the Wise Robin

solstice stillness

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I had plans for Winter Solstice. Not big plans but plans nonetheless. They looked something like this in my mind...a quiet day filled with cosying up indoors, some hearty solstice soup and crusty bread, observing the stillness of this... the shortest day, inward reflection of the past year and hopes for the one to come, a twilight fire and lantern spiral walk, all finished off with a wee bit of therapeutic evening knitting. 

Something I've learnt about plans, especially since becoming a Mama, is that sometimes plans stay, well, just plans.They are replaced by letting go, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

There was no Solstice soup with crusty bread, no twilight fire, no lantern spiral walk and certainly no activity of the needle and yarn type.  The day dawned dark, windy and wet. A winter bug kept this Mama confined to the couch either sleeping or drinking lemon and ginger tea. The Solstice was certainly granting me stillness and rest...with a little bit of letting go thrown in.

On Solstice Eve (before my winter chill had taken hold. I could feel it waiting in the wings, but I was not going to be slowed down ...I had plans to forge on with) I was able to finish a dear friends Solstice birthday brooch and we were able to finish off our Solstice cards and deliver them by stealth, under the cover of darkness. Miss Z is loving these night time missions . There was nothing I loved more when I was her age than being bundled into the car at night, wrapped in warm layers and driving. The car headlights highlighting the overhanging, roadside trees, the stars in an inky black sky, sometimes the moon mysteriously following us. She asks the same questions now that I did as a child " Mama, why does the moon follow us?"

Lanterns were lit and all was well as the sun continued it's rhythmic journey.

winter weekend

 

It was just this week that I was exclaiming how harsh the Winter light is compared to the beautiful softness of Autumn (we all know that I'm an Autumn gal through and through). Biases aside, I've been trying to see the beauty through the glare that is this clear, crisp, bright light of Winter. Days are either filled with grey skies, rain and fog or this clean, pure sunlight that reminds me of midsummer. And then, it was as if Winter cast aside her bright mantle for just a moment this weekend, to reveal her gentle spirit and divine beauty to me. 

 
 
 
  
  

We enjoyed a lot of indoor time this weekend. Miss Zahra spent most of her time with scissors and kite paper in hand, making window snowflakes.

 

I started stitching a little something for my budding birdwatcher

 

It's a blue-faced honeyeater, her bird of the moment, which we've been watching feed on the nectar from the flowering camelias right outside my bedroom window for the past few weeks.

We also baked

 

raspberry coconut slice...mmmhmm,

Cooked

 

garlic, chickpea and spinach ( or in our case, bok choy) soup,

checked out a couple of new finds

 
 
 
 

 there was a wee bit of lingering over the cutest pair of alpaca bunny slippers,

 
 
 
 

Published in 1959... found on a recent visit to the op-shop. Gems like these are what keep me going back people.

Enjoyed a 'homey' exhibition by a very local artist that I know,

 
 
 
 

soaked up the many faces, colours and beauty that is this season Winter

 

 
 
 
 

and managed to squeeze in some river time with friends

 
 
 

All this was topped off by a certain proud, little, girl, who blew up her first balloon.  One very proud Mama, gah.

 

Happy  Weekending to you.

small things

'Little things' are the hinges of the universe

Fanny Fern

  
A single moment, captured from the week- a moment  to pause, savour and remember - as inspired by soulemama

Our authenticity is found hidden in the small details of our daily round. We think that it is the big moments that define our lives. But really these big moments of happiness are just the punctuation marks. The narrative is written every day in the small and simple

Sarah Ban Breathnach

winter weekend moments

 Winter has dawned crisp and clear.The air is fresh, the light is bright and the sun is warming. After a cold snap sent us scuttling indoors during the week, we were blessed with blue skies, winter sunshine and plenty of outdoors time this long weekend... As a friend so aptly put it ..." thank goodness for the royals!" We filled our days....

 

with tea, tea and more tea

 
 

drinking in the sun...with a little bit of knitting thrown in for good measure

 

finishing projects

 

birdwatching and spelling phonetically

 
 
 

 drinking in some more sun

 
 

felting

 

adding to the winter nature table

 

with early morning moments

 
 
 

apple tree climbing

 

watching the garden grow

 
 
 

with a first attempt at patchwork (from which I've learnt that sometimes it pays to do a teensy bit of crafting research)

 

winter walking

 

admiring the seasonal changes around us

 
 

down by the river

 
 
with reminders of next seasons promises

This long weekend was especially memorable for the truly inspiring and healing women's workshop that I was blessed to participate in. Thankyou to all of the amazing women who shared of themselves and helped to create an amazing space, energy and connection.
 

With my sisters beside me

I am strong, I am free...

(Tiddas)

 

small things

'Little things' are the hinges of the universe

Fanny Fern

 
photo by the very talented film maker Miss JJ

Our authenticity is found hidden in the small details of our daily round. We think that it is the big moments that define our lives. But really these big moments of happiness are just the punctuation marks. The narrative is written every day in the small and simple

Sarah Ban Breathnach

midweek

 

  

It's midweek. Wednesday.

Pondering whether Thursday should actually be midweek, three days either side of it. 

The weekend is not actually separate from the week, just different.

Time is measured in so many ways. For us, right now, it is measured by class bells, traffic lights, stolen moments and sleep. So new to us who delight in an easy morning rhythm and pick our way slowly through the day's moments.

And after I have kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear that I love her forever and always, everything seems to fall away and there is space. Space to do those things that seem so distant sometimes when we are together and my awareness of right now is vague. A space that seems so vast yet vanishes so quickly until we are together again. This space is different.

I am in the middle. The middle of finding a different rhythm. It has caught me unawares. Some days the vast space is filled with necessary tasks, some days with an 'out of sync ' kinda feeling, like today.

