stuff.

Thud!
Two months home from our great caravan adventure and I have hit the ground.
Hard.
I've had a tough week.
Nothing big. Just cold, blustery days, tired cranky kidlets, sore elbows, a random nasty comment, an overwhelmed feeling, a chill in my bones, a messy house, a realisation that that's it-we're back, it's over.
Real life.
I just wanna go to bed and snuggle up and crochet the afternoons away.
I think we probably did well to hold this feeling off for so long.

There have been some good bits too mind you.
Miss Pepper's drawings of little people and animals and monsters EVERYWHERE, Miss Jazzy's excitement over her lolly passion project, an amazing phone call and plan, Nel and the gang, Miss Indi's solo, preserving and jamming, my Mum's prize, the twilight walks, the instagram and the look on farmer Bren's face when he told me it was time to pick apples. So good.

I do know I'm lucky. It's all good. It'd just be great if the sun came out and the temp rose by about 10 degrees. It's early Autumn NOT winter.

So I'll just keep plodding on towards the weekend. Trying to focus on the good things, trying to warm up little heads with eared beanies and trying to keep warm.

I'm off to pick apples.
Yay!!

See ya. x

granny stool.

A little stool.
A brown leather, slightly wobbly, discarded, foot stool.
Sitting hiding underneath the table at the back of the junk shop.

I visited that stool about five times over the course of the week.
It wasn't the price that made me wonder, it was the clutter.
Was it fair to introduce more stuff to our house when we were trying to have less?
Was a foot stool a necessity, or a comfort, or an excuse for more crochet?

But I was in love.
There was no denying it.
And the little foot stool came home with me.

And I pulled out my basket of colours and crocheted.

I crocheted one big granny square for the front, a granny without the increase for the sides and a granny with a decrease for the bottom.

And my farmer boy got some tools from the shed and steadied the legs.

And I watched the space change when I introduced the newly grannied foot stool.
It somehow makes everything look cozy.
Not at all like more clutter.
And my heart is happy when I watch my farmer boy sit back and put his feet up.
The little foot stool and us, we were meant to be.

I'm on the hunt for another little stool now.
I need to put my feet up too, you know?
You know.

Have a happy weekend you guys. xx

This week...

This week I will go for a very fast walk/run for at least half an hour, at least five times. Preferably with Indi but otherwise alone.

This week I will post at least three photos a day, of my day, on instagram.

This week I will make a start on the knitting pattern I think I can design.

This week I will hunt down some soft, yellow wool.

This week we will eat for dinner;
Mon: Cheesy, passata-ey baked polenta and salad.
Tues: Vegie, beany flat bread tacos.
Wed: Mushroom risotto.
Thurs: Dahl and garlicy flat bread and rice and yogurt.
Fri: Homemade pizza and salad.

This week I will try and source bulk bio dynamic flour and oil.

This week I will try to remember to stretch.

This week I will do a big shop on Monday.

This week I will try to get the girls to bed earlier.

This week I will try to spend a chunk of time alone with Miss Jazzy.

This week I will try to sort out the little girls' room.

This week I will sew the blue embroidered table cloth into a dress.

This week I will preserve the pears, freeze the plums and make more blackberry ice cream.

This week I will try to read more of my book than I did last week.

This week I will try not to take things too personally.

This week I will take at least one bag of stuff to the oppy.

This week I will buy myself some flowers.

This week I will lice comb my hair in readiness for my haircut on Friday.

This week I will hunt for some big old industrial lights. Probably at least two.

This week I will think about curtains for our bedroom.

How about you?
What are you up to this week?
I hope whatever it is, it's awesome.

Bye. x

Love where you live.

Love where you live. 

It's part of my happiness recipe and therefore my year of happy.

Our family lives on an organic farm on the edge of a forest. We are surrounded by sky scraping eucalypts, by wide open paddocks, by fruit tree orchards and dams. But sometimes I have to admit I am guilty of looking around and seeing our to-do list rather than the gorgeousness. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and I can't see the forest for the weeds. Sometimes I dream of a tiny, easy to manage block in town. I know I was particularly guilty of this before we went on our trip. I would never think to take my camera on the chores run. My secateurs maybe, but never my camera.

