the Wise Robin

things of comfort

When things get a little topsy turvy around here and I stop to ponder on the chaos that is, I most often than not find myself reflecting on the rhythm of our days and weeks. Sometimes it's that the rhythm needs tweaking as feelings and needs dictate and sometimes it means an all together change is in order as life's little adventures present themselves. A changing rhythm takes a wee period of adjustment for this Mama. It reminds me of when Miss Zahra was a toddler and we'd settle into some form of rhythm and routine with daytime naps, mealtimes, getting out and about, 'mama'-time, study...and all the rest that goes hand in hand with family life, and one small change or developmental milestone reached would throw that peaceful, 'knowing what's coming at you ' kind of rhythm into disarray for a short time. One certainly learns the art of flexibility when living with small people. Through all the changes that our daily walk through life has taken us, there have remained a few contants, small things of comfort that make the transition to a different rhythm smoother. Small things that stand firm in times of flux.  The first thing that comes to my mind is comfort food, or even the act of preparing comfort food. I've noticed I head straight to the kitchen and my preferred method of comfort food preparation, baking, when life is throwing me a curveball. I've now discovered that one of my all time 'don't feel like preparing dinner' favourites can be baked. It's pure genius.  So I've been thinking about it over the past week and have come up with a list of little things of comfort.  In no particular order here's my shortlist...

Black and Greens Mayan Spice Dark Chocolate

Clean Laundry

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Fresh cut flowers throughout the house

Popcorn

A cup of tea

A very new favourite... homemade berry frozen yoghurt

sitting in sunshine

King Island Double Brie

a hug

hot soup with crusty bread

walking in the bush

freshly baked bread

being in the mountains

flourless chocolate cake still warm from the oven

rain

gardening

family meal time

making

moving to music

and generally slowing down

 

What small things bring you comfort?

 

 

this week

This week final year exams were sat...

it rained, all night and into the morning

new moon celebrations

...and a little bit of bag making. One for a six year birthday and the other for river time, pool time and the seaside. It is rather ginormous, the pattern traced from a friends enormous pool bag. But hey, it fits four bath sheet sized towels, spare clothes, nibbles, the all essential book of the moment, my camera, hats, sunscreen, bathers, collected treasures...and all the rest. I love it. Bring on summer! 

this heart

Feeling a little disheartened today until ...

I made some fresh butter and ate these...

picked a cabbage and fried it up...

baked some tatters with salt and rosemary...

and spent some time in the garden with my peeps...

Happy Sunday.

xoxo

 

 

this little garden

Way back in late Autumn we started a vegie garden.

The girls dug it over and made it ready for us.

 Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflowers, calendulas, silverbeet and rainbow chard.

We started small and rather late into the season with excitement and hopes of eating some backyard goodness.

Five months later...

... with a little bit of tending and a lot of watching we're still enjoying the last of our Winter vegies.

We'll be picking and eating our last cauliflower and broccoli this week, but the cabbages, those surprising cabbages , will hopefully (fingers crossed they don't bolt to seed) keep coming out of the frypan for a few more weeks.

About a month back we decided to expand.

Two more beds.

Tomatoes, peas, beans, radishes, carrots, sunflowers, lettuce, capsicum, sweet peas

... and some leg room for zucchinis, cucumbers and pumpkins.

Mulching, planting, waiting, watering

A windowsill full of Mozart's and Nicola's, Dutch, Kipfler's and Telangi Delights

It's fun watching how things change as the weather warms up.

Vegies turn to flowers, and hopefully seeds.

The oranges and lemons flowering again... one of my favourite fragrances

A friend asked me about the costs versus benefits of growing your own vegies.

It got me thinking.

As renters the decision for us to start a garden is always fraught with the 'what if's?'

What if we move, what if they sell, what are we allowed to do to the place, how much money do we want to invest in a house that isn't ours?

I waited five years in the last house I lived in to plant a vegie garden

... and then after one harvest we moved.

