Topping out

The photos in this post may be a tad overexposed but stick with me because the story is an oldie and a goodie.

Topping out is a building custom that can be traced all the way back to the ancient Scandinavians. It is a custom that takes place when a building has reached its highest point and is a celebration of the completion of the frame and a job well done. 

Topping out acknowledges the building achievements so far, the safety of the builders and it bestows good luck on those who will live in the building in the future.

This afternoon we had a Topping out ceremony at my parents' place at the bottom of our hill.

It was my Dad's suggestion. He said he's seen buildings with branches nailed to them over the years and done a little research and loved the idea. His builders had never been to one but knew exactly what it was and loved the idea too.

The story starts with the fixing of a small tree to the highest point in the building.

The tree is a symbol of respect for Mother Nature, a symbol of new growth and an announcement to the world of how far the building has come.

Mum and Dad's builders, Scott and Andrew fixed an evergreen tree, which is the traditional tree used, a eucalypt because we are surrounded by them here and because Scott and his partner Tamela's business is called Eucabuild, and a wattle because it is August and they're in blossom. 

Then we sat around a table the builders had just knocked together and my Dad gave a speech explaining the custom and thanking the builders for the great work they have done so far.

He explained that according to the custom the builders were entitled to beer but that they had asked for a red and a white wine instead.

Then we cheersed to the builders.

 And we ate a celebratory meal my folks had made. How great are my Dad's bagels!!

Our contribution was a rainbow cake we made using all natural food dyes. Would you believe they were all the colours of the rainbow when they went into the oven? We renamed it the sunshine cake.

It felt like such an honor to be included in this little ritual today. We're so busy, busy running around and around in our lives, it's so great to stop sometimes and be reminded of achievements and to celebrate and to sit and drink wine and eat yummy food outside on a sunny winter's day. Yay!

Don't you think?

Have you celebrated, are you celebrating, will you celebrate a grand or tiny occasion soon?

Bye! 

Sixty four!

Exactly one month to the day since the oldest four girls in our family gathered in the city to support each other through Farmdoc's open heart surgery, we came together once again. This time Abby came all the way across the seas to join us too.

And this time we came together to celebrate.

We sang Happy Birthday.

We danced to the obvious Beatles song.

We drank coffee.

We ate a big lunch and a little cake.

We reminisced.

We spent time together with no husbands, or boyfriends, or children, or pets.

We talked through issues and told stories.

We cried at his speech and laughed at hers.

What a day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope you had a great day.

xx

ps. Bloody Blogger just swallowed this post when I tried to publish it the first time. I think it was better the first time too.

pps. Thanks heaps for all the answers to my last post. You guys are awesome.

ppps. Imagine how much fun it'll be when you turn 64 and get to spend the day with your adult children. Now that'll be a great day too I think.

pppps. I'm on officially on Pinterest now as Foxslane.

Committing.

For obvious reasons I've been thinking about life and death a lot over the past few weeks. More specifically, I've been thinking a lot about the decisions and plans people make when they think they are going to die, or when they get a second chance at life. Plans to jump out of planes, to travel to far away places and to follow dreams and loves.

It's got me thinking about how I want to live my life and that I don't want to wait for something catastrophic to happen before I realise my dreams and live my life to the fullest.

So what do I really want to do?

I really want to go on this caravan adventure we've been planning. I really want to commit to going. To get excited and make plans and let go of the guilt and fear that's holding me back.

Yep, I feel guilty.

Why do we deserve to take off on a four to six month holiday?

We're just coming out of the worst organic farming season we've experienced since we've been here. We've only been doing the Daylesford Organics thing for 10 years. People wait their entire working lives to take such a trip. And we're leaving the farmer boys behind to work on our property while we go on holidays...

And I'm scared.

How am I ever going to get this house organised and clean enough to leave it to another family? What if our itinerary is too ambitious? What if my children drive me crazy? What if I run out of yarn? What if someone gets a cough or snores and I never get to sleep? What if it rains and rains and we are stuck in the caravan for days? What if something bad happens at home? What if Indi and Jazzy fall too far behind at school and have troubles next year...

Ok, now I've written it all down I'm leaving it here and moving on. From now on I'm going to be enthusiastic and excited. Tomorrow I'll write a to-do list and over the next 40ish days I'm going to work through it.

I am really going to try not going to coast through my life any more and I certainly don't want to wait until something bad happens to live my life to the fullest.

I know for sure that if I were to write a list here of all the positives of our travel plans, I could fill four blog posts.

So let the adventures begin!

Have a fabulous week y'all.

PS. The top two pics are of the vintage sheet pillow case I made my Dad. I'm about to retire to the couch to crochet the edge of Farmer Bren's which is the same.

The third pic is of our heart shaped Melbourne afternoon waiting for our la'heart'tes and h'eart' chocolates with my folks in the city this afternoon.

house/heart keeping.

I'm home!

