, my Dad thinks,

or perhaps the water is flowing due to the excess rain we have had.

All in all it's a very pretty spot.

Next time I will bring my girls.

They will adore all the flowers,

and the kangaroos will be a treat for them also.

Rosemary and Chickpea Flatbread

2012-01-05T19:35:00.000+10:30

My Ess has recently taken to making flatbreads. Have I told you about her Meatballs with Rosemary Flatbreads and Carrot Salad? She was inspired by Junior Masterchef. A definite favourite during the last part of last year. She took the whole day to make the whole dish but was absolutely focused all day long. I didn't intervene at all unless she asked for help. We were hungry for lunch by 4pm but at least Daddy could join us. And the meal became tea - lucky for me.

I'm not sure what inspired me, but I was certain there had to be a lovely flat bread using besan (chickpea flour). So the hunt began! Yesterday we found a nice-looking recipe with besan added. We made the flatbread and devoured them in one sitting. This morning we made them again... and yes, devoured them again.

I really like this recipe because the bread is baked in the oven for a short 10 minutes. The other flatbreads were cooked in a pan which was much more hands, much more effort.

They are very simple, very quick, so you must simply try them yourself, you must.

Find the recipe here at pikelet & pie. You really should head over there. She has teamed these with a Zucchini and Feta salad which tempts me but probably not my lassies. Her photos are thus much more enticing than those you see here. :)

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T22:06:00.000+10:30

My family headed out today to celebrate the last day of the year.

Our destination was Old Parliament House Gardens to enjoy peace and serenity,

blossom and green, a picnic lunch on the lawn.

There we found some favourite flowers

including the above Ringlet Rose which Ess has claimed her favourite this year.

This pretty little Violet

(they will forever remind me of my newest niece now)

We enjoyed a picnic lunch under the trees

and watched the girls play a few games together

while we tried to keep our baby from rummaging through the picnic basket and esky too dangerously.

My finds include this gorgeous bell flower which I'd love to know more about, perhaps to even grow it in my garden. Do tell me if you can identify it!

And this delicate single petal rose 'Dainty Bess'. It is held fondly in the bosom of my memories as my mother grew it in our family home, perhaps it's still there, I must ask her.

I recall it as a favourite of hers.

I couldn't quite understand why as a child.

I saw many more beautiful flowers.

I saw so very many of these decorating our home.

Yet Mum loved it's delicate beauty...

and now, of course, I see exactly what she means.

It's curious that my Ess has already found beauty in a similar rose,

Ringlet Rose.

As a friend of mine said to me earlier this evening:

"Hope 2012 is full of good things and peaceful hearts,

lots of love and belly laughs"

Happy New Year.

The Days of Christmas

2011-12-31T19:21:00.002+10:30

Agapanthus just bursting into bud in my back garden

How have you been enjoying your 12 days of Christmas?

We have enjoyed:

~ Preparing and tossing out reindeer food for them to forage while we slept.

~ Setting out crocs with carrots also for the reindeer.

It was lovely to watch Ess count the appropriate number of carrots in each pair of shoes

- sorted according to age.

Four in each for my big Ess, two in each for my middle Eee,

and one and a little bit for my baby Jae.

~ Eating delicious meals

~ Watching (and waiting for) glorious sunsets

~ Lazing a little in the garden

Most of our time has been spent at home, together as a family,

enjoying our visitor (my Dad) and

working on our new house some more.

We have spent much time in the garden

lopping, pruning, removing weed trees (privet and cotoneaster),

improving soil with gypsum and cow manure,

mulching and planning planting to come very soon.

The most exciting part!

We've also been enjoying rediscovering hidden plants such as this hydrangea which was hidden behind the barbeque, growing towards our neighbour.

The agapanthus are just about to come into bloom to welcome in the new year.

While they are certainly not my favourite bloom and I probably wouldn't have planted them myself,

I will definitely enjoy the beauty they bestow.

I am baffled to hear about many who have already taken down their Christmas trees.

Certainly Christmas is a time for us to relax a little, be less organised after the rush of preparation,

to enjoy all there is to enjoy in the wonder and magic of the festive season.

All our Christmas decorations are still adorning our family home,

we are still enjoying reading Christmas stories occasionally,

hearing and singing some Christmas music,

and relaxing with family.

Ess is Eight!

2011-12-21T20:25:00.000+10:30

As has become tradition for our Ess' birthday, we found a beach to explore. This one is on the South Coast of NSW. I really do miss having easy and convenient access to the beach as we did in South Australia. Indeed I miss South Australian beaches and seaside towns - they are just less developed, less commercial and more rustic. Nevertheless the girls had fun playing in sand and water. It was a lovely time. (I shouldn't be so critical should I after my first trip down this way. Forgive my pining heart for the home that was :))

First of course, we had to bake, decorate and eat cake.

For as long as I can remember Ess has wanted to have this octopus for her eighth birthday.

Apparently she has "wanted the octopus for ages but it only looked good as an eight".

Indeed it does, I'm sure you'll agree.

I used to bake and decorate for my girl - now Ess is very much involved in the whole process. I think she really baked the chocolate cake quite independently, now that I think back on it. She made the icing, coloured it to her liking, and is really keen to learn how to spread it. It's a tricky job but she'll get there as Mum learns to let go more and let her just try!

This is Broulee Beach.

South Coast, New South Wales.

A nice spot for some beach fun...

and creating a new beach fan in our little baby.

Our New Place: Becoming home

2011-12-08T20:37:00.000+10:30

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

Sunset viewed from our lounge room window

It has been a whirlwind: these past three months.

Yet we finally made it.

Some old roses discovered under the canopy
of the weeping cherry.

We have finished the contract,

we have purchased a house,

we have moved into it,

we are making it home.

Two of my cherubs pruning their natural cubby
- a weeping cherry.

There are still many, many boxes to unpack,

things to sort out and decide whether we really need and want.

After having lived in quite meagre situations this year,

we have a renewed perspective.

A full rainbow viewed to the east - over our backyard.

Yet there are many things we will treasure and hold on to,

many things we will use once again when we settle.

I am particularly missing knowing where all my craft things are,

so I can easily access my scissors, my fabric, my patterns...

It became a double bow!

As we sort and store, and rejoice in the discovery of things

we have done without for most of this year,

we make our home.

Sharing the unpacking days with the children

means little is achieved at once,

but we make our home together.

Another sunset viewed from our front porch.

So enjoy these picture of the surrounds of our new place,

and if you are ever nearby, do pop in to say Hi!

Tiny Pillow for playful little heads

2011-10-30T19:51:00.001+10:30

I really like the Bobble-Shell Edging devised by Lucy at Attic 24.

It was the perfect finish to this little pillow I made for my precious little Eee to use for her little toys as she lays them to bed around the house each day, every day.

I had just finished making a tension square for a new top I plan to knit for myself this summer.
Not bothering to frog it back, I couldn't see the sense in throwing it out when it would be a simple job to crochet around the edge to join them, stuff with some poly-fill, then finish with the bobble-shell edging.

It makes such a precious sweet pillow for little Emily (I think that's what her name was today!).

Look who's One!

2011-10-25T20:14:00.001+10:30

My little baby J has turned one!

We celebrated with a delicious Lumberjack Cake by Not Quite Nigella. You must explore her site if you haven't already. Her work is delicious.

We enjoyed a ride on the Carousel in Civic with friends who have made this a family ritual to celebrate birthdays. Indeed it was such a sweet thing to do, I think we should also make it a birthday ritual.

If indeed we last that long in this part of the country.

Meanwhile, we are currently in a contract to purchase a house. All is proceeding OK but we are not doing so without extreme caution. Neither of us could say we are excited. Neither of us can see that it is actually going to happen. The events of this year have knocked it all out of us.

iPhone brings us together

2011-10-08T20:50:00.000+10:30

“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.” ~ Steve Jobs, Apple CEO [NBC Nightly News, May 2006]

Bird on the Wire
at our home

I've been thinking about writing this post for such a long time and with the very sad loss of Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, this week. I thought I should make the time to write again.

Since my life became transient this year and with a need to purchase a new mobile phone I decided I could go with nothing less than the iPhone. I found the deal with Virgin to be very good and suitable for our needs costing just $49 per month. Allowing us internet access on the go as well as $300 worth of phone calls each month.

Peace and Serenity at Lake Burley Griffin

A greater pull towards the iPhone however was the fact that my brother and sister-in-law in Belfast have iPhones, along with my sister and brother-in-law in country NSW. I knew they were texting each other for free and phoning for free and I really wanted to be part of their lives in this way.

Reflections at Floriade

Is there a more beautiful flower than the Tulip?
Floriade

And so while my life has been turbulent this year, I have found that connections with my family have been much greater. Connections via iPhone have been enhanced and time taken to enjoy them has been to the detriment of this blog and for that I am sad. So I would like to ask you to follow me, if you will. I twitter more these days, search for me @ceelewis if you twitter also. I'd love to follow you and connect with you there.

Silver Birch leaves as lacework
at Commonwealth Park

I am also an avid Instagramer. Do you Instagram? Search for me there if you do, I'm @ceelew.

Tulips of Floriade

Nerang Pool, Commonwealth Park

All the photos you see here in this blog post have been well liked on Instagram and I very much enjoy sharing and connecting with that community. It consists both of family members and other great photographers.

Nerang Pool, Commonwealth Park

So enjoy this little glimpse of Canberra and pop over and join me at Twitter and Instagram.

