Dot and Lala

SUMMER:WATER (AND SEWING)

2012-02-08T20:37:00.002+11:00

When considering the easiest way to give an update of events around here, a few themes jumped right out at me, the first being 'water'. Summer and water go hand in hand for many of us, perhaps especially in childhood. For me, that strong assocation extended well into adulthood; summer always equated with lengthy beach holidays and frequent weekend, weekday, any-day (!) outtings where days were spent in the water and on the sand, interrupted only by quick trips to the fish and chip or icrecream shop. Ah, to body-surf the days away, or simply linger in the ocean catching rolling waves ever-so close to breaking. We're heading to the beach soon but for now, we're enjoying water in other ways. More on that below. I'm also sneaking in some sewing at every opportunity.

With another niece starting high school, I was sewing headbands galore. While the vast majority of Aussie school students wear uniforms, her school doesn't require it so, I was free to pick any fabric from the stash. A few headbands using this free pattern and a headscarf that had me practising sewing rolled hems. And then because her Mama returned to work this year after 15 years at home with her children, a headband for her too (using the same pattern).

And the water....

This Summer, for Elsa and Rafael, it's been all about swimming in their cousins pool (preferably with their cousins), the sprinkler, the hose and the river. I've gone overboard with the photos again but, I couldn't help it!

At the Warrandyte Bakery (above), so perfectly close to home and below, off for a walk along the adjacent river, where we were more than a little mesmerised by the ducklings and their not-so-new but equally as beautiful Mama.

And those cool owl pants? A Christmas gift from friends made with a pattern from here.

DIFFERENT BUT MUCH THE SAME

2012-01-21T21:57:00.001+11:00

Hello, it's been a while. I find it difficult to believe that my last post was in November but, it's true. For me, the delay is reflective of the chaos of the past six or so weeks, the culmination of a busy six months. So much has changed but then, so much is the same.

We are slowly becoming aquainted with our new home and neighbourhood, endeavouring to relax into the 'newness' and 'difference' of it all and enjoy all the necessary stages of settling in without placing too much pressure on ourselves to have it all 'done', 'finished', 'complete', 'over'. With each day we aim to gain a feel for our new surrounds, our new reality without placing pressure on ourselves to have it all 'right' from the outset; really, that would like reaching journey's-end without having experienced (and enjoyed!) the journey itself, would it?!

Today, sitting on the verandah with my dear, dear husband enjoying a rare glass of wine after a busy day and relishing the site of the kids playing together oh-so amicably in the yard, I had a moment of thinking, and eventually saying, "oh God, we have sooo much to do!". I was oh so close to falling victim to that oft-applied, self-imposed pressure to DO when the above mentioned dear man sighed, smiled and looking me in the eye said "how about we just enjoy the moment?". Ahhhh, he has a wonderful way of reminding me to take a step back, consider the truly important elements of a day and, in doing so, relax.

So, tonight I intended on posting a big update but, now, really I'm just here to say "hi, I'm here again". Perhaps tomorrow.

BACK AND FORTH

2011-11-30T19:51:00.001+11:00

It's come to this and, really it's not so bad...we're now living out of a few boxes here at the 'old' place and slowly unpacking the ones that have made it to the new. But, by tomorrow afternoon, the move will be COMPLETE! And oh, how I'm looking forward to that! For now, we move back and forth between the two abodes and sneak in as much fun as we can at either end; at one end, we're savouring our 'last' of everything, at the other we're enjoying some lovely 'firsts', like Elsa holding our littlest chick. Some photographic indication of our toing and froing.

(my apologies, not much time for editing around here today..)

Out for dinner - Little Saigon, Footscray

Practising her dance moves on the newly finished floor

Here - Goldfish destined for many the fish tanks of many children

Those fairies and elves have been busy around here of late!

Morning tea here

And finally, Mama (a.k.a moi!) enjoyed a lovely evening out in the Village, thanks to a grown-up nephew providing the best sort of babysitting (big cousin are the best!). Dino and I had planned to use our 'leave pass' to attend this event (link to come) but with all the craziness of the move and my resulting tiredness, combined with a preference to lap up as much of our local world as possible, I opted for a night around the corner for the following.

A movie at the Sun would you believe my first! Over our time living here (4 1/2 years), my best intentions of making it to the movie theatre have fallen short. I guess I did have two babies in that time and it wasn't the highest of priorities but, how I wish I'd somehow made time to see the occassional movie here. I'll just have to make the trip across town for movie and dinner nights! Any by the way, the movie was wonderful!

A lovely meal here and a window seat from where I watched Village night-life (again something there haven't been many opportunities to witness!). And Dino, arriving home from the talk, was able to pop in to share in dessert and coffee. There's so much we'll miss about living here but, the adventure awaits!

A sneak-peak at this new store - hey, the doors were open, the owners unpacking and this Mama politley asked some questions and was shown around. It looks good!

ADVENT STICK

2011-11-28T13:29:00.001+11:00

Because we expected to be at the new house by now, our Christmas decorations are still in storage (for a few more days that is!). So, to fill the Christmas void around here, particularly with Advent looming, last week I bought this 'Advent Stick' from here (a Christmas fundraising activity).

Tied onto the stick are little tissue-paper wrapped gifts for each day of Advent, the first week featuring the mineral world, the second week featuring the plant world, the third the animal world, the fourth the human world. And by the end of Advent, that little seed pod will contain a little baby Jesus doll. I only know that because a printed run-down of the contents came with the stick, that is, I didn't peep or unwrap in advance - I promise!

Treasures from the mineral world

The kids are loving this way of celebrating and Elsa in particular is excited to discover the contents of each day's package. Today it was beach sand and though there's plenty of that around here, she was memerised by it - a good lesson for me about the simple things that hold their attention and bring such pleasure.

So this Advent stick, that is currently our only physical representation of Advent, is doing a wonderful job! Perhaps I won't bring out our other Advent calendars at the new place - perhaps (and yes, we have more than one - oops!). Oh, and I just grabbed this from Leslie, to make another Advent calendar...for another year....

And on this fifth day of Advent, our seedlings are in full 'bloom' reminding me of all the vegie gardening to come (and the eating to follow!).

And she's very taken by all things relating to Princesses and Fairies these days and even her drawings are showing it; this is Sleeping Beauty's castle, didn't you know?!

HERE WE ARE (40 down)

2011-11-24T19:53:00.001+11:00

(Warning: this post contains an inordinate supply of photos because one, it's Day 40 so I can (!) and two, my exhaustion is rendering me too lazy to make choices! You should see me trying to chose door handles for the kitchen - some options below)

So, day 40 here you are. I thought you'd never come. Back when this began, we anticipated having left Yarraville by now and having been in the new place for around six days but, alas, ke sera, sera etc etc. We're happy with the decision to delay (the painting is going well!) and look forward to the move, scheduled for December 3. To be honest, I'm not at all looking forward to the move itself but, the following 'bit' is highly sort after around here! (being settled in the new place that is). Despite it being so close, there remains plenty to do so, the move seems a faraway, elusive concept, just as 'Day 40' once did.

The view around here is soooo fantastic, bursting with scenes of natural wonder reminiscent of trees (I'd prefer some more of the real thing - trees that is rather boxes posing as them!)

Technically, we'll be living here for one more week but, much of our mental and physical energy is already directed towards our new home. And, largely, what remains here is in boxes, bags, crates etc so it's difficult to feel connected to, and comfortable within, this place. But these things are all relative are they not? I mean, it's just an inconvenience and one we'll get over!

Today, I felt inspired to take my lovely, confused, overwhelmed children to the beach. We threw in the packing towel (i.e. rejected the idea of filling yet another box) and darted off early this morning, not returning until early this afternoon - oh bliss.

Climbing, always climbing

We spent much of today chatting about the upcoming changes, reading picture books about moving and talking about how we can come back to our favourite places in the inner-west whenever we like (within reason!).

But perhaps most importantly, we simply played! And minus calls to trades people, rushed and last-minute car trips, email and telephone. Pip the Gnome was shown our favourite parts of the beach, a seaweed garden was created, water was splashed, shells were collected, rocks were thrown, you know, just the things that happen at the beach. But today felt special, one of our last visits here as residents of this side of town. We enjoyed every minute - and so did Pip, I know because he told me.

Our seaweed 'garden', confirming for me that green truly is my favourite colour!

This afternoon, Elsa even managed to squeeze in a play date at a friend's place around the corner while Mama and Rafa enjoyed a rest. We are so blessed to have such great people around us and will miss them to no end. So, while the busy-ness continues, today it's a relaxed, more balanced craziness filled to the brim with gratitude. I guess those deep breaths helped, that and a morning at the beach! (and the ice-cream no doubt!).

Succumbing to the disproportionate ratio of take-away food to healthy, home-cooked meals! (with take-away dominating! I'm told it's to be expected in a moving household but, I do feel a tad guilty)

I'm happy to have undertaken this little '40 day festival'; it focused my attention on the positives of our upcoming life change, helped me purge the frustrations, allowed me to celebrate and contemplate the wonder of now, of where we are and how we got here and of where we're headed! Sitting and taking the time to reflect and celebrate these things redirected the angst I feel around change and generally helped me focus!!!

And because I can't contain myself, here are some photos taken yesterday at the new place. I promise I'll have more interesting 'stuff' to share some time soon!!!! And to all you international friends and family, this is meant to inspire a visit; we have the space for you now!

CUT IT OUT! (39 down)

2011-11-23T22:57:00.000+11:00

Over the past few months, the chaotic and unpredictable Spring weather, combined with the house sale and move, and the resulting need to keep things relatively 'controlled' and tidy around here, which thankful ceased with the sale of this place, left me focusing on tracing and cutting. The sewing portion of all projects was put aside pending our move. Not a craft, knitting or sewing project in site, nothing to be cut out or pinned, nothing - a very bazarre scene here, especially for this time of the year!

Anyhow, looking back, it seemed far more manageable to cut out something small here and there and add it to my 'ready-to-sew' pile. Much easier than attempting to complete a whole project, especially when most of the time the sewing machine has been unreachable. But, that 'ready-to-sew' pile is quite high now and once a good portion of the unpacking is complete, I hope to have some time to finish some projects. It's really a case of bit by bit, 'build it up' slowing...a bit like the kids and their sand castles at the beach yesterday (during too short a visit but, just long enough to help deliver some lovely breaths).

For my benefit far more than yours (this isn't too interesting!), here's a list of my 'ready-to-sew' projets. The following list was drafted a few weeks ago, allowing me to sneak in a detailed post on this crazy day 39 of our little celebration when I've been at the new place checking in on the painting, filling the kitchen cupboards and feeding the chickens! And coming home via here, here and here. I love Northcote and Westgath and these particular places are among my favourite reasons to be there. It's fun to browse and plan ahead for 2012 because, well, we all need some diversions.

For some reason, dressing up always seems to coincide with ccutting out around here!

Here's that list.

Dada

Beach shorts using a Simplicity pattern that is now tucked away in a box somewhere

Elsa

Hat from this book
Dress from this book
Pants from this book
Skirt from an issue of Ottobre
Headbands using one of her designs

Rafael

Hat from this book again
Hat from this book (a boy needs some options!)
Huckfinn Pants (three pairs!) from this book
Overalls from one of Mum's old Enid Gilchrist magazine
Pyjamas from here again becuase, like so many, I love this book!

Mama

Dress from here
Tova Top (another one because I enjoyed making this so much)
Pyjama pants with an old Burda pattern (that's in a box somewhere - info. to come at the time of posting the completed pair - whenever that might be!)

