30 September 2009

Quiet time...


We're still here though... No, not in hiding. Just really busy. The rain has been amazing. Buckets and buckets. The backyard has a wetland/rice paddy thing going on. The chooks are not amused. So we've been throwing ourselves into spring - indoors. Plenty of cubbies and painting and SEWING!! Market season is here.


Last weekend we were at the Baby and Kids Market in Hobart. What a great day!
We managed to sell just enough to pay for the things we bought and a little extra for a block of chocolate or two on the way home...


About 90% of stalls were second hand... There's me in the bottom left helping out Little Snoring while she shopped around.

I put some new onesies out on the table... I don't usually do much pink, but a few people have requested it so its there for a short while...


And some cars that my little owlet is rather fond of...


So... the loot? Some awesome clothes and shoes for Little Owlet - many still with tags. I'm particularly fond of the tweed hooded jumpsuit and the shoes... She's been wearing a couple of bits of clothing, not in the photo, since Sunday. There's the $1doona cover for Big Owlet and a drink bottle and bike helmet too...


And although we don't go for plastic toys too often, we couldn't go past this faerie house... possibly the most value packed entertainment we've found for $5 for a while!

22 September 2009

She can read Green Eggs and Ham...


I climbed up to tuck her in on the top bunk and she was looking at a pile of books with a torch. I asked if she was reading. "Yes, I'm reading inside my head!" She replied excitedly. Then she asked if I could hold the torch for her while she read a book to me... and so she read the whole thing... Green Eggs and Ham. We haven't actively taught her. She has asked questions and we have helped her understand things along the way. She's been reading words for a while and small books here and there, but has been quite reluctant to actually read. Until today. Its an amazing thing to watch, this unschooling thing... It really does just happen. And its a lovely, surprising and rewarding thing for everyone. Especially her. Watching her really understand and enjoy a book for the first time, and her amazement and enjoyment and reading it herself when she wants to... How lucky we are to witness those moments, and share them with her.

Spring table


Well the weather is all over the shop. Sunny and peaceful one day, snowing and windy the next... But we've made our list for spring and refreshed our seasonal table and we are ready to begin... a little belated, but in time for the Equinox!


We have some new little people too. The owlets helped me make these the other day (hence the scrunchy face)... Big owlet's seems to have wandered off somewhere. They were fun to make but lots more fun to play with!

17 September 2009

My creative space...


Its raining today, so we're inside and snuggly and I'm on the couch admiring my weekend efforts... I've been making these little brooches for a while now. They are made from japanese remnants and recycled kimono fabrics, wool felt and buttons made from Tasmanian native tree twigs. They were a hit at a recent market and I've not shown them here because some are destined for PIF/giveaway recipients and I didn't want to spoil the surprise... But, well, its what I'm doing today, and its not the whole thing, so here they are :)

Go see where others create over here.

16 September 2009

Bliss...


We eat these cashew nut bliss balls like they are chocolate...

150g Raw cashews
250g Dates
1/2 cup coconut
a drizzle of maple syrup

Add ingredients to your food processor in the order listed, whizzing between each addition. Fiddle with the ingredients until you are happy with the textures. They should squish up well, but be a little firm, not mushy. Roll in extra coconut and pop in the fridge for a bit.

Changing of the Seasons...

Its been a tough winter. Cold, wet, grey and unfriendly. By the end the little winter things we loved doing seemed like a drag. We entered territory we'd never been to before. My little family have been through the wringer, emotionally and physically... Even holidays seemed like hard work! We returned from Canberra looking for a reprieve... We found little signs of spring...

Cherry Blossom...


Acacia Blossom... and the sound of bumble bees buzzing past our bedroom window... We slept well in our own beds and woke up refreshed and inspired to cleanse and refresh our nest...


The mushroom walls and timber frames went in place of a clean crisp canvas.


The light came in...


And so did Spring! So we begin again with new ideas and look forward to our days with a revived energy. We'll be making our list of Spring activities for the girls, Spring cleaning and enjoying days in the sunshine again, just being in the moment.

Huz must be feeling the same because he video blogged this rather lovely song by Ane Brun that he decided to learn on his way home from work last night. You get to see more of my lovely white lounge room too before we move the stuff back in ;)

11 September 2009

Toasty toes


My big owlet has been unwell. In need of some nurturing. This morning she arrived at the breakfast table and announced that her slippers had completely had it *imagine best Lola voice*. She held up two shabby, holey looking el-cheapo pink polar fleece slippers with loud tappy soles falling off. What to do? The new slippers needed to be warm and soft and quiet so she can creep up on us - part of her latest facination with magic tricks... So naturally I thought of that old felted jumper I used to make arm warmers for my sister...


I drew around big owlet's foot, worked out a shape, cut out some pieces and stitched them together. I added some denim for the soles. Then I put them on her feet and they were too big and baggy... But yay for felt!! Just a bit of stitching, cutting and moulding and we had a comfy pair of slippers! I still need to finish the top edge with some blanket stitch, but I'll need to wrestle them off her first - she's worn them to bed!

Thanks Sazz


Our friend Sazz made some gorgeous ring slings for the owlets to carry their babies around in... One can never have too many baby carriers! They are getting a good workout and I finally caught one of them for long enough to take a picture!!

10 September 2009

My creative space...


We're back and its a shared space again this week. We arrived home from our trip and out came the paints, the sketch books, the scissors... We were all feeling a bit craft-starved. Unfortunately Big Owlet's lack of sleep led to illness, so while she's resting up, Little Owlet and I are taking a moment to look for inspiration. I'm decluttering at the same time. Going through my huge magazine stack and tearing out pics for my inspiration book/visual diary/scrap book... And Little Owlet is doing the same. She's very serious about it. I'm less serious, enjoying the silence and pretty pictures... and a cuppa, of course.

More spaces here.

9 September 2009

Saving Homebirth...

Well, trying valliantly anyhow.... As I've mentioned before, the Australian Government are currently devising ways to make birthing with an independent midwife at home extremely difficult for the majority of the population, if not illegal, in the near future. It would seem the government are spending time listening to insurance companies and medical groups and not to the people most affected by these plans, women. So we decided to travel to Canberra to try and get our voices heard, along with a couple of thousand other people, in favour of choice.

It was wet and freezing cold. So we rugged up, donned attractive garbage bag-style rain ponchos and bundled off after breakfast, starting at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. That's me holding little owlet's hand in the middle of the pic.


We'd been invited to participate in the sacred fire ceremony and Acknowledgement of Country.


It was such an amazing and moving thing to be part of, for all of us...


A chance to listen and learn, before marching on to Parliament House to join the throng...


There's me in my lovely garbage bag with a green faerie I met along the way...


We stood with friends and strangers, women, men and children, in the rain and cold and hoped that the polititians noticed we were there, if only for a few hours.... Canberra certainly noticed the increase in babies, children, earthy types and baby carriers! I'm not sure we made a huge difference, but I am glad we did what we could, and we'll continue to in the coming months... years...

Oh, but I'm so glad to be home!