Thankyou to Steve Jobs for his wonderful creativity and inventions which serve to connect us in new ways.

You know I really am just a bit lazy, or tired with my young family. Call it what you will! Using my iPhone I can lie down on the lounge and relax while I twitter and instagram, in order to write my blog posts and share photos here, I need to get up to the iMac. It's a great machine - but it feels like work ;)

So my dear friends and followers, please continue to follow me and connect.

Floriade

2011-09-17T21:13:00.000+09:30

Free digital slideshow made with Smilebox

Celebrating with Red Roses

2011-09-16T21:00:00.000+09:30

Each day, awakening, are we asked to paint the sky blue? Need we coax the sun to rise or flowers to bloom? Need we teach birds to sing, or children to laugh, or lovers to kiss? No, though we think the world imperfect, it surrounds us each day with its perfections. We are asked only to appreciate them, and to show appreciation by living in peaceful harmony amidst them. The Creator does not ask that we create a perfect world; He asks that we celebrate it. ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

Four roses from my four sweethearts celebrating the fact that in this imperfect world we live in,

justice has been accorded us. Yes, our case has been heard in our favour. Yay!

Now we await restitution and pray it comes swiftly. This is such a huge relief - words escape me.

We have all changed over this period of time.

Lessons have been learned.

One of the most important we want to share is this:

don't be pressured to settle for less,

particularly when wrongs are being done,

action can be taken,

justice can be carried out.

God holds us throughout this entire journey.

Blossoms and Birds

2011-09-05T20:34:00.000+09:30

Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms. ~Ikkyu Sojun

There are a number of things we are truly enjoying in our new, albeit temporary, home.

We enjoy a visit from a pair of Crimson Rosellas every afternoon.

They are enjoying foraging in the apricot tree blossoming in our back yard at the moment.

I was fortunate to be able to capture them this afternoon,

so engrossed were they in the myriad blossoms.

They leave a carpet of blossoms under the tree,

aided by the sulphur crested cockatoos, magpies and other friendly birds.

These delicate blossoms are full of romance.

The little dancing ladies here remind me of the dancers of a mystical Swan Lake,

tiptoeing delicately upon a lake of snow and ice.

Then they are transformed into a most beautiful ballerina dressed delicately in a beautiful pink bodice with billowing white skirt, layering upon tassels of gold and silver.

The Apricot Blossom -

the current delight of my heart

and joy of my days.

Sounds like my precious little girls really.

;)

Our First Family Snow Trip

2011-08-23T19:32:00.005+09:30

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin

We took our first family trip to the snow on Sunday. It has been the one thing Ess wanted to do in and around Canberra and one motivator for her leaving Adelaide. It has been hard leaving the familiar places and friends we had grown to love, yet we have made some lovely new friends here in Canberra. We were fortunate to meet up with some of them at Mt Selwyn, simply by chance. All the girls had fabulous fun together.

The icy snowballs weren't quite the same as the soft bubbles in the bath our bub is used to, yet she approached them for exploration in the same manner.

And here he is:

Our very first snowman!

It was a long and lovely day, reminding me of our many beach trips and leaving me longing for another. The similarities were many - packing extra clothes, extra food, building, getting wet, fun and laughter.

So lovely to have a day out together not thinking about the fact that we are waiting for the Master of the Court to hand down his finding. Yes the case was heard a fortnight ago and he is taking his time in writing everything up properly. It's hard times!

Cooking with Division

2011-08-01T20:02:00.009+09:30

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis

Today we spent the whole day decorating a special birthday cake for my Generous Gentleman. We worked at it from 9am until 2.30pm when my Ess was adamant she would soon be having a rest, yet at the same time so willingly helping with packing and tidying up.

Seeing as we are exploring division in our mathematical thinking at the moment I decided that baking and decorating a cake with multiples of evenly divided lollies using an old-fashioned recipe handed down to me via Mum from my Gran would be motivating and inspirational. This was just such a fabulous decision as Ess took on the whole project with ease and I took on the role of facilitator/supervisor. I just love that role and have been longing for my family to reach the stage where I could assume that.

First task was to make icing. The recipe required Ess to measure ¼lb butter providing a fabulous mathematical thinking opportunity. Having just completed a unit on measurement whereby Ess had learnt all about grams and kilograms, there could be no better opportunity to extend that learning into incorporating the old imperial system used by her grandparents (and myself in my childhood), just after a visit from Granny. Armed with the information I provided her that one pound of butter (1lb) is equal to 16 ounces (oz) she quickly counted out her favourite pip squeak pencils to discover she needed to weigh out 4oz butter.

Then came the fun part: creaming the butter with a pound of icing sugar, and some stiffly beaten egg whites to make the icing.

Each carriage of the train required a different coloured icing to yet again Ess was required to measure and divide her icing before she coloured it. One whole bowl of icing needed to become four even bowls of icing. This she did entirely independently.

After watching her mother ice most of the carriages, with a whinge or two of frustration thrown in here and there, (I just find the placing of the icing onto the cake the most horrible part of cake decorating!) Ess quickly took over the role and finished icing a carriage by herself while I attended my baby.

Upon assembly of the cake my older pair of girls each assumed mathematical roles. Little Eee counted out the paddle pop sticks and laid them as train tracks. She also sorted the smarties into colours, while Ess counted out and multiplied and divided her sweets until she had an appropriate number per carriage. "Hmmm, one pack of mint slice biscuits divided between four carriages. Do I need to open the second pack? Will there be enough bikkies for each of us to have a bikky now?

Little Eee is randomly decorating the engine with her smarties here. :)

The jellybeans loaded up on each carriage were great to use as counters as we explored division a little further with our Singapore Maths workbooks, concretely representing the pictorial division problems contained therein. Receiving a jellybean per each correct maths problem proved great motivation as well. I was amused when Ess decided she had completed enough maths problems because she now had enough jelly beans. It just happened to be before one of the more complex division word problems...conveniently.

Happy Birthday my dear beloved!

Oh the joys of home education.

We are able to spend our whole day delighting in how much you mean to us, by creating something special for you, and still have such a meaningful day of education.

Lots of thought was also put into planning and preparation of cakes for upcoming birthdays as well. ;)

For Eleanor Violet

2011-07-27T14:05:00.009+09:30

Look at us, said the violets blooming at her feet, all last winter we slept in the seeming death but at the right time God awakened us, and here we are to comfort you. ~Edward Payson Rod

On the day we expected my new niece to be born a couple of seemingly insignificant things happened.

Until I knew the name of my precious new niece I did not make any connection with the fact that:

~ for the first time I noticed this lone violet blooming out my new back door, in a wintry dirt patch surrounded by mysterious bulb shoots, waiting to welcome Spring.

~ for the first time my little Eee picked me a bunch of the violet shade of pansies and violas blooming in our front yard.

They must have been for you,

our precious, dear, Eleanor Violet.

Happy Birthday Eleanor Violet

26 July 2011

With love,

All of us

xoxoxoxoxo

Little Pear, Chocolate and Brioche Cakes

2011-07-22T11:38:00.008+09:30

It is, in my view, the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption. ~Edward Bunyard

Googling the ingredients you have in the cupboard can provide you with some wonderful new possibilities I have discovered lately. Do you do that ever? Just google your available ingredients. The other day I knew I wanted to make some soup with some cauliflower and spinach. Not able to find the recipe I thought I owned in my recipe book, and thinking that it had become lost in our move, I decide to simply google those ingredients. I found this lovely nutritious soup which I proceeded to make and enjoy with my husband during this week. It didn't go down so well with my girls (except my baby), but then soup rarely does.

These little cakes however have gone down very well. Although poor little Ess has been unwell this week and found them a bit too rich for her delicate tummy :( Yet again I googled an ingredient - stale brioche. I thought it should be able to make some sort of sweet custardy type dessert like bread and butter pudding. Not that I am a fan of that in any way - but my husband loves it and so, it would seem, does little Eee.

Ess was very enthusiastic to make the little cakes, feeling a little better and always keen to bake something sweet. Thus I declare these a great project to do with children: very easy to prepare and needing very little supervision.

Simply slice the brioche.

Slice the pears - ensuring you leave the stem on and being mindful of the shape you'd like to use as you stack your cakes, vertically.

Slice the dark chocolate.

Prepare one yourself by stacking ingredients in the little pans.

Leave the room and allow your little one free rein in arranging these ingredients.

Upon your return you'll need to mix the custard mixture (the entire recipe can be found here).

Add some to each little cake, allow time to soak in, then bake.

My life is rather busy with my three little cherubs so I was delighted to be able to present these for dessert. Usually I would have just baked or poached the pears but with Ess keen to help, it allowed me time to feed and change my baby, and Ess the opportunity to be creative in the kitchen independently. A skill which I highly value and nurture at every opportunity.

Home Education in Canberra

2011-07-20T19:15:00.007+09:30

We have had our challenges in Canberra since moving here in January but one thing has not presented us with any difficulty - our home education. In fact we've had some lovely experiences due to our connections with some lovely networks of home educating families. We have become members of both HENCAST (Home Education Network of Canberra and the Southern Tablelands) and CHEC (Christian Home Education Canberra). I am so thrilled with our choice to home educate which is continually reinforced by numerous experiences - socially, educationally, statistically.

This week we had our home visit from the Non Govt Education Department here in the ACT which followed the provisional registration I gained upon our arrival in this state. All went really well and it should result in two full years of registration which is wonderful. I was really encouraged to hear comments about how the report I wrote was very comprehensive, with much attention paid to detail and all criteria addressed thoroughly. I was also delighted to see the joy in Ess' persona as she shared the work she has completed over the last six months.

