Friday, January 1, 2016

first









Hello lovely blog, lovely blog readers and lovely blog friends.

It's new years' day. It's a warm, overcast Friday afternoon. My whole family are out, I've done everything that I absolutely had to do and now I'm sitting here on the little couch in my bedroom thinking about where I've come from, where I am now and where I hope to go in this brand new year.

It's so rare that my world is quiet enough and still enough to follow thoughts all the way through these days and already I've found half a dozen ways to distract myself from writing this post, but here I am. Alone and with the time to do this thing that I really want to do yet am struggling to do.

I've always said that the more you blog - the better you blog, and now that I've blogged so little for so long, I don't trust my words and feel uncomfortable in their lack of flow. But this feels important to me and so I will persevere.

I have no idea if people read blogs anymore. I have no idea if people will read this blog anymore but I do know that this blog is important to me and that I really need to keep it going. The feeling of accomplishment and happiness I get when I put together and publish a post, the joy the interactions with the community bring me, the sweet feelings of nostalgia that scrolling back through old blogs invokes and the sense of how important prioritising something that isn't farm or family related really is.

So to start off with a bang, the same way I did last year, my plan is to blog every single day this January and hopefully regularly from there.

January is bound to be a very busy month on our farm and in our family, but I'm going to try my hardest to snatch a precious chunk of time each day to take some photos and write some words here. I'm thinking about craft posts, gardening and farming posts, some stuff about the girls, maybe some blogs about parts of our trip I never posted here, hopefully some book reviews, some cooking and any other random bits and pieces that pop into my mind.

As well as blogging more regularly, this year I'd love to buy a flock of sheep for land management and wool, I'd love to play with natural dyes, I'd love to work hard to find balance between work and play, I'd love to design a piece of knitwear, I'd love to work on being kinder to myself in my head, I'd love to find ways to get more involved with the causes that make me cry, I'd love to knit a Lopi Icelandic sweater, I'd love to unfollow a few people on social media who are not kind, I'd love to find some new recipes to add to our tired collection, I'd love to play with some botanical embroidery, I'd love to teach, I'd love to reacquaint myself with my sewing machine and sew some garments and I'd love to find a way to do a bit of housework regularly rather than leaving it until it's overwhelming. I'm sure there's more but that's a start.

Ok, the pile of cucumbers on the kitchen bench aren't going to pickle themselves....

I guess I'll see you tomorrow, and in the meantime if by chance you are out there reading along I'd love it if you'd say hi, maybe where you are from, if you have a blog what's it about or maybe a suggestion for something you'd like me to write about.

Until then, wishing you a wonderful and sweet 2016.

Lots of love,

Kate

xoxo

PS The first thing I wrote on the first day of last year is here. And I'm proud to say that although I'm still working on some of the things I hoped to achieve then, I did knit that cabled fisherman's jumper.

122 comments:

  1. Hola Kate! I am a stay at home mami of 3 girls (9, 2, 1 Yo) I live in Merced, California. I enjoy reading your posts because you focus on family which is easy to lose sight of when technology send to invade our lives. Feliz Año Nuevo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Nieves, so lovely to hear from you. I really hope I can continue to focus of family as things seem to get more difficult as the girls get older and I find myself needing to be more and more protective of their privacy. But my girls and my farmer boy are the core of this blog so I will continue to work out ways. Wishing you and your family a wonderful 2016, love Kate xx

      Delete
  2. I still read blogs, I don't have IG, and love the detail a blog provides. So welcome back, hope that you and your family have a fabulous 2016.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Julie, thanks so much. I have been wondering if people have time for blogs these days when a quick scroll and a few likes are so much easier anymore but I like the details and longer stories that blogs provide too. Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2016. xx

      Delete
  3. I'm here and I always enjoy reading when you post. I'm Betsy from Washington State, USA. Where it's still 2015 for 40 more minutes! It's also 8 degrees with almost 3 feet of snow on the ground. :-)
    Blessings,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Betsy, so lovely to hear from you on the other side of the world buried in snow. Happy new year!! xx

      Delete
  4. I'm still here too - and love to read about you being a normal wife, mumma, daughter, sister - your posts inspire me. We live in the SW of WA - a place you visited on your caravan trip. I blog about us having built our strawbale home and now how we are plodding along building the garden to go with it....slowly, slowly...it's been a while since I posted, I too am finding it hard to trust my words...life gets tricky sometimes and I find the need to cocoon myself, so I do that from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Sunny Strawbaler, my farmer boy has been dreaming of building a straw bale home for us for 15 years, that's so cool that you did it! I hope your garden is not far behind and I hope you guys have a really great 2016. xx

      Delete
  5. Hi Kate
    While I love IG, I still prefer to read a good blog.

    I have no suggestions on what to write about because I love all the random things that pop out of your head and onto the blog page.

    I have tried to write a blog but found it hard to keep up regular posting. Maybe now I have finished some uni studies I might start again.