I was sad but I felt that we were leaving a lovely legacy for the next family. Every time I drive past that place I look... and see that they have kids too... and that the garden has grown and changed in different ways.

That makes me smile.

This time around, in this home I've decided that putting the what if's aside and living for today is better for my soul and my family.

Through this garden we are connected to the Earth and her river of seasons,

We watch the moon and see change.

We have a connection to what is on our plate.

We spend more time outdoors, unplugged, getting dirt on our hands and sun on our face.

For all these things I reckon we feel more peace inside...and for that it's worth it.

 

 

 

 

small things

 

seaside colours

happy calendulas in the garden and on the table

afternoon sunshine

spices

apple blossoms

nesting

her pinch pots

fresh pesto

handwritten messages

little treasures

a girl and her dog

bush sunsets

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

 

from me to you ~ Springtime giveaway

 

Just a little something from me to you in celebration of Spring

A handmade  birdie brooch made by yours truly.

I'd love to know what your favourite thing is about Springtime - maybe it's a colour, or a smell, a feeling, the longer days, bare skin, or blossoms.

Whatever it is that inspires you, simply leave a comment before Sunday, 23rd October

The winner will be drawn by random number generator and announced on this post.

~ sunshine to you all~

Charleaxo

 

little rays of sunshine

The bush is awash with colour at this time of year...purples, oranges, reds and yellows. So much yellow. A few weeks back I was out walking with Kaya and everywhere I turned I was surrounded by the happy yellow of varnish wattle and paper daisies. Like little rays of sunshine peppered through the grass. They made me smile.

 After a while one thing led to another and I started thinking about lemon tart...happy, sun-shiny, delicious lemon tart. Do you ever have those moments when you're mind happens upon something that takes your fancy and suddenly you find yourself with a determination that will stop at nothing until said fancy is fulfilled? I seem to have those moments frequently where baked goods are concerned.

The short story is I headed home mid walk with one thing on my mind.

And the result ... little rays of 'lemony' sunshine.

Every house I have lived in over the last twelve years in this town has had a lemon tree in the backyard. This year, in this house, we were blessed with an incredibly good harvest. We'd been storing the fruit on the tree and picking as needed, but with the warmer weather on its way and reports of fruit fly starting to infest even citrus (crazy times, and while I'm on the topic ,if anyone has a tried and true Summer fruit fly management plan for their vegies, particularly tomatoes, we'd love some advice) we've opted this week to pick every last one.

An afternoon of squeezing later and hey presto...8 litres of lemon juice and one very full freezer. It's going to be a Summer full of lemon butter, lemon tart, lemon meringue pie, lemon syrup cake, lemonade, maybe a cocktail or two...or three, lemon zucchini pasta, lemon sorbet, lemon chilli prawns...and generally lots of lip smacking lemon goodness.

Got any good lemon recipes?

 

Sunshiny Lemon Tart

PASTRY

2 cups plain flour

2 tablespoons of caster sugar or maple syrup (sounds crazy but it works and is healthier)

180g chilled butter chopped

2-3 tablespoons of iced water

 Process the flour, sugar or maple syrup and butter in food processor or by hand, whatever suits, until the mixture feels like breadcrumbs. Add enough iced water to form a smooth dough. Knead lightly, place in container and chill in fridge for 30mins. Preheat oven to 200 ^oC. Prepare filling.

 Roll pastry out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin until the required size is reached ( I usually have a little left over, perfect for little hands to get busy with). Line the pie/ tart dish. Blind bake (place baking paper over the top of the pastry and weigh down with cooking weights or whatever you have on hand... I use dried chick peas!) until pastry is golden. Remove from oven and fill with lemony goodness.

FILLING

4 eggs lightly whisked

250ml thin cream

200ml strained fresh lemon juice

220 g/ 1 cup castor sugar or maple syrup to taste

and if you love a really zingy lemon flavour... the zest of one lemon

Reduce oven to 160 ^oC. Place all ingredients in a jug and whisk until combined. Pour filling into warm pastry. Return to the oven for 20 minutes or until set. Serve warm or cold with double cream or and ice cream.