I was very pleasantly surprised to hear about what the Government is looking for in these visits. They are not hunting for families who have a relaxed, natural and flexible approach to learning. They are more concerned about families who are very pedantic and perhaps lean towards controlling their children, always telling them what to do, not allowing free play and thus not developing and instilling a sense of independence in their learning. This was definitely a breath of fresh air for me as it was totally opposite to what I, and many others I believe, expect of the Government. Somehow we expect to be told we are not doing enough work. This was certainly contrary to my experience. I heard the comment "you have been doing a lot!".

This year, due to our circumstances, my approach to learning has been very natural. In the suitcases we flew over here with, we had our Singapore Maths books to work through. Yet all other components of learning simply came from the groups we were involved with, literature borrowed from the library and excursions we participated in. I simply didn't pack workbooks and teacher's guides etc. when we anticipated moving straight into a new home. And of course we didn't have internet access so all learning resources and inspirational ideas I gain from blog reading etc. didn't happen.

I am very much looking forward to being more settled, to snuggling up and reading literature relating to our Five in a Row studies, to having paints out for the children to enjoy, to being able to enjoy watching related YouTube videos, to being able to research new places with Google Maps etc. etc.

In the meantime Canberra has welcomed us with excursions, activities, parks and playgrounds, friendships and bright sunny days albeit very cool, very very cool.

I'll be able to share some things more specifically with you nowadays.

A Small Planting; A Little Blossom

2011-07-12T19:37:00.001+09:30

"Bloom where you are planted."

~The Bishop of Geneva, Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

The camelia I see blooming from my bedroom window inspires me each morning

to see the beauty amidst the twigs and sticks of a wintry phase in our lives.

Since last I wrote, dear friends, we are more settled. After seven moves this year, we are finally a little settled in a home - albeit temporarily.

For a little over a month now we have been living with our own things, our personal belongings, our familiar furniture. It does feel like home here. We have been blessed to have been released from the contract we were in, in order to commence a longer term lease than the six weeks we had when last I wrote. We are now leasing a property for six months with the option to extend as we look around to purchase another home - one which is fully legal, with no 'controlled activity' leading to unapproved structures being undertaken by the builder/owner.

Our current home is filled with natural light in a lovely central location which we enjoy very much. It is smaller than our last home but has lots of under-house storage which we are using to keep all the things we probably won't need for six months.

I love hanging out my washing each morning on a lovely big hills hoist to the sound of magpies carolling and watching the sulphur-crested cockatoos and crimson rosellas fly from tree to tree foraging and feeding. I love the way the sun fills this house and greets us each day no matter how cold it is outside and it has been quite freezing at -6deg the other night.

We are starting to bake again, although the oven in my small kitchen is very very basic. We enjoyed my Zucchini and Sultana Muffins the other day.

I have managed to find my lovely crochet blanket but just haven't found the time to sit down and do it. I have actually forgotten the pattern so will need to take time to learn that again. It is hard to believe this as I didn't need to think twice about it all the time I was crocheting this while I was pregnant. My mind has been filled with so much since our move I simply cannot remember that which was so much part of my life previously.

During May we house-sat for some new friends while they holidayed interstate. We are very grateful for this provision. It was fun to explore the northern parts of town and come to realise how much we appreciate being where we are now which is very close to my Generous Gentleman's work.

We moved to this city for his work which he continues to enjoy. This is yet another blessing I am grateful for each day. There are many days when the girls and I pine for the settled creative life we had in Adelaide yet because his work is good, I am happy and they notice this.

We still have not had our deposit for "the dodgy house" refunded and this has led us to having to go to court. The hearing is on 29 July which is only a day after my 40th birthday - great birthday present hey!! I do hope it truly will be. Our solicitor is very confident and doesn't understand how the other side thinks they have a case. So hopefully the judge sees things the same way. We have followed God's promptings in this as well as listened to our solicitor's advice so we are anxiously and nervously confident.

One thing is sure - God will continue to provide for us.

A Life on Hold

2011-04-06T16:48:00.004+09:30

In the past I have wondered how I would blog if ever a tragedy happened in our lives. Could I share? Would I share? I write to discover the beauty in everything, every circumstance, every aspect of our lives. So I have decided finally to share.

At the moment I am struggling to see the rainbow in each day, indeed it is only through my three beautiful daughters that the sun shines adding colour to the rain that is pouring down in our lives at the moment.

In January we changed our location of residence from Adelaide to come to Canberra for my Generous Gentleman's work. We are still not in residence in Canberra. We found a house quite quickly here but during the course of the contract to purchase the house we have found numerous issues with it. Yes there is very shonky building existing in Canberra. One problem, an unapproved structure, gave us cause to rescind the contract - which is a blessing. Yet it means we are currently without a home and waiting to have our deposit refunded…hopefully.

So the life I share with my precious family is now very different.

I have not baked since last year. My cooking is very basic as my recipe books are stored along with my kitchen appliances. We use what is supplied for us wherever we are staying.

I have not seen our personal belongings since January apart from what we brought in our suitcases.

There has been no sewing, no crochet, no craft of any type really.

We have moved almost every month in order to find a place to live which costs less. We are currently spending way too much to rent a fully furnished home on a short term lease as we are not free of our contract yet to enter into another contract to rent or to buy. We have very poor mobile internet access which contributes to the fact that I really am not blogging as I used to. My apologies that I have not been able to read your blogs and comment as I'd like to.

Most of our free time is spent assessing when we are going to have to move again and how we are going to find a place to move to.

Yet the important things remain:

We are together. We are dealing with this as a family. We are seeing God move in many ways during this time. I do know and feel that peace that passes all understanding.

We have a place to rest our heads each night (even though at excessive cost) and have not been ravaged by flood, tsunami or earthquake.

The people we have met have been absolutely lovely and very supportive in our situation. We have made lovely friends in our work and home education networks. On many occasion, God has provided just the right person at just the right time.

So that's a little about what life has been like for us. Living without a home certainly brings home to us the important things in life. Have you ever lived without a home? I'd love to hear your experiences. Or if you know of a place we could call home for a little while in or around Canberra, we'd love to know about it. Perhaps we could house-sit for you!

There are some exciting possibilities we have explored and I'd love to share more about them - perhaps one day I will. For now however we are still waiting to be out of the legal bind we have become innocent victims within.

A Journey into Newness

2011-01-01T20:42:00.001+10:30

We have been spending time farewelling familiar and favourite places and friends in between sorting out our house for our impending move to Canberra.

These cygnets were swimming with their mother in the deep waters surrounding the Goolwa Barrage near the end of the Murray River.

I hope I can be as graceful as this lovely swan appears with my three sweet 'cygnets' as we move to new surroundings and search for new friends and favourite places.

Wishing you a Happy New Year, not knowing when I'll be back here.

But of one thing I am very glad, you my dear friends, will remain a part of my life in the same way no matter where I journey.

There is Water...

2011-01-01T15:16:00.004+10:30

Goolwa Barrage 27 Dec 10

We are very grateful for all the water that has been around us this year in South Australia.

I found it interesting to compare the water around the Goolwa Barrage, just before the Murray Mouth, this time we visited on 27 December 2010 with the way things looked in April 2009, before all the water arrived.

Compare the two photos above with those below.

Goolwa Barrage 24 April 09

Yet we still feel for those in Queensland who are having to evacuate their homes due to excessive flooding. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

A Saltdough Christmas

2010-12-23T20:32:00.001+10:30

Isn't it wonderful how some flour, salt and water...

combined with a little lemon juice and oil... (recipe here)

can create such education, entertainment, smiles and memories...

the fun and excitement of mixing colours and seeing the combinations and changes.

We were even able to watch light reflect from the silver stars Ess used on her decorations when we placed these in the kitchen under the rangehood light. I just love this photo (above) with the stars reflected onto the cupboard.

Then of course there is rolling, moulding, cutting and shaping the dough...

as well as decorating...
then painting it. (Particularly after Mum left them for too long in a too hot oven and they became quite crispy with little colour left...noone seemed to mind.)

Hoping you are enjoying a fun holiday time.

Ess is Seven

2010-12-21T16:21:00.002+10:30

A girl like you

deserves a birthday

sprinkled with fairy dust,

twinkling with happy thoughts

and sparkling with lots and lots of fun!

Have a Magical Day

(printed inside the card received from Granny)

Sponge cake baking...

and decorating. (I just love that mound of toasted coconut hay!)

playing with friends on the beach.

All enjoyed together, as a family.

That's what this time of year is all about isn't it!

I am so very glad that the cake she chose for herself, the Pony Paddock, was a nice and easy one for me to prepare with her this year. Time is of the essence these days with three little girls to care for, the festive season to enjoy to the utmost, and our impending move interstate.

Wishing you a very merry festive season.

Choc Bikky Christmas Tree

2010-12-17T14:05:00.004+10:30

We had lots of fun baking, decorating and sharing our chocolate biscuit stars. Don't you love the way they form this tree when elegantly stacked by six year old hands guiding her toddler girlfriends and followers. We were due to meet friends in the park so took along the previously decorated biscuits in order to make a Christmas Tree we could share with everyone for morning tea. 'Twas our little gift to bid farewell to a group of little friends as we move from this city next month.

