Friday, May 5, 2017

every day in may


Hello honey bunches,

How's your week been?

I'm happy to report that after our bumpy homecoming, things here have been really good. It helps that the sun finally came out. And although it's still much too cold for my liking, we've had some bright, still, autumn days that have made my heart sing and my body happy to be outside and moving.

Last Monday morning I drove through the forest on the way home from taking Indi and Jarrah to school. The girls had been gorgeous in the car, I knew that Bren and Jobbo were meeting at home to plan the rebuild of the hot-house, the sunlight was streaming through the trees and I felt overcome with the feeling that my week ahead was rich with time and possibilities. It's the best feeling. I wanted to grab onto it and really feel it and take it home and make stuff happen.

At the same time I was listening to Sara Tasker's podcast interview with Xanthe Berkeley about the power of creative projects when it occurred to me that a creative project is just what I need. And with the start of May, the month that sort of rhymes with 'every day', the timing felt perfect. So I started auditioning projects in my head: a crocheted granny square a day, a water colour painting a day, one of those blankets people knit where each row is a reflection of the weather or the mood of the day, a blog post a day, a short film clip a day, a hundred words in a diary every day, a hexagon quilt project, an embroidery stitch a day, a hand written letter, a new recipe, an instagram post a day, a charcoal drawing...the possibilities felt endless and endlessly exciting.

In 2012 and 2014 I crocheted a different motif every day in May and loved it.

Then I arrived home, listened to the plans the boys had made, drank coffee, cleaned up the breakfast dishes, took some laundry off the line put it away and hung out some more, went to gym for an hour, came home and pulled the last of the irrigation lines out of a bottom paddock, checked on the olives, picked some flowers, brought in a load of wood, got Pepper from school and took her to her singing lesson, picked her up from her singing lesson and brought her home, took Jazzy to her dancing class and then came home to find Bren and Pepper making pasta for dinner.

The entire time I'd been wondering about my personal creative project: what form it would take, what skills I could hone or learn, and what materials I would need. Late in the day it occurred to me that the real question was when would I fit it in?

My project had to add creativity but not stress to my life.

As I watched them break the eggs and mix them into flour I decided on a capture project rather than a create project. As I watched them stir the two ingredients into a dough I chose my big camera over my phone. And as they rolled the dough out into long sheets and then skinny noodles I decided that I would document one moment of every day. One moment with a few photos.

Not the most special moments, not the most photogenic moments, not even the moments that have stories that I would usually blog, just the small moments that make up our days this May.

Ideally I'd like to push myself out of my comfort zone and take more photos indoors, I'd like to capture some tiny unposed moments, I'd like to be brave and play around with composition and settings, and I'd really love to trust myself more and not have to take 20 photos just in case the first 19 don't work.

I plan to publish them here on my blog with a short explanation or story. I thought about posting them every day but I don't want to break with this Friday thing that is working so well. And even though this might not feel any different to you than my usual style of blogging, it does for me - in its everydayness, it's making me see my world a bit differently, and its encouragement of risk.

I hope you like it - here goes.

On - May first - Bren and Pepper made made spaghetti for our dinner. Most afternoons I drive out to pick the big girls up from school and those two spend the time playing and making dinner for us. It works really well for them to make and bake and hang out, and then it works really well for us as a family to come together at the end of the day, to share a meal and catch up with each other's news.

On - May second  - we picked the last of the outside tomatoes and cabbages and basil before the predicted frosts arrived the next morning. This year we harvested, cooked, preserved and ate so many fewer tomatoes than in any other year I can remember, but still I'm happy to see the end of them. The last ones of the season always smell too strong and are too floury for my liking. This crate we picked on Tuesday is still sitting by the front door; there's a chance I'll cook them all up over the weekend, but it's more than likely they'll get fed to the chooks.





On - May third - we finally lit a great big fire and burnt all the heads of the trees that we cut down for firewood late last year. I know that my farmer boy mourns the carbon and would much rather mulch them and feed the land, but burning sh#@ is one of my favourite parts of autumn farming and happy wife - happy life, hey.



On - May fourth - we suited up and visited our bees. All of our hives seemed madly busy stockpiling for winter as the season is so obviously changing. And because our bees had a rough winter last year we were really careful and only took a few honey frames here and there and only where it looked like they had plenty. Taking honey from the bees always seems like such a gamble at this time of the year, but then the thought of that spoonful of honey in our porridge and in our tea makes it too hard to resist.



On - May fifth - literally five minutes ago, we picked some beetroot to go with our veggie burgers for dinner tonight. As I type this they're cooking on the stove. I think we'll make a rocket, feta and beetroot salad with lemon juice with some of it and slice the rest.

And that's my May so far.
How about yours? How's it going?
Do you have a creative project on the go?
Are you looking for one? Do you want to join me?
Do you do something everyday already?
Do you have something fun planned for the weekend? I hope so.

Oh and thank you so much for your feedback on my coping with winter post. I guess my every day project and the way it'll hopefully help me look for the photographable moments is part of the way I hope to deal with it a little better this year. That and a bunch of other things I've written down from all of your suggestions.

See you in a week my friends.