    Happy New Year from Sydney!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Neen, thanks so much for popping by. I'm starting to wonder if 2016 might be the year of the blog comeback. I hope you have a fabulous new year. xx

      Delete
  6. I love reading your blog and Facebook posts, you inspired me to grow organic lemon basil and it is still alive!!!!! We now live in beautiful Tasmania after moving here from the Cenral Coast of NSW and while we were hopelessly lost in Melbourne we saw a sign that would have lead us to your neck of the woods, I was very excited and my poor hubbie was very confused that I knew but didn't personally know someone from Victoria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha that's so funny. My farmer boy still doesn't get the internet friendship thing either. And yay for the lemon basil, I can practically smell it from here. x

      Delete
  7. Hola Kate!! Yo te escribo de un pueblecito costero de Gerona ( España) , estoy muy contenta que hayas vuelto a publicar, me gusta mucho lo que compartes, para mi la vida que muestras a traves de esta ventanita es idilica, me encantaria vivir en el campo , cultivar la tierra tener ovejas para lana... Por ahora vivo con mi familia en una urbanización con un jardín y unos cuantos animales. Me encantara leerte cada día durante este mes. Que tengas un feliz 2016 y disfrutes de salud, paz y amor. Un fuerte abrazo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kate !! I write a coastal town of Gerona ( Spain ), I'm so glad you've been republished , I really like what you share , for my life that you show through this window is idyllic , I would love to live in the country , cultivate the land have sheep wool ... For now I live with my family in a complex with a garden and a few animals . I would love to read you every day this month. Have a happy 2016 and enjoy health, peace and love. A hug.

      Delete
    2. Hi Karmen, I love reading your comments from Spain. Thank you for always being so kind and gorgeous. I hope you have a wonderful, creative and happy new year. xx

      Delete
  8. Happy New Year Kate. I'm pleased that you are still intending to blog as I always enjoy reading about what you are up to. I've resisted Instagram and Facebook so far so still enjoy reading blogs. All the best for 2016. I hope you achieve your dreams.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Janice, And good for you for resisting all that social media. I can only imagine all the knitting I'd get done if I did the same. x

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Hi!! Happy new year honey, I hope yours is really fabulous. xx

      Delete
  10. Yay look forward to reading here every day as I did last year.
    All the best for the new year xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Rachel, wishing you a wonderful new year too. xx

      Delete
  11. Hi Kate, I live in the UK and yours is the first blog I've read this year. I really should be doing hundreds of other things, but I love spending time catching up on my favourite blogs!! Sarah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay!! So excited to be your first blog of the new year!! xx

      Delete
  12. I always look forward to your posts Kate, although I don't read many blogs these days. I'd love to hear more about your trip :)
    Natural dyes and botanical embroidery are both on my 'to do' list, although I fear my list is rather large and I'm not sure when I'll get to both of them, but one day I hope too. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks lovely, I definitely hope to post more from our trip. I have a gazillion photos it should be easy. xx

      Delete
  13. Hi Kate, how lovely to see you back! I live and blog in Bath, in the west of England. I (still) really enjoy reading blogs, and have learnt so much from them as well as being inspired to do and try all sorts of new things. Including this past year blogging myself.
    I'm at a different stage in my life from you. I turned 60 a couple of months ago, my sons are both adult now and have long-term partners and homes of their own. Plus I am recently semi-retired. But we blog about many of the same things - growing stuff, crafting, environmental issues, permaculture, baking and cooking. And beneath that surface of 'what' I blog about, I guess really it's about our relationship with our world and with each other (and with ourselves), about personal responsibility and about personal change. But alway with hope and optimism in a world where it would be easy to tip into despair and fatalism.
    Which is a bit of a long response, but your question about what our own blogs are about really got me thinking.
    And what would I like you to write about? well, reading about your home, your farm, your family and your travels (and struggles) has been fascinating, especially as your country is so far from mine. But honestly, I'm interested to read what you're interested to write. That's the joy of blogs.
    All my best wishes for you and yours in 2016, and I do hope you get back into the groove of writing - you have a flair for it! Deborah xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Kate. When I started reading, I thought that maybe you were going to say that you were going to stop blogging. So many bloggers have stopped in the past couple of years and it feels a little empty out there. So, I'm VERY happy to hear that you plan on doing the opposite. I look forward to hearing all about your January. Imogen x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Kate, I'm from Denmark WA and love reading your blog (it is my favourite one) and I have been regularly checking for updates so I am so excited to hear that you will be blogging every day. You are so inspiring. I have many crafty things to do this year including making my two children quilts out of their baby clothes (they are 6 and 4 so I think its time). Right now I am crocheting a Granny Stripe blanket for my son and I am addicted! I don't know why I've never done a blanket before. I too also want to dye with plants and flowers and would love to do a home herbalist course. 2016 is going to be wonderful xxx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello darling! I'm reading from our beach holiday in Metung near lakes entrance. I read EVERY SINGLE POST you write, and have probs read every entry you have EVER made. Hearing your voice in my head keeps our friendship alive in my heart despite life getting in the way of regular catch ups. Xxx❤️�� X Steph

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Kate, I never leave a comment on blogs , I say a thank you for sharing, thank you for the inspiration and send love.... over the years I hope that you have felt it...but this year I want to make sure I let people know how the beauty they bring to the world, the kindness, the inspiration and the creativity they share really does make the world a better place. So thank you darling Kate. Enjoy creating your year. Love and Light, Jude xx ps.Who knew that cooked cucumbers would make such good cucumber pickles. pps.I just finished beauty that moves "whole food freezer course" brilliant for vegetarians.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Kate, I think I shall always ready your blog for the beauty, honesty and kindness. You're a precious peach!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yay! I'm so glad you are doing a post a day again. I have missed you so much, I'm a local lady - Melbourne - not a blogger but a gardener and crafter and I love reading every post you write. I don't comment alot, but I'm always here reading. Big love to you and you family xxBrenda