The heart bubble has burst and I'm back to brush hair, do laundry, make food and turn off lights. They missed me terribly which is a great thing. Miss Pepper took a long, hard look at me and told me I still look gorgeous. Phew. Jazzy keeps asking me to spell icup (get it?!) and Indi wont stop cuddling me.

Life goes on here. There are so many stories and questions and jokes and fights and needs.

But its like there is a loooooooooong string tied between my heart and those of my parents. And while I am busy with life here, an enormous chunk of my heart is there. I never usually answer the phone but today I am. I am waiting anxiously for a scrap of news. Anything.

I am at home but I also feel far away.

Last weekend before I left for Melbourne I made Miss Pepper her caravan pillow case from a pile of fabrics she had chosen.

I wish I was brave enough to chose fabrics like she does. The brighter and more patterned the better.

She chose red for the crocheted trim.

At night while I was away I liked to think of two of my girlies fast asleep on their Mama made pillow cases. It was almost the next best thing to being able to kiss them goodnight.

Indi's is next but she's still undecided about what she wants.

I've got a yukky cold so this is probably the best place for me. I'm drinking coffee I brought back from Melbourne, knitting rows of Miss Ruby Rib, making toasties for lunch, cuddling my darlings and trying to be a patient, enthusiastic Mama.

It's such a shame blogger gobbled up the comments from my last post as I was looking forward to showing them to my Dad. As a blogger himself he totally gets it. But nevertheless I read them and appreciated them and thank you for them.

And finally, due to blogger's tantrum yesterday, I think I'll leave the Genki giveaway open for a little bit longer. Enter here and I'll choose a winner on Monday.

I hope you have the most wonderful weekend.

xx

Heart times in the city!

I really wanted to call this post No sex in the city but one of my sisters thought it would be bad for her reputation. Ahem.

And while there isn't that, there is a whole lot of other stuff. Drama stuff. You know all that stuff that happens when you are living through big life events? New babies, death, trauma, new love, weddings, surgery...big life stuff.

It's like you are living inside a bubble and nothing else matters. You know that life is going on around you but you don't care, it doesn't interest you, there's no more room in your head to deal with it.

The people in the bubble with you are living the highs and lows too. They get it. But for everyone else it's difficult. It's like its ok when they are talking about your stuff, but then when they start telling you about their cousin's new job or their great theatre tickets, your eyes glaze over. It's like there's no room left for other stuff.

It's almost like we should have a sign on us that reads: Our Dad is recovering from open heart surgery. Please be nice to us. Please excuse us.

One morning we went to visit my Dad in intensive care and he was so happy to be on the other side of the surgery. He was chatty and ready for rehab and the rest of his life. He asked me to knit his nurse's three year old son a jumper and bring it in the next day!

We practically skipped all the way home. We visited a department store on the way and bought handbags for us and fancy chocolates to thank the ICU staff.

Another visit he was exhausted, he couldn't breathe deeply and could barely speak to us. At home we discussed him and we cried. We went to an action movie to take our minds off it.

Before hand we had discussed how he would walk on Wednesday and he did. He moved downstairs to the ward, he sat in a chair by his window and looked out over autumnal Melbourne, at an oval he used to jog around when he was a med student.

We were sure he was home free. His quadruple bypass was in the past and we could talk about which day he would be released. We went out and had a delicious dinner and fancy cocktails. I slept for about six hours despite the crazy inner city noises.

And then this morning we learned that his heart beat had shot right up over night and unable to control it with medication, they had shifted him back to the ICU.

He's in the best place he could possibly be. He knows we all adore him.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Life!

PS. Abby we miss you like crazy. In June we'll take these pics again with you in them.

PPS. If you haven't entered my giveaway, you totally should. Who doesn't need an I love craft t in their life? Leave a comment on this post.

PPPS. You'll have to excuse any misplaced commas or typos for the next little while, my Dad is my editor.

PPPPS. I've said it before and I'll say it again, THANK YOU for your comments, calls, emails, texts and love. Trust me, its making this so much easier for all of us.

PPPPPS. Thanks for returning my post blogger. I am most disappointed you didn't bring back the comments too.

Love::heart::ache.

While its true that Foxs lane was created as an online journal of the stuff I make, somehow it has evolved to also be an outlet for me to express how I'm feeling and to capture a moment in time.

Right this minute in time I am not feeling all that great. I have constant butterflies in my tummy and I am having trouble eating and sleeping and concentrating.

On Monday my Dad is having heart surgery. I know its for the best. I know its routine surgery. I know its a small amount of time and then he'll have years of healthy, happy times across the road from us.

But he's my Dad and I adore him and it kills me to think of someone I love so very much in such agony. I can't stop myself from thinking about the details.

So this weekend I am squeezing these girlies and their Dad tightly and often. I am taking lots of pictures of them to take to my Dad in hospital. I am trying to be positive and normal.

We'll celebrate Mothers' Day with a bonfire and a quiet day at home and I'll be thinking of my Mum sitting by my Dad's hospital bed as he checks in and does all his tests.

I know it is officially Mothers' Day weekend here but why don't you give your Dad or the Dad of your kids an extra big cuddle. Dad's are pretty awesome.

xx

Eight things.