Other

Tablecloths (2) - one Christmas tablecloth and one sunny Summer tablecloth.
Picnic Roll from The Rythm of the Family
A ring cushion to be used at my nephew's wedding in January - a nephew getting married, seriously!

And Elsa creating some of her cutting out projects. Inspired by this book, we printed out some black and white versions of flags, found images of the coloured versions amongst her books and she worked away at creating her own set of 'flag snap' cards. We're not much of a colouring-in house but, the flag theme really piqued her interest. She has always enjoyed the atlas and books about far away places (like her parents!) and, of late, is drawn to maps and flags so, this was the perfect exercise. We started with countries of most relevance to our family being Australia (for obvious reasons), Canada (where Dada is from), Zambia (where Dada was born and lived until her was eight), Greece (where Dada's parent's were born) and New Zealand (where friends live). We also included the Australian Aboriginal flag because, well, we think that's so very important and hope our children gather a sense of the immense history of this land and it's first people. Next time we'll venture out and add the countries where we've lived or travelled. I look forward to the conversations and questions that ensue from these snap cards!

And I couldn't resist popping in some photos of the girls taken on our visit to the house this afternoon. They're really quite endearing and we're beginning to know their individual personalities.

BETWEEN WORLDS (38 down)

2011-11-23T08:58:00.001+11:00

Vancouver, August 2006

Victoria (AU) 2006 (and above)

At present, we're caught between two worlds, in more ways than the obvious. Clearly there's the move at play and oh, how I'm tired of it all. And then there's the ever-present pull to the north - the FAR north (read: Canada) which is difficult to describe and even more difficult to comprehend, perhaps unless you are a dual-country family (need a better term for it!) living with feet in both worlds, longing to be in both places at once and grappling with the reality of choices that find you solely in one and, for now, unable to return to the other.

This is where change brings me, to the looking back, the lamenting, the considering, the wondering, the contemplating, the remembering - so much remembering. Thinking about how we ended up where we are, not only in the geographic sense, and reminising on our journey. How we've moved through the times, the countries, the changes, the personal developments and why we are here now. Here I am in this philosophical state of mind and I'm not even pre-menstrual! Ha!

So today, my mind and heart are very much in the north and the past in general as I look to comprehend our lives that were and how we got here. And also thinking about this remarkable family, wondering where they find the courage and remembering our own long journey to parenthood.

Summer 2006/07 - with Elsa finally 'on-board', Manyana Beach, NSW (AU)

And a reminder, of the breath. This afternoon, I need to take some very deliberate breaths and carry on, put aside my lamenting, considering, contemplating, remembering and live in the now. Such a cliche that last bit but, for me, today, nothing could ring more true.

FAIR CRAFTS (37 down)

2011-11-21T19:56:00.000+11:00

Today, I'm feeling completely over everything related to moving and am longing to do some crafting, knitting, sewing, ANYTHING (other than pack boxes!). My fingers itch from looking at these pictures. Oh, poor me! It won't be long before we're in the new house and I can do all of the above to my heart's content (kind of) but for now, I look back to a Spring fair and plan ahead!

This is a post I drafted months ago but only just completed. Hopefully it's a nice 'home-made reprieve' from all move-related entries here of late.

A few months back now, I set about making a contribution to Elsa's preschool/playgoup Spring Fair knowing it would be my last opportunity to do so, as a parent of a child attending at least. I volunteered to make the 'Mrs Pockets' apron and engaged the help of a friend in doing so - thankgoodness! Often called 'Lady Pockets' at Steiner fairs/fetes, Mrs Pockets is a different take on the 'Lucky Dip' theme. Someone, in our case the class teacher, moves about the fair wearing an apron covered in many pockets and for a small sum a child can choose a pocket in which they find a little gift. In the past, the teacher has borrowed a Mrs Pockets Apron from another Melbourne Steiner preschool/playgroup. Now she has her own and I hope it will bring joy for years to come!

With fabric contributed by families from the preschool, including some from my our stash, I covered a piece of fabric (a calico skirt for the apron) in little pockets, which were also lined in calico. Elsa and Rafa helped of course! Then, a friend brought together the overall apron, adding the skirt piece to a bib-like top and ties around the waist. Three additional pockets were placed across the bib-like top to the apron - I'm guessing some older and/or taller kids were able to access those upper pockets! I hope to have photos of the complete apron soon; you see, we took of to Sydney before it was fully constructed so unfortunately, I haven't seen the completed apron yet.

And what about the little gifts to fill those apron pockets? Well, my contribution was some little dolls inspired by the smallest doll found in this book and made, again, with fabric supplied by parents (including me) and the preschool's 'craft basket' stash.

And then, some wee gnomes. The wooden base came from here, along with much of the felt, with the exception of these garments made from an old cardigan.

And some walnut dolls snuck their way in...I had been holding onto a ball of walnuts for months and intended to make little dolls to pop into the shells. When the fair crafting got underway, I hoped to squeeze the smallest of wooden dolls into the shells to use in Mrs Pockets but, they were slightly too large. My co-fair-crafting friend came up with a wonderful little dolls using a pipe-cleaner and wooden bead (for the head) and there we were making sweet little dolls over and over again. These ones came to Sydney with me and were posted back for the fair.

And then, some crowns using the pattern from here, some fabric from various stashes, including my own, the school's craft baskets and Dana's stash of retro fun.

After a day of fair crafting, this is how Elsa ended up and I desperately wanted to join her! But it was worth it to have contributed to this lovely event one last time. Soon enough, we'll be involved in whole new school fair.

WEEKS END, WEEKS BEGIN (35 and 36 down)

2011-11-21T14:20:00.001+11:00

Elsa improvises on the nature table theme with treasure from the new garden

This past weekend was a good one, a good, busy one (!) featuring friends and family, chickens and eggs, half-painted rooms, crumbling ceilings, sunflower gardens, a school open day ('fete'), a bird's nest and other garden treasure, the relocation of a sandpit, chats with new neighbours, the cleaning of gutters, the climbing of trees, tea and more tea, meals on unfinished floors, watermelon in the garden, a visit from the fairies and so much more. I am gradually feeling less of a pull towards home/the 'old' place; we're finding ourselves loitering about our new place long after the chickens are fed and watered and other jobs have reached their natural conclusion for the day. As we loiter, we chat about our plans for the garden, the house and life in general post our move. Then we remind each other that we really should get ourselves home and the kids to bed!

at Ghilgai Open Day

Friday night with friends - the little ones (and one big Dada)

We're feeling the pinch of the final days and because there's so much more to do both here and at the new house, we've decided to delay our move by a few weeks. That's made possible by the fact that the new owners are not moving in until mid-December. Though we are feeling ever-so eager to be settled at the other end, we are also looking forward to enjoying more of the inner-west before the final move. So, in reality, the number fifity should have appeared in the title to this here celebration of ours! Perhaps we can celebrate the fact that, by day 40, about a third of the painting will be complete!

Rafa spent much time here this past weekend

A sandpit is relocated thanks to the help of friends - we shared a fantastic, big breakfast together before the work began and followed with a big lunch at the new house - we thank through FOOD!!!

So, while we hope these extra few weeks of living on this side of town will afford us the pleasure of more time with local friends, extra visits to the beach, more meals at our favourite restaurants, more chai teas at our favourite cafes...and much more in general, there's still much to do before we leave so liesure time will be minimal. We remind ourselves that this upcoming move is unparalled in our lives together, so far as moves are concerned; no airports or international flights are involved and we can speak the language at the other end! And most significantly, they'll be nothing stopping us from making many return visits!

This afternoon, after three plus years of attending our local Steiner playgroup/preschool, Elsa bid adieu with the promise of returning for visits. When we first joined this group, she was but a babe in arms, crawling about the room, splashing in the hand-washing basin and watching ever-so carefully every little thing that everyone around her did! She's always been a big observer. Today I realised that she's completely at home in the space having gained confidence in all the familiar faces and names, smells and sights and that she no longer observes only, she's also right in the thick of the play. She has many fond memories of her time there and I do hope to make it back for a visit now and then.

Some treats from Sedonia

On our way to playgroup today, after visiting Plump for our weekly food shop , we stoped here to collect a card for Elsa's teacher. This place gets better and better! We left with the card and a few other things (oops) and I tried not to drool on the wares as the kids dragged me out (not quite but, I like the imagery!). I'd like to squeeze in a child-free visit before the move!

MOVING AHEAD (Days 31, 32, 33, 34 down...)

2011-11-18T15:15:00.000+11:00

Okay, so this 40 day thing got the better of me and I'm lagging a little behind and, I don't really have much to report except that things are moving ahead nicely in terms of the new house and we continue to lap-up every possible opportunity to relish in living where we are, recognising that this phase of our lives is almost over. Unfortunately, the opportunities to savour the place, the moment, the time in general are speedily diminishing as we become more and more entrenched in activities about the new house and garden.

Day 31 had to us enjoying a day with Dada at the new house, as did Day 33. It's such a rare treat to have him home during the day (on a weekday) and we didn't mind sharing him with the various tasks we needed to begin. It'd been fun, exciting and sometimes overwhelming getting to know the place, including the chickens! Occassionally I spot one or both of the kids meandering about the yard appearing completely at home, as if they've lived there all along. And it's been so wonderful (and a little surreal) to have my sister simply 'pop in' for a pot of tea or to drop things off/collect something. For years we've talked about all the benefits that would come with living close to one another and we're already started to see them, despite not having actually moved yet. Very exciting.

In between days of non-stop activity cleaning and coordinating all facets of work on the new place, we've continued to pack and clean-up at the 'old' house/townhouse (that would be Day 32!). And whenever possible, we've just relaxed together. I wish there'd been more of the latter but soon Ange, sooooon. The kids did manage to try out the new bath, so at least someone's relaxing!

Meet 'Lisa' and 'Sally', no doubt inspired by two of Elsa's long-standing favourites, Corduroy and Sally's Secret.

Proving that sometimes cleaning can be fun!

After complaining of how tired I was of pre-packed vegemite sandwiches (among other things!), Dino arrived at the new house with a much nicer option; I'll remember to complain again! Who doesn't love a fresh prawn sandwich?

Perhaps the kid's favourite hiding spot; this branch provides the perfect canopy and the chickens love it too.

And today, on this Friday, the 34th day of our little 'festival of 40' while the temperature sits at around 34 degrees (celsius) (the first day over 30 this Spring), we can more readily imagine the Summer ahead. On this hot afternoon, we intend to enjoy a few drinks (tea for me!), and perhaps some pizza, with friends here at home (the 'old' one) as a way to touch base before we make the final MOVE! Did someone say 'tea'? Off I go to enjoy one before the guests arrive! Hope your tea is steeping too.

TAKING STOCK (Day 30)

2011-11-14T13:07:00.001+11:00

Here we are back in the Village enjoying some down time at home, realising that we can't call it that for much longer and making arrangements to meet with painters, plumbers and floor-sanders.

After a weekend of exploring the idea of carrying out the painting ourselves (and, I think, doing a good job of initiating the process), we're moving to option two, hire painters! Today we're dealing with 'Mondays Experts', the 'I told you so' crowd. Actually, we imagined that we might move to the professionals rather quickly and already had some painters lined-up but, heck, we thought we'd have a try and are very happy we did.

It was a lovely weekend hanging out at the house with family and friends, eating take-away, laughing, planning, enjoying one anothers company and getting to know the house. Anything but a waste of time I say! And we achieved a great deal. But there's a great deal more to do and we can't wait to see the painters work away at the house.