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love reading your blog. You share your thoughts, dreams & actions in such a kind and gentle way. I often find myself pondering something you've written weeks or months later. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yay !!
    Good for you ,I'm looking forward to hearing about your January , while I become a SLOTH xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. Kate, this space of yours is one of my favourites. I know I can rely on it for a heartwarming read - always. I'm sensing a shift with blogging....I feel like many of us are seeking more to the story - more than instagram or facebook can ever offer. Much love x

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Kate, I'm from NZ and have been following you for some time and love what you post. Your lifestyle is inspirational and we are so lucky you are willing to share with us all. Looking forward to reading what 2016 brings you all. Jackie

    ReplyDelete
  24. I was so happy to see your post pop up in my feed Kate! I loved how you blogged every day last January and am really looking forward to coming by and reading your words this year too.
    I hope you get your flock of sheep. They are loveliest creatures and unlike any other animal. I absolutely love ours.

    Happy New Year to you and your gorgeous family,
    Sarah xo

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello lovely ❤️ I'm here and reading. I love catching up with where you're all at and I'm hoping to make time for blogging this year - more reading too! Happy new year to you all. xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi my name is Sue and I'm 41 and live in the North of England. I have a nine year old son and have been married for over 10 years. I love reading your blog and look forward to the year to come!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Kate, I love reading your blog and viewing your photographs. I saw your cucumber and imeediately thought, "Gherkins!!" with luscious excitement. (I think it's been a while since I have eaten pickled anything!) In answer to your question: Yes, I still do read blogs and try my best to keep up with writing my own. I can relate to wanting to achieve so much in a new year. That is quite a list you have there! Even if you manage to add just one of those things to your household routine, that is an achievement to feel proud of. All the best for 2016. May it be a good one!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Blogs are still big and read and loved. It's lovely to take the time to sit and write and equally lovely to read and appreciate the words of other bloggers. I have a blog at katiewritesstuff.wordpress.com (soon moving to its own domain) and I think the name pretty much explains it all - I write stuff! (Although, more specifically, stuff about writing and knitting and sewing and roadtripping and taking photos of my cats.) Have fun with your January of blogging!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hello from Hobart and a Happy New Year to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Happy New Year,Kate. I'm Laura & read your blog from South Yorkshire, England. I'm 35, have 3 children & am a stay-at-home Mum. I am really trying (& failing!) to be good at all things domestic whilst providing a fun & memory-filled childhood for my children. One day I will get there! Thank you for writing such an inspiring blog. L xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey :-) I'm also a mama of 3 reading from South Yorkshire. Small world huh

      Delete
    2. Funny old world! Weirdly, I also have the same surname as you!!!

      Delete
  31. So good to see you back here Kate. Did I mention that your lettuce crop is total perfection? I still read blogs and when your posts pop up I get very excited! x

    ReplyDelete
  32. What a delight to receive your first post of this new year! I'm a 60 year old disabled mother in Portland, Oregon, USA. I've been a reader of your blog for over 3 years now, and it is so nice to hear you're coming back to regular posting again. I appreciate your taking that time out of your days to share your life with us. Thank you, Kate!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hello Kate - Normally I am not one to comment on blogs ( I only read a very select few) but I feel this evening I must. As a geographically isolated farming Mum of four young kids, I adore your blog!!!

    I discovered you via Slow Magazine maybe a year ago and have been a very loyal reader since ( I have gone back and read your blog from the start - what a pleasurable assignment that was) . I love the authenticity and honesty of your posts (and photos) and in an online world that often seems so contrived yours is a breath of fresh air. I have found your writing to be so thought provoking and I often think about your words as I go about my day.

    I am a quilter and maker and love the mindfulness/stillness that hand work provides in a very busy life. Helping my kids to find the hand work that speaks to them, is one of my greatest pleasures as a parent. Watching their stillness as they loose themselves in their work is pure bliss. We live on a cattle station and my kids love the freedom and opportunities it provides. Their connection to nature and the seasons and where their food comes from is such a gift and something my husband and I work hard to nurture.

    Your sock knitting has lead me on a journey I NEVER imagined I would take. I learnt to knit as a child but found sewing machines and needles/thread stole my attention……In the last 12 months however, your socks started whispering to me. We travelled as a family in a motorhome around Tasmania in Sept and I found myself in wool shops, buying knitting needles and having truly amazing conversations with other knitters who hesitantly nodded their heads in approval of my new sock knitting desires and enthusiasm. Armed with my new tools and a copy of 'Socks from the Toe Up' ( which I had packed in anticipation in my suitcase), I sat and "knitted" by headlamp long after my family were asleep. We live in Central Queensland and our need for woollen socks is not high, but my daughter (11) and I are both learning to knit together and it is you that we need to thank - you have introduced us to a whole new world !!! I think my first pair of socks is a long way off but the knitting seed has been firmly planted…. I did buy three pairs of gorgeous hand knitted socks that I found in my travels - and they have only fuelled my desire to learn.