Love where you live. It should be so easy right? I live where I live. The people I love most in the world live where I live and therefore I live where I love. And all the stuff I have collected is here too where I live (possibly too much of it but anyway...). So it should be so simple, but sometimes I think I need reminding to appreciate it, to see it, to love it.

I used to love it when visitors came over and told me how much they loved our farm. When they oohed and ahhed over the house dam, when they marveled that we live in a forest. When they took photos of the farm junk, of the animals, of the crates of fruit, of the places and things we walk past without seeing and take for granted. It was like when other people came I could see things through their eyes. I could love it too.

But lately, in the months since we've been home, I've been seeing it all for myself. By myself. With fresh and appreciative eyes. Like when we first moved here and we couldn't believe our luck. The beauty of the forest, the orchards, the gardens, the dams, the flocks of chooks, the paddocks and the wildlife.

We've even been making an effort to love the inside of our house too. Decorating little spots around the place, starting the painting everything white project. We're not there yet but we are on our way.

I'm really glad I have that happiness recipe to check in with when I need it, and I'm super glad I included love where you live in my happiness recipe too. It does make me happy. Even a family walk down to turn the chook fences on makes me happy. Happy enough to photograph it.

And we have been loving our safe and boring weekend too. Thanks for all your wishes on my last post. We've been playing games, making pesto, watching a movie in the park last night with friends and another at home this afternoon, crocheting in bed, doing the farm chores, hanging out and enjoying the slow.

I hope you've been having a lovely weekend too.
Have you? Have you done anything special? Made anything great?
Do you remember to love where you live or do you need a little reminding sometimes too?
Is it one of your happiness ingredients?
Do you feel happy at the moment?

I really do hope you have a happy and creative week.

See ya later hot potato. xx

(Note to self, today Miss Pepper started saying sh instead of s. Shed. Sushi. Sharp. Shop. Sunshine.
My baby is growing up.)

This time.

Yesterday afternoon, just after I made this dress and took these photos, we got a call about a bushfire that was burning seven kilometers away and threatening to head in our direction.

All of a sudden the last three years and one day disappeared and I felt exactly like I did last time we had a bushfire here. And then I looked around and realised everything was the same. This time, like last time, I had a pot of jam on the stove and lots of fruit in crates all over the floor. This time, like last time, I knew I had to get the washing off the line immediately so Bren could start the fire sprinklers. This time, like last time, I looked around at our home completely surrounded by forest and wondered who in their right mind would live somewhere like this? This time, like last time, I grabbed long clothes, sensible shoes, computers, cameras, chargers and baskets of crochet and kissed Bren goodbye and drove off to get the girls from school. This time, like last time, there was the familiar look of panic in some people's faces, the oblivious couples sipping wine outside cafes, the sound of sirens from every direction and the looooooooong queues at the petrol station. This time like last time I bought strange and random things from the petrol station after filling up. And this time like last time I tried to stay calm while answering a bazillion little kid questions while keeping an ear on the fire wireless and an eye on the CFA website.

BUT last time I didn't write a blog, I wasn't on the twitter or instagram or ravelry.

This time my afternoon was filled with emails and texts and tweets and ravmails and instagram messages. It sounds mushy but this time I totally felt comfort in my part of the online community. People were watching and cared.

I often wonder about my need to write a blog. I wonder why I feel the need to write about what I make and think rather than just going about my business of doing it.

Yesterday reminded me of the social in social media. Of the community. Of the feeling that we are all in this together.

Thank you.

Luckily yesterday's fire was contained after a few hours. In the heat and gusty winds of the next few days we are crossing our fingers and wishing for a safe and boring weekend.

Who would have ever thought safe and boring sounded so good?

So have you had a moment when you felt the social in social media? The community in the online community?
Do you find it comforting?
Do you remember why you blog?