It was so very beautiful to watch my big, almost 7 year old, Ess caring for the little 2 year old girls she has come to know as part of our Kindermusik group we attend for little Eee. She loves them all and will sadly miss them as I know they'll miss her. She watches them, follows them, ensures they are doing well as they climb, play, explore and discover new places without their Mummies yet alongside their bigger girl friend. She certainly has the heart of a mother-carer, my girl. It will be interesting to watch her inclinations as she grows.

Cherry Time

2010-12-13T14:07:00.006+10:30

What a delightful day we had picking our own cherries in an orchard in the Adelaide Hills. It was just delightful to see the millions and millions of cherries weighing down the many branches in the orchard. It's only taken us six years to discover that we can actually pick our own. We generally do take drives through the hills and buy from shed door sales, however when I discovered there was actually the option to pick our own, of course that is the way we went. Last weekend it was Forest Range Cherries at Lenswood, this weekend we might even head out again to Stella Creek Orchard as their Summit variety might be ready to pick. Big, heart-shaped delicious cherries and only $10/kg they tell us. Last week we paid $6/kg - very competitive pricing. The markets sell them for around $30/kg.

We found some more produce in the Hills we brought home to consume including fresh snow peas and numerous strawberries. We spent the afternoon enjoying food in Hahndorf before heading back to Lobethal to join in the Lights of Lobethal Festival on opening night. It was fabulous with the Living Nativity being a definite hit - be sure you don't miss this if you live anywhere near local.

An Advent with Lego

2010-12-05T09:58:00.004+10:30

For quite a few years now my Generous Gentleman has wanted to find an Advent Calendar by Lego which was not ridiculously expensive.

This appears to be the year for us as we now have two Lego Advent Calendars which both my big girls are enjoying each morning during December as Christmas approaches.

I'm not a fan of Advent Calenders which bestow little gifts on little people each time they open a door as I think it creates unrealistic expectations and is simply unnecessary. However Lego always seems to create the exception for me. Each day the girls find a little packet behind a door with bits and pieces to create something new. After Christmas we'll package them all up again to start the surprises again next year.

And there are some very cute little figures and objects.

One is a Lego Kingdoms calendar with scenes and caricatures of a Medieval Castle.

The other is Lego City, quite self-explanatory.

This character is most certainly my favourite.

A less-than-friendly looking snowman.

We still open a door every day on our Nativity Advent Calendar which shares with us the true story of Christmas. We have been enjoying seeing the angels visit and hearing their messages, today's being:

'For she will bring forth a son.'

Letters to Santa

2010-12-03T19:17:00.002+10:30

We posted our letters to Santa today. Santa, North Pole, 9999. We hope he gets them. Australia Post guarantees he'll be happy to hear from us.

The idea of writing to this dear old soul was very motivational, as far as writing is concerned. I am discovering that writing is just something which Ess does not enjoy. She is my avid reader, not so keen on writing to express herself.

You know, I was delighted that both of the girls struggled to think of anything at all to ask Santa for. The language Ess used was most polite as well. No "I want's" or "Give me's", but a very pleasant "For Christmas I would like...". Oh yes I was so very delighted to see their chosen language for this very esteemed letter.

And so I transcribed for my little Eee while she drew a beautiful rainbow, not for Santa I am told, but rather for Daddy. It's beautiful, I'm sure you'll agree.

So have you seen Santa yet? Have you written to him?

We actually saw him today as well. A couple of brightly dressed little Elves found us in a long, hot queue and invited us into an air conditioned, bubbly room where Santa just happened to be sitting waiting to invite us up onto his knee to chat with him, be with him, have Daddy take our photo and just to enjoy the experience.

Christmas with children is just such a special experience.

Tickly Tag Toys

2010-11-29T13:35:00.001+10:30

Who's that peaking out from inside my crochet bag?

One of three new friends for my little treasures.

The remnants of the skirt I sewed for myself were begging me to make a few things for my new tribe of three little girls. They were inspired by other toys I've seen around and also my little Eee's love of all things tickly. She tickles her nose and lips with any tag she can find although her teddy (with his shaggy, taggy tail) is her favourite friend.

The taggy friends are in great use as ticklers and in playing games of hide'n'seek.

Sewing for Me

2010-11-20T14:32:00.005+10:30

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955

Using fabric from the lovely Mezzanine Collection designed by Patty Young for Michael Miller I have managed to find time to sew something for myself this special Spring of mine. It is actually a practise run of this pattern which I plan to use for some other fabric I've been admiring for a long while. Perhaps that one might be finished by Christmas...we'll see.

I've been called 'the pink lady' more than once and I do love pink, along with my girls. What hope did they have but to fall in love with pink. It is almost the only colour they see, they are dressed in it so often. However this is the only patterned pink skirt I own. I do have a very old bright pink skirt but lately I've been wearing black and white, as well as a blue and white skirt most often. When it happens to be cool enough to wear skirts. It's still been very, very cool down here. As I speak however, we are heating up for a week of temperatures reaching 30degC and above so lots of lovely skirt wearing will be happening this week for me and my girls. They'll be pleased to finally be allowed to wear their skirts and dresses without shirts underneath them to keep them warm.

And because we are moving and I am trying to ensure our storage solutions for toys etc. are adequate, I have sewn a drawstring bag to hold our wooden alphabet puzzle. I am very happy with the way it has turned out, the little tiny stitches on the alphabet letters adding to the bubbly fabric. I enjoyed the few minutes I had to sit down quietly, resting, healing and allowing my fingers to stitch tiny stiches again. Remember these!

The Adventures of Gran and Jan and Jennifer

2010-11-06T14:13:00.003+10:30

Every man's memory is his private literature. ~Aldous Huxley

One of the joys of having Mum stay with us now is that the girls have almost undivided time with their Granny. They are loving her company and all she brings to their days whether that be food, clean clothing, tickles, cuddles or a bit of time reading together.

At my request Granny brought with her from home a book which she remembers fondly from her childhood. She was given The Adventures of Jan and Jennifer when she was just 8 years old by her Aunt and Uncle living in Parramatta. They lived next door to Mrs Edwards, the mother of Don Edwards, the author of this lovely children's book. I don't think it has become a classic as there seem not to be many copies readily available. There's one at the National Library of Australia. It also seems to be available at Pioneer Books, antiquarian booksellers and publishers. Interestingly it was recommended by The Children's Newspaper of March 17, 1951 as one of "Harraps' excellent York Series for Young Children, 4s each". So I wonder how much of a treasure we really have in this book. A copy signed by the author himself! Have you heard of it or read it yourself?

Each day Ess would ask Granny to read another chapter of the book so the girls could journey off together with Jan and Jennifer as they discovered places around their home which is quite reminiscent of old time Parramatta. The two little girls aged around 8 or 9 explored with Australian bush animals close by their side and became quite protective of them when faced with danger.

It's a pity when sweet little books such as this are lost as they contain such beautiful memories of times gone by and give us an insight into what life was like for children. Granny remembers it fondly due to her family's connection with the family of the author. Little Jan is assumed to be the daughter of the author. What a beautiful memory. Literature really comes alive, doesn't it, when connected with one's own life.

What connections do you have with some form of published literature?

Visual Stimulation

2010-10-30T10:08:00.010+10:30

Pleasure is spread through the earth

In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.

~William Wordsworth, 1806

As you might imagine, days are very busy here. I am enjoying Spring coming indoors through these beautiful tulips - a gift from my lovely family as they shop at the markets while I care for our new treasure - just a month old today.

Many many days I have thought of ways I could share with you all the various happenings of our lives yet the time to reflect and write seems to elude me. I am sleep deprived and the urge to lie down in bed with my eyes shut definitely most often wins. Lots of reflection happens as I sit and feed, nurturing my new child in the comfort of my arms as we rock together.

My other little pair are aptly cared for, educated and nurtured with lots of assistance from my wonderful Mum and loving husband. For this I am deeply grateful. The time they have given is invaluable.

Indeed it is certainly wonderful to learn about how our lives began with a real life model. We have watched as our baby's vision has developed. We have seen her eyes open more and more day by day, watched as she began to focus on our faces close by, seen her drawn to effects of light and shade. We have enjoyed designing our own graphics for her to view and stimulate the development of her brain. These days we have to cover her eyes so she will settle to sleep as sometimes it seems all too enticing to continue popping that head up to peek around at the happenings of our busy household.

Ess' overlapping circles coloured for baby

Ess explores shapes in black and white for visual development

My own attempt at creating for our little one

We are all very proud of our precious Ess as she has baked her very first cake, indepently. A delicious chocolate cake using a lovely recipe of Donna Hay's as seen on Junior Masterchef recently. It was absolutely delightful watching her in the kitchen by herself only asking for assistance to collate ingredients beyond her reach.

Ess has definitely taken a shine to baking over the years and is now devoted to Junior Masterchef which we actually came across by accident. She is now aspiring to compete when she is 10 or 11 years of age. We wish her luck.

The cake was delicious and we look forward to our next one...soon please my darling.

There has also been a little 'rippling' happening here. Even if I only do 10 or 20 stitches a day it is enough to give me a little space and something of my own to do. Something which nurtures me in amidst all the 'little people nurturing'.

Absolutely Adorable

2010-10-08T16:37:00.006+10:30

In the sheltered simplicity of the first few days after a baby is born one sees again the magical closed circle , the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other.

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh | Aviator and Author

Cuddling and sleeping, nursing and resting,

stroking the softest silkiest skin

tickling tiny toes

rubbing eency fingers

This is what has been consuming my days.

We are all in the land of 'Absolute Adoration' here.