    Love seeing your socks (10 pairs in a year - I am truly impressed) , love your photos but most of all I love reading your words….. They linger long after I have read them. I imagine writing about and photographing your life and putting it out into the world is nerve wracking, but please keep going, your work is truly appreciated.

    From one Farming/Maker/Mumma to another……..THANK YOU Kate xxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi Kate. I'm a regular reader but first time commenter... Does that make me a lurker? I come for the photos, the words & your honest insights into your life. I grew up on a farm in North West Victoria, but have called Melbourne home for the last 20+ years. Garment sewing is my passion & I'm crossing my fingers & toes that you do sneak some time for sewing & sharing those makes with us all this year.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I love your aims for the new year! I'm Kim from Fremantle, WA and I have been reading your blog for a few years and it remains one of my favourites (I don't read as many as I once did). My blog is http://mamamakar.blogspot.com.au/ and I used to post a lot, but not so much now. I keep going though because I do really enjoy it and also I love looking back on the different stages we have passed through. I like how you mix up personal posts with recipes and craft and your travels and life on the farm, so please just keep doing that! Kim xx

    ReplyDelete
  36. Happy New Year from Webster, New York. I am a 64 year old Mom to 5 great adults, and Grandma to 5 wonderful and delightful grandchildren! Webster is a community on the shores of Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes. It is a beautiful place to live and raise a family! Love reading your blog and I so enjoy all of your pictures. Here is to a happy and healthy new year for all!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Happy New Year xx I am a Mum of three (10, 7 and 6) from Tassie. We live on a small average in the bush and your blog and others like it, provide me with inspiration and reassurance that I'm heading in the right direction, living a slower more sustainable life. Best of luck for 2016

    ReplyDelete
  38. I am relatively new to your blog, I have probably been reading for about a year, I am in inner city Melbourne mum raising twin girls. I enjoy a view into your life, for the similarities and the differences! Pictures and the words - loved your amazing travel this year and I love gardening so those posts interest me, it's obviously on a smaller scale where I am ;) Looking forward to reading this January then!

    ReplyDelete
  39. I read your blog and have been for years. I live in New York USA and love to see your pictures and read about life in Australia. Very interesting to me. Keep writing

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi Kate, Happy New Year to you and yours! I still read blogs (but don't have one) and yours is a favourite. I love your writing style, your photos, your take on life and parenthood (my two are grown up now) and you inspired my recent fondness for toe-up two on one needle sock knitting!! (I keep returning to the post of your holiday socks - I find it impossible to take such good sock photos!)

    I also find it strangely fascinating that while we're shivering here in the UK, you're enjoying the sunshine on the other side of the world!

    Thank you for doing what you do and good luck with your month of blogging!

    Kerry

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi Kate, Happy New Year to you and yours! I still read blogs (but don't have one) and yours is a favourite. I love your writing style, your photos, your take on life and parenthood (my two are grown up now) and you inspired my recent fondness for toe-up two on one needle sock knitting!! (I keep returning to the post of your holiday socks - I find it impossible to take such good sock photos!)

    I also find it strangely fascinating that while we're shivering here in the UK, you're enjoying the sunshine on the other side of the world!

    Thank you for doing what you do and good luck with your month of blogging!

    Kerry

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi Kate, I'm probably one of the very few male readers of your blog, but I enjoy it, since I'm glad in gardening, food, kids (now grandkids) and also knitted things, my wife is very good knitter, and we live a simple joyful life in our small farmhouse here at the West Coast of Denmark, out to the North Sea/Atlantic , Happy New Year,

    ReplyDelete
  43. Hello - well I guess you don't need to worry if any one is still reading :) I love your images and words, and am always pleased to see them pop up. I live on a croft on the Western Isles of Scotland - recently widowed with 4 children, one still at home. I've had a blog for several years, but not sure where I am going with it right now. I love to see the opposite seasons on Australian blogs. Glad you are still writing xx

    ReplyDelete
  44. I love reading about your days :-) I'm reading from South Yorkshire in the UK and I blog bits and pieces about our life as an unschooling family of 5, 10 if you include fur babies x

    ReplyDelete
  45. I enjoy reading your blog from the central coast of California where I don't have a blog or a vegetable garden but love reading about them. I knit, quilt, play the ukulele, read and enjoy my three grandchildren.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Happy new year from Romania! I'm sooo glad you're back! I read your blog regularly and I was missing your posts. I don't often leave comments but I read all you write. I love the photos you take! The ones from this post are so green and full with life, they made my day! In my little corner of the world is freezing and everything is gray (= snowless winter)so I dream of better days.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hello from Orange County, California. USA We are enjoying some sunshine in the middle of winter and its a chilly 49F -colder than we usually have :)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hi Kate, I love your blog. I live in Cornwall, England. I don't have a blog but maybe, just maybe I may start one in 2016. I love all things crafty and tips on self sufficient/ growing our own fruit and veggies would be fab. Happy New Year. Love Wendy. X