Do you like my new dress? I made it from a piece of fabric Michelle sent me and some vintage lace scraps I hoard. After I finished it and tried it on I discovered it is see-through but luckily it fits and looks good with a black slip underneath.

Have a safe and boring weekend out there.

Bye! xx

The post I never thought I'd write.

I never thought I'd get into menu planning.

I used to read blog posts about menu planning and look at pretty pictures of meals written on chalk boards and think 'that's great but it is so not for me.' I used to think that I need to feel inspired in the moment to cook creatively. I used to think I was too disorganised for a list. That my kids would never go for it. That I didn't have a big enough recipe repertoire, or enough time.

BUT in the desperate need to make school weeks easier on everyone I gave it a go.

And I am here to tell you that menu planning is brilliant!!

Every Monday in the late morning me and the farmer boy sit down with a cuppa and lots of cook books and paper and pens and talk food. We talk about what's in season, what we have growing on the farm and in our kitchen garden, what is available locally or from the farmers' market and what we feel like eating.

Then we go through some books and choose recipes and match meals to days. On days when there are lots of after school activities, we choose easy meals and on days when we have more time, we try new to us or more adventurous dinners.

As we write the plan we also write a shopping list to make sure we have the ingredients we need, when we need them.

And you know what? It is making such a difference to our lives. We are more inspired than ever to be creative with our food. We are trying new recipes and experimenting with new flavours. We are preparing parts of meals ahead of time and we are not taking short cuts.

And the girls are getting into it too. Discussing the week's menu, writting it on the board, making suggestions, helping with the cooking and becoming adventurous.

Some of our favourites lately have been:
Spinach and ricotta ravioli.
Fetta and spinach pasties.
Fish and salad.
Felafel and salad and hummous and pita.
Dahl and garlicy flat bread and yoghurt and rice.
Pizza.
Tofu and salad wraps.

To be honest, I probably should have left it a bit longer than three weeks of menu planning to write this post. To make sure we stuck to it and continued with it. But three weeks in and I already cannot imagine not menu planning. I hate the thought of that 4pm 'what's for dinner?' question and that mad scramble and hope that I have the ingredients I need to make something at the last minute.

Somehow menu planning seems to have given us back the pleasure of food preparation and eating.

I love menu planning.
I totally, highly recommend it.
And I absolutely get that you might be reading this thinking 'Huh! That is so not for me!' And all I can say to that is, don't knock it until you try it.

So tell me lovely people, do you menu plan?
What are some of your favourites?
Do you think menu planning is great for others but not for you?
What are you having for dinner tonight?

Later. xx

This is not a tutorial.

The first part of our weekend was all big city, bright lights, late night, family, friends, fun, fun, fun.

Today we've tried to take it easy. To spend time together at home. To ground ourselves. To have a slow day in preparation for the fast week to come.

We spent a bit of this afternoon making decorations for our kitchen garden. Prettying up the pea and bean stakes. Wrapping wool around sticks.

It was good simple fun.

A great way to use up all the colourful yarn scraps I've been amassing.
Fun time together as a family.
A crafty activity suitable for young and old.
A way to marry wool and nature (I love that combo).
A way to really be together, winding, talking, telling, singing.

We tied a knot with a strand of wool and wound around and around and around.
Simple.
Some liked neat wraps and others prefered big gaps.

We could probably use beads and bells and sequins and other crafty bits too next time.

I'm totally in the mood to wrap now.
I've been walking around the farm looking at all the potential wrap situations: trees, the uprights in the garage, chairs, stools, bits of the chooken houses, mobiles...

And the newly colourful bean patch makes me so happy every time I walk past.

I have no idea how long my kids will be happy spending a few hours like this, but while they still are, I'll certainly be making the most of it.

I hope you've had a great weekend. Have you done anything special?
Have you been wrapping?
Do you think you might?
What do you think you might wrap?

I hope your week this week is surprising and fabulous.

Bye! x