Do you remember that feeling?

Have you had the privilege off allowing a child to fill your being, consume your days, your heart?

I pray you do.

And to think that this is only a glimpse of the way that God feels about us.

I simply adore my new little treasure. She is an absolute delight.

Rippling, Relaxing, Resting and Waiting

2010-09-28T13:57:00.005+09:30

Here I am resting, waiting, relaxing...still with a very large bump in front of me.

We are enjoying the colours Ess and I have chosen to make a woollen ripple blanket and I am very happy with the 100% wool I purchased from Bendigo Woollen Mills recently. It is excellent value for money, lovely and light wool, not too prickly and without any splitting at all when I work with it. This is a selection of the Classic 100% pure new wool range.

Wishing you a happy week. It is a pretty exciting one for us...filled with anticipation. By next week we will have met our new little cherub.

Hopefully we might introduce you too.

Water Bottle Carriers

2010-09-20T13:18:00.005+09:30

I have been completing and commencing numerous sewing projects. I am attributing this to the lovely nesting phase I am now in. Although it is curious that I am organising things around our home to make life easier for us now, rather than really making anything for the new baby.

However I know these new water bottle carriers will make life so much easier for me when my arms become full with baby again - even though I use my sling with my little ones all the time. I have already found it so handy to be able to whip my water bottle over my shoulder to carry it out and about. The girls are also more keen to carry their own bottles. They did so previously, however there have been some drops and some ensuing dents in their stainless steel water bottles so the carriers work wonders for them also.

I really am so very pleased with these and my design of them, they have turned out just as I intended. So very happy :)

And of course there is one for my Generous Gentleman as well. He really enjoys using it which I am super stoked about as it is not often that I am able to sew anything specifically for him. I particularly like the way his has turned out and am really glad I saved that lovely Haigh's ribbon as it sets his off beautifully. Yes I was even allowed to decorate his slightly... so so pleased.

There are many other projects coming to completion in our home - some spring skirt making, cushion covers, bag holders, repurposing face washers for use in the laundry with some stitching and velcro, storage bag making, beach bag making, crochet ripple blanket commencement. Indeed I have been spending more time 'doing' than sitting and reading and writing about them. So let's wait and see how many I get to write about here.

Furthermore I am wondering how many more will actually reach completion with only about 10 or 11 days until our new birth day.

The Cutest Little Chef

2010-09-10T13:29:00.004+09:30

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.

There are seven million. ~Walt Streightiff

These little eyes are keenly watching her Daddy as he prepares a full cooked breakfast for us all on the weekend. You see he really truly is a very Generous Gentleman. I get to sit down nursing my growing bump while he prepares food and...wait for it...cleans up the greasy mess afterwards. I know, I am truly blessed.

I know she is learning so much as she perches herself on her pink stool by her pink Daddy in her pink pajamas with her pink apron and her pink chef's hat perched upon her head.

I know one day she'll be keen to be preparing meals for her loved ones also. She's also been known to don her apron and hat to assist us with pizza making at lunch time. Ah bliss, me and my growing girls preparing our lunch together. It's what I always dreamed of, although it is perhaps a little more challenging that my dreams would have had me believe in my younger years.

I made this little outfit for my little pink three year old for her birthday. Well that was the intention at least. Halfway through stitching it I sent my machine off for a service which lasted longer than I'd hoped. The sewing machine needed more repairs than planned as it is a 20 year old Pfaff machine, made in Germany, which the technician convinced me would be better off being repaired than my buying a new computerised one made in China. I agreed. And I love it...all over again...it is like new!!

So it is a little late in coming, but that doesn't matter does it!

My source: Kid's Apron and Chef Hat

Lots and Lots of Water

2010-09-05T19:40:00.002+09:30

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

You may have noticed my comments over the years about little rain, lots of dry and lots of heat. Also further comments about the persistence of cold, rainy, wet days we have been having this year. These days have been very welcome as it did seem that the drought continued on and on. Indeed it is not since our very first year here in Adelaide, 2005, that I have experienced such rain and periods of wet. I recall driving through the Adelaide Hills during the wet spring of 2005 in awe and wonder at the amounts of water flowering down creeks and rivers, wondering why Adelaide had such a reputation for being a dry city and South Australia, a desert state. Over the years I have come to realise.

This year however, the tide has turned. The rains have returned.

After our Father's Day brunch it was our dear Generous Gentleman who suggested we take a drive in the hills to view the spillway at Kangaroo Creek Reservoir. We had very heavy rains with storms on Friday which has filled most of the reservoirs to over 90% capacity.

Kangaroo Creek Reservoir

We made our way towards Gorge Road where the views were spectacular. We parked along the side of the road with numerous other residents wandering along the main road viewing the sights. Cars were everywhere in a place where you would never usually stop and get out along this windy stretch of road. Yet the small car park was overfilled!

Spillway overflowing at Kangaroo Creek Reservoir

This site is the one we were all eager to view. Spectacular!

To be reminded of the enormous power of water, take a peak at this video.

The flooded River Torrens further downstream

I'm not sure how many escape routes these people have!

Meanwhile many parts of the north of Victoria are in flood and people have been evacuated from their homes. Our thoughts are with you, our neighbours to the east.

The First of Spring

2010-09-01T19:52:00.006+09:30

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

As we looked around outside today, trying to stay warm and wondering whether spring really had come, we were greeted with only grey clouds, cold winds and winter showers. I still have no complaints, I love the rainy days.

I still have something special to look forward to this spring.

In under one month now, we will have a new spring cherub to greet us, which will be brighter than all the flowers that spring will shower us with this year.

I have always wanted to have a spring baby, little Eee came a couple of days earlier than I was expecting, although she came on time. This new little blossom will certainly be here before Spring is over.

Wishing you a joyous Spring, or Autumn my dear friends and family in the north.

Eee is Three!

2010-08-30T14:04:00.004+09:30

It's looking rather festive around here at the moment.

Little Eee has turned 3.

All she has been asking to do for her birthday is to eat Mermaid Cake. So, very grateful that the little bub is still being well taken care of in utero, I set about decorating the lovely Mindy Mermaid. It was no mean feat for a very tired, brain stretched, heavily pregnant lady who can hardly stand up long enough to complete my usual duties let alone this enormous extra one.

My brain went mushy. I couldn't figure out how to place the spearmint leaves for the tail effectively. I wondered why I do this to myself. Fortunately my Ess along with my Generous Gentleman came to my rescue and joined me in preparations of this enormous cake. The challenges began to wane and the fun increased.

As we sat down outside enjoying cake together, little Eee announced, "I love my mermaid cake" with the sweetest little smile on her growing face, her head cocked to one side. That said it all, I realised why I put myself through all the challenges of cake decorating for each birthday. The girls love it so much. They love requesting a cake of their choosing and then seeing it come to life, they love helping in the process of creation and they love consuming all the sugary icing and lollies (of course).

I love the memories that are being created, the skilled, generous children that are being created who I know will want to do this for their children one day. After all, it was my mother who taught me with all her cake decorating. Some of a much greater standard than mine. She made wedding cakes in her prime.

Happy Birthday little Miss Eee, we love you so much!

One Sock

2010-08-24T13:46:00.004+09:30

Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John,
Went to bed with his stockings on;
One shoe off, and the other shoe on,
Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John.
~ English Nursery Rhyme

Oh dear!

Look at my poor Ess! She has been wandering around one-socked for a little over a week now.

Why is it just so hard to complete that second sock? It took only one relaxing wet Sunday afternoon to complete the first slipper.

Here is the next one. So near to completion. Just a few more rows until the toe decreases are complete. It is quite hard knitting those last few rows with the smaller needles on the bulky wool. Although that is the combination that makes these Mary Jane Slippers such a great asset for slip sliding on tiled floors without wearing too quickly.

It's made of two strands of Lincraft Fairy Floss Yarn in a pink rainbow colour combination combined with one strand of yellow Panda Zoomy purchased through eBay last season. Rainbow yarns are a big favourite in our house so I knew the yarn would come in handy for something for my precious Ess.

That nursery rhyme I sang so often when Ess was a baby with those socks continually coming off those sweet tiny feet seems to be pertinent today as well. In so many ways the little ones change, yet in some they remain the same.

Diddle diddle dumpling my daughter Ess

Went to bed with her stockings on;

One sock off and the other sock on

Diddle diddle dumpling my daughter Ess.

Looking forward to another little pair of teeny tiny, sock-removing feet coming soon! :)

A Sunny Break {St Kilda}

2010-08-23T13:33:00.006+09:30

Yesterday the rainy cold days of the previous weeks gave way to a brilliant blue sunshiny day, serving to remind us that sunny Spring is just around the corner. I do love the rain and the cool, yet cosy, indoor days during winter. Yet it is essential to get outdoors, to be reinvigorated and enjoy the brightness of the colours that sunshine brings.

With a shout of "Yay!" the girls quickly bounded over the hill to the sights they beheld. We had kept our destination a little secret in order to surprise them, and indeed it did. I thought I'd be exhausted standing around as they played, yet their excitement and the colours of the day served to invigorate me.

I was inspired by the beautiful blues, greens and yellows of sea, sky and foliage.

Hope you enjoy this little peak at our day.

The day was a very different one to the day of our last visit at the end of Summer 2009.

It was a welcomed rainy day, cool enough to venture outdoors, yet there was no colour evident being the end of a hot dry summer.

The sunshine of yesterday was just for one day however, last evening we fell asleep to the sound of rain again and woke to cloud cover, sprinkles and raindrops. Only intermittent periods of sunshine prevail today.