And we brought back half a dozen eggs from the chickens! (there's only two left!)

WHITE OUT (Day 28 and Day 29)

2011-11-14T13:03:00.001+11:00

DAY 28

Much of Saturday was spent here at the Spring Fair. Over the years, it's become a regular November outing for our family, though this year we were minus Dada. We never tire of being at the school with my niece and nephew, watching them socialise with their friends, sharing in their performances and seeing their latest work on display in their classrooms. And this year, we had the pleasure of enjoying the day with a big cousin too!

And then it was off to the new house, just under 4 kilometres/under ten minutes away (woohoo!), to 'enjoy' a spot of painting with friends.

DAY 29

The painting begins, the playing continues - the chickens were chased (and hugged), balls were kicked onto the roof (and repeatedly removed by a kind, helpful big cousin), water was splashed (the kids located all the outdoor taps!) and plenty of 'water-painting' was undertaken. Plenty of photos below...seemed the easiest way in my post-weekend stupor!

HOME (days 26 and 27)

2011-11-10T21:36:00.001+11:00

So much can change in a week. For one, our seedling trays are full of new sprouts, butternut pumpkin being the most impressive. We've been thinking up all kinds of planting options for the new place. Should the pumpkin go here or there, where's the zucchini patch and the herb garden? And so on. It's time for those and so many other plans to come to fruition.

In addition to our recent plantings, and so many other lovely things of Spring, we finally took possession of our new home. It's absolutely, financially, legally, (emotionally even) SETTLED!

We feel so completely and utterly blessed and grateful for all leading up to this point and look forward to sharing our news spaces with family, old and new and friends from near and far. And 'change' will continue to be a theme of the months to come as we paint, plant, play and grow in this home and garden.

There has been a growing longing within me for space and, preferrably expanses of it, ideally by the water (not asking much am I!?). While we'll be further from the ocean here, we're intent on exploring the creeks, rivers and waterholes nearby. The closest beach is half an hour away so, not too far and we have a few beach-camping trips planned along with a few weeks in Sydney at Christmas so, I'll survive!

For some time to come though I imagine you'll find us exploring our new spaces, in and out, sometimes with cousins, sometimes together, sometimes alone.

And for our little boy, these days are sure to focus on the chickens. He's mesmerised!

And last night after a lovely day in the Village and surrounds we drove east to open the doors of this new home for the first time (as it's owners at least!) and to share in a meal with family. With no chairs about, we took our places on the loungeroom floor and absorbed it all. Such will be our task for weeks to come!

Today, this 27th day of our celebration, was mostly spent in paint shops, with much success - phew! We'll start painting tomorrow but for now, how can I resist this picture taken yesterday at the new house. She has much to contemplate as these changes take place; so much change, so many new things to explore.

CLARITY (25 down)

2011-11-09T18:45:00.000+11:00

A little run-down of our 40 day stats:

Days to possession of new house - ONE;
Days remaining in this house - NINE;
Days to sale of this house - ZERO!!!!

Yesiree, we SOLD and are relieved to have one big stage behind us. By referring to this 'stage' I don't mean this stage of our lives, in this Village because, that's been overwhelmingly postive. No, I'm referring to constantly having the house in a state of show-worthiness (that's my word). Though, of course, we had lulls in readiness, the challenge of consistenly having a house ready for viewing by prospective purchasers, particularly with two small children, is not one I seek to repeat any time soon. It's over! Now that I've let go of that complaint, which in the scheme of life is hardly a complaint at all but just an inconvenience, let me move on to share more of our tale.

Last Friday, while I was in the hospital with Rafael ever-so-closely monitoring his breathing and general well-being, Dino was at home with Elsa preparing the house for it's LAST (!) showing though, at that stage, we didn't know it was almost over. By Saturday morning, we were happily accepting an offer and on our way home from the hospital signing paperwork (in a real-estate 'drive-though' kind of way) that has us officially signing away our financial interest in this Village, not to mention or home! Changes of this scale bring about mixed emotions in me but, generally, I feel completely relieved and excited about the next steps, which are well underway.

And to celebrate, we took some time off house-admin. to share in tea (and babychinos) with friends here. The table in the back courtyard provides the perfect way to incorporate some train-spotting into our day. And the view is much better if you leave the mothers to chat and move closer to the station - apparently.

And then, time in the garden where we discovered this, the first shoot from the many trays of seeds we've planted over the past week. I felt determined to get a head start on our new vegetable patch. A big storm is blowing in, the sky is beautiful and the breeze is cool for the first time today. I think I'll go and partake in some storm-watching with the kids!

OUT AND ABOUT (24 down)

2011-11-08T21:55:00.002+11:00

A funny day this one or, a busy one at least. I'm about to give you a run-down of our day but only because it happens to highlight a few of our favourite things about Melbourne's inner west.

An early morning wake-up and lightening and thunder by 7.30am, which had the kids running about the house in that mixture of nervousness and excitement - a great opportunity for cuddles on the couch.

A visit to the doctor as Rafael appears to have caught a second virus, probably at the hospital last week (urghhhh, such is the contradictory nature of such places) - the encouragement I needed make an appointment with a herbalist for some extra support for his little system;

A brief, but enjoyable bit of window shopping here - such a great shop.

After Elsa's swimming lesson, an early lunch at Grigons and Orr while we waited for the doctor's appointment - we always enjoy this cafe with it's quirky retro feel including the box of crocheted blankets at the front door (handy on a cold Melbourne day), the mix-match of second-hand 'dinner-ware', teapots, cups and saucers etc etc and the milk bar feel in general - the dollar mixed lolly bags are always appreciated!

Collected some packing boxes - slowly, slowly.

Preparations for yet another house-showing, hopefully the last - more on that time come tomorrow (fingers crossed - and toes).

A Dada home for dinner - a rare treat! (and not only home for dinner, home at 3pm - wooohoooo).

After quickly heating up some of the fifty-million (okay, not that many) spanakopita I hastily made last night, we headed to our favourite local park for dinner while the house was on display - surpringly, the pies tasted good but the kids were mostly too busy having fun!

Looking at all of that, I wonder what I was thinking. But really, most of it was unavoidable and only possible because his temperature dropped and Raf perked up, thankfully. "Perked up" or not, I certainly would have preferred to stay home keeping him close by. Tomorrow will be much calmer. Tomorrow, tomorrow...I feel like breaking out into an Annie song...actually, in my head, I am! Inner thought Ange, inner thought...keep it to yourself!

To help retore some balance, tonight we read many a story from this book, which a sister-in-law of mine gave to Elsa when she was but a wee babe. It's always a great choice after a busy day; a good way to encourage calm. Around here, it always succeeds in providing inspiration for mediatation and general relaxation and tonight, both kids fell asleep to me reading from it's pages, Elsa with her head in my lap - true bliss.

POSSUMS, PAUSING AND PACKING (23 down)

2011-11-07T20:57:00.000+11:00

The image is of no particular significance; I just happened to come across it today and wondered, exactly how many possums inhabit our new backyard? Mmmm, only time will tell. This little critter visited us frequently in the home our of pre-children days!

I inserted as many pauses into today as possible, mostly when the kids were close by, and when little ones were sleeping or at kinder or happily occupied in the garden, I packed and packed and p....exciting, no?

HEALING (20, 21, 22 down)

2011-11-06T19:28:00.000+11:00

This 'Festival of Forty' has experienced quite a lull over the past few days because Rafael has been unwell. With the gentleness and good-humour so characteristic of this little boy, he's being working through a virus that delievered a big bout of asthma, something new to our household.

To see him struggle to do anything physical, let alone breathing, was frightening (what an understatment!). After a few nights in hospital and plenty of rest at home, we hope to have seen the last of it but, watch ever-so closely. We also have a close eye on Elsa who was left shaken by the whole experince and needs equal amounts of love, gentlesness and quiet healing. And at points during the hospital stay, I couldn't help but wonder how parents and children cope when hospital visits are a regular occurance.

Murals on the wall of his hospital room

We are extremely grateful for the amazing services of this here place (and thankful that it's so close to home - for now). The nurses and doctors were wonderful and generous with their care, time and knowledge. We're also feeling very grateful for the care and concern of family and friends. Thank you.

The Children's Garden at the hospital - a wonderful mixture of plants, including many edible varieties.

SOWING NOT SEWING (18 and 19 down)

2011-11-03T14:19:00.002+11:00

With Spring being as unpredictable as only Spring knows how to be, we've had plenty of opportunities for home-based activities. We so enjoy the warm, rainy days of Spring that encourage us to plan for our Summer garden and allow short spurts of planting/preparing (between rain showers!). Dada/D particularly loves the storms and the soft fall of Spring rain that we've experiened on and off over the past few days. He says it takes him back to the West Coast and I have to say that I often feel the same way. All this rain has us thinking about our next trip, which given we've just bought a new house, might not happen as quickly as we'd like but, that's okay (sort of!).

We're starting to reap the rewards of some early Spring planting with an abundance of rocket, celery and all manner of herbs filling the garden but this November, with the move fast approaching, there's not much point planting in the garden beds themselves.

So, we've taken to sowing seeds in portable trays, thanks to the inpiration of friends who gave Rafael some butternut pumpkin seeds, some soil mixture, a spade and a seedling tray for his birthday. I've wanted to plant from seed for some time now but, with only a small area to work in and pesky blackbirds likely to eat the seeds, we've always opted for seedlings. Our current garden beds that are soon to be dwarfed by more space than we've had in years so we expanded our seed stock and planted away! We're now watching and waiting excitedly for zucchini, corn, tomato (in addition to what we've already planted to pots), lettuce and butternut pumpkin. Wish us luck on our first adventure with seeds! (actually, we've never grown corn or butternut pumpkin from anything - not in our own yard anyhow, only in the big vegie gardens of our parent's homes).

At times over the past week, even the seed trays have needed to come inside for planting on the ground near the back door but it won't be long before Summer hits and we're constantly drawn outside, which we imagine that will be even more the case at the new place, or inside to escape the extreme heat. So really, we haven't minded these moments of indoor time and today, we were able to share it with friends!

FIVE ONES (17 down)

2011-11-01T22:16:00.001+11:00

1/11/11 - the date...five ones...just thought I'd point that out!

Meet our pirate-witch (why not!) and pirate - feeling grateful for our dress-up drawers!

We had great fun last night as we 'trick or treat-ed' our way around our (very) immediate nieghbourhood. Given that Halloween is not particularly popular in this neck of the world (YET!), we took it upon ourselves to stash some lollies at the homes of a few friendly neighbours and requested that they play along with this part-Canadian family. Thankfully, they all agreed to do so and acted convincingly surprised and coincidentially, ready with some of our kids favourite lollies, and plenty new ones (we couldn't resist)! The kids were in heaven.

Afterwards, we came home to chat about all things confectionary, eat a little of it, drink warm milk and listen to Dada share stories of his favourite childhood Halloween costumes and experiences. Such a wonderful, fun-filled night. I dare say it will be repeated on an annual basis!

"Are you people kidding, yesterday you denied me some extra honey on my toast!"

And at bedtime, Elsa, still overwhelmingly happy with the events of the night, while hugging me said "Mama, I love you so much I could choke you" and then, "Mama, I love Dada and Rafael so much I could choke them too". Thankfully, I knew she didn't intend any harm! But she did hug me very tight!. And finally, a half asleep Elsa asked "Mama, can we trick or treat every Monday night?". I'll think about it.

