Legs eleven!

Happy anniversary to you my beautiful farmer boy!

I adore you!

You rock my socks!

XX

Your happy list.

Good morning!

I've just been cruising around blog land visiting the happy spaces of Ms Cathie and Ms Becky and reading their happy lists. Isn't it funny how someone else's list of happiness can make you feel happy.

Well it got me thinking, if my happy list got me thinking about all the good things in my life right now and reading those two happy lists made me feel happy all over again, then I think you should totally have a go and write your own list. What a great start to the weekend.

Happy, happy, happy!

Don't think about it too much. Just start writing and see how you go.
Then leave your linky in the space below and we can all pop over to your space, read your happy list and spread that love.

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

(Oh and if you have no idea what I am talking about, check out my post from yesterday).

Ok, happiness and joy here we come.

And have a happy and fun weekend. XX

My happy list.

I'm struggling today.

The crazy rains of the past few weeks have made such a mess of our farm and our plans for this season. At the moment it looks like we might not be able to plant a vegie crop this year, our orchards that a week ago were laden with gorgeous looking fruit, have been horribly mutilated by the warm wet, fungal loving tropical conditions and garlic beds that should be drying out and feeling the warmth of summer are instead sitting in water. Our driveway and various other farm structures have been washed down the creek and just when we thought we'd had it all, the locusts have been flying in this morning and making them selves at home.

I feel guilty for feeling bad though. There are so many out there so worse off than me. So many that make my list seem insignificant.

So I'm not going to give into it today.

Instead I'm going to write my happy list. No order. Just a ramble of things as they come to me.

If this is something you feel like doing too, let me know so I can come and visit.

Ok, here goes:

Indi at home today, my gorgeous farmer boy, olive dip on toast, cherries, knitting, friends who get it, Jazzy graduating from reading recovery, colouring books that entertain and challenge, Ravelry, embroidered table cloths, Pepper's imagination, Jazzy's princessy dress sense, how fast my new iPhone is, warm baths, fun packages in the mail, stripey socks, less than a week until school holidays, baking a cake for the boys' lunch, coffee, hand painted yarn, Indi feeling better, Jazzy's dancing, family, health, love, a whole tub of textas that work, inspiration, my girls, Friday Night Lights season 4, Indi's duck eggs business, blog comments, Emily's car park, Hairspray, my little shop, broad beans, a warm dry house, opportunities, licorice, my kids' art work, wooden buttons, Liam's latest idea - crispy beer battered locusts...

I could keep on going, it has really made me feel better to focus on the good instead of the crapola but the boys are coming in for lunch.

Have a happy day!

See ya!

Real life.

Lately I feel like I've been having the same conversation over and over with so many of my friends. Is this it for the next ten to twenty years? Is this what we have to look forward to? Is cooking, washing, working, cleaning, driving and planning enough?

I don't know if it's the weather, the time of year or our age group but its coming up all the time.

But then out of nowhere last night I had a sort of vision of the bigger picture.

We had had an enormous day driving to Melbourne and back for a farmers' market and then an evening of dealing with tired and cranky kids and the last thing I felt like doing was the farm chores. But as we were walking back from shutting the ducks in I had this thought that if I could show my life to myself 10 or 15 or 20 years ago, how excited those Kates would be for the future.

It was twilight, magic hour as Bren calls it, and I started to tell those Kates how my farmer boy and I had just wandered through the forest to feed and close the ducks in for the night, how we were walking past the 300 chicklets and checking on pregnant Willow dog. How our three daughters were fast asleep in their beds and we were going inside to watch a dvd, have a cuppa and I would knit.

Somehow it changed my perspective by breaking it down like that. The tantrums, the mess and the lack of clean clothes or food for the school lunches seemed insignificant somehow and it made it sound like a wonderful dream. Like something to look forward to.

I guess I am living my dream, my happily ever after. I just have to remember this when I get bogged down in the details.

Have you been having these thoughts/conversations? I wonder if you are living your dream. If when you break it down that you can see beyond the daily chores and it looks different. I'd love to know.

I hope your Monday is a funday. XX

ps And the little hints of denim coloured knitting from the last few posts became the top of this dress. The bottom is a seer sucker table cloth. More details here.

Thanks Jess!

This Saturday afternoon I am sitting here feeling overwhelmingly grateful for the generosity of bloggers.

A few months ago when I started knitting, I wrote a post on my blog about the pros and cons of knitting. One of the problems with being a brand new knitter I wrote, was all the stuff I needed to buy.

A few days later I got this mysterious black wrap in the mail from the gorgeous Jess.

What do you think was inside?

The most wonderful gift of all for a brand new knitter!

Knitting needles of every shape and size, all organised and neat and tidy.

How cool is that!

A few moments ago while I was knit, knit, knitting away at the top in the first photo, all of a sudden the pattern asked for the sleeves to be knit onto another pair of size 3 needles.

Another pair!!!???

First I panicked.

Then I thought about removing the stitches onto some waste yarn and knitting them later.

And then I remembered the wrap.

And sure enough, there was a pair of size 3 needles waiting for me.

Thanks Jess! I feel so very lucky that you chose me for this wonderful gift.

Thanks also to everyone else who has sent me or another blogger a brilliant gift. What a brilliant bunch bloggers are.

The sun is shining, my washing is drying, we are going to eat dinner outside tonight.

More grateful here.

See ya!

Doings.

I am sewing.

I am knitting.

I am baking.

I am crocheting.

And I am singing Rain, rain go away, come again another day!

Have a happy and safe weekend out there.

Butterflies and beanies.

Two nights ago I crocheted this beanie using Amanda's latest pattern. She is such a clever cookie that Amanda is. I can quite confidently say that out of all the girlie beanie's I have crocheted, this little number is my favourite. Its quick and easy too.

After my last project took two months to complete, it is wonderful to start and finish something in one night.

Details here.

Yesterday we had a meeting with a woman who we might do some work with. She showed us her figures and gave us loads of examples of what she does and how she does it, but what really won me over was how lovely and accommodating she was of my three year old who didn't really want to be there. She gave her pens and paper, she included her in the conversation and sent her/us home with some gorgeous olives, cheeses, dips and other fancy produce made in the area.

Last night I started another one of Amanda's beanies in the blue cotton with the purple waiting patiently to be next. Ooh, I wonder how it would look with a crocheted flower on the side.

And this morning we are painting each others' faces (her's is above, you are not going to see mine!), my butterfly is eating her very gourmet morning tea and I am about to bring all the soggy washing in from the line (summer? what summer?) and chuck it on a spin cycle.

What are you up to?

Have a wonderful day.

See ya!