Treats

2010-08-20T13:55:00.002+09:30

When one's tummy is growing

Along with a sweet little one inside,

One's level of exhaustion increases also,

Discomfort becomes common, experienced all day everyday,

Braxton Hicks contractions occur frequently...

A few little treats absolutely fill my heart anew.

:: roses from my Generous Gentleman waiting in our places

upon our arrival home late in the evening from Gymnastics ::

:: some Chiyogami paper from a sweet Japanese Shop

at the Adelaide Central Markets - Little Tokyo ::

We'll use these designs for a sweet pattern sent to us by my sister-in-law recently.

More to come soon.

Finally, we gather together as a family to enjoy lunch on a workday

Daddy, Mummy, our two little girls

at our favourite cafe

at the Central Markets.

A most precious treat for me!

Desiring to meet a new little one and become small once again,

Yet also knowing I have so much to do in preparation,

both mentally and physically in our home,

my brain is a bit mushy

my body is tired

along with my mind,

I wait, I rest, and take my time.

Shapes in the Peas in our Garden

2010-08-10T13:34:00.008+09:30

How often do you take time to sit back and watch, simply admiring the beauty of a growing plant and observing and taking particular note of tiny details in one variety?

I needed some space today and fortunately the sun was shining so I ducked outside to observe what was happening in the garden as we grow nearer to Spring. The peas needed staking so I spent time with my girls achieving that goal while we also discovered the numerous shapes to be found in the peas.

:: star-shaped caps hooding each pod ::

:: round shapes connecting the cap to the pod ::

:: swirls and spirals, these being almost symmetrical ::

:: crescent shapes in the new growth ::

:: long straighter lines in the tendrils...

...and along the length of the pod ::

:: imagined spherical peas growing inside each pod ::

:: almost oval leaf shapes ::

:: swirls and spirals galore ::

It was tremendous fun playing with the shadows as they were cast on our fingertips and on the wall behind the peas. Such intricate little shapes and lines.

I am sure there are probably many more we did not notice. Oh the delight in Ess' eyes as she discovered all the shapes one by one, as she took time to look closer and take notice. Children do that so well don't they, when they stop...finally! Things just seem to pop out at them and speak their own language. One which often passes us by as adults.

Two Warm Woollen Hats Completed

2010-08-09T14:26:00.009+09:30

Do you remember way back when I was making preparations for a warm woollen hat or two? Actually in finding this link I've discovered it was only just over a month ago, so I'm not doing too badly. They are now complete! My motivation has been the fact that this month is the last of winter. August is often our coldest month so I thought my lassies would enjoy being able to keep their heads warm. It appears to be working as once the hat is on, it doesn't seem to come off toooo easily. It really does keep little heads very cosy.

Ess particularly enjoys keeping her head warm. Although she does not like having her photo taken, as usual. Even when I try to snap a shot or two while she's playing the penny whistle.

The embroidery you saw me working on recently is now complete and very prettily adorning this pair of sweet bonnets.

Little Eee very much enjoyed playing model for me while I snapped away happily and we now have some delightful shots of a little sweetie wearing her new bonnet.

My result is quite different from the White Melton Hat in Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More. It is much more romantic and feminine yet still worn by my girls in a very carefree manner.

Butterfly Life Cycle II

2010-08-04T14:26:00.004+09:30

Our transformation of pasta into a butterfly

A model of the life cycle of a butterfly by our little Eee

(with a bit of help from Mum ;) esp. with the hot glue gun)

Don't you love her simple water colour painting and felt pen colouring!

A little pasta egg lay on a leaf,

a caterpillar hatched in the form of five Lumache Rigate threaded onto wool,

a beautiful, rainbow shell pasta chrysalis hung awaiting its transformation,

Farfalle make the most beautiful butterflies,

particularly when Ess puts her hand to them.

Ess turns everything she touches into a rainbow at the moment.

Look at the colours she used to paint her egg carton base,

each dutifully considered to be appropriate for the part of the life cycle it would contain.

Thankyou to Alecat at Serenades and Solace for your inspiration.

We love the way you turned pasta into butterflies.

Now we are considering purchasing a butterfly chrysalis kit to watch the process of metamorphosis and release some butterflies into our area.

Butterfly Life Cycle I

2010-08-02T14:41:00.005+09:30

We have spent quite some time over the past week or so exploring and discovering the life cycle of the butterfly. Initially I was very drawn to the beautiful water colour of these balancing butterflies by childhood magic.

Out came our rarely used watercolours and a new dimension of being artistic was discovered. I really do prefer water colours for painting inside. I like that we have lots of dry paint to be mixed with the wet brush (which I can wet for dear little Eee keeping the jar of water out of her reach). It means there is so much less mess than having blobs of acrylic paints around the place. You can see Ess' work above with my own butterfly in the background.

We moved our bodies to music as I shared a little story of the hatching of a fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar creeping, creeping, who spun himself a blanket to sleep in, before he emerged transformed into a beautiful butterfly. The girls enjoyed dressing up in their homemade butterfly wings, a gift from my sister years ago, to flutter around the room in to a favourite song:

Flutter by, butterfly,

Flutter by up in the sky.

We then discovered the proboscis of a butterfly is used for drinking. A straw makes a great proboscis inserted through a water coloured flower atop a pretty flower paper cup filled with water. This is a great idea for encouraging children to drink water, my pair didn't stop drinking for ages through their butterfly proboscises.

Our resources included the diagrams of the lifecycle of a butterfly found at The Children's Butterfly Site along with the ever-loved classic book:

The rainbow colours of Eric Carle's butterfly are very inspiring. All of Ess' work is coloured rainbow style. It is definitely her favourite technique at the moment.

We also created a model demonstrating the life cycle of a butterfly using something quite unexpected. We'll reveal that tomorrow.

Family Colouring - Our Paper City

2010-08-02T13:39:00.007+09:30

The moment I saw Nina's Stadtleben I knew what would happily occupy our family on a blustery, unpredictable family day which urged us to stay indoors. It was my dear Generous Gentleman's birthday yesterday. Fortunately we had celebrated the evening before, eating out at this highly recommended restaurant - simple but very delicious food.

Ess was delighted to be having family colouring time together again. Something we do enjoy but haven't found the opportunity to do so much of late. Now little Eee is growing she joins us for much longer for each session.

For some reason our family enjoys the creating of the city more than the playing with the city, if you know what I mean. I am not certain as to why this might be. Perhaps we are the creative innovators rather than the role playing actors in life.

The city grew and grew quite a lot yesterday and now actually has a green park under the helipad à la Nina's. Ess also has plans to build a shop which I will heartily encourage in order for us to be able to play shop and develop more maths and money skills including spending and saving as well as addition and subtraction. It is also linked directly to the literature we read recently, A Pair of Red Clogs, which includes a market and store where the new red clogs were purchased.

Can't wait to show you her store, yet she is busily sorting and creating various flavoured mice for us to nibble on as she is being a kitten and I her mother. So we do have some imaginative play going on in our house!

Mmm now I'm off to nibble on some liquorice, lime, blueberry and plain mice. Oooh there are some mandarin ones here too, yum!

This wonderful city is generously provided by made by joel

Another creative person from Portland, Oregon.

My Birthday Celebrations

2010-07-30T14:27:00.005+09:30

In childhood, we yearn to be grown-ups. In old age, we yearn to be kids. It just seems that all would be wonderful if we didn't have to celebrate our birthdays in chronological order. ~Robert Brault

My birthday flower blossomed for me in full spendour as I anticipated here,

gifts from my cherubs, presented to me while still naked after my shower

(excitement and anticipation absolutely cannot be quelled and postponed),

a sneak peek at our morning's activities enjoyed with our homeschool group,

followed by an afternoon of sunshine, blossom and natter in the park with new friends,

Ess picked me oodles and oodles of soursobs making at least two enormous bunches,

I returned home to more flowers from my very Generous Gentleman.

He knows what makes my heart sing.

Morialta Falls Conservation Park

2010-07-26T14:09:00.008+09:30

You must not know too much, or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and water-craft; a certain free margin, and even vagueness - perhaps ignorance, credulity - helps your enjoyment of these things... ~Walt Whitman, Specimen Days, "Birds - And a Caution"

The things we love:

peace, tranquility, being outdoors,

marvelling at the wonders of nature.

We wondered how the extended branches' weight was supported. This tree is enormous and the branches are growing almost horizontally. The pull of gravity must be huge,

yet still they stand.

the wonder of blackboys growing atop rocky outcrops in tiny patches of minimal soil,

enjoying the playful antics of the birdlife, Eastern Rosellas splashing in the creek,

and rainbow lorikeets high in the eucalypts

spotting ducks in the flowing creeks and watching the delight of our little girls,

the green of this one's beak is quite striking,

watching magpies warble as they call to each other,

and listening to the sounds of nature in the fall of water.

One Foggy Morning in July

2010-07-21T13:34:00.006+09:30

we wandered outside wondering just exactly what fog felt like,

it intrigued us of course, as we never quite reached it,

fog can be funny like that can't it!

we played long jump in a grassy clearing

watched the dew collect in moist patches on our shoes

admired dewdrops all over our Golden Diosma

and found our first daffodil budding

also covered in dew

waiting to greet us.

Daffodils are my birthday flower.

(At least in my mind they are.)

My mother tells me of how they were blossoming in our front lawn

as she brought me home from hospital.