FOR OUR BOY AND JACK (16 down)

2011-10-31T14:20:00.001+11:00

This is 'Jack' and he's taken up poll position on our dining table from where he'll have the pleasure of watching the kids enjoy their first Halloween experience, or at least talking about it. We celebrated Halloween once when Elsa was a wee thing but she doesn't recall. And, of course, we celebrated many times pre-children but, only in Canada from where dear D hails. We plan to wander to the front doors of few neighbours within our townhouse complex and use that well-known phrase of 'Trick or Treat' - even Australians/traditionally non-Halloween practising people know that one. Elsa is hoping that no-one opts for the 'Trick'! On top of all else, it will be a nice way to say hello to our neighbours, all of them friendly people, perhaps one last time before moving.

And a little birthday-related sharing on this his first full day in the land of 'two' (he's sleeping off the party! And the sugar!).

Such a happy boy! And very grateful for his cake decorated by his sister and cousins

A cuddly owl by his aunt and cousins and a digger bag!

This years addition to his birthday crown, a wooden button

Perhaps the biggest hit of all; a Fagus digger! I can't say enough good things
about the simplicity, pracitcality, beauty and sturdiness of this brand

Some new books that he is already loving:

Time to play!

TWO (14 and 15 down)

2011-10-30T21:40:00.000+11:00

We've had a busy birthday weekend so I'm cutting myself some slack and combining two days in this count 'up'. It's been a wonderful celebration of all things Rafael, where owls and diggers featured heavily, along with cake and cuddles, of course! After a morning at home sharing a special breakfast and some gift opening, we ventured to my sister's where we spent a wonderful day with family.

And tonight when the birthday lad and his doting sister were tucked in bed and sound asleep, their Dada and I sat and looked back through photos of Rafa's first days, read the little midwife summary of his delivery (4.335 kg - goodness me!), looked over his special birth book and felt very grateful for his arrival in our world. What a blessing.

So much to share of wonderful home-made gifts but for now, at the end of this fun-filled weekend, I need sleep so, see you on Halloween! (our pumpkin carving began today!).

GIRL FRIDAY (13 down)

2011-10-28T19:46:00.002+11:00

Girl Friday I am not but, I sure felt like her today as we prepared the house for another showing and completed a range of other home-related tasks. Ah, life admin! There were some deep sighs at the end of the day and take-away for dinner from another place we're likely to miss. We just learnt that one has opened in Collingwood and, though we're not moving to Collingwood, it's closer to the new house than Yarraville!

And look what I picked up here today. This dress from here is on its way for Elsa and I'm hoping one of these doilies will do the job. Popped in here today also; I wasn't overly impressed but the chai was good and they seem to have a good kid's area out the back. We opted for a nearby park!

HOUSE WIVES, CUTTING & DIGGERS (12 down)

2011-10-28T14:22:00.003+11:00

(Here we are sharing/counting UP Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)

Reads like the title of a chain-saw masacre-like film, no? I have an image of crazed housewives, cutting away at their kill then digging massive holes in the backyard to dispose of them. Or is it just me? Shouldn't I have shared that inner thought!?! No crazed housewife here, well if I am it's only the house sale that's got me this way! Or more to the point, the cleaning in preparations for house-showings.

But my reference to housewives relates to one of our favourite local cafes (just around the corner actually) where the kids and I escaped the chaos yesterday. Hausfrau (of the Germanic kind) offers a great selection of sweet treats, and some tasty savoury lunch options too like delicious bagets with all sorts of fillings and great pies. And they sell a good range of breads. In my last pregnancy, I was partial to the avocado, chicken salad bagette. But the chai is a constant for me and the kids enjoy the babychinos, preferrably with a tart or cupcake on the side!

But yesterday, we had choc-chip cookies awaiting us at home. We used a great recipe from here, where my love (the biggest one) selected a fun kid's chocolate cookbook "The Chocolate Lovers" that you can find details of here (I can't find any better link!). And the triple batch of cookies will serve us well when we celebrating Rafael's 2nd birthday with his cousins (well, a few of them) this weekend. For now, I baked only one roll in an attempt to minimise our cooking-eating until the birthday! If I filled the biscuit jar, it would be that way for long - we all love chocolate. For these cookies, I used some lovely organic choc-chips from Plump. I like to roll the dough into these shapes for freexing. They can then easily be taken from the freezer, sliced and popped in the oven - presto!

Other than local outings, I'm cutting out sewing patterns at every opportunity. I've found that it's impossible to get any 'tidy' sewing done around here and since we really do need to keep the house as presentable as possible in case of any impromptu viewing, I've opted for tracing and cutting out (sometimes just the pattern, sometimes the whole garment) and now have a significant collection of garments 'waiting in the wings'. I hope that opening night isn't too delayed!

And the diggers? Well, who can resist the allure of a village full of diggers? Some nearby roadworks have the kids mesmerised, particularly Rafael who's exhibiting all those stereotypical boy traits so far as wheels and engines are concerned, though his sister occassionally enjoys them too.

His favourite phrase must be "dig, dig, dig, DIG". (And, from what I could see, no bodies are being disposed of, just some roadwork underway!).

Homebound for iceblocks - they worked well and are being enjoyed and enjoyed and...

AROUND HERE (11 down)

2011-10-26T20:55:00.000+11:00

(Here we are sharing/counting UP Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)

I know, I know it's getting a little predictable isn't it. I mean, we all know eleven comes after ten and we all know that these posts focus on the experiences of a little family in an itsy sliver of a small corner of the world. And you know now that a 'packing Lala' living in limbo between two homes can't find it within herself to start or complete any sewing, knitting or general crafting projects (well, not many) so, I'm not offering much but, nevertheless, I'm compelled to continue with this 'count up'. On top of other things, this is a great distraction from the more mundane chores of change. Moving house is riddled with boring 'life admin' tasks isn't it.

I forge on and today, in my quest to do so, we didn't forge at all but stayed as still as possible. Just a simple day spent mostly at home with little distraction and, remarkably, not too many of the before-complained-about tasks. It's nice to stop to smell the roses, yes? Even when they're not roses at all and your toddler and small one don't really ever 'stop'!!

Our closest corner shop where we grab the occasional Freddo; today was a Freddo day!

After taking a walk along our street to collect flowers and smell plenty, some flower-pressing was in order using this press, from here (it's not the $55 one but a $10 version they are selling, which is not on the website). With the nature table packed away, my thinking is that this activity might help bring a little more nature to the household. I realise cardboard boxes are technically 'nature', being paper/tree and all but, it's not cutting it for us!

With the weather warming up, it was time to bring out these new ice-block moulds, bake a cake (before it gets too warm to bother), paint and well, play, which is hardly weather dependent!

At their ice-cream shop waiting for customers, or so I'm told. An upturned doll's cradle makes a great shop counter it seems!

HOOT, HOOT, HOOOOOT (10 down)

2011-10-25T21:17:00.000+11:00

(Here we are sharing/counting UP Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)

We're into the double digits! Woohoo, or should I say, wooohoooot....forgive me but it's all about owls around here of late. I'm not sure how it all started but, they are clearly Raf's favourite living thing in the world (non-human that is!). So, we're in for a very 'owly' birthday celebration next week. I've just completed this cross-stitch for Rafael and am considering how best to frame/present it.

And, since our household is part-Canadian (dear husband/Dada) and part-prior-Canadian resident (moi!), we felt justified in buying this pumpkin today, and at Costco too, making it a truly North-American pursuit! Not that having a hybrid-household (!) is a prerequisite for embarking on such things; it seems that the popularity of Halloween is generally growing in Australia, even amongst non-Canadian/U.S. 'infected' (ha!) households. I don't have stats on such trends but plenty of anicdotal evidence. Certainly no one I knew would have thought of celebrating Halloween some ten years ago but these days, I see all kinds of Halloween paraphernalia littering the shops and media. It must be a fact! It will be no time before little trick-or-treaters are roaming the streets! And our kids may join in the fun this year as, among other things, a way to touch base with our immediate neighbours another time before we leave.

Now, I don't dislike the idea of Halloween, in fact I always loved celebrating it when we lived in Canada but, I'm a little discouraged by the sometimes commerical nature of it. For instance, personally, I don't need to spend silly amounts of money on Halloween costumes for the kids and prefer the idea of a home-grown costume. Still, I do understand the attraction of a resonably priced, store-bought costume that 'fits the bill' when other options are not available or possible. I'm sounding very Jane Austin-ish today don't you think; i.e. oh so opionated on social ettique and 'proper' behavior. I don't mean to sound so moralistic and I promise, I don't plan to disown friends who might pop into their local Gap and spend $50 on a Halloween costume for their kids! Really, I won't. I blame it on A Truth Universally Acknowledged, which I can't put down.

Back to the pumpkin. Yesterday, special Vancouverite friends of ours sent us some photos of their outing to a pumpkin sale (field! -what's the proper term for these large pumpkin 'stores'!?!). Those photos were what encouraged me to go our and buy a pumpkin today. Based on their photos and D's own experience of visiting many such places (and one visit of my own), this pumpkin is a baby! Hopefully, that will make it easy to carve. I've only carved a halloween pumpkin a few times in my life and only here when we've tried celebrating the tradition at home but, I'm assured that this pumpkin is the real thing and much easier to carve than the style of pumpkin I've previously tried to adapt to the tradition.

Sitting next to our pumpkin on the side-board is a vase full of these flowers serving as a reminder of our Spring and providing quite the juxtaposition next to the very autumal looking pumpkin, a vistor from Autumm (Fall!) days in the north. We're happy to have you here 'little' pumpkin, now let's see what will become of you!

And, for something completely unrelated, a magazine that I am currently loving.

TELL ME WHY... (9 down)

2011-10-24T14:55:00.002+11:00

...I didn't like Mondays. Because now, I quite enjoy them. For me, it's a day to take stock of house, the cleaning, the washing, the cooking and baking, a day to consider the week ahead and slowly begin all of the beforementioned household tasks, which I seem able to do with a relaxed approach because the week hasn't quite picked up pace yet. The rain today has only added to the subdued nature of this Monday.

And today, I've been thinking about the beauty of having made such wonderful local friendships over the past four and a half years living here in this village. Yesterday we shared a lovely morning tea with friends who live just around the corner, followed by a quick drop-in to others and afternoon tea at home with another lovely batch. Yesterday was one of those times that we turned to each other and looked for reminders of why exactly we're leaving. Thankfully the reasons didn't need to be spoken but, having enjoyed a Sunday such as yesterday did bolster our committment to staying in touch with all the great friends we've met on this side of town.

I find it amazing to think that some of these friendships I'm referring to blossomed from the community 'mother's group' that I joined following Elsa's birth. You see, here (and all over Australia I believe), the hospital and/or midwife sends the contact details of all new mothers to the relevant (usually the closest) 'maternal and child health centre' and the nurse at that centre contacts the new mum to arrange a home visit and invitation to attend a local 'mother's groups'. It sounds a little institutionalised but really, it's a great local service provided by the State Governement and administered through the local municipality. Our local nurse is a wonderful,caring, non-judgemental women and I've often felt very grateful for her advice and interest.

Initially, I baulked at the idea of a 'mothers group' which I imagined would feel completely contrived and ingenuine and though I found it awkward at first, I quickly began to look forward to our weekly gatherings. We were perfect strangers, 'thrown' together with seemingly little in common beyond our new parenting status but those initial series of meetings established by the nurse somehow morphed into years of self-directed, meaningful, supportive and enjoyable interactions and from that has come some lovely friendships which are definitely worth celebrating! So many memories worthy of an abundance of gratitude. And a reminder that perhaps us humans have more in common with our neighbours (both locally and in every other sense) that we realise. We certainly have the ability to look past the differences; it would be nice to see more of it at a global scale.