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hi from the Philippines, i will be ecxited to read your post every single day, i do that before i go to sleep. You see, your blog is my fave!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Hi Kate, my name is Sarah, I live in Utah in the USA. I've been reading your blog for over a year now, but sadly rarely comment because I read blogs off a phone app that make commenting difficult :/. Sorry about that! But I love all your posts, and how you share your lovely lives with us all. I'm so excited to read more from you this month. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Hi Kate, I'm Nick an organic farmer in very wet Cheshire in the UK. we have dairy cows, sheep and some arable crops and its always fascinating to read what farmers on the other side of the world are doing, My 3 children are all in their teens now and uni choices are filling our days, I havnt quilted for years but am thinking some quilts would be a cosy reminder of home when they are away. I also have half a sock that needs finishing and to have a friend, I'm in awe of your ability to knit two at a time. I've been reading your blog for several years now, IG is good but blogs are better.
    Best wishes for 2016 to you and yours, its still the 1st in the UK!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Yes, I love reading blogs...although I took a break for a few weeks in the summer...I do write a blog, it tends to be centered around crochet and knitting, but also a good deal of my daily life...I love reading blogs of people very different from me...different way of life, different culture, different country...it just amazes me how many differences, yet similarities are out there...if only more people would embrace that....I sometimes bring blogs into my classroom...my students just recently asked a bunch of questions to a blog writer that I shared with them in Finland...and it was very exciting...they now know where Finland is and have a personal connection....I used to write to about 30 penpals as a teenager...I feel blogging is like the new version of having penpals...

    ReplyDelete
  53. hi Kate. I'm diane and I blog about quilting, knitting, gardening, travel, cooking and baking and family life, www.Randomthoughtsdoordi.Com is my blog. I hope you'll check it out. I so love your blog and IG and often pop in for inspiration. My dream is to live on a goat farm and live a rural life. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  54. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Hi Kate! I'm Melanie from Idaho USA. I appreciate getting to know others through blogs, though I don't write one myself. I think of blogs as real-time magazines or biographies. There are so many lovely people in the world, and it's lovely to get to know you because we wouldn't meet otherwise! I'm of an empty-nester age, and appreciate my children as adults while savouring happy memories of a full home. I enjoy a glimpse of your busy happy days with your family. It is snowy winter here, so I also enjoy seeing your opposite seasons. Thanks for sharing. My goal this year is to be a more responsive reader so that you know we are here!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Hi Kate:

    I was very happy to see your post in Feedly this morning. I have missed your posts and your beautiful photographs. Welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  57. Hi Kate, I live in Shropshire in the UK and I always follow your blog and so does my Aunt. I have an allotment and it warms my heart to see the seasons the other way round from me. We are growing zilch at the moment but seeing your lettuce makes me look forward to planting ours in a few months time. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  58. Hi Kate, I've just said the same thing on my blog too! Still following you x

    ReplyDelete
  59. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Kate

    I'm still here, reading blogs and reading yours, happy to see you back :-)

    Yes writing slumps come from time to time, I'm currently in one myself and just thinking maybe I should join you in your, writing everyday for January plan to pull out.

    Encouraging you to unfollow anyone who disquietens your spirit on social media. Really we don't need all the nastiness or even just noise.

    Gee my blog, well I've been blogging for 10 years now. I know you've visited in the past but let's see, I blog about my family which is ahem larger than average;-) organising, homeschooling, our rural lifestyle, family life, books, really anything that interests me.

    What would I like you to write about - Always love your pics, hearing about how you strive to life a gentle lifestyle. Interested to hear more about your girls' schooling. Really just love your writing style and whilst I'm not a knitter I love your enthusiasm, happy you've found your passion.

    Happy New Year xxx

    ReplyDelete
  61. Dear Kate,
    Hello from Canberra, from another Kate who is still reading (and occasionally writing - netherleigh.co) blogs. So very glad to see you back. Your thought: "I don't trust my words and feel uncomfortable in their lack of flow" struck a chord with me as I have been feeling much the same way but I will find my way back, just as you have.
    A very happy new year to you and yours xx

    ReplyDelete
  62. Hi Kate, i live in london and run a preschool art & craft class using recycled materials I have been following your blog for years and I always love recieving your posts.
    This is my blog www.artclub3potato4.blogspot.co.uk i dont write as it doesnt come natural to me :( But i really enjoy displaying the childrens weekly crafts in collage form:) I hope you have a minute to check it out!
    Happy 2016 x

    ReplyDelete
  63. Happy New Year to you and your family. And thanks for sharing in words and pictures - I enjoy all your posts, so I'm delighted you plan to continue in 2016.

    ReplyDelete
  64. I'm still here. Always have been, always will be. I'm here because I love your photos and words. X

    ReplyDelete
  65. Well I don't think you need to worry whether anyone is following you - over 70 comments already! As for what to talk about, just carry on doing what you have been doing, it must be good or you wouldn't have this many followers. I started a blog a while ago but I have been a bit slack lately posting, so have probably lost some of the few followers I have. I guess my New Years resolution is to post at least once a month, ideally twice.
    Happy new year to you and all your family
    Xx
    Claire@Homesweethome2015.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  66. Go and welcome back. I have missed reading is blog. I love in Jonathan, Ireland with my husband, Brendan! And two children. Why do I like ur blog. Well it's so down to earth and ur crafty projects are great.when u have sunshine we have wind, rain and floods. So thank you and ur family for all the lovely stories and photos.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Hi Kate I'm reading from a soggy and miserable grey part of North Wales Uk...and I love your blog because it so often fills my day with sunshine just when I need it! I enjoy all of your posts whatever they happen to be about and my advice would be to just keep doing what you do so well! Happy New Year...I hope it's full of all those things you wish for and many other good things too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  68. I love your blog. I remember when you started knitting. It seemed like magic that you learned and became an expert. It's what made me take up my knitting needles again.