1) I finished The Rainbow Speckled Olearia last night. I love this pattern and it was pretty easy the second time around until I got to the second sleeve. At that stage I should have been on the home stretch but I made a big mistake and pulled it apart a bit roughly and ended up somehow pulling apart some of the body stitches too. I almost gave up, but after lying on my bed for a while and deep breathing, I came back and somehow managed to stitch it all back together again. Raveled here.

2) My Mum has a story in this issue of Notebook magazine. You should totally read it. Its so beautiful and sad and she's my Mum and I'm so proud. Yay!

3) The patchwork dress I made last week is on its way to a little girl who lost her home in the New Zealand earthquake via Deb. Are you are a patch worker? If so, Deb is collecting blocks to sew into quilts for some more families that lost their homes, you could make one too.

4) We are on school holidays. Indi is in Melbourne at her cousins' house and I am taking the little girls to Plaster Fun House in Ballarat. They love it. Me, I have nightmares sometimes about being locked in there with the magazines from the eighties, the fluoro lighting and the soft rock radio blaring. I'm hoping to get some knitting done.

5) I still haven't officially unpacked from our holiday but the bags are slowly emptying as we take out clothes to wear every day. If I leave it long enough, maybe I wont need to unpack.

6) The next thing I am knitting is a beanie for a birthday I missed last January. Woops.

7) Pepper is on some kind of banana diet. I have no idea what its all about but that's all she wants to eat. She loves them.

8) I am absolutely obsessed with dying yarn although I haven't dyed any yet. I think Mr Google is getting well and truly sick of me asking him the same questions about fixers and organic dyes and naked yarns.

Ok, I feel better now that's all out.

How about you? What's going on in your life?

I hope you are happy. XX

Saturday.

Its Saturday today, Bren and Indi are at the Slow Food farmers market in Melbourne and I am hanging out with the two little girls.

I am wearing a lovely dress given to me by my wonderful sister Emily.

I am reading this brilliant review of my Mum's book in The Age A2. Yay!!

I couldn't be prouder!

To see what other people are reading this weekend visit the new home of the My Place and Yours meme over at Punky & Me.

I had plans for the girls to wear these wrap-a-round skirts I sewed for them last night but its cold again.

I am eating rocket, fetta, olives and seeds in a salad.

I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. I love it.

I plan to go out and buy some haloumi later on for tonight's version.

I am marvelling at how dirty the apron skirt got in one day yesterday.

I am admiring this pile of garage sale treasures.

And I am hoping for a bit of crochet action on the couch this afternoon.

I hope you are wearing, reading, eating, making and admiring some good stuff this weekend. XX

Pot holders, tractors and tulle.

So here is a picture of the pot holder wall as it is today. I am having all sorts of trouble getting a good, shadow free photo and am waiting very patiently for one of my photographer type friends to pop in.

I've been printing tractors today. I've done five without one perfect print.

I've decided to quit while I am ahead and wash up. I'm having one of those days. The incessant question asking and chattering and talking in my ear is making it hard to concentrate on anything at all.

While we are on the subject of t'shirts, I'm wanting to get a few silk screens made with our farm logo on them. Does anybody know where I can get screens professionally and permanently made with emulsion and exposure and all that stuff? Somewhere in Australia definitely and somewhere in Ballarat or Melbourne preferably.

Thankyou sooooooooo much Sue for the wonderful package that arrived in the post yesterday. Can you imagine the squealing that went on when my three girls saw all the pink and colourful tulle coming out of the bag? Please tell Isabelle that her old fairy costumes will be well loved, played in, slept in and even cause a tantrum or two when they were forcibly removed at bath time.

And lastly but firstly; A hunormous (Indi's new word) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful Mum!! I hope that you have had the best day and we'll celebrate with cakes and prezzies when you come back to the mainland in a few weeks. XX

I hope you are having a fabulous day on my Mum's birthday. XX

Book launched.

Last night's launch of my Mum's book Alzheimer's a love story was a huge success.

My Mum looked amazing, there was a huge crowd, the speeches were great, Readings sold out of the book and people had to run across the road to another bookshop to get more copies. The cookies were gobbled and my girls were really well behaved cuddling my grandfather when he got emotional.

It was really wonderful watching my Mum, who has devoted so much of her life to cheering her family on, in the spotlight.

I got to hang out with two of my three sisters, we missed you heaps Abby.

And afterwards we celebrated at a dinner where my Dad said beautiful things about my Mum.

It's been a mad 24 hours and I have yet to finish softie's head or crochet more than a few rows of her dress.

But we did manage to squeeze in a birthday party for one of Pepper's friends.

And get served cups of tea from a tray that had a milk jug cover on it. Love it, must make one soon.

I'm off now to write some lists and get baking for Indi's ninth birthday slumber party tomorrow night.

I hope you have a great one.

Oops, I almost forgot to show you the ace display Miss Doily has made for the Foxs Lane area at Dear Prudence in Ballarat.