And if anyone's interested, 'Elsa's Newspaper' is forecasting hail and rain for today but sunshine tomorrow.

We made it through the rain today to share some lunch from Heather Dell, a local institution.

NANAS TOO (8 down)

2011-10-23T20:18:00.002+11:00

(Here we are sharing (and counting UP through) Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)

I often think of family on Sunday so today, being a Sunday, seems a good time to share some photos of our recent trip to Sydney, where the vast majority of my nine siblings and their families live. When at Mum's, we always find ourselves immersed in family and I truly mean immersed. This last visit occured at the end of Autumn and early days of Spring and there were plenty of opportunities for shared family time in the garden. I found it difficult to chose from the my photos of the trip so, my apologies, this post is laden with snapshots.

Off to see the horse with Nana

I'd rather not say how often we devoured chocolate oatmeal cake!

Down the garden and through this gate lies a range of bushwalking tracks where I spent a chunk of my childhood walking, collecting, riding my bike, hiding and generally playing! (and in my teenage years, smoking with friends!). It was wonderful to be able to share these tracks with my kids and to watch them experience the freedom of taking off for a stroll all 'alone' in the bush. Rafa was the bravest of all wandering away happily oblivious to his Mama's prescence, seemingly in his own little bush wonderland.

These pants get around!

Nana's much-enjoyed fire pit; one night we sat around a bonfire here until late into the night enjoying the quiet chatter and laughing children until the children gradually found laps to cuddle into and, in many cases, fell asleep, all to the light of the fire and the sounds of their parents, aunts and uncles. I recall many a night spent this way in my childhood and was so happy to be able to share this fire-pit with my kids.

Some of my littlest nephews/nieces (cousins to my kids!) enjoyed playing at a local pool following a ceremony to rename the aquatic centre in my dad's honour. It was a moving day and a lovely chance for the kids to remember and celebrate their Poppa. Here are six of his youngest grandchildren. Sadly, Rafa is the only one of his 28 grandchildren who never met their Poppa but, we'll make sure he knows much of him.

The fact that we live in another city far away (relatively speaking!) from my Mum and the majority of my siblings (and their families) is no indication of the value we place on family. For me, looking back on these photos is a good reminder of some of the most significant motivators behind our upcoming move. You see, we will be living oh so close to one of my sisters and her family and I'm looking forward to seeing them all more regularly. Elsa is very, very excited about this aspect of the move, among others!

SHOW ME SATURDAY (7 down)

2011-10-22T21:26:00.001+11:00

(Here we are sharing Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)

We needed to vacate the house for a showing again today and post the necessary, and now mundanely repetitive, cleaning and tidying, we ventured out to a few spots of interest. Our first stop was the Footscray City Primary School Fest/Fete. Unfortunately for the school, it was a rainy day but it seemed as though plenty of kids were having fun none the less! It was nice to see many familiar faces and consider what life may have held for our family had we chosen to stay where we are.

Our second stop was Altona Fresh (we can't stay away!) for some scrumptious food supplies, including a delicious treat or two (great almond biscotti) which we were 'required' to devour on the spot.

We then ventured over the bridge to visit one of my favourite Melbourne toy shops where Elsa and I picked out Rafael's birthday gift (more on that next week!). I also snuck a few surprises into the bag for her (Christmas-related) and, at her request, grabbed some more of this modelling clay. Her supply has been dwlindling and she gets hours of entertainment from it - and I love to see her creations and the stories that unfold from them (Rafa is a little too young yet - he has a tendency to throw rather than mould with it!). I was so close to picking up a few more Christmas supplies unsure of how often we'll be in that part of town post our move but, held back and felt all the better for it. Afterall, I have more than a few Christmas sewing projects underway; let's hope I get to them!

While on that side of town we visited old neighbours from our pre-children years, all of them elderly and of Greek origin. I just loved sitting down at their kitchen tables with tea in hand, listening to what's been happening in their lives and hearing Dino chat away in Greek (and joining in where I could!). It's always an enriching experience for the kids; so nice for them to hear Dada talk in his first language and to be reminded of their own European heritage. I left longing for a European adventure but, then, we've got plenty local ones underway! The kids relished the cheek pinching and tight cuddles (well perhaps not so much but, I think the excessive amounts of chocolate and Ribena they were given made up for it!).

Three more Saturdays from now and we're in the new house! Wow.

I know, I know, they're out there everywhere and you're probably sick of seeing them but, I've been considering buying these books forEVER and finally did. We came home today to find they had been delivered - yesterday! How I hate to think of them all lonely out there overnight. Surely they'd have been happier cuddled up in bed with me! Come to think of it, that's where we're headed, these books and me!

ONE FRIDAY (6 down)

2011-10-21T18:04:00.002+11:00

On this here rainy day, we're enjoying some much needed time at home. The kids have embraced dress-ups, we've baked some biscuits/cookies and I've cut out some hats and a pair of pjs from here, all with their 'help' (the book arrived in the mail last week and I'm busy planning his summer wardrobe!- so many fun ideas).

When I think back to the number of times mum cut out and sewed while we 'helped', I wonder where she found the patience, though I find that once I relax and remove the expectation of it all happening in a 'timely' fashion (or more to the point, on an adult timeline!), we enjoy the shared experience and learn some things from each other in the process. I guess with ten children Mum mastered the skill of letting go!

Not much more to report; there are sure to be a few of these 'nothing' posts as I count UP our last days here and our first few at the new place!

STITCHING, STRAWBERRIES AND A CAFE (5 down)

2011-10-20T14:13:00.001+11:00

Our first strawberry for the season! It didn't last long - at all!

A completed 'farm folk' cross-stitches from here. I was planning to refrain from sharing them until they're framed but, I've never been good at waiting. Really, I should work on my patience skills.

And another showing (of our house) this morning led to us spending some time here. Wow, I'm going to miss this spot too! On this near-30 degree day, the umbrealla's were appreciated.

I have to wonder why the river-side of this site hasn't been embraced to a greater extent. Yes, the cafe is orientated to the streetfront but there's so much lost opportunity on the reverse side of the building, fronting the river. There's more open space on the river side and an old railway line and some interesting things happen on the river itself too. The view of the city is also good from the river-side. I'm sure I'm not the first person (or town planner!) to have considered it! And no doubt reconfiguring htis old, heritage-protected building would be an expensive and time-consuming undertaking. Perhaps in the future? For now, we also love it just how it is and hope that whatever happens in this part of the west, the great, relaxed, friendly feel of this area is maintained. We'll certainly be back for more even after moving away.

And we were so happy to have Dada there will us. A rare weekday treat!

And, oh the conversation (mostly one-sided) between these two this week as they checked out their 'new' rabbit hutch and chatted with their imaginary guinea pigs.

Rafa "how-o" (hello)
Elsa "hello little guineas, now we're going to be moving soon but don't be scared, you can come in the car with us, with all the special things"
Rafa "how-o pig"
Elsa "you're the sweetest things and you're going to LOVE our new house"

And so the 'conversation' progressed. I'm sure she's conjured up an image of exactly how these guineas will/did look. We did have to have a conversation about the fact that, for a while, baby chickens are more likely to inhabit the hutch. Though the house is coming with chickens, we'd like to get some little chicks for the kids to experience and watch grow. And to this mama who grew up on a chicken farm (it's a long story), I imagine they might like their own little home away from the others and close to the house until they've grown a little. Hence, a rabbit hutch, which might seem a little strange but hey it was available on Freecycle and I couldn't resist. No promise of guineas (or rabbits) but they might come later. Actually, they probably will.

My dear, sweet boy with his nappy full of sand. Ah, the gifts.

BY THE SEA (4 down)

2011-10-19T18:25:00.001+11:00

Watching a little friend watching the water move over his feet

We were at the beach early this morning, well just about as early as we can manage at present, and I was glad for it sitting on the beach flicking through this magazine with the kids sitting either side of me nibbling on their breakfast while watching a boat just offshore. A rare moment of peace and so very appreciated.

On this perfect Spring day with temperatures around 28 degrees and a mild breeze blowing, I felt grateful for this beach (and the spare moment I had to pop this cake in the oven last night!).

VERY FRESH (3 down)

2011-10-18T14:00:00.000+11:00

Welcome indeed! Our second outing to Altona Fresh in a matter of days and we left feeling just as satisfied, enriched and full (!) as the first time. Why haven't we been shopping here for years?! Stocked with a wide range of mediterranean treats of all kinds (the cheese selection is great) and produce galore (thankfully all local!), I'm not sure why we've previously (and crazily) ignored the suggestion of some friends of ours who advocated a visit. I guess we always headed here and sure, it's spectacular but, mostly this would've met all the meditteranean cooking needs of this part mediterranean household! Well, now we know you, Altona Fresh, we'll be back plenty of time before leaving this side of town (and possibily afterwards too!), despite being quite stocked-up for now!

IN THE VILLAGE (2 down)

2011-10-17T03:50:00.000+11:00

A date with Elsa including some shopping at the second-hand shop in the Village/around the corner - doilies because, well, every girl needs doilies. Unfortunately there was a fire in the shop a few weeks ago and they've had to sell all remaining unaffected goods for reduced prices. I had no idea about the fire (even though it's so close by - guess I've been preoccupied!). I hope they are able to reopen and continue selling great second-hand goods.

A new desk. We once had a desk similar to this but gave it to Dana and created more space in the play area. Now that we're about to have a study (wow, I can't imagine!), we knew in the back of our minds that we'd need a desk. The thought was very much at the front of my mind when I saw this desk for sale (and on sale!). It's perfect for our needs.

A box of butter knives...the perfect scone-tool I say! And a sweet enamel bowl to offer them in. And I love this Globite suitcase - so big and perfect for dress-up clothes or fabrics or.... who knows and I wonder who R.Purdon was/is and how he got to the H.M.A.S Canberra?

Dad always had a pile of Globites in his shed, used by my four eldest siblings as school cases in the 50s and 60s. Mum recently gave them 'away' - back to whoever of her kids was interested and, I was! Mine is packed now but I'll have to post a photo some time.

And everyone needs a tablecloth featuring wildflowers of Western Australia! Hmmmm...I like it all the same.

And, oh my goodness, this 100% cotton, blue-striped, 'retro' fabric was marked at $42 (there's around 6 metres) but I snapped it up for $5...love a bargain!

After all that shopping, we needed a break at Barkly and Johnson where we met with the lads (read, Dino and Rafa) for coffee/tea. This is a good description of this new cafe oh so close to us - but, not for long!

FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS (1 down)

2011-10-16T16:33:00.000+11:00

It seems that the period of 40 days holds significance across the world for various reasons. I can think of points of 40 day significance in the bible, the most well-known being Noah and the great flood that lasted 40 days (here's my Catholic upbringing coming back to me!). And in some places and to some people, the 40 days postpartum period is of particularly relevance as a time of cleansing, healing and connecting. It was something we applied in our household as best we could upon the birth of both children. No doubt there are many other 40 day observances and rituals of which I'm ignorant. We're about to enter a particularly significant 40 day period (or thereabouts) and to help sustain me throughout I've decided to apply a little ritual of my own. I'm not sure what I'll title it but the central themes will certainly be 'change', 'rememberance', 'gratitude' and 'celebration'.