My birthday is only a week away so we'll see how many are blooming for us then.

Dolls of Japan

2010-07-20T13:58:00.006+09:30

Reach for Heaven

We enjoyed viewing over 70 traditional handcrafted Japanese Dolls which were on exhibition to encourage arts and cultural exchange between Australia and Japan. It is a national touring exhibition so you may be able to see it wherever you are if you keep your eye out for it. It closes here on 22 July and I am not sure where it is then headed. More details here.

These are just a few of our favourites. The titles of those we remember are in italics.

Little Girl

There is no doubt in my mind that these wonderful dolls are works of art. They are certainly revered much more highly in Japanese culture than in our own. We marvelled at the beauty of, and the story behind, each piece and found it intriguing to imagine the artisans carving, sculpting and creating each of these beautiful works.

This Kokeshi Doll is just so so pretty, the carved flowers adorable.

We'll call her Blossom - not sure of her real name.

:: such elegance ::

Koto

Passing Time

:: reminding me of myself and my Ess ::

We are exploring the tale of Momotarosan in Kindermusik studies at the moment so it was fabulous to see him depicted in this way.

Peach Boy

I think this might be him - the little peach baby.

Tag

Children playing chasey or tag. The child who is it is trying to tag the last one in the line.

Japanese Cultural Day

2010-07-18T16:23:00.008+09:30

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.

~Japanese Proverb

We were fortunate to participate in a Japanese Cultural Day held in a nice peaceful environment. There were not crowds of people around which resulted in us being able to enjoy each activity without having to wait in queues and struggling to see.

Enjoy here a glimpse of some of what the day had to offer us.

:: trying on kimono ::

:: participating in a tea ceremony ::

:: listening to the Koto with a flute ::

:: listening to the Shakuhachi flute ::

:: having our names written in Japanese characters ::

This morning we have a commenced little unit study based around the lovely book below, A Pair of Red Clogs, by Masako Matsuno which is set in Japan.

Already we have had so much fun learning more about Japan, their flag, the country's location, a weather-telling game for children, differences in culture around the dining table, elaborate hairstyles, dressing up in dressing gown kimono with our hair in plaits, pretending our crocs are clogs and playing the weather-telling game.

The girls also surprised me with some of their own origami, their own design. We enjoyed making some simple pieces yesterday with an older Japanese instructor and her Australian teacher offsider so it was lovely to see them being creative with paper today. They made hats, fish, wormies and another special creation of my little Eee's.

Tomorrow I might give you a peak at some of our favourite dolls from the Dolls of Japan Exhibition. Would you like that?

If anyone knows of any lovely Japanese literature I should be exposing my 6 and nearly 3 year old to, please do share. Another we have enjoyed is One Leaf Rides the Wind, a counting book by Celeste Davidson Mannis. Great for little Eee.

**As you can see, Ess is now quite recovered and enjoying life as a little girl should. Thankyou for your care and concern.**

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-07-16T13:09:00.003+09:30

The rules state a recipient of the Beautiful Blogger award must:

*Add a link and a note of thanks to the person giving the award.

*Pass the award on to the most Beautiful Blogs you love.

*Share 7 things about yourself.

Thankyou Alecat of Serenades and Solace for awarding me with this award today. The last 24 hours have been rather tough ones with my Ess having an allergic reaction while we were out at the markets, little Eee performing her usual tantrums and my Generous Gentleman sharing some work news. It's not all new. However, yesterday it got to me and I spent hours awake last night worrying about things which I usually try not to let worry me as I know they are in good hands.

So worn and weary this morning, I found this award which has very much touched my heart today - thankyou.

I'd like to pass it on to some friends old and new:

Jeanne of A Peaceful Day, whose blog I recently found. She shares a wealth of information about her experiences homeschooling her daughter. She has wonderful taste for art and literature also. Her days are somewhat sad at the moment so I hope this award will cheer you a little, Jeanne. 'Your blog has been a blessing to me. I'm sure Alecat will join me with a little bit of envy that you live in the country with a lovely garden.'

Nina of Nö's Familie, who is a faithful friend, always able to offer a kind and helpful word. It is a delight to watch how she raises her two cherubs in southern Germany.

Mel of One Crafty Mumma whose creativity never fails to inspire me to start yet another project. Thanks Mel.

Millie of Needles and Haystacks, a lovely lady in Ireland who always has a lovely comment to make, a friendly smile to share and lovely sewing as well.

Sarah of The Best Days of My Life whose inspirational writing always speaks to my heart.

And 7 things about me?

:: I'm 28 weeks pregnant with my third little one.

:: I'm really enjoying the learning curve of homeschooling my girls.

:: I tend to store up my worries for a rainy day and then they all come out. Everything - large or small. I'm sure my husband thinks the rain won't stop falling from my eyes.

:: I seek beauty in the smallest and simplest of things.

:: I'm quite small, barely 5 foot tall.

:: I'd love to take my family to explore the Great Barrier Reef.

:: I love chocolate!

Wool Embroidery

2010-07-12T14:06:00.005+09:30

Needlepoint: the delicious art of filling in holes with wool.

~Carole Berman and Jennifer Lazarus

The winds of motivation were sent to me recently from the warm summer days of southern Germany. The winds took a little while to arrive, yet today I have noticed that motivation has come. The day has been a little warmer, warm enough to sit in our front room, usually chilled by cold winds blowing down the hill. As I sat with my children, watching them play, and joining in on occasion, I noticed those warm woollen hats sitting partly made ready to be embellished with a little more wool embroidery.

At the same time I went through my stash of fabric to find some pieces for other projects I have been inspired to commence for little Eee's birthday at the end of next month. I have completed a number of things which have been waiting for me since my lack of creativity during my first trimester and also our first term of homeschooling. Such a sense of satisfaction I feel. I just hope that my surge of motivation doesn't leave me with too many more unfinished projects.

It has been nice however, to sit in the sun this morning looking out over to the hills with my hand to stitching while my girls play together. Sometimes I like to join them, however I notice how much the games change when I do. On occasion it is nice just to sit quietly and let their own creativity emerge, just between the two of them. Little Eee's playing is certainly moving from imitative play to imaginative play these days which leaves lots of room for fun and games with her big sister as they imagine scenes, reenact stories, become fairies and princesses and babes and mothers and all the games that little girls adore.

For me...just a couple of forget-me-nots to go methinks.

Thankyou Nina for your inspiration on the warm breeze.

Pere al Vino Rosso

2010-07-10T13:00:00.004+09:30

It is, in my view, the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption. ~Edward Bunyard

This recipe has to be the most simple dessert I have made in a very long time.

Baked pears with a red wine sauce served with vanilla yoghurt.

My little pear of dessert lovers were keen to help make this last night so I had them washing the pears, and apples as well, and arranging them in a baking dish.

We then baked them dry for about 30 minutes before adding about ½-¾ cup red wine, some peeled lemon rind and honey. We love drizzling the warm fruit with honey and watching the lines meld together to form a glaze for the fruit. We baked them again for 30 mins or so before consuming them with a dollop of vanilla yoghurt. We use the new Jalna a2 yoghurt as we have been advised by our health practitioner that it is a healthy practice for everyone to consume some a2 protein each day as it assists in digestive wellbeing.

All credit must go to Antonio Carluccio as seen on Poh's Kitchen recently. We have adapted the recipe he offered as we prefer to consume honey rather than sugar in this household.

Colouring our Days with Playdough

2010-07-09T14:28:00.006+09:30

May you always have work for your hands to do.

May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
~Irish Blessing

Our days have been filled with rainbows here lately, with our artwork, marbling and rainbow colouring. We have also seen the occasional rainbow in the sky towards the hills. Ess has longed to follow them until we find the pot of gold at the end of it. Secretly, I think we all wish we could find it. However often the rainbow's end is apparently atop another family's house (sigh).

Ess is very passionate about colour at the moment and particularly all the colours of the rainbow. I recently asked her to choose her seven favourite colours over here so I could begin to plan my next blanket as I have finished the one I have been knitting for little Eee. Yes, I have finally finished it. She's still 2, that is still classed as a baby isn't it?? :) Ess chose seven pinky/purply tones and then finally wrote down "all of them" on her list. The selection is a lovely array of colour isn't it!

Here Ess is creating her own rainbow using the new playdough we made today along with our older colours which have become a lot less vibrant over the years. We think it looks fabulous.

Little Eee was adamant that I photograph the little balls we made together which she rolled and collected often requesting new ones from me to add to her growing collection.

I love to watch the way the children play and how it changes over the years. Little Eee's chubby hands are keen to explore the texture of the dough seeing how it moves, crumbles, cuts, rolls, squishes etc. She's also very keen to observe others making sausages and balls and rainbows and plaits.

Ess is keen to use colour to create patterns. She began with her own rainbow and followed this with a pattern made of shapes - all in red, the brightest of our new colours. Seen in the background of the above photograph.

These are the three new colours of the day, somewhat distorted in this image. They are actually red, orange and purple. I wonder how they look on your screen!

Learning to plait with playdough was very intriguing for Ess.

She was delighted with her result, as was I.

I guess it was the three new colours which drew me to plait the dough together. As a teenager I often plaited others hair and was in high demand in boarding school. I have never tried plaiting dough however. It seems like too much effort to me to plait together pieces of dough before placing them into the oven to make a loaf of bread.

So despite the sunny days of winter we are currently enjoying, it is still lovely to be cosy inside with my girls enjoying creating together with bright colours that delight our hearts and inspire our minds.