    I agree with everything you wrote about blogging. For me it is the words in my head. I just have to get then out. But it is a discipline, I did find it slipping last year, but I'm planning on keeping on pottering about as I do this year xox

    ReplyDelete
  69. Hello Kate! Looks like you have lots of devoted readers. I'm still here too. I love your blog and always enjoy seeing what you've been making/doing, and getting a little inspiration along the way. I'm from Running Stream in NSW. It's so small you couldn't really call it a village even. Maybe a locality? I don't have a blog but I do intend to do more writing this year, like your January resolution, just to make time every week do do a little. Great to hear you're planning an icelandic jumper. I made Moon Pulls by Dianna Walla last year, in Icelandic lopi wool, and I've made a few hats (including two Baable hats!) with the leftovers. Looking at my Ravelry page, I realise I haven't photographed any of them, so I won't include a link. The wool is a bit scratchy, but i'm in love with its subtle colour variations, and the colours themselves are just beautiful. I look forward to seeing what you make. We're also planning to acquire a very small flock of sheep this year. Just need to repair the wombat holes in the fences first, and then I suppose, continue to walk the fencelines and do running repairs all the time. Wombats. What can you do! Happy new year to you, and I look forward to reading about your January. Fiona x

    ReplyDelete
  70. Hi Kate, I'm Alison from NSW, a little village west of Coffs Harbour, mum of two boys one who requires more attention than others so I'm a stay at home mum. I'm the one who is waiting for your novel to be published, as I love reading your words and get lost in your photos. I grow a little veg and am the worst knitter/crochet. One day I too would like to be a farmer, so keep on blogging.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Still here but thought you might have gone away for good. I live in Indiana USA. I found you a long time ago through Lucy's blog and I have enjoyed hearing about your farm in AU. I'd still love to hear more about your trip, why you decided to do it when you did, what tips you might have for others that would be interested in doing the same. Glad you're back!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Hello! I've been reading your blog for years, and I think it's great just as it is. Two things I like in particular; your photos and also when you talk about the local region. But that's probably because I live locally, in Castlemaine. With all our family in Ballarat, we spend a lot of time passing through, and stopping off in, Daylesford. I want to know, how is it so green where you are?? We are half an hour away, and it is so brown and dry here! But your place looks so green, even in Summer. Anyway, happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  73. Hello! Even though ive stopped blogging I'll always read & comment on the blogs love & that list includes you!!

    ReplyDelete
  74. Oh I can't tell you how pleased I am to see a new post from you and the prospect of your daily posts for January - what a treat! I for one have missed your updates though I totally understand how the break from blogging can impact our thoughts on our words... though I don't blog often I do enjoy that same satisfaction from a published post and also love looking back through the photos from past posts, it seems to capture the details that get lost in memory. I find juggling the time to blog such a tricky thing.
    I think you know where I blog :-) and really do want to you know the positive impact discovering Foxs Lane has had... when I first stumbled upon this lovely place I remember it feeling like quite the revelation - the whole apple growing, and markets you used to do (at Collingwood Childrens farm I think), the crafty life and the family times - it seemed like the ultimate dream and to see someone living it... well how wonderful! It really fueled my own dreams of a similar life, knowing that it was actually possible... many years later, as you know, we are about to embark on that dream and I'm so grateful for lovely folk like yourself that help the rest of us see these things can happen... and share in a glimpse of what it's like, the good and the bad... (I remember when the birds destroyed a huge crop of your apples)
    Had to laugh at the overwhelming housework bit - so me! Love the plans and hopes for your 2016 and have no doubt whatsoever that you'll be ticking them off through the year - somehow putting them down on paper (so to speak) helps to really plant the seed for them I think...
    I love all the varied things you blog about, although I'm now super keen to learn more about the basics on the farming side of life now... We are total novices in regards to animal keeping and even keeping chooks feels a bit daunting at the moment! I'm really interested in biodynamics too and remember you've mentioned that a little in the past - I wonder if that's still something you are incorporating? I understand our new place is certified organic and biodynamic which is terribly exciting... so I would say to just keep blogging about the wonderful things you already do, farming, family, crafting, life in general... it's a lovely combo and I enjoy each subject for different reasons, learning, warm fuzzies, creative ideas and inspiration and general understanding of your life on the farm which is always real and not glorified.
    Am guessing by the 80 odd comments you can feel the love from your readers and know how much we all appreciate you taking the time to share sweet snippets from your sweet life... oh and can't wait to hear some of your travel stories from your big adventure! Keep up the beautiful writing Kate, Yvette x
    (sorry about the novel sized comment!)

    ReplyDelete
  75. So glad to see you back in this place......you sharing easy step by steps to stating a blog is why I have my space....
    Look forward to hearing the ramblings of your inner space and seeing all the beauty that always surrounds you. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  76. Hello gorgeous!

    Looking forward to hearing and seeing lots from your gorgeous world in January. I'm thinking about getting some goats this year to help fight the blackberries on our farm (I think I need advice from you guys on the best electric netting). I'll be watching your sheep journey with interest!

    ... and maybe after a crazy long hiatus I might try and churn out a blog post of my own!

    Happy New Year!