Love Kate xx


27 comments:

  1. I love your idea of capturing the everyday-moments in May! We tend to overlook those happy little things in everyday life!
    May will be an exciting month for me as my husband and I will move from our really small one bedroom-appartment to our own house with or own backyard and finally - a big, big kitchen. And a bathtub! Oh how I missed taking baths those last few years...right now we're living in a big chaos of moving boxes and half-packed things and I'm trying to organise the move and all those handymen that need to come and install the kitchen and the shower and the windowblinds...but I know that it'll all be worth it in the end. Can't wait for our new adventure! :)

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    1. Oh my goodness, I'm so excited for you!! Happy new house!! xx

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  2. Ahhhh thank you Kate, delightful as always.
    Your photos are lovely and your words add depth to the story told by those photos.
    Thank you for sharing
    Cheers Kate

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    1. Thank you so much lovely Kate, I hope your May is just marvellous. xx

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  3. What a stroke of inspiration, something that you can do, without it becoming a stress! I miss bonfires, even though I don't like the smell on my clothes the next day, I used love it when we went camping and made a big fire every evening - we don't go anymore... I need to look into doing it again!

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    1. We've been saying the same thing about camping. I hope we both get to do it again soon. xx

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  4. Thanks for your great post as always Kate. I love clicking on the Blog on Fridays to find a new post. The consistency of it is heartwarming!
    In other news, I went to the library yesterday and picked up "Socks from the Toe up", from your Ravelry recommendation. I have been wanting to try them for ages and have it on life goal lists. On the way back to my car, I walked past the local little craft shop and thought I'd see if they had some nice little sock needles and ended up having such a lovely chat to the shop assistant who is also a sock knitter. She recommended this fabulous wool that I am totally in love with- if I can manage to knit the socks up, I will send you a picture. The lady at the shop was such a treasure- it warmed the cockles of my heart. Anyway, quick tactical question... do you use circular needles or the 5 needle technique for the basic socks you do?

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    1. Oh my goodness, I'm so excited for you!! Please do send me a photo, I'd love to see how you go.
      I only ever use circular needles. I am completely intimidated by DPN's, I can't understand how people don't lose them, or lose the stitches off them. I use 2mm needles with a one meter cord so I can knit two at the same time. Hope that helps. Please ask me any questions that might arise along the way. Sock knitting talk is my favourite. xx

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  5. Love your idea Kate. Think I may pinch it for June :) Your photos as ever are so atmospheric and tell a story without a need for words. You're a talented lady

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    1. Thank you so much Sandra, I'm happy to report that so far it's working really well for a project a day. My only issue is choosing one photo. I'm not very good at that part. x

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  6. Sounds like a great plan! I'm sure those photos will be some of the family's favorites. Hoping your bees will winter over as well as ours did (all 7 survived with honey to spare). I too love a big fire (in fact I have a huge pile just waiting to burn now). May has been wet here, delaying some of our garden work.I've started a bullet journal to hopefully help me with those creative endeavors and daily chores. Have a great May!

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    1. Oh that's wonderful news about your bees. We had a dreadful year last year, we lost two hives one of which literally floated down a flooded creek. Hopefully this year will be easier on them. I hope you're having a great May too. xx

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  7. Hi reges, 2 cents worth from here, I have knit over 30 pairs and use 4 dpn's, I find the circulars frustrating as the stitches jag at the join of needle to cable, maybe the top price ones don't do that.

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    1. Thanks! I will persevere I think :)

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    2. Oh how I'd love a chance to watch you knit Margaret. I am so used to working with circulars that dpns look like another craft altogether. I'm completely intimidated by them. I guess I love the circs too because I can knit both socks at once. I will try them one day though. x

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  8. Your lovely pics are so atmospheric, I can almost feel the chill in the air and smell the damp leaf litter.
    It is amazing how a daily creative time can lift your mood for the duration of the project. I am joining in a KAL of the 'Miso shawl' with a bunch of Canadians, we cast on 1st May and have 2 months to finish.....bit addictive.

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    1. Thank you so much Margaret. And I love that a bunch of Canadians are knitting Miso. Ambah, the designer, is a friend of mine. Her son and my middle daughter are in the same class at school. Such a small world. Such a gorgeous pattern. xx

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  9. Hi. What a great project! Ive just signed up to the 100 days projext based in nz. It's about making space for one one little creative project each day for 100 days. It should be fun. I'm planning on taking the time to sketch ideas for leggy pots I'll make.

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    1. Oh I love that!! If this May project works for me I've been thinking about extending into the 100 days project. Winter and the lack of light frightens me though. I hope you're having a great week. x

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  10. What an awesomely fun project!! I love everything you do and write but your photography is my favorite! I just might have to start a little project of my own. Can't wait to follow along! 😊

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    1. Thank you so much Denise, that means so much to me. xx

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  11. Love it! I've done every day in May projects the last two years and this year I'm participating in Me Made May, a challenge to wear as many of your handmade clothes as you can.

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    1. I'm completely in awe of all the Me Made May participants I'm seeing around the place. So inspiring. x

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  12. Oh that honeycomb Kate! Gorgeous and inspiring and uplifting as usual x

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    1. Thank you Miss Jane, I hope your May is going marvellously! xx

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  13. I love your post and pictures too.
    Stefania

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  14. I love the picture, they show the atmosphere of autumn perfectly. It still seems quite warm over there and there are so many things growing, amazing! I look forward to reading more.

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Thanks so much for stopping by...

I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.

Kate XX

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