I tend to become quite melancholy when it comes to change (some varieties in any case). I find it difficult to believe when I consider how much change, adventure, and general renewal we've chosen to embark upon over the years but, it's clear that I do experience a period of readjustment, not unlike many I suspect. This little 40 day ritual of mine is partly a way to bring some relief to this period of change (by having fun with this crazy time of packing and administrative tasks that will come our way) and partly about celebrating where we are right now and all the experiences and friendships that have enriched our time here. Here where we've lived for four and a half years, here to where we brought our daughter home (a baby we longed and waited for, a baby we couldn't quite believe had decided to come!), here to where we brought our son home (the baby who was intent on coming to the world and to parents who remained disbelieving or at least surprised - and contentedly so), here where we've greeted family and friends new and old, here where we've been together taking it all in.

In some ways this is a small move for us, no jet plans, no immigration paperwork to complete, just a small move across town. But we know, particularly at this stage of our lives where small children are involved and all our world is within a small, local radius, that our visits back here will be infrequent. Our new home and wider surroundings are likely to absorb much of our days, making it all the more important to celebrate the here and now.

For the next 40 or so days, amid the chaos, we'll be particularly focused on the task of "taking it all in" in the way that you do when an end is near. A chapter is closing and another wonderful adventure is on its way.

IT'S A DATE!

2011-10-16T13:13:00.000+11:00

Last Sunday a nephew of mine (a big, mature, responsible 29 year old nephew!) babysat the kids and we headed out on a date, which is a rare thing for us. How the kids loved their afternoon with Cameron, such fun to have a big cousin about. We opted for some time in the city amongst the laneways and arcades. Gosh I love Melbourne! And how I love Haigs! (probably a little too much).

It was a lovely afternoon for connecting and sharing another joy of our current address, just a short drive to town. It will take a little more effort to get there post the move!

Japanese for afternoon tea, unlimited time in Camper where I sat druelling over these, a tea here, a visit here and uninterrupted conversation, what more could we ask?

RED CARDIGAN

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000+11:00

I started to knit this cardigan for Rafael this past Autumn but got distracted by other things and eventually, in fear that Rafa would grow out of it before it was complete, I engaged the help of a lady I know who finished the knitting for me though not before the very end of Winter. There's a first time for everything but, such a cheat I know! I just wasn't getting to it and he was in need of a cardigan. I did put the finishing touches in place (buttons and trim) so that's something! In the end it was still a little big for him so I needn't have worried. Next winter.

You can check out the finer details on my Ravelry page (though I think I still need to finalise this entry).

And just for the fun of it, check out this lovely book of poetry (those Golden Book people were busy weren't they) that I pilfered from the toy room at Mum's during my recent visit. It was given to one of my sisters in the early sixties and passed down through our family. The various names of my older siblings are listed in it's front pages (written in a range of colours by a range of little hands). When Mum saw Raf's response to the owl on the front cover, she didn't have a choice (it was coming home with us!)

BAG OF BINDING

2011-10-11T14:19:00.000+11:00

Last week, a bag of bindings, ribbons and trims arrived here from Greece where my mother-in-law has been visiting family (for the past 6 months!). She's back in Canada now but mailed these to me from Athens and, I'm so happy she did.

While in Greece she spent some time sorting through the craft stash of her sister, now deceased (my husband's dear Aunt/Theia Angelika). This women was remarkable and I feel very honoured to have these items which I imagine she used in making all sorts of garments for her two daughters, wonderful women in themselves now.

I've been enjoying sorting, resorting and simply 'inhaling' the look and feel of these lovely pieces. Elsa has likewise done so, including in the literal fashion; she told me "Mama, they smell of Theia". Unfortunately, she never met Angelika and I'm not sure that they do smell of her but I like the idea that she believes they do and that she's created a whole image of this Great Aunt through their smell, appearance and feel pieces. To help build that image and feed the discussion, we sorted through some old photos of Angelika and placed them on the fridge and coffee table, which has added depth and richness to the chatter about her.

Such a special, special package.

MOLLIE AND SNIPPETS

2011-10-10T21:55:00.000+11:00

A little summary of things around here of late, excluding the house-related 'stuff' that is truly wearing me down and the trip to Sydney, which requires a whole separate post with lots of photos that I don't have the internet capacity to upload for now (which is also wearing me out!). To start things off, our lemon tree has blossoms (above) and one wee lemon growing ever so slowly but growing just the same.

Mollie Makes

One of my sisters recently discovered this magazine and passed on the four issues published to date. I'm impressed and grateful for having access to her subscription (I might just need one of my own!).

The Beach

Soon we will live further away from the beach (ouch) so we've been maximising our time there often sharing the outing with friends. I can't even begin to explain the effect being near water has on me. It is my ultimate exercise in 'grounding' and is so entrenched in my past and present that I fear I'll long for it terribly when a beach is further afield. To compensate, I have all kinds of long beachside adventures in mind and thankfully I can console myself with the other wonderful benefits of the upcoming move.

All this from a girl from Sydney who once scoffed at the idea (and reality!) of a Melbourne beach. Such attitude! Somewhere in the past ten years I broadened by definition and appreciation of 'beachside' and learnt to enjoy the bayside beaches of Melbourne while continuing, at every opportunity, to visit exposed, coastal beaches too. For now, we inhale, love and revel in the nearby bay beaches and feel grateful for the nine good years we've enjoyed living within a stone's throw on them.

The Market

A few recent excursions to Footscray Market have left me wondering why I haven't taken the kids there more often. They were a little overwhelmed during our most recent visit because it was busy and they were tired but they've generally always enjoyed the sites and sounds of the market, particularly the fish stalls! And then there's the little 'cafe' (and I mean little - one table!) tucked away amongst coffee machines, dried legumes and an array of nuts, among other wonderful things. They make a great babychino, or so it seems!

And we never fail to duck across the road to another favourite haunt. They've been going since the mid-50s - amazing! And we know why. The kids love the little cannoli piped with half vanilla, half chocolate custard.

The Kitchen

I really should do a whole separate post on recent activities in our kitchen - and I will very soon but to an extent this photo says it all. We've been sharing so much time cooking and baking together, mostly in a cooperative fashion. Rafael has found his inner chef calling and his big sister is only too happy to instruct him on all she's learnt to date! There have been some very funny moments.

And to top it all off, there's been plenty of swaggering from this little boy as he gets more and more control over an increasingly active body!

NANA'S

2011-09-22T15:48:00.002+10:00

Here we are very recently home from a long, late Winter/early Spring holiday at "Nana's" and wondering where to begin? There's more packing to be done, a house to sell, a new house to prepare for, a special birthday just around the corner, so many projects on the go and so many more planned, some lovely weather to absorb, a car to buy (ours was in a crash from which everyone involved walked away a little shaken but in one piece - thank goodness - but it seems the car wasn't so lucky!)....so much happening and so many posts to complete on this here blog but I can't because our internet access is very limited for the next little while (more on that later) so for now....I'm going to shake the sand from our belongings post a wonderful visit to the beach this morning and put the kettle on....then tidy the house in preparation for another showing.

ON HIM

2011-09-01T09:30:00.012+10:00

And on this day, the first of a month in which Spring will make it's way to us, a few more photos of these, because my last photo of this pair excluded the little boy who is so lovingly wearing them! And with an uncle and aunt having recently returned from a month in Italy, they encourage lots of chatter between his big sister and Mama about Italian architectural icons and well dressed men and women roaming Italian streets! To him, they're just his 'vroom, vroom' pants - see the little men riding mopeds? And red loves Rafa!

And just because I can't resist sharing a detail from another of his new Quick Change Trousers - love this fabric!

JUST TO SAY...

2011-08-31T09:30:00.002+10:00

...that we're still here just incredibly busy with 'stuff' that I'm looking forward to sharing in the coming days/weeks. It hasn't helped that our modem 'died' leaving us without internet connection and a phone! Actually, that's been a good thing for me on the crafting (and general living) front. This technology-dip (!) was hightened by the removal (into storage) of our television, which has been a wonderfully positive thing, though I do miss going square-eyed in front of it in the evenings. The sewing machine also appreciates the extra attention!

Enjoyed a rare reprieve from packing and paperwork (for Mama!) to play outdoors

QUICK CHANGE TROUSERS

2011-08-17T22:00:00.003+10:00

My ever(and speedily)-growing boy needed some new pants and these quick-change trousers did the job. In the past I've often make the kid's pants reversible (in Winter mainly) but this was a fun new approach for me. I love the panel on the bum and they work well with his cloth nappies. I imagine I'll be applying this concept to many a pant pattern in the future.

As he walks in any of his new 'strides' he often rubs his hands down the side of the pants looking down at them as he walks (or runs) leading me to pose the question "do you like your new pants Rafael?". He looks up at me and nods fervently with a huge smile of his face. And I tell him "Raf, you look like a big boy in those pants" or "Raf, those pants look wonderful on you!". Either way, another huge smile comes my way. So proud - both of us!

CUSHIONS

2011-08-16T12:35:00.000+10:00

A little bit of blue to join these. One of her 'older' (2008) collections that I love. One can never have too many cushions, true? (well, the kids agree - more cushions equal more 'mountains' to build, climb and wrestle upon!).

PINK PANTS

2011-08-15T06:41:00.005+10:00

I finally succumbed to the pressure and made Elsa something from the pinkest fabric I could find (some corduroy). Elsa loves pink and though I do not, it was worth it to see the wide smile these put on her face! The pattern is well worn these days and this time, I added some pockets and a cuff in an attempt to introduce a colour other than pink (to tone them down a little!). Oh, she's smitten. It will take some convincing to get those pants moved up above her hips - apparently she's into low-riders?!? Funny girl.

FOR DADA

2011-08-14T07:41:00.002+10:00

A new vest for the dear man in my life (the grown-up one). He's enjoying the vest and it looks great on him but, I'm baised. This book has been a wonderful addition to my ever-growing collection of knitting books and this particular pattern was so easy to follow.

AWAY WITH THEE

2011-08-13T22:05:00.003+10:00

Finally, a chance to take a breath, to reflect, to consider the events of the past few weeks - it will be short-lived (the "chance to take a breath"!) . As we contemplate a move across town (way across town), investigate schooling options, meet with realtors of all varieties, prepare for upcoming visitors and plan our own northbound adventure, we find ourselves a tad busy, distracted and, well, overwhelmed! And excited too. For now, it's much simpler to look back rather than forward.

A definite highlight of the past few weeks was my sewing/knitting/anything trip involving two nights 'alone' for some child-free sewing and much needed rest. Did you hear me? TWO NIGHTS! Up to this trip, I had never been away from either of my kids for a night, let alone two. I felt confident and relaxed knowing they were with their Dada and enjoying some city adventures.

I shared this creative reprieve with a friend whose parents kindly provided the country location with a wonderfully big sewing table, regularly stoked wood-fires, wonderful food and hot tea. AND, as an added bonus, the wise ear of my friend's mother who is an experienced sewer and patient teacher! What more can a Mama ask for? Really!

A few long-standing projects were worked on.....

The top of a quilt for Elsa

Thanks to the encouragment of my friend, I finally completed the top of Elsa's quilt and, though there's still much more to work on (like backing and hand-quilting it!), I'm so pleased to have been 'unblocked' on this one. It's one of those projects that's been dragging along for a good while. I'm too embarrassed to say for how long!

And a few new projects were started and finished, or almost so....this brown skirt needs some embellishments and this wool felt should help. I have some fruits in mind. The brown wool had been in Mum's fabric stash since the late 50s some time! To be fair, it was tucked away in a storage box but, wow, that makes my aging stash seem very current. To be even fairer, she did have ten children and managed to sew for us all - the mind boggles.