 I settle into some creating so I can sing to my rhythm

  

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Something for a new Mama who is trying to settle into a different ryhthm too.

(Bib pattern is by Charlotle Lyons, embroidery design is my own)

 

the process

 

With most things in life there is a process... you know the old saying " it's not about the destination it's the journey that counts". Well... knitting is certainly no exception. As a new knitter I am slowly but surely unearthing this process. It all happened like this: baby is born, one month later still no gift for said baby, plough headlong into a two needle sock pattern, hit a rough patch, unsuccessfully search knittinghelp.com, head straight to my 'go-to girl' at the local yarn store, rough patch smoothed out, cruising along, hit a much larger rough patch, discover my 'go-to girl' is in Melbourne, try numerous methods of knitting around rough patch, frustration, tell myself "it's all in the process", will my 'go-to girl' back to town (discover I have no superpowers), admit defeat for the moment, put knitting aside for a few days, ponder knitting pattern , aha...have a light bulb moment while settling Miss Z to sleep, try out bright idea.....ahhhh, knitting success.

 
 
 

Retrospect is a lovely thing. Often it is only with the help of this marvellous tool that I can retrace the process and reflect on precious lessons learnt.This Mama has I learnt that the saying is indeed true, even for knitting... the journey is valuable, perseverance and patience are necessary  and a second 'got-to girl' is a must.

 

And through 'this process'  I have discovered the perfect time and space for future knitting adventures.

Happy Knitting.

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

winter weekend moments

 

 
 
  

We woke early Saturday to the sound of rain on the roof. For me this rhythmical drumming means rolling over and sleeping just that little bit longer, a day indoors 'mooching' around reading books, cooking, playing games and getting creative. And what does a 'mooching' mama need for such an occasion? An oversized nanna knit of course. This over sized, but extremely comfy knit was gifted by a dear friend just this week after a winter wardrobe clean-out found her with too many of her Nanna's knits. So she generously passed on a knit to this Mama who was more than happy to oblige (thankyou Miss S). 

    
 

So we kicked off the day with a lazy breakfast but then opted to step outdoors to see what changes the rain had brought to our garden.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We then headed back indoors for our fill of rainy day 'mooching'.

 
 

(a new project for my little Miss Birdwatcher)

 

And then when we were just getting into our 'mooching' groove, some well anticipated goodies from Melbourne arrived. 

 
 

Almond croissants from A Treat of France on Nicholson Street, Carlton North (ah, so, so, so good)

 

homegrown rhubarb (there's a pie on the menu this week)

 

a rather large quantity of pasta nests

 
 

and three wintry coloured merino tops ( from the Handweavers and Spinners Guild of Victoria )for some felting projects I have in mind. The turquoise is a wee bit, shall we say richer in colour than I had expected, but when carded with some natural top should produce a softer, paler blue. After tea and croissant consumption the sun shone down,so we headed to the gardens for some more tea with Miss JJ.

 
 
 
 

Happy Days.

 

Samedi

 

For me, Saturdays have a certain something about them. A certain something, that until today, I was unable to put my finger on. It is hard to put into words because it is something that touches the furthest reaches of my heart. It is there when I wake and is there in increasing strength as the day's rhythm unfolds. It is there when old and deep connections are re-made, when aged wounds which are slowly healing are reopened just a little. There is joy and there is sorrow in these connections. There is friendship and there is anger. And the questions...there are always the same questions left floating in my mind. By Sunday they have settled, a little healing has happened and the week begins to unfold once more.

 

welcome

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 A quick dash to the yarn store yesterday resulted in a small stash of beautiful, new wool. I'm not sure whether it was the calendar countdown to winter that did it or the birth of a new babe into my extended family. Whatever the reason, winter has been welcomed with some new woollen projects (I'm blocking those library book fines from my mind right now) and a little sewing.

 
 
 
 
First on the list for my trusty machine today was a magnifying glass pouch. I wanted something for Miss Z to stash her magnifying glass in when out and about so it would be protected and kept clean, hah.  I'd been keeping this Ikea fabric for just the right project. It was time to dust it off today.

 

My girl has been asking for a pair of pants for a few weeks now...sewing project number two to welcome in winter. So off we went to the fabric store the other day where she picked out this rather busy but cute corduroy. I've never made trousers before or slacks as my Nana would call them, but following the easy instructions for constructing children's pants from SouleMama's, The Creative Family, they were whipped up in no time at all...and the best part is, they fit ( I have memories of making shorts in Mrs Brown's textile class in high school... they did not fit). With new cords on, magnifying glass in hand and binoculars at the ready, my litlle adventurer and I headed down to the gardens for some exploring.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

It was my little one that reminded me this morning that "our seasonal nature table is due for an overhaul Mama". Miss Z promptly went about clearing, sorting and rearranging whilst singing " dusty the gnome, he loves a dust free home..." I much prefer to slowly and gently rearrange this table over a few weeks to reflect the slow transition from one season to another.... However, when this sweet girl of mine has something in mind, she's off. Autumn berries and leaves were squirreled away, because she was not quite ready to return them to the earth- her way of making a slow transition from one season to the next.

 

 I made this polar bear just the other night, when after a busy day, I needed some handwork to settle my mind before opting for sleep. I searched for a polar bear pattern but ended up using the dog pattern from Feltcraft and altering it to look like a polar bear. The result was this little cub which Miss Z has named Frenzy. He is now residing in a bark cave with Lexie the seal on our winter nature.

I relish the gentle yet very noticeable shift in energy that the changing seasons bring. There is a certain replenishment and re-ignition of creative forces that accompany the new season's rhythm.

Welcome Winter