    Rachel xo

    ReplyDelete
  77. I love your blog and reading blogs. I'm lazy though so I don't have a blog of my own and often feel as though I have no right to expect others to write for me to read, when I don't do so myself. But I guess the world needs readers too. I'd love to meet you here in this space more often.
    I'm Tasmania, so not that far away. It's so very dry here this year, I can't imagine how it will be by the end of summer. I live about 10 minutes from the beach, my favourite place in the world.
    cheers Kate

    ReplyDelete
  78. I'm, not ready many blogs anymore, and have not posted on mine for over a year!
    But, I still read yours and a few others, IG and FB are my go to's to see whats going on in the world. I'm over in the Wimmera :-)

    ReplyDelete
  79. Hi Kate! There are definitely blog readers still out here, and people who adore your words and are so inspired by you! I'm in the mountains just outside of canberra, creating a garden from scratch on a big rural block that was once farm and left to turn to unmanageable, rocky and hostile ground. I am blogging a bit about gardening over at www.treediaries.com and plan to get better at finding time to do that this year - not so much for my audience (hi mum!) but for my own records and creative outlet. Can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for you and your family and farm.

    ReplyDelete
  80. A friend and I were just talking about how few blogs there still are that offer a genuine insight into someone else's life now - I so enjoy still being able to read your blog! Thanks for writing and thinking and taking beautiful pictures and not closing off the window into your life.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Hi Kate. I read your post earlier this weekend and made a commitment to come back and reply, to let you know your blog is loved. But clearly you know that now! Im following from Newcastle NSW. I dont have kids but I was one of three girls who grew up with parents who had dreams like yours. I love seeing how you live out those ideals. My mum had sheep, just 6 different colours. She was a spinner & weaver. I have some of her work in my house now. I will keep following if you keep posting.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Yup, this blogging capper is addictive, even if I am the only one to scroll back through the posts. I have so many ideas of things to write but I too haven't yet found a good balance between the city (work) life and the coast (home) life. Maybe there isn't one. No complaints, we do what we choose, but I am starting to wonder if I there are choices that might bring a lot more creativity and community back into my life.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Hi Kate. I Love reading your blog and miss you much lay when you are taking your breaks away from Blogland. Looking forward to January and seeing what you get up to daily. I am from Johannesburg in South Africa recently relocated from gaborone in Botswana and missing it lots. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  84. Hi Kate, I'm an Aucklander and you are the top of my blog reading list! Your knitting is a huge inspiration to me! Keep writing about everything. Love your real life!

    ReplyDelete
  85. Hi Kate...Hope I'm not too late! I love reading your blog because you write about organic gardening, making things and family life and you capture it beautifully in words and photos. 'The simple life' which is what we aspire to do every day living here in the Snowy Mountains, NSW. I can so relate to some of your posts when you talk about things going a bit 'blah' living in a colder climate. Instagram is where everyone has moved on to but I still read my favourite blogs every night because this is where you get to really know and appreciate what your favourite people are up to in a more 'slower' way. So glad you are keeping this space up!!!

    ReplyDelete
  86. Hello, Kate! I have been reading your blog (and other favourites) for a long time now. I love the insights blogs offer into others' lives and find it most comforting that I can always find similarities between these writers' lives and my own. Even when someone lives a whole world away, they may post about an event, a circumstance, a joy, a hope, a frustration, a sorrow or a dream that I can relate to. When I read your blog, I sense your deep connection to your family and I dream about farming and carving spoons and knitting socks! (I am nowhere near being able to knit a sock!)

    I started my own blog just two months ago. I love the process of writing and try to share ordinary, everyday things that I'm doing as I craft a simpler life for me and my family. I try to write about the things that bring me hope, a sense of optimism, joy and comfort. To share those with others.

    Looking forward to all your January posts!

    ReplyDelete
  87. I'm very glad you are continuing to blog.. I find your 'ordinary' family life reflections so encouraging and your photos delightful. It makes such a nice change from so much that is in the news... Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  88. Ahoj. Jmenuji se Ivana. Žiji v České republice v Evropě v malém městě. Ráda čtu tvůj blog. Dívám se na něj každý den. Sleduji hlavně fotky, a málo čtu, protože má angličtina je velmi špatná.
    Hello. My name is Ivana and i live in Czek republic in Europe in small town. I like read your blog. I look all days.
    I only look your photo, and litle read, bikose my english language is very bad.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Hi Kate,

    I love your blog. You inspire me in so many ways. You inspire me in the beauty with which you mother your girls (even though I am not yet a mother), you inspire me in your crafts (even though I am not a crafter), you inspire me in the way you live off your land (we just planted the cover crop for our first garden this spring), and your appreciation for nature. I love seeing how things are in the southern hemisphere (I live in California).

    I am a portrait photographer and I blog about recent shoots, adventures in the mountains, life around the house, renovations of my husband and my little old victorian home, our kitties, parties with friends, anything pretty enough to take photos of. Here's the link: http://roseannbathphoto.com/blog

    Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  90. Wow would love to pickle my own cucumbers.... I can see my hubby shaking his head as I embark on another new adventure, I might look up a recipe for that. Like you I have left my blog for too long and am trying to get it back on track. I just worry that what I have to say is not interesting to others, but hey it's my journal and it's important to me so persevere I will.

    ReplyDelete
  91. I read your blog! And I love every post, even the crafty ones and I am not crafty at all! (you really do inspire me to learn to knit so I can make beautiful socks too).