The Marble Effect

2010-07-07T13:50:00.004+09:30

is so much fun!!

Simply take an idea from this book, the only idea Ess was really taken by,

two eager and budding artists keen to try something new,

some oil paints and some mineral turpentine, (still amazed I attempted this with my two year old, but clad with lovely plastic gloves she fared quite well)

a tray of water, a bit of swilling and swirling and...

ta da!!

:: most definitely a fairy ::

:: a river ::

:: would make a beautiful fabric ::

:: an angelfish ::

:: yellow balls being tossed ::

Lots of fun was had in finding images in the prints

reminiscent of the way we discover animals in the clouds in the sky.

The effect of marbling is achieved as a result of the fact that oil and water don't mix. As the paper is placed in the tray of water onto swirling blobs of diluted oil paint it effectively picks up a print of the paints swirling round.

The repeated exclamation was an enormous "Wow!" on behalf of both girls as the paper was pulled out to reveal yet another marvellous effect of colour marbling.

It was so wonderful that even I was keen for all the repetition the girls love by inserting paper after paper into each new swirling bath of oil paint and water.

Preparations for a Warm Woollen Hat or two

2010-07-06T13:50:00.002+09:30

I'm making preparations for some sewing to adorn and warm my two lassies.

Here's some completed cutting out and browsing books to plan some embroidery before too much stitching together is complete and the hat become awkward to hold and embroider.

The book lying there on the right is:

The holidays we are enjoying now should afford me time to finish them...now just searching for the motivation.

Kangaroos on Millbrook

2010-07-05T13:01:00.004+09:30

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. ~Author Unknown

Across the creek, resting amidst the trees in the long shadows cast in the late afternoon we spotted that which we were on the hunt for.

They stopped to take a peek at us as well before bounding further up the hill and away from our curious eyes.

Travelling on our favourite road in the Adelaide Hills after being out and about enjoying the sunshine on a very cool winter's day we felt certain we would be rewarded.

There is nothing more fun than spotting wildlife in the bush for our dear little girls...all right, and their parents as well.

As Ess says, "it is so much more fun to play "Spot the ...." in real life rather than just in a book Mummy".

Needles Clacking

2010-06-28T14:15:00.003+09:30

If the knitter is weary the baby will have no new bonnet. ~Irish Proverb

Writing a previous post about focus must have been just what I needed as I have found that the last week or so have allowed me some more creative time, space and energy to begin working again on the blanket I have been knitting for little Eee ever since she was a baby. I am determined to finish it this season. We have both been using it lots already as the mornings have been very cool these past few days, leading into the house staying cooler during the day. This is particularly so when the pilot light on our central heating refuses to light and we are left waiting for the tradesman to replace it. (Fortunately it is all repaired as of this morning).

I really love this blanket, as do most visitors we have here, and I will find it hard to give away to little Eee however it will stay around our home for many years to come.

I have even got my hook out also in order to make a little gift for my nephew. I hope he likes his little 'blue' pear.

I'm hoping this newfound energy will last so I can complete some unfinished projects (am counting on the nesting phase to take care of that) and then to create something new for our new little cherub.

Decorator Chalk Drawing

2010-06-22T13:56:00.006+09:30

Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up. ~Allen Klein

Today I was somehow inspired to allow my girls to use decorating chalks for some artwork. Perhaps it was the uniquely shaded illustrations in The Story about Ping which combine multiple colours of pencils or crayons that led me to thinking the chalks would work well. Perhaps I knew they'd like the large palette of colours to choose from, or it might even have been the practical me, resisting getting out paints when it is a bit too chilly to enjoy the outdoors with no sunshine.

All three of us had a lovely time using the chalks to create different effects, combining colours with ease using our fingers and simple cottonbuds.

I don't consider myself an artist at all but I do love sitting down with my girls to create colourful fancies for each other, admiring each other's drawings, observing and trying new techniques. And I absolutely adore Ess' fingerprint ducks paddling under the setting sun on the Yangtze River in the very first picture.

Simply being creative together.

Focus - the new growth in winter

2010-06-16T13:54:00.005+09:30

I adore bare wintry branches with buds forming upon them, set against the blue sky of a clear sunny day.

It reflects a little the way I am feeling at the moment, being with child!

Each time I have been pregnant my usual nurturing and creative pursuits seem to go on hold as my body assumes its full role in nurturing a tiny one within.

My desire to pick up a needle and stitch seems to be taking a little break.

The urges I usually have to go outside and dabble in my garden wanes, although I still visit there daily to harvest greens for a lunchtime salad. It was fortunate that my girls and I spent a sunny morning in Autumn planting out some winter greens for this purpose.

It is very fortunate it is winter and the rainy season as getting outdoors to water the plants doesn't happen as regularly as it might need to during summer.

It is not that I am tired these days. In the middle of my second trimester I feel well and healthy and full of life and energy. It is just focussed on my family, the ones I am raising and nurturing day by day.

So my life is very focused at the moment on keeping this little one growing well inside me just like the bud on the wintery tree, waiting for the right time to blossom.

The Glorious Flight

2010-06-04T14:37:00.006+09:30

The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air. ~Wilbur Wright

Taking a flight from France to the white cliffs of Dover in England is not something I have ever done, or even imagined really, until this past couple of weeks when we explored the antics of Mr Louis Blériot in the story The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot. After our visits to France with Madeline we joined with Papa Blériot as he ventured into the unknown with his exploits of invention of a flying machine which would cross the dangerous English Channel. He made it after many attempts at creating something which would actually fly. We made many discoveries along the way.

Ess explored Roman Numerals and enjoying telling me which invention we were up to as we read along together. She enjoyed making the little window book we found at Homeschoolshare writing in her own Roman Numerals to peek at through each window.

Onomatopoeia was a concept we had lots of fun with creating words which make the sound they are describing. In the story we hear the sound of an airship overhead clacketa, clacketa, clacketa, followed by the sound of a motor car crashing into a vegetable cart on its way to market. Crump is the sound we hear when all eyes are fixed to the sky rather than the road as perhaps they should be when one is driving a new motor. Our words were animals sounds and sounds of transport which young minds delight in so.

Ess wrote a lovely little piece of descriptive writing in the style of a section of descriptive prose in The Glorious Flight describing her favourite magic pony.

Our art exploration was that of perspective. Ess couldn't wait to climb our retaining wall to sit on top to draw what she saw down below, after sitting just outside to look up and draw what she could see over the fence. She was very curious as to how differently her apple looked when she drew it from above and then from underneath it through my glass chopping board.

This exploration through drawing has led to many discussions of perspective and how things appear to change when our viewpoint changes, yet in actual fact that are no different at all. We talked of concepts of 'near and far' which little Eee has been drawn to inspired by Mem Fox's fabulous story Where is the Green Sheep? [Board book]. While playing in a playground directly in the flight path to the airport we watched as aeroplanes moved closer and became seemingly larger. We have also discussed the idea that everyone sees things differently according to their own experience and perspective and that it is important for us to realise that we have different viewpoints on certain topics so we need to be open to listen to others in order to understand and appreciate them. It is so easy for misunderstandings to arise when assumptions are made and different viewpoints are not taken into consideration.

We have explored making our own angry faces during a roleplay where I took on the role of the angry cart owner after it had been run into. Little Eee was particularly taken by this roleplay and it was very amusing to watch her sweet little face trying to become angry on demand. :) Ess made the comment that it was very difficult to make an angry face when you are happy. This was evident all over her smily/angry face and mine was surely amusing and oft-requested after our initial roleplaying activity.

Our musical lives this week have continued to reflect our love of French children's songs with the addition of a few aeronautical favourites such as Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines and Soaring, Soaring, soaring, aeroplanes are soaring.

Of course we have learnt lots more about aeroplanes by increasing our aeroplane vocabulary to include words such as aileron, fuselage and elevator. We labelled an airplane and even attempted to make a few of our own using paper. We enjoyed an aeroplane matching game and learnt more about parts of planes and different types of planes which have been invented this last century. All thanks to the resources found at www.homeschoolshare.com.

We have also made a Flight Timeline to discover how flying has developed over the past century and as I type Ess is enjoying reading about Amelia Earhart, woman aviation pioneer along with playing games etc over here. We found some fascinating footage of the Wright Brothers as well as a Blériot commemorative flight made by a Swedish pilot last year.

We continue to enjoy watching planes fly overhead and land at the nearby airport and have added a new dimension to our understanding of aeroplanes and flying thanks to this lovely piece of literature.

Credit for many of these lovely ideas for educating my children must be given to the authors of Five in a Row. A resource we are finding very appropriate and enjoyable as well as informative and educational.

Early Winter Walking

2010-06-02T14:46:00.006+09:30

"Hear! hear!" screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, "winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it." ~Henry David Thoreau, 28 November 1858 journal entry

These cooler sunny mornings beckon me outdoors in order for us to enjoy the remains of Autumn before the winter frosts and rains set in. We three were all intrigued by this spangly, precariously standing toadstool.

We looked up to see the birds we heard twittering as they flittered from tree to tree, almost too fast for the eye to see and certainly too quickly for the camera to capture.

The beauty of the bare branches being a sure indication that winter is here.

We hugged the bare trees, they just seemed to invite little arms to embrace them.

We picked Correa Dusky Bells, our native fuschia.

Rounding up petals by our neighbours rose garden was the perfect thing to do in order to make up a batch of Princess Poppy's petal perfume. Ess has made this many times and she intends to give this batch away as a gift to her friends.