I made this skirt (the freyed hem is intentional!). The pattern (also used for the brown skirt above) includes kid's sizes so Elsa's sure to get some 'market skirts' of her own.

And I completed this top for myself. It makes my mind float forward to Spring and puts a smile on my face.

And as the above-said friend commented, I've clearly been 'unblocked'. I tend to sit on projects, waiting for the 'perfect' opportunity, the 'perfect' combination of fabrics, the 'perfect' moment. Slowly, I'm coming to the realisation that there is no 'perfect' time. Intellectually, I knew it, in reality, I was still holding out. But, since my weekend away, I've simply 'gone for it'. And though the results are not perfect (and that's part of what always restrains me from starting in the first place), there's a great satisfaction in completion. More post-weekend away, completed projects coming soon!

SOMETIMES CAFE KIDS

2011-07-11T16:49:00.002+10:00

On this Wintery, cold Melbourne day I'm dreaming of a pleasant cafe outing with clear-nosed children! It's not really so cold but, I become a little 'whiny' when the temperature drops below fifteen so I'm looking back (just a few weeks) to warmer, sun-shiny days and some cafe outings we've enjoyed. Perhaps we'll have another tomorrow? It might be a nice way to celebrate her second visit to the dentist; bravery should be rewarded! Not that I'm expecting the dentist to do much more than count her teeth, ask her how her brushing is going and give her a sticker! I must be projecting my horrid experience with braces!

Occassionally, I ask my kids to brave a local cafe so that I can enjoy a pot of chai or English Breakfast tea because one, I'm addicted to both and two, sometimes it's nice to be served! It takes such patience on their behalves, a patience that's mostly rewarded by a 'babychino' and something sweet to eat.

Back at the end of May when my eldest sister was visting from northern NSW, their patience was tested on more than one occassion! And recently, we've been visiting a cafe in Flemington with friends following Elsa's weekly swimming lession. This is a particularly good spot to stop because of this shop, located in front of our table of choice. This is clearly a stop for me but the kids find their own fun.

I hope they recall the sweet rewards of our cafe stops in the same way that I recall the delights of the David Jones cafe in Sydney where Mum would take me for a reprieve as I enjoyed the delights of a vanilla milkshake, cream-corn on toast (I know!) and perhaps a scone. For now for my kids, it's all about the train spotting, exploring the streets, watching the people, and clearly, the eating and drinking too!

Cafe bound with their aunt; something to truly relish as this aunt lives far away

And sometimes we simply take the 'cafe' with us and enjoy some train spotting with treats and drinks in hand. And then chat about all things train-related in the aftermath! ( I really need to learn some things in this regard!). It's often not until a few trains have sped past that Rafa is used to the noise; it' hard to believe looking at the photo below but, in no time, he's screaming with delight as each train approaches.

THE APPLE CAKE

2011-07-07T21:01:00.001+10:00

We've tried a few apple cake recipes in our time but, this has to be our (current) favourite. For this, I can thank this book with it's central themes of giving and recieving in the context of an old women's quest for apples for this cake. When eventually she suceeds through some serendipitous bartering, she cooks and devours the entire cake. I have to say, I'm confident I could equal her efforts but, I did opt to share with the family. What great control I displayed!

The recipe is a little time consuming but completely worth the effort. The result is a delicious half cake - half bread loaf . One day a few weeks back (when we still had some decent sunshine!), we enjoyed the cake with friends at a local park/gardens and I can't help but include some photos from that morning.

And heck, while I'm at it, you might as well have our other favourite (!) apple cake recipe. Tis' the season afterall - the apple one that is. This recipe provides a use for that leftover morning porridge. Yesterday it provided a good afternoon tea for the kids and their cousins, and us sisters of course! So quick and easy.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
1/2 cup oats
1 cup water
Make porridge and add 125ml butter to the saucepan (with porridge) to melt
Combine following and add the above
2 eggs
1 cup S.R Flour – sift
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder – sift
Bake 180 for about 35 mins

HER WEE TOES

2011-07-06T17:38:00.002+10:00

Something was preventing me from sending this off. Her gift seemed incomplete. Then it struck me, what about her wee, little, lovely toes? Where are the woolly 'bits' to keep those warm? Though I'm sure her parents have her very warm and snug, I couldn't resist completing the outfit with some socks using a pattern here and this yarn to match the hat. What a pleasure these were to knit (and a quick pleasure too, which is an added bonus!). Oh, beautiful warm baby toes, they're just the best don't you think!?!

TOTEM POLES AND TEEPEES

2011-07-06T14:32:00.003+10:00

Last Friday was Canada Day. It actually wasn't Canada Day in Canada until the next day but we celebrated on both the date here (1st July) and there. Since, of course, Australian's don't celebrate Canada Day you'd think we'd simply choose between the days but, we had so much planned that it seemed appropriate to spread it out over both days! And so we did.

I decided that we needed to explore the First Nations perspective, in the very limited way that we can and in a way that was appropriate for the kids. So, we focused on our First Nations story books (Kids Books has a good supply) and occassionally looked on line for related images. Elsa asked whether we can sleep in a teepee next time we go to Canada?! There I was thinking I'd introduced untenable dreams when we found this and now I'm dreaming too. Perhaps one day. For now, we made plenty of paper teepees and totem poles. We had fun and learnt some things too!

We also had our fair share of pancakes with maple syrup and these shortbread biscuits made with the help of these (perfect for our celebration!).

WALTZING MATILDA

2011-06-30T13:52:00.000+10:00

A gift for newborn 'Matilda'; a new hat and overalls that I couldn't resist. I feel confident that it won't be long before little Matilda knows all the words to that famous Australian song and a few Canadian equivalents because, though she lives in Sydney, her Dad's Canadian too (and a dear friend of D's). I'd love to see the figures on Canadian-Australian partnerships in this world. I bet there's quite a few!

With all the newborns in our world and all the knitting projects I have underway, I needed a pattern for a quick, sweet hat and this does the job (details to come). The yarn was wonderful to work with, as always.

CELEBRATION CENTRAL

2011-06-30T07:00:00.000+10:00

Two cakes for Dada, another for a cousin made by his Dada

Hello from our third week in the land of four. Another year down, another June in which to recouperate! You see, it was also Dada's birthday in May along with two very important cousins. In our family, it's a busiest birthday month by far. Even Dino enjoyed two cakes this year - one at home and one with my sister's family. We're very taken with the idea of birthday WEEKS around here and it's partially the reason why I've taken so long to post this entry - we're recovering!

Creating a birthday table for Dada

Elsa decorated all corners of the house for her Dada's celebration

Enjoying his new crepe/pancake maker, a perfect birthday gift for Dino from family

Rafa leads his Dad through the zoo grounds

And then, we celebrated Elsa's fourth (!) birthday with a morning at Melbourne Zoo followed by an afternoon of food, family and friends at home.

At the zoo; a perfect tree under which to enjoy a birthday morning tea

We enjoyed the intimate celebration, though we almost starved the guests when the oven stopped working properly. Thankfully the neighbours allowed us to use theirs. Is there anything better than homemade pizza? Not to me.

Saved by the nieghbours, my pizzas make it to our hungry tummies

The most amazing thing happened on Elsa's birthday; we awoke to find the fairies had constructed their own personal, fairy-size door outside the entry to her bedroom AND had delivered a very special gift of a lovely book and fairy skirt. They even left a gift for her little brother. Those fairies think of everything (well, some things!).

In keeping with her zoo outing this birthday and her interest in the new elephants there, a little one made it to her birthday crown via a very rushed, last minute embellishment by this Mama.

Not a great photo but, you get the idea - not a great elephant either but she understood!

And there was this of course. Plenty of other little (and big) projects planned for her birthday remain unfinished but that's okay, they'll be enjoyed at whatever stage they make it to her sweet hands. And most importantly, she had a wonderful, wonderful celebration.

It was a birthday month that left poor Gnocchi wondering "what about me?"

These past few months, I've enjoyed watching the kids relish many opportunities to play with their cousins as we shifted from one birthday celebration to the next (the Melbourne based cousins at least, though the Skype chats with the multitudes of Sydney-based and Torontonian cousins were also muchly appreciated). A visit to their cousins/my sister's is never complete without checking in on the guineas and collecting some treasures from the garden.

On the sidelines at her cousin's soccer match in her birthday dress-ups

And when it was all over, time to sit and enjoy a warm cup of tea dressed as part fairy, part queen!

NOTHING WRONG WITH A WONTON

2011-06-29T09:34:00.001+10:00

It wasn't long before these raw wontons were cooked and being devoured by the kids

Our latest 'discovery' on the food front: wontons! Well, I've often eating them at restaurants but we'd never made them at home and they seemed like the perfect project to share with the kids. They were! A fun, messy, busy little cooking project. The first time I made these I was merely helping at my sister's place as they made these for my niece's birthday dinner and we enjoyed the process so much, including the eating bit, that we've made them at home a few times lately. Yummo. And now anytime we have a 'wonton craving' we'll pop into Footscray for a great choice of wonton wrappers.

We were inspired by the multitide of wonton recipes out there and eventually came up with our own concotion of the following.

minced chicken or pork (we're looking forward to trying them with prawns)
grated and/or finely chopped vegetables of any type (carrot and brocoli works well)
grated or finely chopped shallots/spring onion or onion (we prefer the spring onion option)
herbs (corander and mint are so great with these)
hoisin sauce and/or sweet chili sauce (our kids tolerate only a little) and/or oyster sauce
honey (occassionally I've added a touch of honey to the mixture)

You can play around with quantities depending on both the amount you're making and your taste preferences. Lay out your wontons and brush all edged with egg. Pop a heaped teaspoon full of the mixture in the middle of the wrapper and close by pulling up to create a little parcel. The wrapper will stick and stay together well if you pinch it inwards. Either place them in a steamer or fry in hot oil (you need quite a bit of oil and it should be very hot; you can deep fry them but I seem to get away with shallow frying instead).

SUNNY SOLSTICE

2011-06-27T11:16:00.003+10:00

A fourth birthday gift to Elsa from her Mama (a.k.a moi!) that I plan to make it again and again, perhaps in red or green next? The pattern is wonderfully straight-forward and quick, which are important prerequisites for me at present (though I can't say I had too many opportunities to sit and knit this over the past few months, when I did I was able to achieve more than expected in a short amount of time).

This is a size 6 to cater for the seemingly unstoppable speed at which she's growing - slow down little girl! For now, the sleeves will be rolled up slightly and her bottom kept very warm with it's length but I'm sure it won't be long before I'm knitting the next size up. And who knows, she might even get another size 6 sooner than expected; it will be tough to stay away from this pattern as it was such a joy to knit and she's loving it so much - true, it's not only me that's become obsessed with this garment, she also insists on wearing it at every opportunity. Yay! Phew, Mama hit the mark!

I ordered the Madeline Tosh yarn from here determined to have the same colour as shown in the image attached to the pattern but eventually went for a slightly brighter colour ('Cammomile' rather than 'Butter'). I would knit again with this yarn any time. The buttons are from here.

It's nice to have the reminder of sunshine on a winter's day don't you think? Though our winter days are not completely void of the real stuff down here, we always enjoy more. Greedy sun-hogs that we are. Now all we need do is take a look at Elsa in this cardigan for a reminder of the light on the darker winter days.