Happy Spring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

a different space

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 
 

My new space has become a different space

an unexpected blessing

river views

lots of light

in the treetops

birdsong

more room for my creating and hers

gratitude

 wall space for hanging

a wide window for Summer breezes

 

Drop by, have a cuppa, we'd love to see you

 
 
 
 
 

apple tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Our trampoline days are back! The weather is slowly warming up as the sun's arc rises higher in the sky and we are enjoying more time outdoors. Last year our apple tree, which is also our girls roost, blossomed and fruited. As the apples ripened through late Summer we started dreaming of fresh, crunchy apples and apple pie. But a dry spell of a couple of weeks in the middle of the wettest season we've had in twelve years, and well...all that goodness dropped to the ground.

One cycle of seasons later and the apple tree is in full swing again. Standing beneath that tree is quite something. You can hear, see, smell and feel the life-force not just of this tree but the season and the Earth. It's alive with bees and new growth. We moved the trampoline under it's branches so we could lie back and take it all in...the activity and steady hum, the colours, the sunshine, drifting petals, the new-ness and vivid green.There has been climbing and much chatter about apples. Will they ripen, what variety are they, how will they taste? And there is so much to learn about coddling moth and apple scab, netting and preserving. But right now we are happy to lay back, enjoy it's beauty and dream of apples.

golden acres

 

 

 

 

 

I have never been particularly attracted to cabbages. Their taste or their size. Big and cumbersome, smeared in mayo for the barbeque coleslaw. A friend told me about her visit to a cabbage farm in New Zealand. Like me, she was not particularly attracted to the vegetable. So with his cabbage carving knife, the farmer slices one straight from the field and asked her to give the cabbage a chance. Well, she did and she said it was like biting into a crisp, juicy fresh apple and she's never looked back.

When digging through my seed stores in Autumn I came across some Golden Acre cabbage seeds. So I gave them a go and today I picked our first one. It was small, as our Winter vegie garden was planted late in Autumn, and I was fearful it would flower before I was able to give it a palatable chance. Tonight I cooked it, keeping it simple with a knob of butter, a handful of speck and caraway seeds, some stock and seasoning. A couple of minutes later it was on the plate. There were a few "erghhs" from Zahra. Admittedly it didn't look that appetising, but boy oh boy...I was oohing , ahhing and mmmming. The flavour was something else.

After dinner the rain was falling but I was out in the garden singing to the remaining five cabbages. They no longer seem cumbersome or flavourless. I'm already plotting and planning to plant more. Beautiful cabbage, you've caught my eye and my taste buds.

Anyone got any other delicious cabbage recipes?

seaside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After a crazy, busy week of final year assignments, exhibition installations and opening night we uttered a collective sigh and headed for the Southern Ocean. Unplugged, unhurried and unplanned we slept, lounged, ate and breathed in a weekend of ocean air.

 

 

 

 

 

With my fair skin and auburn hair I have always tended toward the mountains when searching for soul restoration and peace. But dipping my toes in the chilly Antarctic waters this past weekend did the trick for slowing us back to the rhythm we prefer.The southern currents were still too cold for bathers so we fossicked, built, explored and soaked in the salty seaside breeze and sunshine .

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a healthy respect for the mighty power of the ocean but the allure of the sea that appeals to so many has never stuck with me...until now. She finally has me with her palette of colours and washed up treasures. I've realised that the appeal is not in long, white sandy beaches or perfectly curling waves but in rugged coastline and wildness. The untamed quality... peppered perhaps with a long weekend vibe. And there is something in the way a child can show you the simple beauty of an object or place through the way they explore or exclaim, like they are seeing something with fresh eyes every time. It feels like I've been walking around with my eyes closed to the beauty of the seaside for the last thirty three years. I've got a little catching up to do. And while this visit wasn't nearly long enough we've returned to the mountains and river refreshed...and planning our next trip.