the Wise Robin

one time the sun

 

 

sixteen |  midwinter

 

birthday to birthday. one turn around the sun. one photo a week. fifty two photos in all

 

 

make

 

 

Here are a couple of this week's creations. Every year I like to add something different to our seasonal table. Now our winter gnomes have a fire to warm their toes by & dance around. A Nordic rather than Australian themed tree adds to our snowy theme. We keep a nature table as well, filled with bits & bobs from the bush & garden to reflect our southern seasons. Oh, but I do so love snow & the idealised images it conjures in my mind...hot chocolate, skating, quiet snow falls, layers of wool, snow laden fir trees, white landscapes, cosy cabins, log fires....

 

 

 

 

midwinter make

 

 

Just popping in quickly with my weekend makes.

I made my first knitted pocket! With a little who has just discovered pockets & wonders why there aren't pockets on all of her clothing I think there'll be a whole heap of pockets in my future. The very sweet pattern is the Petites Feuilles Vest. 

Secondly, that's me playing around with Zahra's watercolours. With a lot of picture books on our shelves I find I'm always drawn to those with watercolour illustrations...Freya Blackwood, Julie Vivas & Anna Walker are among my favourite illustrators. 

And not forgetting all the little things I made...beds, my girls hair, pancakes, clean laundry, midwinter intentions, connections with friends, images, s'mores, a couple of new recipes....

Happy Midwinter 

 

 

 

 

one time the sun

 

 

fifteen

 birthday to birthday. one turn around the sun. one photo a week. fifty two photos in all

 

 

 

 

made

 

 

 I thought for the next little while, perhaps a week or two, I would make room for a small, creative project in each day, because truth be told it just't hasn't been happening lately & I miss it. It may be as simple as joining the girls to paint & draw or as ambitious as spending a couple of hours trying out a new sewing pattern. Something made with these hands. Something to get the creative energy flowing. A little winter crafting to nourish the soul.

Today... paper cut snowflakes.

 

 

 

 

taking stock | june

 

 

It's been a rainy few days, steady & soaking. Just the thing for cozying up indoors with a cup of tea & taking stock.

making paper cut snowflakes

cooking 'garlic soup' with Niamh in her play kitchen

drinking water, water & more water

reading a knitting pattern

wanting my own horse...since I was four ( my birthday is coming up!)

looking for any signs of garlic sprouting in the garden

playing dead fish. My favourite game with the girls. Mama gets to lie still with her eyes closed for a few minutes

deciding what to feed the kids next

wishing the possums would stop playing on the roof

enjoying this steady rain

waiting for William's latest round of night shift to end

liking these dark, wintry, rainy days

wondering if I should go knit in bed

loving a friend's home baked spelt, buckwheat, walnut & pepita bread

pondering what to get William for his birthday

considering buying him the cycling gear he wants. What's a cassette?

buying new tyres for the car

watching the raindrops hang like earrings from the bare branches

hoping it stops raining by Friday

marvelling at how much my kids eat

cringing at my level of fitness

needing a personal trainer

questioning whether or not I planted enough garlic

smelling something funky in my fridge

wearing layers of wool to keep warm

noticing how many different honeyeaters are visiting our garden this winter

knowing that this rain means snow is falling in the mountains

thinking I'd like to learn how to cross-country ski

admiring a pair of boots in my local store

sorting a basket of odds & ends just like that last box of 'stuff' you end up with when you move house

disliking sibling rivalry

opening a dictionary to find out what a 'frottage' is ( in an art context)

giggling because I'm sooo tired

feeling very tired after a lovely late night with a dear friend

snacking on mandarins & chocolate

helping the dog out the door to stretch her legs. It's raining & she'd rather be in bed

hearing the rain drip dropping

 

 

Want to take stock too? Head over to Pip's for the taking stock list. Thanks Pip.

 

 

 

 

earth & sky

 

 

 

My new years resolution of slow & simple has really taken hold of me. At first I had to really push myself out of a busy is good, always doing frame of mind, a forced unwind & reboot of sorts. Then I let go of a few things like spending time here in this little space in favour of reading a book or an early bed time. At first it was difficult. A nagging, guilty feeling that I was meant to be doing something else, but that feeling eventually subsided and I now find myself in a place where I'm actually finding it hard to get anything done. It seems that nothing is pressing anymore, or at least that pressing feeling has all but vanished and I am left wondering if I'm now too ambivalent about the world and all it's happenings whizzing by around me. It doesn't just extend to the world outside my doorstep but my own little world with it's own dreams & projects, the knitting, this space, those new sewing patterns looking back at me still unopened, the garden, whose winter planting window I've missed again, save for the garlic. Perhaps it's the season. The earth is damp & cold now, the last of autumn's golden crowns sodden in the grass. The sky is brilliant with winter light, moonstone white or a crisp blue, both with their own kind of glare. The earth energy is heavy and slow. I think I could easily live the life of a hermit. I do miss all the doing but also love the not doing. The dog seems more than content to 'not do', apart from going for a daily walk, which I have been managing to squeeze  in amidst all my slow & simple. We've been heading back into the bush. Zahra collecting platters of bush treasures while I amble along waiting for Niamh, who also is a  master of slow & simple, especially when we need to get somewhere on time. The un-peeling of busy layers seems to have left me, dare I say, unmotivated to do much of anything other than the essentials to keep family life ticking along smoothly. I feel resigned, a given in kind of feeling & I don't know what to make of it. Is this a good thing or no? Perhaps it's neither, just different.  

 

 

 

one time the sun

 

 

fourteen

 

 

thirteen

 

 

 

twelve

 

eleven

 

birthday to birthday. one turn around the sun. one photo a week. fifty two photos in all