    Wishing you all the best for the new year,

    Dee.

    ReplyDelete
  92. I love reading your blog. I don't even remember how I came across it, but yours is seriously one of my favorites. I love your honesty, your willingness to share successes and struggles, your sense of community, and your beautiful photos. I savor each post because they are authentic - it would be so easy to get caught up in the dreamy-eyed, gilded version of life and as much as that is nice, I can't identify with that. I identify with your blog and your words because they are real and because it gives me hope. It reminds me that life is both beautiful and a struggle, but to continue to keep my priorities straight - to be kind and compassionate and patient and loving - with others as well as myself. My dream is to one day have a plot of land with a big garden and a hive of honeybees - being outside immersed in Nature soothes me like nothing else. I enjoy your posts about farm life and family life, and learn from them, too. I would love to see what comes of your experiments with natural dyes!
    I live in South Carolina in the U.S. with my husband and our circus of animals and I blog over at www.rubyandperry.com. Know that even halfway across the world, your words are important and uplifting and nourishing. The world needs that. I need that. :)
    Ashley

    ReplyDelete
  93. Hi Kate,

    I am from Adelaide and I really enjoy reading your blog. Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Hi I'm Taylor, I love your blog, your words and pictures. I used to read many more, but some of them have stopped writing and I'm so glad I still get to see how you're doing. I'm from Iowa, USA. No blog here, but hopefully starting one soon. Best!

    ReplyDelete
  95. I still love reading blogs, it's the thing I do on lazy afternoons when everything else is done, when my daughter has found something to occupy herself with, when my husband is gardening (or napping) and when I can take some me time. That is when I sit down and take my time to read through the little blog world I have curated for myself and get inspired. Blogs for me have always been about inspiration and education. I do blog myself and you can find me at thenextstep.space where I interview wonderful people who provide ethically and sustainable made supplies for sewists and knitters. Thank you for your lovely, lovely photos and the little peek into your blissful looking life with your family. XX

    ReplyDelete
  96. I will always read your blog Kate because I love the words and the pictures and the inspiration I get from it. If you are looking for an Icelandic look to knit, try Strokkur by Ysolda Teague. I knitted this a year or so ago and it is such a great pattern to follow. I am looking forward to a whole month of your posts. I am particularly interested in you getting your own flock of sheep...I hope that happens for you.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Hi Kate,
    What an inspiring blogger you are. I am delighted to have discovered you as I researched starting my own blog. I wanted to see what good blogs looked like and I have enjoyed reading yours very much. I look forward to reading future entries.
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  98. You are the reason I want to teach myself to knit and make socks, only socks! Your farm is amazing to get lost in with my mind. I love that you are half way around the world from me in Erie, Pennsylvania USA and you could be my next door neighbor. I love that that is what blogs do for all of us. I want to start my own blog and when I do I want to know that the ones that I read are a part of that process. I always look forward to your next post.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Love your blog - please don't stop. I'm keeping my blog going too. I like taking the time to read what you have to say; Instagram is ok for a quick browse, but I like to really read and find out stories for those special blogs, like yours.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Hi Kate - I'm here in South Africa as always... Love your blog. Always read all your posts altho I don't always comment so the only thing I can say in true "Dory" fashion is "just keep bloggin', just keep bloggin'...."! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  101. Thank you Kate for your wonderful blog. I always look forward to your posts...can't wait to see what you have in store for 2016.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Hi! I'm following you from Argentina!!! I really like your blog, reading you is very interesting!!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  103. Hi Kate! So many people obviously love your blog and I must say there are a handful that I love to read and yours is definitely one of them. Thanks for sharing your life so generously with us. We live in northern nsw in a little coastal village with three children and I find your commitment to your family, friendship and the slow life truly inspiring!! Thank you xx

    ReplyDelete
  104. Hello Kate, I am enjoying a cup of tea whilst listening to the teens, in the other room, playing a game. We spent the previous 2 hours skating at the rink at city hall - this being our first day back to "homeschooling" as well as the first blue skied, sun shinning but cold day in so long. It has been a very grey warm winter so far here in Ontario, Canada. All this to say that I really enjoy reading blogs and yours in particular. I believe that I originally found your blog when you were on your year of travel and homeschooling your girls and have been following you ever since. I am a terrible lurker as I never feel that I have anything to say but am doing my best to overcome my shyness to let you know that I enjoy your blog and what you share here. And I appreciate the time and effort you put into your posts. Thank you. Monique

    ReplyDelete
  105. Yes, I still read lots of blogs and yours is one of my favourites.... I was so excited when I realized you were posting every day in Jan, yippee!!!!!! I love the photos, the family, the food, the craft.... But most of all I like your kindness and positivity and honesty! Currently typing from lech Austria, though we live in Muscat, Oman :) xxx

    ReplyDelete
  106. Hi Kate - still here! Still reading! Yours is actually the ONLY blog I follow. So there you go! I'm hoping to blog more this year too (But I'm not sure anyone reads mine either! LOL - Oh well, at least when the kids are older they might have fun reading back... *shrug*) - I'm in The Dandenong Ranges, Melbourne. Pop over to my blog if you ever get a chance x
    www.hillshadowhouse.wordpress.com
    xxx

    ReplyDelete

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

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Visit my other blog.