Lantern in hand ready for the Winter Solstice lantern walk with her 'kinder'/playgroup

Perfect cardigan to wear on a dog walk too :)

Other bits of brightness: candles at the Solstic celebration this past Saturday night

On the needles now: a hat for a newborn

A LAST

2011-06-19T10:13:00.005+10:00

A slightly delayed 'blog celebration' of Elsa's last week in the land of three. A week in late May when we enjoyed commentary and questioning such as "next week, I'll be soooo much bigger we'll certainly need to buy me some new clothes" and "Mama, when I'm four, can I still have porridge for breakfast". And perhaps my favourite "Mama, do you still remember the day I was born". Yes indeed Elsa! And thereby started many conversations about that day.

What a lovely, and sometimes challenging, year it was. The year that she really started to explore the body she's in; so much climbing, running, jumping, dancing, skipping...and so many new things; swimming, writing, news ways of drawing and painting, the beginnings of reading, a fascination with fairy-tales, cycling...so much 'new'. So much enquiry, so much wonder. So many precious moments. Four. Wow.

SHE ASKED FOR IT

2011-06-01T14:33:00.002+10:00

Nothing to do with the soup, except that she opted for some garden maintenance

with her Mama while it was stewing away. Wondering about the semi-clad tummy? Apparently that's what workmen do when they're working on the road on a hot day...not exactly 'hot' this day but apparently warm enough to warrant this..

At Em's request, here is 'my' recipe for Meatball Soup. This was another favourite at Bouzouki and my mother-in-law was kind enough to share it with me, now I'm sharing it with you. Years back, when working elsewhere on the island (eleven "years back" to be precise), I recall darting back to the restaurant during my lunch-break for a bowl of this soup, always warm and ready to go with toasted flat-bread on the side. It was the perfect aid to my first full Autumn on the West Coast helping me to adjust to the cooler weather, which was a shock having come from Spring in Sydney. Her lentil soup also helped me over the line. I'll have to share that recipe soon - scrumptious!

MEATBALL SOUP

Meatballs
1/2 kg ground beef
1 egg
1 onion
1/4 cup pearl rice (arboria or short-grain work well too)
3 tablespoons parsley chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and roll into small balls (tablespoon width or so - you chose). Roll meat balls in a small amount of plain flour, set aside.

Broth
5-6 cups beef broth (I often use vegetable broth)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
pinch of basil and or/parsley

In a large saucepan, combine broth ingredients and bring to a boil. Drop meatballs in one at a time so they don't stick together. Cook for 30 minutes over low heat, or until meatballs are cooked through.

Some additions...
You can add 1/2 cup cooked orzo or some left over rice or some cooked lentils or, well you chose really. It's an easy recipe to play with. I'm also partial to some tomato paste stirred through the broth. I play around with the herbs both in terms of quantity and selection. In the cooler months when we don't have basil in the garden, I sometimes add a little dried oregano.

Bon Appetit!

TWICE-BAKED BISCUITS

2011-05-30T15:25:00.001+10:00

Helping to mix the biscotti batter

In our house these twice-baked biscuits, otherwise known as 'biscotti', are a real hit. I've been meaning to get this recipe to a friend FOREVER and thought I'd send it to her via a post. Sorry for the delay Em but here it is.

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe years back and I've enjoyed baking them ever since. When we lived on the island, I loved watching her make bucket-loads of biscotti (and I mean BUCKET-LOADS!) to be consumed at the restaurant and family home and now I make them for my own family, though in slightly smaller quantities! The restaurant is no longer there but the food is living on in my kitchen, though it's certainly not as tasty as that created by D's Mum. That might sound like a 'crawling' daughter-in-law thing to say but I can assure you it's true.

And note to self - next time use ouzo and not D's moonshine from Burma! Thankfully the biscotti turned out well just the same.

Twice-Baked Biscuits (originally 'Cookies' of course!)

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter (softened)

4 tablespoons aniseed

4 tablespoons anisette or other anise-flavoured liqueur (ouzo works best)

3 tablespoons whiskey (or 2 tablespoons vanilla essence (the real stuff) and 2 tablespoons of water)

2 cups almonds, coarsely chopped

6 eggs

5 1/2 cups plain flour (unsifted)

1 tablespoon baking powder

Mix sugar with butter, anise seed, liqueur, whisky and nuts, Beat in eggs, Mix flour with baking powder and stir into the sugar mixture. Blend well, cover and chill for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours (I've been known to leave it over night). Shape dough to form flat loaves about 1/2 an inch thick and 2 inches wide and as long as your baking sheet. Generally, it's best to place no more than 2 loaves on the baking tray as the biscotti expands. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until you can touch (and not get burnt!) then cut into diagonal slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Lay slices on their sides, close together on baking sheet and return to the oven (180 degrees again) for 15 minutes or until toasted.

You can make all kinds of subsitutes to create a biscotti of your choice. My favourites have been hazlenut and chocolate, cranberry, plain (minus the aniseed flavourings) and pistacchio. Yummo. It also freezes well which is great if you're inclined to make BUCKET-LOADS of biscotti like my mother-in-law! She also introduced me to the concept of a 'biscotti breakfast'. You see, as a product of slicing the biscotti after that initial bake, you'll have crumbs containing lots of crunchy goodness which are very tasty with yogurt in the morning. Perhaps not the healthiest of breakfast accompaniments but scrumptious all the same.

A FIRST

2011-05-27T15:32:00.002+10:00

Now that we're all fully recovered from our colds, I have a few posts to make, which may take a few days because I have my sister staying from northern New South Wales and we're busy, busy, busy exploring, sipping on tea and cooking, and talking of course!

Around here we celebrate the 'firsts' of everything (and the seconds, thirds etc etc!). Anyway, we had another last week - Rafael's first haircut! Now minus the little curl at the back of his head which was beginning to look more like a 'rats-tail' than a curl and looking even more like a little boy, he's oblivious to this latest change but his Mama notices every move towards boyhood and reminds herself that he is only eighteen months old (and I'm cherishing every moment - well, most!).

Peter of Tumble Hair gently cut away while Raf sat quietly interested

Later baking bread at home

Big Boy Haircut

SNIFFLES, COUGHS AND FEVER

2011-05-18T15:59:00.002+10:00

Birds of Paradise from the garden, picked by Dada for the sniffling ones

We've had a week of it and copious amounts of ginger tea, Mama soup, oil-burning, cough elixer (this one by Weleda), a few lavender baths and 'Eucalyptus Hankies' (a little splash on a handkerchief stored close by for sniffing - remember that from childhood?) and oh so many books and hugs and 'homeness'. Antibiotics were required for me but the others escaped them. I am ever so grateful that we have antibiotics as an option, when needed, but it's also great to know they've had success at fighting this bug on their own - this time at least (I'm sure they'll be a few more bugs about this winter).

Back to the books, our current favourite books include Dr. De Soto, Autumn and anything Shirley Hughes or Elsa Beskow (the latter two authors are ALWAYS a big hit around here).

Drawing by Elsa Beskow

Drawing by Shirley Hughes

Gnocchi seeks refuge under the book-box but Rafael was intent on a conversation

Making her own pretend herbal remedy

Making vegie stock, chicken stock and chicken soup - so very needed this past week

Time with her 'puppy', a remedy of its very own

A little hail storm to remind us that we're not missing anything out of doors

APRIL

2011-05-10T09:52:00.001+10:00

May, already?

An obvious one

There was so much BLUE in April!

Her longest bike-ride yet; into the village

The body of a Tea Leaves complete! Sleeves yet to come

So many sleepy cuddles

Moulding with her....

Ducks from here (sleeping apparently)

Pumpkin scones all-round

And soooo much pizza

MUMMY'S DAY

2011-05-09T21:16:00.000+10:00

This mummy/mama/mum/ma enjoyed the loveliest of times on Mothers Day...a big breakfast and muffins provided by Dada and Elsa (with Raf helping I hear), lovely drawings and a card made by Elsa (with some squiggles by Raf), a niece's soccer match (some serious cheering by this excitable aunt), some sewing time with my sister (a top for me...not quite finished), a shared baked-dinner made by D and my brother-in-law with a scrumptious custard tart for dessert (made by my 11 year old niece - clever chook) and then there were all the hugs and kisses and the...well, love. It was a great day. Oh, and the soundtrack to the day? This CD, a gift from la familia. Any CD that starts with a Paul Kelly track has to be good. And it is.

I hope you had a lovely day too, whether it was your Mothers Day or that of someone close to you.

Watching the parents watching the game was almost as good as the match itself! (though that was pretty good)

"Dada, when can I start playing soccer?"

NO WHALES YET...

2011-05-04T15:50:00.002+10:00

The whales return each winter and we hope to make it back this calving season but, this little holiday was all about sharing a work trip with Dada. Despite having to work, he was 'home' nice and early each day minus tales of traffic congestion and crazy drivers, though the views did distract him at times, which must have been just horrible! :)

Enjoying Logans Beach also known as the Southern Right Whale nursery

A visit to the Whale Nursery left us wondering how a whale can tell if her waters have broken? Ha!

At our own holiday 'nursery' enjoying a different kind of water!

Fun at Lake Pertobe

EXTRA LONG

2011-04-29T17:36:00.002+10:00

It already seems like so long ago but how can that be when the weekend only really finished on Wednesday? What a treat having Labour Day tacked on to the end of the Easter long weekend! We had a great weekend with family, eating, cooking, celebrating all things Easter and for me, sewing.

Felt Easter Bilbys for a niece and nephew

Plenty of egg dying

My first ever Tsoureki (first one I've made that is, I've eaten plenty!)

And new winter pyjama pants for the kids (this has become and Easter tradition in our house...does three years consitute "a tradition"?)

She was very impressed with her first ever "big girl pony-tail"

And a new 'Lazy Days Skirt' for Elsa - a long one this time, at her request

TOWARDS EASTER

2011-04-23T15:05:00.003+10:00

ns, On our way towards Easter plenty has been happening around here. Before I cover this actual weekend (oh what a lovely, long one!), thought I'd reflect on the last.

Some cooking from one of my favourite cookbooks...Kofta with Tomato Sauce. We love this cookbook. So straight forward and full of recipes for delicious meals, including sweets. And we know, because in the few years since I bought this book, we've tried most of them!

And I'm thoroughly enjoying (and quickly devouring) this box of teas from Canadian label 'Tea Forte', a birthday gift from my sister-in-law in Toronto. I could be addicted.

And E and I had some fun shopping for some supplies necessary to making Easter happen around here (the Greek part at least). We feel very lucky to be able to explore and purchase these things at our local supermarket but we shoudn't be surprised, we all in Melbourne after all with it's huge Greek population.

And it's that time of the year...bread galore! And this year, pizza bases waiting be topped with all sorts.

And while we wait for the pizza, popcorn anyone? Do you remember the excitement as a child listening to the corn popping in the pan and feeling eager to hear the popping end so the devouring could begin?!

And cousins have been making pasta (with the help of their Mamas). Autumn/Winter 2011 could go down as our greatest pasta making season...on to Ravioli next time. Yum!

Shopping at our good local book shop, I finally bought March and grabbed her latest book too. I'm hoping their as fantastic as Year of Wonders, which is definitley one of my favourite novels. And last weekend, I also enjoyed flicking through the lastest Frankie that arrived here just in time for the weekend. Quite the contrast from the novels but entertaining in it's own way.

It hasn't all been about food around here (though mostly!), we also enjoyed some arts and crafts. After seeing these stamps here it was only a matter of time until we had them in operation at our kitchen table. They're great for little hands and a nice way to send a message (near or far), and some recipes